Professor Fu had to rush back to school early in the morning because he had elective classes to teach on Sunday afternoon.
Before leaving, Lin Chen was once again pulled by him to listen to his preaching for half a day. In the end, Lin Chen forced him out of the car and sent him on his way to the station.
“Shixiong, see you the day after tomorrow!” Across the entryway, Fu Hao waved goodbye to them.
Lin Chen symbolically waved his hand as Fu Hao reluctantly walked into the station.
“You have a pretty good relationship,” Xing Conglian, who was by Lin Chen’s side, said.
“Well, I have known him for many years.” Lin Chen and Xing Conglian walked back to the car as they talked.
“So are you going to Yongchuan for a reunion the day after tomorrow?”
“Yes, it’s the old man’s birthday.”
“That old man must be very interesting to teach both you and Fu Hao.” Xing Conglian opened the car door.
“That’s right.” Lin Chen got in. “That old man is really interesting.”
Without returning to Yanjia Lane or the police station, Xing Conglian parked his car on a street full of flower stalls.
The car window was half open, allowing the gentle fragrance of flowers to waft in. Lin Chen was in a daze looking at the endless flower stalls on both sides of the street and the passersby who were laughing and chattering.
Xing Conglian got out naturally and opened the door for him. He put his hand on the roof and said with a smile, “Sir, please get out of the car.”
Although it was hard to say he had never seen the world, Lin Chen had indeed never entered a flower shop, let alone come to a street full of flowers to personally select some that were in season that were suitable for planting or decorating his home, but Xing Conglian seemed to be a veteran at this.
Lin Chen followed him, listened to him greet the owner of the flower stall and say some terms that he hardly understood. Not long after, he was carrying several plastic bags in his hand, which contained newly bought seedlings that were supposedly daisies and geraniums.
“Why did you think about buying flowers?”
“To save Professor Fu from saying that we have nothing but bare walls in our house*,” Xing Conglian said as he picked up half a bunch of lilies and gypsophila. Lin Chen naturally took the bag in his left hand so he could pay for them.
*(家徒四壁) Idiom referring to a family that’s very poor and has nothing except walls in their home.
Hearing what Xing Conglian said, Lin Chen was a little dumbfounded. The walls of one’s home should be decorated with flowers, but there was a strange sense of putting the cart before the horse*. “It’s a very interesting hobby.” He could only reply as so.
*Idiom referring to doing something contrary to the natural or normal effective sequence of events. || In this context, he’s basically thinking that before buying flowers to decorate the home, they should probably buy other necessities like nicer furniture and such.
“Of course.” The mixed-blood young man’s face was covered by flowers, showing off his handsome side and beautiful eyes. “My mother taught me that if boys don’t understand flowers, they will definitely not be able to trick their wives into going to their home in the future.”
Xing Conglian’s eyes were very green. The sycamore tree behind him had just sprouted new buds, and its branches were stretched towards the blue sky. Lin Chen’s heart trembled slightly. Although he knew it was just a joke, and it was very clear it had nothing to do with him, he couldn’t help, like most people, being easily moved by such sweet words. “Fortunately, you studied hard,” he said.
Among the happiest things in the world, it must include buying flowers. In a short time, their hands were full of flowers and plants, signifying their trip to the flower street was about to come to an end.
Xing Conglian looked in front of him and, as if remembering something, turned his head and said, “It’s almost time to go back.” As he spoke, he turned around quickly.
“Wait.” Lin Chen also seemed to think of something and stopped him. “I remember you said you set up a grave for me in the small cemetery at the end of the flower street. Can you take me to see it?”
The weather was good today. The river was also quiet and peaceful. In the distance, they could see the Taiqian Bridge.
Lin Chen stood in front of his tombstone and felt it was a strange experience. He was alive, yet he was now gazing at his tombstone.
The name on the tombstone was his, but other than that, there wasn’t even a birth or death date, or a photo. It gave off a weird feeling. It didn’t seem solemn enough, yet it was too solemn. After all, before this tombstone, he had only known Xing Conglian for a few days. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they met by chance. Wasn’t it too serious to buy land and erect a tombstone for a person that one had just met by chance?
Xing Conglian stood aside, a little embarrassed. “This, I forgot to ask the administrator to remove it.”
Hearing these words, Lin Chen came back to his senses. He half turned around, took out a flower bouquet from one of the bouquets Xing Conglian was holding, and placed it on his tombstone. “No, just leave it here.”
The lilies in front of the monument were still stained with dew. Xing Conglian smiled. “Don’t you think it’s unlucky?”
“Keep it. In case one day I go first, I can still use it.”
“Why do you have so little faith in life?” Xing Conglian sighed.
“The world is unpredictable,” Lin Chen said casually, then turned away indifferently.
“Have faith…” Xing Conglian put his hand on Lin Chen’s shoulder as he spoke.
“Is faith useful?”
“Yes. Even if you don’t ‘believe’ in your heart, you can ‘believe’ in me…”
Lin Chen froze when he heard these words. He looked at Xing Conglian’s smiling face and said lightly, “Okay.”
——
In the afternoon, the sky was warm.
Lin Chen was sitting on the balcony with the river view, reading a book. The tea in his cup was hot, and there was a small plate of cookies on the coffee table.
Xing Conglian rolled up his cuffs and was turning over a bare flower stand on the balcony.
The daily training of a policeman seemed a bit too good. Captain Xing was in excessively good shape, possessing wide shoulders and a narrow waist. There was not an ounce of fat on his body, as Lin Chen could vaguely see the strong muscles that were covered under the tight fabric of his shirt.
The sun was a bit too dazzling, so Lin Chen put down his book and watched intently as Xing Conglian planted flowers.
He had to say that for people with mixed blood, even if they couldn’t cook, they had to be able to grow flowers and do it well.
Xing Conglian had four different kinds of soil in his hands. Lin Chen could see that he was skillful at mixing the soil in the correct proportion, arranging the flowers, and watering. He was well organized and skilled, like a professional gardener. When the sun fell on him, the light reflected on his face. With the white shirt on, it only made his face more handsome and gave him a calm and warm look.
Lin Chen suddenly remembered the question he answered wrong: Have you ever liked anyone?
Xing Conglian put the pots of daisies in the flower stand, clapped his hands, and suddenly heard a light tune coming from his side.
He turned his head and saw Lin Chen leaning lazily in the rattan chair, holding a cup of water in one hand and a book in the other, and seemed to be humming something unconsciously.
The tone was light and a bit sweet, which shocked Xing Conglian as he didn’t expect Lin Chen to actually hum such a tune.
“What’s that song?” Xing Conglian turned his head and asked amusingly.
Lin Chen was taken aback for a moment, and then smiled. “I don’t remember. It seems to be related to planting flowers, right?”
“It sounds pretty good.” Xing Conglian took out a cigarette and put it in his hand. As if he suddenly remembered something, he stopped and looked at Lin Chen. “You’re going to Yongchuan alone the day after tomorrow—will you be alright?”
“What could go wrong?”
Xing Conglian examined Lin Chen several times from head to toe—from the soft slippers on the other’s feet to the drowsy eyes. He then said, “I always feel that it’s impossible to not have an accident when you go out with a physique like yours.”
Lin Chen sighed helplessly, as if he didn’t know how to respond to this.
“You studied at Yongchuan University?” Xing Conglian sat down opposite him and talked casually.
“That’s right.”
“Sure enough, if it’s Yongchuan University, it means you’re a top student.”
As a national cultural center, Yongchuan had many universities, with Yongchuan University being the oldest private university in China. After several capital injections and the efforts of several generations, it was now one of the top three institutions of higher learning in China. If Lin Chen had graduated from an ace major at Yongchuan University, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he was a top student.
“I’m just better at studying,” Lin Chen replied solemnly.
Xing Conglian had long been accustomed to his straightforward style, so he didn’t feel that Lin Chen was boasting. In fact, him being so frank was quite cute.
He also sat in a rattan chair. He lifted up the teapot, refilled half a glass of water, took a sip, then put it down. “I remember, isn’t Yongchuan in the territory of the Chen family?”
Hearing this, Lin Chen was startled.
Xing Conglian was sitting opposite him, upright. His actions of pouring tea and refilling water weren’t contrived, but had a rather dashing and peaceful motion. Lin Chen watched as Xing Conglian poured water, and then realized that the reason Xing Conglian brought up his trip to Yongchuan turned out to be because of the Chen family.
In Feng Peilin’s case, the paranoid patriarch of the Chen family had specially sent his butler to ensure that he would be unemployed again. Lin Chen didn’t know where Xing Conglian had gotten this information about this family, but he seemed to know a lot.
“It’s just a teacher’s birthday and a class reunion.”
When Xing Conglian heard the words “reunion”, he couldn’t help frowning. “The Chen family seems to have some stakes in Yongchuan University.”
This sentence was implying, even if it was for a meal, he shouldn’t go back to school on a whim.
“I’m just going to have a meal and stay overnight. It shouldn’t be a big problem, right?”
“I don’t know. Anyway, call me if something happens.”
In the half-deep night, the streetlights lengthened the shadows of people. The sound of water on the street was clearly audible in the quiet night.
Lin Chen and Xing Conglian walked on the stone road. It was only after seven in the evening, yet most of the small shops on the street were already closed. In a sense, Hongjing was really an unproductive city.
Yanjia Lane was still narrow and a bit long, and the only thing that had changed was the shops on either side.
According to Xing Conglian, during the period when he was missing, the municipal government transformed Yanjia Lane. The houses on either side were repaired and rented out to students. They wanted to start a business catered to the literary and art circles so some of the old houses were converted into coffee shops and teahouses, while others became art studios.
The original yellowed walls were now covered with fences and flowers. Cats could be seen napping on the floor-to-ceiling windows. Overall, the old street had become much warmer and had a more human touch.
The yellowish light reflected the old house number and two people who were squatted pitifully in front of the old wooden door.
Lin Chen followed Xing Conglian, who came to a stop.
Xing Conglian said to the two squatters in a helpless tone, “If you’re like this, the neighbor will call the police when they see you.”
A certain young comrade who was addicted to online games raised his head. His eyes were glistening. “Ah, what kind of police are you calling? Captain, why is your wifi turned off? I had to crack the password of your next and the next next door neighbor. Can you let me in for a bite to eat?”
The other person who was squatting alongside didn’t speak.
Lin Chen looked down at the other party only to see that the man’s eyes were slightly red and his gaze stunned, as if he couldn’t believe what he saw in front of him.
Lin Chen’s softened his tone and said helplessly, “Hey, didn’t we already talk on the phone two days ago?”
Before his voice fell, the man jumped up and hugged Lin Chen tightly. “Shixiong, I’m timid. Don’t scare me like that again!”
——
After reuniting with him, Fu Hao took his arm and wouldn’t let go.
As soon as they entered, Lin Chen’s ears were full of Professor Fu’s endless nagging. He was silently thinking, ‘Is this the legendary coquetry?’
Xing Conglian stood by the door and turned on the door light. The moment the light came on, Professor Fu’s nagging abruptly stopped.
In front of him, there was a classical courtyard with lush plants and trees. The ground lamps glistened brightly as they lit up. There was a cobblestone path that connected the front door to the main hall. On the left side of the courtyard, there was a turquoise pond whose surface was shimmering with a cold floating light.
Fu Hao was completely stunned and could only spit out, “What the fuck?” After he finished, he took two steps back, like a ghost, and walked out the door and looked at the number plate, then rushed back in and grabbed Xing Conglian. “You have nothing better to do than break into other people’s homes? As a public official, you should know the law and you’re breaking it!”
Hearing what Fu Hao said, Xing Conglian remained silent.
Lin Chen had no choice but to explain it to him. “The municipal government renovated the entire old street as part of a project.”
“For such a project, they change his house?”
“The house he used to live in was next door and it’s rented to a gallery, so he moved here.”
Professor Fu was in disbelief. “Based on how old his house was, why would the government give him a place like this? Isn’t this a garden?” As he spoke, he walked to the edge of the pond. There were several elegant rockeries stacked on the edge. A stone arch bridge spanned the water, and he saw bright red koi swimming around, creating ripples on the pond’s surface. “Shixiong, look. There are koi!”
“Well, do you want to pay your respects*?” Xing Conglian asked with a smile.
*Clarity: Koi is symbol of wealth and luck so often times people pay respects in hopes of getting good luck.
“Lao Xing, let me tell you, you can’t touch money that shouldn’t be touched.” Professor Fu suddenly turned his head with an awe-inspiring expression. “You must always remember your identity and don’t be knocked down by the sugar-coated bullets of capitalism.”
Xing Conglian couldn’t laugh or cry. He asked Lin Chen, “Did your shidi switch to teaching political science?”
“Lao Xing, be serious. You’re a criminal police officer. If you live in such a house, it must not be known by Inspector Huang. Otherwise, he’ll take off three layers of skin, provided you don’t die first!” Fu Hao admonished harshly.
Although Fu Hao was rambling, his words were full of concern. Sensing this, Xing Conglian said sincerely, “Professor Fu, don’t worry.”
The three of them were talking by the pond; though mostly it was just Fu Hao nagging while Lin Chen and Xing Conglian would tease him from time to time.
Suddenly, there came a wailing in the main hall. “Captain, I’m hungry!” Wang Chao, who had long ago rushed into the house to play games shouted out to them.
Xing Conglian raised his voice and told the young comrade in the house, “Instant noodles are in the first cabinet on the left side of the kitchen.”
“But I don’t want to eat noodles anymore,” Wang Chao continued to shout back.
“Order takeout.”
“I’m tired of eating all the takeout in this neighborhood.”
They walked into the main hall.
The little comrade Wang Chao was weakly lying on the table, as if he had just lost a game and had no love for life.
“What do you want?” Xing Conglian asked.
Hearing this, Wang Chao’s eyes lit up, and Lin Chen saw his gaze floating over.
“A’Chen, will you cook for me, yeah?” After he finished speaking, he licked his lips and said, “I really want to eat home-cooked food.”
Lin Chen found this funny. “Why did you pick me?”
“Captain pass! Professor Fu is used to eating in the cafeteria, so also pass! Therefore, you must be very good at cooking since you lived alone before!”
In fact, there was nothing wrong with Wang Chao’s analysis. The only problem was that a man who was only familiar with various instant noodle flavors wouldn’t have the necessary ingredients to show off his cooking skills.
Lin Chen stood in front of the sink, rinsing wilted vegetables. The instant noodles were boiling in a pot and, as usual, were beef flavored.
Xing Conglian leaned against the cooking table and said to the little comrade, who was checking the refrigerator, “Don’t look for it. You’ve eaten the last piece of ham the day before yesterday.”
“Why don’t you go grocery shopping!” Wang Chao looked back angrily.
“Because I work hard every day,” Xing Conglian replied naturally.
Wang Chao was choked speechless. He slammed the refrigerator door and ran back to the computer angrily, ready to continue two more rounds of his game.
——
The instant noodles with vegetables and eggs tasted like the usual beef flavor. There was nothing new that could be done.
After dinner, in order to avoid Fu Hao’s ideological and moral education for Xing Conglian, Lin Chen took them to the balcony for tea.
The spring breeze was semi-cool. The balcony faced the river. The lights along both sides of the river reflected the water, giving it a more sparkling hue.
Professor Fu was a worldly person, but when he was sitting in a comfortable armchair, holding a cup of hot tea, he felt so comfortable that he couldn’t help but want to let out a relaxed sigh.
“Shixiong, did you make up your mind to stay here?” Professor Fu half squinted as he asked Lin Chen.
There was the sound of running water all around and everything was quiet.
“Nn.”
Fu Hao looked at him, stopped talking, and finally said, “Then you must never be as brave as before.”
“Yes.”
“Regarding Feng Peilin, I understand that you wanted to cheat death so you could escape surveillance. Although hiding isn’t always a good solution, it’s still better than constantly being harassed. The highway robbery, I know you accidentally ran into it, but despite how unrealistic it was, this is just too dangerous. The drug cartels could murder an entire bus full of people at once and even dare to install sucker bombs under a police car. This is no longer something that even bold can accurately describe. If it weren’t for Huang Ze suppressing things, you would have become famous again. If you’re targeted by the drug cartels, what can you do?”
Professor Fu was worried. Lin Chen listened helplessly and had to comfort him. “It’s okay. The police have a witness protection program.”
“You’re not paying attention to this matter at all!” Professor Fu put down his teacup and raised his voice.
“But what do you want me to do?” Lin Chen asked depressingly.
As soon as Fu Hao heard him say that, he hurriedly comforted, “It’s okay. It’s fine just the way it is now. You just live with Lao Xing. In case there’s a robbery or attempted murder, he can protect you.”
The subject matter changed instantly. Lin Chen had to admit that, in terms of experience, his shidi definitely had the upper hand.
“When you put it like that, it gives me a bad feeling.”
“Hey, who told you life isn’t very good?”
“Then does Professor Fu have any transfer methods?” Lin Chen asked with a smile.
“I think Xing Conglian’s luck seems to be good. Looking at the government construction project, he was able to nab such a good place to live. I heard that some people are born with a difficult fate, but they have good luck. Hurry up and rub it all off of him.”
“Okay.”
Lin Chen didn’t speak anymore. Except for the sound of water, there was no other noise.
Fu Hao seemed a bit uncomfortable. He scratched his hair and suddenly remembered something. “By the way, shixiong, the day after tomorrow is the old man’s 60th birthday. That…”
“What’s the matter?”
“Are you going to go?”
“Professor Fu’s meaning is, do you want me to go or don’t want me to go?” Lin Chen asked.
“No, of course I want you to go. Even if I don’t want you to, the old man does. It’s just that the old man has peaches and plums all over the world*, so there will be a lot of classmates there…”
*(桃李满天下) Idiom referring to many talents or students that are all over the world.
“So?”
“So, let me just tell you, many of them want to take advantage of the old man’s birthday to have a class reunion. Hell, do you remember that bastard, Zheng Dongdong? He wants to recommend for you be the host for the reunion, saying that since you had good grades and abilities before, you must now be an elite in society, making you the most suitable host. I think he’s the villain in the group. He’s just trying to find an opportunity to mock and humiliate you…”
“I don’t remember,” Lin Chen interrupted Fu Hao.
“Don’t remember what?”
“I don’t remember who Zheng Dongdong is.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember or not. He’s just a small character. He used to be in the next class, and he makes me sick. To tell you the truth, it’s not bad if you don’t go to the old man’s birthday. We can just visit the old man’s place at night, and it’ll be more convenient to talk then.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Listening to what Fu Hao said, Lin Chen lifted the kettle on the coffee table and poured some hot water into his cup. “Since I don’t remember who he is, is it important to even consider what he thinks, says, or does?”
“It’s not… But the reunion will…”
“You’re trying to say that now our classmates are all successful in their careers, but I, who had the best grades, have only gotten worse. I can only be a small-time consultant for a city’s police force, and this will be uncomfortable when meeting with our old classmates again, right?”
Fu Hao thought for a while and held the words back in his throat. In the end, his face turned a little red, but under Lin Chen’s burning gaze, he could only nod.
“Since this job was chosen by me, I’m happy to do it. Why should I have low self-esteem?”
“Mr. Lin, I will ask you some questions below. Please answer truthfully.”
“Nn.”
“Is your name Lin Chen?”
“Yes.”
“Are you from Fengchun?”
“Yes.”
“Regarding this polygraph survey, are you willing to answer my question truthfully?”
“Willing.”
Lin Chen was sitting in an interrogation room with several clips on his index and ring fingers. A blood pressure monitor was wrapped around his arm, and some wires were connected to his chest to the screen on the laptop.
His heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure, skin electricity, and other parameters were gathered into complex lines on the screen and were slowly advancing forward.
Opposite him was a staff member of the Inspector’s Office, but of course it wasn’t Inspector Huang himself.
Since the “Candy Bandit” case, for some unknown reason, Lin Chen had never seen Huang Ze again, and for some unknown reason, Huang Ze actually sent someone to go through the approval procedures for him to become
a police consultant. Of course, before that, he still had to explain some unexplained things clearly.
Passing a lie detector test was naturally part of the procedure.
Across from him, a polygrapher looked away from the data monitoring screen. The person’s gaze was slightly condensed. After the non-threatening neutral question was over, it was time to move on to the main point.
“In the course of handling the case, have you ever used your authority to help criminals?”
“No.”
“In the process of assisting the police in handling the September 10th serial murder case, did you intend to help the suspect Feng Peilin jump into the river and escape?”
“No.”
The data cable on the screen began to fluctuate, and the polygrapher quickly scanned the screen, and then moved back to gazing at Lin Chen with a hint of disappointment. “What happened after you and Feng Peilin fell into the river together? Is Feng Peilin alive or dead?”
“After falling into the river with Feng Peilin, we were washed away by the river. I don’t know if he is still alive.” Lin Chen held a glass cup with hot tea. A thin layer of tea leaves floated on the water. He stared at the rotating leaves as he gave his reply.
“According to you, since you were fine, why didn’t you go back to the police and report on your situation, but instead tried to sneak away?”
Hearing this question, Lin Chen raised his eyes slightly, as if he was looking at the polygrapher’s face, but he was seemingly looking at the one-way glass behind him.
“Since Feng Peilin’s goal has always been me, I was afraid that my reappearing would cause unnecessary trouble for the police.” He paused before he continued, “And some very powerful people are always looking to cause trouble for me. I wanted to cheat death to avoid these troubles.” His breath was very steady, and his voice was very calm, despite sounding extraordinarily frank.
Even without looking at the complicated lines, just from the tone and attitude of his speech, anyone who heard this would feel that there was nothing wrong with such a reason.
Xing Conglian stood on the other side of the one-way glass. He had his hands in his pockets and was wearing a standard police uniform. Unlike Inspector Huang, who was always meticulously dressed, the corners of his clothes were a little wrinkled and the top button wasn’t fastened, giving him a casual look. But perhaps it was because his eyes were so deep and the color green, as he stared into the interrogation room, he gave off a quiet and stern feeling that didn’t match the casual image.
However, that kind of tranquility and profound look only lasted for a short time. After hearing a very reasonable answer, the corners of his mouth, which he had originally wanted to keep serious, were gently raised and ripples appeared in his dark green eyes. He then smiled and looked at the polygraph on the table.
All the indicators were very stable, so his smile deepened.
The polygrapher turned a page and suddenly asked, “Have you ever been in a relationship?”
Lin Chen was taken a bit aback by such a question. “Huh?”
“Answer the question,” The polygrapher cleared his throat and said solemnly.
“No.”
“Have you ever liked anyone?” As if he thought this answer was too strange, the polygrapher added another question.
“No.”
At this moment, the various data on the monitoring screen finally fluctuated. The person who answered the question quickly realized that he had lied about the answer.
Lin Chen frowned slightly. As if he hadn’t expected that he would have a problem with this answer.
But in the end, what went wrong?
Although the person had begun to struggle, the polygrapher quickly turned to a new page. After all, who didn’t want to have some privacy?
The polygrapher continued back to the main topic. “From the file of the Candy Bandit case, it was pure accident that you appeared on the bus that was hijacked by her, right?”
“Yes.”
“Where were you going?”
“On a trip.”
“What a coincidence…”
At this moment, Lin Chen finally couldn’t help but let go of the hand holding the teacup and said, “Sorry, please allow me to interrupt you.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I just listened to the questions you asked. I think this polygraph test you’re using should be the CQT method*. “
*Control question test. It’s a technique used in criminal investigation where irrelevant questions are asked to establish a baseline. Relevant questions to the crime and past behaviors are also included too, with the aim being to elicit a strong physiological reaction from the examinee.
The polygrapher turned to the first page of the document and looked at it with a little embarrassment.
“The standard polygraph method is divided into four parts. Neutral questions, standard questions, related questions, and off-topic questions. For example, asking for name and age are all neutral questions. The role of the neutral question is to establish a normal response level. Therefore, during the questioning process, please try to let the subject answer a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Otherwise, there will be problems with the baseline.”
The polygrapher closed the file and listened helplessly.
“At the same time, when you ask questions about the case, please try to write the questions you ask in a way that the subject can answer yes or no. The two questions you asked at the beginning are good, but then it became an interrogation. After all, there’s a difference between interrogating and lie detecting.”
The polygrapher opened his mouth and found himself speechless.
However, Lin Chen’s was obviously not finished. He continued, “In fact, in a set of CQT polygraph questions, it’s best to only involve one aspect of one question, and through repeated inquiries, determine whether the subject has lied or not, so the case of the Candy Bandit is another matter. You’d better put it in the next set of questions and ask me again.”
Lin Chen’s counterattack was quick and merciless.
Xing Conglian almost laughed out loud. The way some people became angry because they answered the wrong question was too cute.
“Mr. Lin, I understand.” The polygrapher sighed and stood up. He took off of the wires stuck to Lin Chen’s body. “If you lie sincerely, even the instrument can’t detect it.”
“……”
“This is just a routine procedure. Just answer a few more questions and we’ll call it a day.”
“Go ahead.”
“I read the file on the ‘Candy Bandit’. As a temporary negotiator, you’ve done a great job in persuading Fang Aizi, but at the same time, you are also one of the last people in contact with Yang Dianfeng. After that, Yang Dianfeng was escorted away in a police car and it blew up. Under such circumstances, do you think Yang Dianfeng had time to give criminals the information about his arrest?”
“It’s impossible. He didn’t have an opportunity to use any communication device like a phone at that time. Yang Dianfeng knew very well that once he was arrested, seeking police asylum was the only way out.”
“Because the criminals reacted very quickly at that time, since it wasn’t Yang Dianfeng that notified them, I can only make an inference that among all the personnel at the scene, someone passed the information directly to them, which led them to be able to react quickly and silence him.”
“I don’t rule out that possibility, but it could also be that Yang Dianfeng himself was closely monitored by the criminal organization. Once there was an issue, they decided to finish him quickly.”
“Please answer my question directly and whether I can make this inference.” The polygrapher suddenly interrupted Lin Chen solemnly.
“Okay.” Lin Chen was silent for a moment before replying.
“Continuing with the question just now, you’re an expert who has received the most professional and systematic psychological training. At the scene of the crime, did you notice anything strange at that time, and among all of them, who do you suspect is most likely to pass this information on to the criminals?”
Hearing this question, Lin Chen suddenly raised his head.
The two questions in this sentence were truly the style of the Inspector’s Office. It was full of intrigue and traps, and it was even very likely that these questions themselves were drafted by Inspector Huang himself.
Originally, the Inspector’s Office existed to supervise whether the police exercised their powers correctly and appropriately in the process of handing cases. Of course, since the Inspector’s Office suspected that someone inside the police had leaked secrets, it was necessary to start an investigation, but the inference based on the possibility required a certainty. As a result, it was a bit cruel to use such blatant questions to encourage whistle-blowing.
“I do have professional psychological training, but I’m not a professional facial recognition expert. Even the most professional facial recognition expert still needs to observe and talk carefully to find abnormal problems. You’re asking me that during the time I was facing Fang Aizi, when all the police officers were hidden in the reeds, if I could find anyone suspicious at the scene, then I can only answer you that I don’t have such abilities.”
——
The vetting process was always long and tedious.
When Lin Chen walked out the door of the police station, it was already dark. The wind was soft as the stars blotted the sky on an early spring night.
Xing Conglian was leaning against a stone pillar at the entrance, smoking a cigarette. Seeing Lin Chen, he slowly stood up straight. “Did it go well?”
Lin Chen shook his head and handed over the results he had just obtained.
Xing Conglian’s expression sank. He bit his cigarette butt and quickly opened the report. His gaze fell on the last line.
The word “Approved” was clearly written.
Xing Conglian couldn’t help but put his hand on Lin Chen’s head and ruffle his hair. “Hey, isn’t this passing? Why are you still shaking your head?”
“Didn’t you ask me if it went well?”
“And you passed. Was it not smooth?”
“I just think it’s weird that Huang Ze would suddenly let go and really let me pass this vetting process.”
Looking at Lin Chen’s slightly worried face.
“What if he discovered a conscience?” He took out another cigarette as he asked with a meaningful smile.
Kinky Thoughts:
In fact, polygraph tests are not accurate and can be passed even if you’re lying. This is why they’re not admissible in court. For someone like Lin Chen, he could easily lie and pass the test.
Interesting that he passed the question that asked if he’s been in a relationship. Perhaps Huang Ze isn’t his ex after all.
To celebrate my 1-year anniversary of danmei translation I have decided to release the entire 3rd arc of Criminal Psychology. Happy reading.
It had been a year since the September 11th car accident. One year wasn’t long, but it was enough to erase many traces.
If time permitted, what they should do now was go back and investigate the incident again, whether it was investigating passing vehicles or reviewing the investigation report. They could even check the accounts of the rescuers on the scene, but how could time allow this?
In front of the crowd, vague figures of the heavily armed special forces were directing traffic.
A person like Huang Ze may still allow some negotiation with the kidnapper when the situation was unknown, but if he was really in control of the situation, he would definitely implement iron-fisted methods with no room for negotiation, disagreement, or compromise.
Such a principle was quite unreasonable, but it was a kind of truth in itself.
No matter what kind of appeal it was based on, hostage-taking was a crime. Because the law had been broken, one must be prepared to point the gun at others and know that others would do the same.
This was the reason why Xing Conglian wanted to maintain this delicate balance, because he had to ensure that such a deterrent existed.
Lin Chen couldn’t help but think, ‘You’re making things really difficult for me, son.’
The car stopped on the side of the road.
The slender captain of the police criminal division stepped out first. The special forces officer who knew Xing Conglian walked towards him to talk. In the reed field in the distance, a small path loomed.
Lin Chen was sitting in the car, stroking the screen lightly.
After a while, Xing Conglian came over and knocked on the window. “Let’s go.”
“How far will it take to walk?”
“About 15 minutes.”
Lin Chen looked at the time. There were just 15 minutes left of the agreed 90 minutes.
——
The vast reed field was like a wonderful world.
The surroundings were silent, with green leaf spikes floating overhead. There was birdsong, flowing water, and fresh grass holding the aroma of wildflowers, but such silence and serenity were the most hypocritical illusion, because somewhere in this reed field, guns were hidden everywhere. Perhaps in the next moment, a bullet would pierce the kidnapper’s head, and he would slump to the ground bleeding on such a scene.
Time was so tight that Xing Conglian didn’t even have time to smoke another cigarette. He pushed aside the reeds that kept falling in the way while also carefully reading the accident investigation report.
“Captain Xing, why do you think that there’s something wrong with this accident? The report you’re looking at now has been through layers of review before it was approved to be released.” The small-time traffic cop trekked along the mud as he followed them. The implication was that there were many experts who had reviewed it and they all found it was purely an accident, so was Xing Conglian insinuating he was more of an expert than they were?
Lin Chen stepped across a puddle. He let go of Xing Conglian’s hand and stood still while he answered the cop’s question. “Because in the depths of this reed field, a child is pointing a gun at other children and threatening us to find out the truth about his father’s death.”
“This kid has issues, no?” The traffic cop swatted away the annoying leaves. “Every year, so many people die on the highway. Life and death are purely fate. Why is he so paranoid?”
“His father is a drug enforcement officer.” Xing Conglian turned his head and said coldly.
“Eh?” The traffic cop raised his volume. “You’re not suspecting that someone wanted to kill that police officer, so they killed everyone else in the bus as well?”
“We suspect so,” Xing Conglian replied.
“When you put it like that, I have heard that some drug enforcement officers were exposed and their entire family was hunted down by the drug cartels…” The traffic cop shuddered.
Hearing this, Xing Conglian suddenly turned his head.
“We probably overlooked one thing. I’m afraid there are other more important reasons why he wants those reporters there,” Lin Chen said.
Xing Conglian nodded. He opened a browser window on his phone and entered the words “Fang Zhiming” in the search box.
As the scroll bar slowly advanced, the answer appeared.
It was some old news. The search date showed that the news was published between March and April of 2014. The headlines in the news were all roughly the same.
“Yongchuan police successfully solved a drug case of a large-scale cartel. The news channel had interviewed drug enforcement officer, Fang Zhiming.”
Xing Conglian picked one of them and clicked on it. The first thing that appeared was a photo. The man in the photo was smiling. He was dressed in a police uniform and looked honest and upright. No one could have thought that just one month after this news was published, this officer died in the Yongchuan River, along with 22 other innocent lives.
Lin Chen retracted his gaze and sharply looked at Xing Conglian’s face. He only felt his throat close, making it difficult to speak.
“This isn’t an accident. It’s revenge.” Xing Conglian handed the phone to the traffic cop who was following at the end and continued, “There’s still ten minutes left. Please read the accident report carefully.”
The path soon came to an end, and they came across a lake. The ducks were waddling in the lake as the spring breeze blew through, swaying the grass.
On the edge of the lake was a white-washed hut, which looked like it had been left by a fisherman who took care of this lake in the early years. Because it had been abandoned for so long, the hut looked dirty and dilapidated. Although the conditions were poor, the hut was better than nothing, as there were unobstructed views all around. It would be difficult for them to storm in without alerting the people inside.
Lin Chen had to admit that the hiding place chosen by the kid was very appropriate.
Wang Chao was lying on the ground, immersed in the struggle with the ‘Highway Safety Classification Warning System’ when he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his shoulder. Someone had sat down on his shoulder, frightening him so much that he almost screamed, until he saw the solemn face of Xing Conglian.
“Progress?” Xing Conglian got straight to the point.
“Damn, Captain, can you stop scaring me so much? I’m still young.”
“Answer my question.”
Xing Conglian’s voice was low and solemn, shocking Wang Chao. He hurriedly scooted towards Lin Chen, who had squatted down beside him and asked, “What’s wrong with the Captain?”
“Fang Zhiming’s cause of death is strange. Most likely because of the photo leaks, he was deliberately retaliated against by the drug cartels.”
“Holy shit. There were 23 lives in that bus. Ah, but there wasn’t a problem with the traffic police investigation report. How’s this possible?”
Hearing this question, Xing Conglian patted the small-time traffic cop on the head and said, “He’s asking you.”
“I… how would I know?!” The small-time traffic cop felt very wronged.
“You’re the person among us who’s most familiar with traffic accidents. You have read the investigation report just now. Tell me, if you were a murderer, how would you go about committing it?”
Xing Conglian’s gaze was so deep that the poor traffic cop couldn’t give birth to even the slightest resistance. The traffic cop opened his mouth, as if he wanted to complain, but swallowed his words and said, “I remember that the accident report said the vehicle fell into the river because of the driver’s error and the brake system. Regarding these two points, we now have no way to go back and verify, but these two points are the causes of the bus sinking into the river… So…”
“So?”
“So, it’s also possible that the driver didn’t make an operational error. If I were a murderer and I wanted to create a seamless accident, I would force the driver to drive the bus into the river… In other words, I would need a heavy truck going at high speed to force the driver to the outermost lane and then brake suddenly in front of the bus. If the vehicle was carrying dangerous products, that’s even better. Under the pressure of the two cars colliding, the driver will subconsciously slam on the brakes and swerve. The bus wouldn’t have too many signs of impact as it would fly over the guardrail and overturn in the river…” The traffic cop closed his eyes, desperately scratching his head, and even looked a little pained. “But to complete this, I must make sure that all the passengers on the bus… The passenger…”
“There can be no survivors.” Lin Chen looked cold as he finished for him.
Wang Chao reacted quickly. “Oh! So that’s why, A’Chen, you asked me to check if anyone had tampered with the background data because the bus was equipped with an autonomous call for help system. Even if the bus fell into the river, the passengers would think that someone was coming to rescue them soon, but that black-hearted bastard directly tampered with the alarm time. They wanted to drown everyone in the bus!” Wang Chao got excited and hurriedly moved the laptop to Lin Chen. “A’Chen, look. In the morning, I felt that there was a problem with the GPS used by Yang Dianfeng and their system. Because there’s no time-location tracking, it was difficult for me to calculate the specific time when the bus that Officer Fang was riding fell into the river, but I checked the system’s log, and the alarm time recorded in the background was indeed artificially modified!”
“Can you find out who did it?” Lin Chen’s gaze was fixed on the time in the lower right corner of the screen as he asked the question.
“This is very difficult to check, but I know people who have written the program for this system. I have never seen such a game. They must have a big heart. The administrator who has obtained permission can not only modify the time but can also modify the driving record. Rather than a sieve, it’s more like a grandma’s footwrap, okay!”
“You’re using the metaphor incorrectly*.” Xing Conglian smacked Wang Chao’s head, then asked Lin Chen, “What do you think?”
*See Kinky Thoughts. Too long to explain in a footnote.
Lin Chen knew very well that when Xing Conglian asked for his thoughts, he was actually asking him, ‘What do you want to do, or what are you going to do?’
The case wasn’t yet clear, so everything stopped at speculation. He pondered for a moment before finally speaking. “Of all the people present, there are two who may know the truth of the matter.”
Not far away in the reeds, the beautifully dressed manager of the transport company had already noticed the arrival of the three of them. At that moment, he was bending over and cautiously moving towards them.
The kidnapper who committed the heinous crime may be waiting for his final moments in the hut by the lake, behind the gray dilapidated curtains.
“Then, let’s talk face-to-face and make things clear.”
Xing Conglian raised his head, and Lin Chen looked at him with tacit understanding. Without even saying anything, the two shifted their gaze, knowing what was in each other’s minds.
Xing Conglian handed his gun to Lin Chen. Lin Chen was about to stand up when Xing Conglian took out his Bluetooth and put the headset in Lin Chen’s ears, stroking it with his rough fingers. Lin Chen could feel a little heat radiating from where he was touched.
“Please be careful,” Xing Conglian said.
——
At that moment, more than a dozen radio reporters were crawling through the grass. Their cameras were focused firmly in place on the lakeside hut.
Dozens of heavily armed special forces in tactical camouflage outfits and the firepower of the snipers were already hidden among the reeds.
At the same time, somewhere in the reed thicket, the strait-laced police inspector, who was well-dressed, was making a final decision before the assault.
The current situation was like a pile of dry straw, and a little spark could turn it into a prairie fire.
Under such a situation, the only way to resolve it was to cut through the mess quickly.
“Are you really not negotiating?” The captain of the special forces was Peng Ran. He held down his headset and asked this question to the person in front of him.
“Anyone can express their demands through legitimate means, so there is no compromise or negotiation.” Huang Ze raised his wrist and looked at his watch. “According to the original plan, countdown begins in 30 seconds.”
As soon as his voice fell, a clear figure slowly stood up in the reeds in the distance. Huang Ze didn’t need to look closely to know that it was Lin Chen.
Wang Chao didn’t know what was going on. He wanted to hold Lin Chen back, but then heard a soft click. Lin Chen had decisively loaded the gun. He took a step, then two, and quickly raised his hand. The cold muzzle of the gun was pointed at Yang Dianfeng’s forehead.
Before Yang Dianfeng could call for help, Lin Chen activated the trigger and adjusted the gun, preparing to shoot.
As if to show a decisive attitude, Lin Chen pulled Yang Dianfeng up from the ground and said slowly, “Relax, I’ll kill you with one shot at most.”
His pace wasn’t fast, and his demeanor wasn’t hostile, as if it was a long breeze blowing through a pine forest; light and leisure, like he wasn’t holding a human life in the palm of his hand.
In an instant, everyone in the field was horrified.
Yang Dianfeng’s face turned pale. His neat and beautiful suit was a dirty mess because he had been squatting in the reed fields for so long. He only felt that his forehead was cold and that the thing he had been afraid of finally happened. He shivered but couldn’t say a word.
Lin Chen half dragged Yang Dianfeng along, pulling him out of the hidden reed thicket.
“Don’t bother looking at the system. Just check Yang Dianfeng’s bank account for me.” Seeing Lin Chen taking Yang Dianfeng hostage, Xing Conglian ordered Wang Chao decisively.
Since there was a huge problem with the program, how could Yang Dianfeng, the person in charge of introducing this entire system, not know about it?
After Xing Conglian ordered this, along with Lin Chen, he stepped out of the thickets and indifferently walked in the direction of Huang Ze.
The special forces officers who were creeping in the reeds suddenly saw the appearance of two men at the lake and became momentarily confused, so they didn’t dare take any half-hearted actions.
Huang Ze’s eyes almost narrowed into a thin line. He looked at Lin Chen and was just about to make trouble when another person stood up.
The long windbreaker brushed through the lime green reeds as a dashing mixed-raced young man with a fearless attitude stood tall, spreading his compelling aura all around.
Xing Conglian didn’t speak until he approached Huang Ze. He first titled his head and lit a cigarette, then took out another and handed it to Captain Peng, who was standing frozen on the side.
“Captain Xing, what’s the meaning of this?”
Xing Conglian raised his eyes and smiled, as if to say, ‘Inspector Huang, you’re so boring, always asking the same question.’
“Where did the gun in Lin Chen’s hand come from?”
“I gave it to him.”
“First, Captain Xing, you arrived late. Then you loaned out your gun without authorization to sabotage our rescue operation. If there are any casualties among the students, can you bear the responsibility, Captain Xing?!” Huang Ze spoke fiercely, and his tone became higher. He said a lot, but the meaning was simple, ‘You’re just a small-time police captain from the criminal division, yet you dare not take me seriously!’
When Huang Ze finished speaking, Xing Conglian took a puff before slowly responding, “I can bear the responsibility Inspector Huang spoke of.” His voice was light, and he didn’t lift his gaze. The meaning of this response was even simpler, ‘Of course not. I don’t even put you in my eyes.’
Peng Ran looked back and forth between the two men. He and Xing Conglian were old acquaintances. Although Huang Ze, given his rank, could be considered partially their superior, they weren’t close colleagues. Seeing Xing Conglian’s attitude and that he was originally opposed to the assault, naturally, he was happy to slow things down again. He waved his hand and motioned to his subordinates to not act rashly.
Xing Conglian and Lin Chen cooperated in tacit understanding. While Xing Conglian stalled Huang Ze, over on Lin Chen’s side, he had already taken Yang Dianfeng to the door of the hut.
The 90-minute deadline had just ended.
Lin Chen kicked Yang Dianfeng’s behind the knee, forcing him to kneel on the ground.
“The answer that you want,” Lin Chen said calmly but in a loud voice.
“The so-called autonomous call-for-help system and Highway Safety Classification Warning System have a huge loophole in them. First, if the vehicle itself is not seriously damaged, but encountered a serious problem—this special case situation often delays rescue, such as an entire vehicle falling into a river, or what you are doing now, am I right?” Lin Chen spoke to the people inside the hut. His voice was neither light nor heavy, but it radiated to every corner of the lake.
“What are you talking about?” Yang Dianfeng suddenly started struggling.
“Don’t move. My hands aren’t very stable.” Lin Chen held the gun firmly, but he didn’t bother to look at Yang Dianfeng when he said this. “Second, the GPS tracking of the MEMS system has never recorded the important ‘time-location’. No system can be perfect, so loopholes are inevitable, but people with system authority can take advantage of this defect to change a vehicle’s request for help time to fill in this loophole on the surface, right?”
As his voice fell, the field remained silent, and even the wild birds in the brush had stopped their calls.
The door of the hut was pushed open with a squeak.
The light from the sky outside followed the gaps and poured into the house like a tide.
A young man walked out slowly under the bright light.
He was still covered by a smoky gray cashmere scarf and wore a pair of light blue jeans. On his feet were bright yellow Nike sneakers that were hooked in such a way as to resemble a brilliant smile.
The young man pulled the door open, and several red dots were instantly aimed at his chest. He was magnanimous and fearless, even without a gun in his hand.
In the reeds, a special force officer’s finger lightly touched the trigger.
Seeing this, Lin Chen suddenly flashed away and stood in front of the young man.
“Is he looking for death? Don’t think I dare not kill him!” Even though he was far away, Lin Chen could hear Huang Ze shouting angrily at Xing Conglian.
Xing Conglian was holding a phone, as if he was communicating with someone on the other end of the line. His face became colder, as if he hadn’t heard Huang Ze’s angry shouts.
Lin Chen blocked the young man and saw him take out two lemon candies from his pocket. He threw one in his mouth and handed the other to him. “Thank you for saving me. Is the person who called me also you? I see, I was deceived by you.” He smiled and didn’t seem to mind that his script was disrupted.
Lin Chen shook his head and didn’t speak.
Seeing the situation, the young man asked, “Is there a third point?”
Lin Chen said, “The third point is also the most terrifying point. Because the system records can be artificially modified, it means that someone can use this loophole to create an almost perfect murder.”
The young man seemed very satisfied with the answer. “So, is he the one who killed my dad?” The young man pointed to Yang Dianfeng calmly.
“I don’t know, so I brought him to you. I think you should be happy to ask him in person.”
“You’re so kind.” The young man smiled as he squatted down. His gaze was focused on Yang Dianfeng, who was kneeling on the ground. He said to the manager of the transportation company, “You heard what he said. Did you change the automatic alarm time of the vehicle and let my dad drown alive in the bus?”
Yang Dianfeng’s face was like the palest snow paper—it broke as soon as someone poked it. His lips trembled, and he had to gather all his strength to speak. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Lin Chen pressed the headset tightly. The voice of Xing Conglian came from the other end. It was low and calm, giving him inexplicable reassurance.
“Wang Chao has already checked Yang Dianfeng’s account just now. Before and after the May 11th accident, Yang Dianfeng’s mother received two remittances totaling 1 million in her account. Wang Chao is still checking on the remitter…”
Lin Chen sighed slightly. His heart had sketched out the original picture of the entire incident. He poked Yang Dianfeng’s head lightly with the muzzle and then said, “Mr. Yang, on the night of the May 11th accident, you were entrusted by the drug cartels. In order to retaliate against the drug enforcement officer, Fang Zhiming, you modified the automatic alarm time for the bus Fang Zhiming was on, resulting in the drowning of 23 innocent lives. You need to give proper explanations to the family and children of those people.”
“It’s none of my business. I’m innocent!” Yang Dianfeng shouted. “Don’t slander me!*”
*Spray blood with your mouth (血口喷人) Idiom referring to making unfounded attacks on someone.
“You think I would dare point a gun at you without evidence?” Lin Chen paused, then said, “At least you know Wang Chao. Do you think that at his level he won’t be able to find out who left the back door to the system open?”
The blood from Yang Dianfeng’s face drained.
“Well, you can at least deny that you don’t know anything about the system tampering, but the bank transfers are true. In fact, electronic transfers are generally used by the underground world for transactions now. Those who accept cash transfer directly like you are quite daring.”
What he said was actually vague, but in this case, Yang Dianfeng could only think about what went wrong. His hesitation showed nothing but a guilty conscience.
“Is what he said true?” The young man’s eyes seemed to be lacquered. It was so dark that he couldn’t see the bottom. Suddenly, the young man took out a gun and pressed it firmly to the center of Yang Dianfeng’s forehead. “Speak!”
Seeing this scene, Huang Ze couldn’t calm down any longer. He shouted at Lin Chen’s straight back, “Lin Chen, if you don’t get out of the way, I’ll kill you both.”
“You can order the shooting, provided you think that the life of a criminal is more important than the life of a martyr’s orphaned child.” Lin Chen’s hand holding the gun was steady. After he finished speaking, he took a sidestep, revealing the person behind him to the entire firepower of the police force.
“What the fuck! A girl?” Huang Ze shouted in disbelief. He suddenly recollected himself from his stupor and said, “Is that a girl?”
Lin Chen bent down.
He untied the scarf around the child’s face, circle by circle, gradually revealing the girl’s small ears and fair neck. “Fang Zhiming, the drug enforcement officer, who died in the May 11th accident, left behind his only 16-year-old daughter, Aizi.”
Everyone fell into a complete silence that resembled shock and grief.
An orphaned daughter of a martyr trying to avenge her father…
Peng Ran only felt cold sweat all over his body. If Xing Conglian hadn’t stopped him and he listened to Huang Ze’s order and killed the suspect, then not only would the officer who did the shooting but even he would have lifelong guilt. Thinking of this, Peng Ran felt grateful for Xing Conglian’s arrival.
Xing Conglian’s gaze was firmly fixed on the three of them.
The girl said, “Bingo. Look… I have lots of chips in my hand. Even if I kill someone here now, no one will dare lay a finger on me. What are you going to do?” She looked at Yang Dianfeng with a smile, but there was no smile in her eyes.
“I… I was forced too. I didn’t want to do it! Your dad offended all the drug lords, so they asked me to do it!” Yang Dianfeng felt sick. Fang Aizi’s identity was the straw that broke the camel’s back, causing him to burst into tears. “Even they were willing to kill a policeman at will, compared to a small citizen like me, that would be even easier to do!”
Lin Chen looked at Yang Dianfeng coldly.
At this moment, Fang Aizi stood up. She patted her knees and smiled sweetly at him. “Kill him and I will let everyone in the house go.”
“Lin Chen, you know the law. Don’t break it!” Huang Ze shouted again.
Lin Chen didn’t move.
Fang Aizi moved first.
The young girl raised the gun in her hand, as she had done so many times without hesitation, and put the nuzzle on her temple. “I’ll count from three. Either he dies, or I do.”
The girl’s voice wasn’t loud, but her gaze was deep. Her movements were serious and solemn as she started counting down. “Three…”
The situation suddenly changed and sharply went downhill. This act was too cruel, too extreme, and too ruthless. Everyone on the scene was stunned.
Peng Ran was most anxious. If Lin Chen really killed Yang Dianfeng as she ordered, would he order Lin Chen to be shot?
Xing Conglian stood straight, like a cypress tree—his gaze not once faltering.
Then, Lin Chen began to speak. “You will commit suicide anyway, so such a threat makes no sense to me.”
His voice rode along with the wind, blowing through the reeds and spreading out like waves in the water.
Fang Aizi took a bite of the hard candy but smiled calmly. “What are you talking about? I’m very trustworthy.”
“Consultant Lin, Mr. Lin… You can’t become an accomplice. You will pay with your life for killing someone!” Yang Dianfeng threw himself at Lin Chen’s feet and cried bitterly, fearing that he would listen to Fang Zhiming’s daughter and shoot him.
However, Lin Chen just held his gun firmly against Yang Dianfeng’s head and didn’t care for the man’s sobs. He looked at the girl in front of him steadily and asked, “I’ve been thinking about one thing. How is it that you know very clearly about a seemingly car accident that it wasn’t one?”
After his voice fell, the girl’s gaze subconsciously looked at the gun in her hand.
Lin Chen suddenly understood. He stared at the girl in front of him calmly. “Did your father give you this gun?”
“This was left to me by my father before he left.”
This was the parting gift he left as he saw the approaching end of his life. As a drug enforcement officer, if it this wasn’t a last resort, how could Fang Zhiming privately get a gun to defend himself and his daughter.
“Is it because of the leak?” Lin Chen slowly uncovered the deepest scar in Fang Aizi’s heart.
The girl’s hand immediately trembled. Lin Chen saw it in her eyes, but the words in his mouth didn’t stop. “The identity of Officer Fang was widely leaked by the news media. He had offended too many people in his life. He knew very well that he would encounter an accident and was afraid that it would involve you, so he left you the gun?”
The special forces officers didn’t dare act rashly, but the eyes they looked at the news reporters seemed to be spitting fire. The identity of a drug enforcement officer was leaked, which meant he was pushed unobstructed right in front of the muzzles of the drug cartels.
“How can it be enough to kill only one Yang Dianfeng? You have to use this gun to complete the most perfect revenge, right?” Lin Chen continued.
Fang Aizi finally started to panic a little, but Lin Chen didn’t give her any chance to speak. His tone was cold.
“You know very well who killed your father. The drug cartels are the direct murderers, and the reporters who leaked the information were indirectly involved. You’re the daughter of a martyr. You can’t take a gun to kill all these people like a daughter of a drug lord. Think about it. Only suicide is the perfect solution. The blood of the martyr’s lone daughter, blessed by Xuan Yuan*. The sword of public opinion will directly fall on the reporters who leaked your father’s information and those who put your father’s picture, due to their negligence or indifference, just for the sake of getting on the front page. While they can escape legal sanctions, they won’t be able to escape moral sanctions. No revenge will be more tragic and more enjoyable than this, right?”
*One of the names given to the Yellow Emperor. Basically, he is worshipped as a great deity, so in this context, think of it as “Blessed by God”.
Her deepest thoughts were easily broken by words. Fang Aizi’s lips trembled slightly. She tried her best to control her emotions and asked him rhetorically, “Do you think I shouldn’t let you kill Yang Dianfeng, or that I shouldn’t get payback from those who wronged me?”
“I think neither.” Lin Chen answered bluntly without thinking.
His words seemed to ignore the long-buried anger in the girl’s heart. The girl yelled at him, “Why can’t I hate him? Why can’t I hate those people? Why can’t I take revenge?! They killed my father. I will never have a father in this life anymore!”
The girl’s eyes were full of tears, but she refused to shed them. “My dad is dead. I used to think that my dad had bad ears, but I later found out that during one of his drug raids, his auditory nerve was injured by a drug dealer’s shrapnel. But even so, he didn’t retreat from the front lines. He was a good person. What did he do wrong to be drowned like that? He didn’t even die on the battlefield. He didn’t deserve to die because of those people!”
The girl was crying; crying blood in each of her words. Everyone present was moved, except for one person.
Lin Chen stared at the girl quietly. “The truth is simple. Your father is a martyr, and you are his daughter. You are born to live a more dignified and upright life than others. Others can hate, you can’t. Others can ask for death, you can’t. Because from the day your father died, you have lived in the glory he brought you, and you must carry on his glory and pride.”
“Do you think I can still live when something like this happens?” Fang Aizi suddenly laughed. She pointed to Yang Dianfeng. “Why don’t you ask him how big is the power that’s behind him? They can quietly erase 23 lives. Do you think those people will let me go?”
Fang Aizi’s previous crying didn’t move Lin Chen, but her understated rhetorical question made him feel sad.
This was a 16-year-old girl who had lost her father. She had seen the ruthless methods of the drug cartels, and she had to live in fear all day long.
In the dark world, she couldn’t believe in anyone. She could only rely on hatred to hold up a small light and walk alone in this world of wind and storms.
But in the end, she is, after all, only a scared little girl.
“Kill Yang Dianfeng, or I will commit suicide.” Fang Aizi’s voice was calm, almost cold.
The situation suddenly changed and there was chaos from behind. The snipers picked up their guns and pointed them towards Lin Chen without exception.
At that moment, Lin Chen heard Xing Conglian’s voice coming from the headset. “I have already contacted Fang Zhiming’s friends who are still alive. They have something to say.”
Lin Chen looked at the gun in Fang Aizi’s hand as he calmly listened to Xing Conglian tell the words of Fang Zhiming’s friends and relayed them back to Fang Aizi. “Your mother passed away very early, but you have a good father. Your father would take you to the shooting range and practice martial arts. He said that girls must be self-reliant and independent. If one day he’s gone, you can live well without being bullied—this is why you have such great skills, right?”
“What nonsense are you talking about!”
“Your father hopes to have a daughter who will stand on top of the world. Maybe he was wrong, because such an adjective isn’t suitable for girls, but I think he’s right. You have done something that no girl can do. You dare not act rashly in face of the drug cartels. If you make a mistake, you’ll be killed. In this case, you actually risked your life to hijack a bus. You used a real crisis to tell everyone that there’s a problem with that bullshit system, and you used us to find out who the real criminals are behind the scene. These are all great feats, aren’t they?”
“But my father is dead.” The light from the brilliant sky fell on the young girl’s eyes, as if tears were falling. “I don’t want to die at their hands!”
“In this world, there will never be a second girl like you, your father’s daughter. He has never compromised with those vicious criminals, even when facing death. So please, don’t be afraid and don’t give into fate.”
Lin Chen smiled. He looked back at the boundless reeds and finally said to the girl, “Your father’s colleagues are on the scene over there. Do you want to chat with them after this is over?”
——
It was almost evening, and the sky was full of red hues. An egret flew across the sky and finally disappeared into the night.
When the police entered the hut, the children were playing with a pile of candy on the floor. The room was filled with a sweet and delicious smell. A few little boys were tired of playing and were lying asleep under the table. The police carefully wrapped the children in blankets and picked them up.
The children walked out of the hut, chattering among themselves, as if they had just had a fun adventure.
In a police car by the lake, Fang Zhiming’s colleagues were talking to Fang Aizi. The little girl had shiny handcuffs on her hands and her soft and silken hair was pressed against her moist cheeks. Finally, she showed a side that matched her age and gender.
Inspector Huang was naturally responsible for the follow-up work. Yang Dianfeng had been escorted back to the city first, while Lin Chen and Xing Conglian were walking by the lake.
While it was noisy with the police handling the scene, Lin Chen seemed to hear the sound of water birds spreading their wings.
After recovering his gun, Xing Conglian hadn’t spoken since. Lin Chen always thought he would crack a joke or say some harsh words, but Xing Conglian remained silent.
Lin Chen was actually very grateful for his trust. He blocked Huang Ze from controlling the situation as well as providing the right intelligence for support.
Lin Chen thought that perhaps he should say, ‘Thank you’?
However, the first to speak was still Xing Conglian.
“Do you think it was worth it?” Xing Conglian had shaved, and the lines on his face no longer looked so cold against the backdrop of the light on the lake.
The so-called worthiness, of course, referred to all the things the little girl had done, the things she had changed or would change, including the consequences she would have to bear. Were these worth it?
In the face of such a girl, they weren’t qualified to judge right or wrong, so in the end, they could only ask, was it worth it?
“This isn’t a question of evaluating the value. This is a question of probability. We don’t know how many lives will be saved after catching Yang Dianfeng and plugging up this loophole, but I hope the number is everyone.”
After hearing these words, Xing Conglian looked at Lin Chen and suddenly laughed. He hooked an arm around his neck. “You must be exhausted from thinking so much today, right? Come back with me and I’ll treat you to some skewers.”
Xing Conglian was smiling grimly, as if he was an ordinary office worker that had just gotten off of overtime.
However, when it was time to enjoy the view, Xing Conglian’s phone untimely rang.
This time, it only took a few seconds between Xing Conglian answering the phone and hanging up. He looked over at Lin Chen again and his eyes were freezing cold.
“Yang Dianfeng is dead,” he said.
Lin Chen frowned, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Sucker bombs. They tampered with the surveillance video and tailed the police car on motorcycles. When the police car was stopped at a traffic light, they sneakily stuck them on the car, then detonated it ten seconds later. There were three of my colleagues in there.”
The reeds swayed lightly as they were dyed red, like blood, by the setting sun.
Young people always thought that life was a fantastical journey, but in fact, everyone’s life was nothing more than a two-way trip.
The author has something to say:
“Two-way” is over.
Kinky Thoughts:
Rather than a sieve, it’s more like a grandma’s footwrap.*
Basically, Wang Chao is saying whoever has access to this program can not only modify the times but a whole bunch of other things too. So his reference to a sieve (which sifts and allows small things to go through, aka loopholes) is saying this guy has access to a shit load of permissions rather than just one (modifying the time), so rather than a sieve, it’s more like grandma’s footwrap (referencing the foot binding that used to be popular in China’s customs); his intention (I think) is to mean the hole is so big (in the sieve) that even a small bound foot could fit through.
He used this metaphor wrongly because the saying “grandma’s foot binding is long and smelly” is used to satirize long and boring articles that someone speaks or writes, and if the idea is boring and stagnant, they’re stinky (referencing how stinky foot binds could get, especially those used by grandmas).
——
This arc is over. Wow, where to begin? I honestly was feeling a bit lukewarm at the beginning, but holy shit, this was an amazing arc, especially this chapter. The chapter was so long that I think it was split into 2 parts + an epilogue.
For those who want to discuss the cases, feel free to join my Discord. See everyone in the next arc.
The traffic police came very quickly. It was a small-time traffic cop driving a motorcycle.
“What’s going on?” The small-time traffic cop stopped his motorcycle and saw the driver stuck in the front seat of a Buick while another was handcuffed to the ground.
Xing Conglian saluted him and flashed his credentials.
The small-time traffic cop looked at his ID and, probably thinking about the hostage situation and the timebomb case, quickly saluted Xing Conglian and handed back the credentials. “Oh, oh, it’s Captain Xing. Are you going to the scene over there?”
Xing Conglian gave a noncommittal response.
Lin Chen was standing by the car when he suddenly turned his head and said to the two of them, “This gentleman may have a cervical spine injury. It shouldn’t be serious, but we should call first responders just in case.”
“Wait a moment. The ambulance should be here soon.” The young traffic cop came over to look at the car. He saw that the driver was conscious and didn’t look seriously injured, but he didn’t dare move him. He walked around the car and went to the hot-tempered middle-aged driver who was handcuffed by Xing Conglian. “Is that your handcuffs?” he asked quietly.
Xing Conglian nodded. “Let him calm down first, and I’ll uncuff him later.”
“Fuck, he hit laozi. This is police brutality. Laozi wants to file a complaint!” The driver twisted and squirmed on the ground when he heard this.
“Hey, sir. It’s obvious your car is changing lanes. If you’re changing lanes and can’t get through all the way, you’re fully responsible for the accident.”
Seeing that the traffic cop began to educate the driver, Lin Chen interrupted him, “Have you called an ambulance?” Xing Conglian felt indescribable at that moment. Lin Chen had asked the same question he wanted to ask, because this whole time, while the traffic cop was inspecting the area, he had not once taken out his radio.
“Wait, let me see.”
The traffic cop ran onto the bus that caused the accident, took out a silver-gray tablet from the dashboard, then ran back out and tapped on it a few times. Soon, the tablet clearly showed the vehicles’ driving records and a series of parameters after the impact.
Lin Chen and Xing Conglian looked at each other tacitly, then came to the side of the traffic cop.
“Well, the police were automatically called,” The traffic cop said while showing them the screen. Lin Chen clearly saw the words “Highway Patrol and the 120* emergency center have been automatically called” on the screen.
*Clarity: In China, 120 is the number to call for ambulance services.
At that moment, the radio on the traffic cop’s chest rang.
The person on the other end of the radio asked, “Xiao Cao, is there another accident again?”
“Two cars collided. It’s not serious, but someone’s injured. Is the ambulance on its way?”
“Let me see…” There was a pause for a moment. “It’s already been dispatched.”
The traffic cop, Xiao Cao, nodded.
“How efficient.” Xing Conglian felt that he had faintly grasped an important key.
“Yes, we have replaced the new system. Now, anything with more than 7 passengers or freight vehicles carrying dangerous goods—anyway, vehicles that are prone to accidents are equipped with the latest tracking and call-for-help systems. The command center will evaluate through the system and comprehensively deploy police and ambulance resources from that evaluation.”
“This system you’re talking about, is it based on… MEMS speed agent or something?”
“It’s an autonomous call-for-help system based on a MEMS accelerometer, but this is only the name of the on-board terminal. The full name is the ‘Highway Safety Classification Warning System’.” The traffic cop spoke very quickly. “This system is very good, especially in places like the highway. When the road is empty and the driver is injured or unconscious and they can’t call the police, the vehicle can automatically do it. Many foreign countries also use this system.”
“In other words, after a vehicle is hit, a vehicle equipped with this kind of call-for-help system will automatically assess the degree of damage to the vehicle, comprehensively analyze a series of factors, such as the road conditions of the vehicle, and issue a signal for help. The command center will receive an alarm and will use this as a basis to send the police and ambulance to the scene. The more serious the accident, the higher the system rating, so more police and ambulance resources can be quickly allocated to a serious accident, right?” Xing Conglian’s brow frowned while he was in contemplation, and his tone was gruff. “Then, what about the opposite?”
“What opposite?” The traffic cop didn’t quite understand what Xing Conglian meant.
Xing Conglian patted the little brother on the shoulder gratefully. “What else do you know about this system?”
“What…. What’s the matter?” The traffic cop looked at Xing Conglian’s solemn face and suddenly became timid.
“Answer my question.”
“The system seems to have been introduced by the Tu’an Transportation Corp. It has been tried out since the previous year. The effect is good, so it slowly gained traction throughout the province and even the whole country. Anyway, all trucks, buses, especially dangerous freight vehicles—basically anything accident prone—must have this system installed on their vehicles.”
It was as if there was a thread connecting everything together.
“Tu’an Corp. This system was introduced by them… Why?”
“Why? The system was introduced by them. It was an agreement signed by Tu’An that had the Transportation Bureau responsible for installation, promotion, and maintenance of the system…”
Xing Conglian didn’t speak anymore and dragged Lin Chen to the side of the road.
“What’s the matter?” Lin Chen asked.
“Do you remember what time it was when we got the news that the school bus was hijacked?”
“About 12:15?”
“Yes.” Xing Conglian’s voice was low and solemn. “But the time when the bus was hijacked should be around 8:30-9:00…”
“There’s a three-hour difference.” Lin Chen quickly realized the key point. “We were too slow when we reacted.”
In a small car accident just now, the traffic police were able to arrive at the scene within a few minutes, but a bus full of children taken hostage took more than three hours from when the incident occurred to when the police were notified. This was simply appalling!
“The answer that kid wants us to find about the car accident should be very similar to this hijacking case he’s operating.”
“A car accident with serious consequences due to an untimely rescue response.”
“So, the thing he’s targeting is the Highway Safety Classification Warning System?” Lin Chen stood beside the guardrail and felt that the spring breeze was getting colder.
“Or someone with direct access to the system.”
Xing Conglian called Wang Chao again. “Did you get off yet? Is Yang Dianfeng still with you?”
“Huang Ze crossed the river and demolished the bridge. He said he didn’t need me anymore and asked me to lie down in the reeds. What’s wrong?”
“You stay away from Yang Dianfeng. I have a few questions for you.”
There was a voice from the other end of the line. After a while, Wang Chao said, “Okay, I left quietly. Very quietly!”
“Is there any result from the thing I asked you to look up?”
“Just finished the comparison. You don’t know how difficult my working conditions are… I checked. Only two students from Fengjing were injured in a car accident on the Hongjing Highway, but the injuries weren’t serious.”
“Have any relatives of the students died in a car accident?”
“To be honest, Captain, do you think the hijacker case was done by a little bastard from Fengjing?”
“A child of his age is of course a student and it is of course most convenient to start from his own school. It’s also the easiest to find people willing to help him,” Xing Conglian replied.
“Oh, I see,” Wang Chao said as he opened another file. “Then, there are 3 immediate family members of students in Fengjing that died in a traffic accident.”
Xing Conglian remembered the words of the traffic cop just now. If the system was still in the process of being promoted, then not all vehicles had it installed. “Can you find out whether any of the vehicles involved in these three accidents had the MEMS autonomous call system installed? The focus should be on passenger or freight vehicles.”
“Ah,” Wang Chao replied in a low voice that sounded a bit hesitant. “It’s not quite right, Captain?”
“Any clues?”
“In the early morning of May 11, 2014, a medium-sized long bus with a Hong A license plate was traveling along the Yongchuan River. Due to a problem with the vehicle’s brake system and the driver’s error, the entire vehicle rolled into the river. None of the 23 passengers on board survived…” Wang Chao took a deep breath. He read very slowly. Seeing the next words, he only felt his cheeks getting cold. “In this accident, Fang Zhiming, a 40-year-old drug enforcement officer, died on duty…”
To find an answer in thousands of stories was, of course, like finding a needle in a haystack. However, to find the most special one among the three car accidents was a bit too simple.
Xing Conglian had also thought that the case might be heavy. Lin Chen did give him a precaution, but he never thought this matter might be related to a fallen comrade. It took him a long time before he finally spoke. “Send me the details of the case.” After he said it, he even held a subtle sense of luck and thought it was possible the car accident wasn’t related to the “Candy Bandit” and the teenager who hijacked the bus may not be the child of a drug enforcement officer.
The email arrived quickly. Xing Conglian’s finger quickly swiped across the phone screen and then stiffened.
The shock and sorrow in Xing Conglian’s green eyes made Lin Chen have an ominous feeling in his heart. He moved his gaze to the phone screen and saw Xing Conglian’s long, well-proportioned hands tremble slightly.
Following Xing Conglian’s fingertips, his gaze fell on a line in small print on the screen.
[Two of the passengers died of severe craniocerebral injuries. One died of lung puncture, and the remaining 20 passengers drowned. The list is as follows…]
The sun was fading, and the spring breeze suddenly got cold.
Lin Chen raised his head and said slowly, “This is the story he wants to tell.”
——
Xing Conglian drove at such a deadly speed that the sun’s fading light chasing after the car was quickly thrown off.
The story was simple. The passengers drowned, which meant that they were still alive when the bus fell into the water. They could have been injured and crying but were still alive. The car wouldn’t sink into the river quickly. They were waiting in the water, looking forward to the hope that someone would come save them. Perhaps in five minutes, maybe ten, maybe longer. They waited in despair until the cold river quickly submerged them.
Xing Conglian drove extremely intently, but his expression was so solemn that the small-time traffic cop who was forcibly taken into the car before he had time to deal with the accident didn’t even dare take a deep breath.
“Don’t worry. We just have something to ask you,” Lin Chen said in a low voice, perceiving the panic of the cop.
“Me? How can I help?”
“How long have you been on duty?”
“Two years.”
“In the course of two years of duty, have there been any car accidents that make you feel strange…”
“Strange?”
“For example, because of the untimely rescue, there were heavy casualties from the accident.”
“What do you mean by that? What does it mean the rescue isn’t timely?!” Hearing this, the small-time traffic cop became a bit angry. “I’m only responsible for a section of the road. If the car accident occur in an area not under my control, coupled with traffic jams and other factors, even if I want to get to the scene as soon as possible, I would have to get a plane and fly over!”
“But did you know that the Highway Safety Classification Warning System has its own loopholes?”
“What loopholes?”
“The graded alarm is based on the vehicle impact parameters, right? The system classifies early warnings according to the severity of the car accident. If the vehicle is severely damaged, the command center will receive the highest level of alarm, but if the vehicle isn’t damage, but a more dangerous event occurred… For example, an entire bus being overturned into a river…”
“What you said is a special case. Besides, the bus fell into a river. How could it not be damaged at all? We could have received an alarm. You—You… can’t deny the role of the Highway Safety Classification Warning System!” The traffic cop shook his head when he heard this.
“It didn’t happen?” Xing Conglian honked his horn fiercely. “The May 11th accident where an entire bus rolled into the Yongchuan River didn’t happen?” He looked at the rearview mirror with cold eyes.
The traffic cop frowned slightly, as if he didn’t know why Xing Conglian suddenly mentioned the accident. “I remember… The May 11th accident was caused by the driver’s error. The driver had pressed the button before the bus rolled into the river. The alarm was pressed, and the medical team rushed to the scene as soon as possible.”
“If rescue was timely, then why did all 20 passengers drown?”
“The Yongchuan River is deep, and its flow is rapid. It was also late in the day, making rescue more difficult. When the rescue team arrived, many of the passengers were already dead.”
“In this case, the casualties are indeed very heavy, but you’re saying the police and medical staff didn’t respond timely. You can check the system’s data. You’ll see that the driver hit the alarm in time, and we arrived at the scene as soon as possible. Is there a problem with that, huh?”
The words of the small-time traffic cop didn’t make Lin Chen feel at ease.
Indeed, just because his father didn’t get rescued in time, the kidnapper would hijack buses and kidnap children? This seemed a bit too extreme and unreasonable. There was no way he could convince the driver to lie to the police and all those who may have been secretly helping him.
But if this wasn’t the case, then what was the terrible truth behind the incident?
Without any hesitation, he once again asked for the help of the technical genius.
Wang Chao was lying in the reeds. His whole body was half-dry, half-wet. When he heard Lin Chen’s voice, he suddenly became energetic. “Sir, how can I help you?”
“Captain Xing and I suspect there’s a loophole in the Highway Safety Classification Warning System. Can you find out the time when the on-board system sends out a signal for help in the event of the major car accident on May 11th, and also the specific time when the traffic police and rescue department arrive at the scene?”
“Oh, that’s easy to check. It’s in the traffic police file. Let me take a look… He put the laptop on his lap and sat on the ground. “On May 11th, the time the traffic police arrived at the scene was 21:20.”
“What about the automatic vehicle alarm time the vehicle sent out from the warning system?”
“This… This data can only be viewed by the Transportation Bureau, which is a bit troublesome.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Because, I, ah, am going to do… things that are illegal and disorderly… again,” Wang Chao said as he looked at Huang Ze’s proudly standing figure not far away. “When is the Captain coming?” As he said it, he was carefully hacking into the Transportation Bureau’s system.
“What’s the situation at the scene?”
“Shit, it’s Inspector Huang, don’t you know? If he can attack him, he won’t negotiate. The snipers from the special forces are already in position. Too scary. I’m seeing real life CS* for the first time.” After Wang Chao finished speaking, he tapped the back button. “Bingo, 21:12:”
*Counter-strike. First-person tactical shooter game in which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror (bombing, hostage-taking, assassination) while counter-terrorists try to prevent it (bomb defusal, hostage rescue, escort mission).
“In other words, it only took 8 minutes for the traffic police department to arrive at the scene?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
Lin Chen pressed the phone to his ear, but for a moment he didn’t know what to say.
“No, there must be a problem with this.” Xing Conglian was honking as he swerved to avoid the vehicle in front of him.
“Eh, let me just say that you guys are thinking too much. If the rescue is not timely, no matter how late it is on the highway, there will be cars coming and going. Even if the car itself didn’t call the police, passing drivers would if they saw it.”
Hearing these words, Lin Chen suddenly thought of something. The captain of the criminal police division, who was driving, was the first to speak. “You’re right. So what if this is more than just an accident?”
“Wang Chao, did the police system receive a manual alarm on the night of the May 11th accident? I mean, in addition to the automatic alarm on the on-board system,” Lin Chen asked.
“This…” Wang Chao checked the records, eagerly hoping he would grow eight more hands. “It doesn’t seem to be there.”
“In other words, the road was very dark and empty at that time, and no one witnessed how the accident happened.” Xing Conglian paused, and asked rhetorically, “Why is this such a coincidence?”
“Wang Chao, if someone has modified the background record, can you find it?”
The world was a big place, holding many stories. To find an answer, one had to dig through thousands of stories, which was equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack.
Lin Chen followed behind Xing Conglian, thinking the other party was reasonable and was in a rush, probably trying to find the answer. However, he didn’t expect Xing Conglian to take him around the parking lot and went straight to the cafeteria of the management center.
Since it was past meal time, the cafeteria was already closed. The entrance to the small market had an old auntie and a cat dozing together, and the lights were off.
Xing Conglian went inside and came out with two bowls of beef-flavored instant noodles filled with hot water.
Lin Chen wanted to go over and help, but Xing Conglian tapped his pocket with his elbow.
Lin Chen then understood and reached into the pocket of the mixed-race young man and, unsurprisingly, found an unopened pack of cigarettes.
When people were irritable, their smoking addiction indeed became much stronger. Lin Chen patiently unwrapped the plastic packaging, pulled one out, and stuffed it into Xing Conglian’s mouth. Xing Conglian turned around again and signaled for him to take the lighter from his other pocket.
Lin Chen took out the lighter and saw that Xing Conglian had bowed his head slightly and very naturally put the cigarette towards his hand.
With a flick, the flame lit the cigarette. In the dim space, the eyes of the mixed-race young man lowered. His green eyes, which were as clear as water, were covered by long, slender eyelashes. This was just an ordinary action, but Lin Chen felt his heartbeat suddenly accelerate.
He retracted his hand and naturally put the lighter back into Xing Conglian’s pocket.
Xing Conglian took a deep puff and breathed out in satisfaction.
From beginning to end, Xing Conglian didn’t say a word. He was smoking solemnly as he slowly walked back to the car.
He put down the two bowls of instant noodles and patted the hood, then asked, “Can you get on by yourself?”
Xing Conglian drove an off-roader that had a high hood. Lin Chen was left a little speechless. As he held onto the hood of the car and stepped on the bumper to get up, he thought to himself, ‘If I can’t get up, what are you going to do? Hold me up?’
When he sat down did he find out why Xing Conglian chose this place.
The area where the jeep was parked was facing the endless reeds. An egret had swept across the sky in the distance. The afternoon sun was warm with a mellow breeze blowing. It was very suitable, comfortable, and pleasant. He picked up the instant noodle cup next to him and moved a bit so that Xing Conglian could jump up.
The instant noodles were still hot. When he lifted the lid, heat dissipated from his face. When Xing Conglian silently handed over a fork, they began to eat their belated lunch in silence.
As he took two sips, Lin Chen suddenly realized that he was very hungry. The spicy soup and chewy noodles entered his stomach, relieving him of the tension and fatigue.
“I’ve known you for a while now, but I still don’t know where you are from.” Xing Conglian took two sips before suddenly saying.
The breeze was soft, gently swaying the deep green reeds. What Xing Conglian said was just ordinary small talk.
“I’m from Maolin.”
After Lin Chen answered, he suddenly remembered that Xing Conglian had taken out his phone and ordered a private investigation to be done on someone, and received that information back within a few minutes. Though the question he asked him was seemingly casual, what Xing Conglian meant behind it was that he had not explored his past through those investigative methods.
Sure enough, after hearing Lin Chen’s answer, Xing Conglian continued to eat his noodles quietly.
Lin Chen also noticed that although Xing Conglian was only eating a bowl of instant noodles, his back was straight, his hands were holding the food and the frequency of eating was very steady, as if he was an unmoving mountain. Lin Chen suddenly remembered his teacher’s joke from a long time ago. He said that eating and sex were the best ways to tell a person’s character. Thinking of this, Lin Chen thought, ‘Xing Conglian is really scary.”
However, Lin Chen’s emotions only lasted for a short time. Xing Conglian had quickly finished eating his noodles and even drank the soup clean. He put the bowl aside and lay down on the hood, looking as if he was going to sleep.
“Ever hear psychologists say that if you don’t understand one thing, you have to change your perspective?” Xing Conglian asked as he lay down on the hood.
Lin Chen glanced at him and nodded. “Because one’s mindset sometimes prevents them from generating new ideas, so…”
Before he finished speaking, his elbow was pulled. Xing Conglian somehow supported his upper body and took the bowl of noodles from his hand and put it on the side of the windshield wiper, then without a word, pulled him to lie down together.
“Then come and take a nap,” Xing Conglian said.
In this way, Lin Chen was inexplicably forced to lie on the hood, and even more inexplicably, there was a man lying next to him.
The hood felt cool to the touch, and the breeze was mixed with the familiar scent of mint tobacco and instant noodles. It was a clean and warm feeling, even reassuring, that he couldn’t help but clear his mind and relax.
Lin Chen felt a little drowsy, but suddenly remembered the familiar low voice.
“You’re not really going to fall asleep, are you?”
Nonsense…
“I was just suddenly thinking, since he asked us to find answers, can I interpret this as he’s looking for help from the police because he’s at the end of his rope?”
Lin Chen opened his eyes slightly. “That’s one way you can look at it.”
“Since he wanted to seek the help of the police, he actually expressed what he wanted clearly on the call. According to your words, he has put all the clues in front of us.”
“Correct.”
“The first clue he gave us was the Hongjing Highway, because there’s no doubt that this incident occurred on the highway.”
“Nn.”
“You also analyzed that if he can persuade those people, then his reasons must be heavy, and the things in this world that can make people feel such heaviness must be related to life and death. Therefore, something related to this happened on the highway…”
“Car accident?” Lin Chen instantly became awake. “You mean, he wants us to find the truth about a certain car accident?”
“If my thinking is correct, the reason why he’s looking for reporters is for public revenge. He wants to make the person at fault or the person behind the car accident pay.”
Lin Chen thought for a while and felt that this line of thought was really clear. “That makes sense. Then we have to trouble Wang Chao again.”
“It’s his pleasure.” Xing Conglian took out his phone as he spoke and dialed the number of a certain technical genius.
——
As soon as the young technician got in the car, his phone immediately rang. Seeing that it was the Captain, he became extremely depressed.
“You, check on how many car accidents have occurred on the Hongjing Highway within a year and a bit back.” The Captain’s voice came through the phone. Wang Chao had the phone between his ear and shoulder because he was loading things into the car. He felt exhausted hearing the Captain’s orders. “Captain, what are you up to? Even if there are only 3 accidents a day, there will be thousands on the highway within a year.”
“Be quiet and listen to me.” Xing Conglian paused before continuing in a clear voice. “First, rule out all accidents that had no casualties.”
“Un…”
“Then, filter the list of casualties to see if there are any students or teachers from Fengjing.”
“Eh, Captain, it takes time to adjust the data and investigate. You have to wait for me.”
“I know. In the end, filter out all family members of all those car accidents with casualties again and see if there are any between 15-18 years old, and if so, see if there are students from Fenjing among them.”
“Oh, I understand what you mean, but I’m on the highway and the wireless signal isn’t very good. It’s going to take a bit.”
Xing Conglian was keenly aware of some abnormalities in the call. “Aren’t you in the car with Lao Peng and the others?”
“No, Captain Peng seems to be almost at the scene where the kidnapper is. Just now, Manager Yang said, since he’s going back anyway, he’ll give me a ride…” After Wang Chao reported casually, he hung up the phone.
On the jeep with a view of the reeds, Xing Conglian sat crossed-legged and moved the phone from his ear. He frowned lightly and didn’t speak.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Chen asked.
“I suddenly remembered that the kidnapper actually gave us a clue.”
“Hm?”
“The bus tablet.”
In fact, when they first got the tablet, the teenager had used extremely rugged means to deliver it to the police. They had checked it carefully, but with the exception of the weird driving route recorded by the GPS, there was no abnormal information on it.
“Didn’t you say that the tablet had a bizarre and complex route that couldn’t be done by humans?”
Xing Conglian glanced at Lin Chen, then suddenly ruffled his head and jump down from the jeep. “Yes, there’s no way to accomplish that feat with just the strength of one person. In fact, it’s very simple. The navigation calculation is based on roads. Of course, he could jump off the highway and take shortcuts. Then he only needed to pass the tablet to someone, and they would pass it to another. After several passes, the route will, of course, become weird and unpredictable.”
“Someone is helping him.” Lin Chen sat up and said, “Young people, especially among classmates and friends, are prone to being hot-blooded and having strong loyalties.”
——
Xing Conglian drove the car onto the highway, but this time, without rushing. He was driving slowly in a purely outing posture.
The time that passed would continue to pass, minute by minute, as it slowly approached the agreed 90 minutes. In the face of the torrent of time, no matter how much hard work and thinking was involved, it always seemed to be a drop in a bucket.
The spring breeze and the scent of grass made the body and mind relax untimely. Outside the window, the reeds were taller than people, and the teenager was hiding among them, probably playing games with the children. However, perhaps in the next moment, a sniper’s bullet would pierce his head.
Without answers, there would be no happy ending.
The road ahead was exposed with a bright luster from the sun, as if a thin layer of wax had been applied to it. After driving for a while, they seemed to have encountered traffic as the speed of traffic gradually slowed. Not far ahead, red lights from cars braking appeared one after another. Xing Conglian was able to break just in time to avoid a collision, but in the end he couldn’t avoid the jerk from abruptly stopping.
Surprisingly, at that moment when Xing Conglian braked, the traffic in front suddenly started moving again.
Lin Chen jerked forward and saw a black Buick parked directly in front of them. The black Buick was just about to go when a bus in the right lane suddenly blocked it and tried to merge over.
The Buick driver, who had been waiting anxiously, stepped on the gas in a fit of rage and was unwilling to give way. However, the bus driver refused to stop. A loud bang rang out as the Buick and bus collided.
Because of the size difference between the two, the front of the Buick was completely crushed, and the windshield shattered. The passengers on the bus were all stunned by the accident.
Seeing this situation, the bus driver immediately opened the door and jumped out of the bus. He kicked the front of the Buick and yelled, “Fuck, do you want to kill laozi! Laozi has a car full of people. You looking to die?”
The hotheaded bus driver’s cursing wasn’t enough. When he saw the driver of the Buick stuck inside, he kicked the door vigorously as if he was trying to ram it in.
At this moment, the angry bus driver suddenly felt a tightness in his neck and slumped over in an instant. He wanted to get up after falling to the ground, but his back had such a heavy pressure on it that he could only flail around, failing to get back up.
Xing Conglian eased his knees and stretched out his hands, grabbed the bus driver’s hands, and took out his handcuffs and restrained the bus driver. His movements were indescribably decisive and swift, like flowing clouds and water.
After doing this, Xing Conglian stood up and returned to the Buick. All the airbags in the front seat had popped out, and the driver was immobilized.
Lin Chen retracted his gaze and continued to knock on the car window, asking if the driver of the Buick was okay.
At this time, the sound of police sirens suddenly came from the reverse lane. Xing Conglian frowned as he stared at the flashing police lights coming from afar.
The kidnapper tried his best to hijack a bus and take hostages for one result. What could it be if it wasn’t smart?
However, the key question was, what was the result that he wanted?
Seeing Lin Chen and Xing Conglian in contemplation, Mr. Chairman of the Hongjing Highway couldn’t help but ask, “Lin… Mr. Lin, what does the kidnapper mean?”
“He probably wanted to say that he’ll give us an hour to find out what he wants. Otherwise, he’s going to kill someone after 90 minutes.” Lin Chen wanted to pick up his cup of tea, but his hand was held down by Xing Conglian.
“What?! Kill the hostage?!” In an instant, the chairman felt cold sweat flow down his back. “This is simply too vicious and heartless! Didn’t you say he wouldn’t hurt those children!”
Lin Chen shook his head slightly, avoiding the question as he dialed Huang Ze’s number.
“How’s it going?” Huang Ze’s voice was slightly tense.
“The kidnapper took the initiative to expose his location. Wang Chao will send you the specific location later.”
“What do you mean by taking the initiative to expose his location?”
“He took the initiative to expose it because he’s asking reporters to accompany you to be present. And he also called me Teacher Jiang.”
“Why would he call you Teacher Jiang?” Huang Ze turned his head and looked at Jiang Zhe, who was sulking in the car. While his mind was spinning, he understood what Lin Chen meant. In fact, earlier today, when many reporters invariably asked to go on the highway to cover the Candy Bandit case, he already felt something was off. Although the case had attracted much attention, it seemed too trivial for dozens of TV reporters to arrive all at the same time.
“My guess is that the kidnapper is using Jiang Zhe to lure these reporters onto the highway for a very simple reason. When things reach their climax, he wants reporters to be present. As for how he’s using Jiang Zhe, I think it’s best for you to interview Teacher Jiang about this matter.”
Lin Chen’s words made Huang Ze speechless.
“Did the kidnappers make any demands?” Huang Ze walked towards the police car as he kept talking on the phone.
“He wants answers.”
“What answers?”
“He didn’t say.”
“So from beginning to end, you still haven’t figured out what the kidnapper’s demands are?”
Lin Chen replied, “But I guess with that young man’s ability to plan, he probably has all the clues laid out in front of us.”
However, regarding the clues and answers, these weren’t issues that Huang Ze cared about. All he cared about was how the case would be resolved and whether the results after the settlement were within a controllable range. He had already reached the side of the police car when he responded back to Lin Chen. “Tell Xing Conglian that the Hongjing Special Police Force is already halfway there. Send me the specific location of the kidnapper and send a copy to the captain of the special forces.”
When Huang Ze finished speaking, he hung up.
He looked at Jiang Zhe, who was sitting in the back, bent down, and knocked on the car window.
In the car, Jiang Zhe reluctantly turned his head. Seeing that it was Huang Ze, Jiang Zhe’s eyes gleamed with expectations again.
Huang Ze took the initiative to open the door and got in.
——
Inside the office.
When Huang Ze’s voice cut off, Lin Chen held the phone and slightly lowered his eyes.
Xing Conglian was keenly aware that Lin Chen was worried. “What did Inspector Huang say?”
“He asked us to send him and the captain of the special forces the coordinates of the kidnapper.”
The conversation between the two was short. Having a tacit understanding, they no longer continued.
Xing Conglian understood. He tapped Wang Chao’s head lightly. “Send the location to Inspector Huang and then go to the scene and assist him in handling the case.”
“Fuck!” Wang Chao dropped the pen he was holding in his mouth. “I’ve made great contributions for the force. The force can’t treat me like this!”
At this time, Xing Conglian wasn’t in the mood to joke with Wang Chao. He said seriously, “After you processed the tracking system, did you confirm where the Fengjing school bus was parked?”
“Oh, wait,” Wang Chao responded. He switched to another window and compared the results of the phone tracking to the vehicle tracking results, then said to Xing Conglian, “Hey Captain, didn’t A’Chen say the old bus driver said that they got out of the car after the north exit of Yinchuan? Sure enough, he’s lying.” Wang Chao bit the pen back into his mouth as he started typing furiously on his keyboard. On the screen, it showed the school bus route, but when he switched to the highway surveillance camera, the bus no longer appeared.
Upon seeing this, Wang Chao glanced at the coordinate parameters between the two surveillance cameras and moved his mouse to a point on the map. “It’s 30 kilometers north of Meicun, which is far from Yinchuan.”
“Good. Send Huang Ze the location where the missing bus may have stopped as well as the specific location of the suspect, then ask Lao Peng from the special forces to send someone to pick you up.” Xing Conglian rubbed his temples.
“Is the driver an accomplice of the kidnapper… Mr. Jiang too?” At this moment, the manager of the transportation company, who had been following Xing Conglian all this time, couldn’t help but raise this question.
Xing Conglian didn’t answer. Only now did he realize that there was another person in the room who had been following him all this time. “Manager Yang, I’m really sorry. I have to trouble you to go back by yourself.”
After he finished speaking, he picked up the car keys.
At this time, Lin Chen also happened to stand up. Without any verbal communication, they made eye contact, and he walked out of the room together with Xing Conglian, leaving the group of people in the office giving each other perplexed looks.
——
Truth be told, Jiang Zhe never thought that things would become like this.
He admitted that he was a greedy person and coveted money and fame, but he never thought he was a bad person. He didn’t think he would become a so-called accomplice.
However, when Huang Ze opened the car door with a livid face and sat down beside him, Jiang Zhe realized that things were really out of his control.
“Jiang Zhe, did you know that it’s illegal to forge a resume, but I assure you, what’s definitely a crime is colluding with kidnappers.” For a person like Huang Ze, he didn’t need to carry a pair of handcuffs with him to look intimidating. By just cocking his legs and staring down the other while addressing them in a heavy tone, it was enough to scare the shit out of them.
“Huang… Inspector Huang…” When Jiang Zhe spoke, he found that his voice was trembling slightly. “What did the kidnapper say to Lin Chen?”
“The kidnapper said, ‘I hope you, Teacher Jiang, will take the reporters to come meet him.’ Now the problem is, the caller was Lin Chen, so why would the kidnapper identify him as you?”
Hearing these words, Jiang Zhe finally understood what he was most afraid of had, in fact, happened. From the first time he saw Lin Chen, he had a bad premonition in his heart. It was precisely because of this that he kept preventing Lin Chen from participating in this case, because it was a simple matter and behind it was an innocuous agreement. He would help a nameless organization complete a certain behavioral performance. The kidnapper would make a declaration in front of the reporters he brought during the negotiation after the timebomb incident, and he would then persuade the kidnapper to release the hostages.
What a happy ending to the story. He never thought there would be any other variables along the way. Although he had never met the other side, they were good at keeping promises, and everything went exactly according to their predetermined script, except the person who called the kidnapper just now was changed from him to Lin Chen. Everything had been going fine and smoothly until then…
Therefore, the problem was all with Lin Chen! Jiang Zhe thought so, as he still had a faint delusion in his heart. He said to Huang Ze, “Do you know where the kidnapper took the children? You can take me there and I can really convince him!”
Huang Ze looked at him coldly and didn’t say anything more.
——
Xing Conglian didn’t immediately get the car after going downstairs. He stood still under a camphor tree outside the building and leaned against it, preparing for a smoke.
“If there’s anything you can’t say in front of others, you can say it now.” Lin Chen heard Xing Conglian say to him.
“Has anyone told you that being too smart isn’t a good thing?” Lin Chen was taken aback before he answered rhetorically.
Hearing Lin Chen’s response, Xing Conglian laughed, which made the corner of his eyes give off a wanton feeling, making him look quite dashing. “Just now, the chairman asked you if the kidnapper would hurt those children. You didn’t answer, but this question is also important to me, so I hope to hear your answer.”
Lin Chen’s voice wasn’t loud, but he said very confidently, “No.”
*A theorized condition in which hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors during captivity. It is supposed to result from a rather specific set of circumstances, namely the power imbalances contained in hostage-taking, kidnapping, and abusive relationships.
“Some kind of psychological effect where the hostage becomes emotionally attached or even dependent on the kidnapper?” Xing Conglian’s thoughts turned. “Is that what the lying old bus driver has?”
“I asked Huang Ze to test him just now. Huang Ze deliberately told the driver that the special forces had found the kidnapper and would quickly kill him to rescue the hostages. At that time, the driver panicked. He asked Huang Ze not to hurt the kidnapper. If this isn’t Stockholm syndrome, then what is?”
“That little brat is too powerful. In such a short period of time, he can take hostages and make them fully trust and obey him?”
“That’s why he’s too smart.” Lin Chen almost sighed. “In fact, if the bus driver hadn’t lied, I might not have guessed why he was hijacking buses and robbing them only for candy.”
Xing Conglian didn’t answer but just looked at Lin Chen with burning eyes.
“Actually, he’s doing a normal model*.”
*Norms are used to compare individual tests with the designated population in order to assess the exceptionality of the result.
“Normal model?”
“Norms is a concept in psychometrics. You can understand it as an average standard. That is, what is the general reaction of most people when facing a certain test…”
Xing Conglian frowned slightly. “The reason why he keeps hijacking buses is because he has to evaluate how most people will react when facing a hijacker? So, he’s regarding this robbery as a psychological test?”
“It’s very important to test, then evaluate, then test again, and he has to do it in such a way that the hijacker isn’t hated but people can actually trust him and even help him.”
“This is a bit crazy…” Xing Conglian opened the cigarette pack and found that it was empty, so he stuffed the pack back into his pocket. “I admit, he does have a certain appeal. He’s humorous and well-behaved, and most people don’t think a candy-robbing teenager will do any real harm, but instead find it endearing… But just because of that, the driver was willing to lie for him, and the children would willingly run along with him?”
“To complete this operation, charisma and force are certainly indispensable, but the most important thing is to convince the hostages of the reason.” Lin Chen lowered his head, seeing the soil underneath the roots of the tree was slightly damp. “I guess the result he wants is his reason for persuading all the hostages, and this reason must be very heavy—so heavy that everyone was willing to help him.”
Lin Chen took a deep breath. The more he thought about it, the more he felt a heavy fog that was wet and cold surrounding it.
“Huang Ze absolutely can’t know about this matter.” Suddenly, Xing Conglian’s decisive voice interrupted Lin Chen’s thoughts.
The wind blew past the dense camphor leaves, causing Lin Chen to raise his head to give Xing Conglian an incredulous look.
“Right now, there’s a delicate balance between that teenager, us, and Huang Ze.” Xing Conglian took a long stride forward. “The teenager knows that we’re looking for answers. Huang Ze knows that he needs to detain the criminal, and we know that no one between those two parties will dare act rashly. This is the best balance, but the time left for us to find answers will be very short.”
Such a summary was very concise and clear; truly worth a thousand words.
Lin Chen looked at the tall back of the captain of the police criminal division and was very surprised. He also wanted to ask Xing Conglian, ‘Where exactly did you learn these techniques of constraints and trade-off?’
Lin Chen had a moment of speechlessness, but only for a short moment.
Without much emotion or admiration, he directly extended his hand to Xing Conglian. “Call for me.”
And almost as soon as Huang Ze hung up, he heard the ringtone again.
“Huang Ze, I need you to do something for me.”
Hearing that calm and collected voice coming through, Huang Ze felt some irony, and after the irony, he felt a strange sense of reassurance. However, several years of tit-for-tat with Lin Chen made him almost subconsciously use a sarcastic tone. “Oh? Is Consultant Lin going to set fire to the new official when he takes office?”
Lin Chen’s fingers rubbed gently on the phone. He nodded to Xing Conglian and then walked out of the room.
“Huang Ze, I need you to do one thing.”
Lin Chen’s voice was very low. He didn’t care about Huang Ze’s ridicule as his voice remained steady and clear as ever.
In the parking lot, Huang Ze stood outside the crowd. When he heard the key point, he raised his head and looked at the bus driver who had been rescued earlier.
Because Huang Ze kept his head down and his face was always gloomy, Jiang Zhe didn’t know what he was talking about. When Huang Ze raised his head, Jiang Zhe quickly realized something had happened.
Seeing Huang Ze put the Bluetooth headset back on, Jiang Zhe hurriedly took a few steps forward and grabbed Huang Ze. “Inspector Huang, when do you think the negotiations will start?”
Looking at Jiang Zhe’s extremely stylized explosive curls, Huang Ze felt indescribable nausea and stickiness. However, the scene was packed with media right now, so he had to endure. “Jiang Zhe, you don’t need to participate in this case.”
“Inspector Huang, you can’t do this. Lin Chen and Xing Conglian are here to steal the credit!” Although he had foreseen Huang Ze’s change of attitude, Jiang Zhe only felt nervous and frightened at the moment when he was notified.
Huang Ze shook off Jiang Zhe’s hand and walked towards the bus driver, who was sitting in a small chair by the parking lot, drinking hot water while accepting some of the media’s interviews.
Seeing that Huang Ze seemed determined to listen to Lin Chen’s words, Jiang Zhe suddenly raised his voice. “Have you forgotten what happened last time when Lin Chen was a negotiator?”
His voice was so loud that not only did he successfully stop Huang Ze, but even the reporters on the side turned to their direction.
Huang Ze turned his head and said, “Jiang Zhe, don’t you think I’ve heard this too many times?”
After he finished speaking, he walked to the driver, patted the two reporters on the shoulders, and motioned for them to leave.
The driver raised his head and faced the person who had just risked his life to save him, but there didn’t seem to be much gratitude in his eyes. “Mr. Police Officer, what can I do for you?” he asked.
Huang Ze leaned slightly and closed in on the middle-aged driver. “I want to inform you that the police have located the kidnapper. The special forces are on their way. They should be able to rescue the hostages soon. Please rest assured.”
Before Huang Ze finished speaking, the driver suddenly became nervous. Even Huang Ze could see the darting of the other party’s eyes.
The driver’s lips trembled slightly. He thought for a while, then nervously asked, “What will you do to him?”
“The special forces we sent have elite snipers. Once we grasp the movements of the kidnapper, we can quickly take him out!” Huang Ze spoke quickly while giving an indifferent look.
“Don’t hurt him!” Hearing this, the driver blurted out.
Huang Ze’s sharp gaze stayed on the driver’s worried look, but he didn’t say anything more. He straightened up, turned around and walked a few steps, then held down the headset and asked, “Did you hear that clearly?”
“Yes.” Lin Chen paused and didn’t hang up immediately. “Huang Ze, thank you.”
Huang Ze thought, ‘What are you thanking me for?’
——
Lin Chen hung up the phone and returned to the room. He was surprised to see Xing Conglian winking at him.
His gaze passed a few people in the office and finally fell on the chairman’s face.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
The chairman slammed the table fiercely. “I’m used to seeing this bureaucratic style of yours fighting for power and profit. Why are you dilly-dallying and haven’t called the kidnappers yet?”
If there was anyone who was most worried that things wouldn’t be resolved satisfactorily, it was probably the chairman of the Hongjing Highway. After all, he was the main and direct person in charge of this highway. He had delayed the work of the police before, so at this moment, he was more anxious and impatient than anyone else.
Lin Chen slightly sighed, turned around, and filled another half cup of hot water from the water dispenser, then handed it to the chairman.
“Please relax.”
It was probably because Lin Chen was too calm, or perhaps it was his natural ability to calm the hearts of others, but the chairman subconsciously put his hand on the paper cup that had Hongjing Highway Company printed on it that was just handed to him. He raised his head, and his expression slightly eased.
Lin Chen said, “In fact, the kidnapper wants us to call him in hopes that we will become nervous and anxious after the hostage and bomb crisis, so we can be more easily manipulated by him to agree to the conditions he proposes.” Lin Chen returned to the sofa. Wang Chao scooted over to make room for him as Lin Chen continued, “However, the initiative is important. If we’re the ones making him wait after finding his message, he will have the same emotional experience.”
The chairman looked embarrassed after hearing Lin Chen’s words. “I’m a little anxious, but even if he’s like me, that’s still not good. What if he hurts a child because of his anxiety?”
Lin Chen lowered his eyes slightly. He unlocked the phone and looked at the time. “First, I’ll wait for him to speak first. Second, he won’t.”
Lin Chen’s tone was very light, and he didn’t say anything else. He pressed strings of numbers that he had already memorized and then looked at the technician beside him.
Wang Chao took the phone, turned on the recording function, and tested the tracking system again before finally handing Lin Chen a pair of headphones.
Lin Chen nodded, then divided half of the headphones with the captain of the police criminal division who was next to him.
The headphone cables weren’t long, so Lin Chen had to sit close to Xing Conglian. He took the microphone that came with the headset and put it towards his lips. For convenience, Xing Conglian turned his head sideways to get closer to Lin Chen.
Lin Chen felt a warm breath on the side of his face that had the smell of mint tobacco. He stabilized his breathing and pressed the call button.
Ring… Ring…
The ringing tone came again and again, five times in a row, before the phone was connected.
There was silence all around before a soft, slow breathing sound gradually sounded.
Lin Chen didn’t speak; he was waiting.
The kidnapper spoke first.
The voice was soft and polite, as if he was a noble son with a good family background and elegant manners, without the tyranny that a kidnapper should have.
He said, “Teacher Jiang, I have been waiting for you for a while now.”
Xing Conglian opened his eyes wide and stared at Lin Chen in disbelief. He suddenly understood what Lin Chen meant by waiting for the other party to speak first. People would become nervous and anxious while waiting, and those who were nervous and anxious would tend to make mistakes.
Lin Chen didn’t even have the slightest disturbance in his breathing. He didn’t seem to care about how he was addressed, neither admitting nor denying the statement. He just pinched the microphone and smiled slightly. His voice was calm and collected. “Hello.”
On the other end of the phone, there was a chuckle. “I’ve been waiting for you for a while.”
“Before talking with you, I also need to prepare.” Lin Chen easily resolved the other party’s doubts just by saying a very normal sentence.
“How does the sugus candy taste?” The boy on the other side of the phone asked with a smile.
“Before I had time to taste it, the candy was confiscated and sent to the evidence office,” Lin Chen said with a smile.
“What a pity. The lemon-flavored sugus candy is really great. I think you should try it.”
“That’s a good idea.” Lin Chen gently wrapped his fingers around the headphone cable for half a circle, then said, “It’s a bit cold. Have you had lunch yet?”
“Haha, I ate the snacks brought by the children.” The young man laughed. “Teacher Jiang, you actually want to ask, where are we, right?”
“Then is it convenient for you to tell me?” Lin Chen didn’t care about this slight provocation. He followed the topic and asked casually.
“Hey, you’re negotiating with a kidnapper. Aren’t you tracing my call right now? If you triangulate through the base station, you should be able to know where I am soon, right?”
Hearing this, Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian. Xing Conglian had already leaned in front of the computer screen, then quickly moved the screen to Lin Chen. The tracking red dots on the screen had stabilized and clearly showed the kidnapper was in the reeds that covered the sky next to the Hongjing Highway.
Even Lin Chen was slightly surprised, but before he could speak, a soft and tender girl’s voice, like a marshmallow, suddenly came from the other end. The girl seemed to be reading something. The voice was stumbling, but it was very clear and serious. “Uncle, I hope you will bring me the answer within 90 minutes.”
The soft voice circled in Lin Chen’s ears. It was so sweet that it could turn into fine sugar silk. Lin Chen twirled the headphone cord again but didn’t pursue what exactly “the answer” meant. He came close to the microphone and spoke faintly. “Let’s make an agreement.”
“What agreement?”
“I’ll bring you what you want, but please also ensure the safety of the children.” Lin Chen’s voice was extremely solemn, and the smile on his lips disappeared.
“Teacher Jiang seems to be confident?” On the other end of the line, there was a slight laugh.
“Actually, no.” Lin Chen sat up straight. “I just think…”
“What do you think?” The young man seemed to find it very amusing and couldn’t help but ask rhetorically.
“I think you live a painful life. Those with a conscience and a moral bottom line always live in more pain.”
The young man on the other end of the line didn’t seem to expect to hear such an answer. He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “Teacher Jiang, I suddenly felt I’m impressed with you.” As if to calm his mood, he seemed to have opened up a candy wrapper and stuffed the candy into his mouth. He spoke while chewing on it. “Then I’ll see you in 90 minutes. Please bring those reporters friends with you.”
After speaking, the kidnapper hung up the phone. Lin Chen seemed to hear the sound of a kiss coming through on the other end.
“Teacher Jiang. Jiang Zhe?” Xing Conglian took off his earphones and started tapping on the countertop with his knuckles. “It’s no wonder there are so many reporters here today.”
“They’re probably being used.” Lin Chen moved his hand to the still warm cup and sighed softly. “What a smart kid.”
There were certain things that could be said to someone but not to others. This wasn’t hypocrisy. The key lay in the timing of when it was to be said and the person it was being said to.
Lin Chen and Xing Conglian had a short conversation. When they went upstairs again, Wang Chao was by himself in a corner, controlling two computers. The young technician nodded to them, indicating the tracking software was fine and the kidnapper could be called.
The leather sofa in the office was very bright, complementing the picture behind the table. Mrs. Xing’s face seemed to glow, and she was as beautiful as ever.
The chairman, the assistant, and even the manager of the transportation company all looked at them with burning eyes, as if they couldn’t wait for the phone to be dialed and the negotiations for the hostage to begin.
However, Xing Conglian didn’t mean to act immediately. He sat down next to Wang Chao and patiently said something to the young man.
Those in the office suddenly felt a twinge of disappointment, as if a raging fire that had just been ignored was blown out by a breeze.
Lin Chen looked around the office. He first walked to the window and opened it, then turned around and took a paper cup from the water dispenser and consciously filled it with hot water.
Five minutes passed, yet Xing Conglian was still whispering to Wang Chao while Lin Chen was sipping tea.
With the window open, fresh air breezed in, but the three people in the office didn’t feel refreshed. Finally, the owner of the office couldn’t stand it. The chairman, who was over 40 years old, cleared his throat and asked, “What is Captain Xing waiting for?”
Also unable to bear it, Inspector Huang, who was hundreds of kilometers away, was facing the cameras of more than dozens of media outlets.
The reporters had already set up cameras and radio equipment, and then waited like this for nearly ten minutes. Standing in front of the camera, Jiang Zhe felt that the original tension and excitement of facing the kidnapper was about to disappear.
Jiang Zhe looked at the crowd again seeing Huang Ze, whose face was still grim, still standing aloof. Jiang Zhe thought for a while, then put his cellphone into his pocket, and after apologizing to the media, he walked up to Huang Ze and whispered, “Inspector Huang, the reporters are getting impatient. In case there’s a problem in the process of rescuing the hostages because of the delay in execution by Captain Xing, it’ll be only you who’ll be accused of being inept.”
Jiang Zhe might have been ridiculed by Lin Chen for not being able to memorize the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic manual, but he had a thorough understanding of the mentality of the officials. Therefore, after he aggravated the word “Captain Xing”, Huang Ze finally reacted.
As if he had telepathy, Xing Conglian looked at the time in the lower right corner of the computer, and just ten minutes later, his phone rang.
“Inspector Huang.”
“Captain Xing.”
After the meaningless greeting, the two of them fell silent again, as if in tacit understanding.
“Inspector Huang, what’s the matter?” Xing Conglian asked casually. Since he spoke so casually, it made his voice sound harsh in Huang Ze’s ears.
Huang Ze replied coldly, “I just called to inform Captain Xing, since this case has been upgraded from a simple robbery to a hostage-taking situation, the crime scene is not within the scope of Hongjing. To be precise, Captain Xing can only assist in this investigation but you have no leadership.”
“I know, Inspector Huang. Didn’t you stop me from participating in this case a while ago? It’s just that I happened to be in the surveillance center, so I can help a bit.” Xing Conglian switched the cellphone to his right hand and patted Wang Chao on the shoulder. “The technician in our bureau also happened to be here. He’s setting up the tracking system. First, you should find a laptop. Then I’ll have him teach you how to track the kidnapper’s location.”
At the moment when Xing Conglian patted Wang Chao’s shoulders, it seemed he had received some kind of signal. He immediately refreshed the current page. If Huang Ze was present, he would be shocked to find that the page wasn’t the tracking platform, but a common email app.
When the page refreshed, a new email had appeared.
“Ah, hello Inspector Huang. I have heard about you. I don’t know if you play Warcraft or not. Is your chosen faction Alliance or Horde?” Wang Chao took over the line and opened the email.
“Right now, the kidnapper has 28 innocent lives in their hands. Do you think your current words and actions are worthy of the badge you carry?” As Huang Ze was neither Xing Conglian nor Lin Chen, when he heard Wang Chao’s ramblings, he immediately reprimanded him mercilessly.
“Oh, I guess you must play dwarves then…” Wang Chao replied to Huang Ze nonchalantly while he scanned the email. When he read half of it, he was stunned and pointed to his lips as he mouthed to Xing Conglian, “Shit.”
Xing Conglian only glanced at the email and then retracted his gaze. As if he wasn’t surprised by the result, he knocked on the table and motioned for Wang Chao to not leave Huang Ze hanging too long.
“Oh yes, Inspector Huang, the steps are very simple. I’ll teach you how to hack into the Telecomm Bureau servers. I left a backdoor on their servers just for you. First, open the DOS command editor, and I’ll teach you to type a few lines of code…”
“Wang Chao, police officers do not break the law!” Huang Ze roared. “Give the phone to Xing Conglian!”
“Xing Conglian, what’s the matter with you? I didn’t give you time so you can find someone to hack into the servers of the Telecomm Bureau!”
“But Inspector Huang, if we want to rescue the hostages now, wouldn’t it be better to act as quickly as possible? If we communicate with the staff of the Telecomm Bureau, it will take too much time as then there’ll be three places that need to jointly locate and track…” Xing Conglian said innocently.
“Xing Conglian, what do you want?” At this moment, Huang Ze seemed to have a premonition of Xing Conglian’s intention. “You don’t mean to ask Lin Chen to do the negotiating with the kidnapper and then let your technician who opened the back door to the servers of the Telecomm Bureau be responsible for locating and tracking the kidnapper’s call?”
Xing Conglian stopped playing dumb and no longer continued to argue. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he said, “Inspector Huang, I would like to trouble you to check an email.”
Xing Conglian hung up the phone, and only a dial tone was left coming from Huang Ze’s earpiece, which only made him feel more incredulous.
At the same time, a notification popped up on his cellphone and flickered slightly, notifying him that he had received an email.
Even though Huang Ze was livid, he still opened it. The email was short and brief but extremely informative.
The full text was an investigation report of someone’s personal information. It was from Cohen May, one of the most famous independent investigation companies.
The subject of the investigation was Jiang Zhe, a psychology expert who had returned from studying abroad and was currently serving as a consultant for the police force.
Huang Zhe glanced at Jiang Zhe’s messy, curly hair, turned his phone aside as his finger swiped the screen, and made an extremely ugly face.
The investigation report showed that Jiang Zhe’s so-called study experience from an Ivy League University in the School of Psychology in Country X was actually something else. In fact, during the three years abroad, he was actually studying at a community college on the outskirts of the capital of Country X.
After Jiang Zhe returned to China, he worked as a commentator for an emotional program on a famous TV station, getting the job using his connections. Because of his sharp and humorous words and because he was good at making fun of himself, everyone’s attention was always on the hot topics he created. The reason why no one had doubted whether he truly studied at an Ivy League University was because he once confessed that he dropped out of school halfway because he had a disagreement with the professor, so he didn’t get his college degree.
He was such a bold and careful liar who used simple lies against the media, reporters, and even Huang Ze himself. He was playing them all like they were in the palm of his hands.
Next to the sofa, Lin Chen was holding his cup of tea. He also found it unbelievable. “You found someone to investigate Jiang Zhe?”
“That’s right.”
“In such a short time?”
“Professional investigation agencies are always more efficient.” Xing Conglian gave a helpless look. “Moreover, I can’t always call on the resources of the police station to investigate him.”
“How do you know that Jiang Zhe has problems with his background?”
Xing Conglian lowered his eyes slightly and looked at Lin Chen before saying gently, “If you have seen the real deal, of course you can tell those who are fake.”
Lin Chen sighed helplessly. Few people could parry the innate skills of the captain of the police criminal division with a strange bloodline.
Not long after, Inspector Huang, who had finished reading the report, quickly called again.
“Xing Conglian, what do you want?”
Xing Conglian breathed a sigh of relief. He was silent for a moment, then his tone suddenly became solemn. “Huang Ze, in fact, you know very well who is suited to communicate with the kidnapper in this situation, so put away your personal grievances and those hypocritical rules and regulations. Our purpose is to get those children back to their parents safely.”
On the other end of the line, Huang Ze fell silent. He couldn’t give a negative response to this.
Lin Chen and Xing Conglian had dug a pit for him. What was buried in Lin Chen’s pit was duty, and in Xing Conglian’s was morality.
But comparing the two, Xing Conglian’s pit was deeper and more treacherous. He first secretly investigated Jiang Zhe, and then used Huang Ze’s lack of tracking technology. Finally, he positioned himself in a righteous manner, in a very gentle and imperceptible way, slowly pushing Huang Ze into this pit, so that he must hand over control of the negotiation.
Huang Ze took a deep breath and calmed himself. He found that he really had to raise his hand and surrender. “Captain Xing, can you provide me with a solution?” he asked.
“You’re now approving a special position for a psychology consultant, so wouldn’t that be in line with regulations?”
Hearing Xing Conglian’s response, Huang Ze suddenly realized, ‘Oh, it turns out to be so simple.’ Xing Conglian made these arrangements so that Lin Chen could have a reasonable identity. He also realized that the matter with Jiang Zhe wasn’t so much a slap in the face, but more of guiding his steps. The reason Xing Conglian went in such a big circle seemed to be because he was respecting Huang Ze’s own opinions and judgement as an Inspector of the police force.
Such a person using such means to do these kinds of things made Huang Ze truly speechless. Then, the conversation from here could only proceed with “Yes”.
Quick and simple.
“Fuck, you’re really conniving.”
After listening to the whole process, Wang Chao couldn’t help but get goosebumps all over. He curled up in the corner of the sofa and refused to approach the captain of the police criminal division.
At this moment, Lin Chen put down his paper cup, raised his head, and looked at his friend. He opened his mouth but found he was unable to say a word.
Kinky Thoughts:
For all this talk about competency, who hires a psychologist with no degree and doesn’t even run a background check on the guy? And you’re the freaking police force!
SMH. The curse of these police dramas… The police are always incompetent.
“If I’m not mistaken, it seems to be sugus candy, lemon flavor.”
Simple dialogue questions and answers could be heard not only on the big screen, but also inside and outside the outer cordon, hundreds of kilometers away at the rest stop.
After a short period of doubt, there was celebration. Some people began to cheer, some began to applaud, and some even whistled. Huang Ze was a well-deserved hero.
Some excited reporters and on-site staff couldn’t wait to rush onto the bus to interview the heroic and fearless inspector. The TV station that previously provided the camera and wireless transmission equipment was surrounded by peers asking for first-hand insight.
The atmosphere after a catastrophe was always infectious. Even the chairman himself was like a child. He excitedly patted the shoulders of the captain of the police criminal division, who was beside him, as if everything had concluded with a happy ending.
However, the man who was patted on the back by many hands still had a grave look.
Lin Chen’s eyes were on the lemon-yellow candy in the clown’s hand. The edge of the wrapper was cocked up, and there seemed to be characters written in black inside.
Lin Chen noticed Xing Conglian’s expression and handed the cellphone to the other party. The phone case was a little wet from sweat, but Xing Conglian simply nodded, then dialed Huang Ze’s number.
On the screen, Huang Ze, who was the bomb disposal hero, was surrounded by microphones and cameras. The flashes of light were non-stop, and the scene became chaotic. It took him a long time before he realized his phone was vibrating.
He glanced at the number, and for a moment, he felt reluctant to answer.
“Inspector Huang, I still have to trouble you to take out the candy in the clown’s hand and open the wrapper. There seems to be something written in it.”
Xing Conglian’s voice was still as annoying as ever, causing Huang Ze to frown. He turned around and took out the lemon candy as instructed and moved it to the camera that had long been moved since the aftermath.
A line of handwritten numbers appeared on the wrapper.
“13952401976.”
Huang Ze read it again, and instantly realized that this was a phone number.
“Wang Chao.”
At the same time, the moment the numbers appeared on the screen, Xing Conglian raised his voice and called out to the young technician.
Wang Chao almost turned into an octopus with eight tentacles. He glanced up at the screen, then quickly opened a new window and began to search for the owner of the number.
“Is this asking us to call him?” Huang Ze looked at the number with a grimace. Anyone who had just been frightened by a timebomb wouldn’t be in such a good mood.
The moment they saw the number, some reporters took out their phones and subconsciously prepared to dial.
“Huang Ze, tell them not to call!”
Seeing this, Xing Conglian was about to get angry.
When Huang Ze heard this, he looked around. “What’s the matter with you? Put your phones down.”
The excited reporters put down their phones in disappointment. Among them, a bold reporter asked tentatively, “Inspector Huang, can we record you when you call the kidnapper?”
It seemed that when he heard the two keywords “kidnapper” and “phone”, Jiang Zhe, who had shrunk outside the crowd, suddenly turned away from the people in front of him and stood opposite of Huang Ze. “Inspector Huang, this is most likely a message left by the kidnapper. He will ask us for a ransom over the phone. We must be cautious.”
Naturally, when Xing Conglian heard this, he also understood the meaning of what Jiang Zhe was saying.
Since this was the kidnapper’s number, someone must be responsible for the negotiation. If the person in charge of the negotiation was a psychology expert, it would be even better.
Several media reporters who were close to Jiang Zhe also came to their senses and hurriedly said, “Yes, Mr. Jiang has rich experience. Fortunately, he’s here!”
The scene was a bit chaotic. Jiang Zhe seemed as if he was going to give a long speech, while Huang Zhe slightly lowered his head, wondering what he was thinking.
Seeing this scene, Xing Conglian looked at Lin Chen and aggravated his tone as he called to the person on the other line. “Huang Ze!”
“Captain Xing, I know what you mean, but this is at odds with regulations,” Huang Ze said slowly. He wasn’t as tough as before, but he was still unshakable.
“I understand, but before negotiating with the kidnapper, I still have to make some preparations here, so please wait for my signal.”
Unexpectedly, Xing Conglian didn’t argue much. After he finished speaking, he hung up the phone and turned and asked, “Wang Chao, how’s it going?”
“I found that the phone number belongs to the Hongjing area, but the phone card was probably purchased online. It’s currently registered to an 80-year-old lady. Do I have to continue checking it?”
“No need for the time being. How’s the positioning of the missing vehicle?”
“Just after changing the code, there should be no problem when I test it again, so the path can be generated.”
“How long will the test take?”
“Ten minutes…”
“Do you need to be here during the test?”
“Give me a network cable. It’s the same wherever I go.” Wang Chao patted his chest and spoke confidently.
“So, can you build a phone tracking system now, and when you negotiate with the kidnapper, find his location?”
“Theoretically, but I’m not there yet. If they call later and I’m tracking from here, there’ll be a time difference which could be troublesome…”
Xing Conglian didn’t respond. He just glanced at Wang Chao, who immediately understood and quickly shut his mouth.
Xing Conglian looked at the president of the Highway Company. “Sir, please lend us a quiet room.”
“My office is fine.”
When Wang Chao heard this, he immediately jumped from his seat. “Alright!”
The so-called regulations roughly refer to those things that constrain and regulate the behavior of law enforcers. Huang Ze’s meaning was simple. The decision he made may not be justified, but it was in line with the statute.
So to convince such a stubborn person, it wasn’t much use trying to be reasonable.
A group of people left the surveillance hall and rushed upstairs. After leaving the hall, Xing Conglian took out his phone and made a call. He said to the person on the other end of the line, “I want to check on a person named Jiang Zhe.”
The answer he got back was along the lines of wait.
“Give it to me in ten minutes, on the double.”
After Xing Conglian finished speaking, he hung up. He raised his head and saw Lin Chen, who happened to be waiting for him above the steps.
“Let’s talk for a bit.” Xing Conglian took out a cigarette, waved his hand, and motioned to find a place to rest. Then he called to Lin Chen.
“What are you going to do?” Lin Chen leaned against the window as he asked lightly.
“What do you think of Jiang Zhe?” Xing Conglian asked rhetorically.
“Strange.” Lin Chen thought for a while, but he didn’t seem to be able to find a positive description.
“Then are you comfortable leaving him to negotiate?”
Lin Chen thought for a moment again and shook his head.
“Well, I’ll solve this matter.” Xing Conglian took out a lighter and turned it around in his hand, but he didn’t light his cigarette.
“What are you planning?” Lin Chen noticed this meaningful pause. He was called out by Xing Conglian alone, so they were most likely going to talk about a more personal topic.
Xing Conglian flipped the lighter, creating a spark that reflected on his face. He took a deep breath, and then said, “I can understand that everyone has their own past and privacy, but I hope you won’t hide anything from me when it comes to this case.”
Because he was smoking a cigarette, Xing Conglian’s voice was a little hoarse, but his meaning was clear.
Naturally, Lin Chen understood that Xing Conglian was referring to Feng Peilin’s case. He deliberately misled the police, and then went to the bridge alone to lure Feng Peilin out. He had also been thinking about when and how Xing Conglian would bring up this matter. After all, this was a knot in their hearts. He didn’t expect Xing Conglian would address that issue here and now.
Very perceptive, very sincere, very appropriate, really good.
“Do you think that in this kidnapping case, I’m deliberately concealing something from you?”
“Before you analyze the case, you would definitely start by analyzing the motivation and purpose of the suspect. This is your strong point, but this time, apart from thinking that something big would happen on the highway, I never heard you analyze the motives of the criminal from beginning to end, which is a bit strange.”
Lin Chen gave a wry smile. Being friends with people who were too smart could sometimes make one helpless. “What would you think of this view if I were to say, when I found out that the bomb would not explode, I suddenly thought that the kid might not really be a bad person, “
“Because what popped out wasn’t an explosion but a clown?” Xing Conglian said with a smirk. “I can’t agree with that for the time being because he has 28 lives in his hands and it’s obvious he’s going to use these children to coerce us.”
Lin Chen shook his head slowly and said, “I had a close encounter with him. He wore a long scarf when he got into the bus and sat down in the first row and fell asleep. His behavior caught my attention. At that time, I thought, he’s probably doing this to avoid the surveillance cameras, so I pondered, why didn’t he want to be recorded?” Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian with soothing eyes as he continued, “At that time, I could only see his legs and hands from where I was, but I found him trembling. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to ask when he suddenly raised the gun and held the driver at gunpoint. Do you get where I’m going with this? In fact, he had been waiting for the opportunity for a long time, and he had many opportunities to do it, but before he shot, he was trembling. Trembling because of tension, which I find unreasonable. Since he could hijack a bus so calmly, why would he be trembling from nervousness? I find this very strange.”
Xing Conglian laughed. “After listening to you, I don’t think that’s at all like the unscrupulous Candy Bandit.”
“If I were to analyze his emotions before committing the crime, I can only say that he was very anxious.” Lin Chen gave a slight pause. “Anxiety is a person’s emotional response to real threats and challenges… He was very nervous, as if he had no intention of doing it but was forced to do it.”
Xing Conglian frowned and said, “If I continue to think about it according to your thoughts… I would think that that young man is just part of something bigger. He was threatened by some people to play the role of the Candy Bandit in order to create a bigger incident?”
“Yes, I was afraid he might be coerced, and the hijacking was just acting.” Lin Chen steadied his breathing and spoke calmly. “If that’s the case, the risk and price he would pay is way too high for him to rob a bus for a few pieces of candy. I felt at the time that the purpose behind him wasn’t so simple…”
“What about now?”
“Now, I feel as if I was overly concerned. No one coerced him. He’s in charge of all this.”
“We’ve now circled back to where we started. Since you think he’s in charge of all this, why do you suddenly think that this criminal who installed a time bomb and took hostages isn’t a bad person?”
“Since no one is coerced, then he has a reason to be doing all this as a last resort, and, so far, he hasn’t harmed anyone…”
“Why didn’t you tell me about these things before?”
“It was just a suspicion before without any basis. I didn’t know what to say. Besides, the inference that criminals aren’t bad by nature isn’t suitable to be said in front of so many people,” Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian slowly as he answered. “Anyway, I hope that when you face him, try not to hurt him. You can take all this as part of my selfishness, since I hope for a happy ending.”
Kinky Translations 