Then let the witch offer her loyalty

A barrage of bullets rang out, and the equipment, already damaged in the previous explosion, was beyond repair.

Immediately afterwards, he aimed the gun at his own body.

After several shots, bullets grazed the arms, waist, and abdomen, leaving bloodstains of varying depths.

He even smeared the blood from his wounds with his hands, smeared it haphazardly on his clothes and face, and rolled around on the ground covered in shrapnel and scorch marks, making himself look extremely dirty and disheveled.

Looking at Chen Moxin, who seemed to be having a seizure, Zhang Hao was completely stunned: "What are you doing?"

Chen Moxin flashed that sunny, cheerful smile again: "In the operation to capture the witch's proxy, Agent Chen Moxin fought bravely, sustaining multiple gunshot wounds but still fighting valiantly, ultimately killing the criminal on the spot... This report is quite reasonable, isn't it?"

"Bang!" A burst of muzzle flash.

The bullet pierced Zhang Hao's skull, and his body suddenly collapsed to the ground. The confusion in his eyes did not disappear until his death.

Chen Moxin shoved the gun into Zhang Hao's hand and fired a few shots around him with his own hand.

He then used his fingernails to tear at her clothes and body, while she scratched him repeatedly.

A few minutes later, with the sound of sirens growing louder as they approached, backup from the management bureau arrived.

...

Heavy police tape has been put up outside Sunflower Kindergarten, and armed personnel from the management bureau have cordoned off the area.

A crowd gradually gathered, peering over their noses at the other side of the cordon and whispering amongst themselves.

"What's going on so early in the morning?"

"I don't know, I just heard gunshots and explosions inside, it was terrifying."

"Did a madman break in? Are the children alright?"

"The Bureau's people have all arrived; it's likely that an illegal psychic was responsible."

Some people whispered among themselves, some took out their phones to record videos, and a few, driven by a desire for traffic, even started a live stream of themselves dancing on the spot, but were quickly driven away by the management personnel.

A short while later, a black sedan stopped outside the police line. Luo Shoucheng, disheveled, opened the car door and rushed out, his mouth still covered in toothpaste.

He crossed the cordon and found the person in charge at the scene, urgently asking, "What's the situation?"

The person in charge reported: "The situation is temporarily under control; there is one dead and one injured at the scene."

Upon hearing that someone had died, Luo Shoucheng felt a pang of anxiety.

However, what he heard next relieved him: "The one who died was Zhang Hao, the witch's surrogate. Your team's operator named Chen Moxin was slightly injured, but it's nothing serious."

Luo Shoucheng felt a little relieved and continued to ask, "What about the teachers and children in the kindergarten? Are they all alright?"

The person in charge nodded: "We contacted the kindergarten's security department. They said that at 7:43 a.m., just minutes before the attack, Chen Moxin called them to warn everyone. The teachers and students had already evacuated to a safe place, and there were no casualties."

As Luo Shoucheng walked into the park, he asked in a deep voice, "Are there any surveillance videos on site? I'd like to see them."

The person in charge shook his head: "The two fought their final battle in the main control room. The equipment was smashed to pieces, and all the data was lost."

Luo Shoucheng frowned and asked, "I don't understand. Zhang Hao is a psychic, how could Chen Moxin, an ordinary person, defeat him?"

The person in charge looked through the report in his hand and said, "According to the preliminary analysis of the trace evidence team, the two sides engaged in a chase and used multiple grenades, all of which are relatively easy to buy on the black market."

"Furthermore, according to Chen Moxin's account, he had a close-quarters fight with Zhang Hao, during which he took away Zhang Hao's gun and eventually shot him dead."

"Skin tissue and clothing fragments were extracted from both parties' fingernails, and the gunpowder reaction was positive in both cases."

"The appraisal team also examined that handgun. It was a black market modified gun, covered with Zhang Hao's fingerprints, some new and some old, clearly indicating that it had been in his possession for a long time."

"Chen Moxin's fingerprints were also extracted from the gun, only a few, and all of them were new."

"The on-site identification results are basically consistent with Chen Moxin's own account."

Luo Shoucheng gasped in shock: "Does that mean that kid really took down a psychic all by himself?"

The person in charge pondered for a moment and said, "That's how it seems for now. Zhang Hao's psychic abilities don't have direct combat power, so it's not impossible for him to be killed by an ordinary person."

Luo Shoucheng nodded thoughtfully.

That's not wrong. According to the existing information, Liu Lan's psychic ability can only cause objects to shift in space, which is a very "clever" ability.

If used well, it can be used in many creative ways, but compared to psionic abilities that can breathe fire or ice or enhance the body, it does not have direct combat power.

Luo Shoucheng temporarily put these distracting thoughts aside and asked, "Where is Chen Moxin? Take me to see him."

"They're with the medical team, over here." The person in charge led the way forward.

Soon, Luo Shoucheng saw Chen Moxin sitting in the chair. He was in a terrible state, his clothes were messy and covered in blood, and his arms and waist were wrapped in thick bandages. Medical staff had just finished bandaging him.

Seeing that he was alright, Luo Shoucheng was initially relieved, but then became furious and rushed over to give him a whack on the head: "You little brat, are you crazy? You just kept charging in like that?!"

Chen Moxin scratched his head, turned around and said with a forced smile, "Team Leader Luo, the situation was urgent at the time. I was an officer. If I had hidden in the back and caused casualties among the people, how could we explain it to the victims' families?"

These words left Luo Shoucheng speechless, unable to vent his anger any longer. He simply reprimanded, "Your courage is commendable, but Chen Moxin, I'm warning you, if you want to do this job well, you have to follow orders and not try to be a hero!"

"If you get yourselves killed today, I might get my uniform ripped off. If you do something like this again, you're fired immediately. Our Ninth Group can't afford to keep someone as important as you!"

Chen Moxin smiled knowingly after hearing this.

If you cause trouble again, get out of here immediately.

The subtext is—let's just let this matter go.

It seems this case will be resolved as expected.

He successfully stopped Zhang Hao from committing the crime and killed him; that record will definitely be on his file.

The investigation was conducted very discreetly, leaving no clues. To outsiders, it was simply a case of "a bureau officer bravely fighting the witch's proxy and finally killing her on the spot."

As for his own psionic abilities.

Witness Zhang Hao is dead, and there was no third person at the scene.

The rampant corruption accumulating in Liu Lan's body will only be attributed to Zhang Hao's influence, since the Management Bureau is still unaware of the broken spiritual contract between the two.

If we make good use of the gaps in the case and write a report that won't arouse suspicion, the case can be truly closed.

Chapter 22 Code Name: The Shapeshifter

(Two chapters combined into one, updated together)

After the main force of the management bureau took over Sunflower Kindergarten, Chen Moxin cooperated in completing some handover work.

While talking to the investigators at the scene, Chen Moxin noticed that someone was watching him, so he looked in that direction.

Not far away stood several tall figures. Their combat uniforms were specially made dark camouflage patterns that shone mattely in the sun. The Imperial Rose emblem was etched on their shoulder armor, but it was a different style, with many black thorns wrapped around it.

Those people were all wearing masks, making it impossible to discern their true appearances. Their breathing was processed by a voice changer, emitting low, electronic sounds. Their gazes behind the masks stared directly at Chen Moxin, bringing an indescribable sense of oppression.

Luo Shoucheng walked to Chen Moxin's side and stared at the mysterious figures with him. He said in a low voice, "Those are witch hunters from our bureau. They should have been the ones dealing with illegal psychics. You took their job."

Witch Hunter, the only legal psychic in the Rose Empire.

The Bureau's sharpest weapon, and also the nightmare of all illegal psychics.

Chen Moxin was not intimidated by the gaze of the powerful figures. She smiled at them easily and even gave them a salute.

The witch hunters did not respond or make any further moves; they simply watched him silently.

After handing over the on-site work, Chen Moxin changed into clean clothes and left Sunflower Kindergarten with Luo Shoucheng. By then, the area outside the police cordon was already packed with reporters who had rushed to the scene.

These are people who thrive on chaos; they flock to wherever there's traffic. Especially these days, with the increasing discussion about psychic powers, they immediately come when they hear about illegal psychic attacks.

As soon as someone came out of the scene, reporters raised their cameras, video cameras, microphones and other equipment, and swarmed forward like sharks smelling blood, with enthusiastic questions and blinding flashes of light coming one after another.

"Hello, sir. What is the situation at Sunflower Kindergarten? Does the Management Bureau have any information to disclose to us?"

"What kind of psionic energy did the opponent possess? Were they witch hunters involved in the battle? Could you please describe the battle to us?"

"In recent years, illegal psychic individuals have been committing crimes frequently. Is this due to misconduct by the Bureau? Do you believe there are any unreasonable aspects to our country's psychic control policies?"

Chen Moxin had no intention of answering questions or appearing in the media.

He is currently a complete newcomer, and excessive exposure to the public eye would be very detrimental to his future work.

So before he came out, he covered his face completely with the hood of his sweatshirt and ignored all the reporters along the way.

Luo Shoucheng is different; he's a seasoned veteran who frequently appears at various crime scenes. He's a tough nut to crack, so it doesn't matter how he's filmed.

He simply stood in front of Chen Moxin and said to the reporters, "Our bureau will hold a press conference later to discuss the situation on site. You can ask the spokesperson questions then. Please make way for me now, thank you."

Luo Shoucheng told the person in charge at the scene to deal with the reporters, while he led Chen Moxin out of the crowd and into the car.

"Let's go back to the station first. The witch has been caught, and her substitute died while resisting arrest. Once the forensic department has completed the necessary information, you can write a detailed report and submit it. Then the case can be closed."

There's not much to say about what happened next. The surveillance data from Sunflower Kindergarten was gone, and the traces at the scene were handled very well. As for the other details, Chen Mo could write them however he wanted.

After finishing writing the report in his office, he formally submitted it to Luo Shoucheng.

[Final Mission: Arrest Zhang Hao or kill him on the spot and close the case (Completed)]

The moment the system popped up a notification, the weariness that had been building up for days was completely released.

Chen Moxin has been running around these past few days, interrogating people, keeping watch, and even got into a fight with Zhang Hao. She's really exhausted.

He lay down on the table, preparing to close his eyes and rest for a while.

"Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen!"

When Chen Moxin opened her eyes again after hearing the call, she was surprised to find that several hours had jumped back in time.

He was so exhausted that he was completely numb. He closed his eyes and opened them again, and it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.

He had somehow gotten a cotton-padded coat over himself, and when he took it off, a sweet strawberry scent wafted out.

Chen Moxin rubbed her eyes and looked at the colleague beside her who had woken her up: "What's wrong?"

A day has passed, and many people already know that Chen Moxin defeated Zhang Hao in a one-on-one fight. This colleague now looks at him with more respect.

"Xiao Chen, I'm sorry to disturb your rest. There's a situation with Liu Lan that you might need to handle."

Chen Moxin didn't hesitate and got up to follow.

Along the way, her colleague explained the situation to Chen Moxin: "After Zhang Hao died, the case was considered closed, but Liu Lan is still not cooperating with the detention and has started a hunger strike. She hasn't eaten or drunk anything all day."

“We tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t listen to anything and said she only wanted to talk to you. So we came to you.”

Upon arriving at the prison area, several people were standing outside. They were all outstanding negotiation experts from the bureau, but they all looked helpless, clearly indicating that their conversation with Liu Lan was not going smoothly.

Luo Shoucheng was also there. He gestured for Chen Moxin to come over, looked at the closed cell not far away, and whispered, "These negotiation experts can't handle it, why don't you give it a try?"

"We only have one request: Liu Lan must cooperate with our containment efforts. If she sets any conditions..."

Chen Moxin interrupted Luo Shoucheng, smiling as she said, "No need to provide any conditions, I'll just talk to her."

Luo Shoucheng glanced at him: "Oh? So confident? Is there anything we need to cooperate with?"

Chen Moxin gestured with her chin toward the exit of the prison area: "Everyone, please don't crowd here. Just give me a quiet environment."

Luo Shoucheng nodded and subtly signaled the others to leave the prison area, leaving only Chen Moxin and Liu Lan in the cell.

The surroundings quickly returned to their usual silence, with only Chen Moxin's footsteps echoing around them.

As they approached the cell, the people inside seemed to sense something, and a faint noise could be heard.

The sound was a soft, whimpering sound, somewhat like a puppy barking when it sees its owner come home, but upon closer listening, it was actually a rapid, low moan from a human.

"Whoosh—" Chen Moxin used her access card to open the mechanical door.

As soon as he stepped inside, the voluptuous figure threw herself into his arms.

Liu Lan hugged Chen Moxin tightly around the waist, burying her head in his shoulder, her voice trembling slightly as if she had just woken from a nightmare: "You're finally back..."

Chen Moxin said softly, "About Zhang Hao..."

Liu Lan shook her head repeatedly against his shoulder: "Don't mention him. I have nothing to do with him anymore. I don't care whether he lives or dies."

She raised her head, her eyes filled with deep, watery affection, and in the deepest part of her pupils, a strange glint of light shone forth, with crescent-shaped patterns interwoven within, transforming into shimmering curse marks.

The sharp hooks at the edge of the curse mark point towards the center of the pupil, rotating slowly as if they were alive. Each flash is an eternal shackle imposed on the soul, one that cannot be resisted or escaped.

"All I need is you."

Looking at the curse mark symbolizing "Mind Interference - Absolute", Chen Moxin smiled meaningfully. He gently stroked Liu Lan's face and said slowly, "I heard you haven't eaten or drunk anything all day. That won't do. It's bad for your health."

He took out the biscuits he had brought earlier from his pocket, and with his other hand lifted Liu Lan's chin: "Come on, open your mouth, I'll feed you."

Liu Lan blinked her eyes, which reflected the moon-shaped curse mark, opened her red lips and let Chen Moxin feed her. She chewed the biscuit in her mouth carefully and swallowed it.

Chen Moxin was very considerate. Knowing that biscuits could make one's mouth dry, he prepared milk and gently fed it to Liu Lan while supporting her chin with one hand.