Chapter 104: The Mind Game

2022-05-20

Team Leader Shao closed his eyes and thought quietly for a moment before he spoke up. “Twenty years ago, I met someone just like this. I never thought I’d run into the same kind of person twenty years later. They’re luring us in one step at a time, and maybe from the very start their real target was Liu Yinyan. Liu Feier is just the bait to get Liu Yinyan caught in their trap.”

“Liu Yinyan must’ve made some kind of deal with them,” Team Leader Shao said with absolute certainty.

It’s possible Liu Yinyan told them about the incident he orchestrated thirty-five years ago.

And as of now, I’m the only one who knows about it.

Thinking about it, getting Liu Yinyan out of there would be almost impossible. His housekeeper shadows him everywhere, but compared to Liu Yinyan, Liu Feier is a much easier target. If the truth got out, would someone make it public?

“Keep digging! We still have to check on Lin Dafa!” I said to everyone. “Our only real lead right now is Lin Dafa, and that’s probably why they made sure to get him locked up. They’ve got his daughter, and Lin Dafa’s feelings for his daughter are deeper than anyone can imagine.”

Team Leader Shao continued, “That means Lin Dafa will never give up the location. It’s up to us to get him talking, bit by bit. That’s the game they’re playing with us!”

I nodded seriously and said, “We need to move fast on Lin Dafa’s interrogation. Time’s running out!”

“Let’s go,” Team Leader Shao said with a commanding wave.

I stopped in front of Team Leader Shao and said calmly, “From a psychological standpoint, people are more likely to confide when there’s only one person in the room. Too many people, and they instinctively put up walls. We’re social, sure, but we’re also the only animal that really protects its privacy.”

“What are you saying?” Team Leader Shao looked at me.

Looking around at the others, I said, “If possible, let me interrogate him alone.”

Team Leader Shao studied me before replying, “Alright, it’s on you. But keep in mind, every hour Liu Yinyan and the others will lose a finger. Move fast, or they’re as good as dead. If Liu Yinyan dies, do you understand how big a blow that would be for us?”

I nodded, said nothing more, and hurried off toward the interrogation room.

Peering through the one-way glass, I saw Lin Dafa inside. He wasn’t hysterical anymore, but he kept looking left and right, licking his lips over and over. He couldn’t sit still. I smiled, knowing exactly what was going on—Lin Dafa was having a nicotine fit.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Lin Dafa saw me and flashed a grin, his yellow teeth on full display.

“Why’d you come in alone?” Lin Dafa looked around theatrically. “Where’s everyone else? Did you guys find a new lead?”

I didn’t answer him. Instead, I walked to the surveillance camera and switched it off.

Lin Dafa just watched me, deep in thought. I knew this little act would make him feel safer.

I took my seat again, pulled a pack of cigarettes from my pocket and lit one. As the faint scent of smoke drifted through the small room, Lin Dafa leaned forward so far it seemed like he wanted to breathe in every bit of it.

But such a light whiff could never satisfy someone with a craving like his.

I started, “I heard you know a lot about hand-rolled tobacco. Davidoff’s blended tobacco isn’t easy to find. How did you get in touch with your supplier?”

Lin Dafa snorted. “Ever since I took a puff of that guy’s tobacco four years ago, I haven’t been able to quit. Guy’s a strange one too—before, I must’ve thought about my daughter a hundred times a day, but now I think about that smoke a hundred and one. That’s how life is: when you want something bad enough, you always find a way.”

I nodded, flicked some ash. “You might not think it, but I’ve been smoking since I was a teenager. Back then, I was afraid my dad would catch me, so I’d sneak into the bathroom for a smoke break. Didn’t really dare smoke openly in front of him till I turned eighteen.”

“Guess what habit that left me with?” I said while taking a drag. “Now, if I don’t smoke while I’m in the bathroom, well, nothing happens. But hey, at least I didn’t end up needing to run to the bathroom every time I lit up.”

Lin Dafa burst out laughing. “You’re funny. Not like anyone else I’ve met. If circumstances were different, I’d probably enjoy chatting with you more.”

I waved him off. “But seriously, when you go buy tobacco, do those guys make you run all over the place? You ever think about what would happen if you got caught?”

Lin Dafa’s eyes stayed glued to my cigarette. If I hadn’t been smoking, he might be fine, but doing it right in front of him was like eating fried chicken in front of someone who hasn’t eaten in three days. His face was practically turning green. He swallowed and said, “Only lately have they been keeping a closer watch, but I still get out sometimes. Just short trips though, they’re stricter now than at first.”

I nodded again, took another cigarette from the pack and, as I walked over, asked casually, “So you always have to hurry back. Do you have a car?”

“Not a chance!” Lin Dafa replied.

I stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. Lin Dafa’s whole face lit up, like an exhausted office worker flopping onto a comfy bed after a long day. He looked truly satisfied. So much so, the cigarette slipped out of his mouth and fell to the floor.

I stooped to pick it up. Glancing down, I noticed his shoes—plain black cloth, speckled with tiny white dots only visible up close.

After putting the cigarette back in his mouth, I returned to my seat and kept going, “Dongxing City’s east and south both back up to the sea. Which side are you on?”

Lin Dafa’s face changed.

“South side?” I threw out a random direction.

Lin Dafa stared at me like I was an idiot, the cigarette bobbing in his mouth. “South? What’s this east side, south side talk? What are you on about?”

“Thanks.” With that, I turned and walked out of the interrogation room.

“Hey! What do you mean? Get back here!” Lin Dafa called after me.

Stepping out, I found Team Leader Shao and everyone else watching through the glass. Seeing me come out so quickly, Gu Chen was baffled. “What did you find? All I heard was talk about tobacco. Did you get any leads at all?”

I nodded and quickly explained, “When I went in, I asked him about the tobacco. His answer told me he only gets a short window to leave, and he doesn’t own a car. So he must have come by taxi, bus, or bicycle.”

“We can rule out taxis,” I said. “If he’s worried about leaving evidence, a taxi’s even riskier than driving himself. If he used a bike, Gu Chen would’ve noticed it—there wasn’t one. So he had to have come by public bus. When we went to that tobacco shop, I made a note of all the bus routes passing by.”

Gu Chen looked at me. “Really? I didn’t notice.”

I continued, “The shop’s location is off the beaten path—no subway lines, only buses: Route 10, 6, 13, and 27, 32. Most of those run south or east, but only Route 13 comes from the west.”

“That’s right,” Team Leader Shao agreed.

I nodded again. “When the cigarette hit the floor, I noticed his shoes had faint white marks. They were tiny, but it means he’s somewhere close to the sea. Sea breeze leaves salt on his shoes, and once it dries, you see those marks.”

“Plus, earlier Team Leader Shao was going in circles about food—eventually annoyed and saying he ate braised fish.” I kept talking as we walked. “Added up, it all suggests the hideout is near the shoreline, if not right on the coast.”

Gu Chen nodded. “Smart! But Dongxing City’s coastline is huge. Where do we even start?”

I went on, “So I asked if it was the south or east. When I said south, his face changed—then he regained his composure, which tells me south was a false lead. It’s got to be Dongxing City’s east side.”

“Map!” I called out quickly.

Guan Zengbin rushed over with a map and spread it out on the table.

I continued, “Mary, forget security footage—that’ll take too long. Mark the bus routes for Route 6, 10, 27, and 32 on the map right now.”

I pointed to a spot where the tobacco shop was located.

Mary quickly marked all the bus lines on the map.

Routes 10 and 32 headed east, but neither went all the way to the shore. That means Lin Dafa must have transferred buses along the way. The problem was, the area was massive. Even if we sent everyone, it’d still take all afternoon, maybe the whole night. By then, Liu Yinyan and the others could be dead.

“What, do we go interrogate Lin Dafa again?” Gu Chen asked, staring at the map. “We don’t have enough people for this.”

“It’s no use,” I sighed. “That trick only works once. No matter what we ask, Lin Dafa won’t say another word.”

The whole group fell silent. Team Leader Shao sighed and said, “Then we search. Even if there’s only a sliver of hope, we find that place. How many locations can there be on the coast? Ignore crowded areas, skip the busy spots. I don’t believe we can’t find it!”

His words sparked a thought in me, and suddenly an idea appeared. I blurted out, “Mary, did you record all the previous phone calls?”

“Of course,” Mary replied. “That’s a standard part of the job. Why, is there something wrong with the recordings?”

“It’s not the calls,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Dongxing City is a massive metropolis, a true city that never sleeps. But did you notice how quiet it was when we made those calls? That means either the location has really good soundproofing or isn’t anywhere near other people.”

Mary nodded. “But there’s one thing—if you weren’t using pro headphones, you might’ve missed it: there’s a faint, low-frequency electrical hum under the background.”

“Can you filter out the voices and just leave the background noise?” I asked.

“No problem!” Mary said, pulling over her computer. “Give me a second.”