Chapter 103: Even Thrill Can Become a Way of Life

2022-05-20

From start to finish we never once saw Liu Yinyan’s wife anywhere, so there’s no way to know if she really hired a private investigator. Same goes for Jesse—we have no clue what he looks like. If someone had gotten wind of this ahead of time and disguised themselves as Jesse to get close to Liu Yinyan, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.

In my head I pictured this polite, gentlemanly fake Jesse, and couldn’t help but wonder who he really was or who his two assistants were. He didn’t even seem that old.

“At this point we can almost say for sure Lin Dafa was sent in here on purpose, but they wouldn’t go to all that trouble without a reason.” Team Leader Shao leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. “With what we know right now, Lin Dafa is a key breakthrough. If we want any leads, it has to start with him!”

Gu Chen scratched his head. “But Lin Dafa doesn’t respond to threats or persuasion—guy’s stubborn as a mule. How are we supposed to get anything useful out of him?”

Team Leader Shao straightened up, his eyes fixed on the interrogation room not far away. “As long as he isn’t mute, we have a shot.”

“Here’s what we’ll do. Mary, keep digging into the surveillance footage.” His tone was calm and measured. “The rest of us keep questioning Lin Dafa. Guan Zengbin, you handle the notes.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But before we could even get started, Mary suddenly spoke up. “A call just came in.”

“Unknown number?” Team Leader Shao asked.

“No.” Mary shook her head and turned her phone screen toward us. “It’s Liu Yinyan calling.”

Team Leader Shao’s brow furrowed. He took two quick steps over. “Answer it.”

We all gathered around Mary, listening closely as the call connected.

A shrill, distorted voice filled the air—the telltale sign of a voice changer. I suddenly remembered what Mary had mentioned before: once the effects of the voice changer are removed, the real voice sounds like a young man between twenty and twenty-five. But this person isn’t Jesse—we’ve all heard what Jesse sounds like. So who is this young man?

“Good afternoon.” The voice on the line was lazy, sounding almost playfully careless, like how old friends might greet each other. But we knew the truth—the person on the other end had kidnapped a top player in Dongxing City’s venture capital scene. Not someone to take lightly.

Team Leader Shao stayed quiet for a moment before finally saying, “Hello. Have you eaten yet?”

The caller seemed surprised by how calm Team Leader Shao was. “Is that you, Shao Shilin? I’ve heard of you before, but I’m curious—do you really have what it takes to catch me?”

Team Leader Shao had warned Liu Yinyan before—be evasive and buy us time. But Liu Yinyan was always direct, and in that way Team Leader Shao did a much better job. “I just got lucky, that’s all. By the way, what are you guys eating for lunch? We’re ordering takeout. Want us to order you some too?”

“Ha!” The caller burst out laughing. “You’re pretty funny, but don’t trouble yourself. Besides, nothing beats a home-cooked meal. Not to brag, but I’m quite the chef. You should try my cooking sometime if you get the chance.”

Team Leader Shao laughed too. “We should. I can cook as well, you know. What do you make? Go to the market for your ingredients? Meat dishes, veggie dishes? Beef stew with potatoes? Maybe shrimp stir-fried in oil?”

The caller replied, “Aren’t you going to ask what I actually want?”

“So it’s not those dishes, huh?” Team Leader Shao brushed right past the question. “Or maybe pork rib soup? That’s always good. Or maybe hotpot—can’t go wrong with that. It’s already past one. I’m getting a little hungry myself.”

The other man was starting to sound impatient. “Braised fish sound good?”

With that, he hung up. He still had his guard up—calls never lasted more than three minutes.

Mary said, “Liu Yinyan’s phone has been turned off. The SIM card was probably destroyed physically too. This guy is careful, and he knows something about counter-surveillance. He might even have an expert on his team.”

“So do we go back to questioning Lin Dafa?” Gu Chen asked.

But Team Leader Shao shook his head, tapping a finger slowly on the table. “Wait. There’s more he wants to say, so he’ll definitely call again. The more we talk in circles, the more likely we’ll pick up on something—maybe just a tiny hint, but one small clue could change everything.”

With two decades of experience, Team Leader Shao’s instincts rarely missed. Sure enough, not long after, another call came in from an unfamiliar number.

“Sorry about that, Team Leader Shao, the signal dropped for a second,” the man said.

Team Leader Shao gave a cold snort. “Was it really the signal, or are you just afraid we’ll trace your call?”

“Come on, I’m just messing with you,” the man replied cheerfully. “Calling you guys is the only way you’ll ever have a shot at finding me, isn’t it? Otherwise, what fun is this game?”

This time Team Leader Shao didn’t bother with small talk. Maybe he was worried that if he kept stalling, the guy on the line would lose patience and things would get out of control. “A game? Who said I wanted to play any game with you?”

“You don’t have a choice,” the man answered, “If you don’t play, Liu Yinyan and Liu Feier will end up dead. You want to keep them alive, right?”

Team Leader Shao was silent for a moment, then said, “Fine. I’ll play your game. But you have to guarantee Liu Feier and Liu Yinyan’s safety. And listen—there are some lines you don’t cross. If you do, there’s no going back. Release them now, and maybe you’ll still have a chance to escape.”

The man let out a wild laugh. “Escape? You know how many people in here have been running for half their lives? Sometimes, life is just plain boring. After everything we’ve been through, it’s not like we can just stop now, right?”

“Oh?” Team Leader Shao sounded genuinely puzzled. “What is it you really want, then?”

“Survival of the fittest. It’s been the rule for billions of years of evolution. But people always try to fight against it—really, we’re the ones truly in tune with nature.”

His voice trembled with a barely contained excitement. I imagined his face twisted with enthusiasm and zeal. People without faith are to be pitied—yet those with fanatical beliefs are far more frightening.

We could only feel sorry for someone like him, lost in his own delusional world.

“What exactly do you want to do?” Team Leader Shao sensed how warped this guy’s mind was, and his tone grew serious.

“Finally, you’re asking! What do I want to do? I want to play a game with you. Starting now, every hour that passes, I’ll cut off one of their fingers until you find this place. If you don’t, maybe they’ll die. Who knows?”

“Well then, let the game begin.”

The call ended.

We all sat in silence, lost in thought. From that exchange, it was clear—this guy was more than a little unstable. Maybe he even had some kind of mental disorder. If we didn’t catch him soon, who knows what he might do.

Sometimes desire is a terrible thing… but it can also drive people to do the unthinkable.

A person with nothing left to want—aren’t they even scarier?

“So after everything, he just did all this to mess with us?” Gu Chen muttered. “Just chasing a thrill—just wants the whole city in chaos?”

Suddenly, I remembered what Lin Dafa had told us in the interrogation room:

Sometimes, thrill itself can become a person’s faith—it can even become their entire reason for living.