When Zhang Jingchan and Li Yunmo arrived at the police station, Ding Chenmo was already there. Ding Chenmo accompanied them to see Zhong Yi and met the heartbroken Li family members.

Ding Chenmo noticed that compared to the others’ distraught, tearful despair, although Zhang Jingchan’s eyes were slightly red, he was much calmer. However, dark clouds perpetually shrouded his face, making this young man’s presence quite intimidating.

Ding Chenmo called Zhang Jingchan to an empty corner and said, “The leads have gone cold.”

Zhang Jingchan put both hands in his pockets and looked up at him.

Ding Chenmo’s heart skipped a beat, thinking, “Damn, at my age, I’m actually intimidated by this twenty-something kid’s gaze.”

Ding Chenmo cleared his throat and said seriously, “The four kidnappers turned on each other. One of the leaders shot and killed the other three, then was hit by a stray bullet during a shootout with police. They did have a grudge against Zhong Yi, though it was from several years ago. Surveillance only captured them going to the riverside during their escape and throwing someone into the river—the clothing and build were extremely similar to Li Weiyi’s. Plus, they admitted to this in their anonymous call to the police.”

Zhang Jingchan raised his eyelids, his smile mocking. “You believe that?”

Ding Chenmo was momentarily blocked by his attitude and said irritably, “Police investigations require evidence. For now, apart from revenge, this group had no other motive. But this case has been classified as a major serious criminal case and will definitely be thoroughly investigated until everything is crystal clear.”

Zhang Jingchan asked again, “Before the four criminals died, besides the riverside, where else did surveillance capture them going?”

Although he felt this kid’s attitude was excessively forceful, Ding Chenmo couldn’t help but look at him approvingly, saying, “That’s exactly the problem. Before the police lockdown, they traversed a very busy street and entered several stretches without surveillance. The traffic volume was too heavy during that time—we can’t determine whether they met up with anyone or had accomplices.”

Zhang Jingchan leaned one hand against the wall, lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said, “Old Ding, everything is too deliberate, too coincidental. The trail went cold too perfectly.”

Ding Chenmo immediately said, “I told you years ago that kid, your brain is perfectly suited for police academy…” He stopped mid-sentence.

Zhang Jingchan glanced at him.

Ding Chenmo: “Pretend I didn’t say that, pretend I don’t know.”

“I know who the mastermind is.”

“Who?”

“Xu Yi, Chairman of Muchen Group.”

Ding Chenmo’s eyes widened. “You can’t just say things like that. Xu Yi is one of the city’s top entrepreneurs—why would he hire killers and kidnap Li Weiyi?”

Zhang Jingchan sneered coldly. “I’ve already investigated—he’s Liu Ying’s younger brother and very likely the mastermind behind the arson case and the one who hit me and put me in a vegetative state. Li Weiyi already gave you evidence, didn’t she? As long as the economic crimes squad follows the trail and investigates the flow of funds from back then, I don’t believe he’s innocent.” He paused, then added, “Xu Yi pursued Li Weiyi for eight years and never succeeded.”

Ding Chenmo was truly shocked now. He wasn’t just a detective but also a part-time screenwriter, and instantly imagined a complete drama of love, hate, and forceful seizure. If Xu Yi was truly the mastermind, he both resented Li Weiyi for submitting evidence against him and had unsuccessfully pursued her for years. With his connections, methods, and capabilities throughout the province, buying off a few wanted death row inmates to pull off this unsolved case was possible.

But Ding Chenmo still adhered to a detective’s instincts and shook his head, saying, “All of this is your speculation—there’s no evidence. However, I’ll immediately tell Ding Xiongwei. Don’t worry, my younger brother’s subordinates are very capable. If Xu Yi really did this, sooner or later, they’ll find out!”

“Sooner or later? There’s no time!” Zhang Jingchan looked at him. “Every minute Li Weiyi stays in his hands, I…” He stopped without finishing.

Ding Chenmo remained silent.

“Old Ding,” Zhang Jingchan said. “Don’t you think these methods are very familiar? When I was hit and put in a vegetative state, it was also so coincidental—there was a worker who appeared drunk at the exact moment we obtained evidence and were about to leave, misoperated a crane, and took the blame. The arson case too—my mom’s former lover so coincidentally appeared frequently during that period, burned my whole family to death including himself, and you police didn’t even need to catch a culprit. This is his habitual method—buying lives with money, silencing witnesses, leaving no trace.”

Now Ding Chenmo was speechless.

Zhang Jingchan stared at him coldly, finally throwing out one more knife: “You too. You should have died in August 2014. Back then, you were relentlessly pursuing my father’s accidental death case, and in the end, you inexplicably sped on a mountain road, flipped your car, and fell off a cliff to your death.”

Ding Chenmo’s mouth fell open, his lips moving.

Zhang Jingchan smiled coldly and said, “So are you still going to wait for the police investigation results? Do you want to watch Weiyi suffer for days or even months? Or do you want to watch me and him perish together?”

Ding Chenmo: “…”

How did this conversation turn into making him, this already-retired old guy, seem like a criminal for all eternity if he didn’t help, as if he were forcing these two young people to their deaths?

Ding Chenmo stamped his foot and said, “You kid, I’m a materialist—don’t say such things in the future. I’m scared of you. Wait here! I’ll go find Second Brother to figure something out.”

——

The sealed room had neither a clock nor windows. Li Weiyi didn’t know what time it was, but she felt it should already be late at night.

After Xu Yi left, she sat in a daze for a while, took a deep breath and stood up, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and began to examine the sealed room inch by inch.

After about ten minutes, she confirmed: no cameras were installed. This was probably Xu Yi’s most secretive place, so conversely, he wouldn’t install any surveillance equipment.

In other words, he couldn’t see what she was doing here.

He was certain she couldn’t possibly escape. There wouldn’t be any sharp tools she could use here either. He was an extremely meticulous person—there would be no oversights.

After a while, she stood by the desk, looking up at the air conditioning vent in the ceiling—about 80 centimeters long and 30 centimeters wide. With her build, she could barely squeeze through. But she had never climbed through such ducts and didn’t know their internal structure. Could it lead outside? Would she get stuck halfway? Would there be a high wall outside that she simply couldn’t jump down from?

Li Weiyi grabbed her hair in frustration, deciding to first abandon this unreliable risky move. She ran to the door again to listen—no movement. She turned back to look at the safe, walked over, and crouched down.

What would Xu Yi hide in the safe of his meticulously constructed secret room?

Li Weiyi turned the rotary button. The display lit up, prompting her to enter an eight-digit password.

Li Weiyi stared blankly for a while.

Regarding the previous life, Xu Yi only had fragmentary, hazy memories. But she remembered almost everything.

If she entered it wrong, would an alarm sound?

She hesitantly raised her finger, then hesitantly lowered it.