......

Shen Qixue remained conscious.

But the damage to her skeletal structure was at least over ninety percent.

Even with injuries this severe.

She wasn't afraid.

She lifted her eyelids with difficulty, looking at Lu Ding: "Chen... Chen Yan is a genius... geniuses have privileges... I don't... believe you've never had privileges..."

Judging by appearances, she could tell Lu Ding was quite young, though she didn't understand how someone so young could possess such terrifying combat power.

There was no time for her to ponder this now.

Her entire focus was dedicated to refuting Lu Ding, insisting that her own understanding was correct.

"If... Chen Yan joined 749, his contributions couldn't be compared to the Fang family... and the Fang family acted unjustly first... he was seeking justice for his father... although somewhat extreme... he didn't commit major wrongs..."

The earlier points had some truth, though expressed extremely, but the later statements were complete nonsense, twisting black and white.

Lu Ding could have remained silent, but some things just had to be said!

"Genius? A genius who can't even withstand one move from me?"

This left Shen Qixue unable to rebut.

If even she couldn't withstand one move from Lu Ding, how could Chen Yan possibly...

But wasn't that just because you're too strong!?

Then again, what Lu Ding considered a genius had to be at least on par with 'Zhang Wei' and Bai Hemen.

Otherwise, he wouldn't acknowledge them.

Before Shen Qixue could rebut, Lu Ding continued:

"I have privileges, and I've enjoyed privileges all along, but I understand my position clearly—I keep my work at 749 clean."

"As for my personal motives..."

Killing demons and monsters left and right.

Skills and techniques flowing endlessly.

Lu Ding smiled.

"There's a saying—judge by actions, not intentions. I don't know if you've heard it."

Shen Qixue was so furious she almost choked.

"You........."

BANG!!!

Just as she tried to speak again, Lu Ding delivered a soccer-style kick to her head, sending the words back down her throat.

Shen Qixue's head snapped back, blood spraying from her mouth.

"Enough, shut up. My patience for talking with you ends here."

Fu Xinghe chose this perfect moment to approach, handing over a tablet.

It contained Shen Qixue's information that he had just compiled from the 749 database when Zhao Feng and the other two arrived.

As for Zhao Feng and Chen Yan's information, Lu Ding had already seen it.

Only Shen Qixue's remained.

Lu Ding took the tablet: "Let me see how to deal with you."

He wasn't the type to call for killing over minor mistakes.

If Shen Qixue's records didn't meet his standards for capital punishment, he would just have her imprisoned for life.

But after looking...

Hey!

This person was actually quite clean.

No corruption.

Some abuse of power, but not much.

According to the records, Shen Qixue maintained decent boundaries.

Scrolling down, Lu Ding saw how Shen Qixue and Chen Yan had met.

The incident began when Shen Qixue was arresting criminal Qi Refiners who collaborated with demons to harm people. She charged ahead too aggressively, became separated from her team, and accidentally got surrounded.

In the chaotic fight, she sustained severe injuries.

Just as she was about to die.

Chen Yan appeared and saved her.

This explained why Shen Qixue was now speaking up for Chen Yan.

Further down was Shen Qixue's background, and Lu Ding immediately understood why she hadn't engaged in corruption—she simply looked down on such petty money.

Lu Ding lost interest in reading further.

Just because someone had connections meant they shouldn't be killed?

Wrong!

Sparing those with connections only meant releasing tigers back to the mountains to seek revenge later.

So people with connections had to be treated even more strictly.

After reviewing everything, Lu Ding nodded: "I can understand why you speak for him."

After all, he had saved her life.

Lu Ding could be hypocritical, but not excessively so.

If it were him, he would also speak up for someone who had saved him—it was human nature.

Shen Qixue remained unmoved by these words: "You......"

BANG!!!

Another kick silenced her: "Did I say you could speak?"

"I said I can understand, but that doesn't mean I condone it."

"You can speak for him using your personal identity, you can repay him in your personal capacity, but you cannot use your position as a 749 investigator to shield him or endorse him."

Lu Ding straightened up, pointing at Shen Qixue: "Now, I'll give you one chance to speak and act."

"Just one opportunity, listen carefully."

"If you want to continue endorsing him, speaking for him, shielding him, then remove your shoulder insignias."

Lu Ding tapped the bodycam on his chest: "Say to it: I, Shen Qixue, will interfere with law enforcement for Chen Yan."

"Or you can phrase it more diplomatically—your choice. You have one minute to think."

If Shen Qixue had just a bit more dirt or scandal beyond the Chen Yan matter, Lu Ding would have stomped her to death without hesitation.

But according to the complete records.

She was clean, focused on real work.

Could you really call someone bad when they'd charged so far ahead of their unit in a dump like the new city to fight demons that they ended up in danger?

During his Third Circle training and dragon-slaying missions, Lu Ding had encountered investigators like this more than once in other 749 jurisdictions.

And according to Fu Xinghe's meticulously prepared records.

The archival records about Chen Yan at 749 were ridiculously biased.

Money changed hands, and what were clearly Chen Yan's problems got written up as the Fang family's faults.

Seeing Shen Qixue thinking, Lu Ding turned to Fu Xinghe: "Notify Qian Jin immediately to arrest all investigators who took Chen Yan's money to falsify records and subject them to punishment!!!!"

He wouldn't deliberately investigate these things—the system was a mess, with few clean players.

But since this had come to his attention, they could only blame their bad luck.

"Yes, Brother Lu."

As Fu Xinghe spoke, he swiped the tablet to the next page, which contained his compilation of the true facts about the Chen Yan incident.

Lu Ding glanced at it, then placed it before Shen Qixue.

Without saying anything else, he simply stated: "Time's almost up."

Shen Qixue looked at the tablet, her pupils dilating involuntarily before she slowly turned to look at Chen Yan lying on the ground.

"You lied to me?!"

Chen Yan had witnessed everything, and now facing Shen Qixue's suspicion, he understood her choice.

He let out a bitter laugh: "What do you mean I lied to you?"

"Did I... ever promise you I would join 749?"

"Did I tell you to believe the archives?"

"You investigated everything yourself, you didn't check thoroughly enough, and you say I lied to you?"

Shen Qixue's mental state at this moment was more shattered than after suffering Lu Ding's brutal beating.

She had no romantic feelings for Chen Yan—after all, she came from an important background with powerful connections, not the type to fall for just any man she met. Reality wasn't like fiction;

proper upbringing broadened one's perspective.

But she wanted to repay the favor.

She just never expected that what she thought was the best way to repay him would end with Chen Yan not accepting it...

True, Chen Yan had refused many times—she had been the one persistently inviting him.

"But... last time you refused my invitation, you said you were seeking justice for your father..."

Before she could finish, Chen Yan gathered his breath, enduring the pain of his injuries as he interrupted: "Don't mention my father again!!! I was seeking justice for my father, is that so wrong that..."

Lu Ding was getting annoyed.

Deceiving yourself, falsifying things, and you think you're impressive?

"Damn it, I can't hold back anymore!"