SFTD -Chapter 419 White Spots Reappeared (Part 60)

Yang Duxiu raised an eyebrow. “As expected of a forensic doctor, your observation skills are meticulous. I injected him with quite a bit of lidocaine, otherwise there’s no way I could’ve controlled someone of his size.”

Zhou Hai took a deep breath. Right now, he had to keep his emotions under control. No matter what, Xu Biao’s safety had to come first.

“Fine, I came up here. Isn’t this exactly the result you wanted? Let Xu Biao go. After all, controlling me is far easier. Whether it’s escaping, bargaining, or threatening the police, I’m far more useful than him, aren’t I?”

Yang Duxiu lifted a hand and clapped twice with a smile, speaking meaningfully:

“I never intended to negotiate or threaten the police. Xu Biao was only bait, used to hook a fish like you.

I’m not short on money, and I have plenty of ways to save my own life. There are thousands of residents in this neighborhood—they’re all my shields. Since I could place explosives beneath the sewer entrance, naturally I could prepare the entire shantytown as well.

You know very well whether I have that capability. I don’t need to prove it.

As for money, I’m even less lacking in that department. Since the Third Hospital is still intact, with your intelligence you must have already found the underground laboratory. Which means you also discovered the missing antiques inside.

So you see, I’m a man without weaknesses.

Since you’re already here, don’t bother bargaining with me. Why not ask why I wanted you here instead?”

Zhou Hai narrowed his eyes, the beam of the flashlight in his hand wavering slightly.

Everything Yang Duxiu said was true. That was also why they hadn’t dared make a direct move. They had no idea what backup plans he still had.

Thinking about the remote control he used for the door locks, Zhou Hai silently hoped Xiao Hu would hurry.

It seemed Huang Zhongsheng’s earlier judgment had been wrong. Yang Duxiu simply had never needed to use the remote explosives before. He wanted to save his trump card for the very end.

And if that was truly the case, the scale of potential damage was impossible to estimate.

At that moment, Huang Zhongsheng’s lowered voice came through the earpiece.

“Haizi, Xiao Hu needs at least another five minutes to jam the entire area. You have to hold on a bit longer!”

Zhou Hai lowered his head slightly.

Yes. There was no other option now. He had to stall for time.

“Alright then. There are still many things I haven’t figured out. Why exactly do you want to kill me? Is it because my father didn’t handle the Hong Haier case diligently enough back then?”

Yang Duxiu laughed again.

“So you really did your homework. That is indeed one of the reasons.

Back then, I obsessed over that matter for more than a year, yet found no answers. But after I personally dealt with Hong Haier and wanted to go after him, he vanished. No one knew where his files had been transferred.

Then eight years ago, when I finally tracked down Officer Zhou, I discovered he was already dead!

Do you understand that feeling of unfulfilled hatred?

No, you don’t!

To be honest, your father wasn’t entirely incompetent. Back then, he admitted that although there was no evidence, his intuition told him Hong Haier was the mastermind. But he kept talking about principles and impartial procedure.

Even years later, in my nightmares, he’d still point at my nose lecturing me, while Hong Haier stood behind him laughing hysterically. That was when I realized that in the end, I could only rely on myself.

Ha! We’ve drifted a bit off topic. Hong Haier was the most important person who changed both our destinies, and your father was one of the key factors too.

You probably think it was just a case. What’s the big deal? Was it really worth all this?

Worth it? Very worth it!

My life and Mu Le’s life were both rewritten because of that case. Your father’s failure in handling it was the root cause. This hatred cannot be described with words.

A father’s debt is paid by the son. Naturally, you became my target.”

Changed their destinies?

The way he phrased it left Zhou Hai momentarily stunned.

Did that mean the two of them originally never intended to share one identity? Or was there some deeper connection behind it all?

But Zhou Hai didn’t ask directly. A topic like that would almost certainly provoke the other party instantly. If he wanted to buy time for Xiao Hu to fully deploy the signal jammers, he needed patience.

Pressing his lips together, Zhou Hai looked at Yang Duxiu and took a step toward Xu Biao.

Yang Duxiu smiled and shook his head.

“Don’t move. That fatty was only injected with anesthetic.”

“Fine then. I have a question too. Since you wanted to kill me so badly, why not come directly at me? Du Ping and the other three, then Lu Xi, and later Dong Bin—you killed so many innocent people. Was that revenge? Or were you trying to soothe the resentment you carried from back then?”

Yang Duxiu snorted coldly. Though the lighting was dim, the contempt in his gaze was unmistakable.

“You’re overthinking it. It’s not that I couldn’t bring myself to kill you. Since you investigated things, you should know those four around Du Ping deserved to die. Every single one of them.

As for your girlfriend, Lu Xi—Xu Biao already asked me earlier. At the time, I simply mistook the first-floor changing room for the men’s locker room. Since everything was already prepared, whoever walked in became the target.

But afterward, I realized this method worked even better. It made you suffer more deeply.

That’s what gave me the idea to target the people around you again. Seeing you standing here today tells me I succeeded!”

Zhou Hai stared straight at Yang Duxiu.

He wanted to provoke him, but the one thing Zhou Hai absolutely could not do right now was lose his temper. Nor could he push Yang Duxiu too far. At the very least, he needed to learn what other cards the man still held.

That applied to Lu Xi’s death, and even more so to Xu Biao.

Tilting his head slightly, Zhou Hai said:

“You seem extremely confident.

But if you’re so confident, why did you kill the heir who had the same burn scar and white patch behind his ear as you?

I wonder whether Su Mule even knew Dong Bin was his son?

And even if he did, he probably never imagined you’d secretly kill him, right?

To be honest, when I found the box hidden beside Dong Bin’s bed, I almost believed he was the one behind everything. But the wounds weren’t self-inflicted.

Once I calmed down, though, I realized that couldn’t be true. Even though traces left by Dong Bin were found upstairs in the wedding photography studio, compared to the scale of this plan, those traces were far too deliberate.

The more I investigated, the more I followed the clues you left behind, the more confused I became.

After all, someone Dong Bin’s age couldn’t possibly have known the original homeowner, Chen Zhenya. But you were different. You were both university professors. Even if not at the same school, meeting each other wouldn’t have been difficult.

And with that underground passage connecting the neighborhood to your laboratory, I finally understand why there were never any clues.

I have to admit, this plan was practically perfect.”

Yang Duxiu laughed, then let out a sigh.

“I never expected the person who understood me best would actually be you. Only I knew Dong Bin’s true identity. He himself never knew. I’m very curious how you figured it out. But what exactly was inside the box hidden by his bedside?”

Zhou Hai slipped a hand into his pocket.

In an instant, Yang Duxiu grabbed a bottle from behind him, but Zhou Hai lowered his eyes slightly as if he hadn’t noticed, calmly pulling out his phone instead.

“Relax. I’m just finding the photo of that box for you!”