Chapter 966: Taking Down the Suspect

Reading this far, Tao Yueyue put down the notebook and said, “Uncle Chen, it seems Lu Dahai had a mastermind behind him. That person is the real lunatic. He must be highly educated to come up with something like ‘Life Functions,’ which is completely incomprehensible.”

“Keep reading the diary and gather as many clues as you can,” Chen Shi instructed.

Tao Yueyue saluted and put the diary aside.

Chen Shi’s phone rang. He placed it on the car’s holder and put it on speaker. A policeman on the other end said, “Captain, we’ve located the suspect’s phone signal!”

“Where is it?”

“Near the International Trade Center, moving slowly.”

“Get a team over there immediately!”

Chen Shi hung up and muttered to himself, “He must know we’re onto him. Why hasn’t he fled? Yueyue, check those photos!”

Tao Yueyue pulled out the photos and read the information on the back of each one. “There’s a taxi driver who usually starts his shift near the International Trade Center in the afternoons.”

“I see. He plans to kill one more person before getting caught. He’s so far gone that he sees murder as his job… Is that taxi driver a rideshare driver?”

“Yes, his name is Zhang Xu.”

“I have a drivers’ group on my phone. Let’s see if we can contact Zhang Xu!”

Tao Yueyue took Chen Shi’s phone and sent a voice message to the group. The drivers joked, “Chen, is that your daughter? Such a sweet voice!”

Annoyed, Tao Yueyue shouted, “Hurry up, this is a matter of life and death!”

More people joined the chat, and finally, someone responded, “Zhang Xu’s number is…”

Tao Yueyue dialed the number and handed the phone to Chen Shi. When Zhang Xu answered, Chen Shi said, “Are you Zhang Xu?”

“Who’s asking?”

“I’m a fellow rideshare driver. My name is Chen Shi. I need to talk to you. Can you come to Jian’an Road?”

“Sorry, I have a passenger right now. I’ll contact you later.”

The call ended, and Chen Shi said, “Track this number!”

Tao Yueyue did as instructed. When the response came back from the station, she anxiously told Chen Shi, “Uncle Chen, it’s too late. Both their signals are together. Lu Dahai is in the car!”

Chen Shi’s heart sank. “We can still make it. Lu Dahai won’t kill while the car is moving. We need to catch up with that car!”

Chen Shi took a shortcut to the location. Along the way, Tao Yueyue received continuous updates from the station. Finally, Zhang Xu’s car came into view—a black Volkswagen with a passenger in the backseat.

Chen Shi sped up to catch the car, attempting to intercept it. Just then, the station called again, “Captain, someone is talking to Lu Dahai.”

“Put it on speaker!”

A disguised voice came through the phone, “The police are onto you. See the car behind you? Time’s running out. Do it now.”

“Thank you for giving me a new life!”

“It’s been an honor. You’re an excellent executor. Goodbye, my friend!”

The car began to swerve wildly. Tao Yueyue shouted, “The person in the backseat is strangling the driver with a rope!”

“He wants to die!”

The out-of-control Volkswagen swayed side to side, nearing a red light. Chen Shi instructed Tao Yueyue to buckle up, then floored the gas, ramming into the Volkswagen and pushing it into a streetlight pole. The pole bent, and a high-voltage wire snapped, writhing like a snake before landing on the car roof, sparking wildly.

Inside the car, Lu Dahai was strangling the driver, whose face was turning red. Blood streamed from Lu Dahai’s head.

Tao Yueyue reached for the door handle, but Chen Shi stopped her. “Don’t get out. There’s electricity!”

He pushed against the seat and kicked out the windshield, drawing his gun. He fired a warning shot. Lu Dahai, startled, turned with a crazed look and said, “You can’t stop me. This man is not a good person!”

“Let go!” Chen Shi yelled.

“Never!” Lu Dahai tightened the rope, bracing his knee against the driver’s seat. The driver slumped, barely able to struggle, the rope cutting deep into his neck.

With no other option, Chen Shi aimed and fired. Lu Dahai’s head snapped back as the bullet hit him, blood splattering the glass.

The driver lay motionless, but Chen Shi could see he was still breathing faintly. However, the live wire on the car made it dangerous to approach.

Tao Yueyue suggested, “We can hop over step by step.”

“Too risky. Touching any metal could be fatal.”

Chen Shi shouted to the onlookers, “I’m a police officer. Call the power company to cut off the electricity to this street!”

Someone made the call, and once the sparks stopped, Chen Shi tested the ground with a metal object. Seeing no reaction, he approached the car.

Lu Dahai was dead from a shot to the temple. The driver was unconscious but alive. Chen Shi quickly called for an ambulance.

Police arrived soon after and secured the scene. Half an hour later, the driver was taken away, and traffic and power were restored. The wrecked cars were towed away.

Chen Shi sat on the curb, exhausted. Tao Yueyue brought him a cup of milk tea. “After such an adrenaline rush, something sweet will spike your blood pressure.”

“Here, take mine. It’s coffee,” she offered, switching drinks.

“That was intense, but we saved him,” she said, relieved.

Chen Shi looked at Lu Dahai’s body being loaded onto a stretcher and sighed. “But the suspect is dead, and so are our leads.”

He noticed Tao Yueyue was still on his phone. “Who are you talking to?”

“Zhang Xu’s driver friend. I’m asking about him.”

“And?”

“Just a regular guy with a wife and kids, married for seven years. No bad habits except sometimes seeing a prostitute… Why is he considered ‘bad’? If being a victim means being ‘bad,’ does that include me?”

“The key lies in these ‘Life Functions.’ Solving them will unravel the mystery.”

Tao Yueyue spread out some photos like playing cards. “These people, including me, haven’t been killed yet. Do you think there are more like Lu Dahai? The big boss called them ‘executors’!”

A policeman ran up, saying, “Captain, the suspect’s phone is ringing!”

“Whose?”

“The suspect’s!”