Glorious God Throne

“A gracious guest? A gracious guest? He really does sound like a polite guest.” In the conference room, the key members of the Special Case Investigation Team sat together, with Chu Xingrui wearing a strange expression. “Is he saying that he knows our intentions yet willingly accepts our invitation, even considering it as hospitality?”

“——This is truly calm and composed to the extreme.”

“——And also arrogant and defiant to the extreme.”

At this moment, he didn’t appear as impulsive as he had been in front of the reporters, but rather seemed very composed.

Liu Ningshuang’s impression of him changed dramatically.

After returning last time, Liu Ningshuang made good use of search engines and soon learned of Chu Xingrui’s identity, which was indeed astonishingly prominent.

The youngest brother of the current monarch of Yao Country, who was also the most favored by him, had received the title of King of Chu upon reaching adulthood.

Although in today’s society, all titles of kings and dukes were only honorary titles given to royal family members to highlight their honor, without any real power.

But the title “Chu”, as the national title of the most prosperous Great Chu Dynasty in the thousands of years of feudal history of Yao Country, and also the national title of the most famous emperor in the history of Yao Country, still held special sentiment and significance in the hearts of the people of Yao Country, even though the feudal imperial system had been abolished today.

The fact that he could receive this title showed Chu Xingrui’s status.

Hearing his analysis, the others also nodded in agreement.

“……No matter what, this at least proves that our personality analysis of him was not wrong. This is indeed a person with a strong desire to perform, arrogant and conceited by nature, with emotion prevailing over reason. Such a person, even if they know the danger, will not back down, but the more stimulated, the more excited they become. In the words popular among young people today, it’s —— keen on courting death.”

An Yuansheng, the oldest member of the Special Case Investigation Team, pondered and spoke, “As the old saying goes, good swimmers often drown. For people who like to seek thrills and walk on a tightrope, it’s fine once or twice, but it’s impossible to succeed every time with more attempts. We just need to be patient, and we will always catch an opportunity.”

The heavy atmosphere in the conference room eased slightly.

Following that, someone turned on the projector. This was a member from the Yuanyang City Police Department. “As early as a day ago, we had already installed special cameras in all the blind spots of the city’s surveillance as per the requirements, and set up checkpoints on several important traffic arteries that run through the north, south, east, and west. We can confirm that absolutely no motor vehicles passed through without inspection that night, and the suspect’s figure was not captured in any of the surveillance…”

The projected images were divided into several sections on the screen, showing various streets and houses. In the drizzling night rain, the images were devoid of people.

This person kindly explained, “These are the surveillance videos near the crime scene that were urgently mobilized after the crime. All of them are intersections that the murderer must pass through to reach the crime scene, without any omissions —— based on the testimony of the witnesses, at the time when the murderer entered the crime scene, it can be seen that no one appeared at these intersections. That is to say, he did not go in from any direction.”

“——The only logical explanation is that he bypassed all the intersections and appeared at the crime scene out of thin air.”

“And the murderer seen by the six witnesses on that night has been confirmed to be the same person, with the shortest interval being only ten minutes. This also corroborates the above judgment.”

The others were watching the projection intently, while flipping through the files in their hands. Finally, An Yuansheng concluded. “So, the speculation of supernatural events can basically be confirmed as true. The suspicion of gang crimes can be ruled out, the murderer should be a single person, and, there is a high probability that he possesses some kind of special teleportation ability or tool.”

“……Considering that all the cases occurred on rainy nights, it is suspected that the murderer’s supernatural ability is related to rainy weather, or that the tool he possesses can only be used on rainy days.”

In the conference room, everyone’s thoughts clashed intensely. They pieced together the “truth” through their discussions.

“——That umbrella that can be used as both a sword and a gun is very suspicious and needs to be focused on.”

“What we need to consider now is whether the murderer is a strange person who inherently possesses supernatural powers, or an ordinary person who suddenly gained an adventure and became inflated. In addition, if supernatural powers really exist, is he an exception? Are there more supernatural powers that we don’t know about?”

As soon as these words came out, everyone showed a solemn color.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on Chu Xingrui, who had spoken these words. “The meaning of King Chu is……”

“Hey, hey, don’t, don’t call me King Chu, this ancient title always gives me the illusion of having traveled to ancient times. It makes me doubt whether I am an antique.” Chu Xingrui waved his hand with a laugh, looking casual, “Perhaps in not many years, these ancient titles of kings will be abolished. As the youngest member of the Special Case Investigation Team, you can just call me Xiao Chu.”

He then explained the meaning of his previous words. “What I want to say is that if the murderer really has the special ability to move from one place to another in a short time, then it would be very difficult for us to deal with him. Because we simply can’t catch him, this is probably the reason why he is fearless.”

“Yao Country is indeed very powerful, we have the world’s top military power, we have the courage to go to war with any country in the world, but if we can’t aim at the target, it’s useless.” His face became serious, “So, why don’t we find professionals?”

“You mean, look for other strange people?”

Although Chu Xingrui looked unpretentious, the others obviously couldn’t really be so casual, so they vaguely used a respectful term, but their attention was focused on his proposal.

Everyone’s eyes flickered, seeming to think it made a lot of sense.

“We can try, while dealing with the murderer, continue to stimulate him to expose more clues, we can also look for the existence of other supernatural powers.”

“It would be great if there are. If not, it further illustrates the preciousness of this sole possessor of supernatural powers. This may be an opportunity for our Yao Country. Just like when the industrial age came, we were the first to seize the opportunity!”

Having determined the next plan, everyone acted separately.

The members responsible for information directly began to retrieve a wide range of strange incidents that occurred in various places on the Internet.

In this era of the Internet, countless messages were spread on the Internet every day, and it was difficult to distinguish between true and false. Many absurd and bizarre things were even treated as jokes by netizens. But if there really were supernatural powers in this world, then among these absurd and bizarre stories, there might be a few that were true.

——What they have to do is to distinguish them from the rest.

Things that happened too long ago were difficult to investigate for authenticity in a short time, so the information technology team started screening from the most recent events. Soon, more than a dozen special events with the most rumors were placed in front of them.

The first one on the list was: The Nonexistent Flower Shop.

During this period, apart from the Yuanyang City rainy night murder case, the most widely circulated on the internet was the legend of this mysterious flower shop. The netizens who promoted the related stories came from all walks of life and were spread all over Yao Country, their tones did not seem to be false.

There were roughly two versions of the story on the internet.

In the first version, the most popular one was this——

[I saw a ghost! Today, on my way home from work, I stumbled into a flower shop. Unexpectedly, the owner was a babbling fortune teller who didn’t sell flowers but claimed to be able to fulfill the wishes of customers. I retorted on the spot. It looked like a new type of scam, thinking I would fall for it? The result was that the owner was quite tough, saying on the spot that it seemed that the customer and I were not destined, with an attitude of profound mystery and take it or leave it. Damn, it was too pretentious! Who could stand this???]

[I stormed out of the flower shop and immediately made a report call. Guess what, when the relevant department’s people came, they couldn’t find where the flower shop was no matter what. I was dumbfounded on the spot! Where was that big flower shop? It was still there just now. Now, not only was I suspected of lying and fooling the relevant department, but also a lot of education and criticism made me embarrassed. Most importantly, I am doubting my life now! The more I think about it now, the more regretful I am. Did I really encounter an adventure? The golden finger that was at hand was thrown away by me!]

[I used to envy the protagonist of the novel all the time, but when it came to my turn, I couldn’t grasp it! Ah ah ah, shop owner, I was wrong, I am a country bumpkin, can you give me another chance, just once is enough! Dong dong dong, I am kowtowing to you. orz]

(TL: In Chinese internet slang, “orz” is an emoticon that represents a person kneeling or bowing down in frustration, defeat, admiration, or apology. The letters visually depict a person:

The “o” represents the head.

The “r” represents the arms and body bent over.

The “z” represents the legs kneeling or prostrated.)

As for the second version, it was basically the same——

[Ah ah ah, I seem to have met an immortal!]

[A few days ago, I was diagnosed with a terminal illness by the hospital, and it was said that the chances of recovery were very low. I have been feeling down recently. Today, I accidentally entered a flower shop, and the owner was so gentle and healing. The most special thing is that this shop does not sell flowers but only sells flower seeds. It is said that the flower seeds will only grow and bloom if they are watered with sincere intentions, which will bring me good luck and fulfill my wish.]

[And the owner does not charge money, saying that he has already taken my misfortune —— such a gentle and healing statement, isn’t this just a disguised gift of flower seeds, blessing me to stay away from misfortune and be happy from now on? Wu wu wu, I was healed on the spot! There are indeed many good people in the world! Although I know that there can’t be such magical flowers, I still feel much better!]

[I was still blowing the shop owner’s descent from the immortal in my heart, but as soon as I walked out of the flower shop happily, I found that the flower shop was gone?! I was shocked on the spot, and couldn’t help but hold my little flower seed tightly! It turns out that the shop owner is really an immortal descending to earth! It must be so, there is no doubt!! (Confidence jpg)]

Summarizing the several versions of netizens’ statements, it was probably a flower shop that did not exist in reality and only those who have encountered misfortune and want to fulfill their wishes have a chance to enter.

In addition, there were some strange events circulating on the internet, such as mountain ghosts, bleeding wells, cats walking upside down, teleportation mirrors in toilets, etc. After cooperating with the local police station for investigation, it was confirmed that some of them were rumors fabricated by humans, and some were not lies by the parties involved, but in the end, they were found to be just misunderstandings.

As for the nonexistent flower shop, it did not exist in reality, and ordinary people simply couldn’t find it, so naturally, they couldn’t distinguish between true and false.

The Special Case Investigation Team found those netizens who claimed to have received seeds through online posts, and found that most of the seeds had not yet sprouted. The only exception was the girl who claimed to have been diagnosed with a terminal illness in her online post.

“……From planting to now, it’s less than ten days, and the flower seed she planted by herself has already grown a bud. She just went to the hospital for a check-up yesterday, and the doctor found that her condition has improved somewhat. It is said that if this state continues, there is a high probability of successful surgery in the future, and she also has a great hope of recovery.”

The member of the investigation team who reported the situation handed a copy of the medical record along with a stack of X-ray films to Yin Xubai. “This is all her medical records from the first time she was diagnosed with a terminal illness to now, and the films taken. Professor Yin is a professional in this area, he should be able to judge the situation represented by this medical record, right?”

Yin Xubai flipped through it from beginning to end, and the expression on his face changed bit by bit, finally showing a look of astonishment. “According to her original disease, the hope of recovery is absolutely less than half. But now, the possibility has risen to 60% —— this is an incredible miracle!”

“No, if it continues to improve like this, the hope of recovery in the future is 100%. That doctor was still conservative.”

Others couldn’t help but show a look of surprise. “So, the rumors about the flower shop could very well be true?”

“All I can say is, if there are no external factors involved, with the current level of medical science, her chances of recovery are close to zero.”

With a clear target in mind, everyone gave up the approach of casting a wide net on the internet and began to figure out how to find the nonexistent flower shop and meet the mysterious shop owner who seemed quite communicative in the rumors.

Meanwhile, the rainy night serial murder case in Yuanyang City was getting bigger and bigger. Six victims appeared overnight, and the murderer even left such an arrogant provocation. The Special Case Investigation Team couldn’t possibly not respond.

All major hotels and inns began to strictly check the ID cards of guests, including some small guesthouses with no ID, which were warned by the police station not to allow unidentified people to come and go. All police forces were mobilized, going deep into every street and every community, cooperating with local community workers to strictly check everyone’s identity.

This carpet-style search severely disrupted the normal operation of Yuanyang City, making the atmosphere extremely tense, but also step by step squeezing the activity space of the hidden murderer, seemingly making the hidden murderer about to have nowhere to escape.

And places like train stations and airports were not controlled too strictly. Local people who wanted to leave temporarily could travel freely, which also relieved the pressure on the police.

After all, if the murderer wanted to leave, he would have to go through security first.

——In the eyes of any ordinary person who didn’t know the inside story, under such high pressure, the murderer’s space of existence was being compressed step by step, and sooner or later he would fall into the net of the law.

But the members of the investigation team who had guessed that the murderer might have some kind of “teleportation” ability were not optimistic about this. They mainly used this attitude to numb the murderer. If it could be done, it would be best. If it couldn’t be done, they still had the flower shop owner as a backup.

While they were frantically searching for the murderer on the surface, they were trying to find the nonexistent flower shop in secret and give the murderer a surprise.

——Using supernatural powers to deal with supernatural powers, it seems that the odds of winning are much higher than their carpet-style search!

However, good things come when least expected. Despite such high-intensity search, they didn’t find any trace of the murderer, but in the process, quite a few monsters were pulled out. Fugitives on the run, hit-and-run suspects, suspects who were caught red-handed trying to commit indecent acts…all kinds of things, too numerous to mention. It also indirectly cleaned up the garbage in Yuanyang City and contributed to environmental protection.

What the Special Case Investigation Team didn’t know was that their pressing attitude didn’t put pressure on the real murderer, but instead created opportunities for another group of people hiding in the dark.

In a factory warehouse in the suburbs of Yuanyang City, five people gathered together, their faces excited and eager.

On the wall in front of them, a photo was pinned. The person in the photo was Gong Fang, the well-known local tycoon and head of Gong Group in Yuanyang City. It was rumored that his fortune was at least seven billion, plus many hidden assets.

“Great! We brothers finally got the opportunity!”

“This old guy Gong Fang, he’s always holed up in his turtle shell-like villa every day, with three layers of security inside and three layers outside, not even a fly can get in! I’ve been watching for so long that I almost wanted to give up, but I didn’t expect such a golden opportunity!”

“We have to thank that serial killer, who scared Gong Fang so much that he’s guilty. I received news that he’s planning to take a plane and leave tomorrow. He’s also going to take his only ten-year-old precious son with him —— isn’t this a golden opportunity? Do it! We’ll never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives!”

“But now Yuanyang City is under such strict control……”

“Stupid, who said we have to make a big fuss? As long as the old guy comes out of the turtle shell, there are plenty of opportunities to start. Especially that ten-year-old kid, just create some accidents and get him in hand, for the sake of his only precious son not being torn up, would he dare to call the police? Besides, while the police’s attention is all attracted by the serial killer, maybe we can fish in troubled waters —— I’ve been given guidance by a wise man~”

Just as these people were letting their imaginations run wild and talking animatedly.

The tightly closed warehouse door behind them was suddenly opened, and a figure appeared in their line of sight.

“This idea is not bad, how about adding me?”

The people in the warehouse had already stood up in unison, looking warily at this unexpected visitor.

“——Who are you?”

The young man with black hair and black eyes smiled slightly.

“A name is just a code. Please feel free to call me, just call me [K].”

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