Chapter 380: The Last One

2022-05-20

When I saw Uncle Chen’s face all scrunched up, his brows wrinkled like a steamed bun, I knew something serious had happened. I set Hu Ningning down, signaling her to stay calm, then turned to Uncle Chen. “What now? Has something else happened?”

“Yang Ting, Yang Ting’s been taken!” Uncle Chen blurted out.

His words set off a rush of doubt in my mind. Right now, Guo Limin’s sitting in the interrogation room, and Zhang Zijun’s there too. Both suspects are accounted for—could there really be a third? Maybe some lover of either Zhang Zijun or Guo Limin come to finish things? Even the wildest guess sounded impossible.

But it happened. Yang Ting was taken, so who did it?

Rubbing my head, I lowered my voice. “What’s going on?”

Uncle Chen let out a sigh, a trace of panic showing. “Here’s the situation: when we got here, they released Zhang Zijun.”

“What?” I kicked the chair next to me, sending it crashing down. “Who let him go? I said it repeatedly—the two of them did this together. Even if Guo Limin tries to take the fall, Zhang Zijun is a suspect. Yang Ting was the only loose end and you let him walk?”

Uncle Chen’s expression grew awkward, then he explained. “We picked up Zhang Zijun last night, but after twelve hours, we still had no evidence. You know the rules. After twelve hours and no proof, we had to release him. Plus, the squad thought the case was closed, so no one thought much about it.”

Mary patted my shoulder. “What’s done is done, now’s not the time to get angry. Did Zhang Zijun take him? How’s Yang Ting?”

Uncle Chen rubbed his eyes and spoke quickly. “Just got word—after Zhang Zijun was let go, he went straight to Taishan Elementary. It’s pouring outside, everyone’s in raincoats. He must’ve slipped in dressed as a parent. When school let out, in all that chaos, he took Yang Ting.”

“Took him?”

I asked, “Where’s Zhang Zijun now?”

Uncle Chen answered, “He’s on the roof of one of the teaching buildings at Taishan Elementary.”

“Let’s go.” I said, “Yang Ting’s still alive. Since Zhang Zijun didn’t kill him right away, he must want something. He’s waiting for us—maybe there’s more he wants to say. Let’s go!”

We split up. Uncle Chen took Hu Ningning home while the rest of us headed straight to Taishan Elementary.

The rain hammered harder against the car roof as we drove. No one spoke, lost in thought. Outside, everyone rushed by, huddled under umbrellas and raincoats. Here and there, I could see kids making their way home, faces half-hidden under their rain hoods.

But tonight, one child wouldn’t be going home—Yang Ting. Right now, Zhang Zijun was holding him hostage on the rooftop.

People below tried all kinds of ways to talk Zhang Zijun down, begging him not to do anything rash.

Police tape cordoned off the area. From the ground, we could see what was happening up there.

There was a fence, about five feet high, circling the roof—meant to keep anyone from falling. But Yang Ting was standing right on the narrow ledge outside the fence, most of his foot hanging over nothing. His hands and legs had been tied, leaving no way for him to save himself.

Behind him, Zhang Zijun gripped the back of his shirt with one hand. If he let go, Yang Ting wouldn’t stand a chance—he wouldn’t be able to grab the fence, he’d drop seven stories straight down. The teaching building, plus the main hall below, made for a fall of about twenty-five meters.

Falling from that height… it’s almost certain death. Sure, there are rare cases when someone survives, but Yang Ting won’t be one of the lucky ones.

You could tell Zhang Zijun was clever—he just had to let go and it’d all be over. Which meant we couldn’t let him die, not until we were ready, until every safety measure was in place.

“Where’s the air cushion?” I asked.

Someone hurried over. “Can’t use it. If he sees us setting up, he’ll let go. It only takes a second to fall, but it’d take at least ten seconds, maybe half a minute, to set up the cushion.”

“Did you check the scene? Has he made any demands?” I asked.

He nodded. “Just one—he wants Guo Limin to come up here too.”

I frowned. Just Zhang Zijun and Guo Limin on their own don’t seem like much of a threat anymore—what could they do, really? Maybe they plan to run, but if Wu Zui is secretly helping them, that’s a different story entirely.

“Don’t panic,” Gu Chen called out above the crowd’s anxious chatter.

When people heard Gu Chen’s serious tone, the noise died down.

I grabbed the loudspeaker and shouted, “Zhang Zijun! You really had this planned out, didn’t you? Went in quietly, waited your twelve hours, then walked. You two planned this all along. I should’ve known, should’ve made sure they never let you out. Even knowing you weren’t finished, we let you slip through.”

I paused, then continued, “So what now? What do you want? Your wife, Guo Limin, is already on her way. Let Yang Ting go, we can talk about anything. I can get you a car, get you money. But if Yang Ting dies, you’ll never escape. This place will become your trap, you hear me?”

Zhang Zijun poked his head out from behind Yang Ting. I had to strain to hear his reply.

He said, “From the start, I never planned to walk away. Honestly, I should’ve died half a year ago. But there was a fire burning inside—I couldn’t go until it was out. Now it’s all ending. People like you could never understand how we feel. If this world was really so beautiful, who’d want to kill?”

Twenty-five meters apart, I couldn’t see his face, couldn’t read his expression.

He kept rambling, “This world really is beautiful. People do what they want, go where they please. So I kill, and others kill me. That’s fair, right?”

Listening to him, I realized we’d never talk him down. You can’t wake someone who’s pretending to sleep. And you can’t save someone who’s already dead inside. Maybe Zhang Zijun and Guo Limin died half a year ago—their souls already gone. All that’s left is the shell.

I shook my head. I hated seeing it end this way, but I saw it coming.

Zhang Zijun kept mumbling, his voice growing fainter till no one could make out what he was saying. The only one who could still hear him was Yang Ting—teetering on the edge. Maybe he’d bullied Zhang Zuochen, maybe he hadn’t. Who really knows?

“Is there any way up there?”

While Zhang Zijun was still mumbling, I turned to the principal beside me.

Defeat was written all over his face. So much had happened in just a few days. Maybe we’d managed to keep a lid on things during the investigation, but once it’s over, everyone will see it in the news, on TV, in the papers. At that point, no one at Taishan Elementary, least of all the school leadership, will escape blame.

He shook his head. “There’s only one way to the roof—we tried, but it’s blocked. And he said if anyone tries to come up, he’ll let go immediately. So there’s nothing we can do. Even if someone as important as the city’s top official shows up, it won’t matter.”

I frowned. The situation was beyond dangerous. After Zhang Zijun finished his rant, or after he saw his wife, he was bound to let go.

I whispered to one of the people beside me, “Go wait outside. Don’t let Guo Limin in, make sure Zhang Zijun on the roof can’t see her. When I signal, then bring her in. Report to me when you’re back.”

“Got it.”

Then I turned to Gu Chen. “There’s no way to set up an air cushion, it’s too obvious. So our only shot is this—”

“What is it?” Gu Chen asked.

I glanced toward the corner of the teaching building. “We have to climb to a spot Zhang Zijun can’t see. The trick is, right under his nose is where he’ll never look. Take some men to the seventh-floor classroom, bring a safety rope, and climb out the window onto the roof. Grab Yang Ting and don’t let go, hang on as long as it takes for others to help.”

Gu Chen nodded. “Alright.”

Then he rounded up a few people and led them around back, heading into the teaching building from the rear entrance.

Meanwhile, I had to keep Zhang Zijun’s attention so he wouldn’t see what Gu Chen was up to.

“Zhang Zijun!” I shouted through the loudspeaker.