Zhang Shi had gone abroad with Dong Zijin, but arresting Zhang Yan went smoothly. Unfortunately, he knew nothing.
Kong Qinmao asked, “Do you know what was inside the packages Zhang Shi told you to deliver to those couriers?”
Zhang Yan shook his head. “No. My brother repeatedly warned me not to look.”
Kong Qinmao: “When did Zhang Shi start having you deliver those packages?”
Zhang Yan: “More than two years ago.”
Kong Qinmao: “Other than delivering packages, did you help Zhang Shi with anything else?”
Zhang Yan: “No.”
Kong Qinmao: “Then do you know what Zhang Shi did for Dong Zijin besides driving?”
Zhang Yan: “He drove for him. He’s Dong Zijin’s driver.”
Kong Qinmao: “…I mean, did Zhang Shi do anything else for Dong Zijin besides driving?”
Zhang Yan: “I don’t know. My brother never talked to me about Dong Zijin. Sometimes when I got curious and asked too much, he’d scold me and tell me not to pry into his boss’s affairs.”
Kong Qinmao: “Before Zhang Shi left the country this time, did he say anything to you?”
Zhang Yan: “He said he was accompanying his boss overseas on a business trip. If things went smoothly, he’d come back soon. If not, it might be a long time before he returned. He told me to take good care of our mother.”
Kong Qinmao: “Has Zhang Shi contacted you since going abroad?”
Zhang Yan: “No. Not even once.”
………………
When Kong Qinmao returned to the office, he reported to Han Huaixiao, “This Zhang Yan doesn’t know anything.”
“Contact Interpol and have them assist in apprehending Dong Zijin,” Han Huaixiao said.
“Captain Han,” Wen Yu looked up from her computer, “I cracked one of Fang Lu’s encrypted documents. It’s full of experimental data, but I can’t understand it.”
“Send it to He Zhengye,” Han Huaixiao said. “If even he can’t make sense of it, find a relevant expert.”
Wen Yu: “Got it!”
After that, Han Huaixiao glanced around, asking, “Xia Ling still isn’t back?”
“Sister Ling went to see Fang Lu’s girlfriend,” Wen Yu said.
By the time Xia Ling arrived at Fang Lu’s girlfriend, Peng Yaning’s home, the woman had just returned from the hospital. Peng Yaning and Fang Lu had been together for two years. They had planned to take wedding photos in October and get married at the end of the year, but now, Fang Lu’s sudden death had devastated her.
The moment she learned Xia Ling was a police officer, she immediately asked, “Fang Lu’s death wasn’t as simple as suicide, was it?!”
“If you know anything, you can tell the police,” Xia Ling replied.
Peng Yaning lowered her eyes. “Fang Lu was someone with both talent and determination. Originally, he could’ve chosen an even better advisor, but he admired Yang Yongfeng’s character and ability, so he still chose him in the end. When he was first accepted, he was overjoyed. He pulled me into a conversation for nearly an hour about Yang Yongfeng’s professional skills. Fang Lu believed that with a mentor like that, his future would definitely be bright…”
Her voice dimmed.
“But his happiness lasted less than half a year.”
Xia Ling: “What happened?”
Peng Yaning: “After half a year, he stopped bringing up Yang Yongfeng. And when he did mention him, his tone no longer carried that excitement or admiration. I asked him what was wrong, and he said he regretted pursuing a PhD and should’ve started working instead. I told him to give it more time, and if he still regretted it later, he could make other plans.”
“Another six months passed, and he said Yang Yongfeng had assigned him a task, helping at an outside laboratory. From then on, he became extremely busy.”
Xia Ling: “Do you know what task Yang Yongfeng gave him?”
Peng Yaning shook her head. “No. I only knew he became very busy. But after that, he stopped talking about regretting his PhD. Until half a year ago, he suddenly brought it up again. I asked why, and he said he had conflicts with some of Yang Yongfeng’s ideas. He couldn’t understand the meaning behind the research he was doing anymore. He felt lost.”
“One week ago, he suddenly called me. After the call connected, he didn’t say anything at first. I kept asking what was wrong, and eventually he spoke.”
Xia Ling: “What did he say?”
Peng Yaning’s eyes reddened.
“He sounded extremely depressed. He said he might have done something terribly wrong, something that couldn’t be undone. I asked him what he meant, but he wouldn’t say. He only said he needed to verify something. Then he told me that if I couldn’t reach him afterward, I should hand his computer over to the police.”
“These past two days, my mind’s been a mess. I only remembered this after seeing you.”
When Xia Ling returned to the bureau, He Zhengye had just finished analyzing the experimental data from Fang Lu’s computer.
“The thing Fang Lu was researching,” He Zhengye said grimly, “was an improved version of the unknown compound we found earlier, the drug used to modify the human body.”
“From what his girlfriend said,” Xia Ling frowned, “it sounds like he didn’t know the drug was being used on children.”
“Right,” Han Huaixiao nodded. “Wen Yu also found a document on his computer. After seeing the news about Tang Yueqian and the others, he found it suspicious. Since it involved his field of expertise, he started researching the medications those children had taken.”
“During the process, he accidentally discovered that one of those drugs, when taken together with the drug he was currently researching, could cause death.”
“He already suspected Yang Yongfeng’s motives for making him research this drug, so he immediately became suspicious and started investigating further. Yesterday, when he went to Yang Yongfeng’s office, he’d probably already learned the truth.”
“His girlfriend mentioned he already suffered from depression,” Xia Ling said quietly. “He probably couldn’t accept that his research had indirectly caused the deaths of four children, and that’s why he jumped.”
The strange thing was that Yang Yongfeng himself apparently hadn’t known that the deaths of Tang Yueqian and the others had been caused by the drug Fang Lu developed.
But now, faced with the evidence Fang Lu left behind, Yang Yongfeng knew he could no longer argue his way out. Hoping for leniency, he finally began cooperating with the interrogation.
“I did it,” Yang Yongfeng admitted.
Zhang Tianhua immediately asked, “How did you choose Tang Yueqian, Wen Mingxu, and the others?”
Yang Yongfeng paused before asking, “The medicine they took… was connected to them?”
Zhang Tianhua narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t know their medication had been swapped?”
Yang Yongfeng: “No. I was responsible for researching the drug. Dong Zijin was responsible for distributing it. I don’t know who he sent it to.”
Zhang Tianhua: “Why were you researching this drug in the first place?”
Yang Yongfeng gave a cold smile.
“Because some people dislike those from the pleasure industry. Children raised in good families are pure and untouched by vice, but at the same time, they lack the thrill that comes with indulgence.”
“After modification, you can have both. Purity and pleasure. Plus the satisfaction of ‘cultivating’ them yourself.”
Outside the interrogation room, Xia Ling clenched her teeth so hard they almost cracked. These monsters truly had no bottom line when it came to satisfying their twisted desires.
Through the earpiece, Han Huaixiao instructed, “Ask him who ‘these people’ are.”
Zhang Tianhua repeated the question, but Yang Yongfeng shook his head.
“I’m at the bottom of their hierarchy,” he said. “I’m only responsible for pharmaceutical research. Besides the drug I had Fang Lu develop, Dong Zijin’s laboratory also produced many other drugs designed to satisfy other people’s demands.”
Zhang Tianhua: “If you’re at the bottom, then who’s above Dong Zijin?”
Yang Yongfeng lowered his gaze.
“I don’t know.”
Zhang Tianhua: “How did you and Dong Zijin get involved together?”
Yang Yongfeng: “We shared the same sexual preferences. People like us have a private circle. I met Dong Zijin at one of the gatherings. After we got familiar with each other, he asked me if I wanted to make real money. Bit by bit, I got dragged in.”
Xia Ling couldn’t understand it and asked Han Huaixiao, “Dong Zijin owns a pharmaceutical company. The money he earns every year already ranks among the top in Lang City’s business world. Why would he still do something like this?”
Han Huaixiao thought of the two famous names Wen Yu had uncovered by tracing through the encrypted emails between Manager Liu and Lin Fei…
“He wasn’t satisfied with that,” Han Huaixiao said coldly. “He wanted entry into an even bigger circle. This was his offering, his ticket upward.”
“Looks like these people’s greed can never be filled,” Xia Ling frowned.
At that, Han Huaixiao stood up, saying, “Let’s go have another talk with Manager Liu.”
The first thing Manager Liu said when he saw them was, “Meng Qingjun’s death has absolutely nothing to do with me. On what grounds are you detaining me?”
Han Huaixiao replied calmly, “Who said we detained you because of Meng Qingjun?”
Manager Liu froze. “Then why am I being detained?”
Han Huaixiao tossed the email exchange records between him and Lin Fei onto the table. Manager Liu’s expression changed immediately, though he quickly forced himself to calm down. “Captain Han… what exactly is this supposed to mean?”
Han Huaixiao: “That’s something we should be asking you.”
Manager Liu forced a smile. “Lin Fei and I were friends. His psychology wasn’t exactly normal… he liked pretty children. Whenever he saw a child he liked, he’d send me photos so we could look at them together. What, is looking at children’s photos with a friend illegal now?”
“Several of those children are already dead,” Xia Ling snapped.
The shameless expression on Manager Liu’s face cracked for a moment, but he still tried to maintain his composure.
“What does their death have to do with me?” he said. “Are you suspecting I killed them? I only saw the photos Lin Fei sent me. Their deaths have nothing to do with me.”
Han Huaixiao tossed another set of email records in front of him, and Manager Liu lowered his head to look. The moment he saw the two famous names on the page, he stared at Han Huaixiao in disbelief.
“Lin Fei shared those children’s photos with you, and then you conveniently shared them with them too?” Han Huaixiao said mockingly.
Manager Liu’s face turned deathly pale. This time, he said nothing.
Han Huaixiao leaned back slightly. “With their power, if they find out their secret leaked through you, what do you think they’ll do?”
Manager Liu’s expression became even uglier, and Han Huaixiao continued, “Right now, besides the police, who else can protect you? The boss behind you?”
Manager Liu knew very well that the people behind him would never save him. He knew too many secrets. Now that he had fallen into police hands, those people would only want to silence him.
Han Huaixiao could tell he was wavering, so he delivered the final push. After tapping his screen a few times, he turned the phone toward Manager Liu.
Manager Liu lowered his eyes and saw footage of his wife and child being escorted safely away from their home under police protection.
Slowly, he looked up.
“You’ll protect my wife and child?”
Han Huaixiao tilted his chin toward the phone. “Otherwise, what do you think we police are here for?”
Manager Liu lowered his head and remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking.
“What do you want to know?”
Han Huaixiao: “You were the one who had Dong Zijin’s people swap out the medications for those children?”
Manager Liu: “Yes.”
Han Huaixiao: “And Dong Zijin’s laboratory, the one researching those disgusting drugs, was that your idea too?”
Manager Liu shook his head. “No. The boss behind me ordered him to do it.”
Han Huaixiao: “Who is this boss?”
Manager Liu: “I don’t know.”
Han Huaixiao stared at him.
Manager Liu gave a bitter laugh. “I really don’t know.”
Han Huaixiao: “Then how did he contact you?”
Manager Liu: “Through one of his subordinates. I don’t know his real name. I only know his nickname, Ah Tai.”
Han Huaixiao pointed at the email records with Lin Fei. “Was it you or Ah Tai who had Lin Fei open the online photo-printing store and use it to select suitable children?”
Manager Liu: “Ah Tai. He told Lin Fei to open the store, then arranged for Lin Fei to contact me.”
Han Huaixiao glanced at another set of emails. “How did you get in contact with those people?”
Manager Liu: “I didn’t contact them. The requests from those clients were passed down to me by my boss. I was only responsible for carrying them out. They were very cautious. The people contacting me were never the clients themselves.” Then he looked at Han Huaixiao sharply, asking, “How did you trace them?”
“Do you people think the police are idiots?” Xia Ling sneered. “As long as contact happens, traces get left behind. Those people aren’t from Lang City either. Seems your boss’s business reaches pretty far.”
Han Huaixiao: “What’s the relationship between Dong Zijin and your boss?”
Manager Liu: “Business partners. Dong Zijin wanted to use my boss to connect with people at a higher level.”
Han Huaixiao: “You introduced Meng Qingjun to Yang Yongfeng?”
Manager Liu: “Yeah. Because of Dong Zijin, Yang Yongfeng often came to our club.”
Han Huaixiao: “Then how did you meet Meng Qingjun?”
Manager Liu replied, “She was someone Luo Yu had taken an interest in. After she’d been taking the drugs for a while, Luo Yu seduced her and brought her to Shuntai to have fun. After Luo Yu got arrested, Meng Qingjun couldn’t control her body anymore, so she came looking for me. I helped introduce clients to her.”
Luo Yu was also a well-known businessman.
Han Huaixiao: “Qu Mingzhe and Chen Zhengde, did they also work with you?”
Manager Liu: “They worked for my boss.”
Han Huaixiao: “What did they do for him?”
Manager Liu: “Shuntai is only one of my boss’s clubs. I don’t know exactly how many there are, but it’s definitely not just Shuntai. With so many venues serving wealthy clients, the requirements for service personnel are high.”
“Some rich people lose control when they play too hard. If ordinary staff get hurt, it becomes troublesome to handle afterward.”
“So, besides regular service staff, we also had another group specifically for clients with special tastes. Qu Mingzhe and Chen Zhengde were responsible for finding people for that group.”
Han Huaixiao: “How did they find those girls and boys?”
“I don’t know,” Manager Liu shook his head. “They probably had their own channels. I was only responsible for receiving the people they sent over.”
“The people you received,” Han Huaixiao narrowed his eyes, “are they all at Shuntai right now?”
Manager Liu fell silent again.
Xia Ling frowned. “Besides forcing them to serve your clients, what else did you do to them?”
Manager Liu opened his mouth, then closed it again. Still, he said nothing.
Han Huaixiao narrowed his eyes. “Manager Liu, with what we already have, do you really think we can’t find out?”
Manager Liu swallowed. “You… you’ll really protect my family? And give me a reduced sentence?”
Han Huaixiao replied evenly, “Your family’s safety, you don’t need to worry. As for your sentencing, that depends on your attitude.”
“Clients want novelty,” Manager Liu hesitated. “People are rotated between different venues.”
“Rotated?” Han Huaixiao repeated.
“After rotation,” Manager Liu said quietly, “they’re sent abroad. Some especially hard-to-control ones are directlyshipped out. Clients who like ‘games’ prefer foreign ones, and foreign ones are sometimes sent back here as well.”
Han Huaixiao’s gaze sharpened. “How were they transported?”
“I don’t know,” Manager Liu answered. “That’s not part of my job.”
“Human trafficking,” Xia Ling’s voice turned cold. “Using every possible method to cater to different perverse demands. You really spare no limits for money.”
Manager Liu said nothing.
Next, Han Huaixiao showed him a photo of the man from the scrap station in Nanshan County, the one who had borrowed a lighter. “This man. You recognize him, right?”
Manager Liu nodded. “Yes. Li Cheng.”
“His relationship with you?”
“He works for Qu Mingzhe. A middleman. He connects clients with special needs and introduces them to Shuntai and other venues.”
Han Huaixiao asked one final question. “Do you know Wang Cang?”
Liu Shao shook his head blankly. “No.”
Seeing no sign of concealment, Han Huaixiao stood up with Xia Ling and left the interrogation room.
Aside from Dong Zijin, who was already wanted, the case of the children’s accidental deaths after treatment at the Children’s Hospital was essentially solved. But the investigation had uncovered far more threads, along with clues from the Nanshan County pig farm trafficking case.
All of it pointed to one conclusion: behind both cases was an overseas criminal network operating in the shadows.
For a foreign organization to commit such shocking crimes domestically, it must have local collaborators. To uproot them completely, they would have to be cut out at the root.
But that couldn’t be done overnight. They needed a breakthrough point and a gradual, step-by-step approach.
For now, the task force could finally rest.
Han Huaixiao announced three days of leave, and the office erupted in cheers.
But after his colleagues left, Xia Hang stayed behind. No one was waiting for him at home. Only after everyone had gone did he slowly leave the office as well.
Instead of taking his usual bus, he got on one heading toward a shopping mall near the police station.
When he arrived at the plaza, he stood for a moment amid the crowd, slightly dazed. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had gone shopping.
In the center of the square was a fountain. As he passed it, music suddenly started playing, and streams of water shot into the sky. Sunlight refracted through the spray.
A crowd exclaimed, “Rainbow!”
Xia Hang looked up. Sure enough, faint colors shimmered in the water mist.
A few children, unnoticed by their parents, suddenly ran into the fountain. Their clothes were soaked, but they didn’t cry; they laughed and ran through the water instead.
Some young adults hesitated for a moment, then joined in too. Their clothes were drenched, but their mood seemed to lift.
Security rushed over quickly, shouting, “Whose kids are these?! Get them out! There’s electricity under the fountain! Water conducts electricity! It’s dangerous! Come out now!”
The children and young adults hurriedly stepped out, and Xia Hang stood there for a long time before finally walking into the mall.
Inside, the cold air hit him sharply, contrasting with the heat outside. He looked up, scanning the signs, but didn’t find the store he wanted.
He stopped two middle school girls in uniforms.
“Excuse me,” he asked politely, “where can I buy plush toys?”
The girls had been chatting about a manga. When they looked up and saw him, their eyes lit up.
So handsome, almost like a manga protagonist.
They quickly answered, “Basement floor. Take the elevator down and turn right.”
“Thank you,” Xia Hang said with a smile.
One girl asked, “Are you buying it for your girlfriend?”
“No,” he replied. “For a friend.”
“Your friend must be really happy,” she said.
“Really?”
“Yes!”
After thanking them again, Xia Hang found the plush store. There were claw machines everywhere, and he immediately noticed a turtle plush inside one of the machines.
He exchanged for 50 coins, but…
All 50 were spent, and nothing.
He exchanged for 100 more.
Still nothing.
Nearby, two boys watching couldn’t help themselves.
“Sir, let us help you.”
“Thanks, but I want to try a bit more.”
In the end, only a few coins remained when he finally caught one. The two boys cheered louder than he did.
Holding the turtle plush, he took a taxi to the cemetery.
It was the day of Qianqian’s burial.
When he arrived, the family had already left. He stood in front of the grave, gently touched the photo on the tombstone, and placed the turtle down.
“Big brother isn’t very good at this,” he said softly. “I only caught one. You can play with this for now. I’ll practice, next time I’ll bring you more.”
The cemetery was quiet.
After a while, the staff came to remind him, and he left. He transferred buses twice and spent over two hours getting home, but when Xia Hang opened the door, he paused.
Something felt wrong.
He slipped off his shoes quietly, went into the kitchen, picked up a fruit knife, and moved toward the slightly open bedroom door.
He pushed it open…
No one inside.
A dart was pinned to the wardrobe, with a note attached. Xia Hang pulled it down and recognized the handwriting immediately.
“Hi, Baby. Miss me? I miss you a lot.”
Xia Hang crushed the note and threw it away, along with the dart. From inside the wardrobe, he took out a phone and called his contact in China, Mu Zhan.
“Has Sheng Jun come to China?”
“No news. Did you see him?”
“No. But there was a note in my room. It’s his handwriting.”
“That shouldn’t be possible right now. Maybe one of his subordinates did it?”
“Not sure.”
“Either way, you can’t stay there anymore. You need a new place.”
“No need. If he can find me once, he can find me anywhere.”
“Then you can’t live alone.”
“He probably doesn’t plan to touch me yet. Otherwise, he wouldn’t leave a note.”
“I’ll send someone to install security.”
This time, Xia Hang didn’t refuse.
After hanging up, Mu Zhan thought for a moment and called Chief Yan Zheng. The security installation was completed quickly. That night, Xia Hang slept deeply.
The next morning, he was woken by nonstop group chat notifications.
He opened the police task force chat.
99+ messages.
Curious, he scrolled up.
Most of it was casual chatter until he saw a message tagging Han Huaixiao.
He Zhengye: [@Han Huaixiao Dear Captain Han, do you still remember the promise you made in the forensic room?]
Wen Yu: [Wow, what’s going on?]
Ling Yue:[Brother He, aren’t you straight?]
He Zhengye: [For your benefit, I can temporarily “bend” myself a bit.]
Xia Ling: [Captain Han, what promise did you make to make Brother He sacrifice like this?]
Han Huaixiao: [Just because I like men doesn’t mean I’ll take any man.]
He Zhengye: [Han Huaixiao, trying to back out? I’ll come and castrate you.]
Xia Hang: [???]
Kong Qinmao: [Just woke up?]
Xia Hang: [Yeah.]
He scrolled further. Apparently, Han Huaixiao had promised a fishing trip on a yacht…
He hesitated.
He wasn’t really interested in going out. He’d rather sleep at home. But before he could decide, a private message popped up.
From Han Huaixiao: [Your first team activity. You are not allowed to miss it.]
…Fine!
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