Diary of a Criminal Investigator - Chapter 20: Solving a Case Can Be Easy If You Know How

Unite the Clans? Create an Empire?Atrox Soryu thought he was destined for greatness… until he wasn’t.Born into the smaller Soryu Clan, Atrox was a prodigy, praised for his unparalleled swordsmanship and relentless ambition. He vowed to become Emperor of the Eternal Skies, a title that hadn't been claimed in centuries. But on the day he was to manifest his Order Mark—the source of every knight’s power—everything went wrong.Instead of the revered Holy, Elemental, or Mystic Orders, Atrox was branded with a Forbidden Order: Something twisted and wrong. A death sentence in the eyes of the world. Branded a monster and exiled by his own father, Atrox was cast into a brutal labor camp where the weak are crushed, and the strong are barely tolerated.But exile isn’t the end—it’s the beginning. In the harshest of conditions, Atrox awakens the full potential of his forbidden powers, powers that could rival even the strongest Knights. He will forge alliances with the forgotten, turn his enemies into allies, and rise from the shadows to build an empire from nothing.Betrayed, exiled, and broken? No. Atrox Soryu is building an empire—and the Eternal Skies will bow to him.

‘Lil Schweiz’, a famous pirate in the southern seas.

While on a smooth voyage, shocking news fell upon her.

“The Admiral is coming.”

Despite the hot weather, chills ran down her spine. Lil took her eyes off her hands and looked up at Alain, the boatswain.

Not that she didn’t hear him, but she wanted to check again.

“Who?”

“The Admiral of the Peninsula! That madman! Admiral Retiro!”

That infamous admiral, known for skinning the heads of pirates he captured and throwing their limbs as food for the cannibal fish, the one with an eccentric and bizarre reputation will come to the South.

“It will be for the best to not cross his path. We should get out of here before he arrives!”

But there’s one thing that Lil doesn’t know…

[I, Lil, are notifying you, Ed, that you’ve been punished respectfully according to the Sesbron etiquette.] …It’s a setup!

“I’m glad I have a role in this interesting play.”

He briefly looked up at the sunlight passing through the huge veil. The sky above his head soon became covered in several ivory lights.

“It’s a good one, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

A marine romance fantasy between a pirate captain and the admiral!

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‘Forbidden romance on the high seas!

It was all smooth sailing for Lil Schweiz, a famous pirate captain, until some shocking news almost threw her overboard. The notorious Admiral Retiro, known for scalping and feeding his pirate captives to flesh-eating fish, is on his way… And he’s coming for one thing only.’

Su Ping transmigrated to a parallel world and became the CEO of a gaming company which was on the brink of bankruptcy.

The local gaming industry was in a recession. Even though his gaming company possessed top VR technology, the management only pushed for low-quality productions. The company had yet to produce any masterpiece.

As such, Su Ping became a game designer. In order to increase the fame of his company, he thought of replicating the Resident Evil series that he experienced in his previous life. He recreated the series based on his memory and designed the Zombie Apocalypse series. Unfortunately, at this point, everyone was persuading him to switch jobs. Even his girlfriend broke up with him. Su Ping insisted on designing the game and he worked day and night.

At the same time, another company, which was a giant in the gaming industry, announced that they would also be unleashing a game about the apocalypse. The company even invested a huge sum of money for advertising.

Finally, one day, both games were released. Everyone rushed to try out Next Day Apocalypse produced by the famous company, but they left the game feeling disappointed and requested for a refund.

On the other hand, even though only less than 10 people played Su Ping’s game, they were completely immersed in the gaming experience. A streamer even praised it publicly.

Su Ping’s game gained overnight success. On the very first day it was released, it surpassed Next Day Apocalypse, which had spent millions in advertising, in terms of sales.

Players were drawn to Su Ping’s game due to the mysterious and dangerous virus T, the unpredictable monsters and the nerve-wrecking plot. Countless people were scared witless.

When the valiant Alice was introduced in the game, all players went crazy in excitement. Her performance in the game made her the first virtual idol to have fans worldwide.

When everyone believed that this would become a classic of a generation and that it was impossible for anything else to surpass it, Su Ping released Silent Hill, Dino Crisis, Aliens and other series.

“No one looks at you. No one touches you. You’re a Whitehall now... And you’re mine.” Roman’s voice was a low, dangerous growl against her neck.She tilted her chin, meeting the predator in his eyes with her own cold fire. “I belong to no one, Roman, certainly not a beast in a jersey. If you want to claim me, you’ll have to do better than your father’s signature on a contract.”She spun her wheelchair to leave, but he was faster. His hand locked around her waist, dragging her back as his palm slammed against the wall beside her head.“Don’t you fucking dare me, Estelle.”—Estelle Rutledge was the Ice Queen of the Rutledge sports dynasty: national treasure, global brand, and the financial backbone of her family’s empire.Until one catastrophic crack on the ice shattered her career… and left her in a wheelchair.In the elite world of the one percent, a broken asset becomes a liability.With the Rutledge legacy collapsing under a mountain of debt, Estelle’s own mother did the unthinkable. She sold her daughter to the highest bidder, trading Estelle’s freedom for a check from Magnus Whitehall, the ruthless billionaire owner of a professional hockey empire.But Magnus didn’t buy Estelle for himself. He bought her to be his son’s leash.Roman Whitehall is the NHL’s most dangerous beast. A volatile heir with a scandal-soaked reputation and a temper that threatens the family’s billions. To the league’s board, he’s a loose cannon. To his father, he’s a problem that needs a wife to clean up his image.The command was simple: “Be the one thing he can’t avoid… or lose your legs.”Now Estelle is legally bound to a man who sees their marriage as a cage, and her as the bars holding him in. Roman believes she’s a fragile burden. Estelle thinks he’s a monster fueled by rage and secrets.But inside the Whitehall mansion, built on power, money, and lies, Estelle discovers a terrifying truth: she is not the first “Ice Queen” Magnus Whitehall has broken.Trapped in dynasty politics and a contract signed in blood, Estelle faces an impossible choice. Will she let the Whitehalls destroy what’s left of her… or join forces with the beast she hates most and burn their empire to the ground?Because even though she hates it, Roman Whitehall may be the only man who can help her stand again.Even if he has to break her first.