A Lunatic Says He Loves Me: Chapter 47

Chapter 47. Dense Fog 4

Liuqie District lies on the border between Hucheng and Hecheng. When Han Rong drove there, the dawn light was just beginning to appear. His SUV was parked on the roadside, diagonally opposite the entrance to the district. He wasn’t feeling tired, rolled down the car window, and casually leaned against the car. He received a photo from Ling Feng on his phone—Zhang Zhepeng’s daughter, Zhang Yang. Ling Feng had diligently pixelated her facial features, fearing Han Rong might actually do something irreversible.

Although Han Rong detested Zhang Zhepeng, he had no ill intentions towards his daughter. Zhang Zhepeng had taken his mother from him, so he took Zhang Yang’s father in return. Hurting the little girl further seemed pointless.

By 7:30 a.m., parents started bringing their children out of the district, as there was a central primary school nearby. Han Rong stayed in the car, not hiding his presence. With the window wide open, he made eye contact with passing parents and children. Occasionally, curious kids would look his way, and he would smile in return. Cautious parents would quickly pull their children away and quicken their pace, as if he were some kind of threat.

At 4:30 p.m., parents began picking up their children. Han Rong waited until 6:00 p.m. to start the engine and drive away. He continued this routine for a week.

On Monday at 6:00 p.m., Yuan Fei sent a message.

“Li Qian sneaked out. Wearing a baseball cap, mask, and sunglasses, driving a black van with license plate SS617, heading towards Hecheng.”

Ling Feng: “Stay on him.”

At 11:00 p.m., Bai Xinhua also reported, “A black van with license plate SS617 has entered Liuqie District, parking about 500 meters from Zhang Yang’s home.”

Soon, the voices in the earpiece began to come in waves.

Yuan Fei: “Li Qian took Zhang Yang and is heading towards Pier No. 5.”

Ling Feng: “Keep following them, be careful not to get spotted!”

Han Rong: “Are they leaving by boat?”

Ling Feng: “Pier No. 5 is an open commercial port. It’s where fishing boats and cargo ships from other areas dock year-round. These ships sometimes take a few passengers on the return trip for a small fee, without requiring ID.”

Yuan Fei: “Could Li Qian be the third robber who escaped back then?”

Bai Xinhua: “Sir, if they go any further, they will be out of Hucheng’s jurisdiction.”

Yuan Fei: “It’ll be hard to catch them once they reach Hecheng! Should we stop them now?”

Ling Feng: “Han Rong, can you make Li Qian confess?”

Han Rong: “Can he be coerced into confessing?”

Yuan Fei weakly asked, “Is that not possible?”

Ling Feng: “As long as no one dies, I’ll pretend I don’t know.”

Han Rong laughed heartily: “Bring him back; I’ll handle the questioning.”

“All units, intercept Li Qian!”

“Yes, sir!”

****

After Ling Feng was dismissed, he couldn’t even enter the office building. Once Li Qian was brought back, he was taken directly to the vice squad. The team members, all united, treated Lv Xin with utmost respect, and they turned a blind eye to Ling Feng’s request to borrow the interrogation room for questioning Lv Xin’s scandalous acquaintances.

“Captain Ling, when are you going to propose to our captain?”

“……”

The tall, bald Ling Feng, who stood at nearly 1.9 meters, was blushing red from the teasing of the vice squad members. He quickly stepped into the meeting room to avoid further embarrassment.

“Xin Huai has sent Zhang Yang home. Yuan Fei said there was something off at Pier No. 5; he seemed to have heard Ding Ding’s voice earlier. A few vice squad colleagues went with him to check it out.”

“Oh.” Han Rong observed Li Qian on the monitor. Li Qian, 1.8 meters tall with an ordinary square face, seemed unremarkable.

“What are you looking at?”

“Studying his micro-expressions.”

“When will you be confident enough to interrogate him?”

“Now.” Han Rong stood up and walked towards the interrogation room. Before he opened the door, he turned around and asked, “Which arm did the sniper hit back then?”

“Left.”

Han Rong nodded and pushed open the door. Ling Feng approached the large screen and was about to sit down when he received a call from his superior.

“Have you lost your mind, kidnapping Zhang Zhepeng’s daughter?!!”

“No. She’s being returned safely.”

“Stop the investigation on this case immediately!”

“Why?”

“There’s no why! Do you want to be reinstated or not?”

“Whatever. I’ve grown tired of this small place like Hucheng after all these years.” Faced with the sudden harsh attitude of his superior, Ling Feng stood his ground, unshaken, and hung up the phone.

He took a sip of water, composed himself, and observed the activity in the interrogation room.

Han Rong closed the door, turned to face Li Qian, and met his scrutinizing gaze. Li Qian’s eyes flinched slightly before he turned his head away.

The subtle expression on his face revealed a message.

“Do you know me?” Han Rong slowly approached him, taking deliberate steps and speaking in a low, heavy tone. “Then it’s clear you’ve heard of my deeds.”

Li Qian raised his head and saw Han Rong pointing at his own head with a pleasant smile.

Han Rong said, “I have a problem here. If something happens later, don’t be afraid.” The more Han Rong tried to comfort Li Qian, the more frightened Li Qian looked. The moment Han Rong suddenly pulled a black pistol from his pocket, Li Qian instinctively covered his left arm.

The gun’s barrel shifted right, aiming at his right arm. Li Qian immediately ducked behind the chair, gripping the backrest with his left hand, his fingers curling and trembling uncontrollably.

“Human memory is strange. Sweet things, no matter how delicious, will slowly be forgotten over time. But bitter things, just once is enough to be deeply imprinted in the mind.” Han Rong slowly approached him, looking down from above with a smirk, and asked, “I’m clearly aiming at your right arm, so why is your left arm trembling?”

Li Qian shivered, suddenly understanding, his face turning ashen.

Han Rong continued, “Because your left arm was once wounded by a gunshot and endured a painful period of self-healing without adequate medical treatment, right?”

At this point, Li Qian still remained silent. Han Rong suspected that someone had advised him to keep quiet. He patiently waited for a moment and then said, “The case has been over for so long, and the person who killed my mother is already in prison. The victim’s family has remained silent, so you should be at ease. Yet, things didn’t go as expected. You must be puzzled why we suddenly came to you.”

Li Qian hesitantly lifted his head.

Han Rong said, “Because when I found Zhang Zhepeng back then, he betrayed you to save his own life. But unfortunately, I later went mad and forgot such an important thing.”

This time, Li Qian finally reacted, his eyes blazing with anger as he shouted, “Zhang Zhepeng betrayed me?!”

“Not only did he betray you, but he also betrayed Wildfire.”

The mention of Wildfire’s name seemed to provoke him. He jumped up in rage and shouted, “Wildfire is a scoundrel! We went through so much trouble to save his mistress, and in the end, he swallowed the money!”

“Wildfire didn’t give you all the money, so you killed him?”

“I didn’t kill him!”

“Then someone else did.”

Suddenly, with a loud crash, the door of the interrogation room was burst open from the outside, and a group of impeccably uniformed individuals marched in.

Li Qian seemed to be suddenly struck mute, obediently closing his mouth.

Han Rong turned to look. The leader at the forefront had narrow eyes, was tall and thin, and presented a document, saying in a formulaic tone, “Special Investigation Team for the Hucheng District 713 Major Robbery Case, Wei Chi. Please hand over the suspect to us.”

When a case has a significant and adverse impact on society, a special investigation team is established to research it, with members appointed by higher authorities. Once the case is resolved, the team disbands automatically.

It was clear that the 713 special investigation team in front of them was newly established and that the serious crimes unit had not received any prior notice.

Ling Feng quickly ran over from the monitoring room. The security guard whispered, “Sorry, Captain Ling, I couldn’t stop them.”

“It’s okay.”

Ling Feng extended his hand to Wei Chi and said with a hearty laugh, “So it’s Captain Wei. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Wei Chi, however, did not even glance at him and said to the team members behind him, “Take him away.”

“Yes, sir!”

Ling Feng retracted his hand, rubbing the palm of his other hand, and said with a forced laugh, “I’ll leave the person to you. Please take good care of him. If anything happens, no one can bear the responsibility.”

Wei Chi cast a cold glance at him and said, “You should think about how to explain your actions to your superiors. Breaking the law only adds to your crimes!”

Ling Feng scratched his bald head and gave a silly smile as he watched them leave. Han Rong went back to the monitoring room and rewound the footage of the interrogation. Ling Feng came over and asked, “Any findings?”

“Li Qian’s words reveal an important piece of information. Wildfire was responsible for moving the stolen money, and he didn’t take out all the money. This could be related to Wildfire’s death. Also, look here.”

Han Rong replayed the segment several times where Wei Chi came in and took Li Qian away. Although Wei Chi and Li Qian did not communicate during the process, when Li Qian turned and followed Wei Chi out, his mouth corner slightly lifted for 1/4 second.

“There are 44 facial muscles that can create about ten thousand expressions, making it hard to control one’s facial emotions. When someone says one thing and means another, micro-expressions reveal the hidden facts. Li Qian knows Wei Chi and trusts him.”

Ling Feng said, “Wei Chi was previously with the Huo City Serious Crimes Unit. After sending Zhang Zhepeng to prison, he was promoted. All thanks to you.”

“Is that so? I don’t remember,” Han Rong said. “Who is his superior? I’m curious why he was appointed to the 713 special investigation team.”

“Wei Chi’s superior is Ou Junsheng, the leader of the Xuezhou City Serious Crimes Unit, and the sniper who killed the robber on site back then. He was promoted for his merit.”

“Really a web of connections,” Han Rong muttered to himself, then said, “Find out the date when the 713 special investigation team was established.”

Ling Feng fiddled with his phone and, after a while, looked up with a serious expression and said, “March 1st.”

That was the day of Ge Jiaqi’s book signing event, and also the day Wildfire and Ding Ding went missing.

Han Rong asked, “Why did the higher-ups suddenly decide to revisit an old case?”

“New officials always make a show of their power. It’s just that they seem to have set their sights on Hucheng District.” Seeing Han Rong’s confused expression, Ling Feng subtly reminded him, “The higher level above Xuezhou City, the Western Province, Ji.”

Han Rong still looked puzzled. Ling Feng couldn’t help but ask, “Are you genuinely clueless or just pretending? That’s your elder brother-in-law ¹!”

“……”

“Ji Yan’s elder brother? I really don’t know him,” Han Rong said with an innocent look. “He couldn’t possibly be investigating this old case because of me.”

“The entire country is focusing on public safety, and Hucheng District is a major crime hotspot, which has drawn the attention of the higher-ups. Recently, Hucheng District reviewed unsolved cases from the past decade and submitted a list of suspicious cases. In the meeting, Western Province specifically named Xuezhou City, stating that this case has a severe social impact and too many suspicions, so it needs to be investigated. How and when the investigation will be carried out, I’m not sure. In such high-level meetings, people like us are just small fry sitting on the sidewalk outside the main gate, listening.”

“The intention is good. To give the public the truth and provide justice for the victims’ families. But I can’t help but consider the worst outcome.” Han Rong’s expression grew serious. “If the fifth robber was also at that meeting, then this robber, who has been hiding in the shadows and remains elusive, would be the first to know that there have been changes in the ‘713 Robbery Case.’ What would he do?”

Ling Feng said, “Destroy evidence, cover up the facts.”

“Exactly. And the death of his accomplice Wildfire may just be the beginning.”

“He’s eliminating witnesses?”

Han Rong’s eyes were deep and dark, “Perhaps lending someone a knife to kill another ².”

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Translator Notes

1. 大舅子(Da Jiu Zi) – wife’s older brother.[↩]
2. Getting someone else to do your dirty work.[↩]