Hello, Welcome to Merit Supermarket (SUPERMARKET)
Upon arriving at the police station, the officers' first thought upon seeing a large crowd dragging three people in was that they had caught some thieves.
However, they never expected it to be a case of child trafficking!
And not just any child trafficking—it was about selling one's own daughter to be a child bride!
Perhaps because they had seen too many bizarre cases, the police quickly regained their composure and led the chaotic crowd inside to take statements.
Huang Jue glanced back and felt a wave of relief when she saw Jiang Chenyi standing guard by her younger sister's side.
At this moment, the only person she could trust was Jiang Chenyi.
The videos captured by the two paparazzi were all handed over to the police to serve as the primary evidence of their rescue efforts.
As for Jiang Chenyi, being the initiator of the rescue operation, he naturally became a focal point of attention.
The officer assigned to observe him was a middle-aged policeman with deep wrinkles between his eyebrows. Judging by his demeanor, his position in the bureau was certainly not low.
He walked over to Jiang Chenyi and said, "I'm Zheng Qiuyun, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Division. You're Jiang Chenyi, right?"
The young man looked up with his pale eyes seemingly emitting a faint light.
The moment Officer Zheng saw him, he felt something was off.
No logic, no evidence—just pure intuition.
"Huang Jue mentioned that she knew her sister's location because you told her. Can you explain how you knew?"
Logically, the only people who would know the younger sister's location would be either Huang Jue's parents or her so-called "husband," Wang Zhongjian.
So, what role did Jiang Chenyi play in all this?
Jiang Chenyi gently patted the younger sister's head, and the girl, who had been frightened and uneasy, calmed down significantly.
"Find a female officer to accompany her. She's barely an adult."
Officer Zheng's pupils constricted sharply.
The young man's words carried a lot of information.
Before the officer could ask again, Jiang Chenyi stood up proactively. "Let's go. Whatever you want to know, we can discuss it inside. I also have something I need to talk to you about."
Officer Zheng's heart skipped a beat, and he increasingly felt that this young man was unusual.
However, despite his oddness, he didn't sense any malice from him.
This complex feeling was something he had never experienced before.
Inside the interrogation room, a young police officer was already seated.
Jiang Chenyi sat directly across from him with his attitude unusually candid. "Go ahead and ask whatever you want to know."
Officer Zheng glanced at him and, as suggested, asked the most pressing question first. "First, tell me how you knew Huang Lin's location."
Jiang Chenyi slapped a compass onto the table.
The blood-stained needle was still firmly pointing in the younger sister's direction. "With this."
As soon as he produced the compass, Officer Zheng's brow twitches violently.
He tried to turn the needle, but no matter how he moved it, the direction it pointed remained unchanged.
However, when he wiped away the drop of blood, the needle could be turned freely.
This strange phenomenon reminded him of a certain type of person—the Celestial Master.
"Are you a Celestial Master?"
Jiang Chenyi shook his head. "Not exactly, but I suppose you could say I'm in the same line of work." Though the methods are a bit different.
In the same line as a Celestial Master—no wonder he knew Huang Lin's location.
However, Officer Zheng was not so quick to believe Jiang Chenyi's words. He asked Jiang Chenyi to recount the entire process in detail and cross-checked it with the statements of others while looking for any inconsistencies.
No matter how he compared them, the statements of the individuals all aligned perfectly.
With the evidence from the paparazzi's video, there was nothing suspicious about Jiang Chenyi from start to finish.
Moreover, as soon as he entered, he directly found evidence of child trafficking and immediately placed it in front of the camera, with every word clearly visible.
They also examined the video and confirmed that there were no signs of editing.
If Jiang Chenyi's explanation was to be believed, as someone who traveled with a Celestial Master, it was quite normal for him to accurately locate the victim's position.
After confirming that Jiang Chenyi was not a suspect, Officer Zheng was ready to let him go.
But this time, it was Jiang Chenyi who was unwilling to leave.
"Wait, there's something I need to tell you," he said.
If it weren't for this matter, he wouldn't have come to the police station in person
Officer Zheng, who had just stood up, sat back down on his chair. "What is it?"
Jiang Chenyi placed his hands on the table before leaning slightly forward with his eyes gleaming as he looked at the two officers. "There's a middleman in this case, and that middleman is connected to a child trafficking organization."
So, should we take them all down?
Officer Zheng didn't know how many times he had been shocked today, but the other officer recording the conversation suddenly stood up. "You know about this?"
Jiang Chenyi shrugged but his words were not what the officer expected. "It's not me who knows, but I can act as a bridge for communication between both sides. You can get any information you want."
Officer Zheng's face hardened.
He stood up with his sturdy back bending slightly as he leaned on the table and his stern eyes fixed on Jiang Chenyi.
"What do you want?"
After he asked this, Jiang Chenyi pulled out his Golden Abacus.
Watching the small ornament suddenly grow in size, the two officers couldn't help but take a step back.
"I can hear that you want to know all the information and evidence about this organization."
"I can also see that you've accumulated a lot of Merit, truly a good officer who serves the people."
Officer Zheng hadn't been mistaken earlier—the young man's eyes were indeed emitting a faint light, and now that light seemed to be growing brighter.
"Do you want to dismantle this organization? Then make a deal with me."
Jiang Chenyi's eyes returned to normal.
He handed over a supermarket business card and then walked out.
He had already completed the task of finding Huang Jue's younger sister. Although no special items were traded, using the compass still required paying Merit.
When Huang Jue came out, Jiang Chenyi moved the beads on his Golden Abacus twice in front of her.
"One search, two hundred Merit Points. I'll deduct it directly." As the beads fell, Huang Jue faintly felt that something was missing from her.
Logically, what happened next was no longer Jiang Chenyi's concern, but he still handed Huang Jue a business card.
"Your inner voice has changed. If you still need my help, you can find me at this address. However, by then, the transaction amount will no longer be just two hundred Merit Points."
After finding her younger sister, Huang Jue's inner voice not only persisted but grew even louder.
The intensity was comparable to when he had found Luo Qiuming. Therefore, Jiang Chenyi believed that Huang Jue would seek him out again, and so would the local police.
From the time he disembarked until now, nearly four hours had passed, and it was already one or two in the morning. Jiang Chenyi declined the "kindness" of the supermarket and chose to spend money on a hotel and just plan to return the next day.
However, early the next morning, he was awakened by a commotion.
Initially, he thought it was room service, but upon opening the door, he found three police officers standing outside, with one of whom was Officer Zheng.
Jiang Chenyi glanced at the insignias on their shoulders and noticed that one of them held a relatively high rank.
Though he felt a stir inside, his expression remained calm. "Give me a moment. Let's talk in the restaurant," he said because not only was he disheveled but also hungry.
The other two officers looked at Officer Zheng, who, noticing Jiang Chenyi's demeanor and understanding that he wasn't trying to stall, nodded in agreement. "Alright, we'll wait outside."
After the door closed, the highest-ranking officer asked, "Do you really think he'll help us?"
Officer Zheng hesitated but replied, "Director Zhou, no matter what, we have to try."
"But if he really wants to dismantle that organization, why doesn't he just say so?"
Yao Cheng, the white-haired chief of the criminal investigation team, shook his head. "It's not that simple. I've dealt with Celestial Masters before. They always say that heavenly secrets cannot be revealed, so after each assistance, they take a sum of money and then donate it."
He had seen what happened to Celestial Masters who revealed too much—it was truly terrifying.
"So you're saying we should prepare a sum of money?" Director Zhou furrowed his brow deeply.
He wasn't unwilling to pay; he could treat it as a reward for reporting or bravery. But he was concerned about whether the other party could provide effective information.
Soon, Jiang Chenyi emerged and led them to the hotel's restaurant.
"You came to ask about the trafficking organization, right?"
Seeing them nod, Jiang Chenyi straightforwardly stated his condition: "How much you can know depends entirely on how much Merit you possess."
His words left the three of them somewhat puzzled.
Jiang Chenyi decided to use his compass as an example: "For instance, yesterday I used the compass to locate Huang Lin for Huang Jue, which cost two hundred Merit Points. Generally, saving an ordinary person would cost up to five hundred Merit Points. This should give you an idea of what two hundred Merit Points entail."
"However, this was possible because of the blood connection between the two sisters. I have other tools for finding people—some can locate someone based on their ID card, some can find a person with just a photo, and some can determine the owner's location with just a personal item. Some can even provide real-time tracking. But each use requires a different amount of Merit Points."
All of this is based on the premise that they already have some information.
If they don't even have the most basic information, then they should start by purchasing it!
"So, do you understand now? If you want to know more, you'll need more Merit Points to trade with me. I know what you're worried about—I don't need money. Trading away your Merit won't have any impact on your health. Once you've dealt with the organization, you'll gain new Merit."
Ordinary people can't use Merit; it's just something they leave for the next generation.
But now, they can use their own Merit to exchange for information about criminal organizations.
By then, the police will have arrested the criminals and earned their achievements, while Jiang Chenyi will have gained Merit.
It's a mutually beneficial transaction.
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