The rain beats steadily against my car windshield as I park outside the cordoned-off crash site. Xun Yu's silver Volvo has already been removed, leaving only tire marks and shattered glass glinting in the police lights. The official report calls it an accident—speeding on a wet mountain road—but something doesn't add up.\n\nI've just come from interviewing the first responding officer when my phone vibrates. It's Captain Li, my superior.\n\n"The case is being handed over to the special investigation unit," he says without preamble.\n\n"What? I just started," I protest.\n\n"Orders from above. Pack up your notes and return to headquarters immediately."\n\nBefore I can argue, he hangs up. I stare at my phone, then glance toward the mountain where Xun Yu lost his life. The politician's body was found with a broken neck, the car totaled. But the lack of blood on the seatbelt still bothers me.\n\nA black sedan pulls up beside me. The window rolls down to reveal a man in a tailored suit—Cao Cao's chief of staff.\n\n"Detective," he says with a tight smile. "The minister would like a word."\n\nI hesitate, looking between the mountain road where evidence may still lie and the car that represents political power I can't hope to match. The truth about Xun Yu's death hangs in the balance—and my career, if I make the wrong choice.