Drapeau fantôme

Chapitre 21

Luo Fei returned to the vicinity of computer number 33. He saw that the video window on the screen was closed, and Huang Jieyuan seemed to be calming down from his agitated state.

Eumenides' voice faintly came through the headset: "Alright, I've granted your wish. Now answer me. Is this the person?"

Huang Jieyuan didn't speak, but he was nodding silently.

“Yang Lin, 41 years old, 20 years of police service, currently a combat instructor in the SWAT team.” Eumenides read aloud the information of the muscular man in the photo, then asked, “Are you sure it’s him?”

"I'm sure." Huang Jieyuan's throat seemed to be blocked by something, his voice low and hoarse.

“Very good—” Eumenides pondered for a moment, then said, “But I still hope you will look at the rest of the photos.”

"Why?" Huang Jieyuan couldn't help but ask.

“I’m afraid you might be mistaken. After all, that happened eighteen years ago. You need to look at all the photos before giving me a definite answer.” Eumenides’ explanation made sense. After all, he was searching for his father’s killer, and anyone would treat that with caution, right?

“Alright,” Huang Jieyuan agreed to the request. He wasn’t afraid of trouble; in fact, one of his tasks was to keep Eumenides in front of the computer for as long as possible. Because on another front, the police were tracking them down.

Then the photos on the screen were passed on one by one again, accompanied by the two of them mechanically asking and answering questions.

Is this the person?

"no."

...

The two spent another three or four minutes going through the remaining SWAT team information on the computer screen. Each time, Huang Jieyuan answered without hesitation, "No."

The situation seemed quite clear: the special police officer named Yang Lin was the sniper who shot and killed Wen Hongbing eighteen years ago.

“You will soon be reunited with your son,” Eumenides concluded, seemingly satisfied with the outcome of his search.

Huang Jieyuan breathed a sigh of relief: "Where should I pick him up?"

“There’s no rush,” Eumenides said. “I don’t want to end this conversation yet—but not with you. I need to talk to the person next to you.”

Huang Jieyuan turned his head in surprise and asked, "You're looking for... Captain Luo?"

"Yes."

Huang Jieyuan took off his earphones and handed them to Luo Fei: "He wants to talk to you."

Luo Fei frowned; this was indeed a strange request. Logically, Eumenides had already obtained the information he needed and should have retreated as soon as possible. Why would he specifically request to chat with him? However, since the other party had already drawn the string, Luo Fei had no reason not to release the arrow.

Luo Fei put on his headphones and switched places with Huang Jieyuan. It was the first time he was going to have such a direct conversation with that guy, and he felt an indescribable excitement.

Huang Jieyuan withdrew from the camera's surveillance range. Not far away, Mu Jianyun and Huang Jieyuan exchanged glances. A hint of a smile flashed across both of them, for they had just perfectly deployed the bait set up by the police.

Yang Lin, the current combat instructor of the SWAT team, was Xiong Yuan's closest comrade-in-arms in life. This was the "bait" chosen by the SWAT team to deal with Eumenides.

To convince Eumenides that Yang Lin was the sniper from back then, Mu Jianyun devised a series of psychological traps, and Huang Jieyuan's brilliant performance on the spot finally led Eumenides deeper and deeper into the trap.

Mu Jianyun knew that Eumenides would definitely guess the police's plan: to use an insider to impersonate the sniper from back then, so a cover story had to be devised.

Chen Hao was the decoy. He was a former SWAT team member and now the criminal investigation captain of the branch office. Such a role perfectly suited the police's requirements, so Huang Jieyuan threw out his name first.

However, Chen Hao, as bait, has a fatal flaw: his age.

Eumenides, of course, wouldn't overlook such a loophole. Once he exposes Chen Hao's identity, he'll assume he's broken through the police's trap. From that point on, his vigilance will be greatly reduced.

Next, Huang Jieyuan needed to draw the other party's attention to the real bait.

That required a performance. Huang Jieyuan perfectly portrayed the painful struggle between camaraderie and the blood ties between father and son, and no one could find any flaws in his performance.

Even the meticulous Eumenides couldn't have done it.

Mu Jianyun gave Huang Jieyuan a thumbs-up, expressing his silent approval. At the same time, the internet cafe owner walked over with a stack of printer paper in his hand.

Mu Jianyun stepped forward and looked at the other person with an inquiring gaze.

"These are the documents Officer Luo asked me to print," the shopkeeper said, waving the printed paper in his hand.

"I'll go give it to him." Mu Jianyun took the paper and glanced at it, only seeing waveforms on it. She didn't know what it was for, but since Luo Fei needed it, she decided to find a way to send it over.

At that moment, Luo Fei was already sitting in front of computer number 33 and had begun a network conversation with Eumenides.

“Captain Luo, I want to express my gratitude to you.” This was Eumenides’ opening remark.

Luo Fei responded calmly, "Thank you for what?"

"Thank you for helping me kill Deng Hua."

"Then you're just being presumptuous." Luo Fei remained expressionless. "I didn't help you."

“You seem a little angry? I can tell,” Eumenides said softly on the other end of the network. “However—we both know that if you want to stop me, I can’t kill Deng Hua. You saw through the moves I made against Han Hao back then, and in that respect, I’ve already lost to you once.”

Luo Fei chuckled, "Deng Hua is dead—that's the outcome. Are you mocking me for losing to me?"

“That was thanks to the teacher’s final instructions. So, it wasn’t a victory that truly belonged to me.” Eumenides’ tone was filled with deep regret, and then he sighed softly. But to Luo Fei, that sigh conveyed a chilling intent.

"So—" Luo Fei said sternly, "you absolutely must defeat me personally at least once, is that it?"

“Yes,” Eumenides admitted, then countered, “Don’t you want to?”

Luo Fei remained silent.

“You can’t help but want to—because it’s rare for us to encounter opponents like each other. In fact, we’ve already been enjoying the process, starting this morning.”

Luo Fei knew what the other party was referring to: "You saw through my ambush, you've outmaneuvered me."

“No,” Eumenides said, “it was just a draw. I thought you'd have a hard time guessing my target, since I stole more than a dozen unrelated documents from the archives. But you targeted Huang Jieyuan so quickly, and even knew about my background. How did you do that?”

"Why should I tell you?" Luo Fei deliberately dragged out the conversation.

“Tell me where your weaknesses are, and I will tell you where your weaknesses are,” Eumenides said gently. “We can improve together so that our future matches will be even more perfect.”

"Progressing together?" It was indeed absurd for a criminal to say such a thing to a policeman. Luo Fei recalled that before he parted ways with Yuan Zhibang, the latter had compared him to a "catfish," a "catfish" that could enhance the vitality of sardines. Now it seemed that such a metaphor was not a pointless joke.

Luo Fei didn't object to the suggestion; he genuinely wanted to know where their weaknesses lay. Just as Eumenides had said, they all enjoyed the feeling of sparring with a master. After a moment's consideration, he briefly said, "I determined the document you truly wanted by observing the changes in dust near the stolen document folder. At the same time, I instructed my subordinates to search for information on all missing children, orphans, and homeless children in this city over the past eight years, starting from January 1985. By combining these two sets of information, I can confirm your true identity."

“Yes… I understand.” Eumenides sighed in frustration. “I was a bit too hasty. The operation to steal the files was far too rushed… Who can remain calm when faced with the mystery of their own origins?”

"How did you see through the police ambush this morning?" It was Luo Fei's turn to ask. "I can say with certainty that there was absolutely no possibility of any leak in my communication with Huang Jieyuan, not even in my own team members."

“There’s a scrap metal collection point at the entrance of Rhine Garden residential area. I went over and chatted with the shop assistant for a while. He told me that Huang Jieyuan’s wife is a very tidy person and regularly hires someone to clean up the clutter in their home. Some of the items are just recently expired magazines, which the shop assistant feels are a waste to sell as scrap metal, so he often keeps them to read himself.”

"Heh." Luo Fei gave a bitter laugh, already understanding: the housewife at home was so tidy that she would even clean up the magazines that had just expired, so how could there be a large pile of waste paper and debris in the garage? Therefore, Eumenides had seen through the flaw before entering the community, so he kidnapped Huang Jieyuan's son and planned this online conversation.

"What do you plan to do next?" Luo Fei asked again. "Go find Yang Lin?"

“There are some things that must be done,” Eumenides replied calmly.

“That’s dangerous for you.” Luo Fei’s tone was slightly threatening. He knew that the more he said that, the more the other party would believe that Yang Lin was indeed the target.

“Yes. You’ve already got your eyes on this trail, and if I continue down this path, it will be like dancing in a fire. But I can’t stop, because this matter touches on a man’s principles. Just as the teacher was determined to kill Deng Hua, I am determined to find out the truth about my father’s death. No matter how dangerous it is, I will do it, and—” Eumenides said firmly and confidently, “I will have my own way.”

It seemed Eumenides was completely following the police's plan, and he showed no sign of ending the conversation. Everything seemed too smooth, making Luo Fei somewhat hesitant. Just then, Luo Fei saw Mu Jianyun quietly walk to the back of computer number thirty-three and unfold a printed sheet towards him. The female lecturer was positioned in a corner out of the camera's view, and the printed sheet was perfectly positioned so that Luo Fei could easily see its contents simply by looking straight ahead.

It was a series of radio wave patterns, sometimes flat, sometimes undulating. Luo Fei seemed to recognize these patterns, and he suddenly froze: Could this be...?

“Captain Luo, what are you thinking about?” Even though they were separated by the internet, Eumenides still sensed something was amiss.

"Heh." Luo Fei gave a strange smile and asked, "Do you know what I'm thinking?"

"You're nervous, I can tell."

"Yes, I've thought of something..." Luo Fei mumbled as he took off his headphones, rubbing his temples wearily. His gaze quickly swept over the headphones, noticing some unusual internal structures. This confirmed his suspicions.

Luo Fei's heart sank to the bottom. Like a hunting dog lying in wait suddenly exposed to the blinding sunlight, he felt a sense of shame and helplessness at being completely exposed by his opponent. However, he tried his best to conceal these psychological changes and quickly adjusted his emotions before putting the headphones back on.

“I was thinking…” Luo Fei seemed to pick up where he left off, “that perhaps we can achieve your wish in another way.”

What do you mean?

"Through normal channels, let the police investigate the truth about the 130 case from eighteen years ago."

“The police?” Eumenides scoffed. “The truth has been covered up by you all to begin with, and you expect me to investigate? You can only do things my way, let me do what the police can’t do—just like I’ve done before.”

"Your way? Are you proud of your way?" Luo Fei said angrily. "That's a crime."

"I am punishing evil, and the world is more just because of my existence."

“No, you have created new evils. And so-called justice is not what you think it is—” Luo Fei said sarcastically, “The situation has spiraled out of control in your hands.”

Eumenides asked perceptively, "What do you mean?"

"In that case of insulting a teacher, the punishment you imposed on the person involved. You thought you had restored the teaching profession and helped Wu Yinwu regain his responsibility and dignity, but the truth is quite the opposite; you killed that teacher."

“That’s impossible!” Eumenides retorted. “He only cut off one of his hands. With timely help, it can be reattached. And the psychological forgiveness he received far outweighs the physical pain he endured.”

"Looks like you haven't had time to go online today." Luo Fei suddenly raised his voice. "Wu Yinwu is dead. He committed suicide!"

Eumenides was clearly taken aback, and it took him a moment to react: "Suicide? Why?"

"Because he was hurt not only physically, but more importantly, psychologically. The harm you caused! You should listen to this recording online, and you'll understand." As Luo Fei said this, he reached into his pocket, took the MP3 player out, pressed play, and held the speaker to the computer microphone.

The MP3 player started playing the recording of the reporter's interview with Wu Yinwu. Mu Jianyun, who was present, was also hearing this recording for the first time, and as the interview progressed, an uncontrollable look of anger appeared on her face.

Eumenides remained silent on the other end of the network until the recording ended completely, at which point his voice was heard again.

"Who is that reporter?" he asked in a very calm tone, a calmness that was chilling and terrifying.

"Who the reporter is is irrelevant; a reporter couldn't have driven Wu Yinwu to suicide. You killed him, in your own way. What you brought to the weak wasn't justice, but rather even more profound harm!"

Luo Fei's words were clearly provoking Eumenides's nerves, and the latter's breathing became noticeably rapid. However, he quickly regained his composure and retorted, "You're wrong. It wasn't me who harmed him, but someone else. Because you lack the ability to punish that evil, you're shifting the blame onto me."

Luo Fei responded to the other party's counterattack with a cold laugh: "At least you failed to control the situation. This society has its rules, but you didn't abide by them. You went outside the rules, thinking you could control everything, but the facts have proven that you failed."

Eumenides stopped responding to Luo Fei's provocation. After a moment of silence, he said, "I had hoped to have a friendly conversation with you, but you deliberately tried to ruin the atmosphere. I'm somewhat disappointed, and I think there's no need for us to continue."

“If you’re going to leave, tell me where that child is first.” Luo Fei changed the subject. “That child is innocent. You’ve got the information you wanted. You should let him go.”

“I will let you go, but I don’t want to leave yet,” Eumenides said with a light laugh. “If I leave now, wouldn’t that be too neglectful of Teacher Mu?”

"Do you want to talk to her?" Luo Fei tried to decipher the other person's unspoken message.

"Yes, please ask her to put on her headphones."

Luo Fei was quite surprised. Eumenides' conversation with him earlier hadn't seemed meaningful, yet now he wanted to continue talking to Mu Jianyun. His actions seemed to be deliberately giving the police ample time to track him down. What exactly was he trying to do?

Despite his confusion, Luo Fei still handed the earphones to Mu Jianyun, who was not far away, as instructed.

“He wants to talk to you.” Luo Fei said, stepping aside to make room for you. Once you were out of the camera’s view, he lowered his voice and added, “Try to stall him. Go around in circles with him—but don’t try to trick him, he can sense it.”

Mu Jianyun looked at Luo Fei with confusion, not understanding what he meant by "he could sense it." But the situation didn't allow her to ask any more questions, so she could only remember Luo Fei's instructions and then sit down in front of the camera.

Luo Fei retreated outside the circle. He checked his watch; it was 5:51 PM. This meant the police had been engaged with Eumenides for nearly two hours, and the latter had already achieved his goal, potentially escaping police sight at any moment. To seize this opportunity to track down their adversary, the police had to race against time!

To Luo Fei's slight relief, good news soon came from Zeng Rihua's side.