Stronger with Crimson Modifier-Chapter 36: Aftermath

The man was Hu Qi.

With a grim expression, he quickly bundled up his clothes, synthetic leather gloves, and wig.

He then retrieved a black garbage bag he had previously hidden at the bottom of a nearby trash can.

Trash like this was usually only collected in the early morning hours.

So for now, it remained untouched.

He took a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid he had prepared earlier from the bag, unscrewed the cap, and poured it over the bundled-up wig and clothes.

The moment the acid made contact, it began to SIZZLE, and wisps of acrid smoke rose into the air.

The wig and clothes instantly charred, curled, and disintegrated, melting into a nauseating pool of black goo.

The goo then flowed down a drain into the sewer.

Once he was finished,

Hu Qi turned and left.

A few minutes later, a punkish young man with dyed-red hair and an earring emerged from the mouth of another alley.

He then walked into a nearby mall.

After 10:00 PM, Hu Qi, having reverted to his original appearance, left the mall along with the crowd.

He was carrying a few bags of snacks, looking no different from an ordinary person.

Back home, Hu Qi went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

As the scalding water poured down over his head, he finally let out a long sigh.

His gaze fell upon the skills section of the panel before him.

————

[Criminal Investigation Technique (Perfection)] Trait: Attentive as a Hair

[Makeup (Perfection)] Trait: Disguise

For the past few days, aside from staking out Lu Shi and Jiang Yuyan’s movements, he had spent the rest of his time learning two new Skills.

After reaching Entry-Level in these two Skills, he used Modification Points to upgrade them.

Perhaps it was because his physique had been enhanced after practicing the Fighting Technique.

Or perhaps it was because these two Skills relied more on memory and were simpler compared to something like the Fighting Technique.

As a result, they didn’t consume many Modification Points.

It only cost four Modification Points for both Skills.

Hu Qi successfully upgraded them to Perfection, gaining two different Traits in the process.

The former boosted his concentration, allowing him to notice details that ordinary people would miss.

The latter allowed him to control his facial expressions and voice to a certain degree, making his impersonations incredibly convincing.

’With this Skill, if I went into acting, I’d be at an award-winning level,’ he thought.

The entire process and all its details replayed continuously in Hu Qi’s mind.

He had considered nearly every detail, taking measures to deal with sound, scent, fingerprints, hair, and more.

Of course, if this were a normal, ordinary Technology World, Hu Qi was confident he wouldn’t have left a single trace behind.

But this world was clearly not normal. There were monsters, and there was the Limit-Breaking Technique that shattered human limits.

All of it proved this world was anything but ordinary.

On top of that, Lu Shi’s background was complicated. Rumor had it his father’s rise to wealth hadn’t been clean.

There was no guarantee he didn’t have connections to some being who wielded Extraordinary Power.

What he had done was no small risk.

But Hu Qi didn’t regret it. ’What doesn’t carry some risk?’

’You could fall into a cesspit just taking a shit.’

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t given them a chance, but they simply hadn’t taken it.

When someone was determined to come after him, simply enduring, backing down, and begging for mercy wouldn’t earn the aggressor’s pity.

They would only see him as an easy target, just like with schoolyard bullying.

When faced with a bully, if you’re tougher and more ruthless, you might still get picked on, but it definitely won’t be as bad.

That was just Hu Qi’s nature.

He wasn’t the type to play the long game, waiting thirty years for the tables to turn. He couldn’t wait that long.

Even though he’d scared off those thugs the other day, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t send more people after him.

And if they came again, it certainly wouldn’t be just a few petty thugs.

An open attack is easy to dodge, but a hidden one is hard to defend against.

Rather than constantly being on guard, it was far simpler to just eliminate the problem at its source.

Hu Qi’s only regret was...

...that he hadn’t been able to send Lu Shi’s father down to join him. After all, a family should stick together. What was the point of leaving one behind?

Unfortunately, perhaps because the man had made too many enemies in his youth...

...he never went anywhere without at least four or five bodyguards.

It was impossible to get a clean shot.

Wiping the water from his face, Hu Qi’s eyes were clear.

’What a pity. I just wanted to focus on practicing my Fighting Technique. If you hadn’t insisted on coming after me again and again, it never would have come to this.’

’I’m a good person, but even I have my limits!’

After killing Lu Shi and Jiang Yuyan, Hu Qi felt surprisingly calm.

He felt none of the nausea, fear, or other discomfort he might have expected.

It made Hu Qi wonder if he was some kind of psychopath.

’Maybe my power grew too quickly, or maybe it’s my transmigrator’s mentality at play.’

Although he had been in this world for over a month...

...he had always felt an invisible barrier between himself and this world, like a gamer playing a video game.

’Do players feel any discomfort when they kill monsters? Obviously not.’

’Whatever. In any case, this feeling isn’t half bad.’

The water plastered his hair to his forehead, making his eyes, partially hidden beneath the wet strands, seem dark and unreadable.

...

「That night, the stars were dim.」

No. 1 Mansion, by the landscaping near the base of Building 3.

A yellow police cordon had already been set up, and investigators in official uniforms were everywhere.

"Old Sun, what have you got? Any leads?"

Just then, a square-faced, middle-aged man strode over from the side.

He wore a solid black, standard-issue Xia Federation police uniform, with several orange, flame-patterned stripes on the cuffs and shoulders.

The insignia identified him as a Level Three Police Chief.

The square-faced man’s gaze swept over the two mangled corpses on the ground before landing on an old man in a long white coat crouching nearby.

The man was rail-thin and had a long beard.

At his words, the old man called Old Sun stood up, adjusted his glasses, and shook his head slightly.

"Based on a preliminary examination, there are no obvious signs of a struggle on the bodies."

"There are clear strangulation marks on both their necks. We can determine it was a homicide, and a completely one-sided one at that. They were totally overpowered."

He paused, as if there was something he couldn’t quite figure out.

"Don’t beat around the bush. If you have something to say, say it," the square-faced man said with a frown.

"It’s just... I haven’t found any third-party fingerprints on either of them.

And under normal circumstances, even if they fell from the building, they couldn’t possibly have landed this far away!"

Old Sun pointed from their position toward Building 3, indicating the distance.

Normally, when a person falls from a building, where they land on the ground in relation to the structure depends on multiple factors.

These include their initial velocity, the angle of the fall, wind speed, and any contact or friction with the building itself.

Generally, in a free fall without any other forces at play, the body should land directly at the base of the building.

The deviation might be anywhere from tens of centimeters to several meters.

But this distance is far too great.

The square-faced man frowned.