Leng Ning sat in the police team’s car heading to the Longchuan City Criminal Police Team. At first, someone even poured him tea, but later He Le just walked over, cuffed his wrist, and threw him into the interrogation room.

Leng Ning felt baffled. The police who looked at him all changed their expressions, their eyes cutting into him like knives.

His intuition told him: something’s not right.

Leng Ning slowly adapted to the strong lights in the interrogation room. Suddenly, the door opposite him opened, and two people walked in.

One was a young police officer responsible for taking notes, and the other was the team leader, Di Ye.

Di Ye seemed to have hurriedly taken a shower, changed into a clean black T-shirt, and his hair wasn’t fully dry yet, with a few damp strands hanging over his forehead, and his face still carried some moisture.

Leng Ning: “The statement is done. Can I leave now?”

Di Ye flipped through the statement, dropping his previous polite demeanor, “The record shows you took a bus from Ningzhou to Longchuan City yesterday. Obviously, the train is more convenient. Why take a bus?”

“Does this have anything to do with the case?”

“Your actions don’t make sense.”

“So?”

“So, should I think differently: is the bus more convenient for carrying drugs? And are you Hei Gou’s subordinate!”

As soon as he said this, the police outside the interrogation room gathered around, and Zhou Man also stopped typing, looking at Leng Ning in surprise.

Di Ye stared at Leng Ning’s innocent-looking face, “Is Hei Gou your subordinate? Speak!”

Leng Ning also became serious.

This team leader seemed eager to solve the case, possibly just grabbing anyone to close it. If that’s what he thought, then Leng Ning’s situation wasn’t looking good, considering how hard it is to get out once you’re in a criminal police team.

“You can verify my identity with Jinmai.”

“You think I haven’t checked? I’ve already called, and there’s no one named Leng Ning among Jinmai’s employees.”

“I haven’t officially reported yet. Maybe they made a mistake.”

“You think looking innocent will let you get away with it?” Di Ye said, “I’ve seen plenty of people pretending to be students to sell drugs.”

“Officer Di,” Leng Ning interrupted, “everyone there saw me being held hostage. How could I be in cahoots with him?”

“You saw the situation was exposed, so you and Hei Gou put on a show for us, using the police to get rid of Hei Gou. You’re so smart; how could Hei Gou be your match?”

Leng Ning took a deep breath, feeling a bit speechless.

“Poor acting, couldn’t even scream for help when kidnapped, and you say it’s not an act?”

“These are just your assumptions. You can call Zhang Xiaoman from Jinmai to verify my identity. I don’t know Hei Gou. I took the bus to conveniently bring my pet.”

“Pet?”

“The turtle on my windowsill.”

Leng Ning felt he had made himself clear. If they still insisted on accusing him, then there was definitely someone with a problem.

Di Ye recalled seeing a glass tank on the windowsill in the other person’s bedroom, indeed with a turtle inside.

This explanation seemed reasonable.

Confronting Leng Ning was like punching a cotton ball. His intuition told him there was something off about the other person, yet the other person always had a reason to counter.

Was the other person too cunning?

At this moment, a voice suddenly came through the earpiece.

• Let him go immediately! Do you think there aren’t enough complaints, or haven’t you written enough reviews?

The atmosphere inside and outside the interrogation room instantly became tense.

Tang Xiaodong, who had been dealing with high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol for many years, finally couldn’t take it anymore and suddenly fainted during a meeting last week. After spending nearly half a month in the hospital, he was discharged and returned to work.

The officers who were sneaking snacks during work quickly put them away, afraid of being caught and lectured by Director Tang.

“Your reasoning is impressive,” Leng Ning said. “With such imagination, why not become a screenwriter?”

“Stop being sarcastic.”

“If you don’t let me go, I’ll file a complaint against you.”

• Di Ye, come out.

Director Tang’s voice came through the earpiece again.

“I’ll be back to interrogate you later.”

Di Ye got up and walked out, only to see Director Tang waiting for him at the door with a stern face, “Let’s talk in my office.”

In Director Tang’s office.

“I just called Zhang Xiaoman. They do have an employee named Leng Ning, but he hasn’t been entered into the system yet.”

“You could have just said that. I’m leaving.” Di Ye turned to leave.

“Can’t you act like a team leader? You’re always acting like a thug, and so many people are watching you!”

“I’m not breaking the law, let them watch!”

Director Tang almost choked, waving him off, “Get out, get out!”

*

Leng Ning thought of Di Ye’s face and always felt a strange feeling, as if a fragment of memory was about to surface, only to sink back into the depths of his memory just as he was about to find the answer.

He felt a moment of mental haze, a tightness in his chest for no reason.

At this moment, there was a noise at the door. He looked up and saw that face again.

Almost at the same moment, his heart contracted sharply.

Di Ye had a sour expression on his face as he told the person inside, “Take him for a urine test.”

After speaking, Di Ye’s eyes swept over Leng Ning’s face, which was already excessively pale and turned even paler.

“It’s just a urine test. Why are you nervous?”

Leng Ning’s bangs were a bit long, hanging on his eyelashes, and when he lowered his head, the ends almost poked into his eyes. His pupils were so dark that the iris pattern was indistinguishable, with a cold and distant look in his eyes, “Please hurry.”

Di Ye looked at Leng Ning, and a shadow from his memory suddenly surfaced, but when he thought about it carefully, it seemed impossible—because that person was already dead.

Not until 7 PM did Di Ye come out of the meeting room and saw Shu Shu passing by with a stack of documents. He casually asked, “Did the urine test results for Leng Ning come out?”

“They did, negative.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s already left.”

Di Ye recalled Leng Ning’s series of actions, so much so that he didn’t even react when the cigarette butt fell on his hand.

Why was he so nervous if the urine test was fine?

Did he miss some detail?

Di Ye felt that there were many contradictions in Leng Ning.

Eloquent and clear-headed, such a person wouldn’t be so poor as to need to stay at a friend’s place if they put in a little effort.

Seemingly approachable, but during their conversation, he found that the other person always remained vigilant towards the outside world, as if it was an unconscious habit.

Seemingly smart and efficient, yet he liked to do some boring things, like raising turtles, reading novels…

His intuition told him that people with such confusing attributes were often very dangerous.

“Did he say anything when he left?” Di Ye asked again.

Shu Shu thought for a moment, “He borrowed two coins from me, said he needed them for the bus. Captain, he’s so poor, he probably can’t be a drug dealer, right?”

Di Ye: “This person is not simple. Don’t be fooled by his appearance. Have the people at Baohuang Temple keep an eye on him, see who he comes into contact with.”

*

At eleven in the evening, the police station was still brightly lit.

He Le opened the lid of his instant noodles with old pickled cabbage beef flavor, about to start his night shift dinner. Just as he opened his mouth, he received a message from the tech team. He jumped up from his chair, “Boss, we’ve tracked the phone location!”

Di Ye stubbed out his cigarette, “Where is he?”

“At Baohuang Temple, Hao Ge KTV.”

“Baohuang Temple again, is the location moving?”

“No!”

“Meet at the entrance, if you’re hungry, bring snacks to eat in the car!”

“Roger that!”

*

In less than three minutes, police cars with flashing lights drove out from the Longchuan City Criminal Police Team.

A military green jeep passed through the bustling third ring of the city, with a tanned arm resting on the driver’s side window. Just by looking at the muscle lines, one could guess the owner of the arm had a good physique.

Di Ye had a complete veteran driver’s posture, with a cigarette between his fingers resting on the window, and the other hand on the steering wheel, “Tang, don’t spill it in my car.”

He Le, holding his instant noodles with old pickled cabbage beef flavor, was eating messily in the passenger seat, filling the car with the smell of instant noodles.

“Don’t worry, boss, even if it spills on my head, it won’t spill in your car.”

After He Le finished speaking, the sound of slurping noodles resumed.

Di Ye glanced at the coordinates on the display screen, the target hadn’t moved.

Suddenly, the road ahead was congested. Di Ye stuck his head out of the car to take a look, then picked up the walkie-talkie, “What’s going on up there? Get a police car to clear the way!”

With the help of the police car, their vehicle quickly started moving again. He Le swallowed the last mouthful of soup, wiped his mouth, and got ready for action.

On the billboard in the square was the image spokesperson Shen Zhuo, who Di Ye thought looked a bit like Leng Ning.

In his mind, the image of Leng Ning smoking suddenly flashed—fingers holding a cigarette, lazily and casually placed at the lips, gently exhaling white smoke, looking indifferent.

Thinking of this, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he turned the steering wheel into the bar street.

As soon as they turned in, the wind carrying the smell of beer blew in their faces.

The street hadn’t been repaired for a long time, the road surface was uneven, and unknown sources of water gathered in the depressions, reflecting the flashing neon lights.

At night, all sorts of people gathered here for entertainment, scantily clad women swayed as they walked, stout men stood at the shop entrances smoking, laughter from men and women came from the corners, and the bar windows reflected bodies moving casually, living off the night and alcohol.

In contrast, Hao Ge KTV was considered one of the more upscale entertainment venues here, with several people standing at the entrance as greeters. When male guests arrived, the pretty hostess immediately smiled and greeted them.

“How many of you?”

He Le, without looking sideways, pulled out his criminal police badge, “Police business.”

“Please wait a moment.”

The female greeter immediately turned into the corridor upon hearing this, moved a picture frame, and pressed a special alarm button.

At the KTV entrance, a military green jeep drifted to a stop. The driver’s door opened, and a tall man got out. The man closed the car door with a backhand and marched straight into the KTV in police boots, “Why waste time here, hurry up and catch them!”

The male greeter was startled, realizing the situation was serious, and not wanting to lose his job over it, he reached out to block the man, only to be grabbed by the collar and pushed aside.

“Stay put!”

The man exuded a rebellious and oppressive aura, every move was strong and commanding. From the moment he stepped into the KTV, it seemed like this area became his domain.

The male greeter immediately backed down, retreating to the side without daring to speak.

He Le put away his criminal police badge, then pulled out a 92-style police pistol from his waist and followed the captain up the stairs.

As the two entered, half the street was filled with police cars, and a bunch of police officers got out of the cars and rushed in like a brawl.

Di Ye kicked open the golden aluminum alloy door of the No. 3 private room, simultaneously holding a gun and quickly sidestepping into the room.

The private room was a mess, with the sound system playing “The First Snow of 2002,” and the air filled with a strong smell of alcohol.

If one sniffed carefully, they would notice a faint metallic blood smell mixed in the air.

Bottles lay scattered on the ground, and a man sat alone leaning on the sofa, eyes closed, motionless as if asleep.

No one else was seen in the room.

The entire private room had no windows, nor were there any hidden doors.

Di Ye approached the man, patting his shoulder, “Still sleeping? Get up!”

Seeing no response, Di Ye’s face darkened.

His gaze lowered, and he saw the man’s deep black shirt wet and sticking to his chest. It was unclear what color the liquid was, but he knew it was blood.