Los ojos de Asura

Capítulo 20

"Yes. At the time, I also thought the crisis might be over. But just as we were getting ready, gunshots rang out."

"Why?!" the young man cried out again in anguish. "Was it Ding Ke who gave the order?"

"No. In fact, the captain was just as surprised as we were when he heard the gunshot. Then we rushed into the house together."

"What...did you see?" Knowing it would be a painful scene, the young man still hoped to hear a description from a witness.

"The suspect was shot between the eyebrows and died instantly. The hostage is unharmed. Yuan Zhibang is holding the child, tightly embracing the child's head to prevent the other from witnessing the tragedy..."

The young man recalled fragments: his uncle suddenly hugged him tightly, burying his head in the other's chest, feeling its solid warmth. The cheerful music drew most of his attention; he seemed to hear a loud bang, but he had no idea what it meant… Yet now, these seemingly beautiful memories overlapped with the harsh reality, creating a suffocating pressure. He clenched his fists, a painful force building within them, his forearms trembling.

“The child had no idea what was happening; he was even singing nursery rhymes along with the music in his headphones… right?” he murmured, his voice choked and hoarse.

“Yes.” Huang Jieyuan paused for a moment, then added, “Actually, putting headphones on the child and turning the music up very loud was also to conceal the scene in case of an accident. From this point of view, the police were successful.”

"Success?" The young man's grief turned into a chilling sneer. "You call this success?"

Huang Jieyuan was speechless. The young man also suddenly stiffened, his attention diverted by other things in front of him, and the online call fell silent for the first time.

What caught the young people's attention was a dialog box that popped up on the computer screen.

"Warning: The system is under attack from 192.168.81.252."

"They came fast," the young man thought to himself, praising his opponent. Then he glanced at the digital clock in the lower right corner of the screen—perhaps he should hurry up.

A tangled web of fiber optic cables crisscrosses the city, forming a massive spider web. Countless computers are distributed across this web, and like houses in the city's transportation network, each computer has a unique address on the internet: an IP address.

An IP address indicates the computer's specific location on the Internet.

192.168.81.252 is the IP address of a certain computer, originating from the Lanxing Internet Cafe in Beicheng. A young man with glasses and a large head is sitting in front of this internet cafe, his hands flying across the keyboard like butterflies. After a moment, his right index finger heavily presses down on the Enter key, like a pianist drawing a rest on his performance.

Some information was displayed on the screen. The young man then took out his phone and dialed a number. The wireless signal traveled across half the city, eliciting a response from a receiving terminal inside the BoWorld Internet City.

Sensing the response, the middle-aged man took out his phone, took a couple of steps outside, and then answered in a low voice, "Hello, this is Luo Fei."

"Captain Luo, I'm at Blue Star Internet Cafe." The young man who dialed the phone was, of course, Zeng Rihua. "I've tracked down the next address on the chain; it's the Zhenyang Building office building in Nancheng. Damn it, looks like that guy's going to lead us on a wild goose chase all over the city!"

Luo Fei wasn't surprised. He checked his watch; it was 4:23 PM.

How long will it take you to get to Zhenyang Building?

"Go all out, it should take about twenty minutes. Captain Luo, you guys have to keep that guy occupied!"

"I know, you guys get going." Luo Fei knew immediately that the second half of his sentence was unnecessary, because he could already hear the roar of a car engine starting up through the receiver. So he quickly hung up the phone and hurried back to the computer.

"Tell me the sniper's name."

When Luo Fei vaguely heard Eumenides' words, he knew that Huang Jieyuan's confrontation with the other party had reached its most critical moment.

Previously, Huang Jieyuan had answered Eumenides' questions truthfully. This is precisely the requirement that Mu Jianyun put forward from a psychological perspective: to make someone believe one lie, you must lay the groundwork with ten truths.

And those truths didn't affect the police's plans. When Eumenides relentlessly pressed for information about the sniper's whereabouts, did he realize he was stepping into the police's carefully laid trap?

According to the prior arrangement, Huang Jieyuan will begin to provide false information to the other party from this moment on.

“I don’t know his name,” he said, seemingly hesitantly.

Eumenides snorted, dismissing the answer with disdain.

Huang Jieyuan tried to explain: "When he was writing the final record, he signed a fake name..."

“Don’t tell me that,” Eumenides interrupted him. “The alias only appeared in the final records. Did he use a alias when communicating within your team?”

Huang Jieyuan tried to defend himself: "I...I really don't know what that sniper's name is."

Eumenides paused for a moment, then said coldly, "You mean our conversation can end now, is that right?"

"No!" Huang Jieyuan cried out in a panic, "You still haven't told me where my son is?"

Eumenides repeated his request: "Tell me the sniper's name."

"I have no idea……"

“I’ve already asked twice, I won’t ask a third time. Do you think I should beg you?!” Eumenides’ tone turned fierce. “I’ll give you five more seconds to think it through!”

Huang Jieyuan clearly sensed the threat in the other person's words, and his fragile defenses crumbled. After a long sigh, he asked helplessly, "If I tell you that name, what will happen to my son?"

“Your son is very hungry right now—” Eumenides relaxed his tone and tempted the other person, “If you hurry up, you can still have dinner together.”

“Okay… I know, I know the sniper’s name,” Huang Jieyuan said in a low voice.

"Then say it."

"His surname is Chen, Chen with the character 'ear east'. His given name, I remember, is Chen Hao, Chen with the character 'day sky'."

"Where is he now?" Eumenides asked calmly.

"He's still within the public security system, but he's been transferred to the Dongcheng Criminal Police Team as captain."

“Chen Hao, captain of the East City Criminal Police Team…” Eumenides repeated the information provided by Huang Jieyuan, while the sound of typing came through the headset. A moment later, an image suddenly appeared on the screen of computer number 33.

It was a screenshot of a personal profile. The right half showed a half-body photo of a lean and capable-looking man, while the left half contained his personal information. The "Name" field displayed the words "Chen Hao".

As the image appeared, Eumenides' voice came through: "Is this the person?"

"Yes. How did you get his information?" Huang Jieyuan's tone sounded quite surprised.

“The personal information system on the public security network holds no secrets for me.” Eumenides sneered, then suddenly changed his tone and asked, “Is this person thirty-five years old?”

The information panel clearly stated Chen Hao's date of birth, leaving Huang Jieyuan with no way to refute it. He could only hesitantly reply, "Yes...yes."

Eumenides pressed further: "Eighteen years ago, he was eighteen. Do you think he could have been the lead sniper in an operation like this?"

"This, this..." Huang Jieyuan awkwardly searched for an excuse, "Maybe he changed his age, for... for the sake of getting the job, he changed his age to be younger..."

"Enough!" Eumenides interrupted him sharply. "I have the files of all active special police officers in the provincial capital from eighteen years ago, and there's no one named Chen Hao in them! This is just a trap set up by the police. If I'm not mistaken, this Chen Hao has already been secretly transferred to the special task force, hasn't he?!"

Huang Jieyuan swallowed awkwardly, glancing helplessly and panicked at Luo Fei and Mu Jianyun beside him. Eumenides, watching through the camera, snorted and continued angrily, "Mr. Huang, if you want to see your son again, put away this stupid trick the police taught you! I'm losing patience. I'll give you one more chance, your last chance!"

Huang Jieyuan withdrew his gaze, shaking his head in frustration, seemingly having completely given up on the fight against Eumenides. His son's safety weighed heavily on his mind, but could he really surrender to his enemy like this? Torn between two conflicting emotions, he agonized over this difficult choice, finally muttering to himself after a long while, "No, no… I can't betray my former comrades for my son…"

“Okay, I understand your situation…” Eumenides didn’t want the conversation to really reach a stalemate, so he offered a way out. “How about this, I don’t need you to say that person’s name directly; your pride won’t allow you to do that. We can take a compromise approach…”

Huang Jieyuan looked at the camera, his face showing a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.

“I have photos of all the SWAT team members from eighteen years ago,” Eumenides continued. “I will show them to you one by one, and at the same time I will ask you: Is this him? You just need to answer 'yes' or 'no'.”

Huang Jieyuan remained silent. But in many situations, silence signifies approval.

Meanwhile, inside the Zhenyang Building in Nancheng, Zeng Rihua and Liu Song found the second link in the "chain Trojan"—an internal computer belonging to a cultural company. After identifying themselves as police officers, Zeng Rihua immediately began tracing the Trojan's offline process on the computer, while Liu Song called Luo Fei to report the situation.

The police and Eumenides were locked in a fierce battle on two fronts. Luo Fei closely monitored the situation, feeling a sense of frustration at being unable to exert his power. Not far from him, a large photograph appeared on the monitor of computer number 33; Eumenides had begun interrogating Huang Jieyuan. Would the sniper who shot Wen Hongbing eighteen years ago reveal his true identity as a result?

"Is this the person?" Eumenides' voice came from afar. The photo showed a dark-skinned, muscular man. Huang Jie glanced at it, already having a plan in mind, but found it difficult to speak.

“If you don’t speak, then I’ll assume it’s him,” Eumenides said coldly, his words carrying a chilling murderous intent.

"No, it wasn't him." Huang Jieyuan finally spoke, knowing that his answer would determine the safety of another person. He had no right to drag a completely innocent person into such a risk.

“Very good—the sooner you answer, the sooner you’ll see your son.” As Eumenides spoke, the photo on the screen changed, and then he repeated the same question: “Is this the person?”

This time, Huang Jieyuan didn't hesitate for long: "No."

The photo on the screen changed again.

Is this the person?

"no."

...

As the same questions and answers were repeated, one male figure after another appeared before Huang Jieyuan. Just as Eumenides said, they were all members of the provincial capital's special police team who served eighteen years ago, and one of them must be the sniper who shot his biological father.

After repeated attempts, Huang Jieyuan's originally sensitive nerves seemed to gradually become numb, and he answered the other party's questions much faster.

"no."

"no."

"no."

...

Time ticked by in this monotonous question-and-answer session. More than ten minutes passed, and photos of hundreds of SWAT team members scrolled across the screen. Just when both sides were starting to tire, the situation finally changed.

"Is this the person?" Eumenides asked routinely, and a muscular man appeared on the screen. He had a square face and sword-like eyebrows, and his resolute gaze and taut muscles exuded a strong sense of power.

Huang Jieyuan's mechanical reply stopped abruptly. He looked at the newly appeared photo, wanting to say something but painfully swallowing it back.

Eumenides asked again, "Is it this person?"

Huang Jieyuan licked his lips, his gaze briefly wandering across the screen—a detail that naturally didn't escape Eumenides's online surveillance. The latter realized something and pressed, "Give me your answer, 'yes' or 'no'!"

Huang Jieyuan took a deep breath and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "I want to see my son."

Eumenides dismissed the suggestion: "Answer my question properly, and you will naturally see your son."

"No, I want to see him now! Now!" Huang Jieyuan suddenly roared in a low voice. He hunched his head, veins bulging on his forehead, looking like a beast trapped in a snare. A terrifying power seemed to be suppressed within him, ready to erupt at any moment.

Eumenides fell silent, perhaps hesitating about whether to compromise with the other party.

“I need to see my son first, I need to make sure he’s still safe.” Huang Jieyuan’s tone softened, becoming more pleading, and he emphasized, “Otherwise I won’t answer any more of your questions.”

“Alright.” Eumenides finally made a decision after weighing the options. Soon, a video window appeared on computer number thirty-three, showing that Eumenides had also connected to a live camera on the other end of the network.

The camera was pre-adjusted to avoid capturing the area near the computer. Only a large bed could be seen about two meters away, with a boy lying on it. His hands, feet, eyes, and mouth were bound, but his body would occasionally twist and struggle, seemingly unharmed.

Huang Jieyuan recognized the boy at a glance as his son. He pressed his face close to the screen and shouted, "Yangyang, Yangyang!"

Meanwhile, another person at computer number 33 was focusing on other information in the video. This person was none other than Luo Fei, the overall commander of the operation. After noticing something amiss, he immediately stepped back and dialed Liu Song's number. The young man's voice quickly came through the receiver.

"Hey, Captain Luo."

Where are you?

"I just came out of an internet cafe and am now on my way to the fourth location—the computer seems to be in the boys' dormitory at the Industrial College."

"I just saw the video from the scene. The final location you're looking for should be a budget-friendly government hotel," Luo Fei said confidently. "If you find any matching clues, report back to me immediately!"

"Understood!" The young man acknowledged the order and then said, "Team Leader Luo, wait a moment." A moment later, Zeng Rihua's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Captain Luo, when I was tracking the offline person just now, I also intercepted a monitoring signal transmitted by that unknown program. There might be something strange about it, but I can't figure it out."

"Oh?" That unclear program had always been a concern for Luo Fei, and he immediately pressed for details, "What's the deal with that program?"

"It's monitoring bursts of pulse signals, which seem to be some kind of radio wave. I've already sent the intercepted signals to the internet cafe's server over the network. You can print them out and take a look. Anyway, I can't figure out what it's all about."

"Okay. I understand." Luo Fei hung up the phone. He wasn't very computer savvy, so he called over the internet cafe owner and asked him to print out the newly received files from the server. Fortunately, the owner was a quick-witted person, and completing this small task shouldn't be a problem for him.