At 1:25 AM, Liu Chenyi and Shao Shiqing pushed the door open and found Lin Erde sitting quietly and obediently. His previous arrogance was completely gone, his demeanor much more subdued than when they left.
Behind the interrogation table were Yi Shi and Ding Ju, one responsible for questioning and the other for taking notes. Five minutes ago, Yi Shi had come out to call someone, and Zhang Rui had stood up, wanting to see what he was up to. But Ding Ju had moved faster than him, darting inside like a wolfhound, giving Zhang Rui no chance.
Li Changsheng, with a friendly attitude, invited Zhang Rui to sit and watch together, conveniently turning on the audio recording. Finally, the screen was no longer a silent movie.
Shao Shiqing sat down next to Li Changsheng: “Are we getting results?”
“Of course, you came back just in time.”
Shao Shiqing, unsurprised, said to Liu Chenyi: “Lao Liu, good thing we only had one cigarette. If we had another, they would’ve finished by now.”
Liu Chenyi, with a forced smile, was full of questions. How did someone who was wailing and screaming just now become as tame as a cat? What did Yi Shi do in those ten minutes?
The door opened again, and the two who had gone to make tea returned. Shao Shiqing pulled out a chair for Yu Xue, and Zhang Rui vacated a spot for Yuan Kang. Yuan Kang, upon seeing the screen, was surprised: “He’s already confessing? Your team is really something.”
“Hehe, Yi Shi always delivers.” Yu Xue intentionally asked, “He didn’t break any rules, right?”
“No, we were all watching from outside,” Li Changsheng said, smiling at Zhang Rui, “Right?”
…Damn it. I’ve never seen such shamelessness in my life. Zhang Rui felt deeply aggrieved.
His accusatory look did not escape Liu Chenyi’s notice. Sensing there was more to the story, Liu Chenyi decided he’d carefully review the surveillance footage after the interrogation.
“My boss, Tu Laogui, was in prison with Pang Daozi. They got along well. He often mentioned Pang Daozi from Nanyi, saying he was a man of great ambition and wanted to recruit him for a big job.”
“After Pang Daozi was released, Tu Laogui got in touch with him. I don’t know the specifics of their discussions, but at the end of October, the explosion at the Nanyi Machinery Factory happened, and Pang Daozi became nationally wanted. Tu Laogui was thrilled and praised him.”
Ding Ju’s fingers flew over the keyboard, rapidly typing out everything he said. Yi Shi, with one hand on his forehead and the other holding a pen, paused for a few seconds and furrowed his brows: “Are you saying—the explosion is connected to Tu Laogui?”
“I didn’t say that!” Lin Erde quickly explained, “I wasn’t around when they talked on the phone. I just know they kept in touch. Officers, asking me is useless. Tu Laogui’s most trusted subordinate isn’t me. There are many things I don’t know.”
“Oh, now you’re distancing yourself?” Ding Ju sneered, “This afternoon, you were shouting ‘I’m the boss’s confidant!’ and ‘He’ll deal with you cops!’ as if you were scared people wouldn’t know you’re close. How long has it been, and now you’re saying you’re not favored?”
Lin Erde smiled sheepishly and responded politely, saying he was just scaring people earlier. His relationship with Tu Laogui wasn’t that close.
Yi Shi stared at him for a few seconds, confirming he was telling the truth, then continued asking: “Pang Daozi escaped from Nanyi to Haijing and has evaded capture for so long. How much did Tu Laogui help him? Tell us everything you know.”
“Guys like them, the ‘big brothers,’ have it much better than us. They have brothers everywhere, and it’s nothing to help out a bit. Tu Laogui wouldn’t even bother with minor favors like sheltering someone for a few days. The help he gave Pang Daozi was significant.”
“What help?” Ding Ju asked.
Yi Shi had already guessed how the help was provided. Clenching the pen in his hand, he lowered his voice: “Was killing the hostages instigated by Tu Laogui?”
Lin Erde nodded: “Yes. I happened to be there that day. Tu Laogui told Pang Daozi that to distract the police, they needed to give them something to deal with. Since he had so many hostages, he said to pick a few useless ones, kill them, and dump them in a busy area to cause panic. The police would definitely be overwhelmed.”
The monitoring room fell silent. Everyone had the same reaction: Wow, this Tu Laogui is truly vicious, stirring up trouble just for fun. He clearly enjoyed the chaos, possibly even desiring nationwide unrest, finding some twisted satisfaction in it—a typical antisocial personality.
Yi Shi untied the string of a dossier and pulled out Tu Laogui’s records. His first prison sentence was for killing his wife, for which he was sentenced to ten years. A few years after his release, he severely injured his daughter and her boyfriend but only served four years for that.
Flipping through, Yi Shi found a document from a designated institution diagnosing Tu Laogui with a mental disorder, bearing the red stamp of the judicial department.
“Tu Laogui has schizophrenia?” Yi Shi held up the diagnostic document for Lin Erde to see. “Is he really sick or just faking it?”
“He’s mentally ill?” Lin Erde was surprised. “Doesn’t seem like it. I just thought he was more ruthless than us, which is why I followed him. I never noticed anything abnormal about him.”
Ding Ju glanced at the diagnostic document and said, “Then he’s faking it, thinking that mental illness excuses murder.”
“No, it could be real.” Lin Erde seemed to recall something, leaning forward. “I followed him for years and noticed his temper was strange—unpredictable and extremely paranoid, always thinking someone was out to get him.”
He swallowed hard. “Tu Laogui himself said he thought his wife was poisoning him, so he chopped her up. After getting out of prison, his daughter took him home, and he thought she wanted revenge for her mother, so he attacked her at night, leaving her severely injured.”
Yi Shi glanced at the psychiatric evaluation. The date was close to the time Tu Laogui had injured his daughter, suggesting the mental illness was discovered then. The court had deemed him temporarily insane during the attack, leading to a reduced sentence of four years.
However, Yi Shi couldn’t fully trust this diagnosis, especially for a habitual offender who treated prison like a hostel. This might be a tactic to evade legal consequences, given that mental illnesses are harder to diagnose definitively compared to physical ailments. Diagnoses often rely on psychological tests and the observations of experienced clinicians.
Given Tu Laogui’s vicious nature, it’s plausible he might feign insanity to use it as a shield for his crimes. Even with compulsory psychiatric treatment, he managed to instruct Pang Daozi to commit murder over the phone.
Realizing this, Yi Shi’s heart sank. Pang Daozi was already a tough nut to crack, and now with the addition of the even more deranged Tu Laogui, the difficulty of their capture mission had increased. If the two of them joined forces, the chaos they could create would present a new challenge for the police.
“Where is Pang Daozi hiding now?”
“In that mountain between Southern Cheng’an and Northern Cheng’an, there’s a small path that leads up from the back…”
Yi Shi picked up paper and pen and placed them on the table: “Draw it.”
Soon, a twisted and complex map emerged, looking like a mess of scribbles. Yi Shi glanced at it coolly, making Lin Erde’s hair stand on end: “I-I’m not lying, he’s really there! But I can’t say for sure if he’s still there now.”
Lin Erde looked at Yi Shi and muttered softly: “Originally, I was supposed to record a video of the explosion to show him that the plan was completed. Now that things have blown up like this, they definitely know I’ve been caught. If they don’t run, they’re just waiting to be chased by the cops, right?”
Had it not been for the unique idea of recording a high-definition video of the explosion, he would have run farther. After all, as long as there was a signal, he could remotely detonate the bomb from anywhere using his phone.
But if he hadn’t been caught… Lin Erde thought again of those horrifying photos and autopsy videos, shivering as a cold chill ran through his body.
Yi Shi put the map into his notebook: “I heard they plan to kidnap someone next?”
“Tu Laogui didn’t tell me about that.”
“You don’t know anything?”
“I really don’t.” Lin Erde shook his head honestly. “He planned to arrange things after I completed my task, but I got caught before I could gather any information.”
Yi Shi smiled faintly, realizing Lin Erde was blaming them for catching him at the wrong time.
This faint smile, mixed with a hint of mockery, exerted tremendous pressure on Lin Erde. After the earlier incident, he was already terrified of Yi Shi, convinced that this man wasn’t normal. He had smiled the same way before pulling out the autopsy video.
“Lin Erde,” Yi Shi called his name, twirling his pen, “you’d better tell us everything you know. At this point, what do you have to lose?”
Lin Erde panicked: “I really don’t know! Tu Laogui didn’t discuss the kidnapping in detail with me. I only overheard a bit, and I’m not sure…”
“What did you hear?”
Lin Erde gritted his teeth: “He and Pang Daozi were planning to kidnap the children of wealthy people, make some money, and flee abroad… You should ask Zhao Chenghu! He’s Pang Daozi’s confidant and definitely knows more than I do!”
Yi Shi had already planned to head back to Nan Yi. After repeatedly confirming there was nothing more Lin Erde could reveal, he finally let him go.
Lin Erde, trembling, asked softly: “Officer, I’ve told you everything, I won’t die, right?”
Yi Shi glanced at him and nodded lightly: “Yes, reform yourself in prison and start anew.”
Lin Erde sighed in relief. Whether or not he would start anew was another matter, but preserving his life was his immediate concern.
—
The door of the interrogation room opened, and Yi Shi and Ding Ju stepped out. The clock on the wall showed it was already past two o’clock. Lin Erde was escorted back, and everyone stood up to stretch, finally able to go rest after a long afternoon and evening that had left their necks stiff.
Ding Ju printed out the interrogation record in two copies, handing one to Yu Xue and the other to Yuan Kang. Yu Xue adjusted his glasses and smiled at Yi Shi: “Well done. You contributed the most to this operation. When we return to Nanyi, I’ll make sure to report this to Chief Deng.”
Yuan Kang folded the record and stored it, also smiling: “Yes, with such outstanding performance, the provincial department will surely reward you. Your future is promising.”
“How about giving a collective merit? Flowers can’t bloom without the support of green leaves.”
“Already thinking about merits? Dream on. At least solve the case first.”
Surrounded by his teammates, Yi Shi maintained a calm expression, showing no reaction. He didn’t care about honors and awards; his interest was solely in solving cases and catching criminals. To him, merits were just ancillary outcomes after a case was concluded. Career advancement was not something he sought nor cared for.
Seeing Yi Shi being the center of attention made Liu Chenyi burn with jealousy. Remembering the matter of reviewing the footage, he sat in front of the electronic screen and carefully replayed the surveillance video. To his surprise, he discovered that after he and Shao Shiqing left, the recording in the surveillance had been turned off. He couldn’t hear what Yi Shi had said to Lin Erde; it wasn’t recorded.
“Why wasn’t the recording turned on?”
Liu Chenyi’s abrupt question disrupted the brief relaxed atmosphere.
Li Changsheng slapped his forehead, realizing that Yu Xue had turned off the recording earlier and no one had remembered to turn it back on.
Liu Chenyi didn’t believe this explanation. One person forgetting was understandable, but three people in the monitoring room all missing it? No wonder Zhang Rui’s expression had seemed off earlier. He suspected the people from Nanyi had deliberately kept the recording off.
He suspected Yi Shi had made some secret deal with Lin Erde, and judging by Lin Erde’s frightened state, he guessed Lin Erde had been threatened. Wasn’t it obvious how scared he was?
Seemingly anticipating Liu Chenyi’s challenge, Yu Xue proactively asked Yi Shi: “What did you say to Lin Erde?”
Yi Shi remained composed: “I persuaded him to confess truthfully to receive leniency.”
“How could it be that simple?!” Liu Chenyi replayed the surveillance footage, speaking aggressively, “Look at his state. You must have threatened him!”
Yuan Kang, watching the footage, also found it suspicious, pointing at the phone visible in the video: “What did you show him? Why did he react like that?”
Zhang Rui was curious too, having wanted to ask earlier but not finding the chance. Yi Shi then took out his phone, opened the photo album, and casually flipped through a few pictures, showing various photos of deceased people.
“…?” Zhang Rui was stunned. “No way? Lin Erde got scared by these photos?”
“Yes, he put himself in their shoes.”
Yu Xue played along, feigning sudden realization: “Oh, I see. His imagination was too vivid.”
He had two assistants chiming in. Shao Shiqing said: “Right, guilty conscience, afraid of ghosts knocking at the door.”
Li Changsheng nodded in agreement: “Turn back before it’s too late. At least you won’t face execution, and good behavior might reduce your sentence.”
“…?” Zhang Rui was perplexed. What’s with this group from Nanyi? Are they treating everyone as fools? The captain is leading in making up stories. Is this even okay?
Liu Chenyi’s face darkened. He hadn’t expected them to protect Yi Shi so thoroughly. He shared the same thought as Zhang Rui: Yi Shi was like a time bomb, the sooner they got rid of him, the better. Why were they all shielding him like this?
Yuan Kang, understanding the situation clearly, knew that whatever Yi Shi had said to Lin Erde must have been significant. A desperado like Lin Erde, who had probably seen more dead bodies than the photos Yi Shi showed, wouldn’t be scared by such things. It wasn’t about putting himself in their shoes; those weren’t even his own experiences. How could he just identify with them?
Yuan Kang knew these questions were unaskable. From the start, Nanyi’s people never intended for them to know. Yu Xue had deliberately sent him away, and Shao Shiqing had taken Liu Chenyi out, obviously to facilitate some behind-the-scenes operation. Compared to Lin Erde’s confessions, the matter of not turning on the recording was trivial.
Yuan Kang looked up and met Yu Xue’s meaningful gaze. The decision to extend this courtesy lay with him. After a few seconds of contemplation, he coughed lightly: “We’ve got the confession. Let’s not fuss over these details. Forgetting to turn on the recording is a minor issue. The surveillance wasn’t turned off. Lao Liu, don’t make a big deal out of it and damage the harmony.”
Liu Chenyi’s face grew even darker. He had expected Yuan Kang to take a smoothing-over approach. While Yuan Kang was willing to cover for Nanyi, he wasn’t going to just watch. Yi Shi’s intimidation of a suspect and Nanyi’s protection could be considered group misconduct!
Liu Chenyi coldly smiled, then turned to the person who had been silently trying to blend into the background: “Zhang Rui! You’ve been in the monitoring room the whole time. Speak up.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Zhang Rui, who was suddenly called out and looked bewildered. He had just wanted to stay in the background, but now he was being dragged into the spotlight?
Liu Chenyi spoke sternly: “When we were interrogating the suspect, you saw what happened inside and what happened in the monitoring room. Tell us everything!”
Shao Shiqing and Li Changsheng exchanged glances: This kid better not blurt out anything foolish.
Ding Ju was more straightforward, clenching his fists as if to say—dare to lie, and you’ll get beaten.
“Don’t worry, you have nothing to fear. Speak up boldly. Don’t worry about anyone pressuring you; our leadership in Haijing will back you up.” Liu Chenyi coaxed, “The police force is organized and disciplined, and we can’t tolerate such behavior. You understand that, right?”
Yu Xue folded his arms, glancing at Yuan Kang, who wore a wry smile, clearly at a loss with Liu Chenyi. Yu Xue sighed slowly, imagining that if Liu Chenyi rose to power, Yuan Kang would probably face trouble until retirement.
The tension in the monitoring room was palpable. Zhang Rui looked around at the various expressions, noticing Yi Shi calmly fiddling with his sleeve, as if the situation had nothing to do with him.
Isn’t this guy even a little bit nervous or scared? Does he even have a conscience? If he spills the beans, it won’t just be him; the entire Nanyi team will be implicated!
Finally, Yi Shi looked at him and said calmly, “Speak. Whatever I did, I’ll take the punishment. Don’t drag innocent people into this.”
Zhang Rui was stunned. This sounded very familiar; he had just heard it from Li Changsheng an hour ago. Suddenly, he seemed to understand why Li Changsheng and the others trusted Yi Shi. It was because Yi Shi didn’t care about his reputation or future; he took responsibility for his actions, and his independence was meant to avoid implicating his teammates. His teammates were willing to help him and protect him as much as possible within their means. Such unity and cohesion were rarely seen in Haijing.
In other words, perhaps it was Yi Shi’s presence that brought about the cohesion of the Nanyi team. Could this be the reason for his necessity?
For some reason, Zhang Rui, who had always disliked Yi Shi, suddenly felt a twinge of envy. He wasn’t sure if he envied Yi Shi or his teammates.
“Yes, exactly. As police officers, how can we knowingly break the law?” Zhang Rui said firmly.
Liu Chenyi felt a surge of joy but then heard Zhang Rui suddenly change his tone: “But nothing really happened. Yi Shi didn’t use coercion; how could that be breaking the law?”
“…?” Liu Chenyi was taken aback. “Then why wasn’t the recording turned on at the time?”
“Oh, that. Officer Li already explained it.” Zhang Rui pointed at Li Changsheng and Ding Ju. “The three of us were discussing the case so intently that we forgot to turn the recording back on until we noticed Lin Erde was confessing.”
He looked at Yuan Kang with a pitiful expression: “Captain, I didn’t do it on purpose. Can we avoid a demerit this time?”
Yuan Kang didn’t look like he wanted to argue, waving it off: “Don’t let it happen again!”
Liu Chenyi, both surprised and anxious, grabbed Zhang Rui’s arm and dragged him to the electronic screen: “Zhang Rui! Look at Lin Erde’s expression closely. Do you really believe he was scared by a few photos?”
“Uh… I didn’t believe it at first. But at the end of the interrogation, Lin Erde specifically asked if he was going to die, didn’t he?”
Liu Chenyi paused, nodding slowly. “Yes, he did. Why?”
Zhang Rui touched his nose: “That’s the evidence. It proves that his reaction in the surveillance was indeed him imagining himself as the deceased, fearing he’d face execution, so he confessed everything to get a lighter sentence. Liu Chenyi, you couldn’t figure that out? It should be easy to understand.”
Yu Xue’s lips curled into a smile as he looked away. The Nanyi team members subtly sighed in relief. Yi Shi, still expressionless, gave Zhang Rui a few more glances, with a faint hint of surprise in his eyes.
Yi Shi had been prepared to take all the blame himself, never expecting that at the crucial moment, Zhang Rui, who usually didn’t get along with him, would side with him.
Liu Chenyi, infuriated and not getting the answer he wanted, felt even more frustrated. His brows furrowed deeply, and his tone became harsher: “If you think his actions were fine and the Nanyi people didn’t do anything wrong, why do you keep looking so aggrieved?”
“I’m reflecting on myself. How come others are so capable, and I’m not? Others solve riddles immediately, while I wander around aimlessly. Others get suspects to confess with a few words, while I can only argue pointlessly. Right, Liu Chenyi, you must resonate with me on this?”
Li Changsheng couldn’t hold back his laughter, quickly covering his mouth. Zhang Rui’s sarcasm was top-notch, cutting through the tension effortlessly.
Well done, he had got to be friends with this guy.
Liu Chenyi had never been mocked so severely before. His face couldn’t hide his embarrassment. Seeing everyone’s eyes on him, all seemingly laughing at his expense, he was filled with rage. Pointing at Zhang Rui, he stammered for a moment before storming out of the room.
Zhang Rui called out behind him: “Liu Chenyi, let’s reflect together! Reflect on ourselves three times a day; don’t forget!”
Li Changsheng couldn’t hold back anymore, laughing heartily and patting Zhang Rui’s shoulder: “You’re amazing! Hahaha, I really admire your mouth!”
“Easy there! I’ve been fed up with him for a long time. Finally got it out of my system.” Zhang Rui shook off Li Changsheng’s hand, “Hey, who said we were brothers? I didn’t intend to help you guys, much less him.”
“Him” referred to Yi Shi, who acted as if he hadn’t heard, tidying up his things to leave.
Although there was friction between Zhang Rui and Yi Shi, he wouldn’t retaliate at such a critical moment. He wasn’t like Liu Chenyi, petty and narrow-minded. He had thought of alerting Yuan Kang earlier because of Lin Erde’s intense reaction, fearing something might go wrong. But after Lin Erde calmed down and confessed, he saw no need to jump out and stab them in the back, playing into Liu Chenyi’s hands—it just wasn’t worth it.
Li Changsheng didn’t care about the details, throwing an arm around Zhang Rui’s shoulder and inviting him for a late-night snack, calling Ding Ju and Shao Shiqing along. Zhang Rui resisted awkwardly: “I said I wasn’t helping you! I was doing it for Captain Yuan! I didn’t want to see him getting trampled on!”
The voices faded as they dragged him off for a night snack.
Yu Xue and Yuan Kang were left speechless. Yuan Kang spread his hands in resignation, a helpless smile on his face. Since it wasn’t his jurisdiction, Yu Xue could only advise: “He’s ambitious and petty. Be careful. If he rises, you’ll suffer.”
“How could I stop someone’s career? You probably don’t know; his father-in-law is a high-ranking official with considerable backing… Oh, why am I even talking about this?” Yuan Kang shook his head, “Forget it, forget it. If he rises, it’s his ability. Even if he becomes the chief, I’ve got nothing to hide.”
—
The temperature dropped below freezing at night, the sky twinkling with stars. Yi Shi looked up in the cold wind for a while, only to be lightly tapped on the back of his head by Yu Xue: “What are you daydreaming about? Go get some sleep. Aren’t you tired after all this?”
Yi Shi shook his head. He had taken a good nap in the afternoon before coming here, so he wasn’t tired at all.
Yu Xue yawned. He was exhausted after sitting there for so long, his neck was almost giving him trouble. Even though his partner was in Nanyi, he had stayed up with him, and just a moment ago, he texted to complain about his sore neck and said he’d sign up for a massage class. He were so considerate.
Yi Shi, hands in his pockets, watched Yu Xue smile at his phone. Behind his glasses, his eyes were unusually gentle. He asked absentmindedly, “Have you been together for a long time?”
“Yeah, for quite a few years,” Yu Xue teased him, “Do you have objections?”
Yi Shi quickly shook his head. How could he have any objections?
“Oh, seeing that you’re not resistant at all, is it because of Lin Heyu?”
Yi Shi was stunned when he suddenly mentioned Lin Heyu and blurted out, “What does he have to do with it?”
Yu Xue smiled and said, “Nothing much, just forget about it if you don’t understand.”
After walking a few steps, Yi Shi asked again in a low voice, “How did you two get together?”
“Well, we had met a long time ago, back at the Nanyi Municipal Bureau. I was still young then. He was so bored that he competed with me in solving problems,” Yu Xue’s smile was warm enough to melt the spring snow, tapping his forehead, “He didn’t know that I had an excellent memory. He lost to me several times and ended up holding a grudge.”
Yi Shi fell silent, realizing it was the typical story of adversaries becoming inseparable over time.
What was the first meeting between him and Lin Heyu like? He didn’t know, and neither did Lin Heyu. It was truly perplexing.
The road back to the hotel was empty, with no one else around. They walked together through the cold winter night, stepping on dreams lost to time.
“Today was a close call. You still need to be careful in Haijing. Avoid doing things that can be avoided. Some methods are effective, but you also need to consider the risks involved.”
Yi Shi remained silent when Yu Xue mentioned today’s events. After a while, he said, “I only use the fastest method.”
That was how he was. He wouldn’t be confined by the constraints of rules. No matter what others thought or whether something was considered “scientific,” as long as he achieved the goal, it was fine. There might have been other ways to make Lin Erde confess, but when the photos appeared, a quick and effective approach was right in front of him. Ignoring it to avoid supposedly “breaking the rules” wasn’t Yi Shi’s style.
For Yi Shi, efficiency was paramount. He would always choose the straight path between two points. Taking a detour was merely a waste of time. Could a good reputation feed him?
“It was just photos, but besides you and me, no one would have thought that the deceased in them was really Lin Erde.” Yu Xue shook his head with a smile, “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I might have had the same reaction as them. It’s just too far-fetched. Such poor psychological endurance?”
“Because they’ve never seen what it’s like to be dissected,” Yi Shi said calmly, “At first, Lin Erde wasn’t afraid or didn’t believe it, but after he saw himself lying on the autopsy table, his abdomen cut open and scalp peeled back, he developed a fear of death.”
“……What? Do you have autopsy videos?”
“Yeah.”
“……” Yu Xue gave him a thumbs-up, impressed. “That’s quite something, ruthless as always. Just as expected of you.”
“That woman was a great help. She had warned Lin Erde before, so he firmly believed that confessing everything would change his fate and that he wouldn’t end up on the autopsy table at such a young age.”
“Does that guarantee survival? Did you promise him?” Yu Xue wondered, “Will he really avoid the same fate as Lin Erde in Lin Heyu’s side?”
Yi Shi shook his head, unsure. He couldn’t worry about that.
Yu Xue sighed softly, “You really will go to any lengths, won’t you? But staying in prison means he won’t die from falling. And given his involvement in this case, he won’t get the death penalty. Whether he can avoid disaster in a parallel world is up to him.”
Defying fate? That was just bait Yi Shi had thrown out. How many could actually achieve it?
