"When we first started the investigation, we thought an Evil Spirit was responsible.

"So we excluded the local Defense Team members and conducted a massive, sweeping search.

"Strangely, we did find traces of a Mysterious Power, but we never saw any sign of an Evil Spirit.

"So, we raised the threat level of this case,

"because we began to suspect a high-level, intelligent Evil Spirit was behind it.

"Otherwise, those Low Level, non-sentient Evil Spirits would just kill indiscriminately over a wide area,

"instead of just leaving behind traces of a Mysterious Power and seemingly avoiding our detection."

As Chu He leafed through the photos, Liu Yuzhu explained.

Chu He nodded. Her analysis made sense.

Low Level Evil Spirits were like mindless butchers, slaughtering tirelessly on a massive scale.

As long as the local Defense Team members arrived in time, they were always able to find a trace of the Evil Spirit.

"What’s the situation now?" Chu He asked.

"The city’s risk factor has now been raised to the highest level.

"But we still can’t stop people from being killed.

"None of the surveillance cameras we installed have captured any evidence of an Evil Spirit killing anyone.

"Most importantly, there are no connections between any of the victims.

"The Royal City sent some personnel from headquarters as reinforcements, but it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. We have no leads."

Liu Yuzhu said helplessly, "That’s why I’ve been carrying these photos in my bag. I was hoping that if I could wait for you to return, I could ask for your advice."

"Give me the address. I’ll make a trip there myself."

Chu He put down the photos. It was hard to discern much from them, as they were all of victims.

"If you’re willing to go, Mr. Chu, that would be wonderful! I’ll contact the head of the local Defense Team right away," Liu Yuzhu said, pleasantly surprised.

"Alright," Chu He agreed.

"Then I’ll go with you, Mr. Chu," Yumizakura said with a grin, blinking her eyes.

"Fine."

’Chu He didn’t trust Yumizakura. After all, she had just shown up and surrendered on her own accord.’

’It was better to keep her by his side, especially since Yumizakura was cunning and treacherous by nature.’

"What should I do, then?" Xu Ping’an asked.

"Would you be interested in teaching at the National Road Academy?" Chu He asked.

’He’d already figured out what to do with Xu Ping’an back when he invited him to leave the Demon Cave.’

’With Xu Ping’an’s power, he was more than qualified to be a teacher at the National Road Academy.’

"No problem. I’ll follow your arrangements."

Xu Ping’an had long been homeless and had no idea what his future held.

"I’ll leave this matter for you to arrange," Chu He said, looking at Liu Yuzhu.

He didn’t go into detail about Xu Ping’an’s identity, but Liu Yuzhu trusted him completely. After contacting the head of the Defense Team in the city where the Paperman incidents were occurring, she put down her phone and nodded in agreement.

「That same day, Chu He and Yumizakura departed on a private plane.」

The incidents were taking place in a city called Huamen.

In the entire Great Xia Empire, Huamen City could be considered a third-tier city at best.

So, when the horrifying Paperman incidents occurred there, they didn’t cause a major sensation.

Furthermore, the local Defense Team deliberately handled the matter discreetly, preventing a widespread atmosphere of panic from developing within the city.

When the plane landed, someone was already at the airport to meet them.

"Mr. Chu, I’ve heard so much about you. My name is Bi Hongda, and this is Qi Chaoyu.

"I’m the head of the Huamen City local Defense Team."

Two men in uniform walked up to them, appearing quite reserved and tense as they stood before Chu He.

Although they were both figures of authority with many combat personnel under their command, they were still somewhat nervous in the presence of someone like Chu He.

"Hello, Mr. Chu. I’m Qi Chaoyu, sent from the Royal City as reinforcement. Unfortunately, my abilities are limited, and I haven’t been much help," Qi Chaoyu said, ashamed.

"Still no leads?"

Chu He waved his hand, gesturing for them to talk as they walked.

"None. The main issue is that there are no social connections between the victims.

"You could even say it’s completely random. The victims have never even met each other.

"We suspect it might be a high-level Evil Spirit, or perhaps a person who has merged with Evil Spirit Power, killing at random," Qi Chaoyu offered his speculation.

"I’m leaning toward the latter," Chu He said.

"Why?" Bi Hongda asked, confused.

"Because if it were a high-level Evil Spirit, there are only two possibilities.

"One is that it was born after devouring a terrifying number of humans.

"The other is that the Evil Spirit was already high-level but has been dormant for a long time.

"However, when such an Evil Spirit awakens from its slumber, it’s in a relatively weak state.

"At that point, it would need to feed extensively to recover its strength.

"Evil Spirits have only two ways of feeding: cannibalizing their own kind, or eating humans.

"In either case, it would have caused immense carnage locally before these Paperman incidents even began," Chu He explained.

"Then could it be a high-level Evil Spirit that came here from another Empire or region?" Bi Hongda inquired.

"That’s even more unlikely," Chu He said, shaking his head.

"Why is that?" Bi Hongda asked. He suddenly realized he couldn’t keep up with Mr. Chu’s line of thought.

"Because I am in the Great Xia Empire. High-level Evil Spirits from other Empires or regions would never dare set foot here. Especially not a lone one."