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墨書 Inktalez
In this world, every encounter is a reunion after a long separation.
As I gradually regained consciousness, I saw a familiar face.
The masked Wu Zui was sitting in front of me, and beside him stood a young man I recognized well—Jesse. He was the one who had disguised himself as a Japanese detective during the Liu Yinyan kidnapping case. I wondered where his two assistants had gone: a Japanese woman named Moriko and a mixed-race individual named Vivian.
Jesse approached and touched my neck. Although my mind was beginning to clear, my body was still not under my control; it seemed the effects of the anesthetic had not yet worn off. After feeling my neck, Jesse turned to Wu Zui and said, "No problem, he won't die."
Wu Zui nodded, stroking his mask as he spoke slowly, "Not only must he survive, but he also must not have a single scratch on him. Otherwise, our plan cannot proceed."
"Understood," Jesse replied, not bothering to hide anything from me. "Scarface has gone to prepare the explosives, Lai San is discussing matters with Liu Jian, and our plan can start at any time. Yinzi has begun hacking into Dongxing City's network system; that will take some time. Old Zhang and the rest are together to prevent exposure. Vivian is scouting the location, while Moriko is with Guan Zengbin."
Jesse spoke in detail, and Wu Zui seemed to listen with great interest. He nodded rhythmically while stroking his mask. Once Jesse finished outlining everything, Wu Zui expressed his approval: "Hmm, very good. It’s worth all the time we’ve spent planning."
"What about the three key individuals?" Wu Zui asked Jesse, tilting his head.
Jesse replied, "All three are fine."
Wu Zui agreed: "Everyone has weaknesses; each person has their own vulnerabilities. As long as we grasp these weaknesses, there’s no one in this world who cannot be tempted or manipulated. Tell everyone below that once this task is completed, each person will receive at least ten million. As for the others beneath them, they can handle it themselves."
Jesse chuckled and ran his nail along his canine tooth. "That’s quite generous—considering the operations and what you’re giving Liu Jian; it seems like it’s over a hundred million. I wonder who your benefactor really is; so far, you’ve spent more than several hundred million for that person, haven’t you?"
Wu Zui stood up and looked at Jesse. "You need to understand that in this world, what I have in abundance and what I don’t need is money. If there’s too much money, it’s just a string of numbers. You must realize that we could die at any moment; what do we need so much money for? What I want is to watch this world crumble little by little and see lives vanish in an instant—that is the meaning of my life."
Jesse pouted for a moment before saying, "I still can’t understand you. But I don’t need to understand you; we both have our own needs. However, it seems this time is quite dangerous."
Jesse left without looking back.
Wu Zui let out a cold snort.
I strained to sit up, but my limbs were numb, and I could only slightly move my head. The room was small, illuminated by a dim light bulb that cast a faint yellow glow, making the space feel cramped and oppressive.
There was no furniture in the room except for the bed I was lying on and the sofa where Wu Zui sat across from me.
I spoke up, "So Liu is really one of your people?"
Wu Zui nodded and began, "You must have guessed that long ago. I bribed Liu Jian with fifty million. I'm not sure if you noticed, but Liu Jian has a suppressed obsession with power and money. He buys a lottery ticket every afternoon, a habit he's maintained for many years. Yet according to my investigation, the biggest prize he's ever won in his life is just five dollars."
I looked at Wu Zui and said, "I know Liu values position and money. Otherwise, after the Liu Yinyan case concluded, he should have left Dongxing City with us. Instead, he became Captain Li's subordinate and is now the captain of the Qingcheng Criminal Police Team at the Dongxing City Public Security Bureau. Achieving such a position at his young age is impressive, though his methods are somewhat dirty."
Wu Zui laughed heartily and replied, "This world has been dirty from the very beginning. All original accumulation is tainted; it comes from the exploitation of countless people—it's normal for the naked to eat the naked. Liu Jian needs money, so he’s always trying to climb higher; it's just that none of you understand him."
"Understand?" I asked.
Wu Zui shrugged and asked, "I bet you don't know that Liu Jian has a sister?"
"Sister?" I questioned. "I've seen Liu Jian's household registration; he's an only child. How could he possibly have a sister?"
Wu Zui snapped his fingers and pointed at me. "And that's your lack of attention. Do you know why Liu Jian needs so much money?"
I fell into deep thought. I had never heard from Liu Jian that he had a sister, nor did I understand why Liu needed so much money. I only thought that Liu simply liked money.
Seeing that I was silent, Wu Zui continued, "Look, Wu Meng, pay attention to the details. When you buy a lottery ticket alone, what is it for? Is Liu Jian doing it for his own enjoyment? Perhaps because you all wear police uniforms, you can't see it, but you should notice that Liu Jian has been wearing the same pair of shoes for almost a year."
"If Liu Jian loves money for his own enjoyment, then wearing the same pair of shoes for a year doesn't seem like something someone who enjoys life would do." Wu Zui seemed somewhat disappointed, his tone growing somber. "So I investigated his parents. They don't have any major illnesses and are in decent health, which raises some questions."
Wu Zui sat down next to me and said, "So I conducted a deeper investigation and finally figured out why Liu Jian needs so much money. It's quite interesting; after graduating from the police academy, Liu Jian was assigned to a city as a police officer. His roommate, due to his excellent grades, was assigned to be an undercover agent. Unfortunately, being an undercover agent isn't easy. After just two years, he was exposed by a Drug Trafficking Group, and his head was left at the police station's entrance."
"They were really close," Wu Zui said. "Later on, Liu Jian took on the responsibility of caring for his friend's family. However, this friend's father suffered from skin cancer—specifically melanoma—which is a hereditary disease. This means that it's very likely that this illness could have been passed on to Liu Jian's friend or his friend's sister."
Listening to Wu Zui's words, I began to understand certain things.
"Melanoma usually can only be detected after adulthood. But if treatment is needed, the costs are not something a police officer can afford. Liu Jian's friend died young; he once told Liu Jian that being an undercover agent meant risking everything. If he died, he asked Liu Jian to take care of his parents and sister, and Liu Jian agreed."
"Not long after, the friend's father died from skin cancer. To prevent the sister from suffering the same painful fate, Liu Jian needed a large sum of money for treatment."
At this point, Wu Zui suddenly burst into laughter. "Isn't it interesting? The hereditary chance of skin cancer is about two percent. In other words, when Liu Jian's friend's sister grows up, there's actually a high likelihood that nothing will happen to her. But if it does become that two percent chance, it would be too late to raise money then."
"Interesting, right?" Wu Zui laughed louder and louder. "So starting from those years, Liu Jian has been buying a lottery ticket every time. Because he is related to an undercover agent's family, the police couldn't hold a memorial service; after all, those Drug Dealers wouldn't spare the families of undercover agents. So their family has always kept a low profile."
"How did you find out?" I asked. "Even we couldn't uncover this information internally; how did you know?"
Wu Zui raised one finger and said, "I’m not just anyone; how could you not understand?"
Wu Zui was somewhat angry. "Details, pay attention to the details. Every lottery ticket he bought had the first six numbers the same, while the last number changed with the days of the week. The first six numbers clearly represent a date, and that date is only a few years away from now. It shouldn't be a birthday, so it must be..."
"The anniversary of death," I interjected.
"Finally guessed it right," Wu Zui nodded in satisfaction. "It's the anniversary of his classmate's death. For so many years, it has never stopped. And in a few years, his sister will come of age. How long do you think it would take for a police officer to earn that much money?"
As Wu Zui spoke, I suddenly recalled what Hu Ningning had said to me not long ago: "Just like you, being a pathetic cop."
"Everyone has weaknesses. If you grasp someone's weakness, there’s no one in this world you can't deal with," Wu Zui said playfully. "So Liu Jian's weakness is this sister of his. It's ironic; you all know Liu Jian needs money but don't understand why he needs it."
Wu Zui chuckled. "For a sister with no blood relation to him, he would rather take risks and collaborate with me just to save enough money for her. Isn't humanity such an interesting thing? He can't bear to spend a dollar on bottled water for himself but can give someone else's sister fifty million in one go. Isn't that pathetic?"
As he spoke, Liu's face appeared in my mind.
I suddenly remembered Liu's words to me: "If something happens after I go in, help me buy a lottery ticket."
That was what Liu had said before he went in to rescue Liu Yinyan. At that time, I thought Liu and Wu Zui were already in cahoots, so there wouldn't be any danger. But now it seemed that back then, Liu might not have been involved with Wu Zui yet; he was genuinely risking his life.
Yet when faced with my and Gu Chen's mockery, Liu never defended himself even once. Perhaps out of disdain, perhaps out of helplessness, or maybe to protect his undercover family.
I remembered the look in Liu's eyes when he last looked at me—so lonely and sorrowful.
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