Chapter 370: From Cautious to Extreme—Is K About to Pick Up the Butcher’s Knife?

Laying the groundwork for a shift in style?

Su Ming’s words made all three—Lin Tian, Xu Changsheng, and Liu Yang—frown in unison.

It was obvious.

The idea of a “shift in style” was a bit abstract, and not something easily grasped at first.

Liu Yang rubbed his round belly, his face full of confusion as he scratched his head and asked, “Team Leader Su, I understand what you meant earlier about killing those in the know and using them as scapegoats. That’s plausible, and quite likely.”

“But this shift in style—what does that mean?”

It wasn’t just Liu Yang who was puzzled.

Lin Tian and Xu Changsheng also looked completely baffled, waiting for Su Ming to explain.

Seeing their confusion, Su Ming nodded slightly, then answered seriously.

“A shift in style is just my theory. Or rather, it’s a bold hypothesis I formed after digging deeper into K’s decision to blow up the casino and leave behind a scapegoat.”

“First of all, this isn’t our first encounter with K.”

“In a way, we could even call ourselves old acquaintances. We’re very familiar with each other’s tracking methods and countermeasures.”

“It’s like this—when we saw K, Q, and J enter Queen’s Casino, and then the casino exploded shortly after, someone from the New York Police Department might suspect a suicide out of guilt.”

“But our first thought was… K used the same old trick to erase his identity and throw us off his trail.”

“That’s the kind of understanding we have of K. It’s also his usual method of dealing with us.”

At this point, Lin Tian, standing nearby, had already caught on to Su Ming’s meaning. He nodded and said, “I see what you mean about the change.”

“Throughout our pursuit, K has consistently tried to destroy or conceal evidence, covering up any potential leaks.”

“That’s a common tactic among cautious criminals.”

“If we can’t uncover enough clues, then of course we can’t continue the pursuit, let alone identify the culprit.”

“So, if there’s a shift in style, it could mean K is no longer trying to plug the leaks. Instead of destroying evidence, he might be choosing a completely different approach to deal with our pursuit.”

“And to ensure that this shift in strategy goes unnoticed, he’s still using the old method of destroying evidence this time—to lower our guard.”

At that moment, even Liu Yang, who had long left the world of criminal investigations for the political arena, understood what Su Ming meant. He frowned and continued, “A shift in style?”

“What kind of style could K shift to? Criminals run, police chase—that’s how it’s always been, hasn’t it?”

“Besides, we came to the United States with official approval, and Morgan Financial Group is doing everything it can to help us track down the Poker Organization. It’s not like they’re going to report us and have us deported.”

“What else could K do? Give up on hiding evidence and just find a better place to lay low?”

“Surely these criminals wouldn’t dare open fire on us, would they? That’d be suicidal. Wouldn’t they be afraid of even harsher pursuit afterward?”

Hearing this, Su Ming shook his head slowly, eyes narrowing as he spoke with solemn focus.

“No, Chief Liu. You’re overlooking something important.”

“We’re currently operating in the United States, not back in Dragon Country. And we didn’t come here through official diplomatic channels—we came using the influence of Morgan Financial Group.”

“That means… if anything happens to us, the Dragon Country government won’t be able to do much, especially here on U.S. soil.”

“On top of that, the United States, with its love of freedom, makes it far easier to obtain firearms than in Dragon Country.”

“Also, this is the Poker Organization’s home turf. They have numerous assets and subordinates here, and plenty of weapons. That creates a very particular situation…”

Su Ming’s expression grew more serious, and he continued with intense focus.

“Back in Dragon Country, when K wanted to stop us from pursuing him, he targeted his own Organization members—like the Demon Witch who was driven to suicide, or Ghost, who was nearly killed.”

“He believed that by killing those who knew too much, he could silence them forever and prevent us from uncovering any further leads.”

“But after his failure in Dragon Country, I believe K has realized something… that with our advanced investigative techniques, silencing insiders and gambling on erasing evidence is no longer reliable.”

“Because here in the United States, the Poker Organization is based locally. The New York Police Department’s previous investigations were very basic, and they undoubtedly left behind a lot of clues.”

“Even if K kills the people involved, we can still uncover leads by digging into the details.”

“Not to mention, judging by how K treats J, their relationship is clearly close—very different from his other subordinates.”

“So K won’t be able to bring himself to kill J just to cut off the trail.”

“If the clues can’t be erased, and the NYPD’s investigative abilities are too weak to uncover them anyway… and considering how close we came to catching him back in Dragon Country, K will likely shift his strategy to protect himself from being discovered.”

“If he can’t erase the clues, then he’ll eliminate the people capable of uncovering them.”

“He’ll shift from a cautious and passive approach to one that’s aggressive and extreme. To avoid capture, he might start targeting us directly.”

As Su Ming’s voice fell silent, the three others fully understood what he meant. But whether it was Lin Tian, Xu Changsheng, or even Liu Yang, none of them showed the slightest hint of fear.

Lin Tian’s expression turned solemn, his voice firm and steady.

“If we dared to come to the United States, then we’ve already considered the possibility of something going wrong.”

“So what if K sees killing us as his goal? Police and criminals have always been on opposite sides. If he treated me with respect, that would be more suspicious.”

“Xiao Ming, stick to the original plan. If there’s any particularly dangerous operation, I’ll lead the team myself.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Yang puffed out his chest, ready to voice his agreement.

But just then, Chief Walker, wearing rubber gloves, jogged over to Su Ming. Bowing his head respectfully, he reported, “Chief Su Ming, the bodies have been taken care of. They’re all in body bags now.”

“We found a total of eleven bodies in the ruins. We’re ready to begin the autopsies…”