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墨書 Inktalez
I looked at the young police officer in front of me, whose furrowed brow slowly relaxed, as if he had caught me in a significant lie. He spoke to me casually, "Alright, since you enjoy discussing issues logically, let me present two points."
He held up two fingers and continued, "First, you are lying. Second, the Armory Manager is lying. You can't possibly disagree with that, can you?"
It was clear that this officer was trying to lead me into a trap. Although I recognized this fact, I could only follow his lead. "That's true, but I'm not lying. Due to my history of Self-Blame Delusion, if I were to request a firearm, I would have to apply through the proper channels. The members of the Special Operations Group all know this."
"Special Operations Group?" The officer chuckled. "As far as I know, that task force isn't actually part of any official department. Aside from Shao Shilin, the others don't hold formal positions at the City Bureau. Three of your members are involved in a murder case; Guan Zengbin has disappeared, and now Shao Shilin is facing accountability from above. Who do you think can testify for you?"
"Oh." He scratched his head and added, "Gu Chen has already been reassigned by his direct supervisor."
"Armed Police?" I asked.
"That's right," the officer replied.
Hearing this made me feel an inexplicable irritation. At this critical moment, Guan Zengbin had gone missing, I was being treated as a murderer, Captain Shao was nowhere to be found, and Gu Chen had been recalled. It felt as if everyone I knew had vanished in an instant; the Special Operations Group I had painstakingly built was falling apart.
What on earth had happened? How could someone know about the police department's operations? Who leaked the information about the Special Operations Group members? What did they want?
At this moment, my rational mind told me that the Murderer wouldn't frame me without absolute certainty. It seemed they had found evidence prepared by the Murderer against me. I just couldn't understand why the Murderer would do such a thing.
I remained silent, lost in thought.
Then he pulled out an A4 sheet of paper for me to see. At a glance, it appeared to be a firearm usage application form. From what I could see on the form, the final signature was indeed mine. Even more surprisingly, the handwriting matched mine perfectly; if I weren't certain that I had never written such an application, I would have believed it was my own.
I tugged at my hair in frustration; this situation was becoming increasingly bizarre. I had never filled out such an application, yet the handwriting was identical to mine.
I spoke up, "Someone might have forged my signature; that doesn't prove anything."
The officer paused for a moment, lightly tapping his fingers on the table before responding, "Yes, that doesn't prove anything. But are you still trying to argue? You won't shed tears until you see the coffin? The Armory Manager can testify in court that you submitted this form to him and that he issued you your assigned firearm based on this application."
"The gun's serial number, the bullet's serial number, and the manager's testimony all match," he said with a smile. "If someone witnessed what happened at the scene and could testify for you, then according to the principle of presumption of innocence, you wouldn't have to go to jail. Do you have anyone?"
I shook my head and slowly said, "No, there are no witnesses."
The officer sat back down and looked at me. "Then you basically can't escape the charges. There are no fingerprints on your gun, and when Duan Jingliang saw you, you were wearing gloves while holding the weapon. What does that indicate? You’re a police officer; you know this better than I do."
"I'm not a judge; I can't convict you. The only questions I have are these," he said as he slowly closed a file. "Although you're not a formal officer, we are part of the same system. I need to remind you that regardless of what happened, you're in danger this time."
I understood that without him needing to remind me.
Several officers stood up, and as he walked toward the door, he said, "My name is Wen Ruozhi. I'm actually an outsider like you. If this incident wasn't your doing, I think we could cooperate in the future."
With that, he left without looking back.
Wen Ruozhi—I felt like I had heard that name somewhere before but couldn't recall where.
For three hours, no familiar faces came to see me. I thought with such a big incident, Captain Shao and Mary must know about it, and Gu Chen would naturally be aware too. The police would at least notify my adoptive father. Yet for three hours, no one came to visit me; it felt as if I had been forgotten.
After four hours, I was transferred to the prosecutor's office, where the Prosecutor charged me with intentional homicide. Standing in the defendant's seat, the police provided me with a lawyer, but my attention was on the audience below. Looking around, the only familiar face was Sister Mao; none of the others I knew had come.
When the court session was announced, everyone stood in silence. I never imagined I would actually find myself standing here.
"The case of Wu Meng charged with intentional homicide by the Dongxing City People's Procuratorate is now officially open..."
My head felt heavy, and everything around me buzzed as if a thousand flies were buzzing in my ears.
I didn't say a word and let the Prosecutor present various pieces of evidence.
"Your Honor, this is the handgun used by suspect Wu Meng to shoot Officer Fang Tong. The serial number of the gun matches that of the bullets; all belong to suspect Wu Meng's issued firearm. Wu Meng's gun permit was specially approved by Shao Shilin; here are the documents."
With that, the Prosecutor presented the documents.
If I got involved in this case, then as the officer who approved my firearm license, Captain Shao, I would certainly face dismissal. Suddenly, I felt that the murderer might not be targeting me specifically; it was very likely that the target was the Special Operations Group. With Guan Zengbin arrested and Gu Chen reassigned, both Captain Shao and I found ourselves entangled in this case, leading to the disintegration of the Special Operations Group.
"Does the defendant Wu Meng have any objections?" the judge asked.
I shook my head.
"Prosecutor, please continue," the judge said.
"The members of the Police Force each carry a firearm. Before each operation, they must submit a request for their weapons. After the operation, each officer must report how many shots they fired and where each shot landed. Here is Wu Meng's application report. After examination, the handwriting matches that of Wu Meng's everyday writing, confirming it was indeed written by the defendant."
I spoke up, "I never wrote this application."
The Prosecutor stood up and said, "Please allow us to bring in our first witness."
"Granted."
The first witness was brought in; he was the Armory Manager from the Dongxing City Public Security Bureau. I had met him a few times before, but since I never carried a gun, I wasn't very familiar with him. Upon seeing me, he stated firmly, "That's right; it was him who handed me the application—Wu Meng. He doesn't know me, but I know him."
I looked at this Fat Policeman and said, "You're talking nonsense! When did I ever submit an application to you? We have no grievances; why would you want to frame me?"
The Fat Policeman waved his hand dismissively and replied, "Yes, we have no grievances. Why would I want to frame you? There's no need for me to lie. I'm a police officer; truth is what we pursue. I can assure you that the defendant Wu Meng did indeed hand me an application. That application has the Public Security Bureau's seal on it; it can't be forged."
"That's correct," the judge continued.
The Prosecutor showed no expression and stated, "According to Armed Police Duan Jingliang's testimony, at the time of the murder, only the defendant and Fang Tong's body were present at the scene. The crime scene was a closed space, meaning there was absolutely no possibility for the murderer to escape. When Duan Jingliang arrived at the scene, the defendant was holding the very handgun that killed Fang Tong."
"This is testimony," the Prosecutor added.
"Defendant, do you have anything to say?"
I took a few deep breaths; at this moment, no matter what I said, it would be futile. The Prosecutor was not wrong; this was a fact that everyone had witnessed. But sometimes, can we truly believe what our eyes see?
Seeing that I had no response, the Prosecutor continued, "Both the Witness and Evidence are present. According to our investigation, Wu Meng has previously suffered from Self-Blame Delusion, and during episodes, he perceives himself as the Criminal. When Wu Meng enters this state, he is capable of committing murder."
"But after a year of treatment, I have fully recovered," I replied.
"That may not be the case," the Prosecutor said. "We investigated Dongxing City Second People's Hospital and found your medical records in the psychiatric ward. Before you were fully recovered, Shao Shilin bailed you out of the hospital. Is that correct?"
I wanted to argue further, but I understood that when Captain Shao pulled me out of the psychiatric hospital, I was indeed not fully healed.
"But my mental state is normal now; I have no thoughts of murder," I insisted.
The Prosecutor shook his head. "However, according to witnesses, you did make threatening statements. Your Honor, I request that the second witness be called to the stand."
"Granted."
The second witness took the stand, and I recognized him as Liu's confidant. I recalled that during our ride to Xingdong Village, he sat on one side of the Murderer while I sat on the other. At that time, I had indeed threatened the Murderer, but there was a context to it.
"He did threaten the Murderer," this witness stated. "At that time, there were two other police officers in the vehicle who heard Wu Meng's words. Wu Meng threatened the Murderer in his capacity as a police officer, telling the suspect that he alone would decide who was the Murderer. He openly fabricated facts without any regard for us."
"The reason I threatened the Murderer was that I was desperate to save someone!" I countered. "You were all present; didn't you feel the tension in the air?"
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