Chapter 237: In the Dark, Knowing Nothing

2022-05-20

I stared at the man in front of me—someone about as young as I was. I watched his frown slowly fade, as if he’d just caught me in some massive blunder. He flashed a relaxed smile and said, “Alright, since you like using logic, let me give you two scenarios.”

He held up two fingers and continued, “First, you’re lying. Second, the administrator is lying. You can’t deny at least one of these, right?”

He was clearly trying to lure me into his trap. I recognized it, plain as day, but I had no choice but to follow his lead. “You’re right,” I replied, “but I haven’t lied. Because of my history with Guilt Delusion, if I needed to carry that thing, I would’ve had to get official approval. Everyone on the Special Investigation Team knows that.”

“Special Investigation Team?” he chuckled. “From what I know, this team isn’t actually under any regular department. Aside from Shao Shilin, no one else holds an official position. Out of your three team members, you’re stuck here, Guan Zengbin has vanished, and now Shao Shilin is about to be held accountable by higher-ups. Tell me, who can actually vouch for you now?”

“Oh.” He scratched his head and added, “Gu Chen—only Gu Chen, but they’ve already been transferred back.”

I suddenly felt a surge of frustration I couldn’t quite explain. At the most critical moment, Guan Zengbin had disappeared, I was detained here, Team Leader Shao’s whereabouts were a mystery, and now Gu Chen had been transferred away. In the blink of an eye, it felt like everyone I knew was gone. The Special Investigation Team we’d worked so hard to build had just fallen apart.

What on earth had happened? Who leaked the team members’ information? And what were they after?

By now, my rational mind told me: if the killer wasn’t absolutely sure, they wouldn’t go out of their way to frame me. No matter what I said, they’d already found whatever evidence the real culprit left for them. I just didn’t understand—what was their motive? Why go this far?

I stayed silent, replaying the situation in my mind.

He spoke as he pulled out a sheet of A4 paper, showing it to me. I glanced at it—it was an application form. Sure enough, the signature at the bottom was mine. What struck me most, though, was that the handwriting was exactly like my own. If I wasn’t completely sure I’d never written such a document, I’d have believed it myself.

I tugged at my hair, feeling the whole situation growing more bizarre by the minute. I’d never written that application, yet the handwriting matched mine perfectly.

“It’s possible someone forged my handwriting,” I said. “This alone doesn’t prove anything.”

He fell silent for a moment, drumming his fingers on the desk before speaking. “You’re right, it doesn’t prove anything by itself. But you’re still arguing, huh? You won’t cry until you see the coffin, is that it? The administrator will testify in court, saying you handed him this application, and that’s exactly why he issued you a weapon.”

“Serial numbers and testimonies all match.” He smirked. “If there’s someone who witnessed the actual event and can testify for you, then by the principle of presumption of innocence, you’re fine—but do you have anyone?”

I shook my head and said quietly, “No. I don’t have any witnesses.”

He eased back into his seat, eyeing me. “Then you’re basically out of luck.”

“That’s all I needed to ask.” He slowly closed a file folder and said, “We’re technically in the same system, so I’ll give you a heads-up—whatever’s happened, you’re in danger this time.”

Like I needed him to tell me that—I already knew.

They stood and headed for the door. As he walked out, he called back over his shoulder, “My name’s Wen Ruo Zhi. I’m not officially on the staff, same as you. If you really didn’t do this, maybe we can work together someday.”

Without a backward glance, he left.

“Wen Ruo Zhi…” The name sounded familiar, like I’d heard it somewhere before, but I couldn’t place it.

For three whole days, not a single familiar face came to see me. This was a big deal—Team Leader Shao and Sister Mary surely knew, Gu Chen must have heard as well, and surely someone would have told my foster father. But in those three days, it was as if I’d been forgotten. No one came.

On the fourth day, I was transferred and made to stand in the defendant’s seat, but all my focus was on the crowd. I scanned the faces below—only Sister Mao was there. No one else I knew had come.

Court was called to order. We all stood in silence. Never in my life did I imagine I’d find myself standing here.

My head was buzzing, a dull roar all around me—like a thousand flies circling my ears.

I didn’t say a word, letting the prosecutor present all sorts of evidence.

If I was caught up in this mess, Team Leader Shao wouldn’t escape dismissal either. Suddenly, I realized—the killer probably wasn’t targeting just me. They were after the whole Special Investigation Team. Guan Zengbin was caught, Gu Chen transferred, and now both Team Leader Shao and I were trapped in this case. The team had crumbled.

“Does the defendant Wu Meng have any objections?”

I shook my head.

“Prosecutor, please continue.”

“Before every operation, a request must be submitted. When it’s over, a report is required. Here is Wu Meng’s application report. After examination, the handwriting matches samples from his life and work. It’s almost certain he wrote it.”

“I’ve never written this application,” I protested.

“Permission granted for our first witness.”

“Proceed.”

The first witness was brought in—the administrator. I’d met him a few times before. He looked straight at me and declared, “Yes, it was him who gave me the application. Wu Meng, right? He may not know me, but I know him.”

Glaring at the hefty man across from me, I snapped, “Nonsense! When did I ever give you an application? We have no beef—why are you framing me?”

He waved dismissively. “Exactly—we’ve got no quarrel, so why would I frame you? There’s no reason for me to lie. I stand by this: Defendant Wu Meng did hand me an application. Maybe it was forged, but that’s what happened.”

“That’s right.”

The prosecutor’s face remained impassive as he said, “According to Duan Jingliang’s statement, at the time there were only the defendant and Fang Tong’s corpse at the scene. The scene was sealed off—so there was no way for the killer to escape.”

“Here is the testimony.” The prosecutor said.

“Defendant, do you have anything to say?”

I took a few deep breaths. No matter what I said at this point, it wouldn’t change a thing. The prosecutor was right—this was what everyone saw with their own eyes. But is seeing always believing?

When I said nothing, the prosecutor went on, “We’ve got both evidence and witnesses. According to our investigation, Wu Meng once suffered from Guilt Delusion. When he’s in that state, he’s capable of killing.”

“But after a year of treatment, I’m cured!” I replied.

“That might not be so simple,” the prosecutor said. “We checked Dongxing City’s Second People’s Hospital and found your medical files at the Psychiatric Hospital. Before you’d fully recovered, Shao Shilin bailed you out. Isn’t that right?”

I wanted to object, but I knew deep down—it was true. When Team Leader Shao got me out of the Psychiatric Hospital, I hadn’t really recovered yet.

“But my mind is clear now! I have no intentions to kill anyone,” I insisted.

The prosecutor just shook his head. “But according to witnesses, you made threats. Judge, I’d like the second witness to take the stand.”

“Permission granted.”

The second witness took the stand, and I recognized him—Xiao Liu’s right-hand man. It clicked—in the van to Xingdong Village, I’d sat on the suspect’s left, he on the right. Back then, yes, I did threaten the suspect, but there were reasons.

“He did threaten the suspect,” this witness said. “There were two others in the van who heard Wu Meng. He told the suspect things like ‘What I say goes—if I say someone’s the killer, then they’re the killer.’ He didn’t even try to hide it from us.”

“I threatened the killer because I was desperate to save someone!” I shot back. “You were all there—you know how tense things were!”