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墨書 Inktalez
After hearing the gunshot, everyone was stunned.
Old Shao stood up in disbelief, the chair behind him creaking as it fell heavily to the ground. But no one paid attention to the chair; their eyes were fixed on Wang Chao, who lay motionless on the floor.
Yuan Jun jumped to the bedside, grabbing Wei Demian by the collar and pulling him down from the bed. As Yuan Jun dragged him up, Wei Demian coughed violently, blood gushing from his mouth, splattering onto himself, the bed, and the floor.
At that moment, Yuan Jun was frantic. He couldn't believe that Wang Chao had chosen to end his own life like this. Back in Desolate Village, Wang Chao had endured dozens of knife wounds but had fought through it all. Now, he had chosen to end his life with his own gun. It was a humiliating way to die, but also a desperate choice.
Because until his last breath, Wang Chao had not betrayed his beliefs; he was a criminal investigator, a true one at that.
“Ha ha!” Wei Demian laughed maniacally. “Let them all die!”
Old Shao turned around and looked at Wei Demian with pity. “But you still lost. You wanted to show me the selfishness and ugliness of humanity, yet what I saw was the brilliance and greatness of humanity—the criminal investigator who would rather sacrifice himself than kill others.”
“Foolish! Foolish!” Wei Demian shouted. “Even if I failed, I believe your heart is filled with sorrow now. Don’t pretend to be indifferent; I know how you feel right now. Twenty years ago, you couldn’t protect your team members; twenty years later, you still can’t.”
“You are a complete failure!” Wei Demian yelled. “Do you think the game is over? No, your game has just begun. Don’t think you can escape; from the moment we met, you were destined to be a failure!”
Yuan Jun still held onto Wei Demian’s collar tightly. “But you will never have that chance again.”
“I…” Wei Demian spat out a mouthful of blood and said, “Before I die, seeing Shaoshilin in such pain makes it all worthwhile.”
With that, Wei Demian coughed up another large amount of blood, stretched out his hands, and fell silent.
“He… he’s dead!” Yuan Jun hurriedly checked for his pulse; it no longer beat.
Old Shao continued to stare intently at the screen because someone appeared there.
That person was Old Shao's ace—Jiang He. Like Jiang He, Old Shao had long suspected something was off with Wei Linghui. However, Old Shao chose not to raise an alarm because he didn’t want to alert anyone. He knew that following Wei Linghui would surely lead him to uncover the mastermind behind it all. Sure enough, Jiang He had followed Wei Linghui to find Wei Demian’s apprentice. They were just a step too late; if Jiang He had been even a minute faster, Wang Chao would still be alive.
But there are no coincidences in this world; it wasn’t Jiang He’s fault—just fate playing its hand.
Jiang He descended via the straight staircase, followed closely by Wei Linghui.
The man in black furrowed his brow and extended his hand towards Jiang He, saying, "Not bad, it's not easy to find your way here."
Before Jiang He could respond, Wei Linghui interjected, "Did you know from the very beginning that Lu Zhengye was dead?"
The man in black turned to Wei Linghui, rubbing his nose as he replied, "Ah, I've known for a long time. Women are unreliable. But this performance really owes a lot to you; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to lure Wang Chao into our trap. This game isn't exactly a good one. The scene I anticipated didn't happen, which is quite regrettable. But it doesn't matter; we still have plenty of time to play."
"You think you can escape?" Jiang He said. "It won't be long before the police arrive here."
Wei Linghui slowly advanced towards the man in black. "I ask you again, did you know from the very beginning that Lu Zhengye was dead?"
Just then, Wei Linghui reached out to grab the man's neck, but at that moment, several muffled sounds echoed. Jiang He saw that multiple blood holes had appeared on Wei Linghui's back. He counted—there were six in total. Blood flowed from these wounds like a large fountain.
Wei Linghui clutched at the man's clothing as she slowly collapsed to the ground, mumbling something that seemed to be: "Lu Zhengye, I'm coming to join you."
The man in black disdainfully kicked the still-twitching Wei Linghui aside. With his left hand, he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and slowly wiped the blood off the gun's muzzle. "I really don't understand. Everyone has two shoulders supporting one head; why are some people so smart while others are unbelievably foolish?"
Then he shot Wei Linghui again as she lay on the ground. "Is it still necessary to ask me? It's so obvious. People like her are just wasting air. I think anyone with an IQ below 100 should die. Don't you agree?"
The man in black looked at Jiang He.
Jiang He did not answer the man's question; he simply stated, "A Type 64 pistol holds seven rounds. I noticed you fired seven shots just now."
The man in black nodded. "You observe carefully; that's right, the magazine can hold seven bullets, but there can also be one in the chamber. I always load it as seven plus one because one must always keep an extra bullet ready; otherwise, how can one cope with rapidly changing situations?"
Jiang He studied the man in black, hoping to glean some clues from him. However, this time he failed; he couldn't discern anything at all. The man's dark clothing concealed most of his physical features, and with the black robe on top of it all, it was difficult to determine his height or build.
Jiang He could only see the man's eyes but noticed that they were enhanced with colored contacts for disguise.
He had wrapped himself up layer by layer, making it impossible to read him. Jiang He wondered if there were more weapons hidden beneath that black robe or if there were additional bullets or even a second gun.
The man in black spoke first: "Based on my speculation, you must have sent your old friends your location before coming in here. Even for the nearest police station, it would take two hours to get here. What makes you think you can hold them off for that long?"
The man in black looked at Jiang He, speaking leisurely, showing no signs of urgency to leave.
Jiang He glanced at Wei Qian and Zhao Wenjing beside him; both were unharmed. Wei Qian was frozen in shock, her eyes vacant and hollow, seemingly stunned into silence. Meanwhile, Zhao Wenjing silently wept as she stared at Wang Chao's lifeless body.
Jiang He rubbed his eyes and said, "What makes you think I can't keep you here for a while?"
The man in black yawned and replied, "Because I still have one bullet left in my gun."
"You don't," Jiang He countered. "This type of handgun has a short spring lifespan. To prolong the magazine's life, few people load it to full capacity, yet you have loaded seven rounds."
"Perhaps I'm not an ordinary person," the man in black chuckled.
"How about this," he said slowly, looking at Jiang He. "There's still plenty of time; let's play a game."
"What game?" Jiang He asked.
The man in black scratched his head and said, "This game is called 'Can I Escape?' The rules are simple: either you catch me, or I get away."
With that, he raised his handgun and declared, "Right now, it's just the two of us who can act. You can bet that my gun is empty or that it has a bullet. I'm about to leave; what do you think?"
Jiang He stared down the dark barrel of the gun. Without hesitation, he walked straight toward the man in black. "Someone once told me to cherish my life. But my mind tells me that walking over there means either life or death—just a fifty-fifty chance."
"So, it's either you catch me or I escape?" The man in black pressed the gun against Jiang He's head. "A fifty percent chance sounds intriguing."
He slowly began to squeeze the trigger.
Jiang He stood motionless before him.
As he observed closely, his mind raced at high speed. Jiang He felt no fear of death; instead, he pondered another question.
A faint smell of decay emanated from the man in black, mingled with a subtle scent of burnt paper.
Jiang He’s mind told him that this person must frequently visit crematoriums or live very close to one. Places like crematoriums are typically avoided by people, and few would choose to buy a house nearby. It was an excellent hiding spot and a perfect place for experiments.
Jiang He stared intently at the man in black and said slowly, “Shoot.”
The man in black laughed heartily. “Aren’t you afraid of dying?”
Jiang He looked at him and replied, “Your games have always been complicated; they’re not that simple. If you want to continue playing with me, you won’t kill me so easily. Am I right?”
The man in black nodded and said, “Sometimes, being with a smart person means I don’t have to say much. You’re correct; although I won’t kill you, I might kill her!”
With that, the man in black tilted his gun and shot Zhao Wenjing in the thigh.
Zhao Wenjing let out a painful scream as blood instantly soaked her pants.
“Jiang He, I’m out of bullets now. You have two choices: the first is to hold me down and wait for the police to catch me in two hours. The second is to apply pressure to her wound to prevent her from bleeding to death.” The man in black tossed the handgun onto the ground and added, “If we were to fight hand-to-hand, it might be a fair match.”
The shot was calculated; it ensured that Zhao Wenjing wouldn’t die immediately, but if left unattended, she could bleed out completely in two hours.
Before Jiang He lay two choices: expend all his effort to restrain the man in black or apply pressure to Zhao Wenjing’s wound.
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