"......Brian Sullivan......" Someone trembled as they recognized him, "Inspector Brian Sullivan of Shenhai City......"

——The direct superior of twenty thousand evolvers in Shenhai City, Chief Inspector Brian Sullivan.

The shock effect of this name was immediate—everyone among the social elites present turned pale, countless astonished and fearful gazes shot over from all directions, and the scene instantly fell silent.

Immediately after, a figure at the back of the crowd took advantage of the chaos and bolted toward the hall exit.

It was the last one who had slipped through the net!

Brian Sullivan pulled the trigger, but unexpectedly, that person rolled along the ground at the same time, narrowly dodging the bullet, then lunged toward the banquet hall’s floor-to-ceiling glass window, flinging out an ice arrow with a wave of his hand—clearly a water-type ability user.

Crash—an entire wall of massive floor-to-ceiling glass shattered, countless shards spraying everywhere.

The crowd screamed and retreated, while the ability user leapt straight out from the eighty-eighth floor of the hotel!

At the instant the glass exploded, Brian Sullivan shielded his head and face, about to stride forward, when someone patted him on the shoulder from behind, their voice surprisingly relaxed: "No rush, Inspector."

It was Ethan White.

Brian Sullivan frowned. "You..."

Ethan White smiled, raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, and with his other hand snapped his fingers. In an instant, dazzling lightning shot from his fingertips into the air, sending the surrounding guests into a panic: "Wh-what is that?"

"An evolver?" "It's an evolver!"

Humans always harbor an instinctive fear and a touch of awe toward evolvers. In a flash, the hall was filled with shoving and trampling. Next, the lightning crackled and twisted into a rope, snaking through the crowd like a viper, erupting in a terrifying, blinding flash!

—The electric rope shot out the window, and in that half-second of near-blinding light, Brian Sullivan felt a hand gently cover his eyes.

At the same time, the leaping evolver was snared by the descending electric rope, yanked back midair into the hotel’s top-floor hall, and slammed heavily onto the ground with a bang.

With a sizzle, the current vanished without a trace.

The intense light finally faded, the air filled with the smell of something burnt. The evolver, smoking from the electric shock, lay twitching on the floor.

"There!" "Don't move!"

Jason Brooks led people charging into the top-floor hall, their timing perfect to the second. The inspection team members immediately subdued the two half-dead evolver buyers and quickly tied them up.

"Go!" "Take them away!"...

The hand covering Brian Sullivan's eyes was finally removed. Ethan White looked at him teasingly: "Were you planning to jump after him for a lovers' suicide, Inspector?"

Brian Sullivan: "......"

Half an hour later, the guests who had been temporarily blinded by the flash gradually recovered, shook hands and said goodbye to the apologetic Chairman White, and left, still shaken.

The inspection office was cleaning up the scene. Brian Sullivan stood not far from the crowd, both hands in his trouser pockets, clad in black leather gloves, silently listening to his subordinates' reports.

"Was that really Brian Sullivan?"

"Was it really him?......"

The position of Inspector was a delicate one. In Shenhai City, Brian Sullivan wielded almost unlimited power, and so was also extremely low-key. Even the most prominent socialites rarely had the chance to meet him. Now, some were eager to seize this rare opportunity to go up and say hello.

"—No, you can't come in. This area is under temporary control, the exit is over there." Fortunately, the inspection team members were well-practiced in such situations and politely but firmly refused: "Our Inspector does not interact with outsiders. By regulation, you can only wait for him to summon you for questioning." "Yes, Leader Brooks is also unavailable. If you have any issues, we can pass them on for you." "Thank you, thank you for your cooperation. Please leave immediately through that exit..."

After much hesitation, Chairman White finally mustered the courage to approach: "Inspector, Inspector Shen..."

The subordinate reporting stopped, and Brian Sullivan glanced back.

"......"

Those few seconds suddenly felt infinitely long to Chairman White. All his flattering words stuck in his throat, unable to come out, as if even his mind had been forcibly wiped blank by that lofty gaze.

After a moment, he gulped, and, as if possessed, took off his own coat and, hands trembling, offered it forward:

"Would you... like to wear this?"

The air froze.

Brian Sullivan turned away, took his own suit jacket from Jason Brooks, put it on in silence, and straightened the lapels and cuffs.

"No, thank you," he replied politely.

Brian Sullivan walked toward the scene without even looking back.

Chairman White felt himself crack with a snap.

Jason Brooks, feeling sympathetic, asked, "Are you all right?"

Chairman White grabbed him, trembling from the heart: "I've paid my taxes and done good deeds all my life. If I've done anything wrong, let the tax bureau punish me. Why must an innocent old man like me, in my twilight years, suffer this?"

Jason Brooks was shocked: "What on earth did you do?"

"......"

Chairman White suddenly fell silent, the image of his own eldest nephew hugging the Inspector tightly flashed before his eyes again.

After a long moment, he said sadly, "I didn't have time to blind myself back then."

Jason Brooks: "Huh?"