Chapter 20: Account

“What are you dawdling for? Hurry up, I need to talk to you. You can’t park here.”

Unexpectedly, Lin Feng’s car was cleaner than he was.

Lin Feng’s greasy bangs flapped on his forehead as he moved.

“Uh… Qin… Qin what was it again?”

“Do all you criminal police officers have memories as good as yours?”

“Hahaha, are you making fun of me? My apologies, my brain is really good at remembering other things, but not so much with people’s names. Hey, isn’t that strange?”

After meeting Lin Feng, Qin Qing was completely disillusioned with the police profession. She didn’t hold back: “You should be glad you’re a police officer. You have an iron rice bowl, and you only deal with criminals, which gives you a natural advantage. Go work a few days outside, and I guarantee your problem will be cured quickly. You’ll be rattling off the names and nicknames of your bosses and clients in no time.”

“Oh, why didn’t I notice how sharp-tongued you were last time? You’re worried about my job, but how’s your own job search going?”

*Pfft*, another stab to the heart.

Qin Qing: “Ah ha, I didn’t notice either. Officer Lin, you’re quite vindictive.”

Lin Feng laughed: “Looks like it’s not going smoothly… Alright, enough about that. I saw you wandering around that area for a long time. Shopping? Don’t you young girls usually go shopping in groups?”

Qin Qing felt that this police officer was terrible at conversation. She turned her back, leaning against the car window and letting the wind blow on her. Her voice gradually scattered in the wind: “I don’t like shopping, and I don’t have many friends.”

Lin Feng didn’t say anything like how young people should make more friends, unlike others. He just exclaimed, “Oh, this young lady has quite a personality!”

Qin Qing turned back: “Didn’t you say you had something to talk to me about? Why are we only talking about work and friends, Ah sir, are you investigating me?”

“Hahaha, sorry, it’s just a habit to ask. It’s nothing big, just that the reward for the fugitive you reported last time has been approved. You need to come back to the station with me to fill out an application form and go through the process. I was going to call you, but who knew I’d see you today? So I just brought you back directly.”

So it was about collecting the reward money, why didn’t he say so earlier?

Lin Feng said that because Gui Cheng was apprehended and brought to justice, the Wuning Detachment was commended, but also chewed out.

“Why were they chewed out?” Wasn’t solving the case a good thing?

“Anyway, the case is closed now, so I can tell you. That Gui Cheng had been selling vegetables in our jurisdiction for three years, and no one found out. If you hadn’t cornered him last time, who knows how long he would have gotten away with it.” Lin Feng irritably ran a hand through his hair. “Traffic management was also chewed out with us. The higher-ups said the surveillance layout was inadequate. After going up to make self-criticisms, the traffic management people have been giving us dirty looks. Hey, those bastards even feel wronged, but our team got commended and still got chewed out, and we didn’t complain.”

Lin Feng grumbled and complained to her the whole way, saying that not only did they have to cooperate with the petty traffic management department to improve the surveillance layout, but they had just closed an economic fraud case a few days ago and hadn’t even had time to rest before taking on another murder case. Forget going home, they didn’t even have time to sleep or shower.

Only then did Qin Qing realize that Chen Daguang’s case was also handled by them.

Lin Feng: “I still envy you. You haven’t been poisoned by work. Cherish your current easy days. Oh, by the way, your name is Qin… what was it again?”

“Qin Qing.”

“Oh, right, right, I remember as soon as you say it.”

For the rest of the journey, Qin Qing did not speak unless necessary. She didn’t know if he genuinely couldn’t remember her name, or if he was pretending. Just as she didn’t know if Lin Feng, as a seasoned criminal police officer with multiple commendations, was really so loose-lipped that he would complain about his superiors and other departments to someone he had only met twice. Was he intolerant or reckless, or was he… testing her?

If it was a test, it stemmed from suspicion.

Lin Feng suspected her?

Why? Aside from their previous interaction when she reported the case, what else was there to suspect about her?

It wasn’t good to stare at someone directly, so Qin Qing took out her portable notebook and wrote Lin Feng’s name.

The basic data was no different from before, with a slight increase in Merit Value.

She clicked on the log.

She reviewed Lin Feng’s recent major events.

The log had a summary function, but it could only be precise down to the month. And it only summarized the most important events of that month.

Qin Qing didn’t find her name in Lin Feng’s monthly summary. She was relieved, at least it proved that her importance wasn’t that high yet.

She could only look in the daily information, which was extensive, especially since this police officer was truly busy as a top. His daily information was more than others, and finding sporadic data about herself from so much text information was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

She saw it, this guy really did suspect her!

When they were investigating Fang Chang’s fraud case, they found out that she was behind Chen Daguang’s timely withdrawal. And the information wasn’t even revealed by Chen Daguang; Chen Daguang had also been probed, but that rough guy didn’t even notice.

Lin Feng and his team even investigated her social connections and bank transaction information. Of course, they didn’t find anything, but precisely because they couldn’t find anything, the police considered her more suspicious.

They even knew that Qin Qing had been frequently visiting Jinsheng International recently. Today, Lin Feng and she didn’t just coincidentally meet; he specifically used the reward money as an excuse to corner her.

They couldn’t find anything else, so they planned to start with her. It was just that since there was no evidence yet to prove she had a problem, she wasn’t placed at the highest priority for investigation.

Phew~

So she had been under observation for so long.

This Officer Lin’s Talent, [Peeling Back the Layers], was truly impressive.

Unfortunately, they had miscalculated. Qin Qing was not a criminal.

She also had no intention of using the System Panel to do anything illegal or disorderly. She thought that even if she had the intention, the System Panel itself would probably stop her.

She had noticed that her Merit Value on the System Panel had grown from an initial 35 to 42. The System Panel’s reward broadcast only mentioned Experience Points, but not merit. She hadn’t even noticed when it had increased.

So the System Panel was recording her words and actions. Currently, she didn’t know what other uses the merit and sin values on the System Panel had, besides distinguishing good people from bad. She hoped that leveling up would give her the answer. With these two items supervising her, she wouldn’t do anything bad.

Uh… she was also too lazy to do bad things. How tiring it was to be a bad person.

So, Lin Feng and the Liang Jinguo father and son would find nothing.

However, being targeted by the police, a state violence agency, was ultimately not a good thing. At least, sometimes her actions wouldn’t be as convenient.

Perhaps she should proactively do something.

Proactively help the police, just like assisting in the arrest of a major fugitive last time. For the sake of a good outcome, even if the other party still had questions about her, at least they wouldn’t treat her as a suspect.

“That’s a pretty notebook,” Lin Feng said from beside her. “Are you planning to write a diary? Why are you spacing out for so long without writing?”

Qin Qing closed her notebook and put it back in her crossbody bag, telling Lin Feng truthfully: “What notebook? That’s a Wordless Heavenly Book. Ordinary people can’t see it. Only I can see its profound mysteries.”

While waiting at a red light, Lin Feng stared at her for a moment, as if judging something.

Finally, he laughed at her: “You say it as if it’s true.”

“It is the truth. How dare I lie to Uncle Police? It’s a pity you don’t believe the truth.”

Lin Feng raised a hand to stop her: “Alright, alright… Don’t call me uncle. I’m not much older than you. Call me ‘ge’, call me ‘ge’, did you hear?”

{T/N: Adding “ge” (哥) to a name means “big brother” or “bro”—a friendly or respectful way to refer to an older male.}

Qin Qing smiled, but didn’t actually call him that.

Because they had already arrived at the police station.

Lin Feng was the first to jump out of the car.

The SUV’s chassis was a bit high, so Qin Qing also had to jump down.

Lin Feng took a bottle of water from the trunk and handed it to her: “Here.”

Qin Qing reached out to take it, but the moment her hand touched the water bottle, she couldn’t grasp it, and the bottle fell to the ground.

Suddenly, her head felt as if it had been struck by a bell, buzzing, and then alarms blared in her ears, sharp and piercing.

[Warning, High Sin Value personnel detected 50 meters behind!]

[Warning, High Sin Value personnel detected 49 meters behind!]

[Warning, High Sin Value personnel detected 48 meters behind!]

The manually closed System Panel was forcibly opened.

A blazing crimson light surged before Qin Qing’s eyes, flashing so intensely that she couldn’t open them.

Behind?

Behind her was the Police Station.

It was normal for there to be criminals and High Sin Value personnel here; perhaps only prisons had more criminals.

Qin Qing clicked to confirm the warning, and the red light and piercing alarm disappeared. However, the Character Panel failed to close successfully, and a map with an arrow appeared directly in front of her, just like with Gui Cheng.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Lin Feng had already picked up the water bottle from the ground and handed it back to her, this time with the cap unscrewed.

Qin Qing shook her head: “Nothing, I stood up too quickly, a bit of low blood sugar.”

For the first time, she complained in her heart about the Character Panel’s lack of intelligence, giving indiscriminate warnings when it detected people with high crime values. It scared her.

What was there to warn her about with criminals who were already apprehended?

Lin Feng took Qin Qing’s elbow and supported her: “Come into my office and sit down for a bit to recover. You should exercise more often. If this problem of yours acts up while you’re driving or crossing the road, it could be serious.”

They walked towards the police station entrance.

Qin Qing suddenly realized something was wrong. They weren’t walking fast, but the red dot representing the criminal on the Panel map was rapidly approaching their direction.

Weren’t criminals all locked up? Was this one being transferred?

The red dot representing the criminal got closer and closer to them.

When it was within ten meters, Qin Qing’s heart suddenly felt as if it was being squeezed tightly, an unusual pressure suppressing her, causing her pain, suffocation… And as the criminal got closer, her physical reaction became more intense, her face instantly turning as pale as paper.

She finally saw the criminal: a haggard middle-aged woman crying as she walked out, being supported by a female police officer.

Qin Qing heard the woman wailing: “I didn’t know he had done so many wrong things all these years. I always thought my marriage was happy. Only today did I find out that the person next to me was like this. What… what should I do?”

The female police officer was still comforting her.

She wasn’t handcuffed, and she wasn’t at the police station as a criminal; she seemed more like… a victim. However, her crime value was even higher than that of the serial killer Gui Cheng.

———-

*High Sin Value Identification*

Name: Lin Fanghui

Gender: Female

Age: 36

Health: 70

Mood: 82

Intelligence: 68

Stamina: 61

Charm: 65

Luck: 60

Sin: 71

Merit: 29

———-

A very contradictory set of data; she actually had merit. Her eyes were swollen from crying, but her mood was surprisingly good. Her intelligence was also very high…

Qin Qing knew this was a dangerous woman, a hunter disguised as a weakling.

The moment she brushed past Qin Qing, the painful signals from her body made Qin Qing’s legs almost buckle, and she only avoided falling because Lin Feng was holding her.

Lin Feng pulled her, then waved to a passing officer: “Hey, you, go to the pantry and make a hot cocoa and bring it to my office.” Then he said to Qin Qing, “This problem of yours seems serious. Have you seen a doctor? Don’t leave yourself with a chronic illness at such a young age.”

Qin Qing was half-supported by Lin Feng, watching his mouth open and close, not really hearing what he was saying.

A battle raged in her mind.

Should she tell Lin Feng about Lin Fanghui?

Lin Feng already suspected her; telling him this would only increase his suspicion. She might even be put under surveillance.

She had thought about helping the police in the car, but that was under the condition that she was fully prepared to get away unscathed, not so suddenly.

Clearly, the police currently didn’t even consider Lin Fanghui a suspect. Who knew when they would realize it?

She didn’t have time to see what kind of crimes this woman had committed, but one thing was very important. Lin Fanghui’s log prediction clearly stated that she was going to run.

[May 17th 03:00 Successfully left the country.]

Today was May 16th, she was going to run tonight! If she missed this chance, who knew if she would ever be brought to justice. A Sin Value of 71! How many people did she have to kill and how many bad things did she have to do to accumulate such a high value?

Lin Fanghui was about to get into the car that was picking her up. If she didn’t stop her now, it would be too late!

Should she prioritize self-preservation and let the tiger return to the mountains?

Or should she put herself at risk, close the door and beat the dog, and eliminate evil thoroughly?

Never in Qin Qing’s life had her mind raced so fast.

Suddenly, Qin Qing gave a self-deprecating smile and closed her eyes.

Ha, she was still too soft-hearted after all.

She suddenly opened her eyes, facing Lin Feng’s genuine concern, and almost grabbed his collar, shouting quickly: “That woman! She has a murder case on her, don’t let her get in the car, she’s going to run!”

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to discreetly synchronize and have Lin Feng arrange the deployment, but she had wasted too much time hesitating, and it was already too late. She already had one foot in the car. Qin Qing wasn’t sure if the police could track the car once it drove away.

In crime dramas, there are often scenes of police and criminals in car chases, and the police don’t always win. Many times, criminals switch cars multiple times or ram police cars, injuring officers, and still escape.

Qin Qing dared not gamble. She chose the most efficient way. Lin Feng could hear it, and other police officers present could also hear it.

Lin Feng’s expression changed in an instant.

However, just as Qin Qing shouted, “Don’t let that woman get in the car,” a hand reached out from the car window, holding a Nail Gun. The Nail Gun was aimed at Qin Qing.

In the nick of time, Lin Feng reacted quickly and pulled Qin Qing away. The nail was embedded in the promotional bulletin board behind them.

Qin Qing, pulled by Lin Feng’s momentum, fell backward heavily onto the ground.

And Lin Feng, like a hawk spotting a rabbit, darted out.