“Exchange… arson?” Ren Yi looked incredulous.
“Exchange murder refers to two people agreeing to exchange targets—the people the other person wants to kill. This way, first, they can have a perfect alibi, and second, it’s difficult for the police to trace the motive for the crime.” Gong Yingxian looked at Tan Haochun. “The post you found on the forum—was there one from within the country?”
Tan Haochun nodded and opened a webpage. “This one. Although it’s in English, the title of each post states the location. This one says Tianqi.”
“Three months ago.” Ren Yi looked at the date. “That’s it? It only gives a general city, with nothing else?”
“They don’t dare reveal too much information. They put down the location, and whoever is willing to take the bait sends the poster a private message.”
“Aren’t they worried that it might be law enforcement baiting them?”
“I sent a private message to one of them before. He asked me a lot of questions—how I felt about fire, why I wanted to do this, what purchase records I had on the website, how I could prove I wasn’t a police officer, and so on. He even wanted me to provide proof of identity. Of course, I ignored him, and then he stopped responding to me.” Tan Haochun said, “It’s a process of testing each other. No one knows who they’re actually talking to, and they’re all taking risks. So I don’t know whether this poster ultimately found someone willing to exchange arson with him. Since it was Tianqi, I paid more attention to it. I also tried to hack into his private messages, but they were empty. He may have deleted them.”
“Can you locate the poster’s IP address?”
Tan Haochun sighed. “It’s too difficult. Like I said before, in order to protect the privacy of its users, this dark web constantly changes their virtual IP addresses. To locate a particular person’s IP, I’d have to enter the same livestream room as him, and I’d also need enough time.”
“But we don’t have a specific target right now,” Ren Yi said.
“That’s true. But now that the higher-ups have agreed to investigate this website, I’ll have colleagues assisting me. We’ll continue trying.”
Gong Yingxian pondered. “I’ll use this exchange-arson matter to pressure Zhou Chuan a little. Maybe we’ll get an unexpected result. This time, he’s involved in a criminal offense, so he should be willing to talk.”
Tan Haochun glanced at the Chitian Angel webpage, then looked at the two of them, hesitating to speak.
“What is it?”
“Dr. Gong, Captain Ren, you really have to be careful. Maybe they truly don’t have the nerve to come bother you, but being targeted by these perverts and having your private information exposed… it’s frightening.”
Gong Yingxian nodded. “I look forward to you giving me more clues to help capture them.”
The two of them left the office area. For a long time, neither said a word, and both their expressions were extremely grim.
Just as Tan Haochun had said, having their private information exposed in front of a group of perverts and criminals was something no one could remain completely calm about.
What was more, their “bounty” had already exceeded two hundred thousand yuan. That was no small amount. Who could guarantee that some desperate criminal wouldn’t take the risk?
One could survive a thief stealing from them, but not a thief constantly thinking about them. Being in a situation where the enemy was hidden while they were exposed in the open truly made it difficult to sit still.
Gong Yingxian suddenly stopped walking. Ren Yi, who was walking behind him, could not brake in time and crashed into his broad back.
“Why did you suddenly—”
“It’s my fault.” Gong Yingxian turned around and stared at Ren Yi, his expression extremely serious.
“…” Ren Yi was puzzled. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I forgot about that computer. I should have thought of it, but whenever I see fire, I can’t think straight.” Gong Yingxian bit his lip. “You shouldn’t have gotten dragged into something like this because of me.”
Ren Yi took a deep breath and forced a relaxed smile. “Oh, I thought you’d finally developed a conscience and were going to apologize for falsely accusing me a few months ago of hitting on a minor.”
“Be serious.” Gong Yingxian said angrily.
“I am serious.” Ren Yi smiled. “Stop overthinking it. This isn’t your fault. We just happened to run into some bad people. We’ll just catch them together.”
Gong Yingxian stared deeply at Ren Yi.
“I don’t really believe they have the nerve to do anything to us either. Even if they really do, I’m not afraid.” Ren Yi shrugged. “I’m not even afraid of fire scenes. What are a few perverts compared to that?”
Gong Yingxian stared at Ren Yi’s clear, bright eyes. They were like a pool of clear spring water—sincere and pure. It seemed that every word this person spoke came straight from his heart, without the slightest falsehood, making it impossible not to believe him.
Ren Yi did not want Gong Yingxian to blame himself, so he changed the subject. He quietly pulled open his own pocket. “Wow, Miao Miao is sleeping so soundly. Look.”
Gong Yingxian could not help leaning closer. He lowered his head and looked at the little kitten curled up into a ball, the corner of his mouth twitching. “You came all the way to the precinct just to show me a cat?”
“Not exactly.” Ren Yi let out a soft sigh. “I went out on a call this morning and wasn’t in a very good mood, so I wanted to come out and walk around.”
“What happened?”
“A twenty-year-old boy was crushed beneath several tons of shelving. Both his legs have to be amputated.” Ren Yi pursed his lips. “He was still conscious. He kept begging me to save him, begging me not to cut off his legs…”
Disappointment and sadness surfaced on Ren Yi’s face.
Gong Yingxian unconsciously softened his voice. “You did your best.” He paused, then continued, “You’ve always done your best.”
Ren Yi forced a smile. “At least he survived.”
He had to do his best. Only by doing everything he could could he forgive himself after experiencing so many incidents like this.
An inexplicable emotion surged through Gong Yingxian’s chest, and he blurted out, “Come home with me.”
Ren Yi froze. “Huh?”
Gong Yingxian’s Adam’s apple moved as he quickly explained, “I think in a few days… I’ll have a lot of things to deal with and may not be able to manage everything. Since there’s no time like the present, why don’t you come to my house for dinner today?”
Ren Yi scratched his hair and could not help giving a foolish little laugh. “Sure, sure. But it’s a little late, isn’t it? Are we having a late-night snack?”
“Sure.”
Those words—“Come home with me”—kept echoing in Ren Yi’s heart, lingering for a long time. Grinning happily, he said, “Then let’s go.”
By the time the two arrived home, it was already ten o’clock at night. The Gong family’s ridiculously extravagant mansion was still brightly lit, and Uncle Sheng was waiting at the entrance as usual with a beaming smile.
“Uncle Sheng.” Ren Yi greeted him with a smile. “Sorry for bothering you again.”
“Not at all, not at all.” Uncle Sheng was delighted. “We’re all very happy that Captain Ren can come visit.”
After entering the house, Ren Yi took Miao Miao out of his pocket. “Uncle Sheng, could you give me some tissues or something to put underneath it? I think it needs to use the bathroom.”
“Oh my, there’s a little kitten! We have puppy pads. Xiao Li, go get one.”
“This is the little kitten we rescued from the fire scene last time. I guess we’re fated to meet, so I decided to raise it.” Ren Yi smiled. “I brought it over today to show Dr. Gong, and then Dr. Gong said he’d show me his pets too. What do you have at home?”
Uncle Sheng’s expression changed slightly. “Uh…” He seemed to have difficulty putting it into words.
Gong Yingxian said, “Come with me.”
“Should I bring Miao Miao along to play too?” Ren Yi shook the little kitten in his hand.
“Unless you want it to be eaten.”
Ren Yi froze.
Uncle Sheng took the kitten from Ren Yi’s hands and whispered, “The young master’s pets are a little unusual, but they’re safe. Just don’t mess with them.”
“What on earth does he keep?” Ren Yi was full of curiosity.
Gong Yingxian led Ren Yi through the residence and out through the back door into the courtyard. A large glass house appeared before them. All four sides of the glass house had movable partitions. At the moment, they had all been lowered, so nothing inside could be seen, making the place even more mysterious.
Ren Yi felt a little creeped out. “Bro, what do you keep in there?”
Gong Yingxian unlocked the fingerprint lock, turned around, raised an eyebrow, and said provocatively, “Scared?”
“Does it eat people?” If it had been anyone else, this question would have been purely a joke. But when the person in question was Gong Yingxian, Ren Yi was using a joking tone to seriously seek an answer. After all, he was far too unusual.
“There are safety measures inside.”
“It really eats people!” Ren Yi exclaimed. “What the hell are you raising, a tiger?”
Gong Yingxian pushed the door open. “Come in and see for yourself. Oh, if you’re really scared, then forget it.”
Ren Yi knew perfectly well that this was provocation, but he was unwilling to back down. He braced himself and walked inside.
The interior of the glass house opened Ren Yi’s eyes wide.
The ceiling was completely transparent, allowing them to see the dark-blue night sky and twinkling stars. Along both sides of the walls were enclosures of various sizes. Some had jungle-like environments, some had sandy terrain, and some even had pools. In the middle of the room were more than a dozen temperature-controlled boxes. At the very back was a small laboratory filled with bottles and jars, strange instruments, and specimens—all of reptiles.
That was right. In the enclosures and temperature-controlled boxes, Ren Yi saw all kinds of snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and other creatures. Some of them looked like extraterrestrial lifeforms. This glass house was practically a reptile museum!
Ren Yi was not afraid of reptiles, but he did not like them either. In his entire life, he had never been surrounded by so many reptiles at once, and he felt goosebumps breaking out all over his body.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Gong Yingxian said. “I’ve been collecting them for many years. There are more than a hundred species here now.”
Ren Yi stammered, “You… you like keeping cold-blooded animals?”
“To be precise, they’re ectothermic animals.” Gong Yingxian opened one of the temperature-controlled boxes and reached his hand inside. When he pulled his hand back out, a small emerald-green snake was already coiled around his wrist.
Ren Yi stared at him stiffly.
“Snake skin is cool and very comfortable.” Gong Yingxian said. “This is the most common type of pet snake, an emerald tree snake. It’s not venomous. Want to touch it?”
Ren Yi shook his head. “No, thanks.”
“Just touch it. It’s not going to burn your hand.” Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi teasingly.
Ren Yi narrowed his eyes. “I’ve discovered that you really hold grudges. Aren’t you being a little too petty?”
“I’m just sharing my pets with you.” Gong Yingxian said. “Don’t like the emerald tree snake? Want to take a look at a bearded dragon? That’s also a beginner-level pet lizard.”
“No, thanks. I don’t want to become a beginner.”
“Actually, they’re pretty good.” Gong Yingxian teased the little green snake with his finger. “They’re much simpler than people.”
Ren Yi looked around. “You built such a huge glass house just to raise them?”
He felt that what he was seeing was Gong Yingxian’s loneliness.
“Mm. This is a temperature-controlled greenhouse.” Gong Yingxian put the emerald tree snake back into its enclosure. He looked at Ren Yi and hesitated. “That little cat… does that count as something we’re raising together?”
Ren Yi was stunned for a moment. “Don’t you dislike cats?”
“We rescued it together, and we named it together.” Gong Yingxian turned his face away. “If you insist on associating it with me… I don’t mind. I have someone specifically to take care of my pets. One more won’t make a difference.”
Ren Yi burst out laughing. “Then that means we’re raising it together. You have an endothermic pet now.”
Gong Yingxian fell silent for a moment.
He had never imagined that he would raise a pet whose body temperature was higher than his own. And not only that—because of Ren Yi’s appearance in his life, he had broken so many of his own rules.
Why did he keep making exceptions for this person?