Chapter Eighty-Four: The Investigation Continues!

We went first to the police bureau to verify Tian Feier’s identity, because we had long felt that she was bound up with the Church of the Guardian in a tangled, inextricable way.

Every officer in the city bureau had arrived—nearly a hundred of them—sitting in neat rows in the conference hall. The deputy director was in the middle of explaining the details of the case.

Yu Tian strode up, and the deputy director immediately reported the situation to him. Yu Tian asked whether everyone was present. The deputy director said they were. Yu Tian swept his eyes across the room and frowned. “Where are the three men assigned to watch Tian Feier?”

“We didn’t dare relax. We followed orders and kept them armed and guarding Tian Feier.”

Yu Tian pointed at him. “Go. Bring them here.”

The deputy director nodded and sent an officer to fetch them.

Before long, a scream rang out from the detention area.

The conference room fell silent at once. Then Li Hong and the young soldier sprang out first, like arrows loosed from a bow.

I, Li Xingchen, and the others hurried after them.

What met my eyes made my heart pound wildly.

The three officers were all hanging there now, suspended by nooses, their bodies swaying as if they were still struggling desperately.

Because they were hanging from the ceiling of the corridor, many people were scrambling for chairs. But Li Hong and the young soldier fired immediately and shot through the ropes, dropping the three men to the floor.

Everyone rushed forward in disorder to help them up.

Yu Tian was furious. “Deputy director, get your ass over here!”

The deputy director came trembling up, his face full of terror. “Director Tian, just now... just now they were sitting here just fine, talking and laughing.”

“You were clearly ordered to put the place on full alert!” Yu Tian snapped. “If anything happens to them, you can forget about keeping your post.”

“Director Tian, Tian Feier and one of the fugitives are gone,” someone reported at once. “The lock on the detention room was open, and even the key is missing.”

“Was it that man from the Church of the Guardian?” Yu Tian asked.

“Yes.”

Yu Tian’s vision spun; he nearly collapsed to the ground.

Old Lin hurried over to the deputy director and asked, “When was the last time you saw Tian Feier?”

“Ten minutes ago.”

“Search,” Old Lin said. “In ten minutes, they could not have vanished from under everyone’s noses.”

Yu Tian immediately ordered a full search, then looked as though he wanted to curse the heavens and earth in despair.

Old Lin led him into the director’s office. “Pull up the records for Tian Feier and that member of the Church of the Guardian.”

Yu Tian immediately used the computer to retrieve the files, but when he powered it on, he discovered the database had been scrambled.

His face went pale. “Old Lin, they hacked our computer system and destroyed all the database records...”

Old Lin analyzed it calmly. “What methods did they use, to escape right under everyone’s eyes?”

“Wait,” I called out at once. “Old Lin, did you notice? Those three officers all seem to have had their uniforms stripped off.”

Old Lin’s brows lifted. “You mean they believed the most dangerous place was the safest, and blended into the police force?”

I said, my face pale, that it was very possible.

Yu Tian suddenly slapped his own forehead. “Damn it. That junior officer who reported to me just now—I don’t think I know him. He didn’t seem to be one of ours.”

“Someone is impersonating police,” Old Lin said immediately. “Go, gather everyone again. If you find any unfamiliar officers, no matter what, bring them back.”

Yu Tian immediately used the radio to contact everyone.

He also ordered the deputy director to the director’s office.

“Do you know the officer who just reported to me that Tian Feier and the fugitives had escaped?”

The deputy director said he did not.

Yu Tian flew into a rage and smashed the ashtray hard onto the floor. “If you didn’t know him, why the hell didn’t you ask one question?”

The deputy director was terrified, stammering, “I... I thought... I thought he was someone you’d brought back.”

Yu Tian cursed him and told him to get out.

Old Lin sighed and said that if there were any developments, contact us immediately; for now, we needed to go to the hospital and check on Old Huo and the others.

Yu Tian nodded at once and escorted us out.

In the car, I asked Old Lin why we did not wait for the officers to assemble. Maybe we could have caught them.

Old Lin said that was unlikely. Our opponents were too formidable; we had underestimated them far too much.

I sighed. “Yes. They’re powerful, and too cunning. We slip up even a little, and they seize the opening.”

When we arrived at the hospital, the chief commander was there too, puffing away on a cigarette in the corridor. Seeing the pile of cigarette butts on the floor, I knew he must be nearly driven mad by worry.

If the case could not be solved, the chief commander would merely feel troubled. But when his men were injured one after another, the frustration would be unbearable. After all, he was responsible for their safety; any failure to protect them was directly his fault.

When he saw us, he immediately stubbed out his cigarette and came over, asking eagerly what we had found.

Old Lin shook his head and said there were no discoveries yet.

The chief commander rubbed his head in distress. “Sigh... these criminals are too capable...”

Old Lin asked, “How are Old Huo and the others?”

“They’re still under observation in intensive care. We don’t know how things will turn out.”

So we had no choice but to sit on the corridor bench and wait.

“Has there been a result on the young soldier who was protecting us earlier?” Old Lin asked.

The chief commander nodded. “Nothing serious. He’s awake now. But after waking, he’s been rambling nonstop, and he’s running a high fever. The doctor checked him and said there’s no major problem.”

Old Lin said with some concern, “I think he still needs continued observation. If there really are corpse worms in the body, simple medical treatment won’t solve it.”

The chief commander assured us not to worry; a parasite specialist had already been assigned to monitor the injured around the clock.

Only then did Old Lin relax a little.

The chief commander said, “Old Lin, from now on, no matter where you go, there must be a team protecting you. I truly cannot afford another mistake. The case may remain unsolved for the moment, but your personal safety must be guaranteed. If anything happens to Old Huo and the others, I’ll be punished too.”

Old Lin nodded and agreed. But he asked the chief commander to arrange for covert protection if possible; if the escort were too conspicuous, it might cause unnecessary trouble.

The chief commander agreed.

He temporarily requisitioned an office and briefly asked us about the current situation. Old Lin recounted everything we had discovered, word for word.

The chief commander was deeply troubled, constantly clawing at his hair until a large handful came out, which showed just how much anguish this matter caused him.

“What are you planning to do next?”

Old Lin said, “We can only wait for the police side for now. It’s best not to act rashly. Through these incidents, I’ve discovered that the other side seems to know our itinerary and arrangements very well. It’s truly infuriating.”

The chief commander nodded. “All right.”

After about ten minutes, Yu Tian called and said they had not found anyone suspicious. Old Lin said he understood and hung up.

Then a young nurse hurried over to tell us that Old Huo had awakened and wanted to speak with the chief commander. “May I ask which one of you is the chief commander?”

The chief commander stood up. “That’s me. Let’s go.”

I and the others wanted to go in too, but the nurse firmly refused to let us enter. The chief commander became anxious and nearly tore the hospital apart; in the end, it was the director who came personally to negotiate, and only then were we finally allowed in.

At first, they even wanted us to disinfect, but with the chief commander’s impatient, storming temperament, what was there to disinfect for? He simply led us straight in.

Old Huo lay in the hospital bed with an oxygen mask over his mouth. Old Lin said sarcastically, “If you’re going to leave, then go in peace.”

Old Huo immediately bristled, nearly sitting up from the bed to curse Old Lin, but he had no strength in his body at all and could not muster any force, so he had to let it go.

The chief commander asked Old Huo what he had discovered.

Old Huo said, “The meat paste... their meat paste is supplied to a small restaurant called Union Farmhouse Dishes. I suspect... I suspect that place is one of the Church of the Guardian’s bases.”

Old Lin slapped his forehead hard. “Damn it, how did we forget such an important clue? Union Farmhouse Dishes is Tian Feier’s father’s little restaurant. Come on, we’re going there right now.”

With that, Old Lin led us away in a thunderous rush. Old Huo panted heavily and shouted that the clue was his and he was going too.

On the way, Tang Jingjing said it was really strange. That old man was clearly the weakest, and yet he was the first to wake up.

Old Lin said, “What’s strange about that? The fellow has something inside his belly; his will is stronger than anyone’s. I suspect it was precisely the vanity of competing with me for fame and gain that kept him stubbornly alive.”

Yes, a frail old man like Old Huo, without a firm conviction to sustain him, would likely have been tormented to death long ago.

Union Farmhouse Dishes was in a rather remote corner of an urban village, a modest place favored by migrant laborers for affordable knife-cut noodles, stewed noodles, hand-pulled noodles, and a few simple stir-fried dishes.

The metal shutter over the door was down. Li Hong kicked apart the long-rotted window and had us climb in through it.

Not far away, several men in khaki coats kept glancing in our direction. No need to say it—they were surely the ones protecting us in secret.

After a while, Li Hong opened the shutter from inside and told us we could come in.

So we hurried inside.

The moment we entered, a fishy stench hit us. The room had not been used for who knew how long, and many of the ingredients had already rotted.

Li Hong searched around and finally found the switch. Once he turned it on, the room lit up at once.

But the bulb was terribly dim, probably not even thirty watts. Why would this restaurant use such a weak bulb? It was truly baffling.

Old Lin said it might be because certain things feared strong light.

As for what those things were, that was actually easy to guess. Old Lin knew the habits of corpse worms fairly well and understood that such insects liked to live in dark places, underground.

Most creatures that dwell underground fear strong light.

“Old Lin, come quickly and see what I found!” Li Hong suddenly called softly.