Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  Sure enough, although the interrogation lasted for more than an hour, they got nothing useful from the perp.

  Liu Jianyong had never met this ’employer’ who hired him to create posts. He didn’t even know the gender of that person. All their communication was via the internet. The money which was transferred to his account also came from overseas.

  That was all.

  Bai Muchuan walked out of the interrogation room, looking all gloomy and cold.

  Xiang Wan poured a cup of warm water for him.

  “Drink some water.”


  “Thank you!” Bai Muchuan drank a mouthful of water and sat down. Then he massaged his forehead and coughed twice.

  “Mm, what’s wrong?” Xiang Wan lowered her head to look at his face. “Not feeling well?”


  “My head hurts a little.” Bai Muchuan drank some water again.

  Xiang Wan’s eyebrows squeezed together in thought.

  As a detective, he could not lead a regular life like other civilians. Overtime and working throughout the night were too common; their work was complicated and depressing; the stress from the public was immense, and it was especially true for those severe cases that the media was particularly interested in. Lastly, he was also the leader of Serious Crime Division One—


  In fact, it hadn’t that long since the first ‘zombie’ case took place, but the public’s expectations of the police were never in proportion to the actual speed of solving the case.

  The public’s impression of the detectives was always omnipotent, thanks to the film and television industry that depicted them like that.

  It was best if they could crack a case within three days. To them, solving a complicated matter in a month was too much.

  However, the reality was often cruel—usually, if a slightly complicated case could be solved within six months, it was already efficient.

  Any homicide case that was being passed on to Serious Crime Division One was certainly not trivial.

  However……

  talk is cheap. And there were too many such people around the world.

  They would only point their fingers at the police and how incompetent they were.

  After all, it didn’t require much brainpower, energy, and effort to make a comment on the internet—the keyboard warriors only needed to ‘condemn’ others with their self-perceived sense of justice. In modern society, the cases were getting more complicated since the criminals were more well-informed. If the authorities used responded with that, the keyboard warriors would have remarked that these problems had nothing to do with them.

  When the keyboard warriors remarked that ‘the cops are useless,’ it felt like they wiping out all that the police had done for the cases.

  The pressure from the superiors, the pressure from the public, and the pressure from the media……

  All of these finally made Bai Muchuan, who was always so tough, to fall into sickness……

  Xiang Wan was so worried and concerned about him.

  In her heart, Bai Muchuan was like a man of steel. He would not fall sick and would never collapse. Although he had worked for a few days straight, he could still get on to work with no problems…… Now, he kept coughing non-stop. Xiang Wan was flustered, and for a moment, she was at a loss of what to do.

  “Why don’t we go to the hospital and see a doctor?” Xiang Wan patted his back to make him feel better; her eyebrows were tightly knitted together. “You’re coughing quite badly that even your voice sounded hoarse. You can’t go on like this.”


  Bai Muchuan laughed as he coughed. “It’s not serious. We can grab some flu medicine later when we go out.”


  Xiang Wan looked at his weary face. “You must have caught a cold. I shouldn’t have woken you up last night……”


  “If you didn’t wake me up, work will be delayed.”


  “.…… The Great Wall of China was never completed in a day. There will always be criminals to catch.”


  “Hur!” Bai Muchuan patted her hands. “Don’t worry about me. My health has always been great. I’ll be back in my usual self in two days!”


  Xiang Wan pressed her lips together since she couldn’t stand watching him looking sickly. She felt that her internal organs were all jumbled up together and wished that she could fly to the pharmacy right away.

  “I’ll go out to get you some cough medicine!”


  “Wait!” Bai Muchuan pointed at the chair, indicating for her to sit down. “There’s something I want to discuss with you.”


  Xiang Wan was slightly surprised and sat down.

  Nowadays, Bai Muchuan was willing to share with her to analyze matters relating to the case.

  Xiang Wan also enjoyed this process.

  It was communication with an open heart. It could also cultivate tacit understanding between them.

  “Earlier on at the interrogation room when I was combing through the clues to the case, I suddenly thought of something……”


  “What is it?”


  “We are back to square one. We have been going around circles, and nothing’s changed.”


  “What do you mean?”


  “The key still lies with An Ying! Who is the one who contacted him to execute Operation Heaven’s Wrath?” Bai Muchuan cleared his throat. “Liu Jianyong is just a small fly but not An Ying. What Liu Jianyong doesn’t know, An Ying would certainly know, moreover……”


  He paused for a moment with his gaze slightly cold. “Huang He told me that on the day you lost your phone, he was also at that restaurant where you went to meet Fang Yuanyuan. He and Tian Danyue were there to meet An Ying. Due to safety reasons, he had sent men earlier to check out the place and canceled the appointment at the last minute because he saw you and Fang Yuanyuan—”


  Xiang Wan nodded. “That time my phone was snatched, I had to wait for the police to arrive to make a statement. That took some time…… Maybe An Ying was upstairs when he saw me, or he was in a place where I would see him once I go upstairs. He didn’t want me to see him…… or see something that I shouldn’t see, so he asked his men to snatch my phone and divert my attention!”


  Xiang Wan’s eyes were suddenly bright as though she was enlightened.

  “I think I understand now!”


  Bai Muchuan’s gaze deepened. “What is it?”


  “Could it be that the person who planned Operation Heaven’s Wrath, the one who contacted An Ying…… was actually together with An Ying back then?”


  Bai Muchuan nodded. “It’s possible…… but why would An Ying worry that you might see them?”


  Xiang Wan directly looked at Bai Muchuan in the eye.

  “I feel that—maybe I know this person.”
……

  Xiang Wan seemed excited and full of energy.

  It felt like they were discussing the plot of a novel and had suddenly thought of a good idea. She felt comfortable and completely at ease.

  She immediately brought her laptop over and used herself as the center to draw a relationship diagram.

  In the end, she realized…… that this phone snatching incident was not simple.

  Although her social circle was minimal, she still met a lot of people since she was young.

  Even if she narrowed it down and started counting when she got involved in a case, there were still many people that she knew.

  “Don’t be upset! This discovery is already great progress. ” Bai Muchuan coughed then held her shoulders with both hands and squeezed her gently. “Let’s go see An Ying.”


  Xiang Wan looked at him and nodded……

  People would cherish their life from the heart, especially when they were about to lose their life.

  Bai Muchuan knew about An Ying’s situation at the detention center. An Ying would frequently consult the prison officers as to what kind of punishment he would most likely receive and what constitutes excellent performance in detention or jail term. That was proof that he did not want to die at all. He really wanted to continue living…… This finding was absolutely different from the daring and audacious drug lord, who placed his life on the line when he led the Dark Clan.

  Although Xiang Wan learned this from Bai Muchuan, she was still surprised when she saw him in person.

  The detention center was basically akin to a plastic surgery hospital.

  The last time Xiang Wan met him, he was still an arrogant man. Every pore of his was filled with anger and dissatisfaction against society.

  He would blame the heavens, blame the nation, and was full of pricks……

  However, on that day, all his ‘pricks’ were gone.

  His bald head, his yellow vest—he was no different from the other prisoners in the detention center. Not only did he lose his bearing as a triad boss, but he also looked totally like a prisoner. He was so common and ordinary that Xiang Wan had difficulty locating him out of a bunch of prisoners.

  “Wei Gang! Step out!”


  A prison officer shouted, and one man stepped out of the group. Only then did Xiang Wan managed to recognize him.

  He got thinner! He had changed so much that Xiang Wan no longer felt that he would be tough to handle like the last time……

  Interrogation Room.

  The prison officers brought An Ying, who was being handcuffed. There were also legcuffs on his feet.

  The legcuffs dragged across the concrete floor, producing a series of sharp, shrill sounds.

  An Ying sat on the chair without moving. He didn’t lift his head and didn’t say a word.

  Bai Muchuan said, “Wei Gang.”


  When An Ying heard his name being called, he responded out of reflex. “I’m here!”


  “We are here today to understand more about the case,” replied Bai Muchuan, “After all this time, I believe you have considered clearly whether you should cooperate with the police, strive for good performance, and get a more lenient sentence……”


  He mentioned ‘good performance’ since he knew it was what An Ying wanted.

  A glint flashed past An Ying’s gaze.

  In just a second, his eyes dimmed.

  “Detective Bai, I’ve told you everything I know. What else do you want to know?”


  Cough! Cough, cough, cough……

  The moment Bai Muchuan opened his mouth, his throat would feel ticklish.

  After that, he would cough quite severely.

  Xiang Wan couldn’t bear to see him like that. She patted his back while Ding Yifan got up to get a paper cup and filled some water for him.

  Cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough……

  Sometimes, when a person coughs, it felt like there was no end to it.

  The more he coughs, the more ticklish it felt. The more ticklish it was, the more he coughs!

  An Ying was startled for a moment before cackling in laughter when he saw Bai Muchuan coughing non-stop.

  “Detective Bai, it must be tough for you. You should rest at home when you are sick. You shouldn’t come in person for such a small matter. Is it because all the other detectives died or something?”


  This fellow sure had a nasty tongue!

  Ding Yifan slammed on the table. “Behave yourself!”


  An Ying was being handcuffed, and he moved an arm before looking up at the ceiling nonchalantly.

  Bai Muchuan finished drinking the cup of water and cleared his throat. He was temporarily relieved of the discomfort. “Wei Gang, we wanted to know the name of the person who contacted you about Operation Heaven’s Wrath.”


  An Ying did not speak fast, but each and every word he heard made him feel cold.

  He didn’t dare to make fun of Bai Muchuan’s sickness anymore.

  “I’ve said it before! It’s someone who came from abroad and left after we made the deal. That’s all I know.”


  “What is his name?”


  “.…… I forgot.”


  “You forgot?” Bai Muchuan sneered. “There was a time when you made up two different names, and now, you chose to suffer from a memory loss?”


  An Ying remained silent.

  Bai Muchuan asked, “Do you need me to help you recall?”


  An Ying was dazed for a moment, he looked at Bai Muchuan in a seemingly fearful manner. “Detective Bai, torture is a crime. You’re the police, you wouldn’t commit such an offense, right?”


  Hmph! Bai Muchuan grunted and did not answer him but turned to Xiang Wan instead.

  “What time did you arrange for Zhan Se, the criminal psychologist who knows hypnotism to come over?”


  Hypnotism?

  When An Ying heard that, his face went unusually pale in just a second……