"Beep, beep, beep~"

Xu Liang glanced at the caller ID, then picked up.

"I'm at Punk..."

He reported his current location into the phone, then hung up.

Roughly half an hour later.

Two hurried figures walked in from outside the forensics institute.

The newcomers... were Yang Ruoxi and Su Yu!

Yang Ruoxi looked left and right, then finally, panting, fixed her gaze on Xu Liang.

"How did it go!?"

She rushed over, asking anxiously.

"This blew up..."

Xu Liang gave a wry smile and handed over the autopsy report.

Yang Ruoxi and Su Yu only took one look and instantly felt their scalps tingle.

The various heavy metals far exceeding the standards on the report all pointed to one thing...

"Extreme environmental pollution!?"

"Are these people insane, to dare go this far?!!!"

Yang Ruoxi was stunned, her pupils constricting, her face full of disbelief.

In that moment, she finally understood why the other side had shown that kind of attitude.

This wasn't an ordinary homicide.

A homicide, at most, involves a handful of people.

But environmental pollution...

That's counted by regions!

Whole areas of people dying off!

In Huangyan Village, barring any surprises, those middle‑aged men who looked robust were in fact riddled with hidden injuries!

And the solution wasn't as simple as just arresting people and giving them the death penalty.

The first unavoidable step was relocating everyone from the contaminated areas.

Relocate them where? That was the question.

If the factories were rectified, what about the workers with no income for months?

Most crucially, Sunzhou's economic backbone was still in its industrial zone...

They'd also have to assess the extent of the pollution and work on environmental restoration...

"What do we do?"

Unease churned in Yang Ruoxi's chest.

Xu Liang rubbed his brow, not rushing to speak.

The police didn't want the case made public, probably because once it was, Sunzhou would be in deep trouble.

Once environmental pollution blew up...

The people coming to enforce rectification would no longer be from Sunzhou!

By then, the unlucky ones would be counted layer by layer up the chain...

Right now, even though they had gotten the autopsy report in hand.

If they blew the case open...

"How's your side of the investigation going?" Xu Liang looked up at her.

"Me?"

Yang Ruoxi paused, then turned to Su Yu.

Su Yu spoke up: "Senior, Liu Kun's boss is Jinyang Steel Plant. They've been rooted in Sunzhou for twenty years!"

"The boss's surname is Luo, Luo Jun. The steel plant has a ton of lawsuits on its plate..."

"There are many cases that match the autopsy report, but most came to nothing. They were just filed, and at first instance the court ruled in favor of the plant!"

As she spoke.

Yang Ruoxi suddenly added:

"The earliest case we can trace back to is six years ago. A lawyer represented the plaintiffs and was very aggressive, seemed to have dug something up, but on the eve of the hearing he just disappeared."

"Afterwards, they couldn't find him anywhere in all of Sunzhou. He just vanished from the face of the earth!"

"The police suspected they silenced him and investigated the steel plant for murder, but found nothing and the case went nowhere..."

"To this day, no one knows if that lawyer is dead or alive..."

Murder...

They straight up silenced a lawyer!?

Xu Liang's face gradually darkened.

In the hotel, Liu Kun's words were still vivid in his mind.

"There are very few rising‑star lawyers in Sunzhou..."

At this point, even Xu Liang had to admit that the water in Sunzhou was indeed... very murky!

Luo Jun was not like Duan Jianhao.

This guy really would just have people killed!

"So... do we keep going..."

Yang Ruoxi hesitated, speaking in a low voice.

When she finished, she and Su Yu exchanged a look.

To be honest, with the investigation at this stage, the case was no longer just a simple homicide.

It involved political factors!

If they blew it open, what Xu Liang would be facing...

Was a Luo Jun who dared to have people killed off‑site, wiping out lawyers and evidence alike!

If they didn't...

"Judging from the attitude of the Sunzhou police and the city leadership, they probably want to handle this in‑house, resolve it without letting it blow up, and keep the impact to a minimum..."

Yang Ruoxi said quietly.

The police were suppressing the news.

But at the same time, they hadn't destroyed Sun Jin's body to completely prevent the case from ever seeing daylight.

The problem was...

"From the time Sun Jin's case was filed until now..."

"It's already been a month."

Xu Liang suddenly spoke.

In an instant, everyone around fell silent.

Indeed, if Sunzhou's response measures were counted from Sun Jin's death to now...

It had already been a month.

And in a whole month, the matter still wasn't resolved!

To the point that Luo Jun still had time to send Liu Kun over to bribe or threaten them!

As for how long it would actually take to settle things... God knew how much longer!

But if they blew it open, what they'd be facing...

After a long while.

Xu Liang suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze hardened and he stood up.

Yang Ruoxi was stunned. Before she could ask, she heard him speak first.

"Besides Jinyang Steel Plant, what other companies are there?"

"Gaoxi Chemical Plant, Jingjiang Chemical Plant, and..."

Yang Ruoxi answered.

Hearing this.

Xu Liang did a quick calculation, then took the autopsy report and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Yang Ruoxi blurted out.

"To file a case."

Xu Liang took a deep breath, his steps paused, and he looked back at Su Yu.

"You two go back to Upper City for the next couple of days."

File a case...

Yang Ruoxi's eyes widened, a bit flustered.

"You're going to the court!?"

"You're really going to blow this case open!?"

Xu Liang didn't answer, just walked out of the institute on his own.

The fee for this case wasn't a hundred, wasn't a thousand, but a full one million!

As for whether Luo Jun would make a move on him...

Xu Liang wasn't worried.

The last person like that was named Duan Jianhao.

He was already inside now.

Thinking of this.

Xu Liang lowered his head to look at the autopsy report in his hand, then at the busy, peaceful street outside.

He smacked his lips.

The case had been suppressed for a full month...