After finishing the meeting at the Peace Affairs Office,
Lin Qiye sent the meeting details to An Qingyu.
An Qingyu’s phone notification sounded.
【Wife】: This case is related to a ritual that sacrifices human lives to elevate one’s realm.
【Wife】: Tomorrow at 4:44 a.m. will be the next sacrifice time. My teammates and I are staking out the mysterious being.
“Qiye messaged me.”
An Qingyu’s expression brightened noticeably.
He took a screenshot to save the chat history.
His conversations with Qiye were worth preserving.
Anything related to Qiye, An Qingyu liked to keep a record of.
Just the high-definition videos from Lin Qiye’s “first time” alone— he had saved dozens of them.
Lin Qiye waited on the rooftop for the mysterious being to appear, but after a long time, there was still no movement.
Beep—
Lin Qiye saw that An Qingyu had sent him a video.
He tapped the play button.
In the footage,
An Qingyu was dragged against a wall by an invisible hand.
Then his limbs were pinned in place with long nails.
His hands seemed to be gnawed away, gradually disappearing.
When Lin Qiye saw the contents of the video, his heart jolted in shock.
Because An Qingyu’s situation was exactly the same as what had happened to the victim in the surveillance footage before death.
Lin Qiye didn’t hesitate and immediately called An Qingyu.
The call was picked up instantly.
Lin Qiye asked, “You’ve solved the puzzle behind the case.”
On the other end, An Qingyu’s low, hoarse voice carried a trace of astonishment.
“After watching that video, didn’t you even think about asking if I was okay?”
Lin Qiye remained calm.
“If something had really happened to you, a dead man wouldn’t be answering my call.”
An Qingyu’s tone turned slightly disappointed.
“Qiye, when you talk like that, it really kills the mood.”
Ah, what an unromantic blockhead.
Lin Qiye was far more curious about the video itself.
“How did you pull off what happened in that footage?”
An Qingyu paused for a moment, then said in a slightly teasing tone,
“If you want to know, beg me.”
The corner of Lin Qiye’s mouth twitched speechlessly.
He took a deep breath.
“If you don’t want to say it, then forget it—”
An Qingyu’s voice, laced with laughter, sounded again.
“Alright, no more joking. I’ll tell you.”
His tone grew serious.
“A video can’t be fabricated out of nothing, but it can be processed.”
“The simplest method is reversing the playback.”
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he had understood something.
“What you mean is…”
“That’s right,” An Qingyu replied with certainty.
“The surveillance footage of the victim before death was actually a reversed video of a superpowered individual whose fingers had been cut off and then regenerated.”
With this clue from An Qingyu, the tangled knot in Lin Qiye’s mind began to unravel step by step.
Lin Qiye closed his eyes, his thoughts clearing.
“The place where Sun Xiao’s body was discovered wasn’t the primary crime scene.”
“A place where someone could kill and dispose of a body without attracting attention, there’s only one such place: the bar.”
An Qingyu continued the line of reasoning.
“The only person with both suspicion and the opportunity to commit the crime is the bar owner.”
“And as it happens, I found the original crime scene inside the bar.”
Working a case with someone as intelligent as Lin Qiye made everything flow smoothly.
A faint smile curved An Qingyu’s lips.
Collaborating with Qiye to solve a case felt wonderful.
It was a collision of minds on a spiritual level.
And not just mentally.
In the physical sense as well, he and Qiye were perfectly in sync.
Thinking of the way Lin Qiye looked when overwhelmed by desire in bed, An Qingyu lightly licked his lips.
Lin Qiye raised his brows in surprise. To have located the original crime scene so quickly, An Qingyu’s efficiency was truly impressive.
Although he gave off the air of a mad scientist, his intelligence was undeniable.
Working with him was surprisingly reassuring.
But soon, a new question arose in Lin Qiye’s mind.
“What’s the bar owner’s motive for going to such lengths to carry out ritual killings? After all, only ‘mysterious beings’ can elevate their realm through sacrificial rituals.”
An Qingyu’s calm voice sounded from the other end.
“I checked. The bar owner booked a plane ticket to leave this place.”
“What’s interesting is that the departure time is almost the same as the start time of the sacrificial ritual.”
Hearing this, Lin Qiye immediately understood.
“I see. The ritual isn’t being held on the ground, it’s in the sky.”
An Qingyu wasn’t surprised by Lin Qiye’s reaction. Qiye was very intelligent; he only needed a slight hint.
The only area where Qiye was slow was in matters of emotion.
An Qingyu wasn’t in a hurry. There was plenty of time ahead, sooner or later, he would gradually win Lin Qiye over.
“I’ve got to go catch that flight,” Lin Qiye said anxiously before hanging up.
He then summoned the hospital orderly from the mental institution in his mind, the giant spider.
Mounting the spider, he rapidly chased after the plane.
The spider shot out silk, latching onto the aircraft and flinging Lin Qiye upward.
Just then, Lin Qiye spotted An Qingyu clinging to the side of the plane and couldn’t help but feel surprised.
“How did you get up here?”
Strands of hair at An Qingyu’s temple were blown back by the wind. His expression was languid; instead of seeming to cling to the exterior of a plane in danger, he looked as relaxed as if he were on vacation.
“Just one of the abilities I dissected from a mysterious corpse using ‘Only Correct Answer.'”
Lin Qiye didn’t bother exchanging further pleasantries. He recalled the giant spider back into the mental hospital within his mind, then wrapped an arm around An Qingyu’s waist.
Using his spatial transfer ability, he teleported the two of them into the interior of the aircraft.
An Qingyu gazed at Lin Qiye’s profile at such close range, a faint curve lifting at the corner of his lips.
Lin Qiye’s feet landed in the aisle of the cabin. He glanced at An Qingyu inadvertently.
“Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?”
Tsk, if he had known An Qingyu was sick, he wouldn’t have let him get involved in the case.
After all, bringing along a sick person would inevitably make handling the case less convenient.
An Qingyu suddenly bent down and pressed his forehead against Lin Qiye’s.
“Why don’t you check my temperature and see if I have a fever?”
Lin Qiye mercilessly pushed his forehead away.
“I’m not a thermometer. That wouldn’t even be accurate.”
There was even a faint hint of stinginess in his tone.
“If you’re not sick, then hurry up and find the mysterious being.”
Who knew what was wrong with An Qingyu, treating him like a thermometer.
A genius like him, reduced to being used as a temperature-checking tool, what a waste.
Lin Qiye didn’t think much of An Qingyu’s earlier action.
Between brothers, a little hugging and shoulder-clasping was normal.
Back at the training camp, he had even shared a bed in the dorm with Baili Pangpang.
The only problem was that Baili Pangpang slept restlessly and had kicked him off the bed in the middle of the night.
Thinking of that unpleasant memory, Lin Qiye shook his head and refocused his attention on the case.