Chapter 17: Chapter 17: The Comment Section’s Meltdown
Honestly, from the perspective of Li Jianye and his colleagues, looking at Xu Huo was like looking at a god.
He hadn’t meticulously searched the crime scene, hadn’t directed officers to canvass the area, and hadn’t even needed much time...
In a single afternoon, he had solved such a major case!
It was unbelievable. Just by glancing at the crime scene and reviewing the information they’d gathered, he had perfectly deduced the killer’s psychological profile and identity.
He had even managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat—unearthing a four-year-old cold case from two hundred kilometers away that no one even knew existed!
Just following his lead felt amazing, hitting every target he pointed to. One could only imagine what it was like to be Xu Huo.
Perhaps this case, which the entire squad had failed to crack...
...was riddled with holes to Xu Huo.
A smile spread across his face as he urged Zhao Shui to open the manuscript.
Li Jianye’s smile froze.
His expression slowly faded.
Li Jianye was lost in thought for a long time.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out. As he recalled the words one by one, a bitter taste filled his mouth.
Zhao Kang, Sun Jiang...
Honestly, Li Jianye had seen plenty of cases like this, but each new one still managed to affect him.
He always had to consciously suppress his emotions in these situations. Otherwise, there were only two possible outcomes.
Quit and become a monk, or retire into depression.
But he never expected that just reading a story...
"Sigh... Xiao Xu..."
Li Jianye let out a deep sigh and lit another cigarette.
His composure was cracking.
He wasn’t the only one. Zhao Shui’s face was also blank as he numbly, mechanically, kept trying to turn the page. But there were no more pages, and he scrolled into the comment section.
The comment section had exploded.
[Willow Leaf Blade: WTF, you old bastard, you just got out and you’re already writing this depressing shit?!]
[The Only Sane Man in the Asylum: No, seriously, which one of you guys called the cops on him? Why’d you have to go and piss him off when you had nothing better to do?!]
[White Lotus: Am I the only one wondering how the author wrote this? Bro, how are your details so specific?! Seriously, bro, where are you writing this from? Bro, I’m scared...]
[LetMeCopyThat: You know, you don’t have to go out and commit a crime just so I have a plot to read. Really... FFS, who let him out?!]
[UnpoppableBubblegum: Haha, guys, don’t let the author fool you. Sun Jiang was never caught and Bai Xuhong didn’t die. I’m the one who died. They’re both living happily ever after now...]
[IWantToBuyAHouse: FUCK FUCK FUCK! TRAGEDY! TRAGEDY! TRAGEDY! I CAME TO THE WRONG PLACE!]
[...]
The comment section was in an uproar. A horde of new readers, who had heard that Xu Huo had been reported by his own fans and locked up, had flocked to the novel just in time to see the new Chapter.
They had eagerly clicked in, only to start frantically spamming the comments after they finished reading.
Zhao Shui and Li Jianye watched for a good while, and the melancholy mood was momentarily broken.
"Tsk. These young people are pretty interesting."
Li Jianye chuckled. Seeing the comment section filled with people "crying their eyes out" left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Zhao Shui nodded. After a moment’s thought, he started typing a comment of his own.
[ShuiShuiShui: Don’t believe the guys above. The book is great, the plot is super sweet, no tragedy at all. Sun Jiang and Bai Xuhong both went home safe and sound. I recommend everyone check it out.]
[Send]
"Heh, you’re a little devil, aren’t you!"
Li Jianye laughed, slapping his thigh as he looked at his senior apprentice.
"Reading about things like this can help raise people’s awareness,"
Zhao Shui said with a smile. "Besides, I was thinking we could have a few Police Officers study Mr. Xu’s methods as a theoretical exercise."
At that, Li Jianye’s smile faded, and he pondered the suggestion seriously for a moment.
In the past, he’d always looked down on police academy graduates.
They were always fresh-faced kids who needed to be taught courage first. Everything they learned in school was just theory—useless, flashy stuff that didn’t work in the real world.
But...
Xu Huo had changed his mind.
’Three formulas for reasoning! A single deductive process that completely shattered a case that had been a total mystery!’
’A case... can be solved like *that*?!’
’While he knew the techniques, he could never apply them so flawlessly.’
’So it wasn’t that the theories were useless—it was that they just didn’t know how to use them properly!’
"We’ll study them!"
A gleam appeared in Li Jianye’s eyes. "Dammit. Xiao Xu came from the academy, and so did they. How can the difference be so huge?"
"Study them! All of them will study!"
...
...
「Cafeteria.」
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for scripting the ’Modern Jesus’ plot. Calculating rewards.]
[Reward calculation in progress...]
[Plot Immersion for this script: 76%. Reward granted: ’Wang Die’s Scent’]
[Buff Skill ’Wang Die’s Scent’: While this buff is active, your sense of smell will reach the level of a Wang Die. You will be the most famous K-9 in the nation. In your jurisdiction, contraband, drugs, counterfeit money, and stolen goods of all kinds will be unable to escape your nose!]
Xu Huo: ?
Xu Huo, who had been in the middle of eating, suddenly froze.
’Wait a minute...’
’How did I turn into a dog in the middle of my meal?’
Stunned, Xu Huo subconsciously pulled up his system panel.
[Host: Xu Huo]
[Age: 23]
[Acquired Skills: Killing Skill Lv5, Firearms Lv5, Parkour Lv5, Black Dragon Eighteen Hands Lv5, Boxing Lv5...]
(Note: Max level is Lv5)
[Scripted Plots: ’Modern Jesus’]
[Buffs: Wang Die’s Scent]
His eyes locked onto the buff.
Something that hadn’t changed in over twenty years had finally changed!
’As for the skill itself...’
’Wang Die’s Scent. The name was literal—it gave him the olfactory sensitivity of a Wang Die.’
The Wang Die, also known as the Monarch Butterfly, would certainly rank near the top if you were to list the world’s animals by their sense of smell.
The creature’s sense of smell was insane!
How insane?
Let’s just say a male Wang Die can smell a female from eleven kilometers away...
"So I really have become a police dog."
Xu Huo mused.
The Jiangsan City Police Department didn’t have any K-9 units. Raising police dogs was an expensive and demanding ordeal, requiring training facilities, specialized handlers, and a hefty food budget.
The food budget alone could support several police officers. Plus, the dogs were delicate, had short service careers, and weren’t nearly as durable as an auxiliary officer.
Normally, if they needed a K-9, they would just borrow one from the armed police or a neighboring city’s department.
"Hm? Wait, if you think about it that way..."
Xu Huo suddenly realized something. He fell into deep thought.
"Does this mean I’m filling the K-9 vacancy for Jiangsan City?"
Xu Huo pondered.
Xu Huo’s brows furrowed.
Xu Huo fell silent.
"Whatever. At least the skill is useful."
He shook his head and silently chanted, ’Wang Die’s Scent.’ His nose twitched.
The next second, a faint, pleasant fragrance wafted into his nostrils.
"Huh? Are you wearing perfume?"
Xu Huo turned to the girl beside him—who wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed—a puzzled look on his face.
Chu Xi blinked. "No, I’m not."
"Then why do you have a scent?"
Chu Xi lifted her fair arms and sniffed them, then tilted her head in confusion. "I don’t smell anything."
’She only wore light makeup, which wouldn’t have a scent, and this fragrance didn’t smell like perfume either.’
Xu Huo pondered for a moment but didn’t press the issue.
’Well, she smells nice. That’s a good thing.’
He looked up at the clock.
’Almost quitting time.’
"Come on, let’s go get some fish!"
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