Chapter 43: Completely Cleared of Suspicion

The wound on Sun Zhongwen’s neck was far too deep; by the time Sun Yue pushed into the interrogation room, he had already stopped breathing.

The subconscious monster had long since vanished. Not a single soul within the City Guard had any idea how it had managed to infiltrate the facility. Even in death, Sun Zhongwen was still slapping everyone in the room across the face, leaving the City Guard utterly humiliated.

He really didn't survive the night. That group truly had eyes in the sky and hands reaching everywhere.

"Search! I want a thorough search!"
"The perpetrator must not be allowed to remain at large!"
"I want every movement Sun Zhongwen made recently. We must find out where he sent that brain!"

Chen Xiu’s chest heaved as she barked out orders, then turned a complex gaze toward Zhou Mo and Xia An. "Come to the office. I have something to tell you both."

Zhou Mo followed Xia An to the office, his heart heavy. Sun Zhongwen’s death had hit him with immense force.

*So, Sun Zhongwen had anticipated all along that the Brain-Eating Demon would come to silence him...*
*No wonder he told me not to get my hands dirty.*
*He took all the blame for me...*

Sun Zhongwen’s act of dying to destroy the evidence had solved Zhou Mo’s problem of being a suspect, but it created a new one: he likely wouldn't be able to recover his brother's brain anytime soon. The relief Zhou Mo felt at being cleared was quickly eclipsed by a heavy, sinking feeling.

The City Guard office buzzed with activity as the rank-and-file officers began a sweep of the surrounding area. Inside the office, Chen Xiu sat in Xia An’s usual chair and let out a deep sigh. "Zhou Mo, you’re practically one of us now, so I’ll skip the formalities."

"Nobody is to speak a word of what happened today. Keep it strictly confidential."
"We will release news tomorrow that the Brain-Eating Demon has been caught, but we cannot afford to relax our guard—especially not you, Zhou Mo."
"Xia An has already told me. You’re actually Liu Tianyou’s younger brother, aren't you?"

Zhou Mo’s heart skipped a beat. "You actually found out?"

Xia An rubbed her temples, looking helpless. "I only found out after I restored the surveillance footage from Dr. Liu Tianyou’s lab. Why didn’t you tell us something so important sooner?"

Liu Tianyou’s lab surveillance?

Zhou Mo frowned. "I had amnesia. It was Sun Zhongwen who told me I was Liu Tianyou’s brother. Only after he said it did I remember that the thing I was looking for was my brother’s brain." Since things had reached this point, Zhou Mo simply followed the lead.

Xia An nodded helplessly. "I knew it..."

Once it was confirmed that Zhou Mo was Liu Tianyou’s brother, all of Xia An’s previous theories were overturned. It made her feel like a fool; all her previous actions had been nothing more than a battle of wits against thin air. Her baseless suspicions had nearly put Zhou Mo—the victim and the aggrieved party—in danger. Recalling it now, she felt so embarrassed she could have crawled into a hole.

Chen Xiu’s gaze sharpened. "Did Sun Zhongwen say anything else to you? Any useful clues?"

Although the Brain-Eating Demon was technically captured, the killer who had murdered Sun Zhongwen was the true culprit behind everything. If they didn't find that person, the City Guard’s announcement would be nothing but self-deception.

Zhou Mo shook his head. "He didn't say anything useful."

Chen Xiu hadn't expected much from the murderer, so she sighed. "Very well. Xia An, continue investigating the case of the missing experimental data from Dr. Liu Tianyou."

"Zhou Mo, as an external consultant for the City Guard, you are authorized to investigate matters related to the Brain-Eating Demon on your own. If you need anything, call on Xia An for support. The City Guard needs your capabilities."

Neither Chen Xiu nor Xia An wanted to admit that the City Guard was currently incompetent, but the facts spoke for themselves. Whether Zhou Mo was genuinely talented or just possessed a supernatural knack for stumbling onto cases, the City Guard needed his help. At the very least, the cases Zhou Mo had cracked in the last two days outperformed their work for the entire month. As for the issue of face... when it came to performance, pride was a small price to pay.

This was exactly what Zhou Mo had hoped for, so he didn't hesitate. "No problem."

Chen Xiu shot a helpless glare at Xia An and continued, "We had originally intended to grant you partial credit on a few cases and make you a reserve detective as compensation for Xia An giving you a hard time. But it seems the girl actually got the better end of the deal, having you solve cases while she took the credit."

"Let’s do this: I will personally use my connections to issue you a reserve detective badge. You won’t need to attend any assessments. In the future, if you crack a case, I’ll have Xia An provide you with an additional bonus as compensation."

"Don't feel embarrassed. The City Guard handled this poorly from the very beginning, and I don’t want you holding any grudges against us because of it."

Xia An looked like she was on the verge of tears from embarrassment. "No problem! Every bonus from here on out will be matched with an extra payment!" She just wanted this conversation to end as quickly as possible.

Zhou Mo was more than happy to see his bonuses double, and the reserve detective badge was crucial; it would save him from having to ask Xia An for authorization in the future. As things stood, finding the brain was only becoming more difficult.

"I have no issues with that."

Chen Xiu cleared her throat and looked at them both. "What are your thoughts on what Sun Zhongwen said earlier?"

Zhou Mo raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling the Chief knew something behind the scenes. During the interrogation, Chen Xiu hadn't refuted any of Sun Zhongwen’s claims, though to any normal person, they sounded like conspiracy theories.

Xia An frowned, looking annoyed. "Sun Zhongwen wasn't being honest. He knew he was going to die, yet he still danced around the truth. If he had given us the key information earlier, we wouldn't be in such a passive position now. I think he only asked for Zhou Mo during the interrogation just to put on a show of defiance."

Chen Xiu rested her forehead in her hands in despair and turned to Zhou Mo. "And you? What do you think?"

Zhou Mo’s mouth twitched at Xia An’s comment, but at least there was one silver lining: he didn't have to be wary of her. The woman simply wasn't very bright. He was still adjusting to the shift in his identity—one moment he was a suspect, the next he was an internal employee. Looking at the Chief’s attitude, she seemed to view him as a talent worth cultivating.

Zhou Mo clicked his tongue and, after pretending to think for a moment, said, "A person’s words are sincere when they are near death. I don't think Sun Zhongwen was spouting nonsense. After all, when I caught him, he already told me he wouldn't live through the day."

Chen Xiu nodded with a sense of relief. "Exactly. I can tell you both clearly: Sun Zhongwen was telling the truth."

"What I am about to say leaves this room with me. Treat it as if you’re just listening to a story."

"The 'they' that Sun Zhongwen spoke of truly exists. And, unless I am mistaken, Dr. Liu Tianyou was once one of 'them'."