Chapter 663 Opening the Main Quest

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

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

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

Finally, he put down the phone and shook his head: "It seems that your Anti-Black and White Alliance doesn't have Scouts at the Saint level."

"How did you know..." Cao Qianxiu cleared her throat and said, "Just tell me the results of your deduction."

Zhang Yuanqing said in a deep voice:

"The Anti-Black and White Alliance can provide this information, which means the higher-ups have paid attention to this series of murders. Their analysis is that the killer is a Night Watcher at the extraordinary stage, no higher than level 3, and is killing people to refine corpses? A Chinese American, who is well aware of the Heavenly Punishment's attitude of indifference towards matters in Chinatown, so he specifically hunts down compatriots."

"If I can deduce the time and district of the killer's next crime, then the task of arresting the killer will be handed over to us, right?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Cao Qianxiu's eyes, and then she nodded, revealing a look of approval: "You are indeed a Scout, your deduction is spot on."

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 two. So, a level two peak Thunder Mage (Cao Qianxiu) and a level two Scout are fully capable of taking him down. For safety's sake, at most, another level two Wind Mage would be sent to assist.

Therefore, as long as Zhang Qingyang deduces the approximate area where the murderer might commit the crime, the next task is to kill the murderer.

Zhang Yuanqing chuckled and put down the phone, "The killer is a Night Watcher, that's right, but I'm afraid his level is a bit high, and the real target is not refining corpses, but has other plans."

Other plans?! Cao Qianxiu said in astonishment: "What do you mean?"

Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak when the landlady came in with fruit, glanced at the math textbooks spread out on the table, and immediately smiled:

"Tutoring math, huh? Xiao Zhang, let me tell you, this girl is mediocre in other subjects, but her math isn't even as good as her younger brother's. How could a smart woman like me give birth to such a daughter? If she hadn't come out of my womb, I would have suspected that Lao Cao had an illegitimate daughter 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 can you be sure that she fell out of your womb? Maybe your husband used a skill to forcibly trade for her.

Yes, Zhang Yuanqing had already determined Cao Qing's profession - Void Merchant.

Cao Qing's temperament perfectly matched that of a merchant. Each profession has its own exclusive temperament, the Fire Master's recklessness and impulsiveness, the Scout's steadfastness and seriousness.

Of course, if it was just this, it would at most increase the probability and could not be used as evidence.

The real evidence that Zhang Yuanqing was certain of Cao Qing's identity was that three days ago, in the morning, he stood invisible at his own door, staring at room 401, watching the Cao siblings go out to school, watching the landlady go out to buy groceries, but he didn't see Cao Qing go out.

But Cao Qing did go out to work that day.

Among the Lawful professions in the First District, the only one who can play like this is the Void profession - Teleportation!

"Don't worry, landlady, in at most a month, I will improve her math score to the top five in the class. You can test it yourself if you don't believe me. If I don't do it, I won't charge any money," Zhang Yuanqing guaranteed, patting his chest.

The landlady's eyes lit up. As a thrifty housewife, whether her daughter's grades improved or the tutor fees were waived, it was a good thing.

"Then what if you do it?" The landlady asked tentatively.

"Then you have to give me double the money," Zhang Yuanqing rubbed his hands.

Cao Qianxiu rolled her eyes. Sometimes she couldn't understand this Zhang Qingyang. Sometimes the sophistication he showed was nothing like a serious and rigid Scout who kept the rules.

But if he wasn't a Scout, he happened to have the ability to see through people's hearts, because he could always easily cater to his parents, as well as her and her younger brother, at the most appropriate time.

Everyone liked him very much and felt like they were bathed in a spring breeze.

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

"Deal!" The landlady thought about it and felt that she wasn't at a loss, so she left with a smile.

After she left the bedroom and walked towards the living room, Zhang Yuanqing inserted a piece of apple with a bamboo skewer and said while eating:

"Based on the existing clues, this murderer is a level 2 early-stage Night Watcher who has just mastered the Spiritual Talisman and is currently refining his own Yin corpse. He is a Chinese American who knows that the Heavenly Punishment will not interfere in Chinatown, so he is targeting his own compatriots."

"Because he is not strong enough, he is very cautious. Each case is six days apart. He has committed eleven cases in two months... all of this is to create the illusion of a low-level Night Watcher."

Looking at Cao Qianxiu's increasingly furrowed brows, Zhang Yuanqing swallowed the apple and said:

"I'll tell you two things. One, if I were the murderer, why would I commit crimes in Chinatown? Aren't the homeless people in New York County better? Or are those who like to wander around at night not worth targeting?"

"Although the Heavenly Punishment doesn't care about Chinatown, there are also Spirit Realm Walker organizations in Chinatown maintaining order, and their power is not small. Am I killing people and refining corpses in Chinatown one after another because I think I've lived too long? Homeless people are obviously more suitable as targets, because there will be no aftereffects at all, and there are homeless people everywhere in New York County."

Cao Qianxiu's expression suddenly became serious.

Zhang Yuanqing continued:

"The second point is that a Night Watcher who controls the Spiritual Talisman, even if his qualifications are poor, after failing three or five corpses, he should be able to completely control the refining process of a primary Yin corpse."

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

"Of course, it is understandable that you didn't notice this, because there are too few Night Watchers, and they are almost extinct in the First District. It is normal that you don't understand Night Watchers."

Cao Qianxiu opened her mouth, then closed it again, and thought for a long time:

"Are you sure? I'm talking about the second point."

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

Cao Qianxiu stood up suddenly and paced in the room: "If the murderer is a high-level Night Watcher, then what is the purpose of doing this? I can't think of any motive..."

Experience is still too shallow, after all, she is a young girl! Zhang Yuanqing said bluntly: "Putting on a show!"

"Putting on a show?" Cao Qianxiu frowned.

"The murderer is looking for someone in Chinatown and then killing them, but he can't determine who the target is yet, and only has a relatively broad range, so he committed a series of murders. Pretending to be a low-level Night Watcher is his way of putting on a show, showing it to the Lawful organizations in Chinatown. The purpose is to avoid being targeted by high-level Spirit Realm Walkers before killing the target. In fact, he did it, successfully deceiving your Anti-Black and White Alliance." Zhang Yuanqing forked another piece of apple, chewed it, and said:

"As for who he is looking for, there is no way to deduce this, but you can feed the information back to the organization's higher-ups and let them investigate the identities and backgrounds of all the deceased to find common ground. With common ground, you can deduce who the murderer is looking for."

After hearing this, Cao Qianxiu couldn't sit still and immediately grabbed her phone: "I'll report to the team leader now..."

Speaking of this, she glanced at Zhang Yuanqing.

Zhang Yuanqing got up knowingly: "You are a smart girl. You understand the problem-solving ideas I explained as soon as you hear them. Then today's class will end here early."

Listening to the footsteps of the tutor walking away, hearing him praise herself greatly in the living room, and finally saying goodbye and leaving, Cao Qianxiu immediately closed the bedroom door and opened the "Anti-Black and White Alliance Group 6" chat group.

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

[Yi Lin Sheng Shou (Medical Sage): Hiss, not a low-level Night Watcher? The organization's analysis of the serial murders is wrong? Judge Cao, that Scout you recruited has some skills.]

[Bai Xue Gong Zhu (Snow White): Reasonable and well-founded, he convinced me. Is this what a Scout is like? A natural detective.]

[Xiao Gang Pao (Little Cannon): So the essence of the event is more serious than a serial murder case? Uh, aren't we evaluating him? Why do I feel like he is evaluating us.]

[Zi Qiang Bu Xi: @Cao Qianxiu, I've read it. I'll report the message to the Deacon now to see what the higher-ups' reaction is.]

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

Everyone analyzed and deduced with one sentence from you and one sentence from me, and waited for Zi Qiang Bu Xi's feedback.

As a result, it wasn't until 11 o'clock that Zi Qiang Bu Xi's feedback came late:

[Zi Qiang Bu Xi: The organization's higher-ups held an online meeting overnight. The meeting is still in progress, and there is no feedback yet.]

An online meeting held overnight... The group members were taken aback. This shows that the organization's higher-ups recognize the Scout's reasoning, but they didn't expect the meeting to be held overnight.

The organization's higher-ups may know something. After listening to the Scout's analysis, they immediately woke up. Only in this way would they hold a meeting overnight.

The matter is bigger than imagined.

[Cao Qianxiu: In that case, can my people directly join the organization?]

[Zi Qiang Bu Xi: He has made great contributions. Joining the organization should be no problem. I'll report it first and wait for news tomorrow.]

[Bai Xue Gong Zhu: Our organization has Scouts now! Scouts are simply the IQ leaders.]

.........

At twelve o'clock in the middle of the 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 vigorous pine tree. He was holding a glass of red wine.

"Tsk tsk, the '90 Château Lafite, the taste is indeed good," the man said with emotion.

Hearing the voice, Zhang Yuanqing's tense expression relaxed slightly. He opened the quilt and sat on the edge of the bed and said:

"Chairman, why are you here?"

The range of teleportation for a demigod of the Void profession is global?

A bit envious.

The Chairman didn't answer but asked, "What level of Hunter are you now?"

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

"The progress is too slow." The Chairman took a sip of red wine and turned around, "I'm not very satisfied with your recent state. You are scattered and leisurely. With your ability, you can completely advance to a Silver Hunter within three days. The rule of the Hunter Guild is that you can only accept the next task after completing one task, but there is no limit to how many tasks you can accept in a day."

"There is no limit, but why should I work so hard? I'm not a donkey in the production team," Zhang Yuanqing shrugged, "For me, the identity of a Bounty Hunter is just to pass the boring time. I don't rely on it to level up or make money, so why should I work overtime?"

The Chairman sighed:

"That's why I'm here. It's time to disclose some information to you and clearly open the main quest for you."

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

"That's right. I asked you to join the Bounty Hunter not only to train you, but also to let you find a way to contact the higher-ups of the Bounty Hunter. Because..." The Chairman's voice was low, "The information that Diana and I interrogated from Hades is that the big boss behind the Bounty Hunter Guild is the Free Alliance."

........

ps: I'll update the typos first and then correct them.