Chapter 864: Clues Close In

As Chen Shi exited the interrogation room, Peng Senjue stormed in, his face contorted with anger as he demanded from Qi Rui, “What’s in the blinding eye medicine? Insecticide, Anlubao, DK5 liquid, or methanol? Tell me the ingredients and dosage. I’ll take it now, and you release them!”

Qi Rui shrugged indifferently. “How would I know? He dismantled the puzzle in advance. Blame him if you must. Haha!”

Peng Senjue stared daggers. Chen Shi understood him well; this was the angriest expression he could muster. Chen Shi also noticed a syringe tucked into Peng Senjue’s lab coat pocket. Was he planning vigilante justice on Qi Rui?

Peng Senjue reached for the pocket, but Chen Shi grabbed his hand, shaking his head. “Don’t be foolish.”

“Just a low concentration of sulfur spray.”

“An emetic? That won’t work. Now’s not the time for impulsiveness. If you get suspended, who’ll take your place?”

Peng Senjue clenched his fist, and Chen Shi forcefully led him out.

In Peng Senjue’s lab, despite Chen Shi’s attempts at reassurance, Peng Senjue brushed it off. “I know what’s coming. I don’t need your comfort. Just tell me the progress of the investigation.”

“We will find Miss Gu, I promise.”

Peng Senjue shook his head. “Leave, I need to get back to work.”

Exiting the tech unit, Chen Shi saw a young officer arguing loudly on the phone with their family in the hallway. Chaos reigned in Unit 2, and if it weren’t for Lin Qiupu’s steadiness, it would have erupted long ago.

Suppressing his own negative emotions, Chen Shi refocused on the investigation.

At three in the afternoon, with two and a half hours until Lao Zhang’s family’s fate, the police meticulously examined the items retrieved from Qi Rui’s residence. The office was silent as everyone scrutinized their findings. Xu Xiaodong exclaimed, “I found a parking receipt!”

Gathering around, they found it in the trash, wrapped around a chewed gum. The receipt showed it was printed yesterday afternoon at the Baisha Mall.

“I’ve been there before. It was planned as a commercial area ten years ago, but due to location and traffic issues, it was mostly abandoned,” Chen Shi explained.

Lin Dongxue voiced suspicion, “Key evidence casually discarded in the trash?”

“Maybe Qi Rui never expected to get caught,” Xu Xiaodong speculated.

Lin Qiupu asserted, “Baisha Mall is within our search perimeter. Half of us go there; the rest stay and continue investigating.”

“I’m going!” Lao Zhang insisted.

Thus, Chen Shi and a team of officers hurried to Baisha Mall. On the way, Chen Shi revealed, “Qi Rui and Zhou Xiao are partners.”

“What?” Lin Dongxue was surprised. “Did he confess?”

“I deduced it. I’m not sure if it’s a breakthrough.”

“The old lady said she saw two men leaving. If that’s true, Qi Rui and Zhou Xiao are a team, and Ling Shuang acted alone?”

“Zhou Xiao is more proactive, while Ling Shuang plays the strategist role. Both are wanted, so they must need a new face. Qi Rui fits that profile. We should investigate how he met Zhou Xiao.”

“Based on his record, he couldn’t have joined more than three months ago. How did he become so loyal in such a short time? What’s Zhou Xiao’s charm?” Lin Dongxue mused.

“It’s not about being conditioned; they’re just like-minded people.”

Over the radio, Lin Qiupu’s voice instructed, “Almost there. Check your guns and ammo. Shoot to disable if you encounter suspects… Don’t let them escape!”

“Copy that!” The team responded.

After a brief silence, Lin Qiupu added, “If you see Song Lang, handle him the same way!” Even over the radio, his reluctance was evident.

“Song Lang!” Lin Dongxue shook her head. “I can’t believe a former police captain would go rogue.”

Chen Shi’s mind raced with conflicting thoughts. He could easily say over the radio, “That Song Lang is fake. The real one is here!” A simple movement of the tongue would reveal this fact, but for him, it was almost impossible to do.

He then considered the unsettling idea. If Zhou Xiao had indeed undergone facial reconstruction to resemble Song Lang, and if they were caught here, would Song Lang be truly dead?

Then he considered something even more disturbing. If Zhou Xiao had been remade to look like Song Lang, and Zhou Xiao and Qi Rui were partners, what about them?

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Chen Shi took a deep breath and prepared for what lay ahead.

Baisha Mall was shaped like a horseshoe, with entrances at the front and back. Inside was as desolate as a ghost town, with only a few wholesalers renting storefronts. Seeing the police enter, shopkeepers sat outside, watching the scene unfold.

Lin Qiupu was talking to someone who looked like an administrator. The administrator pointed in a direction, and Lin Qiupu signaled for everyone to follow.

Arriving at Block B, Unit 13 on the ground floor, everyone took positions by the door with their guns drawn. Lin Qiupu knocked on the small door of the rolling shutter, receiving no response. He picked the lock and pushed open the door, revealing an empty room filled with junk.

“Damn, did they move out? Or was this place never used?” Lin Qiupu muttered. “What’s this…”

Chen Shi opened a bag revealing bags of fertilizer with nitric acid components. There were also children’s magnetic drawing boards and toilet cleaner, soap. No warehouse would store these items together. Anyone could see they were raw materials for making explosives.

Chen Shi sifted through the powder on the ground. “They’ve been here!”

After a few seconds of thought, Lin Qiupu said, “Go find the surveillance footage and witnesses. Ask if there were any suspicious vehicles leaving today.”

“Time’s running out!” Lao Zhang urged.

Several officers went out to investigate. Chen Shi suggested, “Can we get bomb-sniffing dogs? There are many empty rooms here. There must be hundreds of them. Zhou Xiao doesn’t need to move people; he can hide them in another place.”

“Only the SWAT team has bomb-sniffing dogs. It’s too late… Do you really think so?” Lin Qiupu asked firmly.

“If I were him, that’s what I would do!”

Lin Qiupu stared at Chen Shi for a few seconds. “The rest of you, search the surrounding empty rooms. If no one’s inside, kick the doors open!”

The police began kicking open doors, shouting the names of Lao Zhang’s family members. As seconds ticked away, tension gripped them all. With just three minutes left, a loud bang shook the entire shopping complex. Everyone turned towards the noise, seeing smoke billowing from a certain building.

Over the radio, Lao Zhang’s voice broke through in tears, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Everyone understood instantly what had happened…