Meanwhile, in Sector 17.
In an inconspicuous little black room, there were facilities that could rival the command center of the Law Enforcers.
Shortly after, a woman pushed open the seemingly old and dilapidated wooden door and entered the room.
"We found out, Lu Xiang was a graduate of the 111th term, and he was the top student of his class."
This result was both unexpected and reasonable. After the three witnesses saw Lu Xiang execute Barna, they had vaguely guessed this aspect of his identity.
The unexpected part was that they found it hard to imagine that a top student of any term would be assigned to a remote small city like Sector 17 after graduation, which was almost equal to being exiled to the frontier, as people in ancient times would say.
"I really can't understand what those people were thinking."
The woman couldn't help but complain once again.
As classmates, they had all gone through the "learning" process and naturally knew the value of being top of the class every term.
Over nine years, through countless assessments and countless times hovering between life and death, talents like these were either directly employed by great families as a guard for key personnel in core areas or, like them, hid their identities and names to become a member of an organization.
Having Lu Xiang serve as a director in the Law Enforcers department in Sector 17 was indeed a waste of talent.
"I think it's quite understandable."
The man sitting in the chair said, as the information his companion brought back filled in the last puzzle piece for his speculation, "The first thing Lu Xiang did after being parachuted into Sector 17 was to plan the operation to capture Chai Ke, and the most interesting part is, on the same night Chai Ke was imprisoned, the prosecutor Angel Foster addressed a speech in the city center square, proclaiming to the citizens that she would bring Chai Ke to justice."
"The typical approach of the Foster Family."
The woman sneered.
They're nowhere to be seen when there's real work to be done, but always the first to take credit.
She had been wondering why someone like Angel Foster could even be considered a City Hero. Now, it seemed that the so-called hero had just stolen the credit for the arrest of Chai Ke, making the citizens of Sector 17 believe she was the one who planned the operation.
"It's not that simple; if she just wanted to take credit, there would be no need to secretly release Chai Ke. Assuming there were no accidents that day, the result would be Chai Ke breaking out of prison, the Law Enforcers getting killed, and the City Hero taken hostage. This chain of events would push Lu Xiang into the limelight, giving the Foster Family enough reason to suspension him for investigation."
"No wonder, Lu Xiang was sent by the United Government, and the Foster Family would need a legitimate excuse to remove her."
The woman realized.
"While you were investigating Lu Xiang, we also happened to hear some gossip—that aside from Barna, the other lower-tier bosses of Chai Ke Group's remnants all died unexpectedly within one day. Although on the surface it looked like an internal gang fight, in reality…"
"Your task is to investigate the assassin who disappeared from the crime scene."
The sudden voice made the three of them tense up immediately, almost instinctively reaching for their weapons.
Indeed, as the man's theory reached halfway, the three had already understood what he meant.
Someone was hunting down the remnants of the Chai Ke Group.
More precisely, they were cleaning up for the Foster Family to disassociate them from the Chai Ke Group.
However, they hadn't expected that person would appear in this room right now.
The three looked around but couldn't locate the speaker.
"Focus on your duties; the next time we meet, it won't be a friendly reminder."
............
May 7, 2166, 23:08, late at night.
Song Lan was awakened from his sleep, and the wall clock told him the current time.
After returning home, he followed his supervisor's advice and went to bed, trying to push the day's events out of his mind.
Lu Xiang wasn't coming home today; yesterday's leftovers were enough for him to get by.
At this moment, Lu Xiang should be guarding the hospital to prevent the last surviving victim from being killed by the assassin.
Hmm...?
Upon realizing this, Song Lan tensed up. Through the crack of the door, he clearly saw that the light in the living room was on.
The person staying in the living room seemed to make no attempt to hide their presence. Song Lan quickly heard the sound of pots and pans clanging, and the air was filled with the scent of meat.
Could it be that after the situation at the hospital stabilized, Lu Xiang had come back unexpectedly?
Song Lan took out his cell phone, intending to send a message to Lu Xiang to inquire about the situation but found that his phone had no signal. Furthermore, the computer's internet was also disconnected.
After hesitating on the bed for a moment, Song Lan finally stepped out of the bedroom.
"Your skills are impressive, almost on par with the chefs from District Three, no wonder Lu Xiang favors you."
Seeing Song Lan come out, the man seated at the dining table merely glanced up at him before continuing to devour his meal.
Short hair, a prominent nose, and, most notably, a scar that almost stretched across his entire face.
The man wore a thick black leather coat, with his hat casually placed beside the plate.
"Director Lu, she..."
Song Lan's question came to an abrupt halt as he saw a toolkit on the kitchen counter, complete with surgical knives, tweezers, and many other tools he couldn't name that looked like a surgeon's kit. Next to the toolkit, there was also a vial of stimulant.
Lu Xiang had mentioned that a colleague from the Crime Analysis Department had been tortured before they died.
The torturer had injected them with a stimulant to keep them awake during the interrogation.
All signs indicated that this unexpected visitor wasn't someone Lu Xiang had sent to protect him.
The assassin had anticipated that Lu Xiang would be at the hospital with her team and had sneaked into her apartment instead.
"With your skills, you'd have more than enough talent to be a chef in District Three."
After enjoying his late-night snack, the man wiped the grease from his mouth and made a gesture inviting Song Lan to sit down, "Sit... I understand you are a person content with the status quo, afraid of conflict, wanting a peaceful life. I believe that the new identity we've arranged for you in District Three will satisfy all your desires. I have come here today to discuss the plans for your future life."
An assassin coming to discuss his future life plans?
And it sounded like he was planning to send him to District Three?
It was known that District Three was the core area of the United Government, a sanctuary many dream of, where countless people spend their lives without ever obtaining the qualifications to enter.
Prompted by the man's eyes, Song Lan sat down opposite him.
Theoretically, the life plan mentioned by the man could indeed be genuine as he had heard that for the major families of the core urban areas, living in the core district was merely a matter of a word.
And the experience he was currently undergoing seemed to echo that of the philosopher Gromash; thus, Song Lan also harbored the same doubts.
But what was the price?