Chapter 75: Brother Lei Has Disappeared

“Liu Gang…that bastard Liu Gang!”

In the interrogation room, Zheng Liangchen’s voice squeezed through clenched teeth, every word dripping with venom.

He jerked his head up, fixing his gaze on Chen Yu, and barked out,

“Boss, I know! I fucking know!”

“The real murderer must be that mutt, Liu Gang!”

“Oh?”

Chen Yu raised an eyebrow, the reaction even more entertaining than he’d expected.

He mused to himself that with acting skills like Zheng Liangchen’s, it was a waste he wasn’t working as an extra in Hengdian. That expression, that tone—if he didn’t already know Zheng was just a scumbag living off his wife’s money and chasing women, he might have believed he was a grieving husband righteously accusing his wife’s killer.

Pathetic.

Chen Yu glanced at the data panel only he could see hovering before his eyes.

[Favorability: 20 (Awe)]
[Purity: -10010 (Heh, heh, heh)]

This poor fool probably hadn’t even figured out why he was sitting here. He thought himself a hero for pointing out the killer, not realizing that in Chen Yu’s eyes, he was just a hammer to crack open a tougher nut—a tool, and a brittle one at that.

Chen Yu’s thoughts raced, but his face remained unreadable as he asked slowly, “You two…don’t seem to know each other, do you?”

“How did you come to hate each other so much?”

He spoke lightly, as if making small talk, but the question struck directly at Zheng Liangchen’s sore spot.

“Bah! That bastard!” Zheng spat.

“Liu Gang is Zhang Luoluo’s lover!”

“Those two dogs thought I didn’t know! Hah! What secrets can’t be discovered in this world? How could they possibly hide it from me?”

His voice was thick with the rage of a cuckold, but there was an undertone of sick excitement.

“Hmm? Her lover?” Chen Yu feigned surprise, turning his head to exchange a glance with Yan Zheng beside him.

Yan Zheng’s eternally stern face furrowed even deeper.

Clearly, this revelation had caught him off guard as well.

During the police investigation, there had never been any indication that Zhang Luoluo and Liu Gang had anything more than a normal relationship.

Gaining the attention of these two “bosses” only spurred Zheng Liangchen on. He leaned forward, spittle flying, eager to elaborate.

“That’s right! Her lover! They must have started their affair recently! That whore, Zhang Luoluo, has been going out at night all the time lately, claiming it was for some girls’ night out. Looking back, it’s obvious she was meeting Liu Gang!”

He slapped his thigh, the picture of regret.

“Just a couple days ago! I happened to stay home during the day for once—thought I’d, you know, rekindle things with my wife, have a little alone time…”

“But she reacted so violently! Said I disgusted her, slammed the door, and left!”

As Zheng recalled, his face twisted with bitterness. “Right then, I knew something was off! Why? I bust my ass entertaining people all day, and when I want a little affection at home, she gives me attitude?”

“So I followed her in secret!”

“And guess what?” He deliberately paused, eyes darting between Chen Yu and Yan Zheng, savoring the thrill of holding the key information.

Chen Yu frowned. He hated story-telling theatrics like this.

Sensing Chen Yu’s impatience, Zheng Liangchen quickly coughed and continued,

“She…she went to meet Liu Gang in broad daylight!”

“The two of them, sneaking into some cheap motel! Drew the curtains! Stayed there for hours! Fuck!”

He practically roared the last word, the veins bulging in his neck.

The air grew thick and still.

Only Zheng Liangchen’s labored breathing echoed in the room.

After a moment, Chen Yu asked, enunciating each word, “When did this happen?”

“The day before Zhang Luoluo was killed!” Zheng blurted out without thinking.

That…

Chen Yu whipped his head around to look at Yan Zheng, who had been silent the whole time.

This timing!

It matched perfectly with Yan Zheng’s earlier report about Zhang Luoluo and Liu Gang meeting in a surveillance blind spot.

Yan Zheng’s expression darkened, and for the first time, he looked at Zheng Liangchen with something like scrutiny.

“What else do you know?” Chen Yu’s voice dropped, heavy with pressure.

“Hmph!” Zheng seemed to sense something was amiss, but tried to steer the conversation in his favor, hoping to show off his “cleverness.”

“That idiot Zhang Luoluo thought I didn’t know? She secretly installed ***** at home, hoping to catch me cheating, kick me out, and shack up with Liu Gang!”

“Like I’d fall for that? At home, I’m the perfect husband—nothing for her to use against me! She wants dirt on me? In her next life!”

“I didn’t ask about that!”

Chen Yu shut down his self-serving rant. This fool still hadn’t realized that every one of his dirty secrets had already been stripped bare before the police.

“What else do you know about Liu Gang, aside from the motel?”

“I… I do know something!” Zheng Liangchen stammered, startled by Chen Yu’s powerful presence.

Even Chen Yu was caught off guard by that answer.

“I’ve known Liu Gang for a while!” Zheng blurted, talking fast to calm his nerves. “He…he often hangs out at Brother Lei’s place! The most famous den in River City! We even drank together a few years ago!”

“What?” Chen Yu’s eyes narrowed.

Yan Zheng, behind him, jolted upright, his body tense.

“Liu Gang can afford to party at Brother Lei’s place?” Chen Yu pressed, incredulous.

A regular research institute employee, someone who had spent all his and his sister’s savings trying to find his wife’s killer—how could he afford that place?

A single bottle there might cost him a year’s salary.

“He and Brother Lei are really close!” Zheng Liangchen was clearly enjoying the policemen’s shock, feeling a shred of pride.

“Whenever he goes, Liu Gang never pays! Brother Lei personally hosts him! It’s insane!”

“Liu Gang…is close with Brother Lei?”

Chen Yu was stunned.

So was Yan Zheng, the seasoned fox. Both men’s minds spun furiously.

This was the most earth-shattering, crucial information they’d heard all day.

“That’s right!” Zheng kept rattling off details, desperate to prove he was telling the truth. “I’ve heard Liu Gang, drunk, brag that he and Brother Lei have been friends for over ten years! Life-and-death buddies!”

Chen Yu glanced again at Zheng’s data panel.

[Heart rate: 65 (steady)]
[Favorability: 20 (Awe)]

No fluctuations.

He…wasn’t lying!

A heavy silence fell over the interrogation room.

Zheng Liangchen finally sensed the shift in mood. He didn’t dare say another word, glancing in confusion and fear from Chen Yu to Yan Zheng.

He had no idea what, if anything, he’d said wrong, or why the two officers’ faces had become so grim.

Yan Zheng leaned back, brow furrowed into an intractable knot.

So did Chen Yu.

His mind raced at unprecedented speed.

Liu Gang and Brother Lei.

By every measure—status, wealth, social circle—they should have been two lines that never crossed. How could they possibly be “old friends” of over a decade?

It made no sense. None at all.

Unless…

A name flashed through Chen Yu’s mind.

Luo Xiangdong!

The only possibility was through Luo Xiangdong as an intermediary.

According to records, Brother Lei worked for Dong Zhan, Luo Xiangdong’s business partner.

So, as Luo’s brother-in-law, Liu Gang could plausibly know Brother Lei through that connection.

But!

Chen Yu’s eyes sharpened.

There’s a world of difference between “knowing” and “being close enough to never pay and be personally hosted.”

Who was Brother Lei? The underground emperor of River City—a ruthless overlord.

Even a wealthy son-in-law like Zheng Liangchen was just a dog to be used at his whim.

Men like him believed in one thing only: profit.

Someone with no value would be invisible to them—let alone be personally entertained, or have a friendship spanning a decade.

Liu Gang must hold some irreplaceable value for Brother Lei.

But what?

Clearly, the old fox Yan Zheng had reached the same conclusion.

Chen Yu didn’t even need to look back to feel the murderous tension radiating from Yan Zheng.

The head of the city’s investigative squad didn’t hesitate. He calmly picked up his phone and quickly dialed a number.

The line rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

…

No answer.

Yan Zheng’s frown deepened. He dialed again.

Still, only the endless ringing.

“Captain Yan!”

Chen Yu broke the silence. “Something’s wrong. I’ll try to find him!”

Yan Zheng looked up, meeting Chen Yu’s gaze.

In his eyes was surprise, suspicion, but ultimately, understanding and trust.

He didn’t ask how Chen Yu would do it, or what connections he had.

This young man was full of secrets, but at this moment, Yan Zheng chose to trust him.

Chen Yu said no more. He turned, a gentle smile replacing his earlier sternness, and addressed the still-bewildered Zheng Liangchen.

“All right, Mr. Zheng, that’s all for today. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“You’re free to go.”

With that, he strode out of the interrogation room without looking back.

Outside in the courtyard, the cool afternoon breeze finally eased the heat in his mind.

He took out his phone and, without hesitation, dialed the number saved as “White Moonlight.”

The call was quickly answered.

“What’s this? Missing me already?”

Li Qing’s languid, sweet voice purred through the receiver, like a cat’s paw teasing his heart.

Chen Yu frowned slightly.

The background was noisy—music thumping, laughter from men and women. Clearly, the undercover agent everyone mistook for a call girl was not quietly resting in a hotel room at the moment.

“Where are you?” Chen Yu blurted.

“Oh, checking up on me, Detective Chen?” Li Qing teased, her voice laced with seductive mischief.

“Enough!”

Chen Yu cut her off, suddenly deadly serious.

“This is important. Can you help me find Brother Lei?”

On the other end, Li Qing’s laughter stopped abruptly.

Sharp as ever, she heard the gravity in his voice.

She knew Chen Yu was at the city’s investigative unit. With Yan Zheng on the case, there shouldn’t be anyone in River City they couldn’t find.

Unless…something had happened that even they couldn’t handle.

After a brief pause, Li Qing’s voice regained its composure.

“I’m actually singing in a private room at Brother Lei’s place right now, but I haven’t seen him.”

“Hold on, I’ll go ask his guys.”

With that, she decisively hung up.

Chen Yu stood in the courtyard, phone in hand, half amused and half helpless.

That woman really knew how to enjoy life—who else would go to a karaoke bar alone for fun?

He was about to turn and discuss next steps with Yan Zheng when his phone buzzed violently in his pocket.

The caller ID: “White Moonlight.”

“So fast?” Chen Yu was surprised—it had been barely a minute.

Gone was the teasing, the calm. Now, the voice on the other end was breathless, anxious, even frightened.

“It’s bad, Chen Yu!”

“Brother Lei…”

“Brother Lei…is missing!”