Chapter 54: Malice Perception

The memory ended abruptly here. Although it was just a single, brief sentence, the amount of information it carried was terrifyingly vast.

"In other words, Sun Zhongwen had actually heard the warning before his death, yet he still chose to tell the truth..."

Zhou Mo unlatched his skull and pulled out the stubborn brain along with his eyes. It was his first time manually removing his brain, and he felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

However, Zhou Mo furrowed his brows. "And it's this voice again..."

Brother Brain, serving as the doctor brain at the moment, came over to Zhou Mo to ask about the situation. Zhou Mo recounted the memory he had just witnessed to the two brains.

"Since the other party was able to transmit the voice directly into Sun Zhongwen's ears without anyone else knowing, it means there's a high probability they are utilizing the ability of a subconscious monster."

Brother Brain cast a curious look, signaling: Could the culprit really have a plant inside the City Guard? Or was it merely a delaying tactic?

Zhou Mo pondered for a moment before speaking, "There is likely a genuine mole. Don't forget that Zhang Shou made two phone calls. The first call was Sun Zhongwen demanding the kidnapping, and the second call was from that killer ordering Zhang Shou to assassinate me."

"Sun Zhongwen only found out about me in advance because he was at the television station. Then how on earth did the person who hired the hitman know my whereabouts?"

"Previously, I wondered if there was another killer hiding at the television station, after all, I was somewhat reluctant to suspect issues within the City Guard."

"But after this memory surfaced, it can be basically confirmed that another Brain-Eater—or rather, someone from the Primeval Truth—is hiding right inside the City Guard."

Brother Brain nodded in sudden realization, though the doctor brain curiously asked: Then why didn't the killer strike earlier? Why let Sun Zhongwen reveal so much?

Zhou Mo smiled and shook his head, "That question is actually quite simple. There are two reasons."

"First, what Sun Zhongwen said merely corroborated the existence of an organization called Primeval Truth, but he didn't disclose any other critical information that could actually harm them."

"Second, the incident took place within the City Guard after all. Before the interrogation made any headway, it was the period when the City Guard was most vigilant. No matter how powerful the killer's abilities were, they would choose caution. I suspect that their final strike was out of absolute necessity, because Sun Zhongwen was about to blurt out a heavily guarded secret, forcing the killer to murder him even at the risk of exposure."

Brother Brain thought about it carefully, and it indeed seemed to be the case: Sun Zhongwen only pointed out the existence of such an organization, but he hadn't said a single word about how to find it. The City Guard didn't even have the capability to verify that claim, and he was only killed the moment he started mentioning Liu Tianyou's identity.

Zhou Mo shrugged somewhat helplessly, "I reckon the reason that subconscious monster managed to kill someone and just run away so brazenly has an inseparable connection to the mole within the City Guard."

The doctor brain scratched its head: The City Guard is not easy to investigate.

Although Zhou Mo possessed investigative authority equivalent to the City Guard's, he had no jurisdiction to investigate the City Guard itself.

"Where should I start the investigation next..."

Obtaining the research materials was a given; since Xia An was investigating this case, it would be quite easy for Zhou Mo to get involved. However, investigating the hidden mole within the City Guard would be troublesome, and out of all the City Guard members, Zhou Mo only knew a handful of them.

Zhou Mo scratched his head and let out a massive yawn. "Forget it, let's talk about it tomorrow. Anyway, rushing won't help with this matter."

Looking at the pitch-black night outside, Zhou Mo said to his brains, "You guys help look after the stubborn brain, that problem child. Since its imitation ability is so strong, see if you can teach it something. Brother Brain, you need to put some real effort into this matter."

With that, Zhou Mo collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep without a care in the world.

Having slept for only half an hour just a moment ago, Zhou Mo's head still felt somewhat heavy and sluggish.

After Zhou Mo fell fast asleep, the three brains stared at the stubborn brain in wide-eyed silence.

The moment Zhou Mo drifted off, Brother Brain immediately stole the cranial lid, scrambled onto the pillow, and went to sleep, dumping the difficult problem right back onto the doctor brain and the dog brain.

The doctor brain looked melancholically at the dog brain and the stubborn brain. It really didn't feel at ease handing this simpleton over to the dog brain right now, yet it desperately wanted to avoid dealing with this mess!

How wonderful it would be to just loaf around like a salted fish...

The dog brain's eyes darted around, as if it had thought of a brilliant idea. It led the stubborn brain over to Zhou Mo's computer, skipped any hesitation, turned on the machine, and started searching for study materials.

The doctor brain felt that the dog brain's idea wasn't bad, so it simply tucked its two eyeballs against its chest and dotted off to sleep once more.

The dog brain first pulled up a few housekeeping videos, feeling that might not be quite enough, it then searched for several cooking tutorial videos. After finishing the selection, the dog brain patted the stubborn brain and crawled into the refrigerator to sleep.

The stubborn brain, currently watching the videos, absorbed the content within them like a dry sponge drinking water.

The dog brain hadn't realized that the video duration it selected wouldn't even last through the night, nor could it have anticipated that after playing the final cooking video, the website would automatically autoplay the next video in queue.

The title of the video read: "On the Maintenance and Repair of Various Weapons."

Early the next morning, when Zhou Mo got up, he found the dog brain acting suspiciously near the glucose pot, looking as though it had committed some guilty deed.

Zhou Mo walked over to the pot and took a peek, finding the stubborn brain floating listlessly within the glucose solution, bubbles occasionally popping on its surface, as if it had suffered from some intellectual overexertion.

Zhou Mo didn't think too much of it. He looked at the dog brain and said, "Don't wear it out. This kid is already foolish to begin with."

One of the dog brain's eyeballs twitched, as if it wanted to retort, but ultimately held it back.

Zhou Mo picked up his phone to take a look, then glanced at the newly awakened brains and asked, "Which of you is coming with me to the City Guard today? The bonus has been issued, and my license has arrived."

The dog brain showed a look of deep disappointment; it didn't want to go to that ghostly place called the City Guard at all.

The doctor brain originally wanted to run away, but Zhou Mo pinned it down with a single hand. "Brother Brain has been working for several days straight, it's your turn today."

The doctor brain drooped its eyes in resignation, but still obediently crawled up Zhou Mo's arm, reaching the top of his head to enter the cockpit.

With the reluctant doctor brain in tow, Zhou Mo rode his little electric scooter to the City Guard headquarters.

As soon as he stepped through the door, he saw Chen Xiu and the three members of Xia An's squad all sitting together in the office. Chen Xiu flashed a professional smile, "Little Zhou is here. Your bonus and reserve detective license are all ready. Come, let's take a picture, from now on we're all family."

Right at that moment, the doctor brain transmitted a wave of uneasy emotion.

*In this room, someone harbors malicious intent toward me!*