Chapter 27: The Wisdom of Ancestors Is Not Always Sound

Early the next morning, inside the medical room of the Zhongshan Street City Guard, Zhang Huaian lay on a hospital bed with a look of utter despair.

Sun Yue, the forensic examiner sitting in a chair, was clutching a manga, a maternal, doting smile plastered across her face.

Xia An walked in, looking haggard. She went straight to a nearby cabinet, grabbed a bag of glucose, and chugged it down.

Sun Yue glanced at her and couldn't help but twitch her lips. "I’m telling you, I have no way to account for this month’s glucose anymore, okay?"

Zhang Huaian hurriedly propped himself up on his elbows. "Captain, is everything finished over there?"

Xia An sat in a chair, looking irritable, and tossed the empty glucose bag aside. "Finished, I suppose. That bunch of bastards is impossible to command. Such a simple case, and it dragged on for an entire night. How are you holding up?"

Zhang Huaian sounded a bit agitated. "I was wearing my bulletproof vest when I was on the mission; it’s just a cracked rib from a kick. Did they catch that guy?"

Xia An’s expression soured even further. "No. Surveillance can’t capture subconscious monsters, and besides, that’s Zhang Shuo, an A-list wanted criminal—it’s not that easy to find him. I’m going to catch some sleep, then I’ll take the team back out to follow the leads."

"You don't need to investigate this case anymore."

As these words were spoken, a middle-aged woman in the uniform of the City Guard pushed open the door and entered.

Everyone in the room, previously on edge, stood up nervously. Xia An’s face twitched with a look of pure despair, and Sun Yue scrambled to shove her manga inside her shirt.

"Good morning, Chief!"

Xia An walked forward, looking awkward. "Chief Chen, the situation with this case is a bit complicated, but please rest assured, I will definitely capture him within three days—"

The woman raised her hand with a smile and waved it dismissively. "No need. You are no longer in charge of this case."

Xia An grew anxious immediately. "No, I’ve really found leads. If you just give me a little more time, I can definitely catch that Zhang Shuo!"

Chen Xiu narrowed her eyes with a smile. "No need. We’ve already found Zhang Shuo."

Found him?

Xia An was stunned. "Is Zhang Shuo already dead?"

Chen Xiu nodded, hands behind her back. "Yes. Last night, the headquarters received a report from the killer. His brain has already been removed."

The Brain-Eating Demon!

It had gotten ahead of them again!

Xia An clenched her fists so tightly that her manicured nails pierced her palms. She couldn't accept this reality—how could her pride ever allow it?

"Damn it! Why is it always like this!"

Chen Xiu strolled over to Xia An, smiling, and then, without warning, slapped her across the face!

*Smack!*

The sharp sound left the air deathly silent.

Sun Yue, who had been shrinking into her seat, accidentally let the manga fall out from under her shirt, but she didn't dare look down to pick it up.

"Do you still want to do this job? Even now, do you not realize your mistake?"

"If you hadn't engaged in that unauthorized entrapment, how could something like this have happened?"

Zhang Huaian, huddled to the side, was trembling with fear, but he still braced himself and whispered, "Mom, the Captain only wanted to catch the Brain-Eating Demon. She didn't intend for me to get hurt."

Chen Xiu sneered. "Who cares if you got hurt? Since you’ve decided to join the City Guard and become a Deep Diver, what does a little injury matter?"

"I’m talking about rules! About systems! About the law!"

Xia An stubbornly held her head high, ignoring her swelling cheek. "But Aunt, if we don't do this, how can we catch the Brain-Eating Demon as quickly as possible? To catch it, we need some unconventional methods!"

Chen Xiu’s eyes were cold, but they softened slightly. She tilted Xia An’s chin up to inspect the injury. "Does it hurt?"

Xia An swatted her hand away, unyielding. "Don't worry about me."

Chen Xiu sighed. "You don't understand the gravity of the situation at all. Do you realize that what you did this time is grounds for your dismissal?"

"I know you’ve been fixated on that Zhou Mo because you think there’s something wrong with him."

"But don't forget, you are just a hired hand—a tool used to deal with subconscious monsters."

"Do you realize your behavior is like that of a third-rate detective?"

"Our job in the City Guard is to discover evidence and then track down the criminal."

"But look at what you’re doing."

"You decided Zhou Mo was guilty, so you tried every way to goad him into committing a crime just to get the evidence."

Xia An’s heart skipped a beat. She bit her lip, seemingly wanting to argue. "I didn't think of it that way..."

"But that is exactly what you did!"

Chen Xiu glared, shouting, "Is Zhou Mo a criminal right now? Not only is he not a criminal, he’s a victim! You actually used him as bait! Why didn't you find someone to impersonate him?"

"Because deep down, you already decided he was a suspect and that he should cooperate with your work!"

"Let me ask you, have you found any cases that were actually committed by Zhou Mo?"

Xia An’s face turned pale. "No..."

Chen Xiu sneered. "Since you haven't, he is innocent! He is a law-abiding citizen! Your goal in doing this wasn't to catch the Brain-Eating Demon—it was just to find a way to convict Zhou Mo."

"You’ve been influenced by the subconscious."

*Thump.* Xia An’s face turned deathly pale, and she collapsed to her knees on the floor.

Chen Xiu sighed and helped her up, sitting her on the edge of Zhang Huaian’s hospital bed. "You’ve been knitting sweaters again lately, haven't you?"

"I told you long ago that your great-great-grandmother’s subconscious is not suited for work in the City Guard."

"Even though she was a world-renowned detective, that was a different era. Her way of thinking has the limitations of her time."

"I know what kind of child you are. You wouldn't have done this if you hadn't been influenced by the subconscious."

"Being a Deep Diver isn't easy. The experience you inherit might be valuable, but it isn't necessarily correct. Sometimes, it can lead you to make the wrong judgments. That is why Dr. Liu Tianyou repeatedly warned in his research that one must not absorb the thinking patterns of others."

"Don't forget how Zhang Shuo went from an ordinary person to an A-list fugitive—wasn't it because he touched the memories of a killer?"

"The experiences left to us by our parents, or even our ancestors, aren't always good."

Xia An rubbed her face hard; the slap had finally shocked her into clarity.

However, she was Xia An, after all, and she quickly adjusted, her eyes turning resolute. "I understand. I won't make such mistakes again. I’ll go apologize to Zhou Mo later."

Chen Xiu nodded, satisfied. "Say something nice when you do. Besides, you’ve already given him the status of a consultant. If nothing else, you can share the credit for a few cases with him, let him get a detective consultant license, and get him a monthly subsidy. That wouldn't be bad."

Xia An nodded, then asked, "What about the Brain-Eating Demon case?"

Chen Xiu’s expression turned grim. "You don't need to worry about that. This matter has become complex; I’m afraid it’s no longer a simple criminal case."

"Based on your report, we’ve discovered that Zhang Shuo likely mastered a way to control subconscious monsters, but this method comes from research Dr. Liu Tianyou never made public. We found that the original draft of that research report has gone missing. If you really want to keep investigating the Brain-Eating Demon, then go look into this case."

Xia An took a deep breath. "I understand."

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Zhou Mo sat with dark circles under his eyes, watching a brain crawl around his room, his lips twitching.

"I’m afraid I didn't just bring home a dog..."