In the autopsy room, wearing gloves, Ling Lie examined the deceased’s muscles in detail, agreeing with Ji Chenjiao’s assessment. “Looking at it this way, the loser in this three-way game is Yu Qin. She got desperate.”

Ji Chenjiao: “On the surface, she was actually the least affected.”

Ling Lie: “But compared to Yu Qianming, she is someone with a future. Having a future means having a burden. Yu Qianming only seeks to sever ties with ‘Floating Light’ so his faction can retreat and survive, but Yu Qin wants to obtain a prosperous Yu Group.”

Ji Chenjiao said, “Our people are already watching Yu Qin. It depends on her next move.”

Ling Lie said, “If we don’t leave her a crack, she might not reveal a flaw.”

Ji Chenjiao understood what Ling Lie meant, but when he looked into Ling Lie’s eyes, he suddenly caught a trace of imperceptible unfamiliarity.

A little later, Liang Wenxian sent news from Ruilan City. Following the plan, he revealed details of the investigation into Luo Manchai’s case to Fu Huizhi, omitting the “Feng Shui Fish” part and only mentioning that Fu Chixun had contact with the party that hired the hitman. Various signs indicated that Fu Chixun was the one who “intercepted” the target.

Fu Huizhi nearly fainted from anger. He went from initial disbelief to cursing Fu Chixun as an ungrateful wretch, begging the police to uncover the facts and punish him severely.

Liang Wenxian then revealed another matter the Major Crimes Unit had uncovered—Fu Chixun was Fu Huizhi’s illegitimate son.

Fu Huizhi’s face turned pale, likely sensing that his past sins could no longer be hidden. He beat his chest and stomped his feet, lamenting that he shouldn’t have had a moment of pity back then and should have just let Fu Chixun die.

Liang Wenxian probed indirectly about “Floating Light” because he had discussed it with Ji Chenjiao before coming to Ruilan City. Although the Zhui Ting Group was slightly smaller than the Yu Group, both were business giants and very likely targeted by “Floating Light.”

Furthermore, Fu Chixun had dealings with “Floating Light.” It was unlikely to be Fu Chixun’s own network; he wasn’t qualified yet.

So perhaps “Floating Light” had long been collaborating with the Zhui Ting Group, and Fu Chixun was just the errand boy. The ones truly making deals with “Floating Light” were the people at the very top. And Fu Huizhi happened to be the second-in-command.

Sure enough, upon hearing “Floating Light,” Fu Huizhi immediately became vigilant and denied ever hearing of it. But his reaction had already betrayed him.

Liang Wenxian didn’t ask further. His stance wasn’t important to the Major Crimes Unit, but it was crucial for Fu Chixun.

In the interrogation room, as soon as Ji Chenjiao informed Fu Chixun of Fu Huizhi’s attitude, Fu Chixun was enraged.

He originally appeared to be a gentle, mature man with great poise, but that was merely the result of suppressing anger and hatred for a long time. At this moment, learning that Fu Huizhi not only regretted not killing him but also refused to admit his relationship with “Floating Light,” his rage finally broke through the shackles.

“He’s bullshitting! He’s the most vicious one! He killed my mother and made me lose all my relatives! He should have just killed me back then! Dumping me in a side branch to serve his useless sons! He is a murderer! A rapist!”

Fu Chixun panted heavily and laughed strangely. “What, at this point, he still wants to use me as a shield? Good, good, very good. Didn’t you want to know why I was with ‘Grey Peacock’? Because I am the liaison between Zhui Ting and ‘Floating Light’!”

Fu Chixun’s eyes bulged, the whites filled with ferocious blood vessels. “Fu Huizhi made me do it! Zhui Ting collaborates with ‘Floating Light.’ ‘Grey Peacock’ helps Zhui Ting eliminate people they want eliminated, and that genius on ‘Floating Light’s’ dark web erases traces of Zhui Ting’s economic crimes. As long as Zhui Ting pays, ‘Floating Light’ can do anything!”

“Fu Huizhi rarely shows his face himself; he always has me contact ‘Grey Peacock’! I know why he ‘trusts’ me so much—because if something goes wrong, he can silence me immediately! But he didn’t expect that I could also use the opportunity of approaching ‘Grey Peacock’ to ask ‘Grey Peacock’ to do things for me!”

Ji Chenjiao took out a screenshot from the video. “Who is ‘Grey Peacock’?”

Fu Chixun pointed at Bai Lingxue.

Ji Chenjiao asked again, “What about ‘Nasheng’?”

“This one.” He pointed to the tall, dark-skinned man. Comparing this with Miss Xixi’s testimony, “Nasheng” was the tenant Na Sheng.

Ji Chenjiao asked, “Did you know ‘Grey Peacock’ was finding a ‘Feng Shui Fish’ for Yu Qianming?”

Fu Chixun was silent for a while this time, probably knowing he couldn’t escape punishment, and nodded. “When ‘Floating Light’ wants to take someone out, they use a fake motive to cover the real one. When Fu Huizhi told me to force Luo Manchai to commit suicide, I decided to kill her.”

Ji Chenjiao frowned as he listened, but Fu Chixun laughed. “Officer Ji, do you think I’m cruel and vicious? But isn’t Fu Huizhi ten thousand times more vicious than me? His son couldn’t stand his pressure and committed suicide, so he wanted to find a healthy woman and force her to commit suicide to accompany his son in the afterlife, claiming it was the Fu family’s tradition of monogamous virtue. I spit on that!”

“Luo Manchai was at the peak of her career. Isn’t forcing her to commit suicide crueler than just killing her? I hired someone to kill her; I was helping her. Fortunately, Fu Huizhi asked me to handle this, otherwise she really would have been driven to despair and suicide!”

“I’ve been in contact with ‘Floating Light’ for a long time. Although I’m not close with ‘Grey Peacock,’ my relationship with ‘Nasheng’ is pretty good. I asked him to help me kill Luo Manchai. Later I found out they were looking for a ‘Feng Shui Fish’ for Yu Qianming, so Luo Manchai logically became this ‘Feng Shui Fish’.”

Ji Chenjiao processed Fu Chixun’s words in his mind—when “Floating Light” kills someone, they use a fake motive to cover the real one. This perfectly matched the deduction he and Ling Lie had made not long ago: Luo Manchai and Yong Huihao, who were “Feng Shui Fish,” died for other reasons.

“What about Yong Huihao?” Ji Chenjiao asked. “Do you know this person?”

Fu Chixun looked a bit blank. “Never heard of him.”

“When did Zhui Ting start collaborating with ‘Floating Light’?”

“Two years ago, Fu Huizhi sent me to contact ‘Floating Light.’ I’m not clear about anytime earlier than that.”

Fu Chixun hated Zhui Ting. He answered all of Ji Chenjiao’s questions regarding the transactions between “Floating Light” and Zhui Ting without reservation, and even confessed that Zhui Ting provided “Floating Light” with money laundering and smuggling conveniences. This was a major economic case, and Ji Chenjiao immediately reported the clues to Xie Qing.

“My sentence won’t be too heavy, right?” After confessing, Fu Chixun looked at Ji Chenjiao with a relaxed demeanor. “I hired a hitman, and I served as a claw for Fu Huizhi for several years, but I also showed merit by cooperating.”

Ji Chenjiao stood in front of the interrogation table looking down at him, seeing him suddenly lower his head and hastily wipe the corner of his eye.

Based on the clues provided by Fu Chixun and the details of cooperation that Yu Qianming confessed one after another, the police gradually grasped “Floating Light’s” business model within the country—on the surface, they were the “knives” of these wealthy families and large corporations, eliminating people they wanted gone. But as they gathered more secrets, their relationship with the wealthy families became equal, or even superior.

They relied on these large enterprises to advance step by step within the country, using them to engage in criminal activities such as money laundering. If they developed further, they would likely erode power and replace them.

That was why Yu Qianming was determined to sever the link between the Yu Group and “Floating Light” before he died.

As for smaller companies, “Floating Light” merely used them, like Xiao Yishun in Feng City.

Of the names provided by Yu Qianming and Fu Chixun, three were entrepreneurs who had mysteriously been murdered earlier. The cases of the entrepreneurs were being investigated by the Special Action Team. After communicating with Shen Xun, Ji Chenjiao learned that the Special Action Team also possessed some clues about “Floating Light’s” crimes.

Combining the clues, those entrepreneurs had more or less affected the development of wealthy families like the Yu Group and were erased by “Floating Light’s” hitmen.

The police had not publicly disclosed that they were investigating the Yu Group. Although there were many rumors within the group and some projects were paused, such a massive conglomerate still maintained a facade of healthy operation.

Yu Qin worked every day and increased the frequency of her media appearances. She seemed to deliberately want everyone to see what she was doing. Some media interpreted her frequent appearances as a sign that Yu Qianming was dying and she was aggressively suppressing his faction.

“Floating Light” seemed to have faded completely from the city. Zhuo Suyi disappeared, and “Nasheng” and Bai Lingxue were nowhere to be found.

But Ling Lie was like a cheetah waiting for a storm. He knew they definitely hadn’t disappeared and were waiting somewhere for the real main event.

If Bai Lingxue was A-Xue, then the matters between him and A-Xue shouldn’t involve others.

Yin Hanshan and Yu Qin were also inextricably linked to him.

More importantly, Xiao Ji—his Xiao Ji.

If Yu Qianming had already sensed Ji Chenjiao’s identity was suspicious, Yu Qin might have sensed it too. Would Yu Qin make a move on Ji Chenjiao?

He had to snuff out that possibility right at the start.

Although he promised Ji Chenjiao not to act alone, Ling Lie looked at his reflection in the glass and thought: This time is an exception.

Yu Qin sat in her spacious office, holding an almost brand-new phone. Ever since discovering that “Floating Light” was using her, she understood that “Grey Peacock” had long seen through her purpose for joining “Floating Light.” Her cooperation with “Floating Light” was completely broken, but a cunning rabbit has three burrows; her partners weren’t limited to “Floating Light,” and the dark web she could utilize was certainly not just “Floating Light.”

A line of information appeared in the dialogue box.

[They performed two tests. The first was a paternity test using your DNA; the second was a kinship test using Yu Qianming’s DNA.]

Yu Qin’s jawline tightened, and she almost smashed the phone.

In that gray appraisal center, Assistant Xiao Jun stuffed his phone into his white coat, looked left and right, and left the empty corridor.

Yu Qin calmed down, closed her eyes, and calculated rapidly in her mind. That Ling Lie went as far as doing paternity and kinship tests meant he already had a judgment in his heart. The test results were merely to support or refute his judgment.

Yu Qin’s gaze gradually turned vicious. She hadn’t expected that the tiny child Yu Qianming brought back all those years ago would bring her so much trouble.

If she had known…

Yu Qin opened the safe and took out a sealed box. Inside lay a gun manufactured in Country E.

Not long ago, the same gun had disposed of a useless waste who failed a task and left behind footage. Now, she was going to personally deal with the real calamity.

When Yu Qianming died, she would still be the master of this behemoth, the Yu Group. She had struggled for half a lifetime; she couldn’t fall because of a little police officer of unknown origin!

The Major Crimes Unit was in a meeting. Ling Lie didn’t attend. His phone suddenly vibrated; no number was displayed. He looked at it for two seconds, went to the corridor, answered, but didn’t speak.

The other side didn’t speak either, but the sound of breathing was audible.

Ling Lie waited quietly with one hand in his pocket.

Suddenly, Yu Qin’s voice came through. “Xiao Ge.”

Ling Lie frowned instinctively.

“Do you want to know about your partner’s background?” Yu Qin said. “Come find me, and I’ll tell you the truth.”

In one of the busiest corners of Xiarong City, Bai Lingxue hid within the surging crowd and smiled. The good show he had been waiting for was finally about to begin.

Yu Qin chose a place the police would never expect—the closed North Zone of the Rongmei Rehabilitation Center. Some of the Chaoxia County police force was deployed at Rongmei, and investigations targeting Zhan Jun and the medical staff were still ongoing. Countless eyes were watching this place. She was practically demonstrating with action: the most dangerous place is the safest place.

Ling Lie arrived at Rongmei. The police force was concentrated in the South Zone, which was admitting patients normally. The gate to the North Zone, separated by the long bridge over the artificial lake, was tightly shut, with police tape blocking one end of the bridge.

But if one insisted on getting in, a way could always be found.

Ling Lie circled to Gate 4 of the North Zone. This gate was small, facing a back alley, and was rarely opened even before the North Zone closed. He tried pushing the iron gate, and it opened. He looked up at the surveillance camera above; it wasn’t working.

Yu Qin said to meet in the North Zone of Rongmei but didn’t specify the location. Ling Lie stood inside Gate 4. The flowerbed ahead was overgrown with weeds nourished by the early autumn rain because no one managed it.

It looked like an abandoned, yet frenzied “paradise.”

Ling Lie walked past the weeds and picked up his phone, predicting he would receive a call from Yu Qin soon. Wasting energy searching for someone—likely more than one person—in such a large park was less effective than quietly waiting for the other party to get impatient.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, the phone rang. Ling Lie said, “I’m here.”

Yu Qin laughed. “I’m waiting for you in Building 7.”

Building 7. The structural map of the North Zone floated before Ling Lie’s eyes. It was a building in the center of the North Zone, the tallest one. The lower floors were the physical examination department, and the upper floors were the VIP service department. According to the altar structure of Mikelan Island, Building 7 was equivalent to the center of the altar.

Ling Lie looked at Building 7 from a distance, hung up the call, and walked over.

The original seal on the outside of the building had been removed. The power was out, and the first floor was pitch black. Only a sliver of skylight from the window at the end of the long corridor penetrated in, like a lifeless coffin.

The building was eerily quiet; almost the only thing Ling Lie could hear was his own footsteps.

Suddenly, he turned sideways and looked behind him. There was no one else in the gloomy corridor; what stood there was his own shadow cast on the wall.

He continued forward.

The elevators weren’t working, and no one would want to take them in this situation anyway. Ling Lie observed the internal structure as he climbed the stairs.

Just then, the ringtone rang out abruptly again, sounding like a death knell in this semi-dark environment.

Yu Qin: “I’m waiting for you in the lecture hall.”

The lecture hall, the largest room in Building 7, was located on the middle floors.

Ling Lie arrived at the door by the podium. The door was built very magnificently, like a palace door. He grasped the handle and applied a little force, and the door opened inward.

It was much brighter inside than in the corridor because one side of the lecture hall was a wall of glass. Sunlight poured in, dressing the place up like a sanctuary.

It was a pity Ling Lie had no faith and never believed in the existence of gods.

Yu Qin sat in a seat by the aisle in the last row. Her hair was still dignifiedly coiled at the back of her head, wearing makeup appropriate for her age and a gray-blue business suit, looking as if she were attending a bidding meeting.

“You’re here.” Yu Qin raised her hand in greeting.

Ling Lie took two steps forward. The magnificent door behind him closed silently, leaving only a faint click.

The door was locked.

Ling Lie glanced back, then turned to Yu Qin. “We’re locked in?”

Yu Qin laughed loudly, as if she had heard a boring joke. After laughing, her expression gradually darkened. “Xiao Ge, I’ve had a question all these years. Why didn’t you want to stay in the Yu family and insisted on being some police officer? Staying in the Yu family, you could have lived a life of luxury and done whatever you liked, just like… just like Yu Yesheng.”

Ling Lie: “President Yu, let’s not use that name to call me anymore. You know better than anyone that I am not Yu Ge.”

After a pause, Ling Lie added, “And you are not Yu Ge’s mother.”

Yu Qin frowned, stood up, and scrutinized Ling Lie across the distance of the entire lecture hall. Ling Lie looked back at her, his expression very bland, as if talking about something he didn’t care about.

Yu Qin brushed her right hand lightly on the desk and took a step down the stairs. Her high heels struck the floor loudly.

There seemed to be an added sense of oppression in the air, but Ling Lie watched her walk toward him without any extra reaction.

“Is it, or isn’t it—is that so important?” Yu Qin said. “You aren’t Yu Ge, but as long as you’re willing, you can enjoy wealth and glory as Yu Ge. Didn’t Yu Qianming verify your identity? The report states clearly: You are my own flesh and blood.”

Saying this, Yu Qin smirked. “What’s important isn’t whether it’s true or not, but the attitude of the person who ordered the test. Yu Qianming is willing to let you ‘play’ Yu Ge.”

Ling Lie smiled. “President Yu, are you inviting me back to the Yu family?”

Yu Qin stopped in the middle of the stairs and spread her hands. “If you are willing, I would welcome it very much.”

Ling Lie said, “I have a virtue I consider quite good: if it’s mine, I won’t let anyone take it away; if it’s not mine, I won’t occupy it. In this regard, President Yu, we can’t be mother and son.”

Yu Qin’s face grew cold, then she smiled again. “How much do you know?”

Ling Lie retorted, “Didn’t you say you were going to tell me the truth today?”

Yu Qin sighed. “For the sake of the years we lived together, I didn’t want to put you to death so quickly. Many people who knew the truth reincarnated long ago. Are you sure you want to hear it?”

Ling Lie leaned nonchalantly against a table, arms crossed casually over his chest, showing no air of a police officer at all. “President Yu, you should have heard an old saying.”

“What?”

“Since I’m already here.”

“…”

Yu Qin gave a harsh laugh, then said, “Xiao Ge, I’ve fulfilled a mother’s duty to warn you. You are the one who repeatedly challenged my bottom line, so don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“Mother?” Ling Lie said. “Yu Ge’s mother was killed by you long ago, wasn’t she?”

Yu Qin frowned, looking down at him condescendingly. “I never hurt her.”

“Oh?”

Yu Qin sighed and sat down again. “Alice and I were friends. The ones who truly hurt her were the Yu family, and Yu Qianming.”

“Wait a minute.” Ling Lie asked, “How did you know I had already uncovered most of the truth?”

Yu Qin: “You have yourselves to blame for that. I don’t know why you suspected Ji Chenjiao was Yu Ge, but I know you took his DNA, mine, and Yu Qianming’s for paternity and kinship tests.”