Meng Chao walked ahead, flashlight in hand, stumbling through the uneven terrain, while Tong Hao followed cautiously behind, head hung low, not daring to make a sound for a long while.
"Brought you out here to look for someone, and you're staring at the ground—what exactly do you expect to see?" Meng Chao shot him a glare. "You think Cao Xiaojun’s just gonna wait for you in a manhole?"
"Boss, I messed up—" Tong Hao whined weakly. "Don’t be mad. Losing the notebook was my fault, but it’s not as bad as you think—"
"Not as bad as I think?" Meng Chao stopped in his tracks, shining the flashlight directly into Tong Hao’s face. "Have you even considered the consequences? What if—just what if—Xu Qingli or Cao Xiaojun got their hands on it? Wouldn’t that be bad enough? You’ve exposed our entire plan. Now the enemy’s in the shadows, and we’re out in the open. We’re completely vulnerable."
"It might not have fallen into their hands," Tong Hao said with a sheepish grin. "It’s not that likely. This isn’t some novel—"
"Fine, let’s say some random person picked it up. Do you know how many eyes are on this case right now? It’s already stirred up a storm, the whole city’s talking. What if this person gets greedy and sells the info to the media? You think the team doesn’t have enough pressure already?"
Tong Hao stood there, grimacing, picking at loose threads on his sleeve. "Meng-ge, what should I do now? You’re not gonna fire me over this, are you?"
Meng Chao snorted through his nose, turned away, and resumed scanning the surroundings.
"Tch. Want to redeem yourself? Fine. Unless you find Cao Xiaojun—if you can find—"
"Wu Ximei!"
"Sure, if you can find Wu Ximei, that’d be something—"
"No, look!" In his urgency, Tong Hao suddenly grabbed the back of Meng Chao’s neck. "That woman running over there—isn’t that Wu Ximei?"
Meng Chao, forced by the grip on his neck, turned to look where Tong Hao was pointing. Sure enough, not far away stood a disheveled woman with wild hair, flailing her arms in the middle of the road as if trying to flag down a car.
Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Wu Ximei, who had been missing for so long.
"Tong Hao, let go of my neck."
Before the words even finished, the two of them lunged forward almost simultaneously. Wu Ximei twisted her head and saw them, then immediately turned and bolted.
"Wu Ximei, stop!"
But Wu paid no attention to their shouts, frantically darting into the depths of an alley. Tong Hao, being younger and faster, managed to overtake her in a few strides, tackling her to the ground and pinning her with his knee.
Wu struggled desperately, writhing to break free.
"Wu Ximei, stop resisting!"
She sank her teeth into his hand, making Tong Hao gasp in pain.
"Let go! Let go!"
"What the hell are you negotiating with her for?" Meng Chao shouted as he ran up behind them. "Stop gawking, cuff her!"
"Oh, right—got it—" Only then did Tong Hao snap out of it, hurriedly reaching for his handcuffs.
"No, no!" Wu Ximei flailed her arms, wailing in despair. "Let me go! I have to save Tianbao! Let me go!"
With a metallic click, she was cuffed tightly and hauled up by Tong Hao, who began dragging her toward the car. Wu Ximei fought like a dying fish, thrashing wildly, refusing to be subdued.
"Let me go! I have to save Tianbao—there’s no time—"
Meng Chao signaled for Tong Hao to wait, then fixed his gaze on Wu Ximei.
"What do you mean? What do you mean ‘no time’?""There's no time, I beg you, there's no time—"
The woman's face twisted as she screamed hysterically.
"I have to save him, he'll kill him! That beast won't even spare a child!"
"Explain clearly—who's killing who? What's going on?"
"Tianbao's been taken, there's no time, I have to save him," Wu Ximei said, her knees buckling as she tried to drop to the ground. "Please let me go, I really don’t have time, I need to find my son—"
Meng Chao waved a hand, signaling Tong Hao to hold her head and keep pushing her into the car.
Wu Ximei thrashed again, kicking against the car door, refusing to get in.
"Officer Meng, I’m begging you, let me go. If I can save Tianbao, I’ll tell you everything—"
"How are we supposed to save him if you don’t get in the car?!"
Meng Chao pried her legs down and raised his voice.
"If you know there’s no time, then stop wasting it! Where to? Hurry up and tell me—I’ll drive you there!"
Wu Ximei stopped crying, her voice hesitant.
"Captain Meng… you’re not lying to me, right?"
"Trust me," he said, striding toward the driver’s seat. "I’m a cop."
Wu Ximei huddled in the back seat, her forehead pressed against the window. The city lights blazed outside, casting fractured reflections across her face.
Her tears hadn’t dried yet, fine strands of hair sticking to her temples, her entire face like a shattered piece of porcelain.
Her hands clasped together, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Tong Hao leaned over from the front seat and handed her a few tissues.
"Was everything you said earlier true?"
She nodded. Taking the tissues, she wiped at her tears, but as soon as one streak was cleared, another rolled down. The tissues quickly soaked through, crumpled into a damp little ball in her grip.
Tong Hao couldn’t bear to watch. He shoved a few more tissues at her before turning away, sneaking a glance at Meng Chao.
Meng Chao kept his eyes on the road, his expression unreadable.
"Xiao Tong, call for backup. Split into two teams—one to the shipyard, the other to the construction site. We’ll take her to the site first."
"Got it."
Tong Hao responded while rubbing his eyes vigorously.
"What’s wrong?"
"My right eyelid won’t stop twitching," he licked his lips. "Feels bad. Tsk. Bad omen."
"And you call yourself a cop? Superstitious nonsense."
Tong Hao grinned, but it was an ugly thing.
The roadside lights dimmed as they sped forward. Closer to Xu Qingli, or Ni Xiangdong. Closer to the truth, or to a trap. The end of this road might bring triumph—or, just as likely, death lying in wait.
Right now, Tong Hao’s mind was a mess. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be right.
He wanted to save Cao Tianbao, but he couldn’t shake the doubt—did he really have what it took?
His throat tightened, each swallow painful. His stomach churned, the urge to piss rising. He knew he was scared. He hated this cowardice, but he couldn’t help it. Fighting instinct was never easy.
As Meng Chao listened to Tong Hao contacting Lao Ma, he noticed the tremor in his voice.
He understood. For a rookie, going solo on a bust like this was bound to be nerve-wracking.
His first time on the scene, seeing a mangled, rotting corpse, he’d puked his guts out too. No one was born fearless. You just learned, eventually, that criminals wouldn’t go easy on you just because you were scared. Untimely hesitation only got your teammates killed.He cleared his throat, intending to reprimand Tong Hao, but when he turned his head, he saw the young man hanging his head low, rubbing his eyes incessantly with the heel of his right hand.
Still a child's face.
Despite his tall frame, he was just an untested Cucumber Egg. When Meng Chao had first graduated, he probably hadn’t been much better. Thankfully, his captain back then had guided him through the rough patches until he finally got the hang of it.
Thinking of this, Meng Chao’s tone softened.
"Just follow my lead when we get there. Don’t panic, and don’t act recklessly."
He glanced at Tong Hao, then checked Wu Ximei in the rearview mirror, as if his reassurance was meant for both of them.
"It’ll be fine. Everyone will be safe."
Tong Hao gripped the seatback and twisted around to look at Wu Ximei.
"Hear that? Our boss just said Tianbao will be fine. You can relax."
Even trembling like this, he still had the spare energy to comfort a criminal. Meng Chao shook his head, unsure whether to praise his kindness or scold his foolishness.
He blinked hard, trying to ease the tension in his orbicularis oculi muscles.
For some reason, his right eye had been twitching all night.
But Meng Chao couldn’t show any weakness. Right now, he was the backbone of the group. He had to force himself to appear brave. Silently, he prayed that everything would go smoothly tonight—no mishaps, please.
The car turned a corner, and they arrived. He had sped all the way, making it in just thirty minutes.
The construction site in the western outskirts was remote. Apart from a few streetlights along the road, there was no other illumination. A corrugated iron fence enclosed a patch of pitch-black silence, overgrown with weeds. Several unfinished buildings loomed starkly in the night.
They got out of the car and climbed through a gap in the fence. The surroundings were eerily quiet, the moon hidden behind layers of clouds.
A thin mist drifted in from the sea, a milky haze that clouded their vision. Beyond a few steps, everything blurred into obscurity.
"Is this the place?" Tong Hao asked, keeping a grip on Wu Ximei. "Why is there no one around?"
"This place has been abandoned for years," Meng Chao said, taking the lead. "Be careful. Xu Qingli could be hiding in the shadows."
No sooner had he spoken than Wu Ximei suddenly wrenched herself free from Tong Hao and bolted deeper into the site, screaming Cao Tianbao’s name at the top of her lungs.
But there was no response—only the distant, mournful cry of a turtledove vanishing into the mist.
"Wu Ximei, get back here!"
Before Tong Hao could finish his shout, a woman’s scream pierced the air. He rushed forward and saw Wu Ximei collapsed on the ground, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the sky.
In front of her stood an unfinished high-rise, its exterior still scaffolded.
"Where?"
Squinting, he scanned the area but saw no one.
"Up there."
Meng Chao’s icy voice came from behind him, though Tong Hao hadn’t noticed him approach.
Tong Hao tilted his head back and followed the line of sight. Only then did he see the rebar rods jutting out from the top of the scaffolding.
On the centermost rod, faintly visible, a figure was impaled horizontally.
OpenNovel