Qi Cheng had already anticipated that "Soul Devourer" would run away again, and he had no intention of chasing after it. Instead, he obediently walked back the way he came.
As he walked, he wondered if he should tell Lei Ting what had happened in the graveyard just now.
Considering that Zhu Yaoguo hadn't asked him to keep it a secret, and that the story might unexpectedly help with the case, Qi Cheng took out his phone and dialed Lei Ting's number.
On the other side, in the dark green camouflage-painted SUV, the three members of the investigation team were on their way to the next location.
They no longer regarded finding the woman in the red dress as their top priority (since they couldn't find her anyway), and instead shifted to two other investigation directions. One was to figure out why the woman targeted Wang Yue, whether it was a random choice or had some hidden meaning; the other was to find the second superpower user who had taken away Wang Yue's soul and was presumably present at the scene.
At first, after Qi Cheng said that Wang Yue's soul wasn't at the scene, the tricolor cat with a Taiji pattern on its face, "Soul Devourer", which could devour souls, was their primary suspect. After all, besides Qi Cheng, it was the only superpower user related to souls at that time, and it had the ability to do such a thing.
However, it was quickly cleared of suspicion after everyone watched the footage from the rooftop.
It could be said that unless the woman knew about Liu Wang's existence, knew his ability, and deliberately staged a scene with "Soul Devourer", there was no way this Taiji tricolor cat could be suspected.
"Jingle bell~" A basic incoming call ringtone came from Lei Ting's phone.
His original ringtone was actually the climax part of the opening theme of an animation, but since he joined the "Superpower Investigation Team", he had changed it. As for the reason, only he knew.
Lei Ting took out his phone and, upon seeing that it was Qi Cheng calling, decisively answered it.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Lei Ting, I want to tell you something..." Qi Cheng's voice came through.
Over the next few minutes, Qi Cheng on the other end of the phone detailed to Lei Ting what he had heard from the owner of the convenience store, Zhu Yaoguo, about what had happened before Wang Yue was killed, as well as everything he had experienced after following "Soul Devourer" to a small graveyard.
By the time Qi Cheng finished speaking, more than five minutes had passed. Then Lei Ting didn't say whether this information was useful for the case. Instead, after a moment of silence, he thanked Qi Cheng and hung up the phone.
"It seems that the third superpower user related to souls has been found." Lin Yuexiang, who had listened to the whole conversation, slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
"The old man's ability is just 'astral projection'. He probably can't do something like taking away a deceased person's soul, right?" Liu Wang expressed his opinion. He had a good impression of the convenience store owner, and if possible, he didn't want the other person to be a "suspected accomplice" of the woman in the red dress.
"Whether he can do it or not, it's not up to you to decide." Lin Yuexiang retorted. "He can directly touch the soul body. And since he can send a deceased person's soul back into their body, he might also have a way to directly extract a living person's soul."
"Then should we go there directly now?" Lei Ting asked.
"Not yet." Lin Yuexiang shook his head and said, "Let's go there in the evening."
On the other side, after Lei Ting hung up the phone, Qi Cheng wasn't sure whether these two stories could actually bring any help to the investigation. But he wasn't in a hurry. After all, he had done everything he could, and he believed that the official superpower users would handle the rest well.
...
The sun set, and the dusk arrived.
The three members of the investigation team walked straight into the "Convenience Supermarket". The only difference between them now and the previous day was that they were all wearing police uniforms.
Lin Yuexiang had specially fetched these uniforms at the police station that morning as a precaution. Unexpectedly, they were used in the afternoon. Entering the convenience store, Lin Yuexiang immediately saw Zhu Yaoguo sitting on a small wooden chair. He took two steps forward, took out his genuine police ID and showed it for a moment, saying:
"Mr. Zhu Yaoguo, we're from the public security bureau, and we need your cooperation regarding something."
Zhu Yaoguo wasn't flustered by the sudden visit of the police. It seemed that he had expected it. He even pulled out a chair and motioned for Lin Yuexiang to sit down.
Lin Yuexiang wasn't polite. After pulling over a chair and sitting down, he got straight to the point:
"Mr. Zhu, the purpose of our visit is actually just one thing. We want to learn about your superpower of 'astral projection'."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yaoguo's body shook. He closed his eyes, and his hands trembled slightly.
After a few breaths, he opened his misty eyes, looked up and sighed, "So you've finally come... Did that young man named Qi Cheng tell you?"
Lin Yuexiang leaned slightly forward and said, "It sounds like you've expected to be discovered?"
He didn't answer the old man's question. After all, the "Superpower Investigation Team" had the responsibility to keep the informant's identity confidential. However, even if he didn't say it, the other party already knew the answer.
"More or less." Zhu Yaoguo's voice became much hoarser, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
"It's not that I look down on you, but you guys showed up much later than I expected..."
"It seems that our image in your eyes isn't very good." Lin Yuexiang slightly raised the corners of his mouth and said half-jokingly, "Actually, we don't actively look for superpower users like you. If that incident hadn't happened, as long as you lived a stable life as an ordinary citizen, we might never have met you in our lives."
"That incident? Wang Yue?" Zhu Yaoguo's half-closed eyes suddenly opened.
"Yes, we seriously suspect that his death wasn't a simple suicide, and that's why we're here to talk to you." Lin Yuexiang's expression became serious.
Zhu Yaoguo was silent for a moment. With another sigh, he said, "I see... If what you said is true and Wang Yue didn't commit suicide, then I'm willing to cooperate with your investigation."
As he spoke, he stood up again.
"It's not really suitable to talk about this here. Let's change to another place."
Lin Yuexiang also stood up. "Since you've made the request, of course we have no reason to refuse. Let's go then."
With that, Lin Yuexiang made a "please" gesture with his right hand, and Lei Ting consciously stepped aside.
After closing the car door, Lin Yuexiang took the driver's seat, Liu Wang sat in the passenger seat, and Lei Ting was in charge of keeping an eye on Zhu Yaoguo in the back seat.
"Young man, you must have realized that I'm not an ordinary person yesterday, right?" Zhu Yaoguo had asked Qi Cheng this question in the morning, and now he asked Lei Ting and Liu Wang the same question.
"Yes." Lei Ting chose to tell the truth.
"But at that time, we only knew that you might know something. We weren't sure whether you had superpowers."
"I see... Thank you for your answers. Come to think of it, I didn't expect you to be the police yesterday either." Zhu Yaoguo looked up at the car's roof and said.