Old Harris is dead? David Carter's heart skipped a beat. There was only one person who could make Captain lose his composure like this, and who was also called Old Harris—that was their political commissar, Richard Harris. Nicknamed "Chessboard," Richard Harris was an expert in strategy and tactics. Many flawless operations had been masterminded by him. However, he had left the army three years before David Carter was discharged, apparently to become a detective in some city. Such an elite among elites in the military didn't die on the battlefield, but actually died after leaving the service—and it didn't look like a natural death. David Carter already had a vague idea of why Captain had gathered them all together.

"Fine, fine, I give in. I'll talk, okay?" Faced with a Captain like this, no one could help but feel nervous, but people like Brian Foster would never get themselves involved in such troublesome matters, so there was no talk of brotherhood or anything like that.

"Here's what happened: Old Harris was the head of the Criminal Investigation Division at the S City Public Security Bureau. I checked Old Harris's death record. He was attacked on his way home after drinking with a few colleagues from the bureau. He was stabbed seventeen times, the fatal wound piercing his heart, killing him on the spot. No one saw the body, because it was cremated just a few days after the incident. But according to the autopsy report, it wasn't a simple brawl. Everyone knows how skilled Old Harris was—if it had just been some random thugs, even a group of them wouldn't have been able to take him down. The attackers had clearly been lying in wait, and their sole purpose was to kill Old Harris.

If that was all, it might be understandable—Old Harris was a cop, and he must have had plenty of enemies. But at the same time, his house was burned to the ground in a fire. His wife and Xiao Lanlan didn't make it out. What's even more suspicious is that the autopsy report for his wife and Xiao Lanlan simply stated they died in a gas explosion caused by the fire, and their bodies were cremated immediately along with Old Harris. Although the bureau kept saying they were hunting for the killer, I asked someone inside, and the internal conclusion was that the mother and daughter died in the fire, no doubt about it. As for Old Harris's killer, they pinned it on some random drifter who had nothing to do with it. That's pretty unusual.

After the head of the Criminal Investigation Division dies and his house catches fire at the same time, even someone who knows nothing would realize something's off. But the bureau just turned a blind eye. That's very strange.

I then looked into a few of the cases Old Harris was working on before he died. There was nothing I could do—everything Old Harris had with him was cremated along with his body. These sons of bitches really covered their tracks, probably to make sure there was no evidence left. Old Harris didn't have any close relatives either; his whole family was wiped out. Honestly, it's a pretty effective way to tie up loose ends..."

He was about to add a few comments when, "Cut the crap. Get to the point," Captain's tone, though calmer now, showed a hint of impatience.

"I then carefully sifted through the cases Old Harris had on hand. This was the only place to start. I didn't dare ask too many people—doing so would draw too much attention. A case like this was bound to involve some big shots.

I found one case that stood out. It was a gang-related case. Old Harris had gotten some intel from an informant. This gang was involved in drug trafficking, smuggling, prostitution, arson, murder—you name it, they did it, except maybe arms dealing. And it had been going on for a long time, yet nothing ever happened to them. Who would believe they didn't have someone powerful backing them?

But investigating cases isn't the army's business, and my reach doesn't go that far. Still, what could I do? This was something you, Old Smith, told me to look into. So I had one of my orderlies go to a nightclub run by one of the gang's leaders. You know how places like that are—a real mix of people, and it's easy for trouble to break out. Sure enough, a fight started almost immediately. I led a team to raid the club and arrested all their top guys. We charged them with assaulting an active-duty officer. When the police came to get their people, we interrogated them on the spot. Honestly, we didn't even have to press them—one guy kept shouting that their chairman was the brother of the deputy director of the police bureau. I wasn't after their confessions or anything. Since they let slip something that important, I let them go. The police didn't suspect a thing. Our army is famous for protecting its own—no way they'd dare come to the military district and make a fuss.

Later, I looked into this deputy director of the city bureau. Guess what? Turns out he's the son of the provincial public security chief. The net may be small, but for someone like Old Harris—a cop with no connections—it was more than enough. I figure Old Harris must have gotten hold of some evidence against them, forcing their hand. You all know what Old Harris was like—stubborn as hell, couldn't be bribed. Also, it looks like more than half the cops at the bureau are rotten. Even the guys who invited Old Harris out for drinks that night were probably in on it. Old Harris didn't have many hobbies, except for drinking a bit too much. After that, he was ambushed. The whole thing reeks of a setup. Otherwise, forget knives—even bullets, Old Harris could have dodged. How could he have been hacked so many times?"