Chapter 10: Task Force Zero

Translator: Simple MTL Editor: Simple MTL

As soon as Jack opened his mouth, the reporters gathered around him like sharks that had smelled blood.

Jack immediately retreated from the crowd. He was the one who had said those words in a hushed voice.

The power of the media was terrifying. Just like those in Jack’s original world, the media was the vanguard of law enforcement. Many cases were investigated and dealt with fairly only after the media had exposed them.

In this parallel world, under the premise that the degree of freedom was higher, the media were even more unscrupulous.

Soon, the news about the live broadcast of Bowen’s death came out again.

—

“Exclusive Report: The Police Were Fooled by the Death Inquisitor!”

“The Death Inquisitor Let Everyone Fall Into His Trap! the Main Door Was Not Locked at All!”

“Fooled the Police! the Death Inquisitor Did Not Lock the Main Door at All!”

“According To Medical Experts, It Is Impossible To Determine the Exact Time Left Until Total Muscle Dissolution. The Countdown Is a Psychological Misdirection!”

“The Death Inquisitor Has a Technique That Fooled Everyone!”

—

Although most of the news was simply written by a relatively irrelevant editor who had no proof to support his claims, the news still caused a huge frenzy and put immense pressure on the police. A large number of reporters swarmed towards the city. The entire New York police station was like a bar. It was chaotic.

It had to be said that these reporters were very good at fabricating fake news. Jack himself would have believed it if he had nothing to do with it.

Regardless of whether the news was true or not, the moment it was released, the public went mad.

“These police officers are really stupid. They were deceived by a criminal!”

“The death judge is not a criminal. He is the one who is trying a criminal!”

“What a genius! He deceived Bowen, the police, and all of us!”

“Not only is he a genius, but he is also extremely confident! He really left the door unlocked and no one noticed!”

“No one paid attention to the police who protected our safety. Why are they so incompetent?”

“The taxes paid by the citizens every year are spent on a bunch of worms!”

Chief Superintendent Terrence stood in front of the window and pulled down the blinds with his fingers. Through the gaps, he looked at the reporters gathered downstairs with a solemn expression.

“Other than the Death Inquisitor and the internal members of our police department, no one else knows about this. Unless the Death Inquisitor or someone from our internal department went to the media and told them about what really happened, we can’t really stop the media. Who knows if the Death Inquisitor is even one of our internal members!” Chief Ross voiced his thoughts.

Terrence frowned, and after thinking for a moment, he said, “There’s no need to rush. We can’t come up with conclusions that easily. At first, we thought that he didn’t say anything because he wanted to save us from embarrassment. It didn’t seem like he had provoked us. But now it seems like he did it on purpose, as though he intentionally let this matter ferment for a while so that we would be even more humiliated. He did it on purpose to mess us up. If that were the case, then this guy is not someone to be trifled with. If he were to announce it, then the police force would be really messed up. If we don’t mention it at all, who knows what could happen next? If it were the Death Inquisitor who intentionally spread the news, he might have an ulterior motive. We can still follow up on the clues. However, we can announce the results of the investigation of Bowen’s crimes. After all, we already have enough evidence. Also, how’s your investigation going?”

Ross answered, “We found a death notice in the trash can of Bowen’s office, but no fingerprints were found on it. The text was also printed by a printer. The company’s surveillance cameras have also been checked. The suspect seems to be very familiar with the location of the camera, and he didn’t leave any clues. As for Bowen’s social connections, they are more complicated. We haven’t finished the investigation yet, but the possibility of revenge killings is not high.”

“Does that mean that the Death Inquisitor really thinks of himself as the Inquisitor?” Terrence said with wide eyes.

“Of course not. He’s a bloodthirsty killer! Right now, we have two objectives. The first is to study the components of the muscle-dissolving solution. It has been tested. We have already checked all the hospitals in New York that have this medicine. The second is to trace the live broadcast room. We need to check his IP address. Also, we can’t find the money that the netizens gave us. We can reverse-track it and see who has recently received funds that match the amount of the reward.”

After Ross spoke, Terrence nodded and said, “Do you see that car? I hired a god for you.”

“Who is it?”

Ross looked over and looked out as a car had come to a stop. A tall and very beautiful woman came down from the car. She looked to be in her thirties and had long blonde hair. She looked very elegant.

“Monica?”

Ross was surprised. Everyone in the police system knew about this woman. She was a professor of criminal psychology at Stanford University and a professional first-level police captain. Her main research areas were criminal psychology, criminal psychology portraits, social psychology research, and organized crime. She was also involved in a lot of other campaigns and studies conducted by experts and talented women.

“How is it? For this case, can you be the chief captain?” Terrence asked Ross.

“Of course, of course. I promise to catch the murderer as soon as possible,” Ross answered.

“Yes, all right. Internet police officer Judy, the former captain of the American Hacker Union; Forensic Doctor Bowman, the President of the American Forensic Association; and Trace Expert Hart, the President of the American Criminal Technology Association—the personnel assigned to you are all elites. In addition to Monica and a great detective like you, the five members of the Special Task Force are complete. From today onwards, the Special Task Force will be established, and its name will be Zero.”

“Yes, sir!” Ross was very excited.

Following that, the police held a press conference and announced Bowen’s crimes to the public.

However, they did not explain whether the main door of the building was not locked and whether the death judge’s countdown was misleading.

However, the release of the tiniest bit of news concerning the Death Inquisitor caused a huge reaction on the Internet.

The discussions of netizens were heated up, and the Death Inquisitor was one of the top searches on the Internet for several days.

The netizens were roughly divided into two camps: support and opposition.

This was in line with the reaction of the audience.

The opposition was simply that no matter what. They could not resort to lynching. Everything had to be solved by law. What the death judge did—sentencing a criminal without tapping the authorities—was a crime in itself. If everyone followed suit and did this, society would become chaotic.

The supporters thought that no one would have the courage to do such a thing. No one would have dared to touch or mess with Philomen Bowen. He was an affluent criminal. He was very wealthy and was held a high status in society, so he was virtually untouchable. Even if he had committed so many crimes, it would have been easy for him to escape the punishment of the law. The Death Inquisitor’s execution was something that the law could not control. What was important for the Death Inquisitor was that people like Bowen deserved to die.

Although there were many who questioned the Death Inquisitor’s way of sentencing, there were many supporters who expressed their faith in him. Most people still thought that a criminal like Bowen deserved to be punished that way and that he should have been punished.

There was also a small number of people who were neutral about the whole thing. Most of these people thought that the Death Inquisitor had done the right thing by executing Bowen, but for a moment, they also believed that it was just too bloody and vicious.

Jack sat in the security room and watched the news for a while. Then, he put away his phone and looked at the people walking in and out of the hall. Suddenly, a girl who looked like a high school student came into sight.