[11/25, 10:35, Haijing City Public Security Bureau]
After three days of investigations and visits, several police officers had gone door to door, and the overall progress was not even a quarter complete. Southern Cheng’an covered too large an area, so they started with the surrounding towns and villages, gradually tightening the search towards the mountains. The detailed mountain search would be an even more massive undertaking.
This was the first time the criminal investigation teams of Haijing City Bureau and Nanyi City Bureau were having a meeting in the same office. The meeting was chaired by Captain Yuan Kang, with the attending leaders being Chief Bai Xiaoyuan and Deputy Chief Mu Jianying. The Haijing criminal investigation team started by reporting on their investigation and search progress.
“…We set up checkpoints on the national and express highways intersecting with Dengchang, checked 3,289 vehicles, detained four private cars carrying contraband, three overloaded buses, and three company vehicles operating illegally, but found no suspects related to the ‘10.30’ explosion case.”
Zhang Rui sat down, and Song Ping stood up, taking out a notebook, her long black ponytail swinging over her shoulder as she began her report.
“Tian’an Village and Xiaoxi Town have 2,564 registered households and 4,378 residents, including 2,657 locals. The registration of migrant workers is not yet complete…”
The leaders listened intently to the reports, their initial faint smiles fading as the reports continued. Each speaker’s report of “no abnormalities found” and “no relevant suspects identified” deepened their frowns. After several days, no substantial results had been found.
Those bandits weren’t hiding in cracks in the rocks and were even carrying several hostages, both old and young, fleeing from Nanyi to Haijing, making it seem like a 25,000-mile Long March. With so many people, they were bound to leave traces. Yet, the large-scale search efforts yielded no information, causing doubts about whether Pang Daozi and his gang were really hiding in Cheng’an Mountain.
After Li Changsheng sat down, it was finally the turn of the last member of the Nanyi criminal investigation team, Yi Shi.
Yi Shi was not good at making reports. He didn’t have the habit of preparing written reports in advance; his notebook was filled with detailed records of data. While others preferred to speak rather than write, he was different, pulling over the whiteboard in the meeting room and writing on it.
His writing was neat and forceful, matching his sharp and strong demeanor, truly reflecting the man himself. Unaffected by the many eyes on him, he focused solely on his task.
Song Ping whispered to Zhang Rui, “Hey, this guy has a unique style.”
Zhang Rui rolled his eyes internally. He knew Song Ping too well. If it were Yi Shi, it was “unique style”; if it were someone unattractive, it would be “weird behavior.”
When Yi Shi wrote the number “5,” he paused, deliberately writing it in an LCD font. Seeing it didn’t match the handwriting on the paper, he unhesitatingly erased it and rewrote it.
After finishing, he closed his notebook and was about to put away the marker when Yuan Kang spoke. “Officer Yi, please hold on, I have a question.”
Yi Shi gave a questioning look. Yuan Kang smiled. “I’ve heard it was your efforts that led to the capture of Zhao Chenghu and getting him to talk. As we know, Zhao Chenghu is known for his loyalty and wouldn’t easily betray his comrades.”
Yi Shi keenly perceived two underlying questions: 1. How did you get Zhao Chenghu to reveal Pang Daozi and the hostages’ whereabouts? 2. How reliable is this information? Should they continue to spend time following up on it?
Bai Xiaoyuan gave Yuan Kang an approving look. Good question. This was also his and Mu Jianying’s concern. They had even discussed whether this kid was eager for credit, hastily presenting a location name from Zhao Chenghu to gain merit, potentially leading them astray and wasting precious rescue time.
“Yi Shi isn’t great at expressing himself, so I’ll answer.” Yu Xue folded his hands into a tower shape, resting them leisurely on his lap. “We entered the interrogation room together, didn’t use any improper methods, just psychological pressure. You all know the principles and methods, so I won’t elaborate. In that state, Zhao Chenghu couldn’t lie. Pang Daozi is definitely on Cheng’an Mountain. Whether it’s South or North Cheng’an, we’ll find them if we dig deep enough.”
The room echoed with his clear, measured voice, seemingly smoothing out the doubts arising in their minds. Bai Xiaoyuan observed the young, scholarly officer with gold-rimmed glasses, who was quite handsome. Though Yu Xue was not yet forty, younger than Yuan Kang by quite a bit and far less experienced, he could hold his own, indicating he was not easy to deal with.
“Instead of questioning my methods, it’s better to hurry and find them.” Yi Shi placed the marker gently in the whiteboard’s groove. “The first hostage died on the 3rd, the second on the 9th, the third on the 15th, and the fourth on the 19th.”
Liu Chenyi looked up. “Right, the intervals are almost within a week. Zhao Chenghu was captured on the 21st, today is the 26th. Another hostage might be killed soon.”
Everyone’s expressions turned grim. They quickly glanced through their documents before closing them again. Lives were at stake. Mu Jianying waved his hand, ending the meeting, instructing Yuan Kang to allocate more personnel for the search. Use all available grassroots comrades to find Pang Daozi and safely rescue the hostages as soon as possible.
The tense atmosphere finally broke. Yuan Kang was packing up his documents. He smiled at Yu Xue and said, “Captain Yu, don’t mind us. We’re just following procedures. If there’s any offense, please forgive us.”
“You’re too kind, Captain Yuan. I understand your concerns. Asking in detail helps avoid misunderstandings and ensures we work together effectively.” Yu Xue adjusted his glasses, his smile still faint and gentle. “But I want to say, Yi Shi is different. Don’t judge him by usual standards. He’s not interested in seeking credit.”
Yuan Kang was stunned, seemingly not expecting him to defend Yi Shi so staunchly, and joked, “You defend him like he’s your son.”
“Really? You seem to know well.”
“Yes, I have a son in the third grade. He’s always teasing little girls at school. My wife worries about him having a premature romance, but I told her, ‘Don’t judge him by the standards of ordinary children. He doesn’t care for elementary school girls.’ Sure enough, he said the other day he likes mature girls, at least middle schoolers.”
“Haha, your son is something else. He’ll be quite a character when he grows up.”
The two captains chatted and laughed. Li Changsheng gave Shao Shiqing a look, pulling him aside and whispering, “Hey, I thought they were going to clash, but Captain Yuan doesn’t seem so aggressive after all. It looks like they can get along.”
Shao Shiqing, ever the shrewd one, waited until most of the Haijing team had left before speaking. “Leaders have to put on a show, right? Their superiors never ask about the process, only the results. If there are no results for too long, they start looking for problems at the source. Poor Yi Shi, doing the most work and saying the least, yet getting singled out as a scapegoat.”
“I think it’s because he speaks so little that he becomes a focus of concern. Don’t give me that look; I’m not the only one who thinks so. Dog Ding feels the same.” Li Changsheng looked back. “Hey? Where’s our Wolfdog? Slipped away?”
Song Ping pointed to a young man lying on the conference table, already asleep. Your Wolfdog is already snoring.
A few people gathered around, seeing Ding Ju lying on the table with his eyes closed. The meeting had barely ended, and he was already drooling on the table.
“Hey, Tibetan Mastiff, Wolfdog, wake up.” Shao Shiqing shook Ding Ju’s arm a few times. Ding Ju was sleeping soundly, mumbling in his sleep, “Show your ID… Have you seen this person…”
“Hey, this guy is dedicated, serving the people even in his dreams.”
“Give him a tissue to wipe his drool. This is Haijing’s table. If it gets corroded, we’ll have to pay for it.”
“What are you afraid of? We’ve got no money. If they want a life, they can keep the Wolfdog here to guard the gate.”
Song Ping’s big eyes blinked. “We don’t want him! We’d have to feed him, and he’s big and probably eats a lot. Take him back, take him back.”
Sparse laughter echoed as Yi Shi stood alone by the window, gazing at the scenery outside. His mind was filled with many things: Zhao Chenghu, Pang Daozi, the hostages… and Lin Heyu.
Yi Shi rubbed his temples, feeling a throbbing pain as if they were about to explode. After sending off Yuan Kang, Yu Xue called him outside and asked, “Did you find anything when you went to the cemetery that day?”
Yi Shi’s eyes darkened. “No.”
Yu Xue touched his chin, gazing distantly. He wasn’t satisfied with this answer, waiting for Yi Shi to provide a more detailed explanation.
Yu Xue had been defending him during the meeting. Yi Shi wasn’t ungrateful. He took out a piece of paper he’d looked at hundreds of times from his pocket and handed it over. “Found on Zhao Chenghu.”
Yu Xue looked at his hand, a “I knew you were hiding something” expression on his face. He picked up the paper and looked at it, puzzled by the numbers on the back. Yi Shi explained that he suspected they were tombstone numbers, but having checked them, none matched, so he was currently without a lead.
“It’s rare to see you stumped. It’s not often we get to appreciate you being frustrated.” Yu Xue handed the paper back to him. Yi Shi hadn’t expected him to return the evidence, his dark eyes looking somewhat dazed. “…You don’t blame me?”
“If I argued with you over something like this, I’d lose decades off my life.”
“…Thank you.” Yi Shi’s lips curved slightly. When he truly smiled, his normally grim eyes softened immediately. But before the world could change color, within three seconds, his lips straightened again.
Yu Xue was pleased. “Now you look human. You’re always too sharp, cold, and unsociable. It’s easy to be misunderstood. In such circumstances, people won’t admire your bravery and wisdom but will feel you’re unfathomable, increasing the distance. You should smile more, like just now; you’ll have more friends.”
“I don’t need friends.” Yi Shi paused. “Maintaining relationships is troublesome.”
Yu Xue, ever the earnest one, continued his speech. But Yi Shi was impervious, making Yu Xue feel like he was punching a pillow. It made him quite emotional: This kid is just like a stubborn, rebellious teenager, and he was like a worried old father.
On the 26th, the Haijing City Bureau received a package without a sender or recipient. Inside was a USB drive with a sticky note that said: “Fifth Hostage.”
