Next, Victor Thompson, who had come with him, was stabbed five times in the chaos. In the confusion, no one even saw what the killer looked like. The murder weapon was still the same switchblade used to kill Henry Grant. The killer’s audacity and recklessness left everyone dumbfounded.

It was the National Day holiday, and although the police department tried to recall officers as soon as they received the news, half of the force still couldn’t be reached. The negligence of the national police was evident.

When some people tried to contact the deputy director of the city bureau, Charles Baker, his cell phone was turned off, and even the home phone couldn’t be reached. Someone immediately rushed to Charles Baker’s residence, but the usually lively Baker family mansion was eerily silent.

The first person to sense something was wrong broke down the door and rushed inside. For a long time afterward, this person was mentally unstable, constantly muttering things like, “Blood, so much blood, bodies, so many bodies.”

But anyone who later entered the Baker family mansion understood him well. More than a dozen members of the Baker family, young and old, had all been murdered—even the children were not spared. The investigation showed the killer had entered through a window and began attacking the people inside one by one. At the time, Charles Baker’s entire family, as well as the families of his son and daughter, were all in the house—none survived. When people arrived, the killer had only just left. Charles Baker himself was not yet dead, his body still convulsing, and he didn’t breathe his last until the ambulance arrived.

What shocked people the most was that on the front wall of the house, the killer had left a few crooked words: “Knowing the law and breaking it, the crime is doubled.”

A major case—a case that shocked the entire nation. Since the founding of the country, no one had ever dared to so brazenly declare war on the entire public security system. This was a blatant provocation. As for the words left by the killer, they were, intentionally or not, covered up.

But it didn’t end there. On the third night, just as people were beginning to realize how serious things were becoming, three more police officers were killed. One of them was even stabbed multiple times from behind while on duty and died instantly. At the same time, the headquarters of the Wild Wolf Gang—namely, the Jade Group’s office building—was broken into. The gang leaders, who were in the middle of a heated meeting, were all killed. This time, the killer’s methods were much more professional: all twenty-four people were killed with a single fatal stab, and the last one didn’t even make it to the door. Their underlings were still waiting in the parking lot downstairs, completely unaware of what was happening above. The killer left calmly. As for the three security guards in the security room, they had already been killed when the killer broke in.

This time, there were two survivors. One was the Jade Group’s administrative director, Paul Thompson, who was on a business trip elsewhere and was on his way back when the incident occurred. The other was the Jade Group’s finance manager, Howard Lane, who had been sent out to handle finances. Both of them went into hiding afterward, too frightened to show themselves. It wasn’t until half a year later, when the truth about Charles Baker’s case gradually came to light, that the two were finally apprehended.

On the fourth day, David Carter didn’t act again. The police responded much faster than he had expected, and he was summoned back to the station. The risk of acting again was too great. There were still fifteen people on his list, but he no longer planned to take action. With things having escalated to this point, even if he didn’t act, those with a mind to would already know what was going on. There was no way to cover it up anymore. So many people had died, more than half of them police officers. This was already a major case on par with the “Two Wangs” armed murder case of the 1980s. The Ministry of Public Security had already sent people to take charge of the case. As the investigation deepened, anyone involved would not be able to escape. David Carter still had confidence in the efficiency of the state apparatus once it was fully mobilized.

David Carter knew it was time to leave. His identity couldn’t withstand scrutiny. The provincial public security director, James Baker, had already been dismissed and was under investigation. It was easy to imagine that, as the crackdown on organized crime unfolded, a review of everyone in the S City police department would be inevitable. Perhaps, to maintain stability in S City, the investigation would be conducted secretly and in batches, but what was coming would come.

Before the National Day holiday was even over, he had already arrived at the train station. His destination was a small city on the China-Mongolia border, carrying sixty thousand yuan in cash. He planned to cross the border, enter Mongolia, and then go to Russia—an escape route he had prepared long ago.

But the unexpected still happened. David Carter slowly walked into the ticket hall of the station, pausing for a moment at the entrance and casually scanning the crowded hall. Such a scene was normal during the National Day holiday, but his body immediately tensed.

Several people caught his attention. They were scattered near the entrance, dressed differently, but all had their eyes fixed on the doorway, carefully watching everyone coming and going, their expressions alert and tense.