I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 658: As One Wave Subsides, Another Rises
The Soul Bead was immediately delivered to the Huzhou Tianjian Bureau headquarters. After Liu Yuxin and the high-level members of the Tianjian Bureau read the information contained in the Soul Bead, their expressions were ones of utter bafflement.
Wen Xianghua’s death, was it really like this? His death was actually his own doing?
There was no puppet master pulling the strings, just an accident; his death was entirely of his own making.
The sword that had been hanging over the entire Huzhou Tianjian Bureau had vanished. Wen Xianghua’s sudden disappearance had placed great pressure on both Liu Yuxin’s faction and Wen Xianghua’s faction. The struggle between Wen Xianghua and Liu Yuxin had pushed the two factions to a critical juncture. And if Wen Xianghua’s death had been orchestrated by Liu Yuxin, the conflict would have escalated instantly.
Now that the truth was out, Wen Xianghua’s faction had no reason to fight, and Liu Yuxin’s faction no longer needed to worry about a counterattack from Wen Xianghua’s faction.
"This is the truth personally investigated by Greedy Wolf Crown, extracted from the memories imprinted in Wen Xiaorou’s mind. I think we can all agree on this, right?" Liu Yuxin said indifferently after a long silence.
Everyone held their breath, especially Gaocheng of Wen Xianghua’s faction, whose eyes flickered.
Without Wen Xianghua, they were simply no match for Liu Yuxin. To continue the fight would only lead to them being kicked out of the Tianjian Bureau system. Now, they were presented with only two options: submit to Liu Yuxin’s faction or request a transfer themselves.
"I can’t believe Director Wen, whom I respected so much... was secretly indulging in so many illegal and illicit acts. To think I always saw him as an idol and a role model..." a senior member formerly of Wen Xianghua’s faction finally spoke, indicating his stance.
"Feigning compliance while acting deceitfully, being two-faced—it served him right to be ruined by his own greed. But Director Wen did shed blood for the country and made significant contributions. Let’s not publicize his crimes. The man is dead; let him keep some dignity."
"But Wen Xianghua’s illegal income accumulated over the years must be confiscated; otherwise, it would be unfair to those he harmed."
"As for how to handle Director Wen’s affairs, I’m afraid we don’t have much right to say, do we? It should be reported to the Ministry of Defense for them to decide."
"Let’s not argue," Liu Yuxin interjected. "Greedy Wolf Crown will also report this, and its handling is not for us to decide. What we *should* do is take this as a warning! First Zhou Shen, and now Wen Xianghua. I want to trust each and every one of you, but the current facts make my blood run cold.
"For the time we have left, we must conduct a thorough review of the Bureau’s internal affairs and all city branch offices. The higher-ups sent Greedy Wolf Crown. Was it merely to investigate Wen Xianghua’s disappearance? I see it more as a sign of their disappointment in us.
"Comrades, let’s not wait until our superiors lose all hope in us before we feel regret."
Although his words were laden with emotion, everyone present understood the clear ultimatum. If you don’t wise up and still try to cross me, you’d better be sure your own asses are clean, otherwise...
「Early the next morning」
Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu arrived at the Tianjian Bureau headquarters. The Tianjian Bureau brothers present saluted and greeted Wang Lan. It was clear that Wang Lan’s prestige within the Tianjian Bureau had risen.
In the past, Wang Lan was just a legendary figure to many Tianjian Bureau brothers—someone distant, with no real connection to them. As for those illustrious military achievements, those splendid battle honors, who knew if they were true?
But this time, in a mere five days, he had solved a case that the entire Tianjian Bureau had struggled with for a month without any progress. Although a large element of luck was involved, facts were facts, and it made many within the Tianjian Bureau begin to think.
There is no great name without merit!
"Hmm?" Wang Lan pushed open the door to the special case group office, only to find it empty. "Where is everyone?"
"Ah? Greedy Wolf Crown, it’s like this: the case is solved, isn’t it? With the case solved, the special case group disbanded..." the female assistant hurried over and quickly explained.
"Who ordered it to disband? Chief Liu?"
"No... the brothers disbanded it themselves..."
"Call them back," Wang Lan said as he walked into the office. "Oh, and find all the information from a year ago regarding the dismantling of the Wish Church for me."
"Yes... right away..."
Wang Lan had returned, and his first act was to recall the special case group? This made everyone at the Tianjian Bureau headquarters sense something unusual was afoot. Liu Yuxin learned of this immediately. His brows furrowed as he pondered for a long time without reaching any conclusion.
TAP TAP TAP— The knocking on the door roused Liu Yuxin from his thoughts.
"Come in."
Wang Lan entered, and Liu Yuxin quickly stood up. "General Wang, why have you come yourself? If you have any instructions, you could have just called me over."
"It’s nothing much. I just wanted to update you on the case’s progress."
"The case? Isn’t it solved?" Liu Yuxin asked, puzzled.
"Is it ever that simple?" Wang Lan said with a feigned sigh. "This case looks like Wen Xianghua was reaping what he sowed, but I suspect this was all part of someone’s scheme. Someone used that old man and the Star Origin Flow to set up Wen Xianghua, creating an inescapable death trap for him.
"And the person who orchestrated this trap must understand Wen Xianghua inside out, even being thoroughly familiar with all his shady dealings."
As Wang Lan spoke, he looked deeply into Liu Yuxin’s eyes. Liu Yuxin’s expression changed slightly, his face instantly turning grim.
"General, although Wen Xianghua and I had political differences, and we did indeed clash multiple times over the years, our conflicts were purely political. There were no personal vendettas, much less a life-and-death feud..."
"I didn’t say it was you. Wen Xianghua did many things; there’s no shortage of people who wanted him dead. I’m just giving you a heads-up: the person behind this is extraordinary."
"Then the case-closing report..."
"You haven’t submitted it already, have you?"
"No, no, it’s still in my drawer."
"Good. In that case, the special case group will continue the investigation. Even if Wen Xianghua brought this upon himself, I must dig out the person who set this up."
After leaving Liu Yuxin’s office, Wang Lan went straight back to the special case group’s office to work. This visit, besides rattling Liu Yuxin, was also to remind him not to be so hasty in closing the case.
When he returned to the office, the dossier from the mission where Bai Shaoyu first manifested his Star Origin Flow was already on his desk. Wang Lan scrutinized the files. The mission appeared to have gone very smoothly, without any suspicious points.
But if the trap for Wen Xianghua had been laid back then, the suspicious aspects of that incident began to surface. It was later confirmed that the Shadow of Paradise Bird loomed behind that cult organization.
However, Wang Lan understood Paradise Bird; their actions always had clear motives. But this particular event, from start to finish, seemed to be purely for destruction’s sake. They slaughtered ordinary people, which led to their detection by the Tianjian Bureau and the subsequent discovery of their hidden base.
Afterward, twelve Tianjian Bureau special operatives, including Wen Xiaorou and Bai Shaoyu, were tasked with annihilation. When they breached the base, they entered a Different Dimensional Space created by the enemy, who, in desperation, attempted a do-or-die, all-or-nothing final stand.
It was in this desperate situation that Bai Shaoyu unleashed his Star Origin Flow, thereby attracting Wen Xianghua’s attention.
Reviewing the entire affair from the present, Wang Lan couldn’t help but sigh at the trap’s elegant design. It was a classic fishing tactic: first, scatter the bait to draw Wen Xianghua closer, then cast bait with hooks. Once Wen Xianghua took the bite, death was certain.
Wang Lan took out his phone; the data from Mr. Jin had also been transmitted. The documents provided a detailed account of Star Origin Flow. Comparing this with the scenes from Wen Xiaorou’s memory, it was no wonder Wen Xianghua had fallen for the ruse so easily—it was an exact match to the descriptions.
But even with confirmation that Wen Xianghua’s death was a setup, Wang Lan was clueless about how to proceed with the investigation. At the very least, he had no idea why the mastermind had gone to such lengths to kill Wen Xianghua using this particular method.
Wang Lan spent a day going through all the materials related to Bai Shaoyu, from his rise to his recent secret assassination by Wen Xianghua. To Wang Lan, it felt like... a replica of himself. Indeed, an almost identical replica. In his third year of high school, Bai Shaoyu had risen to prominence during the entrance exam and then achieved fame in a single battle within the school’s trial space.
Afterward, he was noticed by the Tianjian Bureau and joined. Every mission Bai Shaoyu undertook was completed smoothly, and he even managed to catch several "big fish," quickly becoming a hot commodity in the Huzhou Tianjian Bureau.
But Bai Shaoyu lacked Wang Lan’s modesty. He possessed a young man’s arrogance and conceit, often running his mouth and gloating like a petty person who had achieved success. Consequently, his reputation wasn’t very good, either at school or within the Tianjian Bureau.
Paradise Bird has really gone to great lengths. Such deep ’affection’ for me, investigating me so thoroughly, all the way back to my senior year.
"Wasn’t Paradise Bird already obliterated? Can they still cause trouble?" Jiang Xinyu came to Wang Lan’s side, waiting for him to finish work.
"Only Paradise Bird’s headquarters was obliterated. Paradise Bird is like a phoenix; how could they be so easily destroyed?"
Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted outside. Soon, a large number of operatives from the Action Department rushed out of the office.
"Xiaoya, what happened?"
"Greedy Wolf Crown, Wen Xianghua’s son was just kidnapped by mysterious individuals! The two brothers escorting Wen Tao were killed on the spot."
"Oh?" Wang Lan paused for a moment, then said to Jiang Xinyu, "Alright, let’s go take a look too."
Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu moved faster than the personnel from the Action Department. By the time they arrived, the guards on site were already maintaining order.
Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu descended from the sky, spotting two plainclothes Tianjian Bureau officers lying by a car door. Wang Lan crouched down and checked an ID. Tianjian Bureau Red Captain.
As Red Captains at the Huzhou headquarters, their strength was at least at the Galaxy Stage. The killer had been lightning-fast; the two brothers hadn’t even had time to react before being slain.
"Are there any eyewitnesses?"
"Sir, many people saw it happen, but no one saw the killer’s face. They only saw a black shadow shoot up into the sky and vanish."
Wang Lan frowned. Wen Xianghua was already dead; what was the use of kidnapping his son? If it was merely to eliminate all loose ends, they could have just killed him. As for extracting secrets, would Wen Xianghua confide in his son, who had only just turned fourteen? Unlikely. If Wen Xianghua lacked even that basic caution, he would have died a thousand times over by now.
At that moment, the sound of distant sirens grew louder; the brothers from the Tianjian Bureau Action Department had arrived.
