“Lin Jie? Heh, I haven’t heard that name in decades.”

Lin Jie was lost in a moment of daze, letting out a self-mocking chuckle. Although he was still holding onto Rong Qian without letting go, the gun aimed at her unconsciously drifted away.

Rong Qian seized the chance, gripping the wrist of the hand holding the gun. With a swift takedown move, she pinned him to the ground and held him down firmly!

It was only then that Rong Qian noticed her body felt no discomfort at all. Although the marks from being stepped on were still visible on the back of her hand, she felt nothing.

Even the spot where she’d broken a rib—the most painful place—felt completely normal.

At that moment, Rong Qian understood—she had traveled forward while injured, healed there, and come back recovered.

Therefore, despite having just gone through that beating, Rong Qian was actually completely unhurt.

While the armed police were still in shock, they rushed forward at once, wrenching the gun from Lin Jie’s hand and tearing off his skull mask. Beneath it was a weathered face, the skin dark and rugged, the facial muscles sharply defined, full of harsh, hard lines.

His eyes had the look of a man who had killed before—brutal and ferocious. In his moment of fury, he resembled a dying lion thrashing in its final struggle.

Yet beyond all that, what Rong Qian saw was a face that bore a resemblance to Lin Feng—this was Lin Jie.

“You damn bitch, you tricked me!”

Pinned to the ground, Lin Jie roared viciously. It was only now that he realized he had been played!

How could she possibly be the woman who had been with Shen Yi all those years ago?

Decades had passed—if that woman were still alive, she would be a white-haired old woman by now. How could she possibly look this young?

He figured his identity must have already been discovered by the police, and this woman had deliberately pretended to be captured, all just to wait for this moment, distract him, and have him arrested!

In any case, this time, he had truly miscalculated.

“What did I trick you about?”

Rong Qian crouched down on one knee in front of him, her expression serious. “Lin Jie, I’m asking you—back then, when Shen Yi went missing at sea, was it caused by Thomas? And are you part of that group?”

“Shen Yi? You people still even know he exists?” He let out a mocking, cold laugh.

Rong Qian had no time to dance around with him, so she told him directly, “Lin Jie, I haven’t tricked you, and I didn’t set a trap for you in advance. At first, I genuinely didn’t know who you were—I only recognized you after you took out that photo.”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?” Lin Jie didn’t understand a word of it. He tried to struggle, but several armed officers held him down firmly, and he couldn’t move at all.

Lin Jie was originally about to be escorted away by the armed police, but since Rong Qian had something to say to him, she specially asked the officers to give her a few minutes to finish speaking with him.

“It’s fine if you don’t understand. All you need to know is that I’m Rong Qian. The person you saw in Shen Yi’s house all those years ago—that was also me.” Rong Qian didn’t beat around the bush with him.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Lin Jie’s eyes filled with disbelief.

Rong Qian asked him, “Lin Jie, you suspected me, didn’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to such lengths. Now I’ll give you a chance—what exactly do you want to ask me?”

Lin Jie struggled internally for a long while before finally asking her, “Lin Feng… my older brother—how exactly did he die?”

“He was tortured to death, and the person who tortured him had a grudge against him. That person is Thomas—the same one who told you that Lin Feng was killed by Shen Yi.” Rong Qian was concise and to the point. Frustrated at his foolishness, she said, “In simple terms, you idiot, you were deceived and used without even knowing it!”

One of the young armed officers, hearing Rong Qian’s words, wore a strange expression on his face, but he didn’t say anything.

Lin Jie buried his face against the filthy floor. He seemed to struggle for a long time before suddenly, finally, giving in—all at once, like a balloon that had deflated.

“I don’t have time to worry about how you’re feeling right now, Lin Jie. I’m asking you—was Shen Yi’s accident really caused by Thomas? And how did he do it? Tell me—I might be able to stop him!” Rong Qian’s emotions grew agitated. She felt an inexplicable surge of panic, afraid she wouldn’t get an answer.

But Lin Jie let out a low chuckle. Looking at Rong Qian, he said, “Save him? I think you’d better save yourself instead.”

Still smiling, Lin Jie began coughing up blood.

Rong Qian’s pupils contracted sharply. She told the officers holding him down to let go of him immediately, then struggled to prop him up, trying to stop the bleeding. Panicked, she said, “What on earth did you take, you idiot!”

“So it really was you who slapped me back then…” Lin Jie smiled with ease—he hadn’t smiled like this in years. He never expected that a beast like him would end up dying in a woman’s arms.

He had been coldblooded his entire life, yet in the end, it was hearing the word “idiot” that broke down his defenses.

If only he hadn’t taken the wrong path back then…

“Hang on a little longer—the ambulance will be here soon!” Rong Qian’s eyes glistened with tears, her expression full of worry.

Lin Jie desperately wanted to raise his hand and touch her face, but he simply had no strength left. “I never thought… there’d be someone in this world who’d shed tears for me…”

“Cough, cough!”

The blood kept flowing more and more. Lin Jie knew he had reached his limit. He choked violently, gripping Rong Qian’s hand tightly, and before drawing his last breath, he said one final thing to her.

“Be careful… Shen Fengran…”

With that, his hand went limp. He didn’t even close his eyes—his pupils stayed wide, his eyes filled with bloodshot lines of struggle. In his final moment before death, he died unwillingly…

But the instant his hand went limp, Rong Qian caught it.

Rong Qian kept her head lowered, saying nothing, until the armed police came to carry away Lin Jie’s body, until Zhao Qiguang and Xie Dong came over and called out to her. Only then did Rong Qian take a deep breath, steady her emotions, and stand up.

“The ambulance! Where’s the ambulance? Hurry and bring the stretcher!”

Seeing Rong Qian covered in blood and injuries, Xie Dong was frantic with worry.

Seeing how dazed she seemed, Zhao Qiguang tried to help support her, but Rong Qian refused.

“Can you still hold on? Sit down and wait—the doctors and nurses will be up soon.” Xie Dong was very worried.

Rong Qian shook her head and said to them, “I’m fine. I’ll leave the scene to you to handle. I still have something to take care of, so I’ll head off first.”

“Hey! With injuries like that—” Xie Dong wanted to call her back, but Rong Qian, acting as if nothing were wrong, walked away quickly.

Xie Dong was dumbfounded. Why was she acting like this was all a game? She was hurt so badly—where could she possibly be going?

“Xie Dong, come here for a moment.”

An armed officer holding a gun beckoned to Xie Dong, gesturing for him to come over. Xie Dong walked over. “Old Qi, what is it?”

“There’s something I think I need to tell you. It’s about Officer Rong.”

The officer called Old Qi was named Qi Lei. He had witnessed the entire scene just now, and the camera he wore on his uniform had recorded all of it.

He felt that the conversation between Officer Rong and the criminal just now had many strange points.

Xie Dong’s brow furrowed. The police were already handling the scene, and he glanced over at Lin Jie, now being placed into a black body bag.

He had arrived a step too late and didn’t know how the gang’s leader had died.

It just so happened that he also wanted to know—what exactly had happened here just now?