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Space Police Bureau — Criminal Investigation Division, Major Crimes Unit

Initially, the case of Director Chang's sudden death was believed to be just a routine criminal investigation. Despite the incident's wide-reaching impact, the Bureau assigned only Huang Peiyu and his small team to handle it.

After all, Huang Peiyu was a veteran officer with decades of investigative experience. The department had full confidence in his abilities.

However, as the investigation deepened, Huang Peiyu realized this case was far more complicated than expected—so complex that his small team was no longer capable of handling it alone.

After reporting his findings and suspicions, the Space Police Bureau immediately convened a high-level emergency meeting.

Under the attentive gaze of more than a dozen seasoned officers, Zhuang Mo took a deep breath and began his presentation on the relationship between Wu Qiong and the successive heads of the Bai family.

The briefing cabin was filled with floating officers, all ears, listening closely to Zhuang's report.

Zhuang cleared his throat and began:

"My master and I retrieved records on Wu Qiong from the Federal Archives. We discovered that his relationship with the Bai family is far more intricate than we previously imagined.

"Let's start with the Bai family's lineage. The family originated in the early 21st century, when Bai Boyong purchased two mountains in Shandong, China, to grow pears. By the mid-21st century, his eldest son Bai Jingtian inherited the orchards and greatly expanded operations. He became the first family head.

"Later in life, however, Bai Jingtian developed a severe illness. He ceased all farming operations and passed the family business to his younger brother Bai Mutian, the second family head.

"Bai Mutian invested everything into space-based fertility research, eventually achieving major success. Shen Yijia—the first woman to give birth in space, known as the 'Mother of Space'—was sponsored by him. However, soon after the experiment's success, Bai Mutian was placed under investigation by the prosecutor's office. The final outcome was never disclosed.

"Then came the third family head, Bai Sutian, Bai Mutian's younger sister. But not long into her tenure, she suddenly died. Both her children also perished under mysterious circumstances.

"Following her, Bai Kun, Bai Mutian's adopted son, became the fourth head. He continued to support space-based reproduction research. But soon after, Bai Kun disappeared without a trace.

"He was succeeded by Bai Yu, Bai Mutian's biological son, as the fifth head. Bai Yu led the family for a few years before his death, after which his one-year-old son, Bai Yuan, inherited the position.

"At 30, Bai Yuan married—but died shortly after in a car crash alongside his wife. Emergency responders extracted their unborn child at the scene—this child became the sixth head of the family, Bai Qing. As we know, Bai Qing later built Whale Fall City and became its first mayor."

The room fell into tense silence. All the officers wore deeply furrowed brows.

Chief Booth spoke bluntly:

"I couldn't retain every detail of Officer Zhuang's report, but I noticed a pattern: most of the Bai family's heads died under unusual circumstances."

The room nodded in agreement. It defied belief that so many generations would die prematurely by coincidence.

Zhuang continued:

"My master and I had the same suspicion. The Bai family history is riddled with anomalies—not only in how its leaders died, but also when.

"The first three heads were siblings and took over the family business as adults. But from the fourth generation onward, each successor was a minor.

"Bai Yuan became head at 15, Bai Yu at 13, Bai Qing at 2, and in Bai Qing's case, he wasn't even born yet when he inherited the title."

In the corner, a faint voice muttered,

"Why does this plot sound so familiar?"

All eyes turned.

Booth asked, "Li Shuo, what's on your mind?"

Officer Li Shuo responded,

"This is like those classic stories from dying dynasties—where child emperors are repeatedly installed, puppet rulers are manipulated by regents, and power is held by outsiders. All that's missing now is an empress dowager ruling from behind the curtain."

Booth nodded thoughtfully, then asked:

"Officer Zhuang, earlier you mentioned that you were going to explain Wu Qiong's role in all this. What exactly is his position in the Bai family history?"

Zhuang answered:

"Every single change in family leadership involved Wu Qiong. He was closely associated with Bai Jingtian, the first family head, serving as his personal physician. There are even rumors suggesting he had a romantic relationship with the second head, Bai Mutian.

"From the fourth generation onward, all family heads were orphans—and Wu Qiong acted as their guardian. Each time a head died, he adopted the next heir and raised them—until they too died under mysterious circumstances. Then the cycle repeated."

These were all senior officers, each of them hardened by years of solving violent crimes.

Yet this case sent chills down everyone's spine.

Zhuang inhaled again before delivering the final piece:

"And that's still not the full list of Bai family orphans Wu Qiong has raised. He is currently the acting CEO of Whale Fall City and is raising another Bai family orphan—Bai Qing's biological daughter, Bai Shuang.

"Bai Shuang lost her father shortly after birth. Before his death, Bai Qing foresaw possible threats from rival families and devised a virtual competition, the Whale Fall Trials, to buy his daughter 25 years to grow, learn, and prepare to protect her inheritance."

Silence fell again. Booth finally asked:

"So this is how the Whale Fall Trials came to be?"

Zhuang clarified:

"Not exactly. While Mayor Bai Qing did conceive the idea, the game itself—its registration, design, and platform—was developed and maintained over the past 25 years by Wu Qiong and Bai Shuang."

Booth leaned back, brows raised:

"This is getting dangerously intricate. It's entirely possible that the idea to use a game to select the next city leader wasn't even Bai Qing's—it was Wu Qiong's all along. If we follow this logic, Wu Qiong has effectively controlled the Bai family for two centuries, manipulating every orphaned heir as a pawn."

Then, Booth sharpened the focus:

"Wu Qiong's background is obviously suspicious. But let's return to the matter at hand—how is this connected to the death of Director Chang? Our priority is to identify his killer. Wu Qiong's full investigation can come later."

Zhuang responded:

"After extensive analysis, my master and I believe this could be a case of internal betrayal—a black-on-black crime, with the major conglomerates fighting over control of Whale Fall City. Because Wu Qiong is not the only one who knows Bai Shuang's true identity."