Coming to Myself

Several police cars sped directly toward the Gold Splitting Treasure Company.

Previously lacking evidence, the police had been unable to take effective action against the company. Now with conclusive proof, they practically turned the place upside down. However, the discovery of the secret passage was both unexpected and yet made perfect sense.

Upon arrival, You Mingxu and Yin Feng were immediately led to the most remote storage room on the first floor. Han Feng was waiting there.

You Mingxu's first question was: "Any leads on her?" The "her" naturally referred to Fan Jia.

Han Feng replied: "You'll understand after you go down."

You Mingxu's heart sank. The roughly ten-square-meter room had been cleared out, revealing a dark, square opening about half a meter wide near the window, with fragmented steps faintly visible.

Upon closer inspection, the steps were made of stone slabs, appearing quite aged. The surrounding walls were also stone, and the steps were clean, showing clear signs of having been cleaned. They descended along the narrow stone steps for over two meters, where a similarly narrow path stretched ahead. The tunnel was low, requiring people to stoop to pass through.

Han Feng said: "I called you as soon as we discovered this passage. Forensics will arrive shortly. Previously, the opening was concealed under a cabinet in the storage room, covered with a thick wooden board—impossible to notice without careful inspection. This appears to be a very old tunnel, reminiscent of the air-raid shelters we played in as children. This building was renovated from an old factory constructed around the time of the nation's founding. This tunnel might have been preserved from that era."

You Mingxu nodded. That explanation made sense. Just as she was about to speak, Yin Feng suddenly turned around, his expression serious, and grabbed her hand, saying: "A Xu, ahead lies the secret passage. Don't leave my side for even a step. I'll protect you."

You Mingxu: "..."

He's having another episode!

Han Feng remained silent.

Police officers were already ahead—Han Feng's team had thoroughly explored the entire passage.

You Mingxu glanced at Han Feng, who turned away. She then whispered to Yin Feng: "Go play by yourself! I'm busy."

In the faint white glow of the flashlight, a mischievous spark flashed in his eyes before he obediently went off excitedly to explore on his own.

Han Feng sighed: "You have it tough too."

You Mingxu stared at Yin Feng's retreating figure, her heart a turmoil of conflicting emotions. He made her heart flutter, yet he could also be an idiot. Wasn't she fully aware that she stood at a crossroads—that choosing him meant accepting everything about him as he was now? Not to mention preparing for the day he might suddenly regain his memories and true nature, leaving with a cold laugh to enjoy models and casual flings, publicly humiliating her with a metaphorical green hat in front of the entire provincial police force.

The thought left You Mingxu agitated and unsettled, so she simply stopped thinking about it. Didn't he want to stay within boundaries? Let him. Things would work out when the time came.

With this realization, her mood lifted. No matter how many transformations he underwent, she remained firmly in control of the situation.

The tunnel turned out to be quite long. After walking for over ten minutes, they finally reached the end. Hooks were embedded in the tunnel walls at intervals for climbing, though the iron rings were thick with rust and several were broken.

The exit had already been opened by the police officers, allowing sunlight to stream in. You Mingxu and the others climbed out to find themselves on a small hillside overgrown with weeds and trees. The Gold Splitting Treasure Company stood not far below the slope.This area was located on the edge of the slums, built against the mountain. No wonder it could conceal an air-raid secret passage dating back to around the founding of the nation.

Several detectives were investigating around the tunnel entrance. A square iron grate, equally rusted, lay on the ground nearby. It was tangled with weeds and even wildflowers. When covering the entrance, it must have been nearly impossible to notice. There was a small lock on it—You Mingxu crouched down and saw it was new.

You Mingxu fell silent for a moment, one hand running through her long hair as she gritted her teeth, feeling a tight, suffocating ache in her chest. Yin Feng crouched beside her and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

You Mingxu exhaled slowly and said, "From the time Fan Jia ran out of Zhou Rongfeng's room to when we barged in, it couldn't have been more than 20 minutes. This secret passage takes about ten minutes one way—the killer didn't have enough time to move her out. At that moment, Fan Jia was right beneath our feet. It was only after we released the group that the killer probably had the chance to transfer her away."

Yin Feng patted her head and said, "A Xu, you're overthinking this. It's not your responsibility."

You Mingxu remained silent, quietly crouching for a while longer before standing up. Her expression had returned to an icy calm as she gazed at the road below the hillside and said, "If he drove here, he could easily have taken Fan Jia anywhere. That's why we couldn't find her nearby. The question now is, who knew about the existence of this secret passage?"

—

However, Zhou Rongfeng, Zhang Wei, and the others all reacted with blank confusion when asked about the secret passage. It wasn't panic or evasion—just unanimous, bewildered ignorance.

This was somewhat expected by You Mingxu. If they had known about the secret passage earlier, when Fan Jia escaped and disappeared, they wouldn't have made such a fuss in the building and come up empty-handed. They would have intercepted her in the passage and seized the evidence. Now, they wouldn't be in prison.

But judging by the condition of the passage, someone must have deliberately concealed it, even cleaning and maintaining it.

After some thought, You Mingxu checked the records and found that Gold Splitting Treasure Company had moved to this office location two years ago.

"Who was in charge of the renovation at the time?" You Mingxu asked.

Zhang Wei replied, "It was me."

You Mingxu pondered briefly and asked, "Who assisted you?"

Zhang Wei hesitated before answering, "Chen Zhaoci."

Just then, Xu Mengshan arrived with new information.

You Mingxu had barely seen him these past two days. When he showed up, she noticed the usually refined young man was now unshaven, with dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot eyes. In fact, his personality was somewhat similar to hers—not one to follow orders blindly. Once he latched onto something, he wouldn't let go. It seemed that ever since Fan Jia went undercover, he hadn't trusted Chen Zhaoci. Now, with Fan Jia missing and Chen Zhaoci on the run, he was fixated on him, having almost dug up everything about Chen Zhaoci's ancestors.

"Know what I found out?" Xu Mengshan sneered. "Chen Zhaoci has quite a story behind him."

—

Fan Jia woke up in complete darkness. The first things she felt were the chill, dampness, and a stagnant, moldy smell. It felt like being buried underground.

There was truly no light around her. She tried to get up and felt something long and sturdy tugging at her arms and legs. Belatedly, she realized her wrists and ankles were numb and painful—they were tied up. She traced the long restraints with her hands and felt thick ropes.Still unable to see anything, she could only hear her own heavy breathing. Suddenly, violent movements echoed in the darkness—Fan Jia was frantically tearing at the ropes. But the person had tied them too tightly, with one loop around her neck; any significant movement made her feel as if she were suffocating.

After struggling futilely for about ten minutes, Fan Jia slumped down completely, lying on the cold ground. The scent of soil drifted more clearly toward her, and tears fell from her eyes. In the darkness, only low sobs could be heard.

After crying for a while, she abruptly opened her eyes and began shouting into the darkness, "Let me out! Who the hell are you? Let me out! Let me out! Or I won’t let you off—"

When even her shouts lost strength, she stopped crying and lay still, though her body continued to tremble uncontrollably. It was true—she was a police officer, but she had only been on the job for two years. She had accompanied her team to crime scenes, seen a few corpses, and faced the cold expressions of ruthless criminals. Filled with passion and an unwavering sense of heroism, she had volunteered to act as the "bait" this time. But what she was enduring now was beyond anything she could have predicted or imagined. She desperately told herself to be brave, to be brave, just like Sister You. Sister You had encountered an even more deranged serial killer in Tibet last time, not only escaping safely but also apprehending the culprit. She could do it too. She absolutely could.

Gradually, she calmed down, regaining the composure and courage she had hoped for. After lying in the darkness for about another half hour, faint rustling sounds came from above. Her eyes widened, and she felt her heart pounding. Then came the heavy, dragging sound, like stones being moved. Light suddenly poured in—not particularly bright, but it made Fan Jia shield her eyes, slowly adjusting.

Above her head, about two meters high, was a row of rusty iron bars. The opening was only about half a square foot in size. The light was orange-yellow, illuminating a small patch of ground below the opening. Fan Jia could now see that the ground was made of concrete but was uneven, as if it had been there for many years. The surroundings were blurry, seemingly painted white, forming a square space no larger than ten square meters.

Fan Jia stood up, straining against the ropes until they were taut and she could barely breathe, but she was still over a meter away from the opening. She took a step back, gasping for air, and looked up at the iron bars.

Someone was sitting there, revealing part of their body. She could see the person’s black jacket and jeans but not their face. Beyond the iron bars, she caught a glimpse of a section of ceiling, a light bulb, and a corner of a window, with daylight filtering through the glass outside. Everything looked old and dilapidated. In other words, she was imprisoned in a basement beneath a room. Based on experience, she could tell how concealed this place was. Fan Jia’s heart sank even further.

Steadying herself, she shouted, "What do you want?"

The person lowered a hand and pressed it against the iron bars. It was a slender, pale hand emerging from the black sleeve. Fan Jia stared intently.

"I want to keep you locked up," the person said. "That way, you won’t get lost."

The voice was all too familiar, sending a shock through Fan Jia’s entire body, her heart alternating between chills and heat. But the tone of his speech was completely different from before—carrying a hint of intimacy, yet slow and merciless.