Kiyomi Tsuki und sein Fuchs

Kapitel 27

Du Mingqiang let out a soft sigh: "I thought you were going to lock me in a stuffy room—like this."

“From your perspective, this is a good idea—however, we don’t have the authority to do so.” Luo Fei paused for a moment, then added, “But if you request it yourself, we can provide similar security measures.”

Du Mingqiang chuckled and said sarcastically, "Why bother? Why do something that makes everyone unhappy?"

Luo Fei frowned slightly upon hearing this, while Du Mingqiang, seeing the other's expression, became even more smug. He grinned, adopting a self-righteous air, and said, "If I'm restricted in my freedom and confined to a heavily guarded place, the person most unhappy will definitely be Eumenides, because it will become very difficult for him to approach me, and he might be forced to abandon his original plan. If Eumenides abandons his plan, the police will also be unhappy, because the clue you have will become meaningless. As for me? Avoiding Eumenides is like avoiding the most newsworthy killer in history, and a true journalist would never do that. So, restoring my freedom and providing favorable conditions for my contact with Eumenides is the situation everyone wants to see."

Luo Fei did not refute the other party's statement. He maintained his usual calm demeanor and asked indifferently, "So, you're willing to accept the police's arrangements?"

"Accept the arrangements?" Du Mingqiang shook his head. "That doesn't seem quite right. I think our relationship should be one of cooperation."

"Cooperation?" Luo Fei looked at the other party, wondering what kind of trick this guy was up to now.

“Yes, cooperation!” Du Mingqiang emphasized. “In fact, your police want to use me to lure out Eumenides, and I am willing to cooperate with you. This will involve considerable risk for me, so I must also enjoy the corresponding benefits.”

To actually try and negotiate with the police at this time—what an arrogant and overconfident fellow! Luo Fei had always disliked people like that, but he didn't show it on his face. He simply asked, "So, what do you want?"

"News material. News material related to Eumenides."

“That’s impossible,” Luo Fei refused outright. “These are top-secret police documents; they will never be leaked.”

Du Mingqiang looked disappointed, but he was not resigned to his fate and said in a threatening tone, "Then I can't guarantee that I will act exactly according to your plan. Maybe I will hide myself, or I will go and find information about Eumenides myself."

“That’s your freedom,” Luo Fei replied coldly. “But I’m telling you, if you really escape police surveillance, the next time the police find you, they’ll most likely have to bring a forensic doctor to collect your body.”

Du Mingqiang seemed surprised by the other party's tough attitude. He paused for a moment, then shook his head dejectedly, looking helpless.

Luo Fei had no interest in continuing the conversation; he had many more important things to do. Seeing that Du Mingqiang was no longer willing to speak, he stood up: "Alright. The situation has been explained clearly. Please wait here for a moment, and I will send in special police officers to protect you, after which you can leave."

After saying this, Luo Fei left the interrogation room. He summoned two officers on duty and instructed them to guard the door and prevent anyone from entering or leaving. This was the core territory of the Criminal Investigation Division, and he didn't believe Eumenides would dare to cause trouble here. However, true to his nature, he always wanted to be meticulous in everything he did.

8:30 a.m., Criminal Investigation Brigade Conference Room.

The death sentence notice sent to Du Mingqiang was scanned and projected onto the display screen at the front of the conference room. The members of the 418 Special Task Force were all staring intently at the screen, their expressions focused and serious.

Zeng Rihua is explaining the origin of this death sentence notice to everyone.

“Yesterday evening, after leaving the shooting club, Captain Luo gave me an order to find the fake reporter who interviewed Wu Yinwu. Around four o'clock yesterday morning, I tracked him down in the lobby of a bathhouse in the city using online tracking methods. His name is Du Mingqiang, from Guizhou, unemployed, and he is currently being held in the criminal investigation team. We found this ‘death sentence notice’ at his temporary residence.”

"Because this guy's interview led to Wu Yinwu's suicide, he angered Eumenides and received this death sentence, right?" Yin Jian analyzed after hearing this introduction.

“Obviously.” Zeng Rihua nodded, saying with some emotion, “Captain Luo is indeed more thorough in his thinking than we are, and his mind works faster. Yesterday, when he asked me to find that reporter as soon as possible, I didn’t quite understand his intention until we found this death sentence notice.”

"Is that so? But I don't think you fully understand." A soft female voice continued Zeng Rihua's words.

The speaker was Mu Jianyun. She turned her head slightly and looked at Zeng Rihua with a half-smile.

Zeng Rihua scratched his head and blinked, looking puzzled.

Mu Jianyun asked him, "Have you ever wondered how Eumenides could have known so quickly about Wu Yinwu's suicide after the interview?"

"You probably saw it online?" Zeng Rihua guessed.

Mu Jianyun immediately shook his head: "Eumenides' current focus is on the truth of his biological father's death, and he won't continue to pay attention to Wu Yinwu's movements like the police do. He knows about this because yesterday afternoon, Captain Luo played that interview audio for him online. That audio made Eumenides feel that his actions had lost their original meaning for the first time, so he was extremely annoyed."

"Really? Captain Luo played that audio for him?" Zeng Rihua nodded, seemingly understanding. He had been running around the provincial capital tracking Eumenides' location yesterday when Luo Fei was chatting with him online, so he was unaware that Luo Fei had played the interview audio. Now that Mu Jianyun had pointed it out, he quickly realized what was going on and said with even more emotion, "So Eumenides' targeting of Du Mingqiang was actually a carefully orchestrated scheme by Captain Luo!"

As he spoke, he looked at Luo Fei with a questioning gaze. Luo Fei, seeing no need to deny it, nodded slightly and said, “It’s always good to have backup plans. Yesterday we finalized a plan to use SWAT officers as bait to lure Eumenides, but during my online conversation with Eumenides, I discovered the lie detector device hidden in the earpiece. So I had a feeling this baiting operation might fail. As one of the contingency plans, I played that interview audio for Eumenides and deliberately provoked him. This way, although we lose one bait, we have a new one as a backup.”

Zeng Rihua sighed, recalling how he had reported the fake interview to Luo Fei on his way to the internet cafe the previous afternoon. Luo Fei had then put away the audio recording. Had he already planned to use it to provoke Eumenides? If so, then this man's thinking was not only meticulous, but his decisiveness was also truly admirable!

"That's the basic situation—" Luo Fei guided everyone's thoughts back to the case itself, "What are your thoughts on this new development?"

"What's the deal with that date?" Liu Song raised his doubts, and Mu Jianyun and the others nodded in agreement, clearly this was a question that everyone was concerned about.

"This 'death sentence notice' was tucked inside a bank statement. Du Mingqiang spilled ink on the statement last night, making that part illegible," Luo Fei explained, his tone tinged with regret. "As you can see, the ink droplet completely obscures the specific execution date. All we know about that date is 'November'."

“Today is November 1st,” Liu Song said, frowning. “Doesn’t that mean that for a whole month starting today, Eumenides could potentially target Du Mingqiang?”

“Yes.” Luo Fei confirmed Liu Song’s analysis. Everyone also realized that the police would face an awkward situation: although they had successfully laid a trap for Eumenides, they had no idea when Eumenides would come to feast.

Liu Song shook his head and sighed softly, "This is troublesome. Setting up a trap to lure Eumenides might not be difficult, but how can we keep this trap going for a month?"

Those present had all participated in the battle to protect Han Shaohong in Civic Square, and knew all too well the immense manpower and effort the police would have to expend to deal with a killer like Eumenides. Maintaining a similar state of affairs for a month was simply an impossible task.

“We can’t afford to expend too much energy on this matter,” Luo Fei said, “because we are also facing many more important battles.”

Indeed, uncovering the truth behind the 130 case is Eumenides' primary focus at this moment. If the police were to ignore this lead in order to protect Du Mingqiang, it would clearly be a case of losing more than they gain.

Mu Jianyun suddenly looked up at Luo Fei, as if she had thought of something. After a moment's consideration, she said, "The loss of this specific date may not be an accident!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to her, trying to decipher the subtext of her words. Only Zeng Rihua couldn't contain himself any longer and pressed, "Not an accident? What does that mean?"

Mu Jianyun analyzed in detail: "The 'death sentence notice' was found in the accounting letter, but no one knows when it was placed inside. Perhaps the ink staining occurred before the 'death sentence notice' was delivered. When Eumenides arrived and discovered the stained letter, he used this element to create the illusion that the execution date was accidentally stained. In fact, he wanted to hide the date himself!"

“Hmm. That’s quite possible—” Zeng Rihua nodded repeatedly. “Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence? Just a few drops of ink, and they just happened to cover up the exact date?”

Liu Song gave a cold laugh: "That means Eumenides didn't dare to tell the police the specific date, but he wanted to maintain his usual arrogant demeanor, so he pulled this charade."

Mu Jianyun shook her head again: "No, the situation is probably not that simple." As she spoke, her gaze returned to Luo Fei, as if waiting for his analysis and conclusion.

Luo Fei was silent for a moment, then he crossed his hands and said with a wry smile, "He saw through it."

Mu Jianyun sighed softly; Luo Fei's guess echoed her own thoughts. Zeng Rihua and the others, however, were still looking at each other, unable to react for a moment.

“Eumenides already knew that this was bait I deliberately threw at him,” Luo Fei continued to explain. “So he used this tactic against him. Now the police need to fight on two fronts for a month, while Eumenides can carry out the assassination of Du Mingqiang any day in November. The rest of the time, he can concentrate on investigating the truth behind his biological father’s death.”

Now everyone understood. Liu Song had felt rather passive before, but he hadn't expected that this passivity was a shackle Eumenides had deliberately placed on the police. After a moment of stunned silence, he sighed softly, "Yes. Because the police have their eyes glued to the clues in the 130 case, it's become very difficult for Eumenides to continue their investigation. If I were Eumenides, I would also be trying to find a way to distract the police. Heh heh, one Du Mingqiang can hold the police back for a month, that's quite a clever move."

Just as Liu Song felt, Luo Fei and Eumenides were indeed like masters of chess. Although their direct confrontation had not yet fully unfolded, they were already locked in a fierce battle of wits and strategy.

The Fate of the Death Sentence (14)

9:27 a.m., Criminal Investigation Team Interrogation Room.

Du Mingqiang was handcuffed to the interrogation chair and unable to move, but his mind was not restricted. In fact, from the moment he entered the criminal investigation team, he had been in a state of extreme tension and deep thought. He knew all too well that he was facing an unprecedented and enormous challenge, a feeling akin to dancing on the edge of a cliff, where the slightest misstep would result in an instant and utter destruction!

But he also loved this feeling; it was something in his nature. The stronger the opponent, the more excited he became. He longed for a direct confrontation with that formidable adversary. And now, that confrontation was finally about to begin.

A series of footsteps sounded outside the interrogation room—it sounded like two people: one strong and powerful, the other relatively gentle, probably a woman. The footsteps grew closer and soon reached the door. Du Mingqiang pulled himself together and stared intently at the door that was about to be opened.

Just as he predicted, a man and a woman entered the room. They both looked quite young; the man was strong, capable, and full of energy; the woman, though slender, possessed a striking and imposing air about her.

"When are you going to release me?" Du Mingqiang complained, pulling at his handcuffs. "I don't like being treated like a prisoner."

"Releasing you is simple. But there are some things I need to make clear to you first," the woman among the visitors said, looking at Du Mingqiang as she sat across the table from him.

Du Mingqiang scrutinized the woman for a moment, then asked, "Who are you?"

The woman replied, "Mu Jianyun, a member of the 418 Special Task Force."

Du Mingqiang clicked his tongue twice and chuckled, praising, "I didn't expect there to be such a beautiful policewoman in the criminal investigation team." His gaze remained fixed on her, a gesture that seemed somewhat impolite given his current status.

The man next to Mu Jianyun frowned, looking like he was about to lash out. However, Mu Jianyun gently waved his hand to stop him, and the man snorted, sat down in another chair, and looked coldly at Du Mingqiang.

"You have the right to appreciate and judge beauty and ugliness. But it's very inappropriate to discuss these things now, given the time and place," Mu Jianyun retorted coldly. At the same time, she also focused her gaze on Du Mingqiang. Their eyes met, and the latter immediately felt quite uncomfortable, involuntarily looking away.

"I also want to correct one of your mistakes—" Mu Jianyun pressed his advantage, speaking with a hint of sarcasm, "Not everyone who appears in the criminal investigation team is a criminal investigator. My identity is that of a psychology lecturer at the provincial police academy, and sitting next to me is Officer Liu Song from the special police team."

"A psychology lecturer?" Du Mingqiang paused slightly, then chuckled and said, "No wonder your gaze is so piercing. I've heard that you can read someone's mind just by looking into their eyes? That's terrifying! Looks like I'd better close my eyes when I talk to you from now on."

As he said this, he actually closed his eyes. Then he deliberately shook his head: "So? Can you still tell what I'm thinking now?"

Mu Jianyun was both amused and exasperated by the other party's antics. Liu Song, finally unable to contain himself, slammed his finger on the table and snapped, "Enough! We don't have time for jokes. Please straighten up your attitude!"

Du Mingqiang opened his eyes, his playful expression vanishing. In that brief moment, he suddenly became solemn and serious, making Mu Liu and the other person feel somewhat uneasy.

"Yes, we don't have time for jokes," Du Mingqiang said seriously. "But a proper attitude is necessary for both sides. If you still treat me like a prisoner, then we lack the atmosphere to discuss serious matters."

A brief silence fell over the interrogation room. Du Mingqiang fiddled with the handcuffs on his wrists. This time he didn't make any demands, but he was clearly waiting for something.

After a brief standoff, Mu Jianyun shouted towards the outside, "Come and unlock his handcuffs."

An officer entered in response, carrying a set of keys, and helped Du Mingqiang untie his hands. Du Mingqiang rubbed his wrists, then stretched comfortably, looking incredibly refreshed. Seeing the officer preparing to leave, he chased after him, saying, "Please return my belongings, thank you!"

When someone enters the criminal investigation team's detention room, their personal belongings, such as wallets, cell phones, and keys, are temporarily confiscated. Now that Du Mingqiang has been released from detention, it's only natural that he would request the return of these items. So Mu Jianyun nodded to the officer, who then ran back and brought back a small box containing Du Mingqiang's personal belongings.

"Alright, now we're on equal footing. There shouldn't be any obstacles in our conversation, right?" Mu Jianyun said, looking at Du Mingqiang.

The latter was fiddling with the items in the box and quickly pulled out a cell phone. Hearing Mu Jianyun's question, he rolled his eyes and said, "Tell me, what is it?"

"Eumenides has sent you a 'death sentence'—" Mu Jianyun asked bluntly, "Do you realize how dangerous this is for you?"

Du Mingqiang narrowed his eyes slightly; it seemed even the name Eumenides was enough to make him tense. After a moment of silence, he replied softly, "I know. It's said that his death warrants have never failed to come true."

"Then I must solemnly remind you: you should be extremely careful during this month! All your movements should be under close police surveillance, and it's best not to go out. We can even arrange accommodation for you within the criminal investigation team."

As she spoke, Mu Jianyun deliberately emphasized her words, trying to create a more tense atmosphere. However, her good intentions were not understood by Du Mingqiang. A slight look of surprise appeared on his face, and then he asked, "Is this the opinion of your task force?"

Mu Jianyun nodded.

Du Mingqiang chuckled dryly, "You guys have really confused me... I just spoke with your Captain Luo, and he said he wouldn't restrict my freedom of movement." As he spoke, he started fiddling with the phone he had just found, but after pressing the power button several times, the phone didn't respond.

"Damn it, it's dead again." Du Mingqiang threw his phone on the table, looking somewhat frustrated.

"Do you need to make a call? Use mine." Seeing this, Mu Jianyun proactively took out his phone and handed it over. This was a good opportunity to bridge the gap between the two parties, which might greatly benefit their subsequent negotiations.

Du Mingqiang didn't stand on ceremony and casually took the phone: "I need to switch my SIM card in; the numbers I want to dial are stored there—you don't mind, do you?"

He appeared to be asking a question, but as he spoke, his right hand had already opened the back cover of the phone, removed the battery, pried out the SIM card that was originally in the phone, and then removed the SIM card from his own phone and put it in.

Mu Jianyun's attention wasn't on her phone. She tidied up the conversation at the right moment: "I know you've already talked to Captain Luo—but I still want to give you some more advice, which is why I applied for this meeting."

Du Mingqiang leaned back in his chair, raised his head, and said in a very decisive tone, "You're wasting your time."

Mu Jianyun wanted to say something, but Du Mingqiang waved his hand to signal a pause. Then he dialed a number on his own, put the phone to his ear, and prepared to answer the call.

Mu Jianyun had no choice but to wait patiently. The phone rang seven or eight times, but remained unanswered. Du Mingqiang finally put the phone down, grumbling impatiently, "What time is it? Still sleeping?"

Mu Jianyun smiled and asked, "Are you calling your girlfriend?"

Du Mingqiang gave a vague answer: "He's the person who cares about me the most—and also the person who understands me the most."

Mu Jianyun, sensing the other person's emotions, asked, "Do you feel that there are very few people who can understand you?"

"Do you think I'm a despicable person, completely immoral?" Du Mingqiang retorted. He then began to disassemble the two phones in front of him, seemingly to switch the SIM cards back.

After a moment's consideration, Mu Jianyun nodded and said, "Based on the facts I've witnessed—that's indeed the case."

Du Mingqiang chuckled self-deprecatingly: "You represent the thoughts of the vast majority of people—representing those who cannot understand me."

Mu Jianyun looked into Du Mingqiang's eyes again, her voice softening: "I'm not like most people. I want to understand your inner world... There must be some unchangeable pursuit and dream hidden in your heart, a dream whose value surpasses everything else. To achieve your dream, you don't care about anything else, right?"

Du Mingqiang's expression faltered for a moment, his thoughts seemingly being drawn away by the other person. However, he quickly realized something, averting his gaze from Mu Jianyun's. While disassembling his phone, he composed himself and said, "Don't do that. You can't enter my inner world, find my weaknesses… and you can't persuade me…"

"From a psychological perspective, no one's inner world is insurmountable," Mu Jianyun replied with a smile, her eyes fixed on Du Mingqiang, her gaze full of confidence.

Du Mingqiang shook his head helplessly, then changed his tone and said, "Fine. Even if you can convince me, it's pointless; you're just wasting your time."