Chapter 85: Persuading Liu Gang
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The mornings in River City always carried a faint, elusive briny dampness—the unique scent of every seaside city.
On the television station square in the city center, white doves cooed and flapped their wings, scavenging the remnants of vomit left behind by last night’s drunken wanderers. The hurried office workers, faces stripped of vitality by sleeplessness, paid this scene no mind, their expressions etched with numbness toward life.
A man sat abruptly on a bench in the square.
He wore a faded T-shirt and cheap shorts, his feet clad in sneakers on the verge of falling apart, a bulging backpack slung at his side. Grease from the greasy breakfast pancake dripped down his chin, but he seemed oblivious, lost in thought as he stared at the towering television station building before him.
His gaze held exhaustion, anxiety, resentment, but most of all, a madness born of desperation.
He was Liu Gang.
On his wrist, a cheap digital watch flashed the numbers: eight fifteen.
The person he was waiting for should arrive soon. The man from the Land of Cherry Blossoms, famed for solving any mystery, would soon be participating in the program.
Liu Gang shoved the last bite of his pancake into his mouth, swallowing as if it were a hot iron, his Adam’s apple working painfully.
He stood, preparing to walk toward the building that would decide his fate.
Just then—
A voice rang out behind him, languid and irreverent, with a hint of cynicism.
“That slick, preening little runt—smiles like he’s lost his mother, that bootlicker from the Land of Cherry Blossoms—he won’t help you.”
“Liu Gang!”
The voice was not loud, yet it pierced Liu Gang’s eardrums like a steel needle.
He froze.
He whipped around, his pupils contracting.
A tall young man stood not far behind him, hands in his pockets, a roguish smile on his lips, his eyes shining with unsettling brightness.
“Chen Yu?”
Liu Gang’s brows furrowed, wary.
“Are you following me?”
Chen Yu pursed his lips.
“If I had the leisure, I’d rather be back at the hotel, cuddling my beautiful lady for another nap.” He yawned, stretched lazily. “Dragged out at four, five in the morning by the old geezer from the squad, spent half the night interrogating suspects—my eyelids are about to fuse together. You think I have the energy for a stalking game?”
His words carried much information, though Liu Gang only grasped their surface meaning.
His face darkened further. “So you’re here to find me?”
“Well, not too dull after all.” Chen Yu commended, then strolled leisurely to the bench Liu Gang had just vacated and sat down.
“Hmph!” Liu Gang snorted, his gaze cutting like a knife.
“If you brought the agents, I’ll go back with you right now! But if you’re alone... then I have no time for you!”
Without another glance at Chen Yu, Liu Gang turned and strode away, determined to escape this suffocating place as quickly as possible.
Yet Chen Yu didn’t rise to stop him. He crossed his legs and spoke calmly to Liu Gang’s retreating back:
“Brother Lei is dead.”
Hm?
Liu Gang’s right foot, just about to step forward, hung suspended in midair.
The cooing of doves and the distant honking of cars seemed to vanish in that instant.
Liu Gang’s entire world echoed with those four words:
Brother... Lei... is... dead...
He turned, inch by inch, his face drained of color, lips trembling, unable to utter a sound.
Chen Yu watched him with patient amusement, as if enjoying a silent drama.
“Last night, Brother Lei died in the interrogation room of the city investigation squad.” Chen Yu’s voice deepened, cold and sharp.
“Because of you!”
Boom!
Liu Gang jerked his head up, meeting Chen Yu’s chilling gaze, an icy dread seeping through him, making him shudder uncontrollably.
“I... I don’t understand what you’re saying!”
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He finally found his voice, stammering his reply.
“Heh.” Chen Yu sneered.
“It doesn’t matter. Someone like you—your humanity’s nearly worn away—other people’s lives mean nothing to you.”
He waved dismissively, continuing.
“I’m here today to kindly tell you one thing. I know you’re about to ask Sanada Koichiro to help investigate your wife’s case.”
“But let me remind you—”
Chen Yu paused, looking at Liu Gang’s pale face, and spoke deliberately:
“He won’t help you.”
“Your trip will be in vain.”
“Why?” Liu Gang blurted.
It was exactly what Chen Yu wanted.
“Why?”
“Because that little bootlicker from the Land of Cherry Blossoms is busy groveling before River City’s richest man, Zhang Fu!”
“He took a sky-high commission from Zhang Fu to investigate the case of his daughter, Zhang Luoluo, who was gutted.”
“And Zhang Luoluo... weren’t you the one who killed her?”
Chen Yu’s voice was calm, yet it struck Liu Gang like a heavy blow.
“The logic is simple—a child could understand. As long as the real killer of Zhang Luoluo remains at large, Sanada Koichiro will pour all his energy into this case. He has neither the time nor the inclination to help you dredge up a cold case from over a decade ago.”
“Understand, Mr. Murderer?”
“Hmph!” Liu Gang snorted again, but this time, his laugh was tinged with guilt.
“I know why you’re here. No need to try and trick me! If you have evidence, arrest me now!”
“Purpose?” Chen Yu chuckled, as if he’d heard something absurd.
“Liu Gang, have you misunderstood something? My purpose has always been simple.”
He sobered, his gaze deepening.
“I just... don’t want to see you making a fool of yourself at the television station.”
“Of course, if you insist that I have a personal motive...”
A gentle, graceful figure flashed through Chen Yu’s mind.
“It’s that I don’t want you to squander your sister Liu Hong’s hard-earned money anymore.”
“She... has suffered enough.”
“What’s it to you?!”
Mention of Liu Hong made Liu Gang lash out as if his tail had been stepped on, roaring at Chen Yu.
“Tsk, tsk.” Chen Yu shook his head, his face showing a trace of pity.
“Liu Gang, I truly think your greatest failure is to your sister.”
He ignored Liu Gang’s question, speaking for himself.
“All these years, in pursuit of your wife’s revenge, you spent all your savings, sold off your family assets, and shamelessly drained every cent from your sister.”
“But what has it gotten you? What have you found?”
“Have you ever, late at night, laid a hand on your heart and thought about what your sister has sacrificed for you?”
“Hiring a detective—that’s a good idea, money moves mountains, right?”
Chen Yu’s tone was laced with irony.
“But you’ve forgotten, Liu Gang! Fifteen years ago, it wasn’t just your wife who died! Your sister’s husband, Luo Xiangdong, was lost too!”
“She gave you all her money, all her hope, to pursue your wife’s case. But what about her? Who will help her investigate her missing husband, now reduced to a pile of bones after years of disappearance?”
“Over a decade!”
Chen Yu’s voice soared.
“She waited alone in that empty home, hoping for her husband’s return, growing from a vibrant young woman into a middle-aged lady with weary lines at her eyes!”
“She never asked for help, never sought anyone to investigate her husband’s disappearance!”
“All for whom?!”
“For you, her useless brother who hides behind her, sucking her blood, gnawing her flesh!”
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“If you weren’t so wasteful—if you’d thought of your sister—wouldn’t she wish to spend some money herself, hire a proper detective, and seek the truth of her husband’s death?”
“She wants to! She dreams of it!”
Chen Yu sprang from the bench, advancing step by step toward Liu Gang, his gaze murderous.
“Your sister gave you the money meant to search for her husband!”
“And you—”
“You took her money, soaked in her tears and hope, to kill another innocent girl!”
Chen Yu’s words became thunderous judgment.
“Liu Gang! Does your heart not ache?!”
Each word stabbed into Liu Gang’s chest like a burning blade.
He stood, stunned.
He knew these truths—better than anyone.
But hatred, like a demon whispering in his ear for fifteen years, tempted and corrupted him, leading him willingly into the abyss.
Until today.
He could no longer tell if he was man or ghost.
As Liu Gang’s face fell into desolation, the coldness in Chen Yu’s eyes melted into mockery.
He knew—the time was ripe.
“You must know clearly,” Chen Yu’s voice returned to its earlier calm.
“Though I don’t yet have the evidence to nail you outright, I know—you are the true murderer of Zhang Luoluo.”
He stared into Liu Gang’s eyes, asking slowly:
“How do you find my skills?”
“You... how...” Liu Gang echoed like a man in a dream.
Yes.
This Chen Yu was like a devil who knew all. He saw through every scheme, peeled aside every disguise, even exposed Liu Gang’s deepest guilt and pain to daylight.
Such skill...
More than ‘not bad.’
It was terrifying.
“If you think my detective abilities are acceptable...”
A roguish smile returned to Chen Yu’s lips.
“Why not let me handle your wife’s case? Free of charge!”
“You...” Liu Gang’s eyes widened, disbelief written across his pupils.
He hadn’t expected, after being eviscerated by Chen Yu’s words, to hear such an offer.
“I told you,” Chen Yu spread his hands.
“That bootlicker from the Land of Cherry Blossoms will never have the time to help you, unless... you can offer more than Zhang Fu’s reward.”
He looked Liu Gang up and down, scoffing at his shabby attire.
“But... do you think that’s possible?”
“As for me—”
“I can help you for free!”
“And also...”
The smile vanished from Chen Yu’s face.
He leaned close to Liu Gang’s ear, whispering a final sentence meant only for them.
“I already know—”
“Fifteen years ago, the killer who took your wife’s life—”
“Who it was!”