I Return From Hell

Chapter 48: Chapter 46: Knows Women Best? Taking Stock of the Gains

”What are you doing?”

Xia Yu asked, her face a picture of confusion.

”Let me reintroduce myself. I’m an informant for the special task force leader. I hope you’ll cooperate with our work.”

Wang Quanzhi kept his smile, but his eyes held a new wariness and scrutiny.

Xia Yu handed her phone over, her voice icy as she retorted, ”You suspect I used my phone to secretly tip off Xie Shaokun, don’t you? Here, take it. Check all you want.”

Her voice was tinged with a faint coldness and distance, the very picture of an aloof queen keeping everyone at arm’s length.

She was acting this way because it was the perfect opportunity to ’shatter’ her relationship with Wang Quanzhi and stop him from pursuing her any further.

There was another reason: she acted rather cold toward the other officers, but had shown a completely different side to Wang Quanzhi. That discrepancy would likely arouse Zhao Guohui’s suspicion.

It would also give Wang Quanzhi the wrong idea.

She wasn’t a player, and she didn’t need him getting any wrong ideas.

So, she needed to cultivate an image: in the face of danger, she was an ordinary person who could feel fear, but once the danger had passed, she reverted to being an ice queen.

”Uh.”

Wang Quanzhi sensed Xia Yu’s detachment. His heart skipped a beat, and he began to regret his actions. But his sense of justice made him grit his teeth and continue with the inspection.

Nothing was out of the ordinary.

He specifically checked for deleted messages, but still found nothing.

Worried that deleted chat histories might be unrecoverable, he thought it over, gritted his teeth again, and said, ”I’ll hold onto the phone for now. I’ll give it back once I can confirm there’s nothing on it.”

”Fine.”

Xia Yu nodded, feigning even greater anger.

Wang Quanzhi was just about to speak and try to mend their relationship.

But Xia Yu turned her back on him, making her stance clear.

’This isn’t the time to be pushy,’ Wang Quanzhi thought. ’I’ve said what needed to be said and done what needed to be done. As long as Xia Yu is reasonable, she’ll understand my position. I’ll wait for her anger to cool, then try to coax her a bit. Women. I know them best.’

「On the road.」

Xie Shaokun clutched the phone he had just retrieved from the driver’s seat, and he finally understood. ’This is from when Yu was changing in the car. She must have put her phone on my seat. She was worried the police would check this phone and find a flaw in her story. Yu is so meticulous, always calculating every single move. Impressive. There is much I need to learn.’

His admiration for Xia Yu grew even deeper.

After driving for about ten minutes, he decisively drove the car into a ditch to ensure it wouldn’t be discovered right away. Then, he shouldered his backpack and strode away.

「A short while later.」

One police car after another screamed past on the main road nearby.

Upon reaching the orchard, they quickly cordoned it off.

Routine questioning began.

Xia Yu cooperated fully, recalling the events with the look of someone still shaken:

”I quit my job a few days ago and was in a bad mood, so I came out here to clear my head.”

”When I saw Wang Quanzhi ramming those monsters with his car, I was inspired.”

”Then, by chance, I saw a driver get bitten to death by a monster. The car keys fell to the ground, so I went and got in the car. It took all my courage to ram into them.”

...

The statement was complete.

”Thank you for your cooperation.”

”You can go, but we can’t give you your phone back yet.”

”Okay. Can I use it to call my younger brother? Just so he doesn’t worry.”

”Use mine.”

「Soon.」

Xia Yu was driven away in a police car.

She looked forward to seeing what Zhao Guohui would think of her after this incident.

”What is there to think?”

When Zhao Guohui asked him what he thought of Xia Yu, Wang Quanzhi couldn’t help but say, ”She’s just an aloof, beautiful girl.”

”Oh, right, and she’s very brave.”

”Right now, the most important thing isn’t Xia Yu, it’s arresting Xie Shaokun! He knows a lot. If we can catch him, our next moves will be much easier.”

Zhao Guohui acted as if he hadn’t heard.

He replayed Wang Quanzhi’s account in his mind, along with Xia Yu’s recent expressions and behavior. There were no flaws. As for the vulnerability she showed when the mist descended, that was perfectly normal.

Getting a little angry afterward and reverting to her usual icy demeanor was also completely understandable.

’Perhaps I’m making the same mistake all old detectives make: seeing shadows in a teacup, treating everyone like a suspect.’

His brow smoothed.

He crossed Xia Yu’s name off his list of suspects.

”Chief Zhao.”

”We have a new discovery!”

”A sunflower seed! There’s a sunflower seed here.”

A voice called out.

Everyone crowded around.

「The next day.」

”The research results for that sunflower seed are in. It has incredible vitality. In just one night, it grew as much as a normal sunflower seed would in a week.”

”Furthermore, it’s resistant to cold and heat and isn’t easily destroyed.”

Hearing the report, Qian Yihao frowned. ”These characteristics are identical to the plants from other Mist Events, just with a much faster growth rate.”

”There’s nothing unusual about it.”

Chen Xiao nodded in agreement.

”Chief Zhao, what do you think?” she asked.

”Xie Shaokun obviously knows many secrets about the Mist Events. He valued these sunflower seeds so much for a reason. Let’s keep observing it.”

”Give it the best possible growing conditions,” Zhao Guohui said.

Qian Yihao and Chen Xiao agreed. For now, the most important task was to capture Xie Shaokun.

Xia Yu drove back to her old home.

On the way, with nothing else to do, she reviewed the situation in her mind.

Shortcomings:

’I underestimated the danger of this Mist Event, which led to insufficient preparation. If Wang Quanzhi hadn’t been quick-witted, the situation would have spun out of control, and the plan would have failed.’

Gains:

’First, I’ve further distanced myself from suspicion and may be able to shake it off completely. That depends on what happens next.’

’Second, I obtained a large number of sunflower seeds. Barring any surprises, I should be able to cultivate a Spiritual Plant. This also depends on future developments.’

’Third, my physical fitness has reached the first-level athlete level, very close to that of a national-level athlete. I need to train hard and keep breaking my limits. I might be able to reach the national level before the next Mist Event.’

’Fourth, eleven Crystal Cores. Two of them came from Mutated Beasts and contain an immense amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power.’

’Fifth, I used the chaos to get rid of Liu Daqing. As for Xie Chunlan and Xia Feng, they brought their deaths upon themselves.’

She arrived at Xia Family Village.

”Little Yu, you’re here.”

”It seems like something happened at your third uncle’s house. Are you going to go see?”

Xia Hongzhong looked miserable, sighing constantly.

”I’m not going.”

Xia Yu shook her head, handed one million to her uncle, and then took her leave.

Xia Hongzhong took a deep drag from his cigarette. ”We’re all family,” he sighed. ”For it to come to this...”

”Third Brother’s family brought that on themselves.” His wife, now firmly on Xia Yu’s side, spoke up. ”Stop playing the saint. You know perfectly well what Third Brother’s family is like.”

’It’s one thing to be greedy, but another to be immoral.’

She glanced at the thick stacks of red bills, unable to stop herself from pursing her plump, red lips. She reminded him, ”Listen, don’t you dare let this business delay the project for Xia Yu’s boss.”

”I know, I know.” Xia Hongzhong waved his hand impatiently and turned to leave, not wanting to say another word to his wife.

「Soon.」

Xia Yu reached the unfinished building where Xie Shaokun was hiding.

”Yu, something’s wrong!”

Xie Shaokun rushed over, his face etched with anxiety...