This was the first time Ren Yi had been forced to recall the events of that day since Sun Dingyi’s death. He did his best to suppress his grief, keeping Gong Yingxian’s reminder firmly in mind: Don’t let Fang Zhixu control your emotions. He deliberately left out many details and calmly recounted what had happened.
Fang Zhixu listened with shining eyes, constantly pressing him for more details. Ren Yi snapped at him each time, shutting down his questions.
After Ren Yi finished, Fang Zhixu said, still wanting more, “This is a textbook heroic ending, you know? It’s even better than I imagined. It’s a shame I never paid much attention to Squad Leader Sun before.”
Ren Yi glared at him. “Give me what you found at Wenhui Mall.”
But Fang Zhixu continued talking to himself. “It’ll be hard to surpass Squad Leader Sun’s ending. A fire scene, young children, ropes, sacrifice—every element is as moving as something out of a blockbuster movie.” He spoke excitedly. “Captain Ren, what would it take for you to have an even more spectacular ending than his?”
Suppressing his fury, Ren Yi gritted his teeth and said, “Give. It. To. Me.”
A crafty glint flashed through Fang Zhixu’s eyes. “Do you have a recording?”
Ren Yi froze for a moment. “No.”
“Take off your jacket, check your pockets, and give me your phone,” Fang Zhixu ordered.
Ren Yi took a deep breath, removed his jacket, and patted down every pocket. Finally, he tossed his phone to Fang Zhixu and urged him, “Hurry up and give it to me.”
“But I’ve already thrown it away.”
Ren Yi slammed his fist against the back of the sofa, so furious he wanted to strangle the bastard. “You fucking dare to mess with me?”
“I never said I would give it to you. I only said I would tell you what it was.” Fang Zhixu spread his hands. “I’ll keep my promise.”
Ren Yi glared at him viciously.
“Actually, I can’t say for sure what it was, either. It was a homemade timing device. About…” Fang Zhixu gestured with his hands. “This big.”
“…About the size of an electrical outlet?”
“Yeah, roughly that size. Maybe a little bigger.”
Ren Yi recalled the mark he had discovered beneath the pile of burned fabric and ashes. Sure enough, an important piece of evidence had been removed, and the person who had taken it was the man sitting right in front of him.
But this was such an important piece of evidence. Although it had been buried beneath scraps of fabric and ashes and was indeed difficult to spot, Ren Yi had still found the mark. Why had the police failed to notice it? That was a serious lack of experience. How else could Fang Zhixu have picked it up days later?
Or had it really been washed away by the water cannons, leaving only a trace but no physical object? If so, how had Fang Zhixu managed to find it among the ruins?
No. This couldn’t have been a coincidence.
Frowning, he asked, “How did you know this thing was at the scene?”
Fang Zhixu said nonchalantly, “You should know about Seraph.”
“You’re on Seraph.” Ren Yi wasn’t surprised. “You’ve got some nerve telling me that.”
“Going on the dark web isn’t illegal.” Fang Zhixu watched Ren Yi’s reaction without blinking. “Whether you tell the police or my parents, I don’t care.”
“How did you get this information on Seraph, and why did you go to the scene to look for it?”
“I’d joined a group before. Somehow, one person found out I was in this city and contacted me privately. He offered me money to find something and dispose of it. I didn’t take the money. I’d always wanted to go and have a look, after all. It was a place you’d never forget for the rest of your life, and it had a special meaning to me, too.”
“Did he tell you when the police presence around the area would be withdrawn?”
Fang Zhixu shook his head. “He never mentioned anything about the police. He told me when to go, so I went.”
“Then how did you find the thing? Was it still in its original position?”
“Original position?” Fang Zhixu thought for a moment. “I don’t know where the original position was. I dug it out of the trash. It was metal, a little deformed, but it hadn’t burned up.”
“Where did you throw it away?”
“By the roadside,” Fang Zhixu said with a smile.
Ren Yi knew Fang Zhixu was lying. There was no way he would reveal where the thing actually was now, but Ren Yi pressed him anyway. “Where by the roadside? Which roadside?”
“Just some random roadside.”
“I want an exact location.”
Fang Zhixu thought for a moment. “Probably in the trash can in front of the flower shop at the second intersection on Anfang Street, on my way home.”
“Did you take any pictures? What distinguishing features did the thing have?”
“No. It was so badly burned that I really couldn’t make anything out. Um, it was metal, and it smelled awful.”
“Then how did you know it was a timing device?”
“I guessed from what that person said.”
“So everything is just your speculation.” Ren Yi scoffed. “There’s hardly anything credible about what you say. You just want to show off, don’t you?”
Fang Zhixu snapped angrily, “Everything I told you is true! Believe it or not, that’s up to you. I just wanted you to know that I didn’t go there because I was bored, or because I was an idiot, or for the money. I just… just wanted to be involved. I wanted to get closer to you.”
Ren Yi narrowed his eyes and studied the boy in front of him, who had yet to shed all his youthful immaturity.
“Have you never thought there was something wrong with you? Don’t you think your mental state is abnormal?”
“So what? How many normal people are there in this world? Most people just pretend, but I don’t want to.” Fang Zhixu’s eyes were unusually bright. “You’re different from everyone else. You’re a warrior who fights against fire. Don’t ever become one of those ordinary people.”
“I’m an ordinary person to begin with. This is just my job.” Fang Zhixu’s gaze made Ren Yi extremely uncomfortable. “You should see a doctor. You’ll destroy yourself sooner or later if you keep going like this.”
Fang Zhixu said earnestly, “I’ll always keep an eye on you.”
“The police will be keeping an eye on you, too. You’re old enough to be held criminally responsible now. I advise you not to do anything irreversible.”
“Got it. I’m not that stupid.” Fang Zhixu smiled. “I just want to do something meaningful, that’s all.”
After Fang Zhixu left, Ren Yi reached under the coffee table and took out a recording device. This, too, had been prepared at Gong Yingxian’s request.
He called Gong Yingxian. Assuming Fang Zhixu had told the truth, the probability of them finding the device was virtually zero. Ren Yi could tell that Fang Zhixu had concealed quite a bit.
After hearing the whole story, Gong Yingxian remained silent for so long that Ren Yi thought the call had disconnected. He finally asked, “Did you hear me?”
Gong Yingxian suddenly said in a muffled, sullen voice, “You haven’t called me in a long time.”
“…Let’s talk about the actual matter.” That aggrieved tone made Ren Yi feel rather uncomfortable.
“I heard you. Half of what he said is true, and half is false. He definitely wouldn’t say anything that could incriminate himself, so he probably blurred or concealed quite a bit of information. But it seems that there really was something important where you found that mark. Otherwise, no one would risk going back just to destroy the evidence.”
“If it really was a timed ignition device, that would explain why neither the surveillance footage nor the eyewitnesses detected anyone suspicious in the period before the fire started.”
Gong Yingxian responded with an “Mm.”
“The fire started close to eight o’clock. Wenhui Mall closes at six thirty. If someone slipped in between six thirty and seven, that would have been during the evening rush, when a huge number of people were coming and going. It would be extremely difficult to investigate.”
Ren Yi said gravely, “Especially since the surveillance system at the scene had already been sabotaged.”
“Right. Most of it had been destroyed. We previously compared the remaining footage with all the registered employees at the mall and found nothing unusual. Besides that, the mall has a constant stream of people coming and going—new employees, customers, temporary workers, delivery personnel, garbage collectors, food delivery riders, couriers, salespeople… It’s a complete mix of people. The surveillance network won’t be of much use this time.”
“Then even if we find the timing device, we still won’t be able to identify the arsonist?”
“Send me the recording first. I’ll analyze it.” Gong Yingxian asked, “How feasible is a timed ignition device?”
“It’s not difficult. Anyone who understands the principles of combustion could make one in various ways. For example, at Hongwu Hospital, we used a chemical reaction with a time delay to create a delayed ignition mechanism. In this case, all they needed was a device preset to ignite after an hour or two. In fact, the simplest example would be a fuse. Isn’t that a timing device in itself? Then, with the fire and the subsequent rescue operations causing further damage, a lot of evidence would disappear. It would be very difficult to discover during an investigation of the scene.”
“But you still noticed it. Why didn’t anyone else question that mark? Did they fail to notice it?”
“I don’t think that’s very likely. Whether it was the fire investigation unit or the police, they were extremely thorough when examining the scene, and they had professional equipment, too. Unless someone deliberately covered it up.” Ren Yi spoke gravely. “The night Fang Zhixu went there happened to be the night the police presence was withdrawn. Just putting those two facts together is enough to make us suspect there’s a mole in the police force.”
“Mm. We haven’t let our guard down. The new leads we’ve obtained are no longer being shared in the main group for the time being.”
“What are you planning to do about Fang Zhixu?”
“He’ll be a useful pawn,” Gong Yingxian replied. “I’m coming to your squad to pick up the recording.”
“You don’t need to come all the—”
“There’s something else I want to give you. Wait for me.” Gong Yingxian hung up before Ren Yi could refuse.
Ren Yi sighed. Every time he saw Gong Yingxian, it was a test of his self-control.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Without even raising his head, Ren Yi said, “Come in.”
The door to the reception room opened. Ren Yi turned his head and froze for a moment.
Yan Jue?
Yan Jue casually waved a hand. “Hey.”
“W-what brings you here?”
“Your detachment’s leaders called me in for a talk. About Squad Leader Sun.”
Ren Yi nodded, unsurprised. The death of a commanding officer was an extremely serious matter. Everyone present had to be questioned and evidence collected to clarify responsibility and determine whether there had been any dereliction of duty or mistakes.
Still, seeing Yan Jue at that moment made Ren Yi feel somewhat awkward.
When Yan Jue noticed that Ren Yi wasn’t saying anything, he smiled. “Aren’t you going to ask what they talked to me about?”
Ren Yi shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not afraid of being held responsible.” Perhaps he would actually feel better if he were punished.
“Relax. It wasn’t about you.” Yan Jue leaned against the doorframe. “After I finished, I suddenly found myself craving the braised duck with potatoes your squad’s cooks make, so I came over.”
Ren Yi managed a strained smile. “I don’t even know if we’re having duck today. I’ll have to ask.”
Yan Jue watched Ren Yi for a while, then suddenly burst out laughing.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of me now?”