A large number of personnel were mobilized to track down the missing persons, and since the criminals made no effort to conceal their activities, valuable clues kept surfacing one after another.
While Guan Xia and her team were busy working in the temporary office, they could constantly hear hurried footsteps rushing past in the hallway, occasionally catching snippets of excited voices mentioning discoveries. The frequent sounds of vehicles starting up also filled the air. At first, Guan Xia was restless and on edge, but as the commotion outside continued unabated, she gradually managed to calm herself down.
The same went for Guan Xia and her team. Fully focused, the four of them soon began making frequent breakthroughs.
Guan Xia was the first to make a discovery. Following the escape route of the van, she quickly deduced that the suspects had likely fled into a wild mountain area about a dozen kilometers from Shangshuang City.
Upon uncovering this lead, Guan Xia immediately called out to Xu Nian.
Xu Nian reacted swiftly, coming over to take a look before making a phone call to report the clue.
Within the next half hour, Wang Yu, Xu Nian, and Pang Le also made discoveries one after another. Surprisingly—yet somewhat expectedly—the criminals' final destinations were all the same: they had all fled into dense, mountainous forests that would require a massive deployment of manpower to search.
After tracking down another group’s whereabouts and reporting it through Xu Nian, Guan Xia leaned back in her chair, tilting her head upward to stare at the ceiling in frustration, trying to clear her jumbled thoughts.
Before she could make sense of anything, the long-dormant system interface suddenly popped up.
Guan Xia was startled. At first, she thought it might be triggered by some new clue, but the system began rapidly scrolling through text at a speed that made it impossible to read.
Initially, Guan Xia strained her eyes, trying to catch even a few words to determine whether this was normal information or a system malfunction. But after just a few seconds, the dizzying speed made her vision blur, forcing her to give up and wait for the system to settle on its own.
Fortunately, the anomaly didn’t last long. After a few minutes, it stopped abruptly. The interface flickered, as if rebooting—closing and reopening in an instant—but this time, it functioned normally. Soon, a line of text appeared on the screen:
Low-Profile Halo charging complete. Current Halo Strength: 73,200%
Guan Xia read the line in a single glance, but when her eyes landed on the number representing the halo’s strength, they widened in shock.
She couldn’t believe it. She read it again and again. Seventy-three thousand percent?!
It was like she had suddenly struck gold—an unreal, giddy sensation. She stared at the number, barely blinking, until, after what felt like an eternity, she finally managed to calm down.
Her first instinct was to analyze the system’s earlier malfunction. Based on past charging experiences, she guessed it was due to the sheer number of criminals apprehended—each one contributing to the charge. With so many captured at once, the system had gone haywire, resulting in that frantic scrolling.
Guan Xia scratched her chin, initially assuming this charge came from the recent arrests of the operation’s peripheral members. But she quickly dismissed the idea.
That didn’t add up. She knew a lot of people had been detained—so many that the holding cells were nearly full—but she vaguely remembered Xu Nian mentioning that the task force had only arrested around two to three hundred people. That was a far cry from the seven hundred-plus figure here. If they had captured the remaining members behind this large-scale criminal operation, then the numbers would match.
After a few seconds of puzzled contemplation, Guan Xia suddenly remembered something. Before coming to Shangshuang City, their last case had involved human trafficking. They had suspected a transit hub near the wild mountain they’d investigated. If they had followed that lead and uncovered the entire network, it would have been possible to arrest this many people in one sweep.
Having resolved her confusion, Guan Xia turned her full attention back to the still-open system interface.
Only then did she notice that while the text was in standard black, the number representing the halo’s strength was displayed in gold. As time passed, it even began emitting a faint golden glow, drawing Guan Xia’s gaze like a magnet.
To her surprise, the moment her eyes locked onto the number, it flickered and expanded, revealing a dense list of characters underneath.
Compared to the top line, the text below was much smaller, resembling explanatory notes.
Guan Xia focused and realized it was all data—names followed by increases or decreases in halo strength. The increases were all fixed at 100%, while the decreases varied: some as low as 20%, others 50%, 80%, or even 100%.
Her consciousness seemed to morph into an invisible hand, scrolling upward through the data. Most of the names were unfamiliar, but some stood out—Wu Xiaozhen, Zhou Yiyang, Wei Jianming, Yuan Yue, Zhang Weiyan, and the one that left the deepest impression on her: Lu Manqing.
After a minute or two, Guan Xia finally reached the top of the list. The very first name was He Wei—the serial killer disguised as a maintenance worker whom she had encountered in the stairwell.
The entries under his name read:
He Wei -20%
He Wei -20%
He Wei -50%
He Wei -100%
He Wei +100%
This was Guan Xia’s first direct look at the fluctuations in her halo strength. Even though she had braced herself, seeing so many negative values left her stunned.
What baffled her most was the math. Why did He Wei’s arrest only grant her a +100% increase, while his actions before being caught had cost her a total of -190%? That meant she was still ninety points in the red!
Grumbling internally, Guan Xia tried to recall how these calculations worked.
Fortunately, the system had only been active for less than half a year, and her earliest memories were still vivid.
Her first encounter with He Wei had been in the stairwell. Back then, he had acted friendly, showing no hostility toward her, so the halo had only decreased by 20%. The second time was at the mall—she was still using a hiking pole as a cane due to sore muscles from climbing, so He Wei still harbored no ill intent, resulting in another -20%.
By the third time, her legs had mostly recovered, so she no longer used the cane. That was when the decrease jumped to -50%. Then came the incident near Pang Le’s neighborhood, at the supermarket entrance—He Wei had been stalking her with murderous intent, hence the full -100% deduction.
Guan Xia let out a long breath and scrolled through the data further. The subsequent data still only showed the simplest increase and decrease values, without any settlement values. This left Guan Xia unable to infer what form the "owed ninety" took.
Guan Xia recalled her experiences after meeting He Wei. They didn't have much of an impact on her. So she guessed that when the system was first activated, the aura was initially 100% full. This could explain why after moving, when she encountered Luo Shun, another serial killer, he didn't show any malice towards her.
To confirm her guess, Guan Xia carefully checked the data related to Luo Shun. From start to finish, the value decreased by 20%. This indicated that even as the aura gradually weakened later, Luo Shun never had the intention to kill her.
Finally, she managed to solve another part of the mystery about the system, and her mood improved. She then excitedly skimmed through the rest of the data.
She found that in the middle, there were many scattered negative values. Besides the known criminals who had been arrested, there were also some special names. However, the value decreases were all small, with the lowest being 20%.
Guan Xia thought for a while and guessed that during the process of investigating cases, she might have unknowingly passed by some criminals without realizing it. At that time, the system hadn't been upgraded yet, and she didn't have the intuitive reminder from the system, so she didn't sense anything unusual.
Staring at the unfamiliar name "Tan Mingxu", Guan Xia tried to recall. She didn't hold much hope at first, but to her surprise, the system was triggered. The interface changed, and a video quickly popped up.
The video was short. After it played, Guan Xia quickly recognized the scene through the people around her and the surrounding environment. It should have been when they were investigating the case of Zhang Weiyan and accidentally met someone.
It was a sunny afternoon. Guan Xia and Pang Le hurriedly got out of the car and walked towards the shopping mall where the gym was located. A short man with half - white hair was just entering the parking lot. The three of them passed by each other face - to - face without looking at each other. When the man walked behind Guan Xia and was out of her peripheral vision, the video ended.
Guan Xia stared at the man's head marked with an obvious red frame, looking left and right, but she couldn't see anything abnormal. She was afraid of missing something, so she replayed the video several times, but still found nothing.
Guan Xia then had a new confusion. She could understand the cases of the maintenance worker, Luo Shun, and Yuan Yue. Although the clues were subtle, they were real, so it was normal for the system to suspect them. However, the people whose problems were sensed intuitively seemed a bit abnormal. How did the system confirm the identities of these criminals?
Guan Xia carefully recalled all the information she had learned since activating the system and guessed that it might be due to different soul fluctuations.
Just as she thought of this, the system interface suddenly changed again. The video disappeared, and then a line of text quickly popped up.
Different from the previous rigorous wording, this text seemed to have a marketing feel.
It said on the system interface: "Do you want to experience the system's vision? It doesn't cost 1000, nor 500. Just 100. You can experience it for 10 seconds with 100, for one minute with 500, and for five minutes with 1000."
Guan Xia was once again stunned. Had the system reached its maximum level? It no longer seemed so stupid and even seemed a bit intelligent.
This thought flashed through Guan Xia's mind. Correspondingly, the text on the system interface also changed, as if something was having a conversation with her.
It said: "Thank you for your efforts. I'm indeed not as stupid as before and have become a bit more intelligent. So, do you want to experience my vision?"
The moment she saw these words, Guan Xia couldn't help but get goosebumps. This meant that the system could actively read her thoughts.
Guan Xia really wanted to stop thinking, but she couldn't control it. Sure enough, the text on the system interface suddenly disappeared and then new text appeared: "Let me explain. I don't actively read your thoughts. As long as your thoughts don't involve me, they won't be detected. I'm an auxiliary tool to help you survive safely in the other world. You can regard me as a tool, or a golden finger, depending on your thoughts. For me, your thoughts are commands, and your life safety is above all else."
Perhaps it was the firm tone of these words that made Guan Xia feel a bit more at ease. But she couldn't help but curiously ask in her mind: "I remember when you were first activated, I read a description saying that you are the standard system for everyone who crosses into the criminal investigation world. I've always wanted to ask, why are you the standard system? Why do I have to get involved in these cases? I've lived a good life for 25 years since I crossed over. Can't I just continue like this?"
In fact, Guan Xia had many questions since the system was activated, but the system was stupid before, and she never got any answers. Now that it had become more intelligent, she was eager to know the reasons.
The system interface changed again. Guan Xia originally thought there would be a long explanation, but there were only a few words: "Do you want to see what your soul looks like?"
It had to be said that the system was good at tempting people. Guan Xia was immediately tempted. But being cautious, she still subconsciously asked: "Is there any danger?"
The system interface replied: "I exist because of you. Your life safety is above all else."
Although it seemed like it didn't answer directly, the answer was obvious. Guan Xia immediately felt relieved. She firmly replied with a single word in her mind: "Yes". But then she remembered the previous marketing - like advertisement and cautiously added a few words: "Just for 10 seconds."
In the next moment, Guan Xia's entire field of vision changed.
The high - rise buildings disappeared, the table and computer in front of her disappeared, and even the human skins disappeared. All that appeared in Guan Xia's sight were light clusters of various sizes.
Guan Xia looked at the scene in shock. There were only four people in the room where she was, but in her vision, there were countless light clusters, centered around her, near or far, high or low. There were pure white light clusters emitting a faint glow, light clusters with strands of light gold, and light clusters with a layer of blood - red winding around them.
Guan Xia almost immediately understood that the pure white ones represented ordinary people, the ones with light gold were probably policemen, and the ones with red were criminals.
Realizing this, Guan Xia immediately looked down at herself. She was also a ball of light, but not white. Instead, it was a pale blue one, resembling a small, circular, shallow lake, emitting a different kind of light wave from the other light balls. However, on the outermost layer of this blue light, there was also a white shell, like a wrapping or a suit of armor, firmly concealing the pale blue light and disguising it to look the same as the other light balls.
Only then did Guan Xia understand what the system meant by the different soul fluctuations. There was indeed an obvious difference. After all, one was mainly white and the other was mainly pale blue. The difference was so distinct that it was no wonder the system was a standard feature for time - travelers like them.
Ten seconds passed in the blink of an eye. While Guan Xia was still deep in thought, her vision returned to the normal human visual function.
Guan Xia couldn't help but ask in her mind again, "What would happen if you were never activated?"
Several lines of text quickly popped up on the system interface, "Sooner or later, it will definitely be activated. The soul fluctuations of time - travelers are too different from those of the people in this world. As they grow older, the intensity of the aura will gradually weaken. When it completely disappears, they will be like an enlarged router, attracting other humans with distinct soul fluctuations."
Guan Xia recalled the system - enhanced vision during the physical examination just now and immediately understood that the other humans with distinct soul fluctuations were none other than criminals, apart from the police.
No wonder she always encountered criminals wherever she went. It turned out that the intensity of her aura was too weak.
Guan Xia felt a chill run down her spine. Then, she thought of the aura intensity she had seen just now, over 70,000%. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, although the activation was late, it had leveled up quickly. At least her safety was guaranteed in the future.
