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Chapitre 21

bell……

Ye Cheng's phone rang.

008 My dear Xiaoxiao

Ye Cheng took out his phone and saw that it was Li Xiao calling. It seemed that God had intervened. Ye Cheng pressed the answer button and said in an incredibly cheesy voice, "My dear Xiao Xiao, we've only been apart for less than an hour, and you already miss me? I miss you so much too."

There was a minute of silence on the phone before Li Xiao said, "Stop disgusting me. I haven't had breakfast yet. Don't make me lose my appetite."

"My dear Xiaoxiao, you haven't had breakfast yet? What would you like to eat? I'll buy it for you."

Li Xiao was silent for a moment, then asked, "Ye Cheng, have you gone mad?"

"My dear Xiaoxiao, thank you for your concern. I'm not sick. You're so kind to me. I'm so touched."

The sound of Li Xiao vomiting came through the phone. Of course, Ye Cheng couldn't let Luo Xie and the others hear this, so he immediately said, "My dear Xiao Xiao, did you catch a cold last night? Is it serious? Should I go with you to the hospital for a check-up?"

This time, Luo Shimin couldn't hold it in and vomited!

Li Xiao pleaded, "Brother Ye, please forgive me, it was too... terrifying! I was wrong, I shouldn't have called you. I just wanted to tell you that the test results are in, the liquid's composition is very complex, there's human blood in it..."

Ye Cheng interrupted Li Xiao, "My dear Xiao Xiao, it's hard to explain over the phone. Could you bring me the test report? I'm at the cafeteria of Yishi College."

"I'll be waiting for you, don't be late, give me a kiss." Before Li Xiao could speak, Ye Cheng hung up the phone. He feigned helplessness, saying, "The new policewoman at the station, just graduated from university, is head over heels in love with me, and I love her too. Love is truly unpredictable."

Xia Chen finally couldn't hold on any longer and vomited, following Luo Shimin.

Ye Cheng himself felt nauseous, but he forced himself not to. Seeing that Luo Xie's gaze had softened, Ye Cheng decided to go all out, "My dear Xiao Xiao will be here to bring me the test results in a little while, and then you'll be able to see her. She's a very cute girl."

Li Xiao sneezed at the police station. Could it be that I really have caught a cold?

Xia Chen looked at Luo Xie and Hu Rongrong with admiration. Ye Cheng's extremely cheesy and disgusting words had no effect on the two of them. In this respect, the two were quite a good match.

Luo Shimin breathed a sigh of relief; it was a terrifying thing if her brother got angry. She wanted to take this opportunity to distract Luo Xie, so she asked Ye Cheng, "Officer Ye, what's the report? What interesting case have you encountered this time?"

Ye Cheng slapped his thigh hard. "I almost forgot. I came to see Xia Chen about a case. There was a murder in Chenguan Village near your college, and the murderer might not be human." Ye Cheng recounted the details of the case, taking almost an hour to finish. "Xia Chen, what do you think of this case?"

Xia Chen thought for a moment and said, "There are some magical animals in nature that possess incredible abilities, such as weasels and foxes that can charm people. There is no reasonable explanation yet for how they do it, but I don't think such things as monsters exist."

Luo Xie had no liking for the police and said disdainfully, "When did the police become so incompetent? They blame unsolvable cases on some vague, unfounded thing. Next time there's an unsolvable serial murder case, you're not going to say the killer is Sun Wukong, are you? I truly feel sorry for the victims; they must be dying with their eyes wide open in disbelief."

Ye Cheng said, "You..."

Luo Xie's lips curled into a wicked smile as he asked, "What's wrong with me?"

Hu Rongrong took Ye Cheng's arm and said sweetly, "Brother Ye, don't take him seriously. He's uneducated and has never been to school. Don't worry, he can't beat you. I'll help you investigate the case and I'll definitely catch the murderer. That will make him furious."

Snap... Luo Xie broke another fork in half.

Xia Chen clicked his tongue in amazement. Luo Xie truly lived up to his reputation; he was a man of superhuman strength. Breaking Ye Cheng's neck with his bare hands wouldn't have been difficult for him. How did Ye Cheng manage to offend Hu Rongrong?

Luo Shimin cheered, "Great! We can investigate cases again. No more classes!"

Luo Xie said with a livid face, "How about this, I'll compete with you to see who catches the murderer first, and the loser stays away from Rongrong."

"No problem!" Ye Cheng couldn't be happier than never seeing Hu Rongrong again.

Hu Rongrong said pitifully, "No, no, how could you use me as a betting stake? Officer Ye, have you forgotten that night?"

Boom... This is the third one.

Luo Xie asked angrily, "What happened that night?"

"Nothing happened, I swear to God." Li Xiao appeared just in time and saved Ye Cheng. "My dear Xiao Xiao, you're here so soon."

Li Xiao gagged twice and roared, "Big brother, I was wrong, please forgive me! I mustered up a lot of courage to come and deliver this report to you."

Ye Cheng went up to Li Xiao and put his arm around her waist, speaking in a voice so soft that only Li Xiao could hear, "I've run into some trouble. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I'll treat you to dinner later."

"Li Xiao saw Luo Xie. As a police officer, no one would forget that face. Seeing Li Xiao's tacit approval, Ye Cheng smiled and said, "Don't be shy, my dear Xiao Xiao. Although this is what we call each other in private, these people are all my good friends. It's okay."

A blush crept onto Li Xiao's cheeks as she smiled slightly at everyone. Her other hand gripped Ye Cheng's waist tightly.

Ye Chengchong said to Hu Rongrong, "My dear Xiaoxiao is here, shouldn't you give up your seat?"

Hu Rongrong got up and sat down next to Luo Xie, her face expressionless, her thoughts unknown.

The danger was finally over, and Ye Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. "Xiao Xiao, where's the test report? Let me see it quickly."

Li Xiao handed the test report to Ye Cheng and said, "The red liquid we collected from the scene has been confirmed to be blood, and human blood. I extracted red blood cells from the blood and did a DNA test, which found that it was different from the DNA of a normal person."

This DNA has a defect; theoretically, a person with this DNA defect should not be able to survive. Also, the blood extracted from the scene contained trace amounts of formalin solution.

Luo Shimin asked curiously, "What is formalin solution?"

"Formalin solution is a preservative, commonly used in medicine to preserve specimens of human organs."

Ye Cheng handed the test report to Xia Chen and asked, "You said that people with DNA defects cannot survive, but you saw it last night, that guy ran faster than a rabbit, did he look like someone who was about to die?"

Li Xiao shrugged. "That's how the test results are. If you don't believe me, you can take the DNA marker to other people and they'll definitely say the same thing as me."

Xia Chen asked, "Could it be that this DNA defect is what gave the killer the ability to suck blood?"

Li Xiao glanced at Xia Chen and shook his head. "I don't know."

Before Xia Chen could finish reading the report, Luo Shimin snatched it away. After flipping through a few pages, Luo Shimin realized she couldn't understand it at all, so she gave the report to her brother. Luo Xie glanced at the report and said, "This DNA defect is dominant, which means his offspring will have the same condition as him."

Li Xiao gave Luo Xie an approving look, "You're right. If the killer is strong, he will quickly create a group of bloodthirsty killers."

Ye Cheng asked, "The killer is extremely bloodthirsty. If it's hereditary, why didn't we notice it before?"

Luo Xie replied, "The culprit may be a first-generation killer. External factors such as radiation caused a genetic mutation, which is why it was not discovered before."

Ye Cheng didn't quite believe Luo Xie's words and looked at Li Xiao. Li Xiao said, "What he said is correct. It's entirely possible."

Luo Xie said calmly, "I have a master's degree in bioengineering from MIT and I speak English, French, Japanese, and German. So, stop saying I'm uncultured."

Ye Cheng was taken aback. He thought of a saying: "A rogue is not scary. What's scary is a rogue with culture."

Xia Chen asked, "Can we be sure that it was caused by that factor? That would make it easier to investigate."

Luo Xie shook his head. "There are too many reasons for genetic mutations: pollution, radiation, global warming, and personal factors. He just fell asleep, and when he woke up, his DNA had mutated."

Hu Rongrong, who hadn't said much, asked, "Could Xing Shou be the legendary vampire?"

Luo Xie continued, "Vampires were invented by a bunch of bored people, originating from rabies and plague in medieval Europe. There are a few castles in Europe that are said to have been inhabited by vampires. If you want to see them, I can take you there."

“I have my own legs now, I can go by myself if I want to.” Hu Rongrong turned her head away again.

Ye Cheng stood up and said, "The test report says that there is formalin solution in the blood. I know where to start the investigation. Let's set off now."

Li Xiao shouted, "You mean that iron pipe!"

Ye Cheng praised, "Smart, my dear Xiaoxiao."

Li Xiao said with a smile, "Thank you for the compliment, my dear Xiao Ye Ye!" Now everyone was disgusted!

Once again, Luo Xie from the Xia Group was in a bad mood. He only ate two bites of cake and drank some milk before vomiting it all up.

The others were still bent over, vomiting violently. The sour, foul smell filled the air, and all the students around lost their appetite. Students who had just entered the restaurant thought there was something wrong with today's breakfast and turned to leave. The restaurant owner had tears in his eyes, but he could only swallow his anger. He already knew what kind of people Luo Shimin and Luo Xie were, and he hoped that these plagues would leave soon. Xia Chen rarely praised people, but today, he gave a thumbs up to a girl he had known for less than ten minutes, and spat out two words through gritted teeth, "You're ruthless!" Luo Xie took out a tissue to wipe Hu Rongrong's mouth, but Hu Rongrong snatched it away, "I don't need you, I have my own hands." Luo Shimin pouted at Luo Xie, who tossed her a tissue, "Wipe it yourself." Ye Cheng looked at the mess on the floor and said regretfully, "What a pity, if we could have packed it up, we could have taken it home for a late-night snack." Everyone looked at Ye Cheng as if he were an alien, but Ye Cheng waved his hand, "I was just kidding." Luo Xie waved his hand, and a few of his underlings walked over. Luo Xie instructed, "Take them with me to Chenguan Village." The underlings didn't ask what they were going to do; they would carry out Luo Xie's orders without hesitation.

Luo Xie started his motorcycle and stopped in front of Hu Rongrong, gesturing for her to get on. Hu Rongrong pretended not to see him and got into another henchman's motorcycle. Luo Shimin sighed, "Sigh, looks like you're not a good person. Only I'm willing to ride with you." Before getting on, Li Xiao said sarcastically to Ye Cheng, "Didn't realize you had such a wide circle of friends." "It's not what you think. It's a long story. I'll explain later." Ye Cheng also got into another henchman's motorcycle. It did feel strange for a policeman to be riding in a thug's motorcycle. Luo Xie told his sister, "Hold on tight." "Okay, let's go." Luo Shimin's attention was entirely on Xia Chen, so she didn't hear what Luo Xie said. Luo Xie twisted the throttle, a thick smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, and the motorcycle sped away, the others following closely behind. The restaurant owner stood at the door, excitedly saying, "They're gone! They're finally gone!" The convoy sped along the road. Li Xiao shouted excitedly from inside the car. Ye Cheng wanted to remind her to maintain a good police image in front of the thugs, especially since she was wearing a police uniform. Unfortunately, the roar of the engines drowned out his voice; only Li Xiao could be heard shouting, "What did you say? Speak louder, I can't hear you." Ye Cheng gave up. Anyway, he wasn't wearing a police uniform, so no one knew he was a policeman. After turning a corner, Chenguan Village was approaching. Xia Chen saw five luxury cars drive out of Chenguan Village. Villagers stood at the village entrance to see them off. The cars drove quite a distance before turning back, suggesting that some important person was inside. The cars passed by the Harley convoy. Xia Chen glanced at the license plate; it wasn't a government vehicle. Xia Chen silently memorized the license plate number.

The villagers hadn't dispersed yet. Luo Xie parked the car at the village entrance, and Luo Shimin jumped out and asked, "Who is the village chief?"

"That's me." Chen Bao stepped forward, his face grim. Luo Xie and the others were clearly not good people. They had just seen off the God of Wealth, and now a bunch of plague gods had arrived. Was this what they called experiencing both joy and sorrow?

“It’s not that we’re scared. We’re not here to rob anyone; we’re here to investigate a case.” Ye Cheng and Li Xiao jumped out of their henchman’s car.

Seeing the two of them, Chen Baoan felt relieved. "Oh, it's you two. You're here to investigate a case, so who are these people?"

Ye Cheng knew what Chen Bao was thinking. Although Luo Xie's henchmen were all dressed in suits, they couldn't hide the murderous aura emanating from them. These people weren't just thugs, but ruthless killers; anyone who wasn't blind could see that. Ye Cheng said seriously, "These people are here to assist in the investigation. It involves a lot of confidential information, so don't say or ask anything reckless."

Chen Bao nodded and said, "Understood, understood." In his heart, he thought, "It's just collusion between the police and criminals. What do you mean by 'secret'? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

Li Xiao laughed when he heard Ye Cheng's words. This guy was too good at making things up, lying through his teeth.

Xia Chen asked Chen Bao, "Village Chief, who were those five cars that drove out just now? They seemed to be important people."

Speaking of the people in the car, Chen Bao smiled happily and said mysteriously, "They really are big shots, big shots I never dreamed of. I'll give you three chances. Can you guess who they are?"

Xia Chen said, "That was a car from the Xia Group that just left, but I can't guess who was in it."

Chen Bao was taken aback. "It's someone from the Xia Group. How did you know?"

Xia Chen slowly said, "This is just a simple deduction. As the village head, you should be worried about the village's economic lifeline being severely impacted. However, I see a happy expression on your face, and the villagers don't seem worried about losing their jobs. According to Officer Ye, it wasn't like this when he left this morning. Coincidentally, five luxury cars left the village, so your change must be related to the people in the cars. I just checked the license plates of the five cars, and none of them belong to the government. In this city, only three large companies have the resources to field such a luxurious convoy. And the Xia Group is the leader of those three companies, currently expanding its factory. Combining this with what you just said, I guess the Xia Group wants to acquire your land to build a factory."

"That was fantastic!" Chen Bao led the applause. "The people in the car are indeed from the Xia Group, but you're wrong about one thing. They're not here to talk to us about acquiring land."

The Xia Group is here to compensate us for our losses. They're unconditionally helping us rebuild our farm and will even be bringing in a batch of advanced international equipment. The old lady is truly a kind person.

"Free reconstruction? Unconditional compensation?" After spending a day in Chenguan Village, Ye Cheng had a general understanding of the village's livestock industry. Complete reconstruction would cost around 20 million yuan. Did the Xia Group have too much money to burn? Or was this series of events related to the Xia Group? Ye Cheng remembered the bureau chief saying that morning that someone would compensate the villagers; he had suspected it might be the Xia Group then, and now it was confirmed. The Xia Group was probably also putting pressure on the bureau chief to stop the investigation. What were they trying to cover up?

Xia Chen asked, "Old lady? Do you know her name? I don't remember there being an old lady in the Xia Group."

Chen Bao said proudly, "The old lady's surname is Xuan. She told me her name, I think it's Xuan Xiaotong."

Xia Chen muttered to himself, "The current head of the Xia Group is Xia Ningwei, and the people in charge of several branches are Xia Zhiheng, Xia Yuquan, and Xia Xuanzhu, all of whom are young people in their forties."

Among the more outstanding younger generation, Xia Huan, Xia Erting, and Xia Xinglun, I've never heard of anyone with the surname Xuan in the Xia Group, and she's an old lady at that.

Li Xiao, who was standing to the side, heard Xia Chen's words and said in surprise, "How do you know so much about the Xia family? I've only heard of a few of the names you mentioned."

Luo Shimin said, "What's so strange about it? Everyone in the Xia Group has the surname Xia, and Xia Chen also has the surname Xia. We're all one family."

Xia Chen looked displeased. "I am not a member of the Xia family. The Xia family has nothing to do with me."

Hu Rongrong knew the name Xuan Xiaotong. She opened her mouth several times, wanting to say it, but then didn't. Wasn't Tian Zi's best friend named Xuan Xiaotong in the vampire story he told her last night? Could it be that, as the old lady who told her the story said, it was a true story, and Tian Zi, Ade, and the mute girl were all real people?

Luo Shimin said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you didn't like the Xia family. I swear, I will never mention them again."

Xia Chen turned around and said, "It's none of your business. I was just thinking about some things from the past. Give me five minutes, I'll be fine."

Luo Xie's attention had been focused on Hu Rongrong, and only now did he realize something was amiss. His younger sister, Luo Shimin, had been spoiled since childhood, and apart from their father and a few others, she looked down on everyone. If anyone displeased her, she would find a way to torment them, let alone dare to show them any disrespect. Far from being angry at Xia Chen's actions, Luo Shimin had apologized to him. Luo Xie looked up at the sun; indeed, it was rising in the east today.

Luo Xie quickly realized that his sister liked this Xia Chen. Recalling Xia Chen's behavior, he was a smart guy, and his looks were decent too; Luo Xie was quite satisfied. This was a big deal; he should let his father know immediately. Luo Xie beckoned to a trusted henchman and whispered something in his ear. The henchman's gaze towards Xia Chen changed. He secretly took a few pictures of Xia Chen with his phone, then led all his men away in a cloud of dust.

Luo Shimin also asked, "Why have all your underlings left? Aren't they helping us solve the case anymore?"

Luo Xie said, "They're all roughnecks, good at committing crimes, but don't count on them to solve cases. There are some things in the gang that need their attention, so I'll stay here alone."

Luo Shimin nodded and said, "That makes sense. I have high hopes for you, brother. Find the murderer as soon as possible. Don't lose to Xia Chen and Officer Ye. They are very capable, one is a scholar and the other is a warrior."

Luo Xie said confidently, "Don't worry, little sister, even the two of them combined are no match for me."