Gong Yingxian said, “Answer my previous question again.”
Zhou Chuan said quietly, “I really don’t know the person who set the fire, and I don’t know the owner of the car either.”
“How did you arrange the exchange arson to burn the car? Tell me everything from beginning to end.”
“It was just… on Chitian Angel, someone made a post saying what time and where they were going to burn a car, so I went there to try my luck…”
“Bullshit!” Ren Yi cursed.
Zhou Chuan instinctively crossed his hands in front of his face. From the way he shrank back, it was obvious that he was genuinely afraid.
Gong Yingxian looked coldly at Zhou Chuan. “Posts on the forum are very careful about protecting their personal information. It’s impossible for someone to be stupid enough to write down the exact time and location of a crime. Looks like you didn’t listen to what I just said.”
Zhou Chuan said tremblingly, “Someone sent me a private message…”
“Where is the private message? Who sent it? What did it say?”
“I deleted it after I read it. It was just the time and location. Both the post and the private message were anonymous.” Zhou Chuan’s voice became quieter and quieter as he spoke.
Gong Yingxian narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure you want to protect someone you ‘don’t know’? If we can’t catch him, you’ll have to bear all the responsibility.”
Zhou Chuan secretly glanced at Gong Yingxian. “I-I didn’t do anything. I just—I just filmed it.”
Forget Gong Yingxian, even Ren Yi wanted to strangle Zhou Chuan now.
Seeing Gong Yingxian’s expression grow darker and darker, Zhou Chuan hurriedly said, “Officer Gong, I want to cooperate too, but I really don’t know, really! That person was in his thirties, medium build, and didn’t have any obvious accent. That’s all I know.”
Gong Yingxian stared at Zhou Chuan for a long while before suddenly asking, “Is the person who burned the car the same person who gave you the information?”
“No.” Zhou Chuan answered quickly, then immediately changed his answer. “I don’t know.”
Ren Yi inwardly shouted, Good. Gong Yingxian had caught the loophole in Zhou Chuan’s words.
Gong Yingxian sneered. “I see. You know they aren’t the same person. The person you’re unwilling to give up isn’t the one who burned the car, but the one who gave you the information.”
Zhou Chuan’s face went pale. He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Gong Yingxian pressed him. “Why? Who is he? What is your relationship with him?”
“I really don’t know.” Zhou Chuan lowered his head. “It was anonymous. I don’t know him, and I don’t know the person who set the fire either.”
Gong Yingxian tapped his notebook with a fine-looking steel pen and slowly said, “Zhou Chuan, you graduated from a 211 university. I don’t know why you’ve fallen to this point, but you’re an intelligent person. You have the ability to reason. Haven’t you thought about why we caught you red-handed?”
Zhou Chuan’s shoulders shrank.
“You think that just because you entered the aftermath of a fire and filmed it, resulting in forty-eight hours of administrative detention and a 200-yuan fine, it’s worth wasting police manpower to arrest you?” Gong Yingxian’s jade-like face was filled with coldness. “Let me tell you the truth. We’ve already established a special task force and have been investigating Chitian Angel for several months. Three months ago, someone posted on the forum about exchange arson on Tianqi, and it was connected to another arson case.”
Zhou Chuan’s entire body trembled. He twisted his fingers together, seemingly desperately trying to suppress his reaction.
Gong Yingxian and Ren Yi exchanged a triumphant look. Zhou Chuan was starting to take the bait.
“We’ve already locked onto several suspects. If we continue investigating, do you think we might find your friend?”
Zhou Chuan pressed his lips together.
“I told you from the beginning that I was giving you a chance to earn a sentence reduction, because I knew you were different from those arsonists. You just wanted to make some money, but you refused to appreciate the opportunity.” Gong Yingxian suddenly shouted sternly, “Raise your head and look at me!”
Zhou Chuan abruptly sat up straight, staring fearfully at the imposing Gong Yingxian.
“You burned one car. As long as you compensate for the damages, you’ll be out in a few years. But you know very well how serious that fire was.” Gong Yingxian said viciously, “If you cover for him, you’re an accomplice. You may have to spend the rest of your life in prison.”
“What does that case have to do with me?!” Zhou Chuan screamed hoarsely. “I didn’t go to that residential complex from beginning to end. Even if you’re a police officer, you can’t falsely accuse someone!”
Gong Yingxian frowned, while Ren Yi was even more shocked.
Residential complex?
Gong Yingxian had brought up exchange arson merely to frighten Zhou Chuan, making him think that they had really been watching Chitian Angel for several months and had gathered a large amount of evidence. If they could squeeze some useful information out of him, even better.
But they had never imagined that Zhou Chuan would mention a “residential complex.”
In the past three months, among the residential complexes in Tianqi where a serious fire had occurred and arson had been confirmed, there was only Wanyuan Residential Complex!
Could the Wanyuan Residential Complex arson case actually be connected to Chitian Angel?!
Ren Yi turned his face away, afraid Zhou Chuan would notice something was wrong. The hand in his pants pocket had already clenched into a fist, and his heart was pounding violently.
Gong Yingxian took a deep breath, his expression remaining calm as usual. “The Wanyuan Residential Complex arson case really has nothing to do with you?”
“It has absolutely nothing to do with me!”
“But you know who did it.”
Zhou Chuan’s eyes were bloodshot, and his entire face was twisted from excessive tension.
“He killed six people, including a firefighter!” Gong Yingxian said coldly. “Do you know what kind of crime it is to cover for a murderer?”
“I didn’t cover for him.” Zhou Chuan’s expression became strange. His already pale and gaunt appearance now looked even more sickly. “They found their own exchange-arson target. What does that have to do with me?”
Ren Yi strode over to Zhou Chuan. “Zhou Chuan, if the Wanyuan Residential Complex case is connected to the person who sent you the information, this is your only chance right now to earn a sentence reduction. If you don’t tell us, sooner or later we’ll find it out anyway. By then, you’ll be completely useless to us.”
Zhou Chuan trembled as he covered his face and began to sob quietly.
“Tell us!” Ren Yi growled.
Zhou Chuan cried, “You can sentence me—sentence me for a few years. I’ll accept it. But if I say something I shouldn’t, I-I’ll be killed.”
Gong Yingxian knew they wouldn’t be able to get anything more out of him today. With a “snap,” he closed his notebook. “You’d better think carefully about what you’re doing.”
With that, he stood up and walked out of the hospital room. Ren Yi glared fiercely at Zhou Chuan before following him.
Gong Yingxian walked all the way out of the hospital entrance in one breath before taking off his mask and breathing deeply of the fresh air.
Ren Yi looked at Gong Yingxian worriedly and was just about to speak when Gong Yingxian raised his hand to stop him. He also removed his mask and gloves and threw them into the trash can.
“It’s fine. Ever since I was hospitalized last time, my immunity has been getting stronger and stronger.” He shot Ren Yi a sideways glance. “I have you to ‘thank’ for that.”
Ren Yi could hear the resentment in his voice. He blinked one eye. “You’re welcome.”
Gong Yingxian slowly put on a new pair of gloves and frowned. “Zhou Chuan may really not know the person who burned the car, but he definitely knows the person who gave him the information, or at least has interacted with him online.”
“I really didn’t expect bringing up exchange arson would give us such a huge unexpected gain. Could the Wanyuan Residential Complex arson case and the car-burning case be connected somehow?”
“Very likely.” Gong Yingxian recalled Zhou Chuan’s series of reactions. “What he said at the end was very interesting. This dark web has taken root domestically to a much greater extent than we imagined. That’s different from what I originally suspected.”
“I didn’t expect it either. I thought that since it’s a foreign website, most of its traffic would be overseas. Zhou Chuan is so afraid of retaliation that he’d rather go to prison than say anything. Clearly, there’s some person or force domestically that frightens him. He also knows more than we imagined.”
“If we make a bold assumption…” Gong Yingxian pondered. “If the Wanyuan Residential Complex case is connected to the car-burning case, is it possible that Wanyuan Residential Complex Unit 2209 and that car were precisely the targets of their exchange arson?”
Ren Yi’s expression darkened. The moment this possibility merely began to take shape in his mind, the hairs all over his body already stood on end, and cold sweat seeped onto his forehead.
“If that’s really the case, then all the alibis of the suspects in the Wanyuan Residential Complex case are useless.” As Gong Yingxian spoke, he took out his phone and dialed a number. “Hello, Sister Yan. I have some new discoveries. Help me investigate…”
Ren Yi stood to the side, staring blankly at Gong Yingxian as he discussed the case with Qiu Yan over the phone. He was still immersed in the speculation from just now and had not completely come back to his senses.
As a normal person who wholeheartedly believed in doing good, he was often forced by the evil released by his own kind to have his lower limit refreshed again and again.
After ending the call, Gong Yingxian returned to Ren Yi’s side. “You don’t look very well.”
Ren Yi sighed. “That black-clothed man who burned the car could be a neighbor of Unit 2209.”
“Right. That would explain why he looked like it was his first time doing something like this, and why he wasn’t interested in the money from the livestream tips. I’ll have Sister Yan bring the suspects who fit the profile back to the station for another round of questioning. If they’re ordinary people who have never committed a crime before, they shouldn’t be able to withstand it.”
“Really…” Ren Yi hesitated. “When that person was threatened with being arrested, he personally set the car on fire just to create chaos and escape. That kind of calmness, boldness, and madness isn’t something an ordinary person can accomplish.”
Gong Yingxian thought for a moment. “You’re right. In theory, he had no need to do that. He had only poured gasoline onto the car, which constituted an attempted offense. If he found a good lawyer, he might not even have to go to prison. Yet he risked everything simply to escape. That shows he was extremely afraid of being caught. The consequences of being caught must have been worth taking such a risk.”
“Looking at it that way, it’s even more likely that he’s connected to the Wanyuan Residential Complex case.”
“No matter who it is, I will definitely catch him.” Gong Yingxian looked into Ren Yi’s eyes. “Don’t be afraid, and you don’t need to worry either. I’ll drag all those beasts hiding in the gutter out into the open.”
Ren Yi smiled. “I’m not afraid, and I’m not worried either. I believe in you.”
Gong Yingxian’s heart stirred. He lowered his head and looked at his watch to hide it. “Let’s go. I’m going back to the station, and I’ll drop you off at the squad on the way.”
“OK.”
The two continued discussing the case on the way. The more they analyzed it, the more they felt that the two cases seemed to be connected. The police actually already had a lot of important information in their hands, but there were also many places where the logic didn’t make sense. It seemed they were only missing one thread to connect all the clues together and reveal the truth.
When they arrived at the squad, Ren Yi carried Miao Miao’s cage out of the car and looked deeply at Gong Yingxian. “Bye.”
Gong Yingxian nodded.
Ren Yi walked two steps, then turned back.
Gong Yingxian lowered the car window.
Ren Yi smiled. “Next Saturday afternoon, I’ll be waiting to welcome Dr. Gong.”
Gong Yingxian curled his lips into a smile.
Ren Yi hummed a little tune as he returned to the squad.
He put Miao Miao’s cage down and shouted, “I’m back! Kids, what are you waiting for? Get down here and line the way to welcome me!”
Ding Qing poked his head over the second-floor railing and teased, “Want me to play some music and scatter some flowers for you?”
“Should I find you a bride and send you off on the road of life?” Gao Ge also poked his head out.
Ren Yi lightly kicked the cage beside his feet. “I officially announce that I already have someone I’ll be taking care of for the rest of my life. This is…”
Suddenly, the alarm bell blared.
The firefighters immediately streamed from all over the squad toward the garage, and Ren Yi also took off running.
The communications officer handed over the dispatch sheet. “Captain Ren, a vehicle transporting chemicals has been involved in an accident on Pobo Road. There’s a risk of leakage.”
“Did headquarters notify Liu Bing?”
“They did. He’s on his way, but the traffic is too bad. He may not even be able to get here within half an hour.”
“We’ll go first. Tell them to hurry.” Their fire department had a specialized team for handling hazardous chemicals, but there were only a limited number of such professional teams. The nearest one was still nine kilometers away. Phoenix Squad only had basic equipment for dealing with hazardous chemicals, such as chemical protective suits.
Ren Yi climbed into the fire truck, then suddenly remembered something. He took out his phone and called Gong Yingxian.
“Hello?”
Ren Yi quickly asked, “Dr. Gong, how far have you gone?”
“Not far. What’s wrong?”
“There’s a chemical transport truck that got into an accident on Pobo Road. The driver is injured and unconscious, and the person who reported it couldn’t clearly describe what was inside. We don’t know either. Can you…”
“I’m going there now.”
“It’s at the intersection of Pobo Road and Nanxiang Road. You’ll be able to see it when you get there.”
“Okay.” Gong Yingxian said, “Ren Yi, don’t approach recklessly before I arrive.”
Ren Yi said, “Don’t worry. We’re capable of handling it.”
“I’m serious. I have a general understanding of the types of factories in the outskirts of Beijing. Among the chemicals most commonly used by the factories that are still operating, without exception, several of the most common types are explosives.” Gong Yingxian spoke in a tone that brooked no argument. “Before I arrive, evacuate the people. Don’t approach. Promise me.”
Ren Yi hesitated for a moment. “Okay.”