Chapter 345: Second Phone Call, Su Ming Strikes First

Old Morgan’s voice was laced with unmistakable fury.

Sweat poured down Walker’s forehead, and an unshakable sense of dread gripped his heart.

Especially that one line—“Are you related to Punk Man, and is that why you’re trying to cover it up?”—it made Walker’s scalp go numb in an instant.

If Old Morgan really latched onto that line of thinking and refused to let go, wouldn’t that mean he was as good as dead?

He had no powerful backers, no hidden resources—just a small-time chief in the New York Police Department. What could he possibly do against retaliation from the Morgan Financial Group?

What made things worse was the question Old Morgan had raised: had he ever considered the possibility that Punk Man was the one behind Little Morgan’s murder?

The truth was, Chief Walker had never even entertained that thought.

In his mind, no organization, even one resembling a mafia group, would dare lay a finger on someone like Little Morgan.

You’d have to be completely fearless—not just for your own life, but for the safety of your entire family—to even think about doing something like that.

And that’s not an exaggeration.

If Little Morgan were still alive and walked straight into the headquarters of a New York underground gang to slap the boss across the face, those so-called ruthless gang leaders probably wouldn’t even dare retaliate. At most, they’d grit their teeth in silence. Honestly, if you really wanted to stretch it, they might even praise Little Morgan for slapping well.

That’s not hyperbole.

As one of the most powerful financial families in the United States, the Morgan Family’s influence was beyond imagination.

In a country where capitalism reigned supreme, the Morgan Financial Group had the power to sway elections. They could manipulate the lives of most people in the country with ease.

Sometimes, even the president had to take cues from the Morgan Financial Group.

After all, campaign funding for presidential candidates came from these massive financial conglomerates.

That’s exactly why, when Chief Walker first saw the video, it never crossed his mind that Little Morgan had been killed by some criminal organization like a gang.

Far more likely, he thought, was that a business rival had targeted him.

So in his version of events, the eleven killers shown in the video were all underlings of some hidden mastermind.

And to keep the whole thing under wraps, that mastermind had them all silenced—eliminated to prevent the Morgan Financial Group from catching wind of it. That, to him, seemed like a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Even if the best criminal investigators in the country came in, they’d probably agree with his assessment.

But now… Old Morgan’s question had completely stumped Walker.

Just like Old Morgan said, what kind of insane business empire or financial family would risk everything by tearing off the mask and going after someone like Little Morgan?

Were they not afraid that the Morgan Financial Group would retaliate by assassinating their own heir?

It would be a completely thankless move. Any shrewd businessman would know better than to act so recklessly.

After a rapid mental scramble, Chief Walker forced a strained smile onto his face and looked at Old Morgan with sincere eyes.

“CEO Morgan,” he said, “I’ve definitely considered that angle… but from a criminal investigation standpoint, the likelihood isn’t particularly high.”

“And I’d like to explain why I came to that conclusion.”

“Our department reviewed surveillance footage around the Knight Bar. Three hours before the fire broke out, we spotted Punk Man entering the bar.”

“But from that point on, up until the fire, there was no footage of him leaving the premises.”

“Combined with the unidentified body we found, it strongly suggests that he may have been silenced by someone else inside the Knight Bar.”

“There’s at least an eighty percent chance that this is the case—enough for us to report it as a working theory.”

Old Morgan glanced at the charred body in the body bag, his gaze icy as he continued his questioning.

“Silenced by someone else?”

“Then have you found out who did it?”

“If there’s surveillance around the Knight Bar, your New York Police Department should be able to determine who the killer of those eleven people is, right?”

“Tell me—where is the killer now?”

Trembling.

Chief Walker felt his heart trembling with fear.

Everything he’d just said was nothing more than a desperate attempt to muddle through, embellished with half-truths.

He had assumed that Punk Man was the unidentified corpse and hadn’t dug any deeper.

As for the surveillance footage?

That had just been something Black mentioned offhand a few hours ago. He hadn’t followed up, hadn’t asked for details, and certainly hadn’t investigated who the killer might be.

In this moment, Chief Walker could only meet Old Morgan’s gaze with a look of helplessness that was hard to fake. He forced out an explanation.

“CEO Morgan, that’s actually what I was going to bring up next.”

“A killer capable of eliminating eleven people without causing a single disturbance must have terrifying counter-surveillance and assassination skills.”

“Someone like that would easily find blind spots in the surveillance coverage. So the fact that the cameras didn’t catch the killer is actually… quite normal.”

“Rest assured… as long as the New York Police Department is given a bit more time, we will definitely find the killer, and maybe even the mastermind behind it.”

“Of course, we also can’t rule out another possibility.”

“That is… this Punk Man might have been a loyal subordinate of the mastermind. So when he entered the Knight Bar earlier, he had already decided to eliminate his fellow subordinates, then take his own life.”

“Yes, that’s actually quite plausible.”

At those words, Old Morgan’s anger surged. His gaze turned icy as he stared at Chief Walker.

Probability?

Possibility?

Maybe?

…

This idiot in front of him was actually using those words to brush him off.

They hadn’t even confirmed whether the person they found was the real culprit, yet he came to report as if he were claiming credit.

And now he was spouting some ridiculous theory about Punk Man killing all his own men before committing suicide? That was the final straw. Old Morgan’s patience had completely run out.

He took a deep breath.

Suppressing the fury that threatened to erupt, Old Morgan stared expressionlessly at Chief Walker and said in a calm voice,

“Three days.”

“I told you… I’m only giving you three days. No—now you only have two left.”

“Whether there’s another killer or you need to confirm the identity of that corpse, you have just two days.”

“If you can’t give me a satisfactory answer, I think you know what will happen.”

With that, Old Morgan had no intention of staying any longer. He turned and walked away without the slightest hesitation.

Chief Walker let out a quiet sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He was grateful to have survived that encounter.

But at the same time… there was a bitter taste in his mouth.

Two days to find the murderer of eleven people, or to confirm the identity of an unrecognizable corpse—either task was nearly impossible.

Just as he was about to step out of the forensic lab, Old Morgan suddenly remembered the Dragon Country officer he had spoken to earlier.

That officer had shown exceptional investigative skills, managing to dismantle a massive drug trafficking organization in just a few days.

Old Morgan had reviewed the case files last night and thought the case would be incredibly difficult to crack. And yet, the Dragon Country police had managed to take down nearly the entire operation in such a short time.

If he reached out to them now, perhaps he could get a more reliable assessment.

At the very least, it would be far more useful than Walker’s endless talk of possibilities and maybes.

As the head of the Morgan Financial Group, Old Morgan was not someone who hesitated to act. He immediately stopped in his tracks and extended a hand toward his secretary.

“Give me my personal phone.”

The secretary didn’t ask any questions and quickly retrieved Old Morgan’s private phone from the briefcase and handed it to him.

Seeing this, Chief Walker grew nervous. He feared Old Morgan was about to call someone higher up to lodge a complaint. He hurriedly stepped forward, ready to make a firm promise or pledge.

But the cold look in Old Morgan’s eyes froze him in place. He lowered his head in silence, tense and anxious.

Then, Old Morgan dialed the only Dragon Country number in his call history.

After a few dozen seconds, the call was answered.

Before Old Morgan could say anything, Su Ming’s confident voice came through the line.

“Hello, CEO Morgan.”

“Calling me out of the blue like this… are you perhaps about to ask something like, ‘Could an unidentifiable corpse be the main culprit behind Little Morgan’s murder?'”