Hello, Welcome to Merit Supermarket (SUPERMARKET)
The Captain had been deliberately sent back.
No one explicitly stated it, but everyone understood it implicitly.
Jiang Chenyi opened the black umbrella, once again sheltering the three of them beneath it. Then, from under the umbrella, he took out the Soul Orb and released the six individuals who had been severely tormented.
Perhaps because they had experienced death, once released, they dared not even lift their heads without Jiang Chenyi’s permission.
"Speak. How is the Human Aroma made? Who is the Perfumer? Is that so-called Mr. Meng one of you? And who else is behind this?" Jiang Chenyi fired off four questions in one breath. Upon hearing his name, Mr. Meng, who was lying on the ground, didn’t dare to even breathe.
He was utterly terrified of these people now. Not just Jiang Chenyi, who had beaten him into a pulp, but Huo Yunxi’s methods also made him wish for immediate death—the kind where his soul would scatter into nothingness and never to be reborn.
These two—one tortured the soul, and the other the body. If it weren’t for the fact that he still had some use, he would have already been reduced to a pile of flesh.
So terrifying... these two were truly terrifying!
Mr. Meng, lying on the ground, was filled with fear—more fear than he had ever felt even when approaching “Teacher”.
‘When had these two calamities arrived in the capital? Did Teacher know about his current predicament? Would he come to save him?’, Mr. Meng’s body trembled slightly.
The six souls being interrogated dared not hide anything and quickly spilled all the information they knew.
However, as mere transporters of "goods," they didn’t know much, and they had no access to the core details.
For example, they knew of the "Perfumer", that all the perfumes were made by one person, but whether this person was male or female, tall or short, fat or thin... they had no idea.
"Our job was just to deliver these people to the docks, where someone would be waiting to take over. Then... we’d get paid and leave." What happened afterward had nothing to do with them.
"Useless!"
Jiang Chenyi’s two light words made the already fragile souls even more fragile.
Especially with the presence of that Baleful Aura nearby, whimpering QAQ.
"Wait! I... I remember now. I recall... back when I used to chat at the docks, I heard someone mention that the Perfumer has a peculiar habit. They said this person is so ascetic that he doesn't seem like a man at all. He enjoys holding women while sleeping but would never lay a hand on them..." From this, it seems the Perfumer must be a man.
"Given that the Perfumer is a man, is there any other information?" Jiang Chenyi's eyes bore into them, causing the souls to tremble uncontrollably.
The six souls scratched their heads and trying to recall any information they had heard before. Just then, Mr. Meng, who was lying on the ground, slowly raised his hand: "I... can I speak?"
He now understood that escape was impossible. The people here were so ruthless that even the slightest movement could be misinterpreted, and leading to unbearable torture.
Huo Yunxi glanced at him.
After extracting the despicable deeds this scum had committed, Mr. Meng no longer seemed human in his eyes.
Gu Sheng stroked his beard and said leisurely, "Then speak."
"The Perfumer isn't old. I heard he has no interest in women or men, but he is fascinated by virgins. Female virgins are juiced to become ingredients for his perfumes, while male virgins serve as catalysts to activate those ingredients."
Thus, in reality, the Perfumer's victims are not limited by gender.
Everyone is merely his material.
The information provided by Mr. Meng was indeed shocking, but it wasn't particularly useful to them.
After speaking, Mr. Meng kept observing the expressions of the three with his small eyes. Seeing no satisfactory reaction, he hurriedly added, "And... and I remember the Perfumer likes to live in very high places. He believes the air is purer at greater heights."
This suggested that the Perfumer's perfume-making location should be somewhere elevated.
This piece of information was enough for Huo Yunxi to retract his foot. Although Mr. Meng still had to lie on the ground, without the direct contact of the Baleful Aura, he felt much more comfortable.
"By the way, this... Mr. Meng?"
When these three words came from Jiang Chenyi's mouth, Mr. Meng felt the imminent danger of a guillotine about to fall.
"No, no, you can just call me Little Meng..." Mr. Meng dared not let Jiang Chenyi address him as Mr. Meng. Didn't he see that the foot of that ominous star had moved again?
Although, he really was surnamed Meng, with the given name Xiansheng (Mr.) TAT
Jiang Chenyi wasn't particularly concerned about this. He continued with what he hadn't finished earlier: "Speaking of which, what is your purpose? Who gave you the talisman? Is the person behind you related to the Perfumer?"
Since they couldn't uncover more about the Perfumer, they would switch to another topic!
At this, Mr. Meng hesitated for a moment. But just that brief moment was enough for Huo Yunxi's foot to come down again.
Feeling the sting of the Baleful Aura, Mr. Meng screamed at the top of his lungs, "I'll talk, I'll talk! I don't really know much about the Perfumer. The reason I appeared by the police was actually to eliminate Gu Sheng!"
Huh?
The three of them looked up in surprise. They hadn't expected to hear such a thing from Little Meng.
Unfortunately, the person who had asked him to do this was completely cloaked in a black robe. The man had always insisted on being addressed simply as "Teacher", and his real name remained unknown.
The black-robed man, much like the Perfumer, was impossible to probe for deeper information. In fact, he was even more mysterious than the Perfumer.
The black-robed man did indeed know the Perfumer. When Mr. Meng appeared this time, the man had mentioned his gratitude for the opportunity provided by the Perfumer. Coincidentally, he was also tired of the Perfumer's arrogant demeanor and saw this as a chance to deal with him.
"I feel... the Perfumer isn't as important as him..."
This was merely Little Meng's speculation. During a certain banquet, both the black-robed man and the Perfumer had appeared, but the attitudes of those present toward the two were completely different.
"When they spoke to the Perfumer, their tone was polite but carried a hint of arrogance. Yet, when they approached Teacher, they became as docile as lambs." The more Little Meng spoke, the more convinced he became of his theory.
Hearing this, the three exchanged glances: it seemed the Perfumer's existence wasn't as significant as they had thought.
"Then..." Gu Sheng asked him, "You must have seen the Perfumer, right?"
Surprisingly, Mr. Meng shook his head. "No, it was a masked banquet. The Perfumer was heavily covered—long hair, male, about 1.7 meters tall." Beyond that, he knew little about the man.
"As for who the wealthy merchant was, I'm sorry, I don't know that either. That wasn't information I was supposed to have."
Everyone at the banquet wore cloaks or robes, with various animal masks covering their faces. Apart from their eyes, nothing else was visible. The only things one could discern were age and gender, and perhaps guess at height.
After interrogating these six souls and one human, the three realized just how tightly this organization operated.
Fortunately, Mr. Meng had fallen into their hands.
Given the black-robed man's ruthless nature, if he found out Mr. Meng had defected to the police, he would certainly not let him live.
So, the fact that Mr. Meng was still unharmed meant the man was unaware of his defection.
"Therefore, you continue to play your role and keep in touch with the black-robed man, but..." Jiang Chenyi reached out and pressed his hand against the back of Mr. Meng's neck.
"The supermarket—I remember there was a Biological Listener on the shelf, right?"
[Yes, 200 Merit Points.]
"I'll take it!"
The Biological Listener couldn't be detected by current instruments. Even if someone sensed something amiss and dug where the listener was planted, they wouldn't find any device.
Jiang Chenyi made a small incision at the back of Mr. Meng's neck and inserted a grain-sized object.
Mr. Meng didn't dare resist and could only let Jiang Chenyi proceed.
Once the grain entered his flesh, it immediately followed the bloodstream to Mr. Meng's heart, where it settled quietly.
This was actually a living creature and capable of shifting its position in response to external movements to avoid detection.
By the time the Captain returned, only Mr. Meng remained. Gu Sheng, Jiang Chenyi, and Huo Yunxi had all vanished.
However, Jiang Chenyi had left his contact information and instructed Mr. Meng to relay a message to the Captain: "Just carry on as usual."
After regaining his senses, the Captain's mind became much sharper, and he immediately understood Jiang Chenyi's implication—now was indeed not the time to alert the enemy.
As he hurried back to the police station to prepare for the investigation, he noticed that the atmosphere in the station seemed somewhat off.
Soon, he discovered who the second person to regain clarity was—it was his own team leader!
After coming to his senses, the team leader immediately took control of all the officers under his command and carefully selected a few individuals to join the "Human Aroma Case.
These individuals were the ones who, after being deceived by Mr. Meng, had placed their complete trust in him.
Including the Captain, there were six people in the Criminal Investigation who had once deeply trusted Mr. Meng.
Seeing the dazed and shocked expressions of the others upon learning the truth, the Captain and the team leader felt a wave of fear and trepidation.
"For now, you must pretend that nothing has happened. First, we need to thoroughly investigate this case. As for the other departments... leave that to me!"
Compared to Team Leader Yao from the Chashan City Public Security Bureau, this team leader's approach was ruthless and decisive. As he spoke, everyone present could sense his desire to tear Mr. Meng and the person behind him to pieces.
But it wasn't just the team leader—they all wanted to do the same!
As seasoned criminal investigators, how could they have been so completely blinded by one person? Where was their vigilance? Where was their meticulousness during investigations? How had it all vanished?
They reflected on their mistakes and engraving them deeply into their minds.
Therefore, when the Captain walked alongside Mr. Meng again, their emotions were remarkably calm.
To avoid arousing suspicion, the Captain wore the same respectful smile as before while leading Mr. Meng back to the Public Security Bureau with utmost deference.
Meanwhile, in a nearby alley, Jiang Chenyi turned to Huo Yunxi, "Well? Did you sense anyone keeping watch nearby?"
Huo Yunxi had just completed another transaction with the Supermarket to learn on how to harness the power of Spirit.
His learning ability was excellent, and he mastered it in no time.
At that moment, Huo Yunxi was weaving the power into a large net, which he then cast over a one-kilometer radius around the Public Security Bureau.
Sure enough, as they had suspected, there was indeed something monitoring the area near the bureau.
Moreover, the surveillance wasn't following Mr. Meng back—it had been there from the very beginning.
This meant that the Public Security Bureau in the capital had been under surveillance for some time without their knowledge.
"Did they detect you?"
Huo Yunxi chuckled confidently, "Don't worry, the Spirit monitoring us is no match for me." After all, he had been meticulously trained by the Supermarket, and the other party's methods seemed quite amateurish to him.
Jiang Chenyi was momentarily stunned before realizing, "Wait? The other party is also a Spirit?"
Huo Yunxi nodded.
It was precisely because it was a Spirit that it could bypass the arrays set up by the Celestial Masters around the Public Security Bureau and monitor the inside.
Upon learning that the other party also had a Spirit, Jiang Chenyi silently raised his estimation of the Black-robed man—being able to command a Spirit indicated that his strength was undoubtedly formidable.
In Huo Yunxi's vision, he saw a black cat stepping on the net he had woven to quietly perched on a rooftop. Its green, glowing eyes were half-closed, as if it were sleeping.
This was the Spirit the other party had sent to keep watch over the Public Security Bureau.
When Mr. Meng came out alone, the black cat leaped down from the rooftop and lightly stepped on his left shoulder.
Immediately after, Mr. Meng began walking towards the left path.
The black cat subtly corrected his direction, and soon he arrived by the riverside.
Jiang Chenyi and Huo Yunxi didn’t risk following him. Instead, Jiang Chenyi remained in place while tracking Mr. Meng’s thoughts and forcefully locking onto him
This way, as long as the locked target was within the same city, he could hear that person’s thoughts anytime, anywhere.
It was convenient but extremely draining on his Spirit.
Before long, another person appeared by the riverside. As previously agreed upon by the four, Mr. Meng immediately knelt on the ground and begged for mercy upon seeing him.
"Teacher, I think I’ve been discovered!"
He then shifted all the blame onto Gu Sheng, claiming that the other party seemed to have noticed something unusual about him, though he couldn’t provide any evidence.
"He said he’d keep an eye on me and warned me not to entertain any devious thoughts!"
This sounded quite serious, but to the man in the black robe, it was nothing. He even chuckled.
"Don’t worry," he said. "Gu Sheng is all talk. As long as your Facade remains intact, he won’t notice anything!"
Upon hearing the word "Facade", Mr. Meng instinctively shivered, but the man in the black robe didn’t pay attention to this reaction and just assuming it was just fear of him.
"Keep it up. I’ll prepare a scapegoat for you. Once this case is over, you’ll be able to return."
He adjusted his sunglasses and soon disappeared from Mr. Meng’s sight.
At the same time, the black cat that had led Mr. Meng to the riverside also vanished.
After waiting for a while and receiving no further instructions from Jiang Chenyi, Mr. Meng had no choice but to return.
What he didn’t know was that Jiang Chenyi and Huo Yunxi were now contemplating whether to catch the cat!
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