Before entering the dining hall for dinner, Jing Pei opened the email.

【Hello. I saw information about you online. They say you’re an information broker who can obtain any kind of intelligence. I’m not sure whether it’s true, but I hope it is.

I’ll skip the nonsense. The information I want to buy is this—

In Luoyang City, Qingniao Prefecture, is there any place where a corpse can be dumped without being discovered? Or can you tell me how to dispose of a body in a way that completely covers it up?

Also, I only have twenty thousand right now. Is that okay? If this works out, I can sell my house and give you all the money from it. It should sell for around seven hundred thousand.】

Jing Pei blinked.

“Wow.”

After several days without business, the next customer was this exciting?

Blinking slowly, Jing Pei began typing a reply.

【Hello, customer. The price for this information is far higher than twenty thousand. However, since you’re willing to pay the additional seven hundred thousand afterward, extending credit isn’t impossible.

But in that case, I’ll need to ensure your actions succeed. Otherwise I’d be making a loss.

So please provide your identity, your current location, the full details of the incident, and the threat you’re about to face in as much detail as possible.

—Owner of the Puzzle Intelligence Agency】

Send.

Jing Pei put away her phone and entered the dining hall for dinner.

Long Ling’s family of three still hadn’t returned to the Long family estate today. Even so, the low-key yet luxurious dining hall remained crowded with people. Still, being a major family, there were rules to maintain, so it wasn’t overly noisy.

Tonight’s meal featured dishes from Changhai Prefecture, mainly seafood. Wine-marinated rose crab was Changhai’s most famous specialty.

It also got people drunk very easily.

As the adults quietly ate, they secretly stole glances at Jing Pei, who sat beside Long Yiming.

They had already heard about her achievements at Twelve Zodiac Academy today.

Every member of the Long family had graduated from Twelve Zodiac Academy, so they naturally knew how difficult the bonus questions were.

In the academy’s six-hundred-year history, there had certainly been geniuses before. Some had even crazily farmed points through bonus questions.

But they usually specialized in only one subject area. After all, everyone had their own field of expertise.

Yet Jing Pei had solved all the science subjects without discrimination.

Was this a genius?

No, this was a monster.

Ever since the day Jing Pei returned to the Long family, aside from the initial show of dominance she gave them, she had never once raised her voice within the household.

She never made things difficult for servants who had once looked down on her because they mistakenly believed she was an illegitimate daughter.

She never deliberately flaunted her status as heir during family meals.

She always spoke softly, smiled gently, and calmly handled her own affairs in an orderly fashion.

Yet without anyone realizing it, both the servants and family members had gradually begun respecting her more and more.

All the initial contempt they once held toward her had vanished.

And this respect wasn’t cold or distant either.

The servants genuinely liked greeting her, and whenever she responded, they would become visibly happy.

There seemed to be something uniquely special about this girl.

The longer one spent around her, the more one listened to the things she did, the more inexplicably one found themselves conquered by her.

Meanwhile, Jing Pei had absolutely no idea about the complicated thoughts swirling through everyone’s minds.

After noticing a single grain of rice stuck outside her bowl, she neatly pressed it into her mouth. Once she confirmed her bowl and plate were perfectly clean without a single grain left behind, she set down her chopsticks and stood up.

“I’m finished eating. Please continue enjoying your meal.”

Then suddenly she looked toward Long Peici.

“Auntie, wine-marinated rose crab may be delicious, but it’s cold in nature and harmful to the stomach. You should eat a little less of it.”

Long Peici froze while eating crab meat.

“O-Okay.”

Why had Jing Pei suddenly reminded her of that?

Then Long Peici suddenly remembered—

Once, one of her personal maids had casually mentioned this in passing in front of Jing Pei. Just one sentence.

And Jing Pei had actually remembered it?

And even kept it in mind?

That really… really surprised her.

Long Peici stared at Jing Pei’s departing back, her emotions becoming strangely complicated.

“Bad person who bullies Sister Long Ling!” her son muttered unhappily beside her again.

Long Peici removed her gloves and smacked him across the face.

“Shut up, you little disaster.”

…

Qingniao Prefecture, Luoyang City, Wenxin Residential Complex, Building 1, Apartment 2901.

The slightly overweight woman sat before the computer.

Night had already fallen, but she still hadn’t turned on the lights. The pale glow from the monitor illuminated her face, revealing an expressionless, numb face that looked faintly terrifying.

Several drops of blood were splattered across her cheeks.

The study door stood open.

The living room lights were on, making the scene outside clearly visible—

The floor was covered in blood.

And lying there was a man whose stomach had been ripped open.

She had killed someone.

She had finally killed him.

She should have done it long ago.

From now on, no one would ever be able to beat her again.

Beat her until bones broke.

Beat her until blood poured endlessly from her nose.

He had even beaten her parents.

And her poor child, who had been slapped down the stairs by him and died from the fall, could finally rest in peace.

But after the killing…

What now?

Wait for the police to arrest her?

She would definitely receive the death penalty, right?

How had that judge in Qingniao Prefecture sentenced the last case?

Right.

Death.

What about her parents?

They only had one daughter.

Once she calmed down, regret finally began creeping in.

Not regret over killing the man.

But regret over the fact that she now had to die for a piece of trash like him.

To lose her life because of him and leave her parents heartbroken…

It was too worthless.

So what should she do now?

Her mind was incapable of thinking clearly.

She searched wildly online and accidentally discovered information about the Puzzle Intelligence Agency.

The information came from a forum called Strange Tales of the Weird Detective, a gathering place for people fascinated by bizarre stories and strange incidents.

The post claimed that the Huang and Bai families in Changhai Prefecture had nearly gone to war inside Bubble No. 3, but were ultimately stopped because of intelligence provided by a mysterious agency.

It even claimed the agency had changed the fate of the two families—and in some ways, the fate of many people in Changhai Prefecture.

After all, the two great atavist families together provided hundreds of thousands of jobs…

The post even included a phone number.

At that moment, she felt as though she had grasped a lifeline.

Yet that lifeline was so thin and fragile, like the spider silk lowered by a god. The instant she clung to it, despair surged through her. Even as she typed, her heart remained numb—desperate, yet strangely calm.

She was only struggling on the verge of death because she couldn’t accept it.

But deep down, she already knew there were only two possible endings waiting for her: either pay for that man’s life with her own, or sacrifice the rest of her future.

She didn’t wait long before a reply arrived.

The other party’s questions felt almost like coaxing, as though they intended to trick her into revealing everything before immediately calling the police to arrest her.

But she didn’t care anymore.

She was going to die anyway.

…

Night fell, the city lights gradually brightening.

Xiang Huagong sat atop a traffic barrier at an intersection, waiting for the light to change.

He looked miserable. His ill-fitting suit hung loosely from his body, stained with dirt and dust. One of his leather shoes was missing, and the sock on his exposed foot even had a hole in it.

He attracted the attention of other pedestrians waiting at the crossing, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of embarrassment on his face. On the contrary, when he spotted a pretty woman, he even whistled at her—earning himself an irritated glare.

“You’ve seriously had enough,” the friend beside him said helplessly. Though his own suit was dirty too, at least he still had both shoes on. “At a time like this, you’re still in the mood to flirt? And your flirting technique is awful. Who even uses whistling anymore? That’s ancient.”

“What do you know?” Xiang Huagong replied shamelessly. “A pretty woman’s eye-roll is beautiful too. We’re just strangers passing by each other in life—if I can earn a glare from a beauty, that’s already a profit.”

“Besides, this world’s so dangerous now. We nearly died just taking the subway earlier because of that atavistically-mutated monster. At times like this, why bother worrying about a little dignity? If you want to do something, just do it.”

“Lawyer Xiang, that’s not what you said in court last time.”

Thinking back on what had happened earlier, his friend still felt lingering fear. If they hadn’t run for their lives just now, they might already be dead.

What he couldn’t understand was how Xiang Huagong could remain so calm.

After all, Xiang Huagong had been in even greater danger than he was. One of the monster’s attacks had almost snagged his foot and dragged him away. Yet he had still managed to curse the mutated creature out while running for his life.

And now here he was, sitting on a traffic barrier whistling at women as though he’d suffered no psychological trauma whatsoever.

Not to mention—

His career had just suffered a devastating setback not long ago.

“You’ve already been fired from the law firm. What are you planning to do now?”

Xiang Huagong crossed one leg over the other, his exposed big toe wiggling through the hole in his sock.

“Who knows?”

…

Jing Pei had only been taking a short walk through the backyard when her watch vibrated once.

Leaning casually against the small bridge railing, she pulled out her phone to check the email.

The other party really had hidden nothing.

Whether it was because she had completely given up hope, or because she desperately longed for help, Jing Pei couldn’t tell.

【Hello. My name is Ying Qian. I’m thirty-two years old. I live in Apartment 2901, Building 1, Wenxin Residential Complex, Yijiang District, Luoyang City, Qingniao Prefecture. I make money doing hourly cleaning work for several neighbors in the residential complex.

Tonight he came home drunk. Because I hadn’t finished cooking the soup yet, he beat me and then fell asleep on the sofa. I don’t know why, but my mind suddenly went blank, and I seemed to lose control of myself and do these things.

First I tied up his hands and feet with rope. Then I poured the boiling soup over his face.

He woke up immediately, but couldn’t even scream. I think the soup was too hot and destroyed his throat.

But I was afraid he might still make noise and alert the neighbors, so I picked up a fruit knife and stabbed him in the stomach several times until he died.

He was garbage. He beat me. He beat my parents. He even beat his own parents. He killed my child.

He deserved to die.

If possible… I really don’t want to lose my life because of trash like him.】

“Mmm…”

Jing Pei rested her chin on her hand and thought for a while.

So this was a domestic abuse retaliation case.

But the woman’s situation was indeed extremely dangerous.

First she restrained the victim’s hands and feet, then she poured boiling soup over him, then stabbed him multiple times.

The likelihood of a judge determining that this was premeditated murder was incredibly high.

Even if she somehow avoided the death penalty, according to Qingniao Prefecture’s laws, she would most likely spend the rest of her life in prison.

And according to her description, everything happened on the sofa.

In other words, the evidence was basically impossible to clean up.

Even assuming it was a leather sofa that could be washed thoroughly, luminol testing would still immediately reveal the blood traces. Not to mention that in cases like this, the spouse was always the police’s first suspect.

Trying to escape legal punishment through shady methods was impossible.

However…

That didn’t mean there were no other ways to provide her with meaningful help.

Assuming, of course, that everything she said was true and not merely a fabricated sob story for sympathy.

Jing Pei returned to her bedroom and opened her computer to search online.

Roughly half an hour later, she found the information she wanted and sent a reply email.

Not long afterward, the woman received the response.

She opened it impatiently.

And the very first sentence plunged her into despair.

【Based on everything you’ve described, I believe escaping the law is impossible. I cannot provide the information you requested.】

She closed her eyes briefly before continuing to read.

【However, I can provide you with a different piece of information. The fee for this information will be twenty thousand. Would you like to purchase it?】

At this point, money was meaningless.

Ying Qian transferred the money with barely any hesitation.

【Payment received.

Ms. Ying, the information I wish to provide is a phone number. You may call this number and seek the assistance of a lawyer named Xiang Huagong.】

So it was just a recommendation for a lawyer?

Ying Qian laughed bitterly.

…

Helping people commit crimes was bad business.

But she could help people find solutions within the boundaries of the law.

Resting her chin on her hand, Jing Pei looked over the materials she had found online.

Xiang Huagong, huh.

He had just been fired from his law firm.

And very soon, he was about to strike out on his own.

Which also meant—

He was about to reveal his true brilliance.

He was probably the first true protagonist Jing Pei had encountered from among her own creations.

The atavist-related stories were ensemble works, with many characters each having their own arcs. You could call them protagonists, or not—it worked either way.

But Xiang Huagong was different.

He was the protagonist of one of her legal dramas.

Xiang Huagong’s style and conduct were extraordinarily unruly. He had once even gone streaking through a law firm. His flirting techniques were disastrously terrible and frequently earned him slaps across the face, leaving him eternally single.

Yet when it came to handling cases, he walked a razor-thin line. When necessary, he didn’t mind using underhanded methods that couldn’t be brought into the light. There was a trace of moral ambiguity hidden beneath his fundamentally good nature.

People called him the “Hooligan Lawyer” and the “Women’s Best Friend.”

Throughout the entire novel, he was the absolute protagonist.

The courtroom was his stage.

No one could steal the spotlight from him there.

Readers jokingly summarized him like this:

“When Xiang Huagong performs badly in court, the opposing party goes to prison.
When he performs normally, the opposing lawyer goes to prison too.
And when he overperforms… even the judge ends up going to prison.” [Note]

Later, the novel’s adaptation rights were purchased and turned into a drama series. Thanks to its brilliant courtroom debates and breathtaking closing arguments, it exploded in popularity…

And then the second season never came out because Jing Pei abandoned the story halfway through.

Jing Pei was absolutely certain Xiang Huagong could help Ying Qian win this lawsuit.

Partly because of his countless unpredictable methods.

But also because, in her original setting notes, there had once been a single sentence:

“Xiang Huagong was a legend in the legal world. Since beginning independent practice, he had fought 5,070 cases without ever losing once.”

And now—

Xiang Huagong had just been fired from his law firm and was about to begin working independently.

Although he had never lost a case before this either, this moment marked the true beginning of his legend.

This case involving Ying Qian would become the first step in that legend.

—Assuming, of course, that the fusion of worlds didn’t create some unforeseen complication.