Final Civilization

Chapter 25: The Detective

After Tao Jie left, Han Ming walked alone slowly along the park greenway by the river. The afternoon park was sparsely populated; he basically saw no one.

From Tao Jie's words, Han Ming had already confirmed that the Sacred Realm of Science organization not only knew about the matters concerning Wallfacers and Wallbreakers, but also that such an organization had been operating for a long time.

Furthermore, it was unknown whether this organization had any official background. If it didn't, that suggested there might be quite a few such organizations operating worldwide.

It also indicated that Wallfacers were not a recent phenomenon. Before Han Ming, there might have already been multiple Wallfacers in the world!

These Wallfacers were secretly influencing the world order, perhaps changing the world's landscape through certain actions, and making some kind of preparations in the shadows to deal with the apocalypse.

The reason these Wallfacers hadn't surfaced was most likely because of the existence of Wallbreakers.

He didn't know what roles Tao Jie and Chen Yufeng played within the Sacred Realm of Science, but if even members of the organization like them had fallen into such perilous situations,

it was enough to imagine what kind of hellish battlefield existed beneath the world's undercurrents!

Han Ming stood by the riverbank, looking at the surface of the Ming River, and slowly took a deep breath.

This was a game, a game of civilizations concerning the survival of human civilization.And he, for no apparent reason, had become one of the players in this game.

Han Ming thought to himself at that moment,

"Tao Jie's hesitation might be because she knows some secret about Chen Yufeng, so she realized the danger involved. Following this line of reasoning, perhaps she didn't want to drag me into this..."

Han Ming tapped his fingers on the guardrail, his expression somewhat troubled.

His worry wasn't about whether Tao Jie was willing to involve him. His worry was that he knew he was already involved, and what lay before him was an extremely perilous abyss!

"Fate..."

Han Ming looked at the river and sighed helplessly, then said, "Alright, that's the last complaint."

After speaking, he turned and left, quickly disappearing from the riverside park.

...

"Miss Sun's team is a professional team privately hired by Chairwoman Yan. They have cooperated with us for quite some time. Chairwoman Yan hopes you can provide as many details as possible. It would greatly assist our work."

Secretary Jin's voice, gentle and smooth, echoed in the empty corridor. She led Han Ming to a closed company automatic door, then turned and smiled,

"Additionally, regarding this matter, we hope Lawyer Han can keep it confidential."

Han Ming nodded, "I understand."

Ding-dong.

Secretary Jin pressed the doorbell. A few seconds later, the automatic door opened. A woman dressed in a rather avant-garde style stood behind the door. She looked only in her twenties, wearing ultra-short shorts and a small crop top, with a wolf-cut short hairstyle dyed blue and purple, a silver stud on her left nostril. Her pretty face was adorned with black-lip gothic makeup, giving her a very distinctive look.

Chewing gum, she sized up Han Ming, then grinned and said directly,

"Secretary Jin, this must be the main character, right?"

Secretary Jin smiled calmly and said, "This is Lawyer Han. Chairwoman Yan specifically invited him to assist with your work."

"Lawyer Han, this is Miss Sun Lulu. I won't participate in your conversation. Please contact me anytime if you have any needs."

Han Ming was somewhat surprised. Initially, when he heard Secretary Jin mention the private detective team hired by Yan Jing, he thought it would be some kind of mysterious-looking organization. Instead, this Miss Sun looked like an internet-addicted teenager.

However, Han Ming wasn't someone who judged by appearances. After all, he had seen some esports pros and hackers among the young people around Lin Xiaoyi, all individuals with superhuman skills in specific fields.

"A lawyer who sits in an office, able to react quickly and save someone under fire in that situation. You must have trained, right?"

Sun Lulu met Han Ming's gaze, smiling as she extended her hand,

"Nice to meet you. Sun Lulu."

"Han Ming."

Han Ming shook her hand, then followed her inside.

This 'consulting company' located within a cultural and creative industrial park, with no signs or logos, was surprisingly a hidden gem inside.

"Our work is to provide clients with the information they need. In Jinghai, whatever you want, I dare not say one hundred percent, but at least 90% we can help you find."

"Only state organs have the right to conduct investigations. Chinese law hasn't granted private detectives legal status, so your business is essentially illegal, right?" Han Ming followed behind, his tone calm.

"That's right."

Sun Lulu walked ahead, not turning her head as she said, "So what?"

Han Ming shook his head speechlessly. This woman's answer was really straightforward. It seemed she wasn't worried about these issues at all.

"Here, the voiceprint collection room."

Sun Lulu pointed to a room on the right as she walked, then turned back to look at Han Ming with interest and smiled, "If I say it's a music recording studio, can you arrest me?"

Han Ming didn't speak.

She pushed open a large warehouse, "And this, we have over a hundred different models of drones, specifically for tracking investigations. If I say they're for video shooting, what can you do?"

"And network investigations. Do you believe I could look through all the data on every lawyer's computer at your Fang Tiancheng Law Firm, and you still wouldn't know who did it?"

"I know."

"How do you know?" Sun Lulu looked at Han Ming.

Han Ming shrugged, "You just told me it was you. Why would I need to guess?"

Sun Lulu gave him a big eye roll, then led him to a room with many computer screens. Inside, a man wearing headphones was drinking cola. Seeing them enter, he immediately put it down and said,

"Lulu Jie."

"Ah Chen, time to work~"

"Sure thing."

Sun Lulu gestured to a seat for Han Ming, "Don't be nervous. Just a few simple questions for confirmation. Won't take more than a few minutes of your time."

Han Ming nodded, refusing the drink she offered, "Go ahead."

"First question."

Sun Lulu sat opposite Han Ming, pulling over a large screen stand. It was currently playing footage from four different surveillance cameras of the Tianzhou International car accident scene.

Then she pointed at the moment in the footage where Han Ming pulled Yan Duoduo away during the crash, looking at Han Ming with a serious expression,

"How did you know a car was coming from behind you?"

The first time Han Ming heard this question, his heart gave a violent jolt, because he had clearly underestimated this private detective's insight.

Moreover, this question was asked very strangely. It didn't sound like an inquiry; it was more like an interrogation.

This immediately raised Han Ming's internal alertness. After the second time reversal, he just slightly frowned and replied seriously,

"I heard the screeching of tires, and then everyone in front of me reacted, so I took a glance and immediately saved the person."

After speaking, he looked at Sun Lulu and asked in return, "Why ask that question? Are you suspecting me?"

"No, no, no, you misunderstand."

Sun Lulu wagged her finger, "I just want to know, did you see anyone at the scene who reacted differently from the rest of you at the time?"

"Like?"

"Relatively calmer ones."

She snapped her fingers. Ah Chen over there immediately operated the screen, circling three people on the square at the accident scene.

One of them, closest to Han Ming, was less than 5 meters away from him, a man standing by the fountain making a phone call.

"For example, this person. He stood on the square for over 20 minutes, and the surveillance never caught his face. When the accident happened, his movements showed much less panic compared to others. So I wanted to ask, since you saw others' reactions, did you notice this person at the time?"

Hearing this, Han Ming slightly frowned, "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Of course it matters."