The surroundings were dim. The sunlight was shut out from the sealed security room, but the cold air was not. Wisps of cold air were blowing on his back from the crack in the door, from the gap in the window, and from corners invisible to the naked eye.
Kong Shuiqi heard his own heart pounding wildly. The shock caused a thin layer of sweat to form on his forehead. He feigned composure and reached for the handkerchief in his breast pocket.
“Not the police? Then you are…”
“I said, my name is Ji Xun,” Ji Xun said. “The gold pen clipped to your breast pocket is very nice. A nice gold pen is suitable for writing. If you randomly modify it into a listening device, the pen will cry.”
Kong Shuiqi trembled, and the pen clipped to his bag fell to the ground, rolling to a stop between the two of them.
Ji Xun sighed with regret. “Don’t be nervous, and don’t even think about reaching for your phone with your right hand. Using a phone is even dumber than using a recording pen.”
He smiled.
Kong Shuiqi could only force a dry laugh in return.
As he laughed, his own voice became the only sound in the security room. The cold wind shuttled back and forth through his laughter, whistling in response. His laughter grew drier and drier, and finally, he swallowed hard.
“Why…?”
He actually asked a thug who was seemingly about to hold him captive why using a phone was dumber than using a recording pen.
He thought of the reports he had written, of how thugs tortured and beat their victims. He had written with such vividness it was as if he were there… Now he really was there, and everything he had written began to replay in his mind.
He hated his excellent memory.
“Because of signal jammers, of course,” Ji Xun said lazily, in a tone that suggested everyone should know. “Schools are getting more and more advanced these days. They just install a jammer in the classroom to block phone signals and prevent cheating in exams. Everything is great, you can’t even dial 110. Don’t you think?”
Kong Shuiqi had guessed a similar possibility, but hearing the answer still made him feel like he was about to suffocate.
He was just a humble reporter…
“What on earth do you want? This is illegal confinement!”
“Illegal confinement? How could that be? We are just two innocent, pitiful people trapped here because the door lock is broken. And what a coincidence, the signal is poor near this abandoned building. Sigh, this broken-down place really needs a good cleaning up.” Ji Xun gave a half-smile. “Mr. Kong, only by knowing the law can one abide by it, and even more so, walk the fine line of the law. Haven’t you learned enough about this point from your years as a reporter?”
Kong Shuiqi had learned far too much, so he immediately realized two things:
First, the man in front of him was indeed holding him captive, but if he called the police, he probably wouldn’t have strong enough evidence to make him pay the price. Second, he was currently using soft violence, without any overly aggressive actions, so they could still talk calmly and rationally.
Kong Shuiqi was a man who knew how to assess a situation.
He quickly suppressed his anger and put on a smile, though it was a bit stiff. “Mr. Ji… Ji, is it? A pleasure to meet you.”
“A pleasure, Mr. Kong,” Ji Xun replied just as gently.
“You’re looking for me, so I must be of use to you,” Kong Shuiqi said, choosing his words carefully. “In that case, why don’t we just be frank? What does Mr. Ji want from me, or what do you want me to do?”
“Mr. Kong is so quick on the uptake. No wonder you’re the one who can write reports that move the hearts of thousands of netizens.”
“If you want me to delete the report, that’s absolutely impossible. I don’t have that authority, and I don’t know the account password for ‘First Moment’s’ official Weibo at all,” Kong Shuiqi said seriously. “Besides, we are all smart people. Deleting it now or not doesn’t make much of a difference.”
Ji Xun clapped his hands in praise. “Mr. Kong is well-informed and experienced. I’m impressed. Alright, I’ll be direct. I want to know who leaked the story to you, and I want to get the relevant physical evidence.”
After hearing Ji Xun’s words, Kong Shuiqi’s previous nervousness was temporarily suppressed, and he actually calmed down.
“Mr. Ji, I really want to help you.” He put on an appearance of looking out for Ji Xun, slippery as an eel. “But on this matter, it’s useless for you to look for me. I can only point you in the right direction. My team leader, who is also the deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine, is Sister Hong. She makes the final call on all matters, big and small, in the team. You have to get her to agree. Sigh, your Chief Zhou’s call went to the editor-in-chief…”
He sighed heavily.
“Sister Hong is aiming to take another step forward, but that stubborn old editor-in-chief refuses to budge. They’ve been at odds for a long time. You can’t expect a good result when people from the police station back the wrong horse…”
“Reporter Kong, I’m not a policeman. I won’t run in circles with you over so-called procedures, nor am I curious about the unknown office politics within your magazine. I only know that if you continue to waste time with me here, then the first-hand information for the follow-up series of reports will probably be in danger. I saw the logos of several other media outlets before I came here…”
“We do in-depth reporting!” Kong Shuiqi immediately retorted. “It’s not an Olympic race where whoever gets to the location first wins.”
Ji Xun let out an audible laugh of mockery.
The mockery struck Kong Shuiqi’s face like a whip, making him blush.
There was nothing wrong with the statement that the media does in-depth reporting, but depth and timeliness are not mutually exclusive. Besides, everyone is in the media; who doesn’t do in-depth reporting? Are you the only one with depth?
The moment a lie is exposed is always embarrassing.
“Alright, Mr. Kong, you do in-depth reporting. Then you don’t have to be in a hurry. You can just wait here slowly with me for rescue to arrive,” Ji Xun said agreeably, not refuting him at all.
At this, Kong Shuiqi became anxious.
If he was tied up here and couldn’t contact the outside world, then the magazine couldn’t send a new reporter for an interview, and today’s report would be a blank—
“Is it thirty thousand?”
Ji Xun suddenly spoke.
“The bonus for the milk candy report.”
He asked this question just as Kong Shuiqi’s mind was filled with thoughts of the magazine report, so his words pierced Kong Shuiqi’s brain like a sword. This was already behind Kong Shuiqi’s defensive wall, and the reporter laughed out of pure instinct.
“Heh…”
Ji Xun understood. “I underestimated reporters. It seems this report earned you a bonus far exceeding thirty thousand. Sigh, just getting here, and it’s already far more than thirty thousand. If you can finish this series of reports, it would probably be a stepping stone for your career to take off, Reporter Kong. Of course, if this series has a blank spot because of your problem, it might…”
It might be a major blunder, a major trouble.
Without Ji Xun needing to spell it out, Kong Shuiqi understood completely. His weakness had been seized. All the slipperiness on him was thoroughly scraped off, replaced by ten layers of black paint brushed on, making his face completely darken.
“What on earth do you want?” he asked again, his urgency palpable. “I already told you I’m not the leader!”
Ji Xun smiled slightly. “Then find a way to make the leader listen to you.”
“I have no way—”
A loud “CRASH”!
A chair lay toppled on the ground, kicking up half an inch of dust.
In contrast, Ji Xun’s expression remained gentle. “Think carefully, Reporter Kong.”
“I…” Kong Shuiqi was frightened. He stammered, “That person, that person didn’t come in person. He used an envelope… delivered it by mail. I didn’t believe it at first, but there was a video of the murder in the envelope… I don’t care who delivered it. As long as my report is true and reliable, isn’t that good enough? So…”
“Where is the envelope?” Ji Xun pressed.
“In the drawer of my office… in the drawer.”
“Be specific. Where in the drawer?”
“The second drawer… at the very bottom… in the compartment, properly sealed in a plastic bag.” Kong Shuiqi told him everything. After he finished, he peeked at Ji Xun’s face and timidly added, “I was afraid there were suspect fingerprints on it, afraid of damaging them, so I kept it well-preserved in a plastic bag… That’s all, I’ve said everything. This time it’s the truth, pure gold…”
Ji Xun was also observing Kong Shuiqi.
Kong Shuiqi was still very nervous. This could be explained by his sudden fright from the sound of the chair falling.
He was tightly clutching the briefcase in his hand—he had been clutching it during their chat earlier—no matter how he held the briefcase, one of his palms always remained in the very center of the bag’s surface.
Ji Xun guessed it and said teasingly, “So the thing is right in your briefcase. Hiding in plain sight, a nice move.”
Kong Shuiqi was aghast.
“I—how did you know—” he let it slip and bit his tongue in frustration. “Damn it!”
“Ah,” Ji Xun said. “It’s no remarkable skill, so I won’t elaborate. Thank you for your cooperation. The police will thank you too. If this information had come a little earlier—you probably would have even gotten a commendation.”
He had gotten the clues he wanted. It was time to go out.
But to avoid any suspicion, Ji Xun decided not to call Huo Ranyin and just wait for Huo Ranyin to find him.
Ji Xun took out his phone from his pocket and started playing a game.
Kong Shuiqi was still mired in regret, his tone not very good. “I’ve said everything. What, can’t we leave yet?”
“I said I didn’t confine you, Mr. Kong. You are completely free to move. If you want to leave, just call a locksmith to come and open the lock, won’t that do?” Ji Xun said leisurely.
“How can I call without a signal?!”
“Huh, no signal?” Ji Xun looked surprised. “Am I playing on a ghost server?”
Kong Shuiqi was stunned. He looked again and found that Ji Xun was playing an online game.
Which meant—
He immediately took out the phone in his pocket.
Full signal!
Kong Shuiqi almost vomited blood. “You tricked me—”
“Now, now,” Ji Xun laughed. “I was just educating you on the wonderful uses of a school’s signal jammer. Besides, using a signal jammer is illegal. Am I the kind of person who would break the law?”
Kong Shuiqi was aggrieved but helpless. He could only say, “Aren’t you afraid that a message would come in during our chat and your lie would be exposed?”
“Reporter Kong just finished writing a hit report and became famous overnight. With phone notifications on, you wouldn’t be able to get any work done all day, so I guessed that, at least for these two days, Reporter Kong’s phone is on silent,” Ji Xun said, raising an eyebrow at the end. “Did I guess right?”
“…”
The damn man was completely right!
Kong Shuiqi gritted his teeth, turned his face away, and stubbornly tried to say something, but—”BANG”!
The door was kicked open with great force. A figure stood at the entrance, and light flooded in, sweeping away the gloom in the room, making him seem to stand in the center of the light, a shadow under the light.
“You are…?” Kong Shuiqi turned around abruptly, a look of astonishment on his face. “Captain Huo? It’s you?”
Without needing Huo Ranyin to answer, he had already figured everything out.
He looked as if he had lost all hope in life.
“A member of the public reported a disturbance coming from the abandoned building. I happened to be nearby and came to check,” Huo Ranyin said to Kong Shuiqi, but his gaze was fixed on Ji Xun.
Ji Xun whistled and jumped down from the table. “You’re right on time.”
He walked past Kong Shuiqi without stopping, but an envelope in a plastic bag was already in his hand.
He met Huo Ranyin. As they crossed paths, the evidence was handed over, the responsibility transferred. Two soft whispers sounded at the same time, like their fingertips accidentally brushing when they exchanged the envelope:
“Thanks.”
“No need.”
The envelope was a very ordinary kraft paper envelope. On the front, it read “To: First Moment Editorial Department · Kong Shuiqi.” The words were printed, using the same black ink as the A4 paper inside.
The ink brand could be identified by the forensic science department after analysis.
The content of the A4 paper was not long. It got straight to the point, stating that the poisoner was Xin Yongchu, and explaining the motive related to Tang Zhixue.
There was also a USB drive attached, which presumably contained the video of Xin Yongchu killing someone. This video was the evidence that convinced Kong Shuiqi that all this was not groundless.
The USB drive was very new, with no scratches on it. It was the most common model from Kingston, probably bought recently by Xin Yongchu or his accomplice.
Huo Ranyin, wearing gloves, held up the envelope and looked at it for a while, then leaned in slightly.
It was a very faint trace of women’s perfume. He could tell it was Byredo’s Rose of No Man’s Land.
Ji Xun noticed his action. Fragments of memory flashed through his mind, and he quickly found the frame he was looking for. “My nose isn’t as sensitive as yours, but Lian Panpan wears very high-end perfume.”
Kong Shuiqi, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, having resigned himself to being questioned, pricked up his ears.
Ji Xun, who was watching his movements in the rearview mirror, couldn’t help but laugh. “Reporter Kong is still thinking about the news. So dedicated. Do you want to have a taste of obstructing justice and be detained by the police for a few more days? You can write some in-depth old news when you get out.”
Kong Shuiqi was embarrassed. “Not at all. I was just preparing to thank the people’s police for giving me a ride. How could I have such improper thoughts? I also know the law. Some clues that can’t be spoken, some speculations that can’t be given, I won’t just write them down casually.”
Ji Xun: “So cooperative? Then why don’t you cooperate with the police and stage a sting operation? Leak some targeted fake news to trick the accomplice who killed Accountant Tang back then, and try to lure the suspect out?”
Huo Ranyin glanced at him and just said coolly, “Don’t mess around,” but made no further move.
To Kong Shuiqi, this sounded like a repeat of what he had just experienced, a sting operation 2.0.
He kept wiping the nervous sweat from his forehead in the winter air, frantically trying to choose his words to escape this obviously troublesome matter. But at this moment, the notifications he had just turned on started ringing continuously like a herald of death.
He lowered his head to check his messages, and in a short while, his face changed drastically.
“Officers, I’m afraid that’s not possible. Someone has made a complete analysis video of the Tang Zhixue case.”
He showed his phone screen to Huo Ranyin and Ji Xun. On it was a video made by a C-Station content creator named “Half a Cabbage,” posted fifteen minutes ago.
In just fifteen minutes, the video’s screen was already filled with bullet comments.
Ji Xun glanced at the video title:
“On-site Investigation of the 22-Year-Old Cold Case Scene, Revealing the Entire Process of the Murderer’s Crime.”
