Chapter 2131: 2134: Riddled with Suspicion, Utterly Bizarre

Seeing Shen Qiang's eyes suddenly turn sharp and his whole spirit perk up, Wenren Meiqiao couldn't help laughing and teased, "Yo, the moment you hear it's about that long-legged beauty, Jinli Qianning, you immediately wake up. Really are thinking with your lower body, huh!"Shen Qiang froze, then smiled helplessly. "You little vinegar jar, can we talk business?"

Wenren Meiqiao rolled her eyes and glared hard at Shen Qiang.

Her female assistant couldn't help but chuckle, then said in a low voice, "So the strange part of this whole thing is exactly here. All the other infected are office white-collar workers in the business district, but the three Cultivators were in the Listening-to-the-Waves club. We've done a sweep and can confirm those three Cultivators never went to that business district at all."

"So we're stuck here. Over in the business district, we haven't found any useful leads, and at the club, we likewise haven't gotten any truly effective clues, so the whole thing looks like one big tangled mess."

Hearing this, Shen Qiang frowned. After a long silence he said, "Interesting. Business district, Cultivators, a club, the Great Sea Demon King's daughter—these people who shouldn't be connected even with eight poles are all gathered in the same case. That is really bizarre."

Upon hearing that, Wenren Meiqiao helplessly put some grilled meat on Shen Qiang's plate and frowned. "If it weren't bizarre, would we need to bother Your Elderly Self? We'd have settled it ourselves with a flick of the wrist."

Shen Qiang smiled and said, "I feel like Dragon Group's real criminal investigation experts might be better suited to deal with these 'eight-poles-can't-hit' cases."

"We asked. The experts have already had meetings and discussed all kinds of possibilities. Their conclusion is that the infection of the people in the business district looks more like a targeted setup, while the three Cultivators at the Listening-to-the-Waves club look more like a coincidence. But before the case is truly solved, all inferences are just possibilities that may not hold up."

Hearing this, Shen Qiang frowned and said, "I think their analysis makes sense and is very professional, so…"

"Don't even think about shaking your sleeves and walking away." Wenren Meiqiao shot Shen Qiang a glare with her beautiful eyes, adding more grilled meat to his plate as she said, "In reality, the behavior of Cultivators is very different from Ordinary people. The criminal investigation experts have no way to accurately predict it. So you have to help me find a way to resolve this, otherwise this person will sooner or later cause us big trouble."

Hearing this, Shen Qiang frowned and, after a brief silence, looked at Wenren Meiqiao's female assistant and said solemnly, "Then what did Qianning say? I'm sure you've already questioned her."

Wenren Meiqiao's female assistant, upon hearing that, glanced nervously at Wenren Meiqiao.

"What are you looking at me for? Just tell the truth." Wenren Meiqiao, who had just added meat for Shen Qiang, said while cutting grilled meat for Ye Guyun.

The female assistant let out an "oh," then looked at Shen Qiang and said, "Jinli Qianning is extremely unhappy about the Listening-to-the-Waves club being shut down and ordered to suspend business for rectification. She is absolutely sure you did this, believes you used your identity as Dragon Group's Security Advisor to deliberately harm her, and has lodged a protest with Dragon Group's Beijing Department over this, while demanding her operations be restored."

"You guys shut down the Listening-to-the-Waves club?" Shen Qiang was stunned.

The female assistant frowned. "We had no choice. Actually, we were protecting her. Three Cultivators were infected with the virus and died in her club. Their Sect is the Lingxiao Sword Academy. Though it's only a lower-middle second-rate Sect, it still has plenty of experts."

"Right now, their people all believe Qianning killed them and are clamoring to carry out Demon Suppression. Under those circumstances, if the club kept operating, there's no way to guarantee no further incidents."

Shen Qiang took a deep breath, his mood sinking to rock bottom.

In fact, this Jinli Qianning was the key to getting the Divine Corpse.

Shen Qiang's original plan was: after welcoming Qin Yurou and Pan Meiqing to the Mountain Villa, he'd return to Beijing and go find her immediately to discuss things. As long as she nodded and the Sea Demon King agreed—plus Gui Shu is currently with the Sea Demon King—the few of them could sit down and properly discuss an action plan, finalize a strategy, and then look for an opportunity to make a move.

After all, Shen Qiang's Cultivation has already reached the Mixed Element Realm. As long as he gets the Divine Corpse, he can extend Qingxuan's Immortal fate.

And who is Qingxuan?

The Yong Zhen Empress's bestie from the Immortal Realm's Central State, a tiger-like General, a True Immortal Realm powerhouse.

Once she's resurrected and her strength restored—

Who would Shen Qiang have to fear?

Moreover, it's not just her. The Flower Crown on the Divine Corpse belongs to Taiyin Youying. Once he obtains it, Taiyin Youying will also grow stronger. By then, Shen Qiang could be as high and mighty as he wants.

But now, look how it's turned out.

Shen Qiang hadn't even had time to go find her before something like this happened.

On top of that, Jinli Qianning already didn't like Shen Qiang before all this. Now she's even more firmly insisting he did it. If he doesn't drag out the real culprit behind the scenes, he won't even have a chance to bring up the Divine Corpse.

Even if he could bring it up, it'd be pointless. With so many misunderstandings piled up, it'd be a miracle if Jinli Qianning agreed.

Besides, even if she really did agree, Shen Qiang wouldn't dare go out to sea with her, because there's at least an eighty percent chance she'd be figuring out how to drown him.

"Shen Qiang, what are you spacing out for? What are you thinking about?"

Wenren Meiqiao's shout pulled Shen Qiang back to his senses. He couldn't help but give an awkward smile and say,

"Nothing, I was just thinking about what exactly caused such a complicated situation behind the scenes."

Looking at Shen Qiang with his brows tightly knit, Wenren Meiqiao—who clearly wasn't gentle at all—suddenly had a gentle look in her eyes. Then she said softly, "Shen Qiang, I know this is a headache, but if we can't quickly take care of that person, this whole thing will be a huge hidden danger. If one day that person suddenly snaps, it could cause an irreparable disaster."

Hearing this, Shen Qiang smiled and said, "Relax. I might mess around in daily life, but I know what's important. This matter, I'm taking it on."

Wenren Meiqiao was overjoyed at his words and praised, "Shen Qiang, I knew you wouldn't just ignore something like this. So tell me, what do you think about this case?"

Hearing this, Shen Qiang frowned and, after thinking for a moment, said, "Right now we can be sure that, whether the person hiding in the shadows is acting alone or in a group, we can basically conclude it's highly likely he's from the Blood Clan."

"Why?" Wenren Meiqiao was surprised.

Shen Qiang said, "Because this virus is something I've seen a third time now. The previous two users were all Blood Clan."

Wenren Meiqiao was silent for a moment, then said, "Even if that inference is correct, it still doesn't solve the problem. We still don't know why the infected suddenly shifted from Ordinary office workers to Cultivators, and why their onset was faster and more ferocious."