Kiyomi Tsuki und sein Fuchs

Kapitel 64

"Who?" Luo Fei asked, wondering to himself: He had only been in the provincial capital for a short time and had never mentioned his birthday to his new colleagues. Who would care so much and send him a birthday gift?

"I don't know either, you should ask him yourself." After saying that, Yin Jian turned and beckoned to the door, "Come in."

Luo Fei narrowed his gaze and watched as a strange young man strode into the house. The young man was wearing a blue uniform, and Luo Fei could tell at a glance that he was just a delivery worker.

"Are you Officer Luo from the '418 Task Force'?" the young man asked Luo Fei respectfully. He was carrying a birthday cake with a letter tucked into the box.

Luo Fei nodded. He was still trying to figure out where the gift-giver came from, but he couldn't come up with a clue.

"Today is your birthday. A gentleman ordered this cake for you and asked me to deliver it to you." The young man took two steps forward, placed the cake in front of Luo Fei, and then loudly said, "Happy birthday!"

Luo Fei's guesses remained fruitless, so he shook his head, ready to give up. However, when his gaze fell on the letter on the cake box, he found that the envelope was blank and unsigned. He had no choice but to look up and ask the young man, "Which gentleman sent this?" A faint smile played on his lips; receiving an unexpected birthday gift was always a source of joy and comfort.

"That gentleman didn't leave his name, but you should know him as soon as I mention him—" The young man swallowed hard, as if touched upon some unpleasant memory, "--because he looked very distinctive..."

Luo Fei was taken aback, his smile gradually freezing. After a moment of silence, he asked in a low, slow voice, "Was that person burned?"

"Yes..." the young man grinned, "His entire body was burned, and his face was covered in scars; it looked terrifying."

"Is it Yuan Zhibang?" Yin Jian exclaimed in surprise from the side.

Luo Fei waved to Yin Jian, signaling him to control his emotions in front of outsiders. Then he asked the young man, "When did this person order the cake?"

"It was about three weeks ago, wasn't it?"

Luo Fei nodded and hummed in agreement: Three weeks ago, it was the eve of Yuan Zhibang's bombing of Bifangyuan. At that time, he knew his identity was about to be exposed, so he prepared to die. Unexpectedly, he arranged this birthday gift for himself before his death. What was this? Was it a final farewell between old friends, or some other hidden scheme?

Luo Fei's solemn, thoughtful expression put a slight pressure on the deliveryman. The young man asked nervously, "Officer Luo, if everything's alright, please sign the delivery slip."

"Oh." Luo Fei snapped out of his daze, took the receipt from the young man, signed his name, and handed it back. "That's all for you. You can go back now."

The young man replied, "Okay!" and turned to leave Luo Fei's office.

Yin Jian followed the young man and closed the door, then turned around and looked nervously at Luo Fei: "Captain Luo, should we have this cake tested?"

Luo Fei understood his assistant's meaning, but he also knew that such a despicable trick as poisoning was definitely not Yuan Zhibang's style. So he simply replied, "Not at all." Then he untied the wrapping rope and took the letter off the cake box.

Yin Jian stared intently at Luo Fei's movements. He knew that whatever Yuan Zhibang's intentions were, they would be revealed in that letter. However, it was, after all, Luo Fei's personal property, and although he had a strong desire to know, he couldn't very well lean forward to read the contents.

Luo Fei calmly opened the envelope. Inside, besides a birthday card, there was a note and several photos. Luo Fei first looked at the photos; all of them featured a thin, small man, a man Luo Fei didn't recognize. He frowned, his expression increasingly puzzled. When he opened the birthday card, he saw it read:

To Luo Fei:

Happy birthday to my dearest friend and my most admired rival.

I'm giving this person to you as a birthday present—I know you all want to find him.

"This person" clearly refers to the man in the photo, but who exactly is he?

With this question in mind, Luo Fei finally unfolded the note that had been attached to the letter. The contents of the note made his expression even more solemn.

It was a short sentence, but it contained a great deal of information.

"Chen Tianqiao. Room 609, Building 18, Nan'an Forest Residential Area, Haikou City, Hainan Province."

9:41 PM on November 17th.

Inside the Criminal Investigation Brigade's conference room.

Luo Fei and Yin Jian looked somewhat tired. Just an hour earlier, they had disembarked from a flight from Haikou to the provincial capital, where they had shared the flight with another person who had disappeared from the provincial capital for many years—Chen Tianqiao.

Yuan Zhibang's message, delivered four days prior, was remarkably accurate, ensuring that Luo Fei's long journey proceeded smoothly without incident. With the cooperation of the Haikou police, Chen Tianqiao was apprehended in the Nan'an Forest residential area. He had indeed forged an ID card, but such a petty trick was utterly ineffective against Luo Fei.

As the photograph shows, Chen Tianqiao was thin and dark-skinned. Although over sixty, he lacked any of the dignified air expected of an elder. Luo Fei had an innate aversion and disgust for such people, even avoiding eye contact during conversations. The man often spoke eloquently and boastfully, while a cunning glint flashed in his small, triangular eyes. His words were persuasive and seductive, but accompanied by the sinister tongue of a venomous snake.

Therefore, Luo Fei completely ignored what this person had to say. Upon returning to the criminal investigation team, he immediately threw Chen Tianqiao into the detention room and assigned someone to guard him closely. Luo Fei then convened an emergency meeting with Mu Jianyun and Zeng Rihua to discuss their next steps.

"First, we need to figure out why Yuan Zhibang did this," Zeng Rihua asked. "We were worried about not being able to find Chen Tianqiao, but Yuan Zhibang delivered him right to our door, and it was all planned three weeks ago—we can't possibly believe this is just a birthday gift for Captain Luo, can we?"

Luo Fei immediately chimed in, "I've been thinking about this too these past few days. I think the most likely explanation is that Yuan Zhibang is trying to use this method to compete with us for control over Wen Chengyu's mind."

Zeng Rihua shrugged at Luo Fei, indicating his willingness to hear more. Luo Fei was about to explain further: "Three weeks ago, Yuan Zhibang knew his identity was about to be exposed, so he prepared to die. By then, the new Eumenides' skills in all aspects were already mature, but Yuan Zhibang still had one thing on his mind—his disciple's spiritual beliefs."

"Yes, Wen Chengyu hadn't developed his own independent spiritual world before, so his faith was likely to waver after his mentor disappeared. With Yuan Zhibang's meticulous mind, he should have been able to foresee this." Mu Jianyun also analyzed a few points along this line of thought.

Luo Fei nodded to Mu Jianyun and added, "Not only that, Yuan Zhibang also guessed that the police would exploit Wen Chengyu's psychological weaknesses, causing him to automatically lose his fighting spirit as an Eumenides. So, before he died, he deliberately left this move: handing Chen Tianqiao over to the police, thereby rebuilding an irreconcilable conflict between the police and Wen Chengyu."

"Hmm." Zeng Rihua shook his head and said, "Yuan Zhibang knows that his true identity will definitely be exposed after his death. At that time, Wen Chengyu will use this as a clue to investigate the mystery of his origins. And as long as Wen Chengyu finds the file on Case 130, he will regard Chen Tianqiao as the murderer who caused his biological father's death. If he wants to avenge his biological father, he must kill Chen Tianqiao in the hands of the police, thus continuing on the path of Eumenides."

"Truly flawless planning—" Yin Jian couldn't help but gasp at his colleagues' analysis, "Even in death, he still managed to keep his disciples firmly under control. That guy... can only be described as a 'monster'."

Zeng Rihua grinned and said, "So, can we now declare that our plan to spiritually transform Eumenides has failed?"

Mu Jianyun shook his head and uttered two words: "Not necessarily."

Luo Fei, who had been frowning, perked up upon hearing this and looked at the psychology expert who had repeatedly surprised him with focused and expectant eyes.

Mu Jianyun said, "Yuan Zhibang knew Wen Chengyu would investigate the mystery of his origins, but he probably couldn't have predicted that the latter's investigation would go so deep. It was Yuan Zhibang who directly shot Wen Hongbing, and the situation spiraled out of control because of a child's remark by Wen Chengyu. These very subtle details are now before Wen Chengyu's eyes—this was probably not part of Yuan Zhibang's plan."

Luo Fei pondered for a moment and then hummed in agreement: "These details will surely affect Wen Chengyu's psychology, won't they?"

"A very significant impact," Mu Jianyun replied definitively. "Without these details, Wen Chengyu would definitely have considered Chen Tianqiao the primary culprit in his father's death. But knowing these details, especially after hearing the live recording of the incident, the situation has become much more complicated. Yuan Zhibang, who fired the shot, and even Wen Hongbing himself bear responsibility for the final outcome. More importantly, Wen Chengyu knows that his childish remark ignited a situation that had already calmed down. He will feel deep guilt and helplessness because of this, and this emotion will overshadow his other feelings—including his hatred for Chen Tianqiao."

"That makes sense!" Zeng Rihua chimed in. "So, although Yuan Zhibang made meticulous arrangements, he probably won't achieve the results he envisioned. As long as Wen Chengyu sees Du Mingqiang's online report, his faith will definitely waver—because that report is just too well-written."

Luo Fei smiled. Although Zeng Rihua was known for his dramatic outbursts, he didn't exaggerate this time. Du Mingqiang's report was indeed excellent, perfectly capturing the police's intentions. The article overflowed with a sense of helplessness about the world and deep sympathy for those involved, leaving readers deeply moved. Wen Chengyu couldn't possibly be unmoved by this; how could the flames of anger and bloodlust within him continue?

"However, we can't be too optimistic," Mu Jianyun reminded everyone again. "Because the human heart is the most unpredictable thing in the world. Psychological research is often only meaningful in terms of statistics; when it comes to a single individual, the situation is much more complex. Which path will Wen Chengyu choose? This is probably not something we can analyze sitting in the meeting room."

Luo Fei nodded in agreement: "So no matter what, we need to be prepared for both possibilities."

"Should we consider how to use Chen Tianqiao as bait to capture Eumenides?" Yin Jian suggested. In fact, he was happiest about Chen Tianqiao's capture. If Eumenides were arrested for assassinating Chen Tianqiao, that would be the perfect ending for him.

Luo Fei waved his hand, "No rush. Let's first label Chen Tianqiao a fraud suspect and keep him under our control. Right now, we just need to focus on Du Mingqiang. Adding another bait would only distract us."

The logic is easy to understand: Du Mingqiang has already received his "death sentence," and as long as Wen Chengyu continues down the Eumenides path, he will never let him go. Therefore, for the rest of November, the police do not need to look for more bait.

Yin Jian nodded, but then added, "It's very difficult to find evidence of Chen Tianqiao's fraud, so we can't control him for very long."

Luo Fei chuckled and said, "As long as we can control things until the end of the month, that's fine. If Du Mingqiang is assassinated by then, and we still haven't caught Eumenides, then we'll have another chance to turn things around with Chen Tianqiao."

Yes. If Wen Chengyu insists on following Eumenides' path, then according to his beliefs, Chen Tianqiao will inevitably be on the death row. The police could easily release Chen Tianqiao after Du Mingqiang's assassination—continuing to use the latter as bait to capture Eumenides; surely no one would feel any guilt then?

The key question is: which direction will Moon Sung-woo take?

This seems to be an answer that won't be revealed until the end of the month.

At midnight on December 1st.

Inside Du Mingqiang's residence.

The wall clock in the living room ticked away, and the second, minute, and hour hands finally passed the top of the clock face at the same time, each at a different speed.

A young man sat alone on the sofa, his eyes wide as he stared at the wall clock. His face was flushed, and his nerves were on edge. At his feet was a row of empty beer bottles, which had apparently been his companions through the first half of the night.

When the appointed moment arrived, he was stunned for a moment, and then he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

First came the "hehehe" laughter, then it grew louder and louder, finally turning into a maniacal "hahaha." He even stood up and danced around, as if some long-suppressed emotion was bursting forth uncontrollably from his body.

Suddenly, there was a sharp "crash," as if something had shattered. The young man was startled, but then realized it was just a beer bottle that had been kicked over at his feet. So his laughter paused briefly before erupting even more unrestrainedly.

Laughter alone wasn't enough for the young man, so he picked up the remaining empty bottles from the floor and smashed them against the corner of the wall. "Bang! Bang!..." The crisp explosions echoed through the room.

After all the bottles had been smashed, the young man calmed down a bit. He glanced at the wall clock again; it was almost 12:05.

The young man seemed to have tired of making a fuss. He let out a long sigh and then made a "V" sign at the chandelier on the ceiling.

Hidden inside the chandelier was a miniature camera, and he knew that Detective Captain Luo Fei must be sitting behind the monitor screen right now. For the past month, except for the private bedroom and bathroom, every corner of this house, inside and out, had been under close police surveillance.

Now all of this can finally come to an end.

The young man walked towards the door. He opened the heavy security door, revealing a dark and silent hallway. He coughed twice and turned on the motion-activated hallway light.

In the dim light, a figure flashed by with incredible speed. The young man only saw a blur before a man appeared in the doorway.

"Officer Liu, your mission is finally complete!" the young man said excitedly after recognizing the person who had approached him. "We can finally be free!"

The man who emerged from the hidden corner of the stairwell was none other than Liu Song, a member of the special police team. He looked the young man up and down. For the past month, he had been protecting this man's safety almost every step of the way, because the man's name had once appeared on Eumenides' death sentence notice—Du Mingqiang.

No one who has been given a death sentence has ever survived past the execution date, but Du Mingqiang seems to have done so.

Yes! Liu Song confirmed his judgment again: the young man was completely unharmed. His only problem was that he had drunk a little too much and was a bit too excited.

Liu Song pulled out a walkie-talkie from his waist and tuned it to the appropriate channel: "001, 001--003 calling."

"Please speak," Luo Fei's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

Liu Song reported on the situation: "The time limit has passed, and everything is normal."

Luo Fei remained silent for a moment on the other end of the radio, then uttered three words calmly: "Let's call it a day."

"Yes!" Just as Liu Song was about to hang up, Du Mingqiang snatched the walkie-talkie from him: "Let me say a few words too!"

Liu Song frowned, but thinking that Du Mingqiang should express his gratitude to the police at this moment, he suppressed his emotions and did not lash out.

"Captain Luo? Haha, I'm still alive! That assassin—Eumenides—never showed up!" Du Mingqiang shouted into the walkie-talkie.

"I know—" Luo Fei seemed to chuckle on the other end, "Now you can get a good night's sleep."

Du Mingqiang, however, was still unwilling to end the conversation. He deliberately asked, "Do you know why that guy didn't come?"

"Why?" Luo Fei asked dismissively.

"Because he saw the report I wrote!" Du Mingqiang laughed triumphantly. "It was a brilliant report! It made a legendary killer lay down his bloody knife—who else in the world could write something like that besides me, Du Mingqiang?!"

Unfortunately, he couldn't hear Luo Fei's reply and evaluation of him because Liu Song had already angrily snatched the walkie-talkie back.

"I hope you have such good luck for the rest of your life!" Liu Song coldly tossed out these words before turning and walking towards the elevator. Two other special police officers, who had been hidden in the shadows, also appeared at that moment. The group left the silent battlefield where they had fought for a month without any regret.

Liu Song and the others left so suddenly that Du Mingqiang stood there, slightly stunned, seemingly not quite reacting yet. A moment later, the building lights went out on time, plunging the entire corridor back into darkness.

December 1st, 8:07 AM.

Outside the detention room of the Criminal Investigation Brigade.

With his hands behind his back, Luo Fei watched as the guards opened the iron door of the detention cell and pulled the thin, dark-skinned Chen Tianqiao out of the room.

After two weeks of confinement, Chen Tianqiao finally saw the free sky again. He looked up at the bright morning light and sighed leisurely, "Ah, winter's almost here, but this sun is quite nice."

"Chen Tianqiao," Luo Fei stepped forward and said, "Regarding your alleged fraud, after police investigation, there is insufficient evidence. Therefore, it has been decided not to arrest you."

"Hehe..." Chen Tianqiao chuckled dryly, his voice sinister and extremely unsettling. Then he said smugly, "I told you, you'll release me the same way you arrested me."

Luo Fei seemed uninterested in acknowledging the other man; he simply waved to the guards and said, "Take him to retrieve his belongings."

Chen Tianqiao, however, still seemed somewhat unsatisfied. As he walked out, he looked back and chuckled, "I will never go to jail, even though you all think I've done a lot of 'bad things.' Do you know why?"

Luo Fei stared back at him coldly, remaining silent.