Chapter Twenty-Two: The Lair of the Demon Infant

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The woman said, "You are not the killer; you are innocent. Let us release you."

Director Wang spoke each word with deliberate care, giving the other party ample time to react. And within that pause, he let them suffer the torment of anticipation.

I cursed Wang silently in my heart—he truly was cunning.

"So, tell me, shall we let you go or not?" Wang asked.

"I killed the person," Lin Yu still tried to argue. "This has nothing to do with her."

"Who is she?" Wang immediately pressed.

Lin Yu realized she had slipped, and quickly shut her mouth.

"She also told us that if we release you, she will turn herself in. If not, she’ll commit suicide. Now we’re in a difficult situation—could you help us make a choice?" Wang sneered.

Lin Yu’s psychological defenses finally collapsed. She shot up from her seat. "You said she’d commit suicide?"

"That’s right," Wang replied calmly. "Though I’m not sure if she’s threatening us or if she truly means it. Frankly, choosing to let her commit suicide would be the best outcome for us."

"Firstly, we could determine who the real killer is. Secondly, with the killer dead, many details would no longer need investigation."

"You can’t do this," Lin Yu protested. "This is disregard for human life!"

"Do you believe I’d spit soda in your face?" Li Xingchen was furious. "We’re disregarding human life? How many lives did that bastard take, and now we’re left to clean up the mess? Unbelievable!"

"You have three minutes to consider," Wang said. "We’ll all step outside. Whenever you come to a decision, just call for us." With that, Wang led us out.

"Behind the Earth God Temple, the restroom," Lin Yu suddenly slumped into her chair.

"What?" We immediately turned to look at her.

"The restroom behind the Earth God Temple," she said. "Go quickly, or someone really will die."

So, Li Hong, Tang Jingjing, and I headed straight for the Earth God Temple.

Old Lin, being elderly and having trouble moving, stayed at the bureau, keeping in contact with us by phone.

As for Li Xingchen, he was best at mobile tracking, so he returned to the cyber police to help. Wang continued interrogating Lin Yu, promising to inform me of any clues right away.

In the car, Tang Jingjing asked me if there was a restroom behind the temple.

I shook my head. I didn’t recall ever seeing one. "Maybe there used to be, but it’s been demolished?"

"That’s possible. I’ll contact the academic office." She made the call, asking if there had ever been a restroom behind the temple.

The answer was negative. There was less than a meter between the temple and the school wall—how could there possibly be a restroom?

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Reminded by the academic office director, I remembered: when I visited the temple before, the distance between it and the school wall was indeed quite close.

But that was odd. Was Lin Yu playing us? Impossible—her expression was deadly serious.

This question left us uneasy and anxious. Even if we entered the small woods, where would we even start searching?

Fortunately, the director called back soon after, saying something had suddenly come to mind.

The school's area used to be larger, but later, for city traffic reasons, the school wall was moved inward by five or six meters. Before the wall was moved, there was indeed a restroom near the temple.

After the wall was shifted, the restroom was demolished. It had happened not long after the temple was built.

Damn, this director really didn’t think things through. Why didn’t he tell us earlier?

We didn’t even enter the finance college, instead searching outside the wall for the old restroom site.

That area had long been turned into a sidewalk, planted with willows and locust trees.

My first thought was that the "she" Lin Yu mentioned must be underground.

So I immediately started searching for any possible underground passageways nearby.

But the entire area was covered with asphalt. If there were an entrance, it would be obvious.

Could it be inside one of the big trees?

We checked every tree in the area, but found nothing. The trees were solid, no hollow spaces.

"I found it," Li Hong suddenly shouted, just as I was losing hope of finding an entrance. I turned to see him perched atop the wall, eyes fixed intently below.

"The entrance is up there?" I asked, baffled.

"Yes," Li Hong replied. "The wall here is thicker than elsewhere, so I climbed up. Sure enough, I found a tunnel leading downward."

Without a word, I rushed over and let Li Hong grab my hand, pulling me up.

Tang Jingjing wanted to climb too, but she was too short to reach my hand and had to give up.

"Go down," I said. "She must be below."

Li Hong was concerned for my safety and urged me to wait above while he checked for danger below.

I refused; it would be irresponsible to leave all risk to my teammate. Even if he had no complaints, it would always leave a trace of resentment.

Li Hong smiled at me, earnest and honest. "You’re my comrade."

The wall wasn’t thick, and even though this section was reinforced, it only allowed a person to pass sideways. Li Hong went first, stomping on the ground below, then looked up and whispered, "It’s hollow down here, blocked by a manhole cover. You climb up a bit—if anything happens, I can escape quickly."

I nodded, not trying to show off, and climbed up a bit. I reached out, taking Tang Jingjing’s pistol just in case.

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There were no bullets, but perhaps it could still intimidate anyone below.

When Li Hong lifted the manhole cover, he was taken aback. "There’s a pretty large space down there!"

I immediately peered down. Sure enough, it was pitch black below. Hard to judge its size, but everywhere I looked was empty.

Li Hong hung from the edge, his upper body fully inside, trying to see what was down there.

He glanced just once before scrambling back up, tense and anxious. "There’s an infant."

"Alive or dead?"

"Looks dead," Li Hong described. "Placed on an altar."

Damn, I hadn’t expected there really to be a ‘ghost baby’!

But I was certain the ‘ghost baby’ Li Hong mentioned was not what people imagined.

I climbed down, and together, Li Hong and I jumped into the underground room.

As soon as we entered, a wave of rot hit us. I pinched my nose, and even Li Hong inhaled sharply.

Wary of danger, Li Hong drew a black tactical baton from his waist, scanning the space.

After checking the surroundings with a flashlight and confirming no one else was there, I relaxed and took a careful look at the underground chamber.

The space was small, about two meters square.

In the center stood an altar, and on