Chapter 170: What a Pity

On the other side, although Chang Yu had entrusted Comrade Li with the heavy responsibility of taking Yangyang to school, his mood remained heavy and unrelaxed.

Driven by some inexplicable premonition, his thoughts kept drifting back to Hao Qifu, and every time he thought of him, a nameless irritation would well up inside him.

He slumped onto his living room sofa, staring irritably at the television in front of him while periodically picking up the remote control to change channels.

Ever since Yangyang and Comrade Li had left, he had flipped through a dozen channels in a row.

Yet no matter which channel he landed on, he found himself completely unable to focus on the programs.

Ah, what a frustrating mess!

"I wonder how things are going over at Katerina's end?" Chang Yu muttered heavily with a worried expression.

"How on earth did that Hao Qifu die? Could he have been silenced by the mastermind pulling strings behind the scenes?"

For a tragic figure like Hao Qifu, Chang Yu truly felt a deep, heartfelt sympathy.

Affected by his dysfunctional family background, young Hao Qifu had never experienced the kindness and beauty of this world.

He had thought that upon entering school, he would find friendship and warmth among his peers, only to be subjected to all sorts of bullying by a group of delinquent students.

In this world, wherever there is light, there will always be darkness.

Light and darkness are inherently complementary.

Just as some people walk in the light, others are destined to live in the gutters.

A person like him had indeed lived right down there in the gutters!

Chang Yu had originally intended to be the straw of hope that pulled Hao Qifu out of that gutter. Who could have imagined that before Chang Yu could even offer a helping hand, a living person could simply vanish from this world overnight?

Well, that settled it. Even if our friend Chang Yu wanted to channel Lei Feng and do a good deed, he had just lost his target.

"If I ever find out which bastard killed Hao Qifu, even if he flees to the ends of the earth, I will hunt him down to avenge Hao Qifu and make him pay," Chang Yu vowed silently.

Just as his mind was wandering, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"That must be Comrade Li coming back." Glancing at the clock, Chang Yu figured that Comrade Li should have dropped Yangyang off at the kindergarten by now.

He rubbed his face and stood up from the sofa.

Pulling the front door open, however, he found a woman with a graceful figure and stunning looks standing outside.

"Back already?" Chang Yu was quite surprised to see Katerina.

"There were no real suspenseful twists regarding Hao Qifu's death. Our surveillance cameras recorded the entire process of his passing."

"I just went back to the bureau to make a statement; there wasn't much else for me to do since the evidence is conclusive," Katerina explained.

"Then tell me, what does the surveillance footage show about how he died?" Chang Yu asked with a solemn expression.

"Hao Qifu committed suicide!" Katerina dropped the bombshell.

Chang Yu froze on the spot, looking completely dumbfounded.

This was an answer he had never anticipated. In his subconscious, he had always assumed Hao Qifu was assassinated.

"Is this conclusion verified?" Chang Yu asked, unwilling to accept it.

"Verified. According to the surveillance footage, Hao Qifu used a sharpened toothbrush to pierce his own throat. By the time the medical personnel arrived, he had already stopped breathing." A trace of sorrow flashed across Katerina's beautiful eyes.

Clearly, Hao Qifu's death weighed heavily on her as well.

"Why would he commit suicide? He was still so young, with infinite possibilities ahead of him." Chang Yu racked his brains, genuinely unable to understand why Hao Qifu would suddenly take his own life.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he said with rising agitation: "I get it! This must be the conspiracy of that mastermind behind the scenes!"

"They must have anticipated this day long ago and planted some sort of innate ability on Hao Qifu. The moment Hao Qifu was captured, they controlled him to commit suicide so that he wouldn't give away their secrets. Yes, it must be that!"

"We didn't detect even the slightest fluctuation of supernatural energy on Hao Qifu, which means his death had nothing to do with any hidden mastermind behind him. Your speculation doesn't hold water," Katerina refuted.

"Oh, right, he left a suicide note before ending his life. Interested in hearing it?"

"He even left a suicide note? It seems he really did take his own life." Chang Yu fell silent for a long moment before finally letting out a sigh.

"He said he didn't regret torturing those two scum into such inhuman states," Katerina stated slowly.

The "two scum" referred to the two high school boys whom Chang Yu and the others had rescued from the air-raid shelter—the main culprits who had relentlessly bullied Hao Qifu. Chang Yu knew this very well.

Hao Qifu hated those two men who had trampled him into hell to the marrow of his bones, refusing to forgive them even in death. Chang Yu could understand that.

"And then?" Chang Yu pressed on.

"He also said he had no lingering attachments left for this world." Katerina lowered her eyelids.

Chang Yu couldn't read what she was thinking, but he could still sense the heavy sorrow radiating from her.

"Go on, what else did he write?" Chang Yu said, fighting back the ache in his heart.

"Nothing else." Katerina laced her fingers together and leaned back against the sofa cushion.

"Nothing else?" Chang Yu stared at Katerina in astonishment. "Just two sentences?"

"Just two sentences!" Katerina replied with absolute finality.

"Fine then..." Chang Yu suddenly felt a stinging sensation in the corners of his eyes, as if something was about to burst forth.

"It seems he truly had no attachments left to this world; otherwise, he wouldn't have left only two sentences behind before departing."

Katerina also grieved, "It's just such a shame for Hao Qifu. He could have lived a carefree, happy life just like all the other students."

"Studying hard, getting into a good university, finding a decent job, and leaving his own unique mark on this era."

"Such a waste..." After struggling to find the words for a long time, Chang Yu could only squeeze out this single phrase: "He would have been a truly good person."

At this, Chang Yu's thoughts turned to his own origins, stirring up extreme bitterness in his heart.

Compared to Hao Qifu, it seemed he himself wasn't much better off.

As a child abandoned at an orphanage the moment he was born, Chang Yu utterly detested irresponsible parents.

"Parents these days really something else. If you can't treat your child right, don't bring them into the world in the first place!"

"What kind of attitude is it to give birth to a child and then abandon them? That's irresponsible to yourself, and deeply irresponsible to the child," he vented bitterly.

"Indeed..." Katerina was reluctant to meet Chang Yu's fiery gaze, momentarily at a loss for words.

With everything that needed to be said now spoken, the two sat side by side on the sofa in mutual silence.

An awkward atmosphere gradually filled the small living room, broken only by the television on the wall silently playing a cheesy domestic romance drama.

Because Chang Yu had previously stirred up some unpleasantness with Katerina over the matter of Hao Qifu, even if he wanted to say something now, he didn't know how to break the ice.

Is Katerina still mad at me?

Was I too rough earlier? Will Katerina hold a grudge against me?

These questions spun repeatedly through Chang Yu's mind.

Finally, it was Katerina who broke the awkward silence between them.

"Still angry?" she asked tentatively. "If I made you angry, then I apologize."

"Of course not! Whoever's angry is a puppy." Chang Yu's face instantly lit up with a smile, and their relationship mended itself with that single apology from Katerina.

As the saying goes, lovers quarrels are resolved by the end of the bed.

Arguments between a young couple were nothing out of the ordinary.

......

A number of small islands were scattered across Songjiang, the largest of which had long been developed into a tourist attraction, drawing massive crowds of visitors every year.

Regardless of spring, summer, autumn, or winter, the place was always bustling with activity, a sea of milling heads.

However, once night fell, very few people remained on the island. Most tourists finished their day's amusement and headed back to the far more comfortable urban district.

After all, this small island was merely a scenic spot lacking residential areas or basic infrastructure; no one wanted to stand out in the freezing wind on a desolate little island in the dead of night.

Tonight, however, this uninhabited island unexpectedly welcomed a group of mysterious guests.

"Our plan has failed."

In the dark and silent room, a light suddenly clicked on.

The vintage retro desk lamp emitted only a faint glow, entirely incapable of illuminating the entire room, which made the space appear gloomy and cramped.

A group of figures draped in black cloaks, their heads and faces concealed beneath hoods, sat around the desk and the lamp, looking elusive and unfathomable.

Though some were tall, some short, some plump, and some thin, with varying physiques and statures, they all shared one unmistakable trait: an aura of pampered nobility radiating from within.

The person who had spoken moments before was the master of this place, sitting at the head of the table and gazing calmly at the others.

"Relax, old friend. That was merely an accident, far from a failure," someone immediately responded.

"This wasn't an accident. It was an organized, premeditated ambush, and the ambushers were people from the Disaster Investigation Bureau," the previous voice retorted.

"The Disaster Investigation Bureau? What a bunch of omnipresent stinking rats! Their shadows are everywhere."

"Shall we go to war with them? I've long wanted to teach them a lesson," a sharp, venomous voice chimed in, "and let them know we aren't to be trifled with."

"Absolutely not!"

"Don't be a fool!"

"Why such a strong reaction? Are you afraid of them?" The sharp voice sounded somewhat provoked and defensive.

"It's not that we're afraid of them," the first voice continued. "It's simply that our plan is currently at a critical juncture. Causing trouble with them right now will only derail our efforts."

"That's true as well; they're all a bunch of lunatics." The sharp voice seemed to accept the reasoning.

"Now that the Disaster Investigation Bureau has set their sights on us, I believe they will soon launch an investigation into our activities."

"Let's all keep a low profile during this period and try to avoid direct conflict with the Bureau's agents."

With that, the person at the head of the table swept a stern gaze across everyone present, lingering for a long time on the owner of the sharp voice.

"Remember, our ultimate goal is to fulfill our shared ideals. Everything else that might interfere with our plans is secondary. Once you return, make sure to clean up your own messes and leave no evidence behind."

"Understood!"

A chill ran through the hearts of everyone present. Recognizing the strict and unquestionable tone in his voice, they chorused their agreement.

After all, the person before them was no benevolent philanthropist; his ruthless heart and cruel methods were enough to strike terror into the heart of anyone who had ever heard of him.

Had he not operated with meticulous caution and maintained a polished public facade as a cover, the sheer number of heinous deeds he had committed in the past would have been enough to get him executed a dozen times over.

"That boy has already been detained by the Bureau. Should we dispose of him to eliminate future troubles?" an elderly voice asked respectfully, seeking instructions from the head of the table.

At this very moment, these mysterious figures in black robes were still unaware of the news that Hao Qifu had committed suicide, and were worrying over whether or not they needed to dispose of him.