A Lunatic Says He Loves Me: Chapter 48

Chapter 48. Dense Fog 5

Ling Feng was silent for a while. After a long pause, he said, “They wouldn’t be so audacious, would they?”

Han Rong shrugged, “Who knows? Maybe they think that with the distance from the higher-ups, they can cover the sky with one hand in this small Hucheng District.”

Ling Feng immediately picked up the landline and dialed, “Hello? Comprehensive Command Section? This is Ling Feng from the Serious Crimes Unit! Lock in the vehicle information of the 713 Special Investigation Team, including Wei Chi and others, and tell me their exact location!”

A colleague from the Command Section hesitated, “Sorry, Captain Ling, without orders from above, we can’t disclose the movements of the special investigation team.”

With a loud “click,” Ling Feng hung up the phone, grabbed the car keys, and headed out. Han Rong packed up his things and prepared to leave, while Yuan Fei, carrying a stack of documents like a small mountain, staggered in.

“Han Ge, don’t leave! These are materials that Bai Jie painstakingly ‘borrowed’ from the headquarters. Let’s go through them together tonight.”

“Weren’t you going to Pier 5 to find Ding Ding?”

“I searched every nook and cranny but couldn’t find him.” Pain flashed briefly across his brow, and he smiled, “Ding Ding is so clever, he must be hiding well! Once we catch the bad guys, he’ll come out!”

Han Rong sent a text to Ji Yan saying he wouldn’t be coming back for dinner and approached Yuan Fei to take the stack of documents. “There was also a 713 Special Investigation Team seven years ago. Who were its members?”

“I think I saw that. Let’s find out.” Yuan Fei spread the documents across the conference table, flipping through them. After a while, he picked up a sheet and handed it over, “Here it is.”

Han Rong glanced at it. The yellowed paper had two familiar names: Liu Zhizhou and Ou Junsheng.

“I need to know the current status of the other members of the special investigation team besides Wildfire and this sniper named Ou Junsheng.”

“One died in the line of duty, two passed away from illness, and one resigned and went abroad.”

“So, that means the only person left who was closest to the truth of this case back then is Ou Junsheng.”

“That’s correct,” Yuan Fei said. Seeing Han Rong deep in thought, he asked, “Han Ge, have you conducted a psychological profile of the fifth robber?”

“Good at disguising, received excellent education in both literature and martial arts, parents divorced, and has endured poverty for a long time.” Seeing Yuan Fei looking at him strangely, Han Rong asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It sounds like you’re describing Wildfire. He matches all those characteristics.”

Han Rong said, “So besides being dark-hearted, the fifth robber is similar to Wildfire.” He pointed to the list of team members, “Get me all the information on Ou Junsheng.”

“Okay.”

“Such secret documents for special cases should be locked in your headquarters’ safe. How did Bai Xinhuai get them?”

“I don’t know,” Yuan Fei scratched his face, “Maybe she learned how to pick locks from Sir Ling.”

The documents “borrowed” by Bai Xinhuai detailed the case’s progression, the specifics of the crime scene, and information not released by the authorities. During the city-wide manhunt for the two escaped robbers, another truck transporting gold from Huahua Bank was also robbed. All personnel on the truck were shot in the head.

Yuan Fei said, “Li Qian mentioned that Wildfire didn’t hand over all the stolen money. Could he have kept this batch of gold for himself?”

Han Rong replied, “A shot to the head indicates nearly a hundred percent accuracy. How’s Wildfire’s marksmanship?”

“I don’t know about his shooting skills. But I’d think he wouldn’t be a hidden talent. If he were a sharpshooter, he’d have been promoted and well-rewarded by now.”

“You make a good point.” Han Rong’s gaze fell on the list of victims, and he asked, “What about the family of the little girl who was kidnapped as a hostage back then?”

“It’s written here.” Yuan Fei turned a page to the section titled “Liu Jialin’s Family Information,” “Her mother committed suicide by cutting her wrists due to depression.”

Han Rong’s phone buzzed on the table, the screen lighting up with a message:

【How’s the case progressing? I heard someone got ahead?】

“Who’s leaking information to Ge Jiaqi?” Han Rong deleted the message and continued to look at the documents. His eyes suddenly fixed on the family information page.

“This woman who committed suicide—her name seems very familiar. I must have seen her somewhere.”

“Maybe she was involved in a previous case when social connections were investigated. She’s had a tough time—divorced and remarried, and her daughter died so tragically.”

“Jialin… Jiaqi? Yuan Fei, look into this—”

Buzzing—

At that moment, Yuan Fei’s phone vibrated violently.

“Hello? What! I’ll be right over!” Yuan Fei hung up the phone and, pulling Han Rong along, rushed outside. “The 713 Special Investigation Team’s car exploded!”

****

The hospital corridor was always bustling, with comings and goings, and life-and-death dramas unfolding every moment.

“I say, they’re all shattered. Just send them directly to the morgue. Yet Sir Ling still insists on having the doctors try to save them. Doctors aren’t tailors—how are they supposed to piece them together?”

“Shut up. Is Anti-Ponography really that idle?”

“It’s just that the boss is busy and still worries about that bald head, so he asked me to come and check.”

None of the 713 Special Investigation Team or Li Qian survived. Ling Feng sat on a bench in the hospital, motionless, as if in deep meditation after hearing the pronouncement of death. After a while, he called an informant in Yuzhou City to inquire about Ge Jiaqi’s situation.

“Keep a close watch on him. I’ll come over tonight.”

After he hung up, Han Rong said, “Officer Ling, do you think Officer Ding has been killed? After so many days of investigation and interaction, I’ve found that you can endure humiliation and approach the truth step by step. When hope fades, you become irrational and prepared to perish with Ge Jiaqi. Officer Ding and Wildfire disappeared together. If they were also killed, why hasn’t Officer Ding’s body been found? I believe you can consider the best possible outcome. Officer Ding isn’t dead, and there are two possible reasons why the killer didn’t kill him. First, he might be wary of Officer Ding. Second, Officer Ding still has value. Either way, he could still be alive.”

Ling Feng looked up at him and said, “Han Rong. Tell me honestly, do you think Ge Jiaqi has no connection to this case?”

Han Rong replied, “Perhaps not in the way you think.”

Ling Feng said, “When I first looked into Ge Jiaqi’s eyes, I thought I saw a reflection of you from the past. Or rather… someone several times more crazed than you.”

“So you think he’s unwell?” Han Rong gestured to his own head.

Ling Feng gazed at him with a profound expression and said meaningfully, “Whether he’s unwell or not, he needs to be quiet.” After a moment, he added, “Let’s get back to the main topic. Assuming the worst-case scenario…”

“It already is,” Han Rong said. “Except for Zhang Zhepeng from Qiqi Prison, everyone who knew the inside story is dead, leaving only the fifth robber. But his urgency to send Li Qian and the special investigation team to their deaths, and his eagerness to distance himself from them, makes me suspect a superior who assigned the special investigation team members. I’ve previously profiled the fifth robber’s current psychological state, and he seems to want to kill with a borrowed knife. Both we and Wei Chi have become his knives.”

After a long silence, Ling Feng asked, “Do you suspect Ou Junsheng?”

“It’s clear now that there were two people involved in the crime, one of whom is Wildfire. But whether Wildfire approached the other party voluntarily or was incited by them, the consensus is that their relationship must have been quite familiar. I don’t know the nature of their relationship.”

Ling Feng said, “When I came to Hucheng, Ou Junsheng had already left. I’m not clear about their relationship; you’ll need to ask the older members of the unit. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

The higher-ups in Hucheng, unwilling to face the anger of their superiors, let Ling Feng return to his original position to handle the aftermath. Yuan Fei continued his relentless search for Ding Ding, even consulting Chen Bugua, and it seemed there was some progress. Han Rong finally had a chance to take a breather, return home for a few days of rest, and catch up on sleep with his virtuous little husband ¹.

Before going to bed, he suddenly asked, “Why is your elder brother investigating this case?”

“What’s your impression these days?”

“Hucheng is just a small, backward city, yet conflicts and disputes are rampant. It seems to confirm that saying, ‘The poorer the place, the more chaotic the social order.’”

“That’s the reason.”

Someone had to set things right.

Three days later, Han Rong received a text message from Ling Feng:

Ling: Ou Junsheng and Liu Zhizhou were college alumni and often partnered on tasks. After Ou Junsheng was transferred, they stopped communicating.

Han: Go to Qiqi Prison and question Zhang Zhepeng. He’s the last person who knew the details.

Ling: The informant from Yuzhou City reported that Ge Jiaqi is missing.

Han Rong’s gaze lingered on a multimedia message from Ge Jiaqi sent a few days ago.

[Does he fit your criminal profile?]

The person in the photo is not tall, about 1.7 meters, with an ordinary appearance, easily lost in a crowd. Only his eyes are particularly cold and fierce, and the sniper rifle on his back seems ready to aim at your head at any moment.

Han: [Where are you?]

Qi: [Guess~]

Qi: [There’s a reward for finding me~]

Qi: [Do you want to save Officer Ding?]

Han: [Do you know where he is?]

Qi: [Find me, and I’ll tell you~]

Han: [No need. I’ll find him myself.]

Qi: [Then you better hurry~ Or it’ll be too late~~]

Author’s Note:

The story will conclude tomorrow or the day after. An extra chapter will be added to showcase Han Rong and Ji Yan’s romantic daily life.

If you're enjoying the story don't forget to support the author! You can also support me on KOFI for site maintenance, raws purchase or as an energy boost~ 

 

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Translator Notes

1. 媳妇儿[xi fu r] – young married woman.[↩]