Chapter 009 Playing the Role of Conan in an Action-Packed Novel

　　"The ABC Murders" refers to a serial killer who carries out crimes in alphabetical order. As a death marker, the killer leaves an ABC Railway Travel Guide beside each victim's body, with the page opened to the location of the murder. However, all of this was a trap set by the criminal; only C was his true target.

　　After hearing Lu Kong's explanation, Li Lei and Jing Lingxiao also understood his reasoning.

　　"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Now everything makes sense. Next, all we have to do is protect the guy surnamed Ding, and we'll be golden, right?" Li Lei boasted, looking triumphant as if he had already solved the case. But Jing Lingxiao threw cold water on his enthusiasm.

　　"I'm afraid it's too late," Jing Lingxiao said, opening her phone to show Li Lei. The news of Ding Changji's death had already hit the trending list, along with surveillance footage of his murder.

　　"Wh...what?!" Li Lei swallowed hard, disbelief written all over his rugged face.

　　There was no murder weapon. In the video, the man simply clutched his stomach in agony and collapsed, blood staining the floor like a crimson sun painted in broad daylight. That man was Ding Changji. Along with him, Li Lei's reasoning crumbled. Although he feigned shock, Lu Kong still couldn't fathom how such a brazen murder could have been carried out, with no trace of the weapon. In a world where psychic abilities existed, such phenomena might seem easy to explain. But the truth was, possibilities and false leads multiplied while the answer remained singular.

　　"Anyway, the culprit must be someone surnamed Li," Li Lei said.

　　"Based on my reasoning, that seems plausible, but..." Lu Kong knew that with his abilities, he couldn't uncover the hidden weapon. There had to be more to this case. As he pondered the method, Lu Kong found himself repeatedly ensnared in a maze of mysteries.

　　"Ah, looks like you're stuck in the same quagmire as me," a familiar voice chimed in. It was Detective Feng, who had somehow poked his head over, joining the other three as they all stared at the same screen. "I initially thought it was a copycat of 'The ABC Murders,' but Li Zhongwei's psychic ability couldn't have produced the effects captured in the video."

　　"But what we do doesn't concern you," Lu Kong said.

　　"Oh, come on, don't be so standoffish. Aren't we partners?" Detective Feng's eyes crinkled into crescents.

　　"No, I have a strong competitive streak. Right now, we're rivals," Lu Kong's gaze remained fixed on Detective Feng.

　　"Fine, fine. I'll spill the beans. There's one more thing I haven't mentioned," Detective Feng chuckled, clapping his hands. "Besides Li Zhongwei, two other people have motives."

　　"Who are they?" Lu Kong's eyes hardened like a hunter stalking prey as he stared intently at Detective Feng.

　　"The hotel owner, Doyle Thomson. Ding Changji's betrayal caused him significant losses, especially with the powerful faction he had been trading funds and intelligence with. His abilities remain a mystery, but they might hold the key to this case."

　　"And the other?"

　　"The duty warden, Ba Qing, who suffered a severe reprimand due to Ding Changji and was at risk of losing his job. As for his ability..."

　　"Spit it out!"

　　"If his target has a wound, he can use it as a medium to administer poison, causing death at a predetermined time." Detective Feng shrugged. "Now you and I are on equal footing. We can compete fairly."

　　With a mocking chuckle, Detective Feng vanished into the sunset. Lu Kong and his companions wore grave expressions. This was the challenge of a world where psychic abilities existed—possibilities multiplied, but the truth remained singular.

　　"You used your psychic ability just now, didn't you?" Jing Lingxiao yawned and turned her head to look at Lu Kong, who was deep in thought.

　　"You bet." Lu Kong's ability was to leverage psychological fluctuations in his targets to exert pressure on them, thereby guiding them to act in the direction he desired.

　　"Impressive, a master of psychological warfare. Let's start investigating those two individuals now," Li Lei said, clasping his fists with a surge of fighting spirit burning in his heart.

　　"No, not 'we.' Only I accepted his challenge. From now on, it's just me," Lu Kong said as he nudged Li Lei and handed his satchel to Jing Lingxiao. "I have Detective Feng's business card in my bag. If you need any help, you can also reach out to him."

　　With that, Lu Kong turned and vanished into the night.

　　"What about us two?" Li Lei asked.

　　"Who knows?" Jing Lingxiao said with a smile as she slung the satchel over her shoulder and walked off in the opposite direction.

　　"Tomson is a mysterious figure. He came to Jing City with his parents at the age of fourteen and settled here, building a happy family. He appears to be just an ordinary businessman, but in reality, he has been acting as an intelligence source for some organization, loosely managing a 'wild reconnaissance group.' Thus, some speculate that his abilities are related to reconnaissance," Lu Kong muttered to himself, utterly baffled by this person. He knew that if the Warden Ba Qing was the culprit, it would make more sense, as the ability to "poison wounds from afar" could perfectly separate the crime scene from the death scene, allowing for murder without a trace.

　　He was in a coffee shop. Whenever faced with such perplexing problems, Lu Kong liked to stimulate his nerves with caffeine to aid his thinking. He gazed at his reflection in the coffee and tried to piece the whole thing together. Just then, the idle phone beside him suddenly lit up. Another victim had died after Ding Changji!

　　"The deceased is named Chen Xiao, a non-powered individual and a journalist who had dedicated himself to exposing the conspiracy behind the operations of Tomson's hotel, causing significant damage to his reputation and business."

　　"The police are now shifting their investigation focus to businessman Doyle Tomson."

　　"Tomson's ability has been revealed as electromagnetic interference, meaning he can emit signals similar to electromagnetic waves to interfere with others. Whether it can be used to commit crimes remains unknown."

　　"The fugitive Chen Zhongwei is still at large."

　　"The family of Warden Ba Qing claims he has been out of contact for three days."

　　Lu Kong's phone screen was filled with a deluge of information. This case had become the focal point of Jing City. Before Lu Kong could examine all the clues, a phone call abruptly interrupted his further browsing.

　　"Hey, Cheng Hao, how's the investigation I asked you to look into coming along?"

　　"I've found something. A few years ago, Tomson did suffer a setback in his hotel business due to a journalist's exposure. There was even a case of someone jumping off his hotel's rooftop. And that journalist was Chen Xiao," Cheng Hao said, his hands busy as he held the phone between his cheek and shoulder.

　　"So Chen Xiao wasn't just exposing Tomson's affairs..."

　　"Wait, that was about the suicide case at Tomson's hotel. It was only after being provoked by Doyle that he started exposing other things," Cheng Hao clarified.

　　"I'll keep pursuing this, no matter where it leads," Lu Kong said with a smile in response to Tomson's provocation.