Kiyomi Tsuki und sein Fuchs

Kapitel 5

After the event, Luo Fei and Yuan Zhibang saw the girl again at the entrance of the auditorium; her long hair was still not tied up.

The girl took the initiative to step forward, forcing Luo Fei to stop in his tracks.

"You have excellent observation skills," the girl said, her eyes gleaming with provocation. "Could you tell me what my hairband looks like?"

“There’s a butterfly on the ribbon, a sky-blue butterfly,” Luo Fei answered without hesitation.

The girl tied her hair up with a headband, and a sky-blue butterfly perched on her hair, graceful and lively.

Although Luo Fei correctly predicted it again, this time the girl smiled smugly.

“You didn’t win, you lost,” she said, raising her eyes.

Luo Fei stroked his chin, puzzled.

“You couldn’t possibly see the headband on the back of my head from the stage.” The girl raised her head slightly. “There’s only one possibility that you could spot the butterfly on my headband: you started noticing me before you even came on stage.”

Luo Fei looked embarrassed and somewhat at a loss.

"So the reason you can spot the change in my hairstyle among so many people isn't because of amazing observation skills, but simply because you have a budding romantic heart."

As the girl pressed him harder, Luo Fei's face grew increasingly red.

"Haha. You lost, and you lost two games." The girl laughed happily twice, then turned and ran away.

Luo Fei shook his head in confusion, muttering, "Lost two games? What does that mean?"

“Luo Fei,” Yuan Zhibang said with a helpless smile, patting his shoulder. “You’re a genius when it comes to detective work, but when it comes to romance, you’re just a beginner.”

Luo Fei grinned self-deprecatingly, his gaze following the girl's retreating figure. Until the sky-blue butterfly fluttered and danced away, eventually disappearing into the crowd.

...

The Fate of the Death Sentence (03)

9:30.

Inside the criminal investigation team's detention room.

Han Hao lay on the simple wooden bed, resting and recuperating. He appeared to be asleep, but his mind was still racing.

While conserving his energy, he also needed to seize the time to think.

A series of footsteps approached, and Han Hao's ear twitched slightly.

Yin Jian appeared at the door of the detention cell. "Bring him out," he ordered the officer on duty.

The officers opened the iron gate and went to Han Hao's bedside. Without waiting for them to call out, Han Hao sat up abruptly.

"Captain Han, let's go." The officer's tone was as if he were discussing something with him.

Han Hao ignored him, stood up, and walked straight toward Yin Jian with a sullen face.

Yin Jian turned his head away from Han Hao's gaze, his expression somewhat uneasy.

"Has Luo Fei arrived?" Han Hao asked coldly.

"Yes," Yin Jian nodded. "Captain Luo will also be coming."

Han Hao noticed the change in the other person's tone, stopped in his tracks, and took a deep breath.

This is my last chance—before I see Luo Fei.

Once his breathing had stabilized, Han Hao took the lead and said, "Let's go!" His strides were long and fast, and Yin Jian and the others quickly followed a few steps to catch up with him. From a distance, Han Hao, walking at the front, didn't look like a suspect being escorted at all; on the contrary, Yin Jian and the others still looked like his subordinates.

Han Hao knew the route from the detention room to the interrogation room all too well, but he stopped when he passed the office building.

"My stomach isn't feeling well, I need to go to the toilet," he said, turning to Yin Jian.

Yin Jian frowned slightly: "Why didn't you go earlier?"

"You want me to squat in the same toilet as those real criminals? So that the people I arrested with my own hands can see me make a fool of myself now?" Han Hao glared angrily at Yin Jian, who quickly softened and nodded to the accompanying officers: "Take him there."

The restrooms were just a left turn from the lobby on the first floor. As the group entered, a young office worker was urinating inside. He turned and, recognizing the newcomers, immediately gaped in surprise: "Han... Captain Han?"

Han Hao raised his hand expressionlessly, displaying the gleaming handcuffs, and corrected, "Criminal suspect Han Hao."

The young man hurriedly stuffed the tools into his crotch, and in his haste, the remaining urine soaked his front. Seeing him like this, Yin Jian and the others felt extremely embarrassed and unconsciously turned their faces away.

After the young man left, Yin Jian pushed open the door of a cubicle and called to Han Hao, "Let's hurry up."

Han Hao walked into the cubicle and shook his arm: "Let's follow the rules."

Yin Jian nodded. An officer came up, took a key, unlocked the handcuffs on Han Hao's right hand, and then locked them to the steel water pipe in the cubicle. This was a common practice in the criminal investigation team: when a suspect needed to use the toilet, the officer would handcuff him to the water pipe in the bathroom and wait outside.

This was exactly the effect Han Hao wanted. He was extremely familiar with the criminal investigation team's office building. He knew that there was an 80-centimeter square pipe inspection port on the ceiling of the first-floor restroom. By crawling through there, one could go all the way to the sewer well outside the back wall of the office.

He pondered this all night, and escaping from here seemed to be the only feasible plan. Of course, the success of this plan would also require the cooperation of Yin Jian and the others, as well as a bit of luck.

When Han Hao saw Yin Jian lead the police officers out of the restroom, he was overjoyed. He quickly opened the pendant on his chest, tore open his son's photo, and took out the piece of wire hidden inside.

The handcuffs were quickly unlocked, and Han Hao climbed up the wall of the cubicle by stepping on the water pipes. Then he carefully crawled into the pipe network channel, making almost no sound.

Luck was also on his side: during this process, no one happened to use the restroom.

When Yin Jian, who was waiting outside, felt that it was about time, he signaled to the officers to go inside and check. The latter went into the restroom and saw that the stall door was still locked. He called out twice, "Captain Han, Captain Han? Are you done yet?" But there was no response from inside the stall.

The officer sensed something was wrong. He returned to the corridor and reported to Yin Jian in a low but urgent voice, "Something seems off!"

Yin Jian was startled. He went to the toilet stall and crouched down to peer inside. He couldn't see any feet through the gap, and his heart immediately sank.

Yin Jian sprang up and kicked open the cubicle door. It was empty except for the handcuffs hanging on the water pipe, swaying slightly.

Five minutes later, Luo Fei arrived at the scene, his face ashen. He couldn't comprehend how a detained suspect had escaped right under his nose. And when that person escaped, he was working in his office on the third floor of the same building!

Luo Fei's gaze swept across the scene quickly, and he immediately found the crux of the problem.

"How were the handcuffs opened?" He turned to look at Yin Jian, his gaze sharp as lightning.

Yin Jian was flustered and bewildered: "I...I don't know either."

"What's on him? Have you checked his belongings?!" Luo Fei asked in a series of questions.

The police officer next to Yin Jian seemed to want to say something, but dared not answer rashly. He glanced at Yin Jian timidly.

Luo Fei noticed this detail and immediately frowned: "Hmm?"

“There’s only… a pendant,” Yin Jian replied, forcing a smile. “Inside is a picture of his son.”

Luo Fei's gaze suddenly flickered, and he bent down to pick something up from beside the toilet.

"Is this it?" He handed something to Yin Jian, a torn photograph with a chubby little boy in it, who was Han Hao's son.

Yin Jian recognized it, of course, and he understood what the torn photo meant. He nodded, his face ashen.

"Why make the same mistake twice?" Faced with his subordinate's serious error, Luo Fei only sighed deeply, unlike Han Hao who used to fly into a rage and reprimand him.

But Yin Jian felt an even heavier pressure; his breathing became rapid, and he was almost crushed.

"We must act quickly..." Luo Fei thought for a moment before issuing the order, "Issue notices for assistance at the train station and docks, monitor his family and friends... He has no money or phone, he shouldn't have gone far. Mobilize all available police forces, go now!"

Yin Jian looked blank, seemingly not having heard Luo Fei's words, until the latter patted him heavily on the shoulder, which snapped him out of his daze, and he asked in return, "Me?"

In Yin Jian's mind, he was still waiting for Luo Fei's punishment.

"Who else but you?" Luo Fei looked directly into his eyes. "You have to make up for the mistakes you made yourself."

"Yes!" As if to vent something, Yin Jian roared, snapped to attention, saluted, and turned to leave quickly.

Watching the young man's retreating figure, Luo Fei sighed again, this time for himself. He should have realized earlier that Yin Jian might become a pawn for Han Hao, but he hadn't taken precautions. With the fierce battle against Eumenides underway, this unexpected and troublesome situation had arisen, leaving even Luo Fei feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

2:26 PM.

Mu Jianyun returned to the criminal investigation team and immediately went to Luo Fei's office to report on the relevant work.

"The girl's mental state has stabilized considerably. However, she can't recall many details of the incident, which is normal for someone who has experienced extreme stress and fright," the female lecturer said with some regret.

"Then just tell me what you found." Luo Fei could tell that the other party was hiding some "good stuff" from him.

Mu Jianyun smiled slightly: "Why did that girl survive despite receiving a 'death sentence'? I've figured that out. Eumenides, by forcing Wu Yinwu to cut off his hand, ignited the latter's courage and sense of responsibility as a teacher, and the girl's attitude towards herself, others, and even life itself underwent a tremendous change because of this incident. From a certain perspective, it was a rebirth. Before leaving, Eumenides told the girl something like, 'You've already died once.' So Eumenides didn't abandon the punishment, but completed it in another way."

"Hmm..." Luo Fei pondered for a moment, "This is somewhat different from his usual style."

“Don’t forget, this is the first time the new Eumenides has committed a crime independently,” Mu Jianyun reminded Luo Fei. “So we can assume that this change in style reflects a difference in personality and thinking between the new Eumenides and Yuan Zhibang—the idea of redemption has begun to emerge in his punishment process. For example, this case actually reflects his expectation of redemption through the teacher’s way.”

"Hmm, very good analysis," Luo Fei praised. "Thank you for your hard work. You can go and rest for a bit. We'll go to the hospital together tonight and see if we can find any more clues from Wu Yinwu. He's an adult and hasn't been threatened with death, so his mental state should be better than that girl's."

Mu Jianyun shook his head: "That's hard to say..."

"What do you mean?"

“From what I understand, Wu Yinwu is a very cowardly man. This incident may have two effects on him. It could truly help him overcome himself and achieve a significant leap in his character; but it could also make him live with even more inferiority—because he will feel that he failed to fulfill his duty to protect the deaths of the first two students. If the latter happens, then our work will be much more complicated…” At this point, Mu Jianyun suddenly changed the subject, “Hey, what about Yin Jian? Isn’t it his job to contact Wu Yinwu?”

"Hey." Luo Fei gave a wry smile. "You don't know yet, do you? Han Hao ran away!"

"What?" Mu Jianyun stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

“Yin Jian is leading a manhunt. I’ve been busy directing this as well.” Luo Fei rubbed his head, looking tired. “There hasn’t been any progress yet. If this drags on, I’m worried that Han Hao will escape the provincial capital, and then things will become difficult.”

After a moment's thought, Mu Jianyun smiled and advised, "You don't need to worry about that. Han Hao won't run away."

"Hmm?" Luo Fei raised an eyebrow and looked at the other person. "Why?"

“Because Eumenides is still here. Han Hao is a vengeful person; Eumenides has wronged him so badly, how could he leave so easily?”

Luo Fei nodded secretly, agreeing with the other party's judgment.

"I suggest you keep an eye on Han Hao's family," Mu Jianyun further analyzed. "Because Han Hao can't control his emotions very well, if he continues to stay in the provincial capital, he will definitely be unable to resist meeting with his family members who care about him."

These words seemed to awaken Luo Fei. He narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered to himself, "Yes... especially his precious son..."

4:09 PM.

Archives Management Center of the Provincial Public Security Bureau.

This is probably the most remote office in the entire provincial capital's public security system. Its offices aren't even located within the police station compound, but rather in the southeast corner of the local government archives. Many of the frontline staff at the archives center aren't formal employees of the public security system; they are contract workers, or, in olden times, "temporary workers." Zhu Xiaozhi is one of them.

Zhu Xiaozhi managed to find this job through connections back then, but she now regrets it. As a young woman, she hoped for a "relaxed" job, but after starting, she discovered that it was far too "relaxed."

She was sitting at the entrance of the archives room, idly fiddling with her fingernails. There was a computer in front of her, but it was for managing files; she couldn't access the internet or play games.

In most cases, Zhu Xiaozhi couldn't even find anyone to chat with. This situation was terrible for a girl in her early twenties. She wanted to change jobs several times, but she couldn't bring herself to do so because of personal relationships.

Suddenly, something blocked out the light. Zhu Xiaozhi looked up and saw that there was now a man in front of her.

"Oh, you really startled me!" Zhu Xiaozhi exclaimed exaggeratedly. "Did you float over here? There wasn't a sound!"

The man frowned slightly, as if he wasn't feeling well. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief, coughed twice, and then said in a hoarse voice, "This place is supposed to be quiet... so I'm trying to walk very quietly."