Chapter 404: Setting the Trap

2022-05-20

“Don’t move.” Xiao Liu never imagined things would come to this. Honestly, I can’t blame him—even when I first saw Wu Zui’s true face, I was so shocked I could hardly breathe. But the real problem now is that Guan Zengbin is on Wu Zui’s side. No matter what I say, in Guan Zengbin’s eyes it’ll just seem like another ploy from Wu Zui.

Given the situation, it’s probably better not to say anything at all. We can talk things out later, piece together the truth, and eventually get to the bottom of everything.

“Gu Chen, do you remember what I told you back in your village?” Wu Zui’s voice came from beside me.

Our voices sound exactly the same, our faces are identical. The words Wu Zui is saying right now are slippery, ambiguous. Back in the village, there’s no way Gu Chen and I went without talking to each other, but Wu Zui doesn’t mention what was said—just that there were words exchanged. That kind of vagueness is dangerous. It can pull Gu Chen closer to him, nudge him to subconsciously trust one of us more than the other.

I know for a fact that Wu Zui has a talent for psychology.

I wanted to say something, but Xiao Liu interrupted me. “From now on, neither of you say another word to me. Whether you’re Wu Meng or Wu Zui, you’re twins—your intelligence is probably about the same. I know both of you are smart and can read people easily, so to keep things fair, you both need to keep your mouths shut. Whoever says one more word, I’ll just assume you’re Wu Zui.”

“Don’t think I’m joking. If you’re Wu Meng, trust me, I’ll find you eventually and make sure the other gets brought to justice.”

I get it. There’s no point in saying anything right now. Even Wu Zui has finally clammed up.

Xiao Liu let out a breath, checked the time, and said, “We’ve still got a while. Gu Chen, tie them up. This time, Wu Zui isn’t getting away, wings or not.”

Gu Chen tied the two of us together, with Yinzi as well.

Xiao Liu dragged over a wooden stool and sat down, staring us both down. “Wu Zui, you probably never guessed this was all a setup from the very start.”

We both stayed silent, but listening to Xiao Liu, it sounded like he’d set a trap I’d never even noticed. And judging by how things turned out, Wu Zui finally got caught.

Neither of us spoke. Xiao Liu started talking to himself. “Wu Zui, you’re cunning. You dodged us again and again. But you’d never expect that everything was a trap from the get-go. Wu Meng, don’t blame us either—none of this would have worked if you weren’t part of it.”

“Seven years ago, Shi Huacheng did what he had to so he could survive. He couldn’t tell us everything, but he couldn’t stay quiet either. In those seven years, we found out Shi Huacheng took in three children. The first was Zhao Mingkun, a girl who’s still on the run. You’d know more about that, Wu Meng—I saw you two together last time.”

“The second child was Wu Zui, and the third was Wu Meng.” Xiao Liu continued, “But Shi Huacheng once told us these two were the same age but came from completely different families. He even gave two totally unrelated names. Turns out he was mixing lies and truth, and we still fell for it.”

Xiao Liu shook his head. “After Wu Zui pulled off the first crime, we had our eye on you. At first, we thought the method looked like Zhao Mingkun’s style. But our investigation showed she wasn’t anywhere near Qingcheng back then. So we figured it had to be one of Shi Huacheng’s other kids.”

“That’s when we started watching Wu Meng.” Xiao Liu sized us both up. “By the end of that case, Wu Meng turned himself in. But we still wondered: why would the killer target Wu Meng? We didn’t know what happened, but we figured that if we kept a close eye on Wu Meng, maybe the killer would make another move.”

There was real respect in Xiao Liu’s eyes as he went on. “Team Leader Shao looked into Wu Meng’s background and realized things were anything but simple. With Shao’s sharp instincts, he saw this wasn’t an ordinary case. And when Wu Meng displayed that profiling talent, he was even more impressed. So, at Shao’s suggestion, we brought Wu Meng out of the psychiatric hospital.”

No wonder Xiao Liu always gave me that weird look in the early days. Now it all makes sense—I was at the heart of a battle between two sides. Honestly, it doesn’t feel good at all. Anyone would be angry if they realized they were being kept in the dark.

Xiao Liu kept talking. “Shao had two thoughts—first, the killer might target Wu Meng, so we could investigate from that angle. And second, we could ensure Wu Meng’s safety, so he wouldn’t get hurt again.”

“Whoever you really are,” Xiao Liu suddenly said, staring at us, “you should thank Team Leader Shao. If not for him, Wu Meng, you’d probably have ended up like one of the mental patients. Joining our team kept Wu Zui from getting at you directly. Of course, back then we hadn’t figured out who Shi Huacheng’s other kids were, or that you two were twins, or that Wu Meng was one of his adopted children.”

“So you were kept safe, and we started investigating Shi Huacheng’s kids, using you as the center point.” Xiao Liu went on, “Each case solved just made Shao more confident he was closing in on Wu Zui. Pretty soon, I developed a habit—after Wu Meng joined, I started buying lottery tickets, year after year without fail.”

“Shao made up a backstory for me and played his role to perfection. To be honest, I was the undercover operative all along—this weakness was crafted by Shao himself, who used to be Shi Huacheng’s own disciple. He knows all Shi Huacheng’s tricks, his weakness… A person’s greatest weakness.”

Xiao Liu grinned. “So you’d never guess—the lottery thing was fake. The whole point was to get your attention. When we were handling Liu Yinyan’s case, I originally planned to approach you directly, but Wu Meng beat me to it. That only delayed things a bit. That was the first time you ever truly stood before us, and from then on, your fate was sealed. You even gave your own name then, and we thought it was just a random alias to target Wu Meng. Turned out you really were brothers.”

“But finally, here we are, face-to-face.” Xiao Liu sighed. “We never expected you to be this capable, though. You got all your people out, every last one of them. After that, Shao suspected a mole among us. Without one, there’s no way you could have dodged every move we made.”

“That’s when Shao started laying low. He needed time to flush out the traitor. Our Special Investigation Team operated in the open, your group worked from the shadows. That gave you the upper hand.” Xiao Liu’s intense stare made it feel like he was seeing right through all of us.

Xiao Liu shifted in his seat. “That’s why I was left behind—to act greedy, bait you into the trap. After Liu Yinyan’s case, the higher-ups lost confidence in our team, so we got reassigned locally. Normally, I’d have gone with them, but Shao pulled me aside and told me this was our big chance—a golden opportunity.”

Xiao Liu shrugged. “So I joined Captain Li’s team. Being doubted by everyone wasn’t easy, but I’ve weathered worse. Shao trusted me with this job, and with support from both him and Captain Li, I gradually worked my way up.”

“Funny thing is, Shao and Captain Li used to be bunkmates—even close enough to share a pair of pants.” Xiao Liu laughed. “But they always act like they can’t stand each other. While Li’s not quite as sharp as Shao, he’s still a stand-up guy, never one to kick someone when they’re down.”

Xiao Liu carried on, “While the team handled cases locally, Wu Zui finally started targeting me. After some back-and-forth, we started working together, in a way. Of course, neither of us really trusted the other, so how do you build trust? That’s when Shao came up with an idea.”

“Let Wu Meng become a murderer.” Xiao Liu’s satisfaction was palpable. “After I discussed it with Wu Zui’s informant, Wu Zui went for it. It was the best gift I could give him—it built trust between us, made me seem greedy and easy to manipulate. Plus, it let the Special Investigation Team fade from view. Once Wu Meng was forced underground, we could send other members of the team in. But Wu Meng’s unpredictable—he went off-script and ended up with Zhao Mingkun.”

Xiao Liu shook his head, exasperated. “Things went a little off course, but this turned out better than expected. With this plan, Team Leader Shao could catch both Zhao Mingkun and Wu Zui in one fell swoop. It took longer, but the plan had another crucial element. Since it’s that important, I’ll save it for last.”

He deliberately left us hanging, refusing to spell it out.

“So, Wu Meng, don’t be so naive as to think we couldn’t catch you. Plenty of times, it was Team Leader Shao who told us to let you go. We needed to let the line out, bait the bigger fish. We even warned you about the mole over and over, but you still underestimated the people around you.”

Xiao Liu looked a little let down. “You’re still too young. You kept thinking that note was talking about me, thinking I was the mole. But it was all a front. Whether you figured it out or not, it didn’t change the ending.”

Listening to Xiao Liu, I suddenly remembered how he gave up chasing me in the sewer, the warning note in my pocket, and Sister Mao’s warning about the mole written on that hundred-yuan bill. So it was all under Xiao Liu’s—or rather, Team Leader Shao’s—control.

All this time, when I thought the Special Investigation Team had fallen apart—when everyone thought it had fallen apart—it was all part of Team Leader Shao’s plan.

It’s a battle of wits and nerve. Every little detail, every move that seemed unimportant, ended up deciding who would win in the end.