Death Notice 2 Destiny

Chapter 53

"No—" Yin Jian shook his head resolutely, "I won't do that. I just want to take you away."

Han Hao chuckled coldly, "What's the use of taking me away? The only way you can salvage the bad impression you left on others is by shooting me. You're someone I personally trained; show me some respect!"

Yin Jian simply shook his head: "Put the gun down... don't force me."

Seeing the two of them like this, Ahua sighed and said, "Captain Han, I never expected you to have such an indecisive apprentice."

Han Hao grunted angrily and scolded Yin Jian, "You need to have guts when you do things; that's the fastest way to achieve your goals. Look at me, if it weren't for what happened back then..."

He said half of those words but swallowed them back down. His original intention was to mention that back in Shuanglushan Park, if he hadn't decisively shot and killed Zhou Ming to fabricate the scene, how could he have turned a crime into a merit and risen to the high position of criminal police captain so early? But then he thought about it again, and realized that his current predicament was the seed sown at that moment. The unpredictability of life's ups and downs was truly a mix of emotions, leaving him with a deep sense of regret.

Han Hao shook his head vigorously, as if trying to banish all those unpleasant memories. Then, with a stern face, he said to Yin Jian, "When you were working for me, if I said I wanted to do something, did I ever fail to follow through?"

Without hesitation, Yin Jian answered, "No."

"Now listen to me carefully. I'll count to three. If you don't shoot by the time I finish counting, I'll shoot Ah-Hua dead, then open the car door and jump out. I'll die in a hail of bullets, and Ah-Hua's men will seek revenge on Dong-Dong..."

"No, you mustn't act impulsively!" Yin Jian urged anxiously, "That would be the worst possible outcome!"

"Good that you understand!" Han Hao glared at Yin Jian one last time, then began counting, "One..."

Yin Jian shouted, "No!"

Han Hao ignored him and continued counting: "Two..."

Yin Jian felt as if all the blood in his body was rushing to his head, and his scalp was about to explode.

"three……"

A gunshot rang out: "Bang!"

Like sprinters hearing the starting gun, Luo Fei and the others immediately rushed towards the sound of the gun. However, they quickly stopped by the car.

Ahua had already sat up in the car, unharmed. In the passenger seat beside him, Yin Jian remained in a shooting posture, but his expression was as blank as a wooden chicken. In his field of vision, Han Hao lay motionless on his back, blood gushing from his forehead.

"This is his last lesson to you," Ahua said softly to Yin Jian as he stood up. Yin Jian seemed to take a long time to hear him, turning his head blankly and asking, "What did you say?"

"You're too soft-hearted—you really should learn from your master in that respect," Ahua said as he got out of the car. The air outside was so fresh that he couldn't help but take deep breaths.

The Fate of the Death Sentence (30)

1:13 AM on November 6th.

Interrogation room of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Provincial Public Security Bureau.

"I've said everything I needed to say. May I leave now?" Ahua asked, glancing at his watch.

Luo Fei sat opposite Ahua, staring at him silently with a gaze as sharp as a knife. Ahua, however, remained unmoved. He let out a long yawn, appearing physically tired but mentally relaxed.

A young man next to Luo Fei was also gritting his teeth and looking at Ahua. The muscles on his face twitched slightly, and some kind of emotion was about to burst out.

The young man was Yin Jian, and it was rare for him to show such a fiery temper. However, Luo Fei patted his elbow at just the right moment, suppressing the other man's impulsiveness.

Yin Jian let out a long breath, then bit his lip, lost in thought.

Luo Fei withdrew his gaze, picked up the interrogation record written by Yin Jian, and handed it to Ahua, saying, "Please sign it."

Ahua smiled and said, "I'm a rough man and can't write well, so I'll just leave a fingerprint." As he spoke, he opened a box of ink on the table, dipped his right thumb into it, and then pressed a clear fingerprint firmly at the bottom of the interrogation record.

His series of movements were incredibly practiced, as simple as taking a sip of water at home. Keep in mind, since he was a teenager, he's been a regular at various detention centers; the number of statements he's signed and affixed to is probably in the hundreds.

Having done all this, Ahua stood up and calmly walked towards the door. As soon as he reached the doorway, two waiting henchmen rushed forward and draped a trench coat over his shoulders to ward off the night chill. The long coat accentuated his tall and imposing figure, and his gait became powerful and vigorous, a far cry from the humble and cautious demeanor he displayed as a bodyguard. After a series of dramatic changes, this servant of the Deng family had, in effect, become the de facto head of the Longyu Group.

Luo Fei and the others watched Ahua's retreating figure, a strange unease creeping into their hearts. Yin Jian, particularly displeased, asked, "Captain Luo, are we really just letting him go like that?"

"What can we do even if we don't let him leave?" Luo Fei's tone revealed a hint of helplessness. "Han Hao is dead, and we can't find any evidence. At most, we can detain him for twenty-four hours."

"Then let's detain him for twenty-four hours! Let's put on a show, bluff him a bit, maybe we can get some information out of him!"

Luo Fei shook his head: "It's definitely useless. What kind of situation hasn't this kind of person seen? Detaining him won't do anything to him, and it will only dampen our own spirits."

Yin Jian sighed, unwilling but helpless.

"That's enough for today. Everyone's worked hard, get some rest." Luo Fei stood up and tidied up the documents and phone in front of him. Suddenly, he remembered something and turned to Yin Jian, saying, "There's one more arduous task that I can only entrust to you..."

"What?"

"Go and offer our condolences to Han Hao's family. Take two veteran comrades from the team with you... Tell them he died while assisting the police in apprehending Eumenides." As he spoke, Luo Fei took out his wallet and counted out the large bills inside. "Here's over a thousand, just a personal token. Anyone in the team who wants to contribute can do so too. I'll try my best to get the organization's compensation..."

Yin Jian took the stack of banknotes, and at the same time, his eyes stung, and a few tears rolled down his cheeks involuntarily.

Luo Fei knew that Yin Jian was still troubled by the fact that he had personally shot Han Hao. He sighed softly and patted the young man on the shoulder: "You were the person Han Hao trusted most, which is why he let you into the car. And to die by your gun was the most dignified end for him, do you understand?"

Yin Jian nodded, closed his eyes to control the remaining tears, and clenched his fists tightly, as if some amazing power was about to erupt from within him!

At 9:00 AM on November 6th.

Inside the Criminal Investigation Brigade's conference room, the "April 18th Special Case Team's" routine operational meeting was being held.

Before discussing the topic, Luo Fei first inquired about Liu Song's physical condition: "How is your injury?"

"I broke a rib, but once it's bandaged, I'll be fine." Liu Song stood ramrod straight, as if to prove his words. After being injured yesterday, he only stayed in the hospital for one night before running away.

"You should rest for a couple more days," Yin Jian advised from the side. "Health is the foundation of everything, and you can't be careless about it."

"This is a crucial time, I can't rest. Besides, these kinds of minor injuries happen all the time during training, it's really nothing serious," Liu Song said, giving Yin Jian a friendly smile. He had already learned that Han Hao had been shot and killed by Yin Jian, and his attitude towards the latter had changed almost 180 degrees.

Luo Fei nodded silently. The current situation was complex and complicated; it was certainly not the time to rest. Then he asked, "How's the situation with Du Mingqiang?"

"I just checked, and they say he's still sleeping inside. I've already told the guys on site not to let him go out until I get back."

Luo Fei hummed in agreement. He knew that people who relied heavily on the internet often had this habit of staying up late and sleeping in. After Liu Song was injured yesterday, his biggest worry was that Eumenides would take the opportunity to assassinate Du Mingqiang. Now that Liu Song had returned in time, one of his concerns was alleviated.

"Alright." Luo Fei prepared to get to the point, "Everyone knows what happened yesterday, which confirms my previous speculation about the murder at Longyu Building..."

"Captain Luo, don't you think we found out a little too late?" Mu Jianyun suddenly interrupted Luo Fei, her tone clearly revealing her dissatisfaction.

Luo Fei frowned, seemingly unprepared for such a question. Meanwhile, everyone else in the room was now focused on Mu Jianyun.

"Zeng Rihua and I are both members of the task force. However, we didn't receive timely and accurate information about the operational deployment, which I feel has affected our combat effectiveness as a team," Mu Jianyun continued, turning to look at Zeng Rihua, seeking his support.

Zeng Rihua immediately understood and echoed, "Yes, yes... that is indeed somewhat inappropriate... I'm someone who never goes to the scene, so it doesn't bother me. However, if Teacher Mu had gotten involved earlier, she might have been able to anticipate Han Hao's preemptive strike, allowing her to prepare contingency plans or set up some psychological traps, thus preventing a passive situation from the start."

That makes a lot of sense. Shooting without hesitation is in line with Han Hao's usual style; if Mu Jianyun were involved, he might have been able to analyze it beforehand. However, Luo Fei also had his own considerations regarding this clandestine operation. Just as he was about to say something, Liu Song interrupted him.

"This operation was unique in that our every move was monitored by the enemy. Both Eumenides and Han Hao are highly experienced and formidable. Any tiny flaw could expose our carefully laid trap. Professor Mu is not familiar with ambush tactics, so we didn't tell you the details of the operation. As it turns out, this approach was quite effective; even Han Hao took the bait. As for my injury, that's common in combat and not unexpected." Because Han Hao was brought to justice, last night's operation was a great achievement for Liu Song, so his evaluation was entirely based on the commander Luo Fei's perspective.

Mu Jianyun couldn't accept this explanation: "If that's the case, you can just not make me go to the scene. Is it fun to make me follow behind like an idiot?" Recalling her embarrassing performance last night when she was completely kept in the dark, she glared at him angrily.

"This..." Liu Song hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Luo Fei, seemingly unsure whether he should say the rest.

"What's wrong?" Mu Jianyun's gaze swept over Luo Fei and the others, his expression determined to get to the bottom of things.

Now that things had come to this point, there seemed to be no need to hide anything anymore. Luo Fei frankly revealed his true thoughts at the time: "Actually, I deliberately arranged it this way: to have you participate in the on-site operation without your knowledge. Because you have very little on-site experience, the enemy will definitely make you their primary target when monitoring. This way, the pressure on Yin Jian and me will be much less. And since you don't know our real battle plan, your every move will be very natural, which will perfectly guide the enemy's thinking in the direction we've designed."

"So I was just a prop, a prop for your operation..." Mu Jianyun silently bit her lip. From the perspective of the operation plan, it was a brilliant move, but being placed in such a role, she had a bellyful of grievances that she couldn't vent.

Luo Fei remained silent; he could sense the other woman's emotions. A strong-willed woman brimming with self-respect was not unfamiliar to Luo Fei. Perhaps he should try to find a way to circumvent this, but he was simply not comfortable lying to his comrades.

After a long silence, Mu Jianyun sighed with a bitter smile, "What a terrifying desire for control... Do you need to have everything under your control? Are all others just tools to you?"

Luo Fei was speechless; he couldn't deny the accusation of being controlling. Yes, he liked to control everything, and it was difficult for others to influence his thoughts. But he didn't think there was anything wrong with it; he simply wanted things to go the way they should.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment. Just then, Yin Jian's phone rang. He glanced at the number, answered it, and explained to Luo Fei, "It's an outside scout." All eyes turned to him, as if he had found an opportunity to end the previous conversation.

As if to match this change in everyone, Yin Jian's tone and expression became excited after listening to a few sentences.

"What's going on?" Luo Fei sensed a new clue and asked impatiently as soon as the other party hung up the phone.

"Meng Fangliang's wife called the police, saying that she received a tape recorder today, the contents of which can prove that Ahua is the mastermind behind the murder in Longyu Building!" Yin Jian said, rubbing his hands together eagerly, wishing he could rush out immediately and arrest Ahua.

"Oh?" Luo Fei was also startled. After a moment's thought, he gave a series of instructions: "Tell that woman to stay at home and not to go out under any circumstances. Wait for the police to come and collect evidence. Notify the nearest police station to send officers there first. We'll leave immediately!"

"Yes!" Yin Jian responded loudly, then rushed out to prepare the vehicle. In his view, it was Ahua who forced Han Hao to die tragically at his hands, so his desire to capture Ahua was no less than Eumenides'.

"Liu Song, you should keep an eye on Du Mingqiang's side; Zeng Rihua, hurry up and finish compiling Eumenides' portrait; Teacher Mu..." Luo Fei hesitated slightly when he looked at Mu Jianyun, "...you should come with us."

Mu Jianyun pouted, clearly still harboring some resentment. However, she still stood up and said, "Let's go then."

So the two of them left the conference room one after the other. When they reached the plaza in front of the building, they saw Yin Jian park the police car. They quickly got into the car, and Yin Jian stepped on the gas, and the police car sped off towards the exit of the Public Security Bureau compound.

Less than five minutes after they drove off, Yin Jian's phone rang again. He answered with a "hello," and quickly handed the phone to Luo Fei: "The 110 from the East Suburb Police Station is already on the scene. You can talk to them."

Luo Fei nodded: "Just focus on driving." Then he put the phone to his ear and introduced himself: "Hello, I'm Luo Fei from the Criminal Investigation Team."

"Captain Luo? Where are you now?" The voice on the phone was a little hoarse. Frontline 110 criminal police officers often have overworked vocal cords because they deal with very trivial matters.

"We're on our way, we should be there in about twenty minutes."

Did you send anyone else?

"There's no one else here." Luo Fei frowned warily. "What's wrong?"

"The victim said that the police had already come by and taken away the audio tape."

Luo Fei's heart sank: "That's definitely a fake! You start investigating immediately, we'll be there as soon as possible!"

Although Yin Jian was driving, his ears were constantly perked up. Hearing Luo Fei's words, he knew something was wrong, and without waiting for instructions, he pressed the accelerator even harder. The car engine let out a low roar and accelerated forward.

More than ten minutes later, they finally arrived at their destination: Meng Fangliang's residence in the Jing'an Garden villa area on the outskirts of the city. There, they saw a police car with the 110 emergency call sounding outside, and a short, stout policeman gesturing beside the car.

Yin Jian parked the car next to the police station, and before he could even turn off the engine, Luo Fei jumped out.

"Are you Captain Luo?" the chubby policeman greeted him. "I'm in charge of this area, my surname is Wu."

Without exchanging pleasantries, Luo Fei cut straight to the point: "What's the situation now?"

"I checked the security camera footage from the victim's home. It was two people wearing fake police uniforms. They arrived just minutes before we did, so they shouldn't have gone far. After we confirmed the anomaly, we immediately contacted the security guards, who didn't see them leave. This is an upscale residential area; there's a security fence on the wall, so it's impossible to climb over."

Just then, a voice came from the walkie-talkie in the chubby policeman's hand: "Old Wu, Old Wu."

The chubby policeman put the walkie-talkie to his mouth and said simply and decisively, "Speak!"

"We found him; he's in the artificial mountain area."

"Keep them under control! We're on our way!" the chubby policeman replied, turning right at the villa. Despite his clumsy build, he walked surprisingly quickly. Luo Fei and the others followed him without needing to be told.

The portly policeman was very familiar with the layout of the residential area. After navigating between the villas, he quickly arrived at the artificial hill area in the center of the complex. There, he saw several young police officers pinning two bald-headed men to the ground. The two men were wearing cheap, counterfeit police uniforms, their clothes disheveled, and they looked utterly wretched.

"That's right, those are the two guys!" the fat policeman shouted excitedly, then asked, "Where's the stuff? Did you find it?"

"No," a young patrolman replied angrily. "Those two lads are pretty stubborn, daring to talk nonsense and cause trouble for me."

"Stubborn to talk?" The fat policeman squatted down and grabbed a young man with a buzz cut, hair and ears. "Don't give me that crap. Let me tell you, I have plenty of ways to deal with people like you. Hand over the stuff obediently, or you'll end up in trouble at the station!"

"Ouch, my brother, my dear brother!" the young man cried out, baring his teeth. "I'm not lying, that thing really was taken by someone else. I thought it was one of your plainclothes officers, they're so tough!"

Judging from their appearance and the way they addressed him as "Big Brother," Luo Fei was certain they were thugs working for Ahua. Lying was commonplace for these men, making it difficult to discern their true intentions from their tone and demeanor. He thought for a moment and then ordered, "Take them to the community's security room, pull up the footage, and have them explain themselves based on it."