On the streets of Xinchuan City, the greyish-green tanks and armored vehicles parked on the side of the streets were rather eye-catching.
Sandbags, barbed wire, triangles, and the like of fortifications could still be seen at the key points of the bridges. Some soldiers were building permanent bunkers and defensive facilities on the streets.
Garbage trucks, trucks, excavators, and cranes were cleaning up the debris on the streets. The order of the entire city was restored compared to yesterday, but the tense atmosphere was still the same.
There were long lines at the entrance of the bank, the supply distribution point, and the recruitment point.
Soldiers and staff wearing the red armbands of the military control committee could be seen everywhere on the streets.
The square kilometer around the two permanent spatial rifts in the center of Xinchuan City and in the southwest had already become a restricted military zone. The residents who originally lived in the vicinity had all moved away. The engineering team of the 87th Legion had already surrounded the two areas and were working overtime to build permanent fortifications and various military facilities to surround the two permanent spatial rifts.
In the entire city, military vehicles transporting quick-drying cement and various military supplies lined up in a long line and drove towards the two restricted military zones.
The residents who lived near the restricted zones were also thinking of ways to move.
"… The military control committee forcibly requisitioned the empty houses in the city according to the wartime law and distributed them to the residents who lost their homes in the disaster. Many people who originally wanted to rent houses can now move in for free, so the order in the city has been restored relatively quickly. Food will be distributed according to the number of people, once a week. There's also a limited amount of cash …"
"There's also a need to build permanent fortifications in the city?"
"Yes, permanent fortifications in the city are quite useful against spatial invasions. It's much better than nothing. It can greatly reduce the casualties of our soldiers …"
In the military vehicle, Staff Officer Guo saw Xia Pingan's gaze on the situation outside, so he took the initiative to introduce the city's situation to Xia Pingan. "Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Guo Wei, a staff officer of the 87th Legion. Speaking of which, we're from the same hometown. I'm also from Xianghe!"
"Nice to meet you. Since we're from the same hometown, I'll be looking forward to your guidance in the future!" Xia Pingan said to Guo Can with a smile.
Staff Officer Guo's eyes were unusually bright behind his round spectacles. When he smiled, he looked very gentle. "You're too polite. In the 87th Legion, staff officers like me are everywhere. In the military, staff officers don't lead their commanders. They don't even fart. I just follow the legion commander around and run errands for the legion commander. I'm the human-shaped briefcase beside the legion commander …"
Xia Pingan knew that Staff Officer Guo was being modest. There were many talented people in the military. Those who could work for Tang Guofeng would not be mediocre.
The two of them chatted in the car. In just over 20 minutes, they had passed through half of Xinchuan City and arrived at the Gao Family's manor in the South City District.
The Gao Family's manor was located on a mountain in the South City District. The private manor occupied an area of more than 200 mu. From afar, one could only see a cluster of white modern buildings hidden in the shade of trees. It looked somewhat mysterious.
The scenery around the Gao Family's manor was beautiful. This was the most prime residential area in the entire Xinchuan City. The people who lived nearby were either rich or respectable. The surrounding area was filled with private villas and manors.
On the night of the 15th, the closest meteor had landed about 1600 meters away from the Gao Family's manor. Therefore, this place was basically unaffected.
There were more than ten police cars parked on the road outside the manor. A nearby gas station was in a mess with traces of a fire. A police cordon had been set up outside the manor. Many police officers were busy here.
As soon as Xia Pingan and Guo Wei got out of the military vehicle, a fat middle-aged man in a level one police officer uniform walked toward them.
"Hello, I'm Xu Zheng, the chief of the Xinchuan City Police Department …" The middle-aged police chief introduced himself and shook hands with Xia Pingan and Guo Wei. His attitude was very humble. "I'm very sorry to have caused trouble for Chairman Tang. It's just that this matter is too troublesome. The identity of the deceased is not an ordinary person. Therefore, we have no choice but to report it to the military control committee and request that Chairman Tang send someone to assist in the investigation!"
"Hello, Chief Xu. My name is Guo Wei. This is Mr. Xia Pingan, the priest of the 87th Legion. Chairman Tang has asked Mr. Xia Pingan to be in charge of assisting you in the investigation and to determine if there are any summoners or members of the Demon's Eye involved …" Guo Wei introduced Xia Pingan to the chief of the Xinchuan City Police Department, placing himself in the role of an assistant.
Upon hearing Guo Wei's introduction that Xia Pingan was the priest of the 87th Legion, Chief Xu and the surrounding policemen looked at Xia Pingan with some surprise in their eyes.
The role of an army priest was not necessarily the strongest among the Summoners, but it was definitely the most respected. It was not only the army that needed the Soul Pacifying Banner. Furthermore, Xia Pingan was really too young.
Xu Zheng's attitude toward Xia Pingan was very polite. He directly led Xia Pingan and Guo Wei into the Gao family's manor and personally introduced the case to them.
According to Xu Zheng, these family members of the Gao family had been taking refuge in the Gao family manor's fallout shelter for the past few days. They had just come out of the fallout shelter two days ago. However, just last night, in a meeting room in the manor, seven members of the Gao family had been killed.
The Gao family's manor exuded an exquisite and luxurious aura. Beside the fountain at the manor's entrance was the garage, and there were more than twenty luxury cars parked in the garage.
Upon entering the manor, they could see some policemen interrogating and recording some of the Gao family's servants and bodyguards.
There were policemen everywhere investigating the crime scene. There were many cordons set up in the forest and on the grass of the manor …
The chairman of the Yi Zhou Provincial Council had been murdered, and so many members of the family had died. If it had been half a month ago, this would have definitely been a shocking case that would have shaken the entire Yi Zhou Province and the Fire Country. Even though the situation was tense now, the impact of this case on the Yi Zhou Province was not small. The Gao family was considered one of the wealthiest families in the Yi Zhou Province. Who would have thought that they would encounter such a huge incident in just one day?
Even the chief of the Xinchuan City Police Department had personally come.
"I see that there are many bodyguards and servants in the Gao family's manor. Other than the seven members of the Gao family, are there any other victims in the manor?" Guo Wei asked as they walked into the manor.
"Other than the seven members of the Gao family, there are no other victims in the manor. The bodyguards in the manor only discovered the abnormality this morning and reported the case …"
"What about the other members of the Gao family?"
"The other members of the Gao family are a few women and children. There's also a summoner bodyguard with a somewhat special identity. They also stayed in the Gao family's manor last night, but they were all fine and were not affected. It seems that the murderer's target was very clear …"
"That summoner bodyguard didn't discover anything unusual either?"
"No, that summoner bodyguard also lit his mind lamp and meditated in the bedroom last night. According to him, the mind lamp didn't move all night, and he didn't discover anything unusual either. We can't verify whether he lit his mind lamp or not. I suspect that he might be lying to shirk responsibility, so I'll have to ask a summoner to come here and take a look …"
"There are surveillance cameras in the Gao family's manor. Did they find anything?"
"Before the incident, there was a big fire and a small explosion at the gas station outside the Gao family's manor. When the explosion happened, the Gao family's generator room seemed to be affected. There was a circuit failure, and the power went out for more than twenty minutes. After the power went out, the surveillance system stopped working.
Judging from the time of death of the Gao family members, we suspect that the murderer sneaked into the meeting room at that time. The Gao family's bodyguard also said that when the gas station was on fire, the Gao family members came out of the meeting room to understand the situation. After that, they returned to the meeting room, and no one came out after that … "
"A lot of time has passed since last night, right? Why did they only discover something strange this morning?" Xia Pingan asked with a serious expression.
"Ahem, we asked the Gao family's bodyguards and servants. There's a rule in the Gao family. When the members of the Gao family are having a meeting or discussing something in the meeting room, outsiders are not allowed to enter the meeting room without permission. They can't even go near the floor and walkways of the meeting room. Moreover, the soundproofing in the meeting room is very good.
Even the outside of the room can't be heard from outside, so the Gao family's bodyguards and summoners didn't know that something happened in the meeting room last night. It wasn't until this morning that the Gao family's woman went to the meeting room to take a look when she saw that the people inside had been killed. That's why she reported the case … "
Xu Zheng explained.
While they were talking, they had already arrived in front of the Gao family's mansion.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows outside, they could see five women and seven or eight children and teenagers in the living room of the Gao family's mansion. The youngest was four or five years old, and the oldest was fifteen or sixteen years old. They were crying in the room, not knowing what to do. A few police officers were recording something in the room.
The women were crying and arguing at the same time. A slightly plump woman in her forties wearing a blue dress was pointing at another woman in the room and scolding her. Then, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old teenager next to her suddenly rushed forward and pushed the woman to the ground.
Another teenager around the age of thirteen or fourteen picked up a vase in the room and smashed it at the teenager who pushed the woman. The vase smashed into the ground and broke into pieces.
The room was filled with shouts and screams. It was a mess in an instant …
The other people in the room and the police officers quickly went to pull the people away.
Outside the room, they could vaguely hear the contents of the argument. It was about the company's shares, stocks, bank deposits, and so on.
"The Gao family's main businesses are a coal mining company, two trading companies, a hotel chain, and a real estate company. They have many other investment projects and a lot of property. The men in charge of the Gao family are all dead, and they didn't leave behind any will. The Gao family only has a few women, daughters-in-law, and some children who haven't grown up yet …" Xu Zheng shook his head helplessly.
Guo Wei glanced at the room and shook his head slightly. "Looks like there's going to be a lawsuit for inheritance in the future!"
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