Proofreader: Sandra

Chapter 148

October 5th, 4 PM, at Lingcheng Police Academy, not far from Nancheng City.

The warm autumn sun gradually receded, replaced by the impending chill of winter. The sky was somewhat overcast, with thickening clouds blocking the sunlight, hinting at imminent rain.

This academy was one of the three major police schools in Jiang Province, offering various specialized courses and continuously supplying professional talent to police stations throughout Jiang Province.

The buildings on campus were square and orderly, unlike the more casual layouts of ordinary schools.

It was during the National Day holiday, and many students had already left for their break. The campus was much quieter, though some elective courses continued, and some graduate mentors had not taken a break.

Wu Qing had just finished a day of tutoring and was being pushed in a wheelchair by a short-haired female student out of the teaching building. Outside, the student suddenly stopped, saying, “Professor Wu… it looks like it’s going to rain.”

Wu Qing smiled and said, “It’s okay, I have an umbrella. You should head back early.”

The female student said, “I checked the weather forecast today. They issued a red alert for a typhoon. It’s called Gar.”

She had read about gars in books. They were large, fierce, carnivorous fish. Given this name, it wasn’t hard to imagine the typhoon’s intensity.

“Yes,” Wu Qing replied. “The name of this typhoon is quite interesting.”

A gust of wind blew, and the female student felt cold, tucking her fingers into her sleeves. “It seems unusual to have a typhoon this late in the year.”

Wu Qing chuckled, “There are typhoons in the northwest Pacific all year round, though they are mostly concentrated in the summer. It’s rare but not unheard of for a typhoon to affect Jiang Province in the fall.”

The female student was about to say something else when she suddenly stopped, “Professor Wu…”

Wu Qing also noticed the person standing ahead, a man around fifty years old. When Wu Qing looked up, the man turned to face him.

The man’s physique was well-maintained, and his presence exuded an air of authority, like a gun standing upright.

Wu Qing calculated the timing and understood why Song Cheng was here. He was probably here because of recent events.

The two longtime partners locked eyes for a moment.

Time had left its marks; neither of them looked like their younger selves anymore.

Wu Qing turned to the student and said, “You can go now. I can manage on my own.”

The female student hesitated a bit.

Wu Qing added, “It’s nothing, just an old friend. Don’t worry.” His speech was slow, his voice low and slightly hoarse, giving a sense of safety and reassurance.

The female student finally nodded, gathered her things, and said, “Okay, Professor Wu, I’ll bring my revised thesis to you later.”

She left, looking back every few steps, still seeming a bit uneasy.

Wu Qing moved his wheelchair forward half a meter and said, “It’s a bit awkward. Usually, no one visits me at school, so the students find it a bit strange.”

Song Cheng stepped forward and placed his hands on the wheelchair handles. “I’m here to talk about recent events in Nancheng. Should I take you back, or do you want to talk outside?”

Wu Qing replied, “You haven’t been back to your alma mater for a long time, have you? It’s changed completely from before. There’s still time before dinner, so why don’t you push me around the campus for a bit?”

Song Cheng then pushed the wheelchair past the teaching building. Ahead was a patch of greenery, and behind it was the sports field, along with newly built libraries and swimming pools.

Wu Qing was right; the place had changed a lot.

They had been alumni of different classes and later worked together in Nancheng. Their lives were deeply intertwined. They had been close comrades, trusted allies who had each other’s backs. It was the emergence of the 519 case that had altered their fates. To this day, Song Cheng could hardly remember when they had last met.

He only recalled that they had once had a fierce argument, parting ways bitterly, both deeply hurt.

At that time, Wu Qing believed that the task force should not be disbanded and that they should pursue the investigation thoroughly, regardless of the sacrifices, to prevent future troubles. Song Cheng, on the other hand, had received orders from his superiors to avoid direct confrontation, bide their time, and prevent further casualties.

After that argument, Wu Qing resigned despite objections and took up teaching here. Following orders obediently paved his way to rapid advancement.

But those were only surface achievements.

Song Cheng knew that over these past dozen years, Wu Qing never stopped pursuing those matters. And he himself never let go of the 519 case.

Now, Nancheng was once again under a dark cloud…

Thinking this, Song Cheng sighed. “The recent events in Nancheng, they’re your doing, aren’t they? You recommended Lu Siyu, got him placed in Song Wen’s team.”

Wu Qing bowed his head. “Lu Siyu was one of my best students in recent years. Is it wrong to have him help Song Wen?”

The wheelchair rolled over the green of the playground, the late autumn grass emitting a fragrant sign of life.

Song Cheng continued, “You sent him there to cooperate with your plans, right? Zhang Peicai also followed your guidance to uncover the truth about Wushan Nursing Home Home. You’ve never really moved on from that case…”

Wu Qing replied, “If you know all this, why did you let Xu Changying take over there?”

Song Cheng knew he was being deliberately questioned. “Restarting 519, isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? Perhaps my choice of Xu Changying was also part of your plan.”

Sending Lu Siyu to Nancheng City Bureau, then using Zhang Peicai to focus everyone’s attention on the Wushan Nursing Home Home case—back then, he didn’t want Song Wen involved again. But as things escalated, he had to act, hence assigning Xu Changying.

All these chain reactions were like toppling dominoes.

Recently, Xu Changying’s fatal accident had left Song Cheng distraught, feeling like his heart was being torn apart.

Xu Changying’s last phone call to Lu Siyu, followed by Lu Siyu’s disappearance…

Later, Song Cheng realized someone was manipulating these relationships.

He looked down and asked Wu Qing, “I want to know, how did you arrange for Xu Changying to contact Lu Siyu?”

Wu Qing didn’t evade the question. “A year ago, I approached some people Xu Changying knew, asked them to casually mention my talented student. When Xu Changying realized someone had infiltrated the police, making his surroundings unsafe, he naturally thought that the victim of the 519 case would not leak information.”

Song Cheng understood the sequence of events. Xu Changying might have heard Lu Siyu’s name a long time ago, through recommendations, mentions, or casual remarks, gradually deepening his impression and goodwill towards him.

It was a psychological suggestion—initially inconspicuous, but repeated mentions would pique curiosity and foster a sense of fate. At this stage, both Xu Changying and Lu Siyu were completely unaware.

When Xu Changying joined Nancheng’s team, saw Lu Siyu’s file, and then met him, he naturally developed enough interest in the person.

Later, Xu Changying discovered that Lu Siyu was a victim of the case from years ago…

Within the police station, someone leaked information, making it seem like enemies were everywhere. Yet Lu Siyu, because of his identity, became a natural ally.

As things unfolded step by step, Xu Changying could only trust Lu Siyu when the crisis suddenly struck.

Wu Qing sighed. “But in my plan, I didn’t expect Xu Changying to sacrifice himself. It seems what he found must have been crucial.”

Song Cheng gripped the wheelchair handles tightly. “Everyone is your pawn—your student Lu Siyu, Zhang Peicai, Xu Changying, even Song Wen. They’re all at your mercy, deep in your schemes…”

Now, with Lu Siyu gone, he had to confront the mastermind behind it all. Yet Wu Qing remained surprisingly calm before him.

If Nancheng were a chessboard, the man before him was a strategist, holding white pieces against the forces of darkness and evil.

Song Cheng didn’t even know if his presence here, meeting with Wu Qing, was also part of Wu Qing’s calculations.

Wu Qing chuckled. “It goes both ways, doesn’t it? Didn’t you send people to monitor my phone and search through my things before?”

Song Cheng stopped walking. They were now standing in a corner of the playground, nearly deserted except for a few students hurrying by. He lowered his voice. “Based on the progress report from my side, Xu Changying must have traced from clues to find the fourth robber we identified years ago—the only one still alive, who knows the truth and has been hiding his identity for nineteen years. What Xu Changying told Lu Siyu should be about her identity and whereabouts, right? If Bai Jing knew they had reached this point, he would surely send someone to silence them, because they are the only eyewitnesses linking him to the 519 robbery.”

That’s why this car accident happened, and why Xu Changying sacrificed himself.

Now, Lu Siyu was also in danger.

Wu Qing paused. “You know what I’m looking for, what I want. The reason I left the front line years ago to come here and teach was because I felt many people were not trustworthy.”

Wu Qing had previously warned Song Cheng that there might be a mole in Nancheng’s police force, but Song Cheng’s inaction at the time had left him disillusioned. In Wu Qing’s eyes, Song Cheng was just a traitor who exchanged benefits and schemed with the enemy.

“The events of the past are not as you imagine,” Song Cheng replied. He walked up to the wheelchair, crouched slightly, and looked at Wu Qing. The man before him was refined and handsome, with age leaving few marks on his face, though strands of white were visible in his hair.

Song Cheng lowered his voice, speaking slowly and deliberately. “Wu Qing, please tell me. Where exactly is Lu Siyu now?” He had been trying to track Lu Siyu’s identity information, but it seemed like Lu Siyu had changed his contact methods and had completely disappeared.

Seeing Wu Qing remain silent, Song Cheng continued, “Song Wen should have gone with him. You can’t just disregard the lives of these children.”

Between the two of them, Song Cheng appeared resolute, unsmiling, but it was actually Wu Qing who had the colder heart. He always believed that in confronting evil, sacrifices were inevitable. For victory, he disregarded life and even his own life could become a bargaining chip, placed on the scales.

Such thinking undoubtedly influenced Lu Siyu.

Lu Siyu disappeared, and when Song Wen suddenly took leave, initially Song Cheng wasn’t too worried, especially since he was busy with Xu Changying’s affairs and couldn’t spare any attention.

It wasn’t until noon today when Chief Gu reported that Song Wen’s phone had been unreachable for a while that Song Cheng started to worry. He traced Song Wen’s last call location to Xinchuan. After careful consideration, he came directly to Wu Qing.

Wu Qing narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Song Cheng. “At this point, can I still trust you?”

Song Cheng took hold of his wrist. His hand was slender under the clothes, and even sitting down, Wu Qing’s lean physique was apparent. Underneath the clothes, he might as well have been a skeleton.

Song Cheng’s action was somewhat coercive, but Wu Qing didn’t feel threatened.

“After so many years, you should understand me the best, and I should understand you the best too. Regardless of what happened before, I still want to say that my original intention has never changed.” Song Cheng straightened out the creases on Wu Qing’s sleeve, raised his head, and looked directly into Wu Qing’s eyes. “I will explain everything that happened before. I am determined now to completely resolve these troubles in Nancheng. I hope you can tell me the current situation and also help me, accompany me to Nancheng.”

Wu Qing knew Song Cheng’s character very well. It was not easy for him to say such words.

At this point, he wanted to reconcile, even hoping to work together again.

Wu Qing pondered for a moment after hearing this. “I still have a few days of vacation. I can spare some time to go to Nancheng with you. As for where they have gone, it’s not that I won’t tell you, but… even if you knew now, you might be powerless to change anything. It’s better to trust the children.”

Song Cheng stubbornly asked again, “Where exactly is that place?”

Wu Qing remained silent for a moment before finally speaking. “Nansha Island.”

Part of Jiang Province was coastal, with several small islands offshore. Nansha Island was one of them, located less than three hours by sea from Xinchuan Port. It had only a few hundred households and was a sacred place for tourism in recent years because of its many seabirds.

And that was where Typhoon Gar was about to strike.

A storm was gathering there.

Six hours ago, the last ferry to Nansha Island had already departed on schedule…