Chapter 19 Replay

After taking a large detour into a secluded alleyway, Qin Chuan picked up his school jacket that lay on the ground, shook off the dust, and draped it over himself; then, he removed his duckbill cap and tucked it into his chest.

Having done all this, Qin Chuan followed the alley and quickly made his way back near the small vegetable market stall.

"Qin Chuan, where did you go?"

The rotund classmate, who had been waiting nearby, rushed over with large strides, a trace of worry visible on his face.

Qin Chuan smiled but did not reveal the truth. "I just saw someone I knew and went to greet them."

"Is that so?" The chubby classmate eyed Qin Chuan suspiciously. "Where's your hat?"

"I gave it to that acquaintance," Qin Chuan said impassively, telling a bold-faced lie. "He's bald, and his wig was ruined, so I lent it to him to cover up."

"Bald, huh…" The chubby classmate involuntarily touched his own hair. "It's about time; let's head back to the classroom."

"Okay."

By the time the two returned to the classroom, it was already filled with quite a few students.

It was rest time at noon, and everyone tacitly maintained the silence, each immersed in their own activities.

While the carefree chubby classmate took a pillow out from his drawer, lay his head on the desk, and swiftly fell into a deep sleep, Qin Chuan, sitting next to him, could not fall asleep.

After all, he had just performed a significant act.

Once the impulse had passed, he still felt a bit frightened.

If everything went as expected, the captured Zhang Zhe would undoubtedly face the death penalty, with no chance to retaliate against him, but Qin Chuan worried that Zhang Zhe might have accomplices or close associates.

So, leaning back in his chair with arms crossed, Qin Chuan seriously reviewed the entire process from the moment he had given chase to his return.

There were surveillance cameras along the way, but they didn't cover all areas.

He had changed his clothes in areas without surveillance.

Moreover, he had been very discreet throughout the entire process of taking action.

Having confirmed these points, Qin Chuan's expression eased somewhat.

His identity was not so easy to discover.

He took out his phone and opened the Dream Realm Forum; the warrant for Zhang Zhe he had posted earlier had now dimmed, indicating the criminal was captured.

Following Zhang Zhe's warrant, a few more new warrants appeared, but these new warrants were not within his city, or even within the same province.

He would leave those for the Transcendents in the other provinces and cities to handle.

-----------------

"Boss, capturing Zhang Zhe so quickly has certainly made us stand out in front of our colleagues in the Special Affairs Group in Changxing City."

In the temporary office of the Special Affairs Group, a young member who participated in the arrest exhibited an excited smile.

"Indeed." The young man's superior smiled back. "The Special Affairs Group was only recently established and has a lot of work ahead. We need a good victory to deter those agitated by their newfound extraordinary powers."

"I'll commend you all for your efforts, and there'll be rewards for everyone!"

Hearing this, the members of the office cheered.

"Knock knock knock~" At that moment, a knock on the door sounded, followed by a tall and thin figure rushing in, holding a sealed file. "Boss, we've got a problem."

"What problem?" Seeing the young man's serious expression, the superior's smile faded. "Zhang Zhe won't admit his guilt?"

"That's not it," the young man shook his head slightly.

"Zixiu, don't be mysterious," a short-haired woman in the office couldn't help speaking up, "What's the issue?"

"I think..." Zhou Zixiu considered his words carefully. "There was something wrong with our arrest of Zhang Zhe. His final fall was abnormal."

"Psh! Is that it?" The first young man to speak waved dismissively. "He just had bad luck, stepped into a puddle and slipped!"

"If you ask me, it's fate. Even the heavens want to take down such a beast."

"I thought so too at first," Zhou Zixiu spoke in a grave tone, then raised the file in his hand. "This is Zhang Zhe's confession. He claims that he tripped over something at the end, and it wasn't just a slip."

Hearing this, everyone in the office looked at each other.

And Lan Cheng, the superior, also appeared thoughtful.

Due to the urgency of the situation, these members of the Special Affairs Group had been temporarily seconded from other official departments in the locality.

Zhou Zixiu was the only member with a background in criminal investigation.

Moreover, to better carry out his duties, he rejected a contract offer from a Level 10 Spiritual Beast, choosing instead a Contracted Spiritual Beast whose abilities were more suited to search and arrest work.

It was he who had first pinpointed Zhang Zhe's location through a combination of clues and the extraordinary power of the Contracted Spiritual Beast.

It could be said that Zhou Zixiu had played the most crucial role in capturing Zhang Zhe so quickly.

Though he regarded the exact manner of Zhang Zhe's fall as a minor issue, he still chose to respect Zhou Zixiu's opinion.

"Zixiu, how do you propose we investigate?" Lan Cheng slowly asked.

"Check the surveillance. I want to see the full process of Zhang Zhe being tripped," Zhou Zixiu replied without hesitation.

"I'll help with that," the short-haired woman with a laptop in her arms stood up, her slender fingers tapping quickly on the keyboard. She soon pulled up the surveillance footage needed.

The entire sequence of Zhang Zhe stepping out of the alley, stumbling into a puddle, and then being tripped was laid out before everyone's eyes.

"Click!" As soon as Zhou Zixiu saw the moment when Zhang Zhe was tripped, he quickly pressed the pause button. His eyes sparkled with keen insight; he used the mouse to rewind the footage by one second, then watched in the slowest speed possible.

The surveillance was blurry, yet Zhou Zixiu promptly noticed something amiss.

"Here." He paused again, pointing at the puddle beneath Zhang Zhe's feet.

"At this moment, the ripples in the puddle should continue to spread, but they froze." Zhou Zixiu spoke solemnly. "Although it was just for an instant, there's no doubt that an extraordinary power intervened."

"Du You, what do you think?"

"It's water attribute." A bespectacled man with a scholarly air adjusted his glasses. "It's likely a water attribute control Skill."

"So, there was a Transcendent present at the time, hindering Zhang Zhe's escape," Zhou Zixiu said gravely. "Rewind the surveillance; I want to see how the puddle formed."

The short-haired woman nodded and continued to rewind the footage to before the puddle appeared.

Soon, a silhouette hurried forward in the surveillance footage, the figure dashing hastily, accidentally knocking over a bucket of water placed at the entrance of a nearby stall.

Zhou Zixiu swiftly glanced at the timestamp on the surveillance footage.

The moment the bucket was knocked over and the time Zhang Zhe stepped on it were less than half a minute apart!

He instantly focused on the figure in the cap within the surveillance footage.

In the video, after knocking over the bucket, the figure continued to apologize to the stall owner, and even as the owner gestured that it was okay, the apologies persisted.

Not until Zhang Zhe was lying on the ground did he glance at him, and then he turned and left.

An awkward silence fell across the office.