Chapter 1236: Chapter 77: Sheng Men (3)
Officer Ma was looking at the ceiling lights with tired eyes… Perhaps it was his mood, or maybe he had been staring for too long, but he felt the light seemed to be slowly dimming.
“Officer Ma, coffee.” Lin Feng knocked and entered.
After the afternoon, unable to find a trace of the criminal at the scene, everyone returned to the office dejected and unwilling.
Seeing Lin Feng e in, Officer Ma rubbed his brow and asked with his eyes closed, “Where’s Brother Zhou?”
Lin Feng whispered, “Team Leader Zhou hasn’t left since he acpanied Mingming to the morgue…”
Officer Ma sighed, “Let him have some quiet time.”
“Got it.” Lin Feng nodded, “Everyone in Team Zhou knows and won’t disturb him.”
Officer Ma continued, “Has his wife been notified?”
“No,” Lin Feng shook his head, “Team Leader Zhou doesn’t want her notified right now.”
“Do as he wishes.” Officer Ma sighed, suddenly slamming his desk, “Damn it!!! This bastard, better not let me catch him!!”
Lin Feng sat down, grimacing, “At present, we haven’t found any useful traces at the scene. Xiaobao just went there but found no useful fingerprints… There’s just empty land behind that place with no hiding spots, and we couldn’t even find any footprints. How did this ‘Mr. Blank’ vanish without a trace?”
Officer Ma rubbed his forehead, “What about the traffic police, the road surveillance, is there any useful information?”
Lin Feng said, “There are many passing vehicles, but none at the factory entrance, so we can’t determine which vehicle went in, or even if it was a car at all.”
“Damn it… another lead cut off.” Officer Ma said helplessly, “Is this guy a ghost?”
“Whether it’s a human or a ghost, as long as it’s not dead, it’s fine.”
Suddenly, a voice filled with chill came from outside the door.
“Brother Zhou, you…” Officer Ma stood up, seeing Zhou Yusheng appearing at the door with a blank expression, his eyes almost bloodshot, he hesitated.
“I’ve had Forensic Doctor Nan perform an examination, rest assured… I’m not that fragile.” Zhou Yusheng took a deep breath, “If I were to be fragile, it’ll be after catching the criminal… So, what’s the current situation?”
Lin Feng sighed, “No leads whatsoever.”
Zhou Yusheng nodded, showing no signs of disappointment, turned back to head out, “I’ll go to the scene again.”
Officer Ma, worried something might happen to Zhou Yusheng, said, “Alright, I’ll drive you over, you can rest in the car.”
As they were heading out, a colleague hurriedly ran up to them, with a hint of joy on his face, “Officer Ma, Team Leader Zhou, we’ve identified ‘Mr. Blank’!”
“Who is it?” Zhou Yusheng shouted directly.
The colleague quickly said, “We’ve finally contacted the forum owner. He cooperated immediately and let us investigate the backend data. We found the phone number registered to ‘Mr. Blank’ and verified it through the ID, identifying the person. We then sought further information on this person but discovered they disappeared two years ago, reported missing by their family.”
“Missing?” Zhou Yusheng frowned, grabbed the information directly.
On the document appeared a name: Zhu Jianqiang.
“Zhu Jianqiang…” Zhou Yusheng tightened his grip on the documents, gritting his teeth, “No matter where you go… I’ll catch you myself!!”
…
Nan Xiao Nan was called back by a phone call.
She naturally was unwilling… but the lingering sense of justice pelled her to rush back upon receiving the order.
Preparations were already made by Xiaobao while she dressed and entered the autopsy room. Xiaobao grabbed pen and paper, ready to document everything.
Nan Xiao Nan glanced at the young corpse on the autopsy table… The report stated this was an officer who died in the line of duty, shot to death during the siege of the dismemberment case’s suspect.
Hmm… Is there such a person in the bureau?
Though puzzled, Nan Xiao Nan couldn’t be certain she knew everyone, and then she began to prepare to extract the bullet from the head of the corpse.
But as soon as her hands touched the forehead, Nan Xiao Nan suddenly breathed rapidly… She sensed that kind of rule power!
It wasn’t Nan Xiao Nan’s first time sensing this rule power.
Previously, she examined two bodies, one being Hai Dagui, the other Chang Xiao. Both harbored a trace of this rule power—and had gunshot wounds without bullets.
“This time it’s the suspect in the dismemberment case, why is it connected to Hai Dagui and Chang Xiao…” Nan Xiao Nan’s mind began racing again.
“No, last night I meant to act against Zhao Le, but Mr. Luo stopped me… The rule power… Does this mean Mr. Luo is orchestrating all this from behind? What does he intend to do!”
If it truly is Mr. Luo behind this, then what should be done…
Truthfully revealing the findings, or rather…
The burning energy within gradually became unsustainable, Nan Xiao Nan broke into a cold sweat, fearful she’d inadvertently anger him on one hand, and on the other scared that failure to properly prove the bullet’s absence would also lead to his wrath, it was as if she was teetering on the edge of life and death.
Finally, unable to bear it anymore, Nan Xiao Nan collapsed almost pressing against the operating table.
“Forensic Doctor Nan, are you okay?” Xiaobao was suddenly startled.
Nan Xiao Nan shook her head, “It’s nothing, a bit anemic… Here’s what let’s do, you fetch some chocolate from my bag, I’ll rest a bit and then continue.”
“Okay! I’ll fetch it right away!” Xiaobao nodded, hurrying out.
Nan Xiao Nan gritted her teeth, and quickly walked out… Time was of the essence, she managed to find a bullet that had already been fired before Xiaobao returned, then stained it with some blood from the corpse.
“Hope I didn’t make a mistake…” Nan Xiao Nan swallowed, assuming that Mr. Luo intended her not to make Zhao Le speak the truth, that there seemed some intention to conceal, she wagered on trying to conceal it.
Beep—!
When Xiaobao returned, he saw the bullet head fall from the tweezers onto the tray… Hmm, a workaholic indeed, he shook his head, “Forensic Doctor Nan, here’s your chocolate.”
…
…
Beep—!
The same sound, perfectly reproduced, resounded in the club’s hall.
The maid came over with drinks, first placing one beside Luo Qiu, then placing another in front of Chen Mingming.
Indeed it was Chen Mingming—yet merely a manifestation in soul state, supported by the club’s powers, he was in a peculiar state of being a Soul Body capable of touching things.
Seeing the scene in the mortuary, Chen Mingming chuckled bitterly, quite helpless, “I overlooked this step… I didn’t realize bullets would disappear after being fired. As you said, it’s a lack of information… I might need to study the handgun further.”
Luo Qiu remained nonmittal, smiling, “How are our products?”
“Very good.” Chen Mingming took a deep breath, “Even bullets vanish automatically, regardless of distance… With this, unless the culprit confesses, no one will ever know.”
Luo Qiu asked, “If that’s the case, why make such arrangements in the end? Even if you didn’t know the bullet would vanish, ignoring spatial barriers to kill should have sufficed. Why not directly assassinate Zhao Le?”
Chen Mingming said calmly, “What benefit is there in killing him.”
Luo Qiu continued, “If Zhao Le died, all leads tied to him would be severed. Though the case remains unsolved, your assessment period would end, albeit failing, the worst that could happen is you leaving this country tonight to officially gain foreign citizenship. Even if the police found you in the end, you would still be abroad… wouldn’t you.”
Chen Mingming smiled bitterly: “This is equivalent to using Zhao Le’s life to exchange for my freedom… I am not so despicable. Moreover, this choice is a bit better than my first choice. I originally arranged all this just so my father and mother would continue to look for me, and then find a place with no one to die quietly. If I’m really gone, I will only live on as a son and a suspect. They will be sad, but at least not another kind of sadness.”
Luo Qiu nodded slightly, reached out his hand, and opened the file… Luo Qiu opened the document, and said in a low voice: “Spinocerebellar degeneration, an incurable disease that brings endless pain to the family… You’re very strong, never told anyone.”
Chen Mingming smiled bitterly: “I still haven’t considered thoroughly… You actually gave me a chance, but I missed it.”
Luo Qiu took a sip of water from the cup.
“You knew long ago, which is why you made me gamble with you.” Chen Mingming glanced at the other party, “Twice you made me gamble with you, the second time even staking 50 years of life… but I still missed it.”
Luo Qiu said: “Actually, even without you directing this death scene, you can still choose to leave gracefully, nothing different from what you initially planned.”
Chen Mingming took a deep breath and said: “I thought I could do it… I really thought I could do it. But during these five days, you gave me an identity, even let my family achieve a state of perfection I couldn’t imagine. You succeeded, successfully made me feel the kind of painful yearning. Since knowing I had this disease, my world has never had color. My family is not harmonious, and I even thought that dying alone quietly might also be a good thing. I’ve had times of crazy venting, times of utter despair… People’s thoughts are strange, constantly changing. The original plan, I held the mindset that since I was going to die anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to help Zhao Le. But later…”
Chen Mingming slowly exhaled, looking at his hands and said: “The day to go abroad is getting closer, yet I am being more reluctant… Beneath all the calm, is the most real self. I’m not as strong as I thought. Only at the last moment did I understand, that the so-called tears are not for the unwillingness to leave the beauty of life, but…”
Chen Mingming looked at Luo Qiu, “It’s my unwillingness to let go of my life, all my confusion and helplessness, those words I want to shout to my loved ones… So I gamble, the gamble I initiated myself, I don’t even know if you would participate, so it was a gamble from the start, gambling on a slim chance.”
Chen Mingming took a deep breath, “I can only gamble, gamble this plan could break the stalemate, I can only hope you won’t so easily let me truly die, at least provide me a chance to speak, even just to talk about this assessment.”
“And then.” Luo Qiu asked expressionlessly.
Chen Mingming said: “With such a chance, I would fight for it… Fight to maintain the beauty of these five days!”
“Want to know the result of the test?”
Chen Mingming nodded.
Luo Qiu smiled, instructed You Ye: “You go ahead… I’ll step out for a moment.”
Watching Luo Qiu leave, Chen Mingming suddenly felt a bit nervous… He didn’t know if the other’s departure meant giving up on him.
The maid glanced at Chen Mingming, then opened both hands, another document appeared in her hands.
“Mr. Chen, your test content this time is to solve a case, and learn to cry.” The maid slowly read: “The case is not solved, the police did not really catch the criminal. So the first question, unqualified.”
Chen Mingming wasn’t too surprised, quietly listening.
The maid continued: “But the second question, qualified.”
One question unqualified, one qualified… What the result is, Chen Mingming’s breathing quickened slightly at this moment.
The maid suddenly said: “You should learn more to remain calm… In this aspect, you fall short pared to the master.”
Chen Mingming smiled bitterly, “I’m just an ordinary person, how can I pare to your master.”
“The master back then, had a situation similar to yours.” The maid said indifferently.
Chen Mingming frowned, the maid again reading what was in her hands.
“In this test, you were deprived of your memory as Mr. Blank, and also stripped of the content of your illness.” The maid paused, not looking at the document, but at Chen Mingming and asked: “Do you feel this test is unfair?”
“Can I say yes?” Chen Mingming smiled bitterly.
The maid said indifferently: “But did you ever think, the master could pletely not let you experience this five days of happiness, and merely give you a policeman’s identity?”
Chen Mingming opened his mouth, finally fell silent.
The maid continued to read: “… Before the test, we already gave Zhao Le this hint. So later you lured Zhao Le to the crime scene, it cannot be considered as extra credit. But you later still found clues, during which some uncontrollable events occurred, yet in the end you still directed a self-death scene. Your final method to break the stalemate was aggressive, can’t be said to be good, but you used a gun, preset the time, gathered the bullet to kill yourself, step by step, proving your bravery and ruthlessness, also proved your talent… This part, good.”
Chen Mingming cried in his heart… This boss’s evaluation standards are really high.
The maid softly continued, “Under the premise of knowing Zhao Le betrayed you, you still chose to defend him in the end, ensuring Zhao Le’s life wouldn’t reach the worst oute, this part… very mendable.”
Chen Mingming parted his lips, feeling somewhat incredulous.
“However…” The maid’s face drew an arc, “In terms of acquiring intelligence and information, your performance is… poor.”
Chen Mingming couldn’t help but furrow his brows.
The maid said calmly, “You and Zhao Le knew each other early on, even enrolling together in the University of Political Science and Law last year. After being classmates, you recognized him as ‘The Happy-go-lucky Sect’. You had ample time to understand this person. Whether as ‘The Happy-go-lucky Sect’ or Zhao Le, your understanding of him hasn’t reached a high level. You can face your own heart but cannot know Zhao Le’s heart. You had adequate time to observe Zhao Le, yet you didn’t gather enough intelligence from him.”
“I don’t understand.” Chen Mingming furrowed his eyebrows.
The maid said, “Do you think Zhao Le admitting to you is the correct choice… but actually, inside your heart, are you still harboring some feelings about this matter?”
Chen Mingming sighed, neither denying nor confirming.
The maid waved her hand, and a set of documents appeared before Chen Mingming, “This is the information Zhao Le handed to the police, the data of that website forum and account.”
Chen Mingming bowed his head for a look, glanced, then suddenly lifted his head, “How e…”
The maid said calmly, “You had plenty of time, time existing before this assessment. Yet, you never realized Zhao Le’s nature, nor his meticulous thoughts, not even knowing his feelings towards friends. In your eyes, perhaps Zhao Le was just a weak person, someone in need of assistance, but you never thought Zhao Le is stronger than anyone else.”
The maid smiled slightly, “You might not know, not long after you met online, Zhao Le sensed your state wasn’t good. But he lived under pressure and found it hard to find a true good friend regularly. Your appearance made him feel he found a soulmate. Ever since knowing your illness, you’ve been in a negative state. Your daily chats with him online mostly prised dark and extreme topics. He has tried multiple times to counsel you, but to no avail. Zhao Le was terrified that maybe one day, you really would execute those crime plans you created, so he did something seemingly excessive, even laughable.”
Chen Mingming parted his lips.
The maid softly said, “One and a half years ago, this child first registered ‘The Happy-go-lucky Sect’ account on another forum, waited a while, then bought a new SIM card, and subsequently registered ‘Mr. Blank’ account. He repeatedly copied your content on the ‘Midnight Sin’ forum to the website address handed to the police. He hadn’t thought it would actually be useful, merely hoped if ever one day something happened to you, maybe it could help you… until the police eventually found him.”
Chen Mingming’s lips moved, finally a relieved smile, his whole body relaxed.
The maid slowly said, “Considering all the above, Mr. Chen, your assessment this time is not satisfactory. However, you can receive an opportunity as a trainee substitute.”
…
…
It’s already time to turn off the lights.
In the detention room, only dim light from outside overlapped with the moonlight through the ventilator… Zhao Le hugged his knees, sitting on the bed.
Suddenly, a figure barged into his sight… Zhao Le instantly felt fear, wanting to call out.
“Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you, I simply wish to discuss some matters… According to your decision, I’ll choose whether to erase this part of your memory afterward.”
From that dim light, Zhao Le saw a young man not much older than himself.
A mysterious and tranquil aura emanated from him… It seemed he could make people calmer, Zhao Le felt at peace upon looking at him.
“Who are you?”
Luo Qiu first said nothing, just waved his hand, and some information flooded Zhao Le’s mind.
At an unbelievable speed, he learned about the young man before him and the contents of the shop behind him.
“Mr. Zhao Le,” Luo Qiu smiled, “Would you like to work for me, being a Black soul envoy… Of course, as long as you nod in agreement, I will grant your sister a happy life.”
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PS: (11/29)
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