Huang Yan nudged Qiu Yan’s back with the muzzle of his gun and snarled, “So you don’t care whether she lives or dies anymore?”
“If I hand Bai Yan over to you, will you let us go?” Gong Yingxian glanced at Bai Chicheng. “Besides, what does Ziyan want with someone who has already betrayed him? Why not just kill him?”
“I only care about what I want, not why I want it.”
“Do you think you can escape with him?” Ren Yi challenged. “You’re being hunted by the entire city. Where exactly do you think you can run?”
“That’s none of your concern.” Huang Yan sneered. “What, trying to buy time?”
“Ziyan’s mission for you probably wasn’t to rescue him, but to kill us. At the very least, killing us would take priority. So who knows whether you genuinely want to exchange hostages?” Gong Yingxian stared at him. “You already broke your word during the last hostage exchange. Why should we trust you a second time?”
“Last time, we exchanged hostages according to my rules. This time, we’ll do it your way.” Huang Yan hauled Qiu Yan out of the chair, keeping the gun pressed against her back.
Qiu Yan suddenly spoke. “You won’t get away. I’ve already called the police.”
Huang Yan froze, then barked, “When?!”
Bai Yan’s expression also changed.
Qiu Yan sneered. “Are you asking when the police will arrive? Soon.”
Gong Yingxian frowned. “Sister Yan, why did you call the police? If they fall into police custody, everything we’ve worked for will have been in vain.”
“It’ll only be in vain if we die,” Qiu Yan replied sternly.
Huang Yan shouted angrily, “Hurry up and hand him over!” He roared directly into Qiu Yan’s ear. “I really will kill her! I’ll put a bullet straight through that pretty face!”
Bai Chicheng was getting anxious too. “The police are coming…”
Gong Yingxian, however, remained calm. “You want me to hand him over? Fine. But I want to hear Ziyan say it to me personally.”
Huang Yan paused. “What do you mean?”
“Call Ziyan. I want to speak to him.”
“Impossible.” Huang Yan refused outright. “Ziyan only contacts me when he wants to. I can’t get in touch with him.”
“Every time, we’ve had to passively receive his messages, whether they were videos, phone calls, provocations, or declarations of war. This time, I want to take the initiative. If he wants his man back, he can tell me so himself!” Gong Yingxian glared at Huang Yan, his gaze as sharp as a knife.
“I told you, I don’t have Ziyan’s contact information. I’ve never met him or gone looking for him. He’s always the one who contacts me.” Huang Yan was growing impatient. “Do you really think I don’t dare kill her?”
Gong Yingxian’s expression turned sinister.
“You can kill her. When you pull the trigger, I’ll pull mine too. In the end, there are five people here. Who lives and who dies will be left to fate.”
Huang Yan’s face twisted into a vicious grimace, his features contorting with rage.
“Alternatively, we can all wait until the police arrive and let them arrest every last one of us.”
“Can’t you understand plain English, you bastard? I can’t contact Ziyan!” Huang Yan growled.
“Really?” Gong Yingxian mocked him. “Maybe you’re telling the truth. Perhaps even you don’t know about the several assassins who appeared afterward. It seems Ziyan doesn’t trust you at all.”
Huang Yan glared at him furiously.
“…I can contact him,” Bai Chicheng suddenly said in a low voice.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Bai Chicheng gritted his teeth. “Give me the phone.”
Gong Yingxian took out his mobile phone. “The number.”
Bai Chicheng hesitated, seemingly reluctant to speak.
“The number!” Gong Yingxian repeated, his tone sharpening.
Bai Chicheng recited a string of digits, then added, “He doesn’t answer calls from unfamiliar numbers. You have to text him first.”
Gong Yingxian composed a message and sent it.
Not long afterward, the phone rang. The incoming call displayed Unknown.
Gong Yingxian answered and switched on the speakerphone.
“…Ziyan.”
“Dr. Gong.” The familiar voice, distorted by a voice changer, brought back so many unpleasant memories for everyone present that just hearing it made their skin crawl.
“You must be disappointed again,” Gong Yingxian said coldly. “You went to the trouble of hiring assassins, but they still failed.”
Ziyan inhaled, then slowly exhaled before asking quietly, “Is Huang Yan dead too?”
“He’s still alive. He wants to exchange Captain Qiu for Bai Yan. What do you want with this traitor? Killing him would silence him and save you a lot of trouble, wouldn’t it?” Gong Yingxian asked.
“That’s true.” Ziyan laughed as well. “Then go ahead and kill him.”
“…”
“Do you dare kill him? If you do, Captain Qiu will die too. And all of you might die as well.”
“Ziyan, I’m curious. If you still fail to kill us today, what will you do next?” Gong Yingxian asked in a deep voice. “You’ve been killing people connected to the case from nineteen years ago, one after another, in an attempt to conceal the truth. But we’ve already prepared the documents needed to apply for a retrial. Nothing can stop us now.”
“Is that so? Heh. There are three of you. Two have been suspended from duty, and one is wanted by the police. Much of the evidence you’ve collected fails to meet the requirements of due process. Those pieces of evidence aren’t nearly as valuable as you’d like to believe. You should know that perfectly well, shouldn’t you?”
“But you’re still afraid.”
“I’m simply making absolutely certain there are no loose ends. You’re the ones who should be afraid.”
Gong Yingxian fell silent for a moment before abruptly changing the subject.
“Blue Flame. The person providing the organization with its funding is the mastermind behind the case from nineteen years ago, isn’t he?”
Ziyan chuckled but said nothing.
“Everything you’ve done, every evil act you’ve committed, has been to cover up his crimes. Why? Is it just for the money, or do you have some personal connection to him?”
“Such a crude guess doesn’t even deserve a response from me.”
“The police have already traced most of your financial transactions. Do you think you’re safe just because the money comes from offshore accounts? You still have to spend that money in this country. Sooner or later, we’ll uncover everything about you and leave you with nowhere to run.”
Ziyan laughed coldly. “Dr. Gong, you’ll regret this. Remember my words. You will definitely regret it.”
“There are plenty of things I regret, such as not catching you sooner,” Gong Yingxian replied. “But now, we have an opportunity to achieve our respective goals. Would you like to try?”
“…What are you suggesting?”
“Meet me.” Gong Yingxian spoke calmly. “I’ll have a chance to find out who you are, and you’ll have a chance to kill me with your own hands.”
“Gong Yingxian!” Ren Yi stared at him in disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Gong Yingxian ignored him completely. He didn’t even turn to look at Ren Yi.
A low chuckle came from the other end of the line.
“You want to meet me? You think that just because you’ve escaped from me several times, you can afford to walk straight into my trap? Or do you have some scheme in mind?”
“If I do, I’m certainly not going to tell you,” Gong Yingxian replied. “You want Bai Yan alive? Then come and meet me in person.”
Ren Yi glared at Gong Yingxian, unable to figure out what he was trying to accomplish. Surely he wasn’t serious? He couldn’t actually be planning to walk straight into Ziyan’s trap, could he?
Ziyan stopped laughing. His voice took on a curious, almost contemplative tone.
“Fine. As long as you agree to one condition, I’ll come and meet you personally.”
“Name it.”
“Kill Captain Qiu and Captain Ren.”
“You…”
Before Gong Yingxian could say anything, everyone heard a familiar sound at the same time—the wail of police sirens.
Every person present tensed.
Ziyan urged them on. “The police are here. If you don’t leave now, you’ll never get away. Well? You want to meet me? You want to know the truth? Then pay the price.”
Ren Yi cursed furiously. “Go to hell, you sick bastard! You’ll pay for this sooner or later!” He turned to Gong Yingxian. “With these two criminals, you have more than enough to clear your name. All you have to do is…” He trailed off, suddenly unable to continue, because he could clearly see the hesitation and struggle in Gong Yingxian’s eyes.
Hesitation? Struggle?
The sirens were growing louder, and the police had probably already entered the warehouse. They could faintly hear the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.
Ziyan shouted, “Gong Yingxian, don’t you want to catch me? Don’t you want to know who was really behind the case all those years ago?!”
Huang Yan roared, “Hand him over! Now! Immediately!” He grabbed Qiu Yan by the hair, his expression murderous.
Gong Yingxian gripped Bai Chicheng’s arm, his lips trembling slightly.
Ren Yi shouted anxiously, “Yingxian, just hand him over! What are you waiting for?!”
Ziyan suddenly burst into wild laughter.
“Hahahahaha! You can’t bring yourself to do it, can you, Dr. Gong? No wonder. One is a woman who’s practically like an older sister to you, and the other is your best friend. Unfortunately, sacrifices are inevitable on the road to uncovering the truth. Whether you’re a police officer or a scientist, you should understand that principle. If you can’t bring yourself to do it, that’s fine. Huang Yan, why don’t you help Dr. Gong out?”
Gong Yingxian finally turned to look at Ren Yi. His gaze was full of pain, conveying a thousand unspoken words. With his lips, he silently mouthed two words.
I’m sorry.
Before Ren Yi could react, a deafening bang shattered his eardrums. It felt as though a thousand-pound hammer had slammed into his chest, instantly knocking him to the ground. The air in his chest seemed to have been squeezed out by the bullet, leaving him unable to draw even a single breath. Pain blurred his vision, and his entire upper body went numb.
So this is what it feels like to be shot…
After firing at him, Huang Yan fired another shot. Through his blurred vision, Ren Yi saw Qiu Yan collapse to the ground. Her long, flowing ponytail was the last hint of life left in his field of vision.
Ren Yi lay sprawled on the ground, unable to think or move. All he could do was listen as a series of footsteps gradually faded into the distance…