The whole ride back, everyone's faces were grim. No one said anything.

Once we were back at the headquarters, I heard their frustrated voices coming out from the restroom as I passed by.

"So we spent three months working our butts off to solve the case, only for the city police to be the ones who ended up with all the credit?"

"Isn't Captain Jennings supposed to be a genius detective? Why hasn't he solved a single case since I got transferred to the state police department?"

"It's very strange that Captain Jennings told us to pull out just now. Could it be that what they're saying is true? That his heart isn't in the right place anymore?"

More and more doubtful questions reached my ears.

Clenching my jaw, I went back to my office and sat there thinking for quite some time.

Nathan and I were mentored by the same person. It was understandable for us to share similar trains of thought and investigation methods, but how could every single one be exactly the same?

And what about the way Mr. Lowry leveled those accusations at me out of nowhere in my previous life…

With this in mind, I tightened my fists and called up a friend in the city police department. Claiming to want to learn from them, I asked for the notes from their case analysis.

The moment I saw the first picture, a chill ran down my spine. It was a picture of the case outline that Nathan had drawn up on the whiteboard, and it included information for an innocent passerby whom I'd looked into briefly.

How could it be? Did Nathan suspect the same passerby, too?

However, that passerby was someone I'd run into by coincidence during a solo investigation. I'd only taken note of him out of caution. Even my teammates didn't know about him.

Feeling quite incredulous, I started flipping through the rest of the notes. Then, with trembling hands, I unlocked my drawer and pulled out the notebook I used to record my case notes.

Page by page, I compared it to the notes sent over from the city police. By the time I was done with that, I slumped against my chair in shock.

Everything from the investigation process to the profiles of the offenders, and even the sketches of the crime scene, was identical!

How was that possible?

Forcing myself to stay calm, I tried to sift through my memories and see if there'd been any detail I might've missed.

All of a sudden, my superior, Chief Hudson, came barging into my office, disrupting my thoughts.

"Caleb, the culprit behind the 715 serial murder case has struck again! Head to the crime scene with your team now!"

Since a life was at stake, I immediately cast aside all my thoughts and rushed over with my team.

Once we arrived, I crouched down beside the deceased victim. I was busy looking for clues when I noticed that Tina Anderson, who was supposed to be analyzing the blood splatters, was secretly glancing around instead.

When she noticed my puzzled expression, she shyly scratched her head, saying, "I just wanted to see if the team from the city police came over yet…"

Even though she didn't say anything else, I figured out what she meant.

Ever since Nathan joined the city police department, we hadn't solved a single case independently for months. Everyone had been under a great deal of pressure.

However, even after we'd wrapped things up at the crime scene and left, there was no sign of Nathan anywhere. I couldn't help but exhale in relief as well. At least we were a step ahead of him this time.

After work, I declined my colleagues' offer to head home together. Instead, I stayed at the office and spread all the files for the serial murder case across my desk.

Before getting started, I instinctively reached for my usual notebook. But I paused in thought before putting it away again.

Although I still didn't know how Nathan did it, I dared not use that notebook anymore.

I grabbed a few sheets of scrap paper from a colleague's desk and scribbled my thoughts on them. I worked through the entire night, much to my colleagues' shock when they came back to work the next day.

Despite my exhaustion from a sleepless night, my eyes were unusually bright. "I found an incriminating piece of evidence that the murderer left behind yesterday!"

Everyone was excited. To save time, I started leading them straight to the suspect's house, explaining, "The crux of this case is the murderer's use of the knife this time…"

However, the moment I stepped outside the headquarters, my phone started vibrating.

I pulled it out and took a look. Immediately, the latest headlines burned a hole in my eyes.

"Rising Star Detective, Nathan Sloan, Cracks Another Unsolved Case—Nabbing the Culprit Behind the 715 Serial Murder Case!"

In the attached photo, Nathan was looking at the camera while holding up an evidence bag. Inside it was the same serrated knife I'd marked as the crucial piece of evidence just this morning!

I could hardly believe my eyes. Hands trembling, I clicked on the link to Nathan's interview.

During the interview, Nathan faced the reporters' pressing questions with a calm smile, openly stating that he had a special ability to see things from the murderer's perspective.

Using that ability, he was able to identify the unique serrated knife and used that to lock down the culprit.

The reporters had a field day.

"He can actually see things from the murderer's perspective! No wonder Officer Sloan always solves cases first."

"The criminals in our city better watch out now. No one can escape Officer Sloan's eyes!"

While the other reporters were buzzing over the news, one of them stood up and asked keenly, "Since you entered the police force, Captain Jennings, who had a solid reputation before, hasn't solved a single case. What's your take on that?"

My team, who'd noticed my sudden pause, leaned in to see the interview as well, just in time to hear Nathan's response to that question.

"It's normal that Caleb is slower than I am when it comes to solving cases. After all, he doesn't have my special ability. Nevertheless, he has always guided me in the pursuit of this profession.

"Even before I graduated, he would often bring me tricky cases to discuss, and it's because of him that I've been able to improve my skills a lot."

His response caused an immediate uproar.

The comment section for the interview was flooded with outrage from the people.

"Stop thanking him, you silly guy. Caleb Jennings has been using you!"

"Poor Nate. He's been using his abilities to solve so many cases, only for someone else to steal all the credit. I pity him so much."

There was also all sorts of vitriol thrown at me.

"Do you have no shame? How can you step on others to rise up the ranks, huh?"

"I suggest conducting a full audit on this so-called genius detective's cases. Maybe he was just plagiarizing other people's work all along!"

"I've already submitted a report. How can someone like him be a police captain?"

I couldn't tear my eyes off the insults hurled my way. Even when I returned to my desk, my body was shaking, and my head was dizzy.

I forced myself to calm down, but when I looked up, I saw suspicious looks on everyone's faces.

"Is everything Nathan said true, Captain Jennings?"

My nails dug into my palms.

"Do you guys not believe me either?"

They all exchanged looks before looking away in silence.

Behind me, Tina grabbed the sheets of scrap paper I'd used to make my notes on the case last night.

"Look at this! Everything Captain Jennings wrote here is the same as what Nathan said at the interview today!"

The papers were passed around the office. Even more looks of doubt, shock, and disgust came my way.

I was just about to defend myself when a thunderous roar shook the office.

"That's enough! What's the point of arguing here, huh? Do you think things aren't bad enough as it is?"

Chief Hudson stormed up to me and yanked me toward the door by force.

"You're going to head over to Nathan's interview right now and explain things to everyone. Otherwise, not only will our department be affected, but your career will be ruined as well!"

While Chief Hudson rushed me to the interview venue, Nathan was fielding questions from everyone and soaking in the praise.

Some of the parents whose children had been rescued in the human trafficking case even declared their intention to throw a lavish party to thank him.

Soon, my arrival put an end to the cheerful atmosphere.

As soon as the reporters saw me, they pounced on me, bombarding me with questions from all directions.

"Caleb here has a bit of a misunderstanding with Officer Sloan. I brought him over so that we can all clear things up," Chief Hudson said with a friendly smile before giving me a hard shove.

At his words, everyone's eyes widened, eager to hear what I would say.

Looking at the smug Nathan, I pondered briefly before asking with a sneer, "I came to ask you something. Since you claimed that I'd discussed all the cases I previously solved with you, what was the crucial clue that led to the discovery of the culprit in the chapel murder case?"

Chief Hudson's face immediately darkened. The words that came out of my mouth were completely at odds with the instructions he'd given me on the way here.

Before he could confront me about it, however, someone came up to me and slapped me hard across the face.

Just as he'd done in my previous life, Mr. Lowry wagged his finger at me and fumed, "You scoundrel! Not only have you been secretly claiming Nathan's deductions as your own behind my back, but you're still trying to stir up even more trouble now!"

Clutching my swollen cheek, I stared at the agitated Mr. Lowry in shock. For a moment, I couldn't wrap my head around the situation.

Mr. Lowry wasn't done, but Nathan ran over to us and pulled Mr. Lowry behind him.

With feigned indignation and a hurt expression, Nathan said, "Caleb, I really don't know why you're asking me that.

"Have you forgotten that I told you how I saw from the murderer's perspective that he'd organized the hundred-dollar bills in the victim's wallet by their serial numbers after he committed the crime? That's how I was able to determine the murderer suffers from severe obsessive compulsive disorder."

My mind went blank the moment I heard his answer.

The chapel murder case was the case that made me famous during my student days. Because of the murderer's special identity, not a single detail of the investigation had ever been published.

Even all the files I had compiled on the case had been destroyed. I'd been so certain Nathan couldn't possibly know anything about it.

Seeing my ashen face, everyone started mocking me.

"Did you think Nate would've forgotten just because so much time has passed? You wanted to make use of that to prove you didn't steal Nate's deductions, didn't you? How shameless of you!"

"Get the hell out of here! Just being in the same room as you disgusts me!"

"That's right! Get lost!"

The fired-up crowd shoved Chief Hudson and me out of the venue.

Furious that I'd ruined things again, Chief Hudson trembled with rage.

"You're on your own now," he snarled before leaving in the car.

I stood frozen, chuckling bitterly when I recalled how some of the people who'd shoved me earlier were the ones I'd personally saved from the hands of vicious murderers.

Everything felt meaningless now.

Just then, I received a message on my phone. Once I read it, my eyes widened in shock.

"So that's what's going on… No wonder Nathan can always figure out what I'm thinking!"

Laughing, I took out the police badge I'd cherished all along and tossed it into the nearest trash can.

The LED screen outside the mall was playing a news report. A burned body had been found on the outskirts of the city, and the victim's identity stunned everyone.

Raising my brows, I ignored the news and left.

From that moment on, I chose to resign from the police force. Now, I'd like to see how the rising star detective was going to solve this case.