Ren Yi coughed for a long time in the back seat of the car. The driver turned around several times, wanting to speak to him, but couldn’t get a word in.
Only after Ren Yi finally finished coughing did the driver ask, “Handsome, you just came out of the hospital, didn’t you? In your condition, the doctor didn’t make you stay?”
“They ran out of beds.”
The driver gave him an expression of understanding, then asked with some concern, “Following someone like this—isn’t it against the law?”
“I’m a police officer.”
The driver’s eyes widened, and there was even a hint of excitement in his gaze. “The guy up ahead is a criminal? Don’t worry, sir. Even if he grows wings, I won’t lose him!”
Ren Yi smiled. “I’m counting on you, sir.”
On the way, Ren Yi kept his eyes on the car ahead while composing a message to Gong Yingxian:
I ran into Feilan’s father at the hospital. He received a coded text message and left immediately. I think it’s suspicious, so I’m following him. We’re heading east along Minhui Avenue.
More than ten minutes later, Gong Yingxian finally called. Before Ren Yi could say anything, Gong Yingxian snapped furiously, “Ren Yi, have you lost your mind? You’ve only been in the hospital for a few days, and you’ve already run off! Get back there immediately!”
Ren Yi tried to soothe him. “Don’t get worked up. I’m just sitting in a car watching where he goes. I’m not doing anything else. I sit around at the hospital, too.”
“Bullshit! Your lung function is impaired. You can’t breathe polluted air right now, and your skin injuries have only just healed. Give me his license plate number. I’ll send someone to follow him. You’re going back immediately.”
“I’ve already followed him this far. He might be almost there.” Ren Yi still gave Gong Yingxian the license plate number. “I’ll go back once I’m sure your people have picked up his trail.”
“Where are you now?”
Ren Yi glanced out the window. “Near Jianxing Bridge.”
Gong Yingxian fell silent for a moment. “I’m nearby, too. I’m monitoring Bai Yans’s hotel room.”
Ren Yi sucked in a sharp breath. “You mean he might be going to that hotel?”
“It’s possible. If he really goes to Jianxing Hotel, confirm it with me once you see him arrive. Then go back.”
“All right.”
“Be good and listen to me. You must go back. This isn’t your battlefield.”
“Fine, I’ll head back right away.” Ren Yi sighed. “Honestly, Yue Xingu doesn’t look like a bad person. I can’t understand it. If he really is connected to the organization, how could he let Purple Flame hurt his own daughter?”
“Anything is possible. We won’t know the answer until the truth comes out.”
The taxi Ren Yi was riding in followed Yue Xingu’s car as it turned north. The large sign for Jianxing Hotel was already clearly visible up ahead.
During the final stretch, Ren Yi practically held his breath. He had already guessed the outcome, yet he still clung to a faint hope that he was wrong. Neither he nor Gong Yingxian wanted Yue Xingu to have anything to do with this case. Gong Feilan had already suffered far too much harm that she should never have had to endure. How innocent she was, to have to pay for the mistakes of adults.
But he still watched helplessly as Yue Xingu’s car drove into the underground parking garage of Jianxing Hotel.
Ren Yi took a deep breath and slumped back against the seat, feeling momentarily lost.
“Officer, should I follow him inside?” the driver asked.
“Pull over by the side of the road first.” Ren Yi reported what he had just seen to Gong Yingxian. He figured Gong Yingxian was probably at some elevated vantage point from which he could observe the entire hotel. Perhaps he had already seen it through binoculars.
The moment Ren Yi sent the message, he received one from Gong Yingxian at almost exactly the same time. It contained just two simple words:
Go back.
Ren Yi said, “Sir, please take me back to the hospital.”
“Huh? That’s it?”
“Mm. Let’s go.”
“All right.”
The driver had barely turned the car around when Ren Yi’s phone rang again. This time, the caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.
Looking at the number, Ren Yi felt a strange, inexplicable sensation. Two voices seemed to sound in his mind simultaneously. One was shouting at him not to answer the call; the other was sternly and firmly telling him to pick up. It was a struggle between his instinct for self-preservation and his faith in saving lives.
Even though he had never seen this number before, even though he had no idea who was calling or why, he simply knew that this call was of enormous importance.
Ren Yi clenched his fist and pressed the answer button with trembling fingers. “Hello?”
“Captain Ren, this is Feilan’s father.” A slightly trembling voice came through the phone.
“I’m listening.”
“I… I need you to get out of the car right now and reach the multifunctional conference hall on the third floor of Jianxing Hotel within three minutes. Otherwise, I’ll die.”
For a moment, Ren Yi even forgot to breathe.
“Two minutes and fifty seconds left.” Every word Yue Xingu spoke sounded as though he were reading from a prepared script, but his trembling voice and fear were real.
Ren Yi instinctively looked around, as if seeking help. He knew that somewhere nearby, at some elevated vantage point, Gong Yingxian was watching him. But Gong Yingxian couldn’t help him now. The only person who could help him was himself. He had made the rational choice to return to the hospital, which was the only way he might be able to guarantee his own safety.
But this was Feilan’s father.
Feilan still had a chance to build a genuine father-daughter relationship with the father she had said she wasn’t very close to. That was something Gong Yingxian would never be able to have in his entire life. Would Gong Yingxian want his younger sister to suffer the same pain he had?
“Two minutes and thirty-five seconds left.”
As he opened the car door, Ren Yi patted the back of the front seat and spoke quickly. “Sir, I’m in a hurry. A ridiculously fucking handsome police officer will come looking for you in a moment. He’s got money, so charge him extra.”
With that, he sprinted toward the hotel lobby.
The moment Ren Yi stepped into the lobby, Gong Yingxian’s call came through. Ren Yi grabbed a nearby staff member.
“I’m a firefighter. Evacuate everyone immediately! There’s a bomb here. Hurry!”
The staff member stared at him in bewilderment.
“Move!” Ren Yi shouted as he answered the call and ran upstairs. He was gasping uncontrollably, but he managed to shout before Gong Yingxian could speak.
“Yue Xingu has been—been taken hostage! I have to get to the multifunctional hall on the third floor immediately, or his life will be in danger!”
“You are not allowed to go!” Gong Yingxian screamed like a madman. “You’re not allowed to go! Don’t you dare! It’s a trap! If you go, I will never forgive you! You are not going!”
“I know it’s a trap, but you’d go, too, if you were in my position. For Feilan’s sake, and for the truth.” Ren Yi made a loud mwah sound into the phone, deliberately putting on a carefree tone. “I’ll wait for the police officers to come rescue me. You always save me.”
After saying that, Ren Yi decisively hung up because he had already reached the third floor. At a glance, he spotted the imposing, enormous doors of the conference hall.
Ren Yi pressed a hand hard against his chest, struggling to calm his racing heart and suppress his relentless coughing. Then he pushed open the doors.
Rows of tables and chairs filled the enormous conference hall. Such halls were usually used for meetings or wedding banquets. When only a handful of people occupied the room, it felt particularly vast, empty, and cold.
Standing at the entrance, Ren Yi looked at the two people seated on the stage.
One was Yue Xingu.
The other was Bai Chicheng. Ren Yi had seen his photograph many times, so he recognized him at a glance.
Ren Yi walked toward them slowly.
Bai Chicheng was tall and slender, with refined, scholarly features. He wore rimless glasses and an inexpensive, mass-produced suit. It didn’t fit him particularly well, but it was presentable. His appearance perfectly matched the image of a chemistry professor, like any ordinary teacher you might pass on a university campus.
Who would believe that a man like this was a deranged, perverted, and cruel murderer? That he had even killed his own wife and daughter?
Bai Chicheng looked Ren Yi up and down.
Ren Yi stopped about twenty meters away from them. It was the distance he needed to feel psychologically safe.
“Bai Chicheng.”
“Captain Ren, we finally meet.” Bai Chicheng looked at Ren Yi expressionlessly. “You already knew I was here, didn’t you?”
“You already knew that I knew you were here, didn’t you?”
Ren Yi looked toward Yue Xingu. On the surface, Yue Xingu appeared perfectly normal. There wasn’t even anything as dramatic as a gun being pointed at him. He was simply sitting beside Bai Chicheng. Yet Ren Yi could see his fear. He was so terrified that even his posture was rigid, and his eyes kept darting around, as though there were many things he wanted to say.
“I knew I couldn’t escape. The whole country is hunting me.”
“Then how did you manage to check into a hotel?”
“Do you think I’d use my own ID and personally register at the front desk?” Bai Chicheng looked at Ren Yi mockingly. “Are you asking such a stupid question to stall for time until Dr. Gong arrives to rescue you?”
“Since you dared to show up in front of me so openly, you must have come prepared. I’m afraid getting out of here won’t be that easy.” Ren Yi lifted his chin toward Yue Xingu. “What’s going on with him?”
“Haven’t you already started suspecting him? Why are you asking me?”
“Suspicion means we don’t have evidence. If we knew everything already, we’d have arrested him by now,” Ren Yi said. “Did you make him lure me to the hotel?”
“Yes. It’s almost impossible to find an opportunity when you’re alone now,” Bai Chicheng replied. “Throw your phone to me.”
Ren Yi narrowed his eyes. “What are you using to threaten me? You think sitting next to him is enough to threaten me?”
Without haste, Bai Chicheng opened his suit jacket.
Ren Yi felt the hair on his scalp stand on end.
Bai Chicheng had a collection of small bottles containing chemicals strapped to his body, connected by wires to explosives.
“What, have you come here to offer yourself up as a sacrifice today?” Ren Yi asked through gritted teeth.
“Your phone.” Bai Chicheng looked at him coldly.
Ren Yi placed his phone on the floor and kicked it toward him.
Bai Chicheng picked it up and placed it on the table. “Aren’t you going to ask what I intend to do?”
“Whatever you intend to do, we’ll stop you.”
“That’s not the question.”
“…What do you want to do?”
Bai Chicheng gazed deeply into Ren Yi’s eyes.
“Have you ever thought about the meaning of life?”