Zhong Yi didn't call the police, because if you told a regular police officer about this, you wouldn't even know how to explain it properly.
But Chu Ge could.
He immediately picked up the phone and dialed Lin Wuyang: "Wuyang, there's a case involving a superhuman here. Is it appropriate for me to report it to you?"
Lin Wuyang took it seriously: "What's the situation?"
"The dark room…you know about it, right? You just don't trust it and haven't made contact?"
Lin Wuyang was silent for a moment: "Yeah." Damn, you know a lot.
"Last time you cracked the case at the Wang family's nightclub, it was the black room that called the police. Now their people are being retaliated against. They're in the hospital. Do you want to come and give a statement?" Lin Wuyang's voice rose several decibels: "They were retaliated against too?"
"Too?"
"This morning, Zhang Xiaoren… oh, you know, Zhang Qiren's brother—he's not in charge of the underground business anymore, he's running a legitimate real estate company. This real estate company was reported last night for tax evasion and issuing false VAT invoices. The evidence was completely sent to the tax authorities, the amount is large enough to constitute an economic crime. This morning, the tax authorities and the economic crime investigation team have joined forces and moved into his company." Chu Ge remembered that last time Zhang Qiren used that skinny man to shift the blame to his brother. In the Wang family's eyes, it was Zhang Xiaoren who had targeted them.
So Zhang Xiaoren was also retaliated against; everything made sense.
Lin Wuyang added, "The method they used to break into Zhang Xiaoren's company's finance office also seems to involve writing on their faces."
"So it's basically certain the Wang family did it?"
Lin Wuyang said, "Wait a moment, I'm going to the hospital."
A moment later, Lin Wuyang returned with several subordinates to take statements from Wan Zijun and Panda. Lin Wuyang nodded to Zhong Yi in a friendly gesture, then pulled Chu Ge outside: "Let's take a walk."
Chu Ge followed him to the hospital building, and the two strolled slowly along the roadside.
"From our perspective, who's behind this isn't that important. Like last time, whether it was Zhang Xiaoren who reported it or someone else, I don't care," Lin Wuyang said frankly to Chu Ge. "They're reporting each other; ultimately, they're exposing illegal and criminal activities, and we'll only support that."
Chu Ge said, "But Ah Jun and Panda were beaten and stabbed—that could be fatal—also because they were retaliated against for exposing illegal activities. Shouldn't the police handle that?"
"Of course they will," Lin Wuyang said. "In fact, comparing it to your situation, I already know who the other side is."
"Who?" "A wanted criminal named Rong Fu."
"Murong Fu?"
"His surname is Rong, and his given name is Fu." Lin Wuyang chuckled, "His ability is indeed somewhat similar to Murong Fu's—using the opponent's own methods against them—he can copy the opponent's abilities, always at a higher level. As of the time we know, he can only possess one person's ability at a time; he can't possess both. Whether he has made a breakthrough now is unknown." Chu Ge raised an eyebrow: "So, he can first determine what the opponent's ability is?" He secretly thought, "If he really has that level of skill, maybe I can find a way to make him determine the specifics of my abilities later." Lin Wuyang shook his head: "Probably not. He can only know the ability status after copying it, so generally he'll investigate first and confirm the other party's ability before taking action."
"How did you become a wanted criminal?"
"If you had his ability, what would you do?"
Chu Ge thought for a moment: "Most likely you'd go around looking for ability users to spar and test. This ability is too interactive; you can't just enjoy it alone."
"Exactly... But when you find that everyone has been beaten by you, won't you get a little arrogant, or develop some psychological distortion? For example... the one you've beaten so badly she can't move is a pretty girl, with disheveled hair and unyielding eyes."
Chu Ge: "...When Section Chief Lin withdrew..." "In the literary world, I, Chu, am firmly opposed."
"Does that make you feel something?" Lin Wuyang said, "I told you, I could write your kind of simplistic novels too..."
"Alright, alright, Chief Lin becoming a policeman is indeed a loss to the literary world." Chu Ge sighed, "I understand. So, this guy has tortured or humiliated many superhumans, hence his wanted status? Ah Jun and Panda didn't die because he showed mercy?"
"Hmm." Lin Wuyang said, "Whether he showed mercy or not, I don't know. Maybe the person who hired him imposed restrictions, not wanting to escalate the situation... Actually, stabbing Wan Zijun was already a display of violence. Normally, a beating would be enough for a lesson or warning, right?" Chu Ge nodded.
That one stab changed the nature of the situation. If it were just a beating, people would only consider a beating as revenge, not calling the police. But with a knife involved, Chu Ge's first reaction was to call the police and have him locked up.
Wan Zijun lived alone in the suburbs, with no one to take care of him. If it weren't for his strong constitution from years of farming, this knife wound might have caused him to bleed to death on the spot, unable to even save himself.
Leaving aside their friendship from the "Black Room" incident, these two were Chu Ge's readers. In the daily silly chatter of "Qiuqiu~ My Qiuqiu," Wan Zijun and Panda were always the most active. When someone criticized the book, Wan Zijun and Panda were always at the forefront of the arguments. Panda, currently working in operations, was arguing with the website administrators about the profile pictures.
In Chu Ge's eyes, they were even closer than Zhong Yi, who helped him with his identity. Wan Zijun and Panda themselves never imagined that this "Third Child" (a nickname for Chu Ge) held such special feelings for them.
Lin Wuyang was saying to Chu Ge, "Don't worry, we'll take this to heart. I'll report it to the department immediately and arrange for Rong Fu's arrest." Chu Ge paused, suddenly understanding why Lin Wuyang's city bureau's supernatural abilities were so weak. The governor and provincial governor lived in the same city, and the provincial department was nearby; shouldn't the most capable people be concentrated there?
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "I'd like to help with this. Would you accept cooperation from enthusiastic citizens?"
Lin Wuyang glanced at him for a long time, finally sighing, "You've joined the Black Room, haven't you?"
"Yes, I just joined recently, an unofficial member, a masked man."
"If it's this organization, I won't say much. After all, Director Gu from Beijing recommended this small organization to me… I wasn't sure before, so I observed and didn't contact them. This incident is our first time cooperating and getting to know each other, so let's start getting to know each other from now on."
"Director Gu… what organization?"
"The Supernatural Information Gathering and Editing Society." Lin Wuyang smiled, "Last time I came to Nanjiang, it was to gather and edit some information. This time, the first issue is out, which is perfect for our reference."
"Can I take a look?"
"No, it's an internal publication, but you can look at this page." Lin Wuyang took out a booklet and turned to a page.
"Supernatural Person Directory (Internal Trial Issue)":
Name: Rong Fu.
Identity: Fugitive serial killer (high risk).
Ability: Retribution – Copying superpowers, slightly higher than the target.
Development Status: Currently, only one superpower can be copied at a time; evolution level unknown.
Nature: Multifunctional.
Potential: A-.
"What do you mean by potential?" Chu Ge asked curiously, "Such an awesome superpower, making everyone a level higher than him, and it's only A? A-? I think it's SSS." Lin Wuyang shook his head: "This assessment was done by the expert group above. First, it only represents subjective judgment and may be wrong; it will be corrected. Second, this potential doesn't represent his current ability, but rather his future development prospects. His potential is almost fully exploited; at most, he can copy a few more superpowers simultaneously, which is inherently limited. For now, he's only suitable for ambushing lone individuals. What if there are more people? What if a group of us fires at him…?" "..."
"Emmmm..."
"Besides, this thing takes many factors into consideration, it's not just an assessment of combat power, so isn't there a 'nature' column on it? My ability isn't suitable for combat, but my potential is B, supposedly a mental ability with a lot of potential." Lin Wuyang patted Chu Ge's shoulder: "Your body might be invulnerable to blades and spears? That's really strange, how could a writer have this kind of superpower, perhaps prepared in advance for the tigress at home?"
Chu Ge: "Is your development potential in the art of truth speech?"
Lin Wuyang looked him up and down: "I wonder when you'll get evaluated, I personally think it's also B?"