A rollback after death? Then let them offer their loyalty!

Chapter 53 Taking the Hook

At nine o'clock in the morning, Lin Yu arrived at the police station and went straight upstairs to find Shen Bing without her having to call.

When I pushed the door open, Shen Bing was standing by the window making a phone call.

She was dressed the same as usual, but there was one difference: she was wearing white stockings today.

Hearing the door open, Shen Bing turned around and glanced at Lin Yu, then said into the phone, "Wait a moment."

He then covered the microphone and mouthed to Lin Yu: Wait a minute.

Lin Yu sat down opposite the desk.

Shen Bing continued the phone call, her tone very formulaic: "Yes, Section Chief Li, I understand... We will definitely cooperate with the investigation team's authority. Yes, we've already arranged for personnel..."

Lin Yu recognized Li Rui on the other end of the phone.

Shen Bing spoke a few more words before hanging up. She rubbed her temples, her face showing obvious fatigue.

"Li Rui wants to access the police station's patrol records, especially those near the black market in the west of the city." Shen Bing sat back down in her chair and looked at Lin Yu.

"He said Qin Xue had discovered some clues that needed to be cross-verified."

"What clue?"

"He didn't say," Shen Bing shook her head. "But his tone was very certain."

Lin Yu seemed to be deep in thought.

Shen Bing stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "Lin Yu, what exactly is your relationship with that Nightingale?"

Lin Yu looked up at her.

"Don't tell me you're just an informant." Shen Bing leaned forward, placing her hands on the table.

"I just found out that you were there the day Nightingale took over the black market, and that you were the one who killed Scorpion."

"so?"

"So Li Rui suspects Nightingale has someone backing her," Shen Bing said in a lower voice. "He suspects that person is you."

Lin Yu smiled: "What does the director think?"

Shen Bing wasn't in the mood to laugh; she looked at Lin Yu with a complex expression.

"I don't know, Lin Yu. There are too many things about you that I can't see through."

Sometimes I think you're just an agent trying to climb the ranks, and other times I feel you're hiding a deeper secret than I imagined.

"Everyone has secrets," Lin Yu said calmly. "Doesn't the director have secrets too?"

Shen Bing's expression changed slightly.

Lin Yu stood up and walked to the window, looking at the sparse pedestrians on the street below:

"Let Li Rui investigate if he wants. Nightingale and I did cooperate, but I was only doing so as an agent, nothing more."

"That simple?"

"Otherwise what?" Lin Yu turned to look at her. "What does the director think it is? That I control the black market, secretly cultivate power, and prepare to overthrow Jiangcheng's rule?"

Shen Bing choked for a moment.

Lin Yu walked back to the table, placed his hands on the edge of the table, and leaned over to look at Shen Bing:

"Director, the most important thing now is to stabilize the situation. Let Li Rui investigate if he wants, as long as we don't cause chaos."

Lin Yu's voice was calm, but it had a convincing power.

Shen Bing stared at him for a long time, and finally sighed: "I hope you're right."

Lin Yu smiled slightly, then changed the subject, saying, "By the way, what are Qin Xue's plans for today?"

"She went out early this morning."

Lin Yu's eyes flickered; Qin Xue must have taken the bait.

"Understood, Director. If there's nothing else, I'll head out now."

Shen Bing waved her hand.

Lin Yu turned and left the office.

As he reached the door, Shen Bing suddenly called out to him, "Lin Yu."

Lin Yu turned his head in confusion.

Shen Bing opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just waved her hand and said, "It's okay, go ahead."

Lin Yu opened the door and went out.

After the door closed, Shen Bing leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

What she actually wanted to ask was, "Lin Yu, whose side are you really on?"

But he swallowed the words back down his throat.

Shen Bing suddenly realized that this question might be meaningless—Lin Yu might not be on either side at all.

He only stands on his own side.

Thinking this way, Shen Bing became more and more curious about Lin Yu.

......

Southeast corner of the black market in the west of the city —

Qin Xue stood alone at the entrance to the sewer, without notifying anyone, including Li Rui and Qin Shuang.

The hem of her white trench coat fluttered in the wind. Qin Xue raised her hand, and an icy blue halo flowed around her fingertips as she gently pressed it against the rusted iron fence.

"Click—"

Ice crystals spread along the keyhole, freezing the metal from the inside until it became brittle and then cracked.

The iron bars opened inward, and darkness, carrying the stench of decay, rushed out.

Qin Xue stepped in, her high-heeled boots making a clear echo on the ground.

The passageway was more complicated than expected.

The main road, side roads, and abandoned pipework form an underground labyrinth.

Qin Xue walked steadily, stopping every now and then to sense any abnormalities in the temperature flow.

Ice Soul is extremely sensitive to cold, and there was indeed an unusual aura in the sewers.

Following that scent, Qin Xue stopped fifteen minutes later in front of a narrow side road.

The temperature here is significantly lower than in other areas, and unnatural frost patterns have formed on the walls.

She crouched down, her fingertips tracing the ground.

A thin layer of ice had formed on the surface of the sewage, and frost was spreading at a visible speed around her feet.

Qin Xue slowly stood up, a katana sliding from her sleeve into her palm, fine ice crystals beginning to condense on its blade.

Looking deeper into the passage, a huge white worm slowly crawled towards them.

Its head has no eyes, only a round mouth covered with spiraling sharp teeth, which is slowly opening and closing, exhaling visible white cold air.

Frost worm.

Sequence 7 mutant creatures typically exist only in the permafrost outside the walls, feeding on icy energy, and are especially prized by extraordinary beings who possess the ability to control ice.

The worm sensed Qin Xue's presence, its massive body began to contract, and then it suddenly shot out!

Its speed was astonishing; its pale body left a trail of afterimages in the passage, its mouth wide open, and a torrent of cold air gushed out like a blizzard!

Qin Xue frowned slightly and slashed out with her katana.

"Clang!"

The blade struck the worm's scales, producing a piercing scraping sound and sending ice shards flying everywhere.

The worm's defenses were stronger than expected; its ice crystal scales were as hard as an alloy, and a blade would get stuck after only cutting half an inch in.

A chill swept over us.

Qin Xue immediately drew her sword and retreated, but her left shoulder was still grazed by the cold air.

The uniform froze instantly, a sharp pain shot through the skin, and ice crystals spread upwards from the sleeves.

She gritted her teeth and forcefully shook off the frozen sleeves, revealing frostbite bluish-purple marks on her bare arms.

The worms attacked again.

This time, Qin Xue didn't take the hit head-on. She dodged to the side, and the blade slashed towards the worm's relatively soft side abdomen.

As the blade cut in, the worm's blood spurted out, carrying a pungent, fishy smell.

The worm suddenly hissed, and Qin Xue felt a sharp pain in her brain, slowing her movements by half a beat.

In that instant, the worm's tail swept across!

Qin Xue managed to parry with her katana, but the immense force still sent her flying, crashing heavily into the wall.

A mouthful of blood gushed from his throat, congealing into red ice crystals at the corner of his mouth.

The backlash has begun.