Chapter 89: Ultimately, It Was Still Exposed

"It's hard to say—it depends on how fast the police investigation moves."

"No, I can't wait. No matter the cost, I want the murderer found as quickly as possible."

Qiao Wan'er went upstairs, retrieved a card, and handed it to Lu Yao, her gaze unwavering. "There are thirty million on this card—consider it my deposit. I have only one request: be quick."

Lu Yao lowered her eyes to the bank card being offered. After a moment's thought, she silently accepted it, then turned and left.

...

On the ride back in a taxi, Lu Yao took out her phone and accessed a hidden communication app. She hesitated for half an hour before finally sending a message.

The reply came immediately, as if the other party had been waiting for her.

[ALL: Yao, it's been three years. If you don't come back soon, K will personally go to the capital to drag you back.]

Lu Yao stared at the message, her heart sinking to the bottom. Her whereabouts had been exposed after all.

[Yao: ALL, I need you to look into something for me. There will be a generous reward.]

[ALL: Come back.]

[Yao: The time isn't right!]

After Lu Yao sent her last message, the other side showed as "typing," but after five minutes, no reply came.

She exited the app, hiding it once more. Leaning back in her seat, she stared blankly out the window, her mood inexplicably heavy.

She needed to move faster, to find the culprit from years ago before K arrived in the capital.

The next day.

Lu Yao was reviewing the documents Zhang Xiaoxin had found when her phone chimed repeatedly. She glanced at the screen, and, seeing the sender was ALL, a slight smile touched her lips.

She opened the message quickly. The detailed identities of the four masked men appeared before her, along with several related videos—one of which was crystal clear and even included their conversation.

Lu Yao chuckled softly in satisfaction, her fingers moving quickly as she transferred the entire thirty million that Qiao Wan'er had given her into ALL's account.

She called Qiao Wan'er to share the new developments and arranged to meet at the police station.

Inside the police station.

Lu Yao laid out the identity information of the four masked men before Officer Wang.

Officer Wang was momentarily stunned by the information. In disbelief, he asked, "Lawyer Lu, we worked through the night and found nothing. How did you manage this?"

"Money is a wonderful thing," Lu Yao replied calmly.

Officer Wang took the information Lu Yao had found and compared it with his colleagues. The results matched; the system showed that all four masked men had clean backgrounds, with no criminal records—one was even listed among the top ten outstanding young people.

Qiao Wan'er saw the one Officer Wang pointed out as an outstanding youth and, overcome with emotion, slammed her hand on the table and spat, "Bah! Men like this are worse than animals—they're not worthy!"

Her outburst startled Officer Wang.

Lu Yao shot Qiao Wan'er a warning look, and she finally reined herself in.

In a gentler tone, Lu Yao said, "Officer Wang, please apply to your superiors for arrest warrants and bring these four criminals to justice."

Officer Wang had a favorable impression of Lu Yao, and with a beauty making the request, he agreed at once.

However, in less than five minutes, Officer Wang returned, head hung low.

Lu Yao hazarded a guess, "The higher-ups refused?"

Officer Wang nodded, full of apology.

Qiao Wan'er instantly lost her temper, slamming her palm on the table and shouting, "The evidence is conclusive—why won't they arrest them? I'm the eldest daughter of the Qiao family; who dares go against me? Bring them here, and I'll deal with them myself!"

"Miss Qiao," Officer Wang replied, "the higher-ups said the evidence you provided isn't enough to prove those four are responsible. And in your file at the forensic center, there is no DNA from the perpetrator." With that, he sighed deeply.

(End of this chapter)