"Yes!" The chief of police stood up and saluted.

"Alright, hurry up and go back to prepare."

The chief of police kept wiping away his sweat after coming of the office. The barely 30-year-old secretary of the county party committee, and the head of the county, had placed a lot of pressure on him. This case was quite important. In less than three days, 11 people had died. This matter was a top priority. They had to discover the reason in the shortest amount of time and give a reasonable explanation.

Ah! The chief of police sighed.

He was under mountain-like pressure.

In the office, Guo Zhenghe lit a cigarette, leaned back on the chair, and stared at the ceiling.

He had been too pa.s.sive. Although he had family relations, which made some things easier to deal with, this was a different situation. This matter was too big and important. The leaders above him had already helped a lot due to his family connections. Their att.i.tude could be considered quite mild. If he were someone else, a stream of criticism would be inevitable. It would have a huge impact on his future political advances.

What is going on?

Click! A clear sound came from behind him.

Huh?

He looked back. Beside him was a piece of bright gla.s.s.

"What was that sound?"

He got up and went to the window to look outside. This was the county party committee's courtyard. It was a bit old. There was a road outside but not many cars.

There was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Did I hear wrong?"

Guo Zhenghe looked outside for a while. He didn't see anything, even though he had heard a sound coming from that direction.

He turned and went back to his desk.

This is…

He was stunned.

There was an unmarked doc.u.ment envelope on the desk. He remembered that there had been nothing on his desk before he got up. No one had come in just now because this was his office. He was the current supreme leader of the county. People outside had to knock on the door to enter the office and could only come in with his consent.

"Xiao Song!"

He shouted toward the door. A man quickly came in. He was a little older than Guo Zhenghe.

"Secretary Guo, did you call for me?"

"Did anyone come in just now?"

"Well, no one other than Director Liu has come in."

"I see. Alright, you can leave," Guo Zhenghe said with a wave of his hand.

The secretary pushed the door and went out.

Guo Zhenghe looked at the common envelope at the center of his desk. There were no marks on it. It just sat there quietly looking normal. He stared at it for a long time before finally reaching out to feel it. There were papers inside.

He gently opened the envelope. Inside it was a stack of information. He flipped through it. His eyes lit up as he carefully read through the material.

Interesting, very interesting!

Guo Zhenghe's expression became focused. This doc.u.ment provided interesting information with which he had never been exposed.

He read the information over and over again.

Knock! Knock! Knock! There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Secretary Guo, a Commander Guo is looking for you outside."

"Commander Guo?" Guo Zhenghe was stunned. He carefully collected the information and asked the secretary to invite the man in.

"Secretary Guo, are you very busy?" A man in a military uniform came in from the outside. He had a square face and an outstanding aura.

"Second Brother, why are you here?" After seeing the visitor, Guo Zhenghe got up in a hurry.

"Come on, sit down please."

"Why do you have time to come here?"

The secretary knowingly left after he had filled up a gla.s.s with water for the guest.

"I'm here for business, so I came to see you as well. How are things going?"

"Not bad," Guo Zhenghe said with a smile.

"Well, you look much more capable than before. You have become the secretary of the county party committee at such a young age. You are the best among us."

"Please don't say that," Guo Zhenghe hurriedly replied.

"We're all family. You don't have to be modest with me," the commander said with a smile.

"I'm very worried about matters."

"I heard about it when I came," the commander said. "How is it? Do you have any clues yet?"

"No." Guo Zhenghe shook his head.

"It's no small matter that so many people have died in such a short time.

"Did Second Uncle say anything?"

"He didn't say anything," Guo Zhenghe said. "He just called and asked about it. He asked me to investigate carefully and report truthfully. The provincial criminal investigation experts are coming back today. I hope they can solve the mystery."

"Well, you don't have to worry too much about it."

"You can say that, but there is something wrong with a place under my jurisdiction," Guo Zhenghe said. "I still have to investigate it thoroughly and give an answer to the people."

"If you have that thought, then as long as you're sitting in this position and wearing the hat, you have to think with the civilians in your heart and facts in mind."

"Alright, let's not talk about these things. Second Brother, you've come all the way here. Let's have lunch here at noon. It's my treat."

"Alright, that's settled."

After chatting for a while, the two went out to eat.

"Second Brother, I want to ask you something. In southern Yunnan, there are a lot of poisonous insects. Have you heard about that?"

"I have heard about it, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes. Why are you asking about it? Do you doubt those cases were done by humans?"

"No, it's just that I heard about it by chance. The forensics have already examined those 11 people, but I haven't found any problems for the time being. That is what's strange about it. Eleven people died in three days, and they were all from the same village. There can't be such a coincidence in the world."

"I only just heard about it. I do not understand the specific situation as well as you do. Well, let me think about it." The commander pondered for a moment.

"There is someone at home who might be able to help you."

"Who?"

"Xu Xinyuan."

"Him?" Upon hearing the name, Guo Zhenghe slightly frowned.

"I heard that man is a little stubborn."

"He is indeed stubborn, but he is loyal to the Guo family. However, he is not very popular due to his personality. He has real abilities, and everything's fine now. If you want, you can ask him to help you."

"Let me think about it."

"OK."

…

In a mountain village thousands of miles away…

w.a.n.g Yao, Zhong Liuchuan, Pan Jun, Jia Zizai, and Hu Mei drove to Li Jia Gou to soak in the hot springs.

It was w.a.n.g Yao who had asked Zhong Liuchuan and Pan Jun. Because of something, the trip had been delayed a day. They had happened to b.u.mp into Jia Zizai and Hu Mei, so the two of them went along.

Li Jia Gou was west of w.a.n.g Yao's village between the two rows of mountains. It was originally a remote and poor village, even more so than where w.a.n.g Yao lived. Because of the hot springs, the village had attracted the money of developers. The situation immediately changed.

At the Xingshan hot springs resort…

The resort gained its name because of the mountain. It was well built. At this time, there were only a few people there. It looked quiet and cold.