Ye Shijie nodded at Gu Shanjun, affirming, "Director Gu, that's exactly what happened. Originally, I wanted to wait a bit before taking action, but our team members are very righteous and couldn't stand the evil deeds of these traffickers. So, after informing me, they opened fire ahead of schedule. But it was also under my permission that we changed our plan."
Actually, he hadn't received Ye Shijie's consent. Ye Shijie just didn't want Xia Chujian to appear too unruly and self-willed in front of such a heavyweight figure like Gu Shanjun.
Although they were a civilian organization, the management system within the Association was militarized.
They placed great emphasis on obeying commands during operations.
Gu Shanjun didn't seem to care about these details at all.
He just looked at the photo, his mood very complicated.
After a long while, he closed the projection of the photo and said to Ye Shijie, "If what you're saying is true, then something we don't know about must have happened between your departure and the intervention of the Regular Army."
Ye Shijie still looked incredulous, saying, "...Those victims are all dead? Really all dead?"
"Indeed, they are all dead. The relatives of these people have already claimed the bodies," Gu Shanjun simply told them the aftermath.
Although Xia Chujian didn't understand the intricacies, she also keenly sensed that the Dark Night Hunter Association had connections with the so-called "Regular Army."
It seemed they even shared information.
Otherwise, how would they have gotten the photos from the "Regular Army"? Xia Chujian's eyes flickered slightly as she silently shifted her gaze, looking towards the door.
What she didn't say was that although the missing victim in Ye Shijie's photo didn't have her face clearly visible,
Xia Chujian had seen a bit of her appearance through the sniper scope when she was rescuing her.
Although it was just a fleeting glance, she could still make out the girl's general facial features.
She was very delicate, with a typical oval face, giving people a very gentle and innocent feeling.
It was just that she had her eyes closed at the time, and thick bangs covered most of her face, making her look like an ordinary high school girl.
"What about this missing victim? Is she dead too?" Ping Qiong asked timidly, a trace of lingering fear on her face as she recalled what happened that day.
The trafficker suddenly growing tentacles from his mouth had almost paralyzed Ping Qiong with fear.
Gu Shanjun shook his head regretfully, saying, "I don't know. We don't have any information related to this victim. The only thing we can confirm is that this person was also one of the victims, and then, she disappeared."
After saying that, he finally waved his hand, saying, "Alright, go and collect your mission rewards first. Oh, right, in a few days, the Special Security Bureau might also want to ask you some questions."
"The Special Security Bureau?!" The team members exchanged glances.
Ye Shijie hesitated, tentatively asking, "Director Gu, to be honest, today when we returned from the Exotic Beast Forest and entered Mulan City at the checkpoint, we encountered harassment from Deputy Director Fan of the Da Fu Prefecture Disciplinary Department."
"Deputy Director Fan? Who is that? Never heard of him," Gu Shanjun frowned. "How did he harass you? Did he want money?"
Gu Shanjun didn't seem to take it seriously at all.
Ye Shijie was slightly disappointed.
He wanted the Association to step in and seek justice for Xia Chujian, but looking at Gu Shanjun's attitude, it didn't seem like he would stand up for them.
Ping Qiong felt especially sad when she thought of the injuries on Xia Chujian's body, especially her swollen face, and the blood flowing from her shoulders and arms.
She couldn't help but say, "It's more than just wanting money! They wanted lives! This teammate of ours is an ordinary person, with no Mental Strength at all, and they targeted her relentlessly! They said she was a suspect in the Mulan City Plantation Humanoids Slaves riot, and beat her black and blue! - Just to seize our Flying Vehicle!"
Gu Shanjun "oh"ed, and glanced at Xia Chujian.
The swelling on Xia Chujian's face had subsided by now, but she looked very haggard.
She was wearing a bulky coat, so it was impossible to see any injuries on her body.
Gu Shanjun raised his chin and asked Xia Chujian, "What's going on? You tell me?"
Xia Chujian pursed her lips.
If this person couldn't stand up for her, what was the point of saying it again?
She lowered her eyes, not meeting Gu Shanjun's gaze, and said faintly, "It's not that serious. They did hit me, but I hit back. The people who wanted to harm me were all killed by me on the spot. Also, Colonel Zong of the Special Security Bureau also came forward to help, so we were able to leave safely."
Gu Shanjun frowned tightly as he listened: "Colonel Zong of the Special Security Bureau? Who?"
"He said his name was Zong Ruoan, and he's the Director of the Information Department of the Special Security Bureau."
Gu Shanjun suddenly understood: "So it's him! He's from the Zong family, do you know the Zong family?"
Song Mingqian's eyes flickered slightly: "...Is that the Zong family of Zong Military Industries?"
"Right! Don't you know? The Zong family of Zong Military Industries is one of the four great noble families of our Beichen Empire! Did they intervene?"
Xia Chujian hesitated for a moment and said, "It's not exactly direct intervention, just giving us the green light."
Gu Shanjun nodded, that made sense.
Someone of Zong Ruoan's status and position wouldn't bother with such trivial matters. He continued to ask Xia Chujian, "Did you kill someone? At the Mulan City checkpoint?"
"Yes, four Pig-head Humanoids Lowly People. Fan Chengcai ordered them to attack me, and I couldn't just sit there and wait to die, so I fought back," Xia Chujian said calmly, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.
But only the people in their team knew how dangerous the situation was at the time.
Although they didn't witness Xia Chujian's counterattack firsthand, they had seen Fan Chengcai's subordinates with their own eyes.
To force Xia Chujian to kill someone with a gun, the situation must have been a matter of life and death.
For them, Dark Night Hunters, in this kind of situation, they definitely had to draw their guns! You die, I live! Everyone looked at her with sympathy, and a hint of dissatisfaction with the Association rose in their hearts.
Gu Shanjun finally understood that it wasn't just a small matter of extortion.
His expression became serious, and he asked Xia Chujian, "They actually pinned such a charge on you! Did this Fan Chengcai know that you are a member of the Dark Night Hunter Association? Did he also know that your Flying Vehicle was to be returned to the Association?"
"Of course, all of this was filled in on the entry documents. He decided to attack me alone after seeing the information," Xia Chujian said, still looking down, her eyes fixed on a spot just in front of her toes.
Gu Shanjun's face immediately turned livid: "Daring to attack a member of our Dark Night Hunter Association, does this Fan Chengcai have something to rely on?"
Ye Shijie quickly said, "He definitely has something to rely on. He comes from a noble family, and he is the only noble on our Guiyuan Star, the Da Fu Prefecture Fan Family."
Gu Shanjun was stunned: "Which Fan family? When did the nobility have a Fan family?!"
Saying it like that, it seemed he really didn't take this Fan family seriously?
Li Fu and Song Mingqian exchanged glances and immediately said, "Director Gu, we don't know what kind of noble he is, but he did try to pin that deadly charge on us in order to seize our Flying Vehicle!"
"And our teammate has no Mental Strength, so she became his target! Fortunately, our teammate is strong and lucky enough to meet a big shot from the Special Security Bureau at the checkpoint, so she saved her life!"
"You must seek justice for us!"
The two spoke in unison, appearing very tragic.
Xia Chujian: "..."
She didn't want to make it so dramatic, but her teammates had already set the mood, so she hummed in agreement.
Gu Shanjun didn't waste any time and immediately began to investigate what kind of existence this Da Fu Prefecture Fan Family was.
His system permissions were very high, and he could access more information.
When he saw the Fan family's information, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch, and he muttered, "Really, any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to provoke us Dark Night Hunters... It seems we've been too Buddhist lately, and these people have forgotten how we made our name..."
Xia Chujian was curious and couldn't help but ask, "...How did you make your name?"
"When our Association was first established, we wiped out twenty-four noble families on Beichen Star overnight! The highest title among those nobles was Marquis, and the lowest was Viscount. The emperor only took back their titles and has since tacitly allowed us Dark Night Hunters to become a legitimate organization."
Gu Shanjun snorted and looked at Xia Chujian: "Since you are a member of our Association, even if you don't have Mental Strength, you can't be framed! Moreover, they even want to take our Association's assets... This Fan family seems to want to be wiped out too..."
The team members gasped together.
Even Xia Chujian, the victim, only wanted Fan Chengcai to pay with his life.
She had never thought of wiping out an entire family.
You should know that in the Beichen Empire, women also have inheritance rights.
Therefore, to wipe out a family, it means killing all the male and female direct heirs of that family!
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something but stopping.
Ye Shijie said, "Director Gu, this matter only requires Fan Chengcai to pay the price. Moreover, the head of the Special Security Bureau told us to wait at home for the next few days, saying that we may need to give a statement or something."
"Are you saying that the Special Security Bureau wants to talk to us about this matter?"
Gu Shanjun then touched his broad forehead and chuckled, "If that's the case, then the Special Security Bureau has two things to talk to you about. Besides this one, there's another one related to your killing of human traffickers and rescuing abducted victims."
Everyone exchanged glances.
When they went out later, they had to compare notes carefully.
The team members' statements had to corroborate each other.
Especially regarding their experiences in the Exotic Beast Forest, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning San Zong and that Griffon Sea Eagle.
As for Small Dog, there was even less need to mention it.
In everyone's mind, that Small Dog was actually more special than the Pig-head Humanoid San Zong and the Exotic Beast Griffon Sea Eagle.
Because it looked too ordinary.
Such an ordinary little animal couldn't possibly survive in the Land of the Far North in the Exotic Beast Forest.
But this Small Dog did survive.
That was the biggest difference.
The group left Gu Shanjun's office tacitly and went directly to the score settlement counter.
Gu Shanjun had already confirmed for them, so their mission was now in a completed state.
This is the first update, the second update will be at 1 PM. At the end of the month, everyone, clear out your inventory! Monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, Hongxiu tickets, the more the better! When I save up more manuscripts, I'll see if I can add more updates next month based on the monthly tickets and Hongxiu ticket situation. Of course, I have to add more updates for my three alliance leaders first. Two extra updates for each alliance leader. (#^.^#).
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