Breaking Through the Clouds Chapter 7 Sep 30, 2018

Volume 1: Case 502 – The Intoxicated Frozen Corpse

Chapter 7

It was confirmed that Captain Jiang Ting of the Gongzhou Anti-drug Force's Second Detachment team sacrificed his life three years ago.

Autumn Rain Branded Goods. Buy and Sell Second-hand Bags, Jewellery and Luxury Goods.

Yan Xie got out of the police car and slowly crossed his arms as he eyed the shop sign before his eyes.

Ma Xiang went up to greet him. "Brother Yan. The person who reported the case is over there. We just-"

Yan Xie stuck out his hand. Ma Xiang stopped what he was about to say.

"Inform all the investigators that it's not necessary to sweep through every second-hand shop anymore," he unhurriedly instructed. "The target's backpack has been found."

A couple of officers locked down the store's entrance. Looking incredibly agitated and bewildered, the shopkeeper was complaining to the investigators in a rage while the technicians placed the conspicuous black and yellow backpack into the evidence bag. They were currently doing the preliminary stage of retrieving fingerprints and comparing them.

On the sidewalk outside the store, an officer was recording statements next to Jiang Ting, who was sitting on a bench. He leaned back comfortably on the bench with his head a little raised, long and slender legs slightly apart. The posture looked as though he was sitting down languidly on a genuine leather sofa back home, so much that when Yan Xie strolled over to him, he showed no signs of wanting to stand up.

"A friend wanted to get rid of her unused bag so I was walking around with her. We happened to catch sight of the backpack placed on the sales counter. I was thinking that since it's related to the case two days ago…"

"The shop owner told us that you rummaged through the whole bag before you reported the case to the police. Mind explaining what you were doing?"

"I just wanted to see what was inside the bag." Breaking off for a moment, Jiang Ting continued, "A few pieces of tinfoil were caught in the bottom-most corner of the small front pocket of the backpack. It seemed like they were chocolate wrappers. You should ask your technicians to examine them."

It was a common sight for officers on the case to encounter members of the public making arbitrary suggestions during the investigation so the officer didn't take his words to heart, only giving non-committal sounds half-heartedly. Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder. "Oh! Vice-Captain Yan!"

Signalling with his hand, Yan Xie said, "Leave this to me."

The officer expressed his surprise before handing over the statement report to him, then heading off to assist the others.

Yet, when Yan Xie accepted the statement, it didn't seem like he intended to look at it. All he did was stand before Jiang Ting with his arms crossed, not saying a single work as he stared right at him.

Jiang Ting politely greeted, "Hello, Officer Yan."

"The cops have yet to offer a reward so it's such a shame that you're giving up clues this early."

"What do you mean?" Jiang Ting said, laughing a little. "I was just accompanying Yang Mei to settle some things and coincidentally saw the bag. Since I'm an eye-witness anyway, isn't it my supposed civic duty to provide clues to the police?"

One was standing while the other remained seated. The mood between them appeared completely serene, yet something treacherous and amorphous seemed to be brewing in the air.

"You were doing it on purpose."

Jiang Ting replied with an "Oh?"

"You were wondering why I was revisiting the crime scene and wanted to know what I found on the road. With the Sleepless Palace KTV as the crime scene, there were two other second-hand luxury resale stores located nearby. Yet, you found this one." Yan Xie narrowed his eyes as he made no attempt to conceal his scrutiny of the other man. "You seem to be showing an unusually deep concern and involvement in this case. Why?"

"You're thinking too much, Officer." Jiang Ting smiled as he explained. "This shop offers a lot of money when buying used goods."

A technician hurried over to them. "Vice-Captain Yan! The results are out! The preliminary comparison between the prints found on the backpack and the deceased gave a match! We're going to bring the evidence back to the City Bureau to do a thorough analysis. And one more thing—according to the shop owner, a man sold this bag at a low price at around 8 a.m. on the third. He was holding a Toyota car key. We're attempting to contact the Traffic Police Brigade to retrieve the license plate records for this road…"

"Did you get the store's surveillance records?"

The technician replied assuringly, "We're still working on it! It'll be done soon."

Yan Xie nodded wordlessly.

"There's just this one issue, Vice-Captain Yan." The technician seemed to be a little troubled. "8 a.m. is the morning rush hour. A lot of cars passed by this road so it's going to be difficult to lock onto the target. If we inspect the cars one by one, we're not sure when we'll be able to finish checking them all. What should we do in this case?"

As Yan Xie listened to the report, his line of sight still locked onto Jiang Ting as he swept his gaze from top to bottom. He didn't look away even as he spoke to the technician.

Jiang Ting steepled his fingers, quietly returning the gaze.

"—Ma Xiang!" Yan Xie raised his voice.

Like a wisp of smoke, Ma Xiang materialized before him. "Here!"

"Last time I asked you to retrieve the street surveillance footage at the crime scene. Was there a Toyota among the seven cars you singled out?"

Momentarily taken aback, Ma Xiang instantly replied, "Yes! One of them is!" Quickly reporting the license plate number.

Eyes still glued to Jiang Ting, Yan Xie tilted his face towards the technician. "Use that as a reference with the footage here. If you find a match, immediately head to the Traffic Management Bureau to look for the car owner."

The technician was greatly relieved. "Noted!"

Both the technician and Ma Xiang hurriedly left, leaving behind both Jiang Ting and Yan Xie standing alone next to the bench.

About ten metres away, Yang Mei finally found time to walk towards them during a pause in an officer's questioning. But she was quickly stopped, leaving behind an anxious look she didn't manage to hide in time.

Yan Xie asked unhurriedly, "That girlfriend of yours seems to be especially scared of leaving you alone. Is she worried that I'll eat you?"

Jiang Ting dryly replied, "If Officer Yan were to have a half-crippled girlfriend left with nothing, then I suppose you'll be able to understand how she feels."

"You? Left with nothing?" Yan Xie instantly retorted. "Would a man left with nothing manage to find clues earlier than the police?"

For lack of a better option, Jiang Ting replied, "I can't help that it's a coincidence."

Jiang Ting's attitude and responses towards the police could no longer be considered cooperative. One could even use the word 'docile' to describe it. But still, Yan Xie's sharply outlined face didn't show any signs of a response. There even appeared to be a faint trace of harshness marring his features.

They continued to stare at each other without exchanging a single word. After keeping silent for a good dozen seconds, Yan Xie abruptly spoke up, "Feng Yuguang is a research student from a prestigious university. He came to Jianning to undergo his internship and prepare for his doctorate exam. The cause of his death was due to the combined effects of hyoscine and MDMA mixed in with other addictive drugs."

Jiang Ting sighed. "I see. No wonder he went into the freezer."

"So Mr. Lu, do you have any insights?"

"Huh?" Jiang Ting returned a perfectly feigned look of astonishment. "No. Do you even hear what you're saying…"

"Then what's with the 'I see'?"

"…"

Yan Xie coldly remarked, "I only mentioned addictive drugs. Yet you instantly understood that they can cause hallucinatory effects.  When an average person hears things like hyoscine and MDMA, they probably won't even know what they are. Or are you trying to say that you majored in medicinal chemistry back in university?"

A tiny crack finally appeared in Jiang Ting's usual calm and composed demeanor.

—But it was only an opening of one millisecond. He immediately revealed a rather subdued expression, appearing as though being caught between laughter and tears. He said, "Um… Officer Yan. I never went to university, but anyone who takes car sickness medication would know about hyoscine. You have to know that dramamine isn't the only medicine in this world."

Parting his lips, Yan Xie appeared compelled to say something, but Jiang Ting interrupted him right then.

"I have no idea how I've offended you to make you so suspicious of me, but since you're getting closer to finding the murderer, then there's no need for you to latch on to a law-abiding citizen like me anymore. Don't you think so?"

Yan Xie answered, "Didn't you say that you wanted to break up with your girlfriend and return to your county town?"

Jiang Ting was at a loss for words.

Yan Xie said, "You. Wait here."

Turning around, Yan Xie stretched his legs to leave. The forensic technician just happened to come out from the second-hand store and waved at him from afar. "We've found it, Vice-Captain Yan! A white Toyota Camry passed by the crime scene the day the 502 case happened. It left this road at eight-thirty the following morning. Here's the surveillance photo captured from the store!"

Jiang Ting stared at Yan Xie with an inexplicable gaze. The latter could clearly feel it but he paid him no heed as he took the colored photo printed out by the forensic technician and examined it.

Within the shot taken by the shop's surveillance camera, a slightly chubby man of average height in his forties, was holding on to the Fendi backpack as he stood before the sales counter, engaged in a discussion with the second-hand store owner.

"Did the Traffic Management Bureau send news yet? What's the name of this son of a bitch?"

"Urk, they can't find him…"

Yan Xie frowned.

The forensic image analyst gently and cautiously explained, "He was driving a car… with a fake license plate."

The bare truth was already almost within reach, yet the trail once again snapped with a crack.

Not uttering a single word, Yan Xie felt the muscles of his cheeks stiffening. Even his shoulders and back were stretched taut beneath his white shirt, akin to a tightened bowstring.

No one spoke for a long time, until the sound of nearby footsteps came to a sudden stop right behind Yan Xie. It was then immediately followed by the sound of Jiang Ting's incredibly friendly voice—"Officer Yan, if there's nothing else you need, can I leave now?"

Suddenly, under the shocked gaze of the forensic image analyst, Yan Xie reached out an arm to hook around Jiang Ting's shoulder, immediately pulling him into his embrace without warning. He then waved the picture in his hand. "Recognize him?"

Within the few short seconds under Yan Xie's fiery gaze, even Jiang Ting could feel the heat of his stare touching his skin. Lowering his eyes, Jiang Ting's gaze only lingered at the photo of the man for an instant, before revealing a 'give me a break' look on his face.

"How am I supposed to recognize him? In a TV drama, aren't the cops supposed to inspect vehicles with records first before running through the ex-convicts? I shouldn't even be considered an eye-witness."

Yan Xie finally released him, smiling as he energetically patted his shoulder. "You're not allowed to go home."

"…?"

"You're regarded as a person of interest. Before the case is resolved, you are forbidden from going out of town and must remain in Jianning."

Jiang Ting's expression froze. In contrast, Yan Xie nimbly spun about, as though he were a general who had successfully conquered a territory. With large strides, he walked towards the police car and swatted the colored photo in his hand. "Let's wrap it up and head back to the City Bureau! Technicians, bring the evidence back to retrieve the target's prints and do a thorough inspection of the problematic vehicles and ex-convicts within the city's perimeter. Ma Xiang! Drive!"

The police cars whizzed away as quickly as they came. Yan Xie resembled a gale sweeping up dead leaves, binding every single one of the clues before disappearing without a trace at breakneck speed.

Jiang Ting remained rooted to the spot, his expression as heavy as water.

"Brother Jiang, how did it go?" Yang Mei hurriedly walked over, making no secret to hide the alarmed look on her face. "That Yan, did he…"

"He's getting suspicious."

Yang Mei's heart leaped for a split second. "Then what should we do?!"

The man in the surveillance photo just now slowly emerged within Jiang Ting's mind. A long while passed before he finally raised his hands to straighten the crooked lapel that Yan Xie had forcefully seized earlier. Then, keeping his face emotionless, he said, "Salad."

"Brother Yan." While driving, Ma Xiang couldn't resist the urge to ask, "You think that what's-his-name Jiang guy is suspicious?"

Yan Xie had lowered the backrest of his seat as low as he could, and stretched his long sturdy legs underneath the front passenger seat. With his eyes shut, he seemed to be taking a breather. "Doesn't seem like it."

"How so?"

"If he really was a suspect, he won't purposely hand us the clue. However, he is a little strange."

Ma Xiang was puzzled by his words, but Yan Xie didn't bother to explain himself. "…You've met him twice. What do you think?"

"…" Looking awkward, Ma Xiang said, "Brother Yan, it's not like you don't know that I have no interest in men…"

Yan Xie's eyes instantly snapped open.

Ma Xiang smiled as he shrank back and begged for mercy. "As a matter of fact, I really have no interest in him! On the day of the crime, I wasn't the one recording his statement. Even just now, I only just met him in person. But about him, he's quite cooperative and is indeed rather proactive. Aside from that, he doesn't have much of a presence. In any case, if he went shopping with his girlfriend together, I'd definitely notice his girlfriend first and not whatever he's doing."

"Don't you feel that there's something off about him?"

"Nope." Ma Xiang was baffled. "Where? He looked quite composed. Just a little frail."

After Yan Xie contemplated for a good while, he suddenly said, "No. It's too natural."

"Hah?"

"Coming from a county town, working as a laborer and being bedridden for such a long time. In spite of everything, he was not cowering in fear from his ignorance of the outside world and could still act so calmly in front of a bunch of armed officers." Yan Xie pondered for a good while before mumbling to himself, "Why…?"

As they neared the City Bureau, Ma Xiang signalled to the right and entered, gleefully saying, "Brother Yan, leave it if you can't figure it out. From the way I see it, your gears are stuck on the unnecessary details of the case. The more you think about it, the more I'm starting to think that the person you fancy isn't the lady boss but her boyfriend instead. HAHAHA—!"

Yan Xie scornfully said, "What kind of crap are you spewing? Would your godfather fall for a man?"

Be that as it may, when Yan Xie once again leaned back in his seat, his mind subconsciously travelled back to that moment Jiang Ting was seated with his head raised before him. Both his hands were gently and elegantly entwined together on his thigh, his lips faintly curved into a small smile.

"It's just a coincidence."

"A few pieces of tinfoil were caught in the bottom-most corner of the small pocket at the front of the backpack. It seems like they're chocolate wrappers."

…He'd even emphasized the word 'chocolates', chirping about like a young lady. It was clear that he indulged in snacks on a regular basis.

Since Yan Xie kept mulling it over again and again in his heart, he simply chose to give up taking a nap. Getting up, he reached for the evidence box at the back seat, put on his gloves and took out the men's backpack from the evidence bag. Sure enough, the front of the backpack had a small zipper pocket. And it was exactly from this pocket that the zipper had fallen off of. Yan Xie stuck his hand in to rummage around. As expected, he felt a few small pieces of tinfoil that were half the size of a fingernail.

Puzzled, he examined the foil for a moment, having the nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

The pieces of tin foil were clearly harder than those normally used to wrap chocolates. They seemed more like…

Sealing foils from blister packs!

Finally, the faintly discernible insights he had from morning until now all linked together. His speculation surfaced, revealing a clue.

Yan Xie picked up his phone and hurriedly made a call. "Hello, Asshole? I'm Old Yan!"

"My name is…"

"Listen to me. Is there a type of drug that is taken before a student sits for the exam and has the ability rapidly increase their IQ and promises a 100% pass on their exam. And it also has a similar composition with car sickness medication and ecstasy pills which caused a misdirection in the autopsy report, causing the forensic specialists to believe that the man is dead from overdose?"

Gou Li replied eerily, "You think us forensic specialists are that retarded? Why don't you call me an asshole instead?"

"……"

"But the drug you mentioned earlier really does exist. It's a prescribed drug that came from abroad recently, commonly known as the 'smart drug'. It's mainly made up of amphetamine, but has one less methyl group attached compared to crystal meth. A kind of central nervous system stimulant that's capable of enhancing the brain's reaction time and heightening its decision-making ability. Reportedly, a lot of Ivy's top students abroad have taken it. However, if it's taken excessively, it will give rise to a hallucinogenic effect, which is quite similar to the deceased's symptom." Gou Li asked, "What's up? Do you suspect that the true cause of death is overdose on amphetamine? That's impossible. What we tested was definitely a mixture of hyoscine and MDMA, 1600 fold more than the normal dosage."

"Then what if…," Yan Xie added at an unhurried pace. "What if the deceased didn't know what he was consuming? He only wanted to buy amphetamine to revise for his doctorate exam but never suspected that the dealer was planning to tempt him into doing drugs?"

Gou Li was taken by surprise.

"—the smart drug you mentioned earlier. What is it called?"

"Adderall," answered Gou Li, a little tongue-tied. "In chinese, it's called… and pronounced the same!"

"Students who are well-off, went to good schools with records of overdosing on drugs; look up the first two years in this city and the first four years in this province!"

"Pull up a list of ex-convicts with criminal records involving the illegal purchase of prescribed drugs from abroad, who have the chance of coming into contact with ADHD patients and have access to large quantities of Adderall. Cross-check the list with the drug use record and investigate them one by one!"

After Yan Xie issued the order, the large office of the CID was instantly swamped with a sea of case files.

Solving crimes in reality was vastly different from a mystery novel. It wasn't enough to solely depend on evidence left behind at a crime scene. The majority of the time was instead spent on doing a great amount of thorough searching and tracking. The forty-eight hours after a homicide incident was known as the golden period for cracking the case. The investigation process would grow very difficult if the crucial breakthrough couldn't be found within two days or nights.

The hour hand of the large clock hanging on the white walls spun in circles. As daylight began to grow dim with the passage of time, the golden period for cracking the case was over in a split second. Under the lights, steam drifting from instant noodles mixed in with white wisps of cigarette smoke lingering in the air.

When the first ray of daylight broke through, the door to the officer was pushed ajar. In walked Qin Chuan, hurriedly carrying a case file. With a loud "SLAM!"—he threw it straight at Yan Xie's face.

Maintaining his upright and still posture behind a pile of case files, Yan Xie was jolted awake with a cry of surprise. Flustered, he caught the case file in a flurry and asked, "What? What? You found it??"

"Hu Weisheng." In one swift movement, Qin Chuan snatched back the case file and flipped it open noisily. He pointed at the mugshot of the suspect, and explained, "He smuggled and produced counterfeit Adderall, Ritalin and Modafinil related-drugs, earning a profit of more than fifty thousand yuan. He was released after serving his full prison sentence half a year ago. Just a month ago, the Anti-Drug Detachment arrested a nineteen-year-old male drug addict suffering from withdrawal symptoms on the street. He's the son of this guy's landlord!"

Yan Xie took out the surveillance photo obtained from Autumn Rain Branded Goods yesterday and compared it with the case file on the right. "Almost similar. Where's Ma Xiang? Head to the Traffic Management Bureau and look into the vehicles under Hu Weisheng's name!"

Comrade Ma Xiang's strong connections to all corners of the world once again made its contribution to the case. In the wee hours of the morning at 4:30 a.m., the Traffic Management Bureau sent back news, confirming that there was a second-hand Toyota Camry under Hu Weisheng's name. The car model was a complete match with the Toyota vehicle that appeared at the crime scene.

"We've found the son of a bitch." Yan Xie punched the surface of the desk with his knuckle, then slowly pointed to a couple of spirited and energetic young men from the team of investigators. "Get ready to track down his location, and drag that Hu Weisheng back here!"

Working overtime non-stop for two days and night had left everyone trying to suppress the frustration they felt deep inside. Especially Yan Xie and Qin Chuan who were the backbone of their detachments. They hadn't returned home to get a proper night's sleep for two nights already. The moment the arrest order was issued, the entire detachment charged out, seething with excitement. As a result, half the field personnel were gone in a flash.

Yan Xie patted Qin Chuan's back. "You had it rough. The drug enforcement brothers too have…" Before he could finish his sentence, he instantly bit back his words, seeing Qin Chuan who had been awake just ten second ago, with his face pressed against the corner of the wall, his glasses askew on his nose bridge. He was positioned in a purely unpretentious posture, letting out comfortable snoring sounds.

"…" Yan Xie tread lightly and returned back to his office.

The time now was already 5 a.m. in the morning, the dark-gray sky was starting to brighten up. Yan Xie decided to not to sleep at all and took Hu Weisheng's case file, reading it word for word.

This Hu Weisheng was a prime example of the saying 'he who steals a pin will steal an ox'. Since the age of sixteen, he had repeatedly been caught for petty theft. By the time he was an adult, he would end up in jail a couple of times for stealing wallets, mobile phones, and electric cars. A few years ago at Gongzhou, he got involved in a serious case where he was sentenced to three years for attempted rape.

Yan Xie rubbed his stubbled chin. Then gave a low cry of surprise.

Hu Weisheng was a 'street thief' and his targets were always personal belongings with no records of break-ins and burglaries. Judging from that point alone, he probably didn't have much guts to begin with. The nature of his crimes were also vastly different from rape. Having suddenly crossed the line, it was very suspicious indeed.

Staring at the word Gongzhou on the case file, something abruptly stirred at the bottom of his heart.

"Brother Yan." Suddenly, Ma Xiang poked his head in. "That top chemistry student has been detained in the bureau for almost twenty four hours. Should we release him?"

Quickly raising his head, Yan Xie exclaimed, "What? He's still locked up?"

"The technicians were unable to recover the footage from the lab. So for now, nobody let him go. And yeah, having slept in the interrogation room for a night, it's not surprising that he woke up with a cold and is now holding onto a tissue box coughing for his dear life."

"Release him immediately so that he won't run over to Deputy Wei and file a complaint about us.  —also, instruct him not to leave Jianning. He needs to be in constant contact with the police. Remind him about the legislation involved."

Ma Xiang gave an OK sign with his hand. "No problemo! The top student has said he won't file a complaint. Just need to hurry up and send him back to the lab."

With a wave of his hand, Yan Xie then signalled Ma Xiang to leave and close his office's door.

With a soft click, the 5 a.m. office sunk back into silence once more. Only the power switch at the bottom-right corner of the monitor was quietly flashing a yellow light.

With his thought running in circles for a long time, Yan Xie tapped his middle finger on the surface of the desk, unable to get rid of a weird, faintly discernible sensation stuck all this while in his mind.

Things are going too smoothly. He thought.

It's been two days and three nights since they tracked down the plate number, the deceased's backpack and landed on a current suspect deduced from a very weak chain of logic; but the investigation process was progressing too smoothly for his taste. There seemed to be some underlying details that was hard to explain for now.

Why is it that a drug dealer who had been selling a mixture of prescribed drugs and hallucinogens for such a long time would unluckily cause the death of someone this time around?

How was it possible that nothing similar had happened before?

Was there an error in the formula this time? Or was it that all the 'accidents' that happened before were covered up with various other reasons? It was only this time around that the victim had died right before his eyes by sheer coincidence, making impossible for the facts to be covered up?

Switching on his computer, Yan Xie accessed the public security internal network. After deliberating for a good while, habitually entering a series of database passwords, he opened up the backup electronic case files from the past few years. Then, he entered the dossier number of the case file that Hu Weisheng had left behind in Gongzhou that year.

The screen changed abruptly as a well-known resolved attempted rape case gradually opened up and revealed itself before Yan Xie amongst the soft morning rays of Autumn.

Liu Xue, eighteen years old, was a student from a well-known high school in Gongzhou.

At noon time a day before the start of the second mock exam, this third year female student took advantage of the noon break to sneak out of the school's dorm and disappeared for the entire afternoon. That night, the school searched everywhere to no avail and the parents quickly reported the case to the police the following day. In under twenty-four hours, this missing persons case attracted the full attention of the local police station and was soon transferred to the district sub-bureau.

The sub-bureau unit accepted the case.

The following night, based on a series of investigations, the investigators finally found an unconscious Liu Xue in an illegal clinic.

According to the follow-up investigations, the suspect Hu Weisheng came across Liu Xue loitering around because of the heavy pressure she suffered from the exam. His ill intent was instantly aroused, so he lured her into his car and drugged her with a roofie. He never imagined that Liu Xue would be allergic to medications, and it instantly gave rise to a series of symptoms—migraines, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. Hu Weisheng was frightened shitless deep down, afraid that an accidental death would implicate him. So he hurriedly tossed her into an illegal clinic.

The nature of this case was ruled as attempted rape. When Liu Xue was discharged from the hospital after going through treatment, Hu Weisheng was sentenced to three years in prison.

Staring at the file, Yan Xie couldn't react for half a day—he got sentenced just like that?

What's the real cause of the victim's allergy? What drug did he use? A male drugging a female is considered rape? If he really harbored the intent to drug and rape her, then why was the rapist so afraid when the victim fainted that he sent her to an illegal clinic?

It had only been less than half a month since the case was established and transferred. The case obviously had indications that there were more hidden facts to it, and it was unexpectedly resolved with haste. Why was it that none of the investigators involved raised any suspicions towards it?

Having handled a decade-long worth of criminal cases, Yan Xie had a keen instinct towards all kinds of particulars points of suspicion. This file caused the doubt he had to grow more and more. Eventually, he couldn't control himself from turning to the last page to get a glimpse of the list of agents involved as well as the Chief of Operation's signature—his vision instantly froze in place.

The Chief of Operations at then was called Jiang Ting.

An enormous shadow floated into appearance from the abyss of his memories. In that split second, the figure who had repeatedly appeared in his dreams finally turned towards Yan Xie sorrowfully.

Only this time he wasn't focus on his phone, and he was no longer stingy in bestowing the slightest amount of attention towards Yan Xie amongst his busy schedule. Daylight streamed in through the window, delineating the contours of his elegant and striking figure, along with his proud, and naturally thin, tightly-pursed lips.

His eyes were lowered in the darkness, casting a clear and unwavering gaze towards him.

"…"

It felt like Yan Xie's throat was being seized by an intangible hand, his breath trapped within his chest. Even his arms were faintly trembling. By the time he sensed what he was doing, he had already dug into the internal network database and retrieve the list of key leaders from the Gongzhou City's Public Security Department that year.

—Gongzhou Anti-drug Force's Second Detachment Captain Jiang Ting. His name was encased in a conspicuous black frame. He was confirmed to have sacrificed himself three years ago.

Yan Xie's mind instantly exploded.

The man who had been sitting on the bench and smiling at him by the street yesterday, was now wearing a navy blue uniform with three pips on his shoulders. His features were quite distinctive as they coldly displayed themselves on the computer screen.