Chapter 1 Examining the Evidence

Zhang Yuanqing took the phone and carefully read the documents, including but not limited to autopsy reports, on-site investigations, witness statements from the deceased's neighbors, road surveillance, and so on.

Time passed by, and Zhang Yuanqing concentrated on reading while Cao Qianxi remained silent.

Half an hour later, Zhang Yuanqing's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and his expression became more and more solemn.

Finally, he put down his phone and shook his head, "It seems that there are no Saint-level Sentinels within your Anti-Black and White Alliance."

"How do you know?" Cao Qianxi cleared her throat and said, "Just tell me the result of your deduction."

Zhang Yuanqing said in a deep voice: "The Anti-Black and White Alliance can provide this information, indicating that the higher-ups are paying attention to this series of murders. Their analysis is that the murderer is a Night Wanderer at the Extraordinary stage, no higher than Level 3, and is killing people to refine corpses? He’s of Chinese descent and is well aware of Tianfa's (Heavenly Punishment) indifference towards Chinatown, so he specifically hunts down compatriots. If I can deduce the time and district of the murderer's next crime, then the task of capturing the murderer will be handed over to us, right?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Cao Qianxi's eyes, and then she nodded, revealing a look of approval, "You are indeed a Sentinel, your deductions are accurate."

Team Leader "Zi Qiang Bu Xi" (Self-Improvement) had indeed handed over the task of apprehending the murderer to her. According to the analysis of the Anti-Black and White Alliance, the murderer's level should be around Level 3, so a Level 2 peak Thunder Mage (Cao Qianxi) and a Level 1 or 2 Sentinel would be fully capable of taking him down. To be on the safe side, they would at most send another Level 2 Wind Mage to assist.

Therefore, as long as Zhang Qingyang deduced the general area where the murderer might strike, the next task would be to eliminate the murderer.

Zhang Yuanqing gave a soft laugh and put down his phone, "The murderer is indeed a Night Wanderer, but I'm afraid his level is a bit high, and the real target is not corpse refinement, but something else."

"Something else?!" Cao Qianxi said in astonishment: "What do you mean?"

Just as Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak, the landlady came in with a plate of fruit, glanced at the math textbooks spread out on the table, and immediately smiled, "You're teaching math, ah. Tell him, Xiao Zhang (Little Zhang), that this girl is so-so at other subjects, but her math isn't even as good as her younger brother's. How could a smart cookie like me give birth to such a daughter? If she hadn't come out of my belly, Old Cao (her husband), I'd suspect that I had a love child behind my back." As she spoke, the landlady habitually and roughly poked her daughter's forehead.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing subconsciously thought of a dark joke: How are you sure she came out of your belly? Maybe your husband used a skill to forcefully trade for her.

Zhang Yuanqing had already determined Cao Qing's profession—Void Merchant.

Cao Qing's temperament perfectly matched that of a merchant. Each Practitioner has their own exclusive temperament: the recklessness and irritability of a Fire Master, the fortitude and seriousness of a Sentinel.

Of course, if it were just this, it would at most increase the probability, but it couldn't be used as evidence.

The real evidence that convinced Zhang Yuanqing of Cao Qing's identity was that three days ago, he stood invisible at his own door in the morning and watched the siblings leave for school, along with the landlady.

Cao's wife went out to buy groceries, but Cao Qing wasn't seen leaving.

But Cao Qing did go to work that day.

Among the lawful professions in the First District, only the Void profession has such ability – teleportation!

"Don't worry, Mrs. Landlady, at most a month. I'll raise her math score to the top five in the class. You can test it yourself if you don't believe me. If she doesn't reach that level, I won't charge any money," Zhang Yuanqing patted his chest to guarantee.

The landlady's eyes lit up. As a thrifty housewife, she would benefit whether her daughter's grades improved or she was exempt from the tutor's fees.

"What if she does?!" The landlady asked tentatively.

"Then you'll pay me double the money." Zhang Yuanqing rubbed his hands together.

Cao Qianxi rolled her eyes. Sometimes she couldn't understand this Zhang Qingyang. Sometimes the sophistication he displayed didn't seem like a serious, rigid, rule-abiding Sentinel at all.

But if he wasn't a Zhang Sentinel, he still had the ability to see through people's hearts, because he could always easily cater to her parents, as well as her and her younger brother, at the most appropriate time, making everyone like him and feel comfortable around him.

Even her hot-tempered mother had never lost her temper with Zhang Qingyang. You should know that when her mother lost her temper, she didn't recognize anyone, and wouldn't hold back just because you were a guest.

The landlady thought about it and didn't think it was a loss, so she left with a smile.

After she left the bedroom and walked towards the living room, Zhang Yuanqing used a bamboo skewer to spear a piece of apple and said as he ate, "Based on the existing clues, this murderer is a Level 2 early-stage Night Wanderer who has just mastered Ling Zhuan (Spirit Inscriptions) and is currently refining his own yin corpse."

"He's of Chinese descent and knows that Tianfa (Heavenly Punishment) doesn't care about Chinatown, so he's targeting his own compatriots. Because of his weak strength, he's very cautious. Each case is six days apart, and he’s committed eleven crimes within two months. All of this is to create the illusion of a low-level Night Wanderer."

Looking at Cao Qianxi's increasingly furrowed brows, Zhang Yuanqing swallowed the apple and said, "Let me tell you two points. First, if I were the murderer, why would I commit crimes in Chinatown? Aren't the vagrants in New York City better targets? Or those who like to wander outside at night? Aren’t they worth targeting?"

"Although Tianfa (Heavenly Punishment) doesn't care about Chinatown, there are also Lingjing Xingzhe (Spirit Realm Wanderers) organizations among the Chinese in Chinatown who maintain order, and their power is not small. Isn’t continuously killing people and refining corpses on Chinatown's Fourth Street asking for trouble? Vagrants are obviously more suitable targets, because there will be no repercussions at all, and there are vagrants everywhere in New York City."

Cao Qianxi's expression immediately became solemn.

Zhang Yuanqing continued: "The second point is that even if a Night Wanderer who has mastered Ling Zhuan (Spirit Inscriptions) has poor aptitude, after failing with three to five corpses, they should be able to completely master the refining process of a beginner yin corpse."

"So far, I have never heard of any Night Wanderer who has continuously refined more than a dozen yin corpses and still fails, leaving behind semi-finished products."

"Of course, it's understandable that you didn't notice this, because there are too few Night Wanderers. They are almost extinct in the First District, and it's normal that you don't know much about Night Wanderers."

Cao Qianxi opened her mouth, then closed it again, thinking hard, "Are you sure you're talking about the second point?"

Zhang Yuanqing shrugged, "Do I need to lie to you?"

Cao Qianxi stood up abruptly and paced around the room: "If the murderer is a high-level Night Wanderer, then what is the purpose of doing this? I can't think of any motivation."

She’s still too inexperienced, after all, she’s still a young girl! Zhang Yuanqing said bluntly, "Putting on a show!"

"Putting on a show?" Cao Qianxi frowned.

"The murderer is finding people in Chinatown and killing them, but he can't determine who the target is. He only has a broad range, so he pretends to be a low-level Night Wanderer and commits a series of murders. He's putting on a show for the lawful organizations in Chinatown to see. The purpose is to avoid being targeted by high-level Lingjing Xingzhe (Spirit Realm Wanderers) before killing the target. In fact, he succeeded and successfully deceived your Anti-Black and White Alliance."

Zhang Yuanqing bit another piece of apple, chewing as he said, "As for who he's looking for, there's no way to deduce that, but you can relay the information back to the organization's higher-ups and let them investigate the identities and backgrounds of all the dead victims and find common points. With common points, you can deduce what the murderer is looking for."

After listening, Cao Qianxi couldn't sit still and immediately grabbed her phone, "I'll report this to the team leader right now." Saying that, she glanced at Zhang Yuanqing.

Zhang Yuanqing knew what to do and got up, "You are a smart girl. You understand the problem-solving ideas I explain as soon as you hear them, so today's lesson will end here early."

Listening to the footsteps of the tutor walking away, hearing him praise her in the living room, and finally saying goodbye and leaving, Cao Qianxi immediately closed the bedroom door and opened the "Anti-Black and White Alliance Team" chat group.

She sent Zhang Yuanqing's analysis verbatim to the group and @ Team Leader "Zi Qiang Bu Xi" (Self-Improvement).

[Yi Lin Sheng Shou (Medical Master): Hiss, not a low-level Night Wanderer? The organization's analysis of the serial murder case was wrong? Cao Judge, the Sentinel you recruited has something going for him.]

[Bai Xue Gong Zhu (Snow White): Logical and well-reasoned, he convinced me. This is the natural great detective of the Sentinels.]

[Xiao Gang Pao (Little Cannon): So the essence of the incident is more serious than a serial murder case. Uh, we are evaluating him! It feels like he is evaluating us.]

[Zi Qiang Bu Xi (Self-Improvement): @Cao Judge, I've read it. I'll report the news to the Deacon now and see what the higher-ups' reactions are.]

[Cao Judge: Remember to notify us of the results.]

The group members analyzed and reasoned one after another, while waiting for feedback from Zi Qiang Bu Xi (Self-Improvement).

As a result, the feedback from Zi Qiang Bu Xi (Self-Improvement) didn't arrive until 11 o'clock:

[Zi Qiang Bu Xi (Self-Improvement): The organization's higher-ups convened an online meeting overnight. The meeting is still in progress and there is currently no feedback.]

Convening an online meeting overnight The group members were taken aback. This showed that the organization's higher-ups recognized the Sentinel's deduction, but they didn't expect an overnight meeting.

The organization's higher-ups might know something, and after listening to the Sentinel's analysis, they immediately woke up. Only in this way would they convene a meeting overnight.

Things were bigger than they thought!

[Cao Judge: In that case, can my person directly join the organization?]

[Zi Qiang Bu Xi (Self-Improvement): He has made a great contribution, so joining the organization should be no problem. I'll report it first and wait for news tomorrow.]

[Bai Xue Gong Zhu (Snow White): Our organization also has a Sentinel. Sentinels are simply in charge of intelligence.]

At twelve o'clock in the deep night, Zhang Yuanqing, who was in a light sleep, suddenly woke up and looked towards the balcony.

In the darkness, a figure stood by the window, his back straight, like a strong pine tree. He held a glass of red wine in his hand.

"Tsk tsk, the '90s Chateau Lafite, the flavor is indeed good," the man sighed.

Hearing the voice, Zhang Yuanqing's tense expression relaxed slightly. He lifted the quilt and sat on the edge of the bed, saying, "President, why are you here?"

The Void profession's demigod, is the teleportation range global? A bit envious.

President didn't answer, but instead asked: "What level of Hunter are you now?"

"Bronze!" Zhang Yuanqing said, "I should advance to Silver within a week."

"The progress is too slow." President took a sip of red wine and turned his head, "I'm not very satisfied with your recent state, you're being too casual and leisurely. With your strength, you can completely advance to Silver Hunter within three days. The rules of the Hunter Guild state that you can only take on the next task after completing one task, but there is no limit to how many tasks you can take on in a day."

"There is no limit, but why should I work so hard? I'm not a donkey on a production team." Zhang Yuanqing shrugged, "The Bounty Hunter identity is just to pass the time for me. I don't rely on it to level up, nor do I rely on it to make money, so why should I burn the midnight oil?"

President sighed, "That's why I'm here. It's time to reveal some information to you and clearly start the main quest for you."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately became interested, and at the same time his expression became solemn: "Main quest?"

"That's right, the reason I let you join the Bounty Hunters is not only to train you, but also to have you find a way to contact the higher-ups of the Bounty Hunters. Because..." President's voice was low, "The information that we and Diana extracted from Pluto is that the family behind the Bounty Hunter Guild is the Free Alliance."