"I don't know how many years it's been, but this jujube tree has been here since I was a child."
Xiao Jin nodded, and the policeman next to him spread out his notebook on the stone table to take notes.
"We're just here to ask some questions, not to discuss any crimes you've committed, so just tell the truth and don't be nervous."
Ma Xiaoniu nodded in understanding, but at the same time, he had his own plans. It was now clear that the police had become suspicious of several surrounding villages. If they investigated step by step, they might uncover some loopholes, putting them in a very passive position. However, dispelling their suspicions would be difficult, given that so many cases were related to Fengxian County and even Caoxiang Township. Therefore, the best course of action for now was to create more difficulties for their investigation. If they couldn't investigate further, they would have no worries.
"Tell me your name, occupation, and family situation," Xiao Jin said, looking up at Ma Xiaoniu.
Ma Xiaoniu answered in detail.
"Oh? You're a teacher? Aren't you at work today?"
"No, I took sick leave and am currently resting at home." Even if we went to the school to verify this, there wouldn't be any problem. Principal Chen was under Ma Xiaoniu's spell and would definitely help him cover it up.
Xiao Jin nodded, and the police officer next to him took notes.
How much do you know about the Devil Case?
"Browsing the Demon Forum, that's all." Ma Xiaoniu suddenly realized something was wrong. What if they asked him to bring his laptop over for inspection? There would probably be a record in the browser, right? And the police definitely have computer experts; who knows if they have any special inspection methods? He couldn't wait any longer!
Ma Xiaoniu secretly activated his skill on the two of them.
Just as Xiao Jin was about to ask another question, a sudden, urgent urge to urinate surged forth, and he was almost at the urgency. Xiao Jin's face changed drastically: "Where, where, where is the toilet?"
Ma Xiaoniu pointed to the toilet in the corner of the yard. Xiao Jin wanted to rush into the toilet immediately, but he didn't dare to rush too fast. He could only walk towards the toilet in an extremely awkward posture.
The young policeman next to him was trying hard to suppress his laughter, his face turning red.
The sound of running water filled the air, and a moment later, Xiao Jin emerged looking refreshed. He sat down on a stone bench, gave Ma Xiaoniu an awkward smile, and said, "Sorry, let's continue."
Just as he was about to ask another question, his expression suddenly changed drastically. Xiao Jin felt an even stronger urge to urinate, and it was about to erupt. Without any hesitation, Xiao Jin clamped his legs together and walked towards the toilet in an extremely strange posture.
The young policeman was dumbfounded. What the hell was Jinzi doing?
The sound of running water filled the air for a full minute before stopping. Xiao Jin slowly emerged from the toilet, her face alternating between red and black. Embarrassed, she sat down on the stone bench. Instead of asking immediately, she checked herself first. Hmm, no urge to urinate. Her expression relaxed. Although it had been strange, it was thankfully over.
"Well... oh, oh oh oh oh... Ouch!" Xiao Jin suddenly quickened his pace, his face flushed red, his eyes widened, and veins bulged on his forehead. Suddenly, a strong smell of urine filled the air. Xiao Jin felt a sense of relief, but his face was also dark red. He looked at the young policeman next to him, who was covering his nose and shaking as he tried to suppress a laugh, then looked at Ma Xiaoniu opposite him, feeling extremely embarrassed: "Um, that's enough for today." Without pausing, he stood up and walked outside, water dripping from his trouser legs. The young policeman quickly packed up his paper and pen and followed him.
"Take care!" Ma Xiaoniu called out, inwardly chuckling.
The police deployed over a hundred officers this time, and the search was carried out quickly. Two hours later, as darkness fell, the search finally ended, and more than a dozen police cars sped away.
...
Temporary office of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Fengxian County Public Security Bureau.
Police Chief Liu Feixing and X City Criminal Investigation Brigade Captain Guo Han sat in the main seats, surrounded by rows of police officers. Guo Han looked around and said, "This investigation is now complete. Everyone, please share your findings." (Note: The last sentence, "Recently, there has been severe encoding issues, which motivates us to update faster. Please exit reading mode if you'd like. Thank you.", appears to be an unrelated comment and has been omitted from the translation.)
===Chapter Thirty-Eight===
Sun Weiran looked down at the documents in his hand. "Director Liu, Captain Guo, our group's investigation involved 1,300 people. Fifty of them were working away from home, and the rest have been investigated. So far, no abnormalities have been found."
Bai, sitting opposite, frowned: "Our two groups investigated a total of 1,100 people this time. Sixty of them are working away from home, and the rest have been investigated, and no abnormalities were found."
Liu Feixing frowned and looked around: "So, this investigation has made no progress? Could it be that we've gone wrong with our investigation direction?"
Guo Han flipped through the documents in his hand, then looked up at Liu Feixing: "Director Liu, based on our previous analysis of the case, our investigation direction is flawless. Moreover, there are still 110 people who are not at home during this investigation, and we cannot overlook these people. In addition, the devil is cunning and cruel, and the possibility of finding him in one go is not high. I think we cannot stop here, but should continue to intensify our efforts to investigate these villages. I believe that as long as we investigate more times, we will definitely find clues and bring the devil to justice!"
Liu Feixing nodded and looked around: "The faster the demon case is solved, the better. The faster it is solved, the less the people will suffer! So, Captain Guo, do you have any further plans?"
"First, notify the more than one hundred people working away from home to return home as soon as possible to cooperate with the investigation. Second, we should closely monitor the suspected individuals identified during this investigation, hoping to find the culprit among them. Third, we must not forget that we previously suspected the culprit might be a gang, so we must be vigilant during the investigation, ensuring our own safety while conducting the investigation, and strive to catch the culprit as soon as possible. The day after tomorrow, we will continue the investigation, expanding the scope beyond the villages already investigated. The long arm of the law will eventually catch up with us; as long as we investigate diligently enough, we will surely bring the culprit to justice!"
...
After dinner, Ma Xiaoniu leaned against the bed and read. Having completed the tasks assigned by the system, he had gained some energy, which made him feel increasingly energetic. This improved energy had many benefits, such as for reading. Previously, Ma Xiaoniu's memory was only average, and it had even shown signs of decline with age. However, with his enhanced energy, he could now read ten lines at a glance and remember everything he read. He didn't care about the police investigation; in other words, even if he did, what could he do? He would simply deal with whatever came his way. What he was concerned about now was what kind of special ability he might draw tonight—hopefully a powerful skill!
Time quickly reached midnight.
"Drawing begins. Please complete the draw within two minutes, otherwise an automatic draw will be conducted and a penalty will be imposed..."
Extract!
Insect King - All insects will obey your commands
Mission: Continue killing
Uh... Insect King, insects and stuff like that, are the most annoying. But it's okay, it looks like it'll be pretty powerful.
zzzzzzz~~
...
The next morning at 6:30, Ma Xiaoniu got up, ate breakfast, and then went to the yard. He wanted to test the Insect King's skills first; it seemed to control the insects quite well.
After searching around, he finally found an ant in a patch of grass. Activating his skill, Ma Xiaoniu seemed to have a strange connection with the ant. On a whim, he commanded the ant to move forward. The ant in the grass suddenly crawled forward, moving in a figure-eight pattern.
Left, right, reverse, high jump, crawl, head down, 360-degree Thomas...
After a series of actions, the ant was played to death.
Looking at the ant that was almost torn to pieces, Ma Xiaoniu was speechless. He thought to himself, "The skill is good, but what's the use of controlling an ant?"
Just as this thought arose in my mind, a sudden realization dawned on me.
Ma Xiaoniu nodded, "I see." By simply activating the skill in an empty space, one can summon and control all insects within a certain range.
He silently counted to thirty meters, then randomly found an empty spot and activated his Insect King skill. In an instant, the previously quiet courtyard seemed to come alive. Ma Xiaoniu clearly saw ants crawling out of their holes in a corner of the courtyard and converging directly in front of him. He also saw many earthworms wriggling out of the soil and crawling over, along with centipedes, centipedes, cockroaches, beetles, and all sorts of other insects. Soon, they formed an "army" in front of Ma Xiaoniu.