Gong Yingxian wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with the name. He knew who Ren Yi was talking about; his impression of the man was simply very vague, because Zhang Wen was an extremely, extremely inconspicuous person.
Back when he and Ren Yi had first worked together on a fire investigation—the arson case at Fourth Perspective Bar—Zhang Wen had already appeared as Ren Yi’s assistant. And after that, he had participated in the vast majority of their cases.
Ren Yi kept trying to recall the young man named Zhang Wen: the things he had said, the things he had done, his appearance, his personality. But the more he thought about it, the more bewildered he became. Zhang Wen had no distinctive characteristics or memorable qualities. He was the kind of person you could find in any crowd, and even his name was utterly ordinary. His work performance was equally unremarkable. He was diligent and down-to-earth, didn’t talk much, and wasn’t particularly quick-witted.
A young man who appeared so honest, even a little wooden, would never arouse anyone’s suspicions. If these events hadn’t been connected one by one, and his figure hadn’t appeared repeatedly among them, Ren Yi still wouldn’t have suspected him.
Gong Yingxian took out his phone. “I’ll have Cai Qiang investigate him immediately. How much do you know about him?”
Ren Yi shook his head. “Not much. He’s a very inconspicuous person. He isn’t a regular government employee; he’s a contract worker. I have no idea where he’s from, what he studied, or how old he is.”
“What do other people think of him?”
Ren Yi thought for a moment. “I’ve never heard anyone say anything in particular about him. You’ve seen him too, so you should remember him. He really doesn’t look like someone who would have anything to do with the X cult.”
“He certainly is the kind of person who has little presence and can put people at ease, making them lower their guard. But he’s participated in our investigations time and again. It’s impossible that he could go on without ever arousing suspicion.”
Ren Yi frowned deeply. “I… I still find it hard to believe he could be the mole. But if he really is, then I realized it far too late.”
“It’s not late at all. If it really is him, then the timing of Wang Minde’s murder makes sense.”
Ren Yi said bitterly, “That’s right. During the Anjia residential complex case, I was already dissatisfied with the Fire Investigation Division’s findings. I thought they’d simply been negligent and failed to discover the signs of arson. He had the opportunity to tamper with the scene and the investigation results. That means every case he participated in will have to be reinvestigated. And… and back then, when I went to the brigade headquarters to look for old records, he was the one who helped me organize them. Do you think he might have tampered with the investigation report on your family’s case too…?”
Gong Yingxian’s expression darkened. “Let’s wait for him to tell us himself.”
Ren Yi clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles whitened. He punched the wall hard, but it did little to release the frustration surging inside him.
“Ren Yi.” Gong Yingxian cupped his face in both hands. “Now isn’t the time to blame yourself. Putting aside whether Zhang Wen is actually a suspect, even if he is, it isn’t your fault that you didn’t discover it. He was operating in the shadows while you were out in the open. And you’re a firefighter, not a police officer.”
“I just feel… that if we’d discussed this earlier, maybe I would have thought of him sooner.”
“Then it’s even less your fault.” Gong Yingxian lowered his head and kissed the bridge of Ren Yi’s nose. “I’m the one who made this matter so sensitive.”
Ren Yi gazed into Gong Yingxian’s gentle eyes. “It’s not your fault either. If you hadn’t been here, I don’t know how many times I would have died by now.” He smiled a little. “How are you so amazing?”
Praise from Ren Yi always pleased Gong Yingxian immensely, no matter how many times he heard it. He even unconsciously straightened his back.
“So what do we do next?”
Gong Yingxian looked him up and down. “I’m waiting for the equipment to arrive. You should be resting. There are plenty of police officers here; you don’t need to do anything.”
“Didn’t you hear what Bai Yan said? He said we’d definitely come back to him. The hostages could be in a dangerously unpredictable situation. I can’t just stand aside. Besides, if something unexpected happens, I might be better at making a judgment call than you guys.” Ren Yi said, “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not feeling great physically, but these injuries really aren’t anything serious.”
Gong Yingxian said unhappily, “You’re always so stubborn. Do you have any idea how I felt watching you walk into that hotel?”
Ren Yi immediately kissed him, trying to soothe him. “Don’t be angry. If you want to be mad at me, wait until we’ve rescued the hostages and caught Bai Yan.” He checked the time. “It’s been almost half an hour since I arrived at the hotel. I’m really worried. Why is he dragging this out for so long? What exactly is he trying to do?”
“I’m worried this is a trap. Since he came here fully intending to die, he must be buying time for someone else—his accomplice.” Gong Yingxian glanced at his phone. “Sis Yan has arrived at the hotel. Come on, let’s go downstairs.”
The two of them ran downstairs. The entire hotel had been sealed off by the police, and several fire engines were parked outside, standing by.
“Captain Qiu!” Ren Yi called out from a distance.
Qiu Yan frowned as she looked at him. “You’re still supposed to be in the hospital. How did you manage to sneak out?”
Ren Yi hurriedly made a shushing gesture and shot Gong Yingxian a sidelong glance. Gong Yingxian gave a heavy snort.
Qiu Yan cleared her throat. “What’s the situation inside?”
The two men briefed Qiu Yan on everything that had happened over the past half hour.
“Cai Qiang has already obtained Zhang Wen’s address from Hongwu Brigade and is on his way there now. Zhang Wen lives not far from the district sub-bureau, so we should have news soon. Tan specifically pulled the hotel’s surveillance footage from today. Just like the footage from the past few days, nothing suspicious turned up.”
“If he brought in suspicious chemicals or abducted hostages, the cameras couldn’t possibly have missed everything. Was the footage tampered with by a hacker again?”
Qiu Yan shook her head. “Impossible. Ever since we identified Bai Chicheng, Tan has been keeping a close eye on the hotel’s surveillance footage. If a hacker had accessed or altered it, he would definitely have noticed.”
“But just now, Bai Chicheng was able to view the surveillance footage on his own phone,” Ren Yi said.
“That’s not the same thing,” Gong Yingxian explained. “To view surveillance footage on a phone, all you need to do is share it with an additional device. Anyone who knows the hotel’s network password can operate the system from the main computer in the surveillance room. Besides, that phone might not even belong to Bai Chicheng. It could belong to a security guard or a member of the management staff who already has access to the footage.”
Qiu Yan added, “Being able to view the surveillance footage and being able to alter it are two different things. After what happened at Honglin Stadium, Tan has been watching the cameras constantly. The footage hasn’t been tampered with.”
“Then his accomplice couldn’t have just vanished into thin air.”
“His accomplice left the hotel this morning and hasn’t returned since. The team following that person lost track of them as well. They have professional counter-surveillance skills. So I’m very suspicious of Bai Chicheng’s claim that he has an accomplice in the hotel. Unless… he has more than one accomplice.”
Ren Yi asked anxiously, “What about the chemicals? Didn’t you say he might have bought a large quantity of chemical ingredients? If those things were brought into the hotel, someone should have noticed, right?”
“He definitely didn’t bring in a large quantity. We’ve checked for that. But if someone carries in small amounts for personal use, it’s difficult to detect. We can’t search every hotel guest’s bag.”
“What about the kidnapped hostages?” Ren Yi asked. “If someone was forcibly taken somewhere, there are surveillance cameras all over the hotel. Surely we’d notice something unusual.”
“We’re checking everyone’s whereabouts one by one. Things were too chaotic during the evacuation just now. If someone was taken away during that time, it’ll take a while to figure it out.” Qiu Yan glanced at her phone. “The equipment will be here soon. We could only get two units from nearby. If we check for explosives floor by floor, examining only the elevator areas, with two elevators per floor, it’ll take an estimated hour and a half to two hours at the very least.”
“That’s too slow. We don’t know what Bai Chicheng is really planning, which makes it all the more important that we race against the clock.” Gong Yingxian thought for a moment. “There’s a way. University X nearby has a chemistry department. Go borrow some equipment from them. I’ll make a list. We don’t need to test for every chemical substance, only the one Bai Chicheng has on him. Move quickly and try to get back within half an hour.”
“All right. I’ll arrange for someone to do that.”
Just then, Qiu Yan’s phone rang.
“It’s Cai Qiang.” She turned on speakerphone. “A-Qiang, have you arrived?”
“I’m here. He’s not home. I checked the surveillance footage and found that he didn’t come back last night. The last time he appeared on camera was the morning before yesterday,” Cai Qiang reported. “I’m planning to go inside and have a look. The security guard saw the footage and said this guy dresses like an office worker every day, but he doesn’t really act like one. There’s no regularity to when he leaves or comes home.”
“All right. Once you get inside, start a video call so I can see what’s in his apartment.”
“I’ll ask the property management office whether they have a key. If not, I’ll get the fire department to come and open the lock.” There was the sound of several people discussing something on the other end of the call. Cai Qiang spoke again. “Oh, never mind. The property management office has lock-picking tools. We’ll talk again once we’re inside.”
After the call ended, the equipment Gong Yingxian had requested arrived. He assigned several police officers to begin testing from the top floor downward.
The ion mobility spectrometry detectors were similar to the equipment they had used when searching for the truck transporting explosives at Honglin Stadium. In fact, the principle behind all chemical detectors was the same: they used chemical reactions to identify substances. The difference was that instruments could do it faster and more comprehensively.
Gong Yingxian pulled Ren Yi aside. “We have a little time now. I need you to recount your entire conversation with Bai Chicheng and Yue Xingu, from beginning to end. Tell me everything you can remember.”
“No problem. Ever since I got together with you, I feel like I’ve gotten smarter. Every time I interact with them, I make a point of remembering what they say and observing their expressions.”
Gong Yingxian replied matter-of-factly, “Being around intelligent people naturally makes you smarter. There’s scientific evidence for that.”
Ren Yi smiled faintly. “You’re right about everything.”