Drapeau fantôme

Chapitre 63

Ding Ke then asked Luo Fei, "When you become enemies on opposing sides, will you abandon your principles because of your own emotions?"

Luo Fei shook his head decisively: "No."

"You can control your emotions, but Yuan Zhibang cannot. Therefore, if you were to fight to the death, Yuan Zhibang would already be at a disadvantage before the fight even begins."

Indeed… Luo Fei imagined himself facing Yuan Zhibang on the battlefield—that man possessed rich and intense emotions, while he himself remained far more composed at all times. He gradually grasped the meaning, muttering painfully to himself, “Is this why he wants to kill Meng Yun?”

"That's a large part of the reason. Yuan Zhibang's meticulousness and caution are no less than yours; he's well aware of his weaknesses. Therefore, he had to find a way to sever any emotional connection with you. At the same time, his plan required an innocent person to prove his death, so he chose Meng Yun for that role. Once Meng Yun is dead, you'll go from friends to irreconcilable enemies, with no room for reconciliation. His emotional weakness will then cease to exist." After analyzing the situation this way, Ding Ke sighed rather helplessly. "Moreover, from all aspects, Meng Yun perfectly fits the plan's requirements. You could even say that his plan was perfected precisely because of Meng Yun's existence."

"No!" Luo Fei suddenly raised his head upon hearing this, objecting firmly, "On the contrary, it was Meng Yun who ruined his plan. His wishful thinking was shattered by Meng Yun; if he had been any less lucky, he might have been wiped out eighteen years ago!"

Ding Ke was taken aback, then thought about it again and realized that it was indeed true. He shook his head sadly, feeling deeply saddened: Yuan Zhibang, Luo Fei, and Meng Yun, these three rare geniuses in the police force, were unfortunately entangled in that helpless conflict, and since their strengths were so similar, they were destined to end up in a lose-lose situation, a truly regrettable outcome.

As those long-forgotten memories unfolded one by one, the sun gradually sank in the west. Ding Ke looked up at the sky and changed the subject, saying, "It's almost five o'clock, isn't it? Since you've all come all this way, why don't you stay for dinner? We can chat a bit longer."

"How could I possibly bother you?" Luo Fei quickly declined, "Let's find a restaurant together and have a get-together. It'll be my treat."

Ding Ke laughed and said, "What's the big deal? I've cultivated a few vegetable patches behind the house, and all sorts of seasonal fruits and vegetables are growing well. Just pick some, wash and prepare them, and a meal will be ready."

"Really?" Mu Jianyun immediately showed great interest. "A vegetable garden? I'd like to see it right now."

"It's right behind the house." Ding Ke waved his hand. "Huang Jieyuan, take Teacher Mu over there and pick the freshest fruits and vegetables, bring back a lot."

Huang Jieyuan responded and led Mu Jianyun out of the courtyard. Zeng Rihua couldn't sit still any longer, so he greeted them and followed behind the two of them.

"Yin Jian, let's go help out too." Luo Fei instructed his assistant while trying to stand up. But then he froze as Ding Ke hooked his leg under the table with his toes.

Luo Fei's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately froze in place. Yin Jian, oblivious to anything amiss, chased after him out of the courtyard.

Ding Ke watched the group disappear behind the house before turning to Luo Fei and saying, "Captain Luo, I have something to give you."

"Oh?" Luo Fei raised his eyebrows with interest: Since the other party is making it so mysterious, this thing must have some secrets.

Ding Ke reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box, placing it on the table. Luo Fei recognized it as a microcassette tape, a tool commonly used by the police for wiretapping and recording before the computer age.

Before Luo Fei could ask, Ding Ke explained, "During the 130 case, Yuan Zhibang was wearing a listening device when he entered the scene, so there's audio recording of what happened. Back then, because I wanted to protect Yuan Zhibang, I concealed many facts in the police records. To prevent the truth from being buried, I've kept this recording. Take it back and listen to it; it contains the whole story of Wen Hongbing's shooting."

Luo Fei reached out and put the recording away, asking with a hint of surprise, "Why didn't you take it out earlier?"

"I don't want anyone else to see it—" Ding Ke said, squinting, "because some of the contents of this tape are something that the child can't know."

Upon hearing this, Luo Fei was startled, simultaneously discerning two hidden meanings. He immediately lowered his voice and asked, "Do you think there's something wrong with the people around me?"

Ding Ke didn't answer directly. He pondered for a moment and said, "As far as I know, the files for Case 112 are only kept in the Public Security Bureau's archives and haven't been entered into the computer database. Do you think it's possible that Eumenides has never seen those files?"

Ding Ke's words were somewhat disjointed, but Luo Fei perfectly understood the underlying logic. Eumenides had single-handedly uncovered the true culprit in Case 112; it would be impossible for him to have done so without consulting previous police records. But police records are only kept internally by the Public Security Bureau. How could Eumenides have obtained them?

The more one thinks about this problem, the more terrifying it becomes. In a short while, beads of sweat began to appear on Luo Fei's forehead.

"You don't need to be too nervous," Ding Ke reassured Luo Fei. "I'm just guessing; I don't have any evidence. But since you're determined to stop that child from doing evil, we need to be extra careful. So, the truth recorded in this tape can only be known to you for now."

Before the first problem was resolved, the second one immediately followed. Luo Fei frowned deeply: "Is it possible that what you just described wasn't true?"

"The facts are the facts, but they're not complete." Ding Ke looked at Luo Fei meaningfully and said slowly, "Since we want to stop evil from continuing, what we should do is sever the causal link that breeds evil, rather than pursuing the root of cause and effect."

Luo Fei licked his lips, seemingly understanding but not quite, while his gaze remained fixed on the cassette tape in his hand—what secrets were hidden within it?

The Fate of the Death Sentence (37)

November 12th, 8:07 AM.

Inside the Criminal Investigation Brigade's conference room.

Besides the members of the 418 task force, there was another outsider present—Du Mingqiang. He was yawning deeply, as if he hadn't fully woken up yet.

"Ugh, when will this ever end?" After yawning, he rubbed his nose and said, "My schedule just doesn't match yours. If you keep making me get up this early, you might as well just kill me."

"The early bird catches the worm—" Luo Fei said, glancing at Yin Jian beside him, "Give him the things."

Yin Jian pushed a large envelope in front of Du Mingqiang.

"What's this?" Du Mingqiang opened the envelope and poured out a stack of documents and an MP3 player.

Here are some news materials for you—read them first.

Upon hearing that it was news material, Du Mingqiang immediately perked up. He picked up the stack of documents and began to read them carefully. The documents contained an objective description of a hostage situation that occurred eighteen years ago, including the background of the case, the people involved, and the entire process before and after the incident. The content was very detailed.

"The conflicts are strong, and there are ethical concerns—" After reading it, Du Mingqiang commented, waving his hands, "but it's been a long time, hasn't it? It's not very timely, and even if it were written down, the news effect probably wouldn't be very good."

"The child in the case is the current killer Eumenides; and the policeman who shot his father is Yuan Zhibang, who single-handedly trained Eumenides." Luo Fei pointed out the key details in the materials calmly.

"Is that how it is?" Du Mingqiang's eyes gleamed with a strange light. "This is different! This is the hottest social topic right now. I can analyze the psychological journeys of the two generations of Eumenides based on these materials; it'll definitely grab attention!"

Luo Fei nodded: Du Mingqiang immediately saw the potential for analyzing Eumenides' inner thoughts from the information; his professional intuition did not disappoint him.

"Play the recording of the scene for him too," Luo Fei instructed Yin Jian again. The latter immediately turned on the MP3 player, and the recording of the scene from eighteen years ago was vividly reproduced in everyone's ears.

The recording begins when Yuan Zhibang enters the hostage situation. The majority of the recording consists of Yuan Zhibang persuading Wen Hongbing. Accompanied by Yuan's sincere and patient words, Wen Hongbing's restless emotions seem to gradually calm down. The bond between father and son becomes even more irresistible, and finally, he stops dwelling on his debt dispute with Chen Tianqiao and asks Yuan Zhibang to let him hold his child.

"Put down the bomb and release the hostages, then I can safely hand the child over to you," Yuan Zhibang said in a reassuring tone in the recording. "You don't need to worry. Everything will pass, everything will be alright."

A brief silence fell over the scene. Wen Hongbing remained silent, seemingly hesitating about something.

Yuan Zhibang continued his efforts: "Don't you understand? What's most important to you? If you continue down this wrong path, where do you place your wife and son?"

"Son, my son..." Wen Hongbing finally murmured. Anyone could hear from his tone that his stubborn mental defenses were on the verge of collapse.

"Come, child, look back and call out 'Dad'." Yuan Zhibang's gentle words were clearly directed at the child in his arms, and his purpose was to use the bond between father and son to make a final call to Wen Hongbing.

A moment later, a clear child's voice rang out: "Dad, did you buy my birthday cake?"

These words seemed to strike at Wen Hongbing's most vulnerable spot. He let out a painful whimper, followed by a frantic scream: "Give me back my money! Give it back!"

"I really have no money..." That weak and feeble explanation naturally came from Chen Tianqiao's mouth.

Yuan Zhibang was extremely anxious: "Stop! Please calm down!"

"Bastard! You're lying, I'm going to kill you!" Wen Hongbing's voice sounded like a beast at its end, hoarse and desperate, sending chills down the spine of the listener. Then his voice turned into heavy breathing, as if he were engaged in a fierce fight with someone.

"Stop! Stop it all!" Yuan Zhibang shouted, but he could no longer control the situation.

Until the gunshot rang out, "Bang!" it was finally over.

The recording ended there. However, everyone in the conference room fell silent for a moment, seemingly unable to shake off the shadow cast over that past event in their hearts.

After a long silence, Luo Fei finally broke the oppressive atmosphere.

"How do you feel?" he asked, looking at Du Mingqiang.

Faced with such a human tragedy, Du Mingqiang's usual indifferent expression vanished. He shook his head in realization: "That...that child, it was because of one sentence he uttered..."

"Yes. His single sentence changed the situation, which is both poignant and frustrating." Luo Fei sighed, then added, "I hope you can include this passage in your report."

"Oh?" Du Mingqiang looked back at Luo Fei, seemingly trying to glean more meaning from the other's eyes.

"Not only the report, but you can also take that MP3 file. Later, upload the recording online as well."

Du Mingqiang stared at Luo Fei for a moment, a sly smile gradually appearing on his lips: "Officer Luo, are you using me?"

"If you're not interested, you don't have to do it," Mu Jianyun interrupted coldly, unable to tolerate the other person's self-righteous attitude. "You're not the only online reporter we have."

"Of course! Who wouldn't want to work on such great material?" Du Mingqiang grinned, giving Mu Jianyun a surrender-like expression. "But you'd better tell me your true intentions so I can consider them when I'm writing."

This request was reasonable. Mu Jianyun glanced at Luo Fei, and after receiving a definite affirmative response from the latter, he said to Du Mingqiang, "Wen Chengyu, who is now Eumenides, was very young at the time and doesn't remember the details of the case. We hope you will write a report that Eumenides will see, because the details of the case might prompt him to abandon his path as a killer."

"Do you mean you want me to write a letter of admonition?" Du Mingqiang asked with a chuckle, using a metaphor.

"You could say that," Mu Jianyun shrugged, then explained in more detail, "Yuan Zhibang turned to the path of an assassin precisely because of this case. Therefore, in a sense, it was Wen Chengyu's unintentional transformation of Yuan Zhibang in his childhood that led to the later Eumenides. We're telling Wen Chengyu this story now so he can reflect on it. He'll realize that becoming Eumenides wasn't the path he was forced to take, and the theories Yuan Zhibang taught him weren't infallible—it was just an accidental incident, stemming from a careless remark he made as a child. This bloody tragedy he caused can now also be ended in his own hands."

Du Mingqiang stroked his chin, seemingly savoring the moment: "I understand what you mean..."

"So, do you know how to write this report?" Mu Jianyun asked, raising an eyebrow. Before Du Mingqiang could answer, Luo Fei added fuel to the fire: "You should take this matter more seriously than any of us, because it's directly related to your life—do you understand?"

Du Mingqiang chuckled, "Of course. If this report achieves the desired effect, I'll be the first person to escape Eumenides' death warrant."

"Hmm, you're a smart man. I didn't need to say so much." Luo Fei turned to look at Liu Song, who was sitting next to Du Mingqiang. "Officer Liu, you can take him to get ready now. Let me see the draft after it's finished."

"Yes!" Liu Song stood up and saluted. Although his waist was still wrapped in bandages, his posture remained firm and upright.

Du Mingqiang lazily stood up, waving the large envelope in his hand, and remarked with a touch of smugness, "Is this my destiny? To become a prominent journalist who attracts attention?"

"Let's go!" Liu Song glared at Du Mingqiang, then dragged him out of the conference room.

After the two had walked away, Luo Fei looked at Mu Jianyun and asked, "Teacher Mu, how confident are you about the outcome of this matter?"

"It's hard to say..." Mu Jianyun hesitated, not daring to speak too definitively, "But regardless, this report will definitely shake Eumenides's foundation of faith. The mystery of his origins that he has been desperately pursuing is so frustrating, and frustrating experiences can erode any strong emotion, whether it's love or hate. He has no reason to persist any longer. If external factors further intensify this situation, the possibility of him abandoning his path as an assassin is very high."

Luo Fei's heart stirred. He had actually clearly seen the external factor, but it was not convenient to say it in this situation.

"But are we just going to change our strategy like this?" Yin Jian suddenly blurted out. Seeing Luo Fei turn his head at the sound of his voice, he continued, "Now that we've found Ding Ke, why don't we set a trap for Eumenides and let him take it, instead of telling him the information he wants?"

Luo Fei didn't answer directly. He glanced at his colleagues in the room and then asked, "Who among you agrees to use Ding Ke as bait for Eumenides?"

Everyone fell silent. Having spent the previous afternoon with the old man, they were all deeply impressed by his profound understanding, and using him as bait to capture Eumenides was simply unacceptable. Moreover, given Dingo's compassionate nature, he would most likely not cooperate with such an operation.

A moment later, Zeng Rihua scratched his head and said, "We already have bait, so there's no need to risk Ding Lao's life, is there? It's good to tell Eumenides the message, so we can concentrate on keeping an eye on Du Mingqiang."

"But if Eumenides is really persuaded and lets Du Mingqiang go, how can we catch him?" Yin Jian asked unwillingly.

Luo Fei sighed softly, "Yin Jian, your desire for revenge is too strong."

Yin Jian was taken aback. Yes, he had always been resentful of Han Hao's situation, and in his view, Eumenides was the murderer who had driven Han Hao to the brink of despair.

"I agree with Captain Luo's plan," Mu Jianyun said, offering timely support to Luo Fei. "Regardless, stopping crime is our fundamental goal. Whether we can catch Eumenides later is another matter, but do you really want him to continue his killing spree just to catch him?"

Yin Jian looked up, his eyes were a little red, but he didn't say anything more.

10:16 AM, November 13th.

The office of the criminal investigation team leader.

The morning sunlight streamed in through the south-facing windows, making the room bright and airy.

Luo Fei sat quietly at his desk, a morning newspaper spread out on the surface.

That wasn't today's new newspaper; the date on the masthead was November 1st. A news item appeared on the supplement page, which, to the detective captain who was used to all sorts of murder cases, was nothing special:

This morning, the body of a young man was found in the Yudai River in the eastern part of the city. A forensic examination determined that he drowned, and his blood alcohol content was 213 milligrams per liter, indicating he was severely intoxicated before his death. Police speculate that the man may have been urinating by the river while intoxicated when he accidentally fell in and drowned, likely in the early hours of this morning. Police also remind the public to drink in moderation; excessive drinking not only harms health but also poses various unforeseen dangers.

However, Luo Fei's gaze lingered on the news article for a long time. His right hand rested on the table, his index finger tapping the surface slowly and rhythmically, as he was deeply immersed in thought. It wasn't until a knock sounded at the door that he snapped out of his reverie.

"Please come in," Luo Fei said, folding up the newspaper and putting it back in his desk drawer.

The slightly ajar door was pushed open, and the person who stepped inside was Luo Fei's assistant, Yin Jian. The young man greeted him with a grin, "Captain Luo, is today your birthday?"

"Birthday?" Luo Fei was slightly taken aback—November 13th, it really was. He then grinned self-deprecatingly and asked, "How did you know? I'd completely forgotten..."

Yin Jian chuckled: "Someone brought you a birthday present."