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墨書 Inktalez
Not only was Mao Dafang stunned, but even the few people standing behind him were taken aback. Old Shao had been angry before, but this was the first time he had lost his temper to the point of smashing someone else's computer. Mao Dafang gaped at Old Shao, unable to utter a single word in surprise.
"What happened?" Father Mao heard the commotion and rushed in from outside, only to be stopped by Yuan Jun's arm.
Everyone was staring at Old Shao, waiting for his next move.
In the room, only one person knew why Old Shao was acting this way, but that person couldn't understand why Old Shao was so furious. In fact, back at Lu Zhengye's house, Jiang He had already pieced together the clues, and one name had surfaced in his mind.
At that time, Jiang He wanted to tell Old Shao this name, but Old Shao repeatedly stopped him.
Now, Old Shao had finally exploded.
"What did I do wrong?" Mao Dafang said timidly. "As a friend, I just bought him a train ticket to help him escape his pain. Is that wrong? Besides, I didn't break any laws, did I? Did Lu Zhengye assault someone again?"
Old Shao's tightly clenched fist slowly relaxed. He took a few deep breaths and said apologetically, "There are many things we can't fathom, let alone you. You did what you thought was right for your friend; there's nothing wrong with that. I'm sorry for losing my composure."
With that, Old Shao patted Mao Dafang on the shoulder. "It's okay. I'll have someone bring you a better computer later. Let's go; I hope this will satisfy you."
Mao Dafang looked at Old Shao's still simmering anger and quickly nodded. "Of course, of course! Just make sure the graphics card is high-end; otherwise..."
"I'll get you one with the highest specs on the market," Old Shao assured him. "Don't worry."
The project team members sat in the car, and no one spoke; everyone was unsure how to begin.
Old Shao sighed and looked around at everyone. "Today is quite coincidental; all members of the project team are present. I have something to tell you that may sound unbelievable, and I hope you won't react too emotionally. I know that if I reveal this person's name, our project team may fall apart, but I hope you'll trust me this once and not make irrational judgments."
"I don't know what the Criminal Consultant wants to do; all I know is that if our team falls apart, no one will be able to track him down." Old Shao spoke earnestly, each word resonating with conviction. "It’s only now that I understand what the core of this game truly is."
"What?" Jiang He asked.
"Sadness, helplessness, and a sense of powerlessness," Shao the Elder replied.
"Jiang He," Old Shao looked at Jiang He, his eyes already glistening with tears. "In this game, you are the hardest person to deal with because you find it difficult to understand complex emotions. It's like, when I say these things, you might think there’s nothing wrong at all, but for us, it could mean facing an inner choice."
Although the others did not understand what was happening, they could tell from Old Shao's lengthy speech that what he was about to say was very important to them.
"So before I continue, you all need to trust me. From now on, everything we do must follow my lead; we cannot act recklessly," Old Shao scanned the group once more. "Do you understand?"
"Understood," Yuan Jun was the first to respond.
"Understood," Xu Yiman echoed.
Guan Deng nodded as well.
Old Shao began, "From the very start, we have been deceived by the killer. We always thought that the Criminal Consultant wouldn’t take direct action and would only target those they deemed bad people, merely helping others design murder plans. But from the beginning, we were wrong; that was just our assumption. The Criminal Consultant has never operated that way."
"Do you remember that bomb?" Old Shao asked.
"The bomb that marked the start of the game," Xu Yiman replied.
"Exactly," Old Shao nodded. "We had already disarmed the detonator and thought there would be no further issues. But when Yuan Jun pulled out the USB drive, there was still a detonator hidden inside the explosives. If Jiang He hadn’t been sharp enough to kick over the table, we would have all been killed by a single bomb from the killer, standing so close together."
Old Shao slapped his forehead and said, "I should have realized it sooner; from that moment on, the killer revealed their greatest characteristic."
"What is it?" Yuan Jun asked.
"Playing by the rules is not an option." Old Shao tugged at his hair. "Not following the rules is the biggest hint the killer has given us. What so-called Criminal Consultant, what so-called messenger of justice—it's all nonsense from the very beginning. That was just bait to lure us in, and only now has his hook been revealed. His patience is terrifyingly good."
Old Shao slowly rubbed his hands together. "This is Wei Demian's style; this is Wei Demian. And I finally understand what he intends to do. He has been lying in wait for over twenty years, and he has had many opportunities to kill me directly. All he had to do was hypnotize someone at random, but he didn't."
His voice was somewhat hoarse. "Because he knows that the best way to torment a person isn't to kill them, but to let regret, sorrow, and pain gradually consume their heart. And now, it seems he is about to achieve that."
"All these years have passed, and his hatred hasn't diminished in the slightest; instead, it has grown even more intense with the passage of time." Old Shao sighed. "He won't take revenge directly on me; he will take it out on you. Do you understand?"
"Death?" Yuan Jun chuckled. "I've never been afraid of death. As long as Wei Demian or his disciples dare to come, I'll naturally take them to the police station."
But Old Shao shook his head and sighed deeply. "No, I've already gone over this with you. To torment someone, death is the least effective means. Torture is meant to make them suffer, while death offers relief. Do you know why I chose you when we established the task force?"
"Why?" they asked in unison.
"Because your parents are all deceased." Old Shao leaned against his chair. "Because you have no family left. Jiang He lost his parents when he was six, and his closest great-aunt has also passed away. Xu Yiman, you grew up in a single-parent household; your mother worked hard to raise you but died in your most glorious year."
After a pause, Old Shao continued, "Yuan Jun, your parents were hardworking farmers who labored tirelessly to send you to college; a few years ago, they both passed away. Guan Deng, your parents realized early on that you were different from others; your father ran away without taking responsibility, and your mother died because of you."
Old Shao then noticed that everyone except Jiang He was in tears.
"I have read all your files; this is also why our country has so many excellent detectives and why I chose you." Old Shao said slowly. "Because when facing Wei Demian, he won't be able to use your families to coerce you into doing anything."
"I tasted that feeling twenty years ago." Old Shao rubbed his eyes. "I once disregarded my team members' feelings in order to catch a bad guy. It was only at the moment when he perished alongside the villain that I understood: if we sacrifice a good person to catch a bad one, I would rather not catch him at all. Do you understand?"
"That feeling has haunted me for over twenty years; even now, I feel like I caused his death." Tears finally streamed down Old Shao's face. "So this matter could have remained unspoken; I could have used you as bait to trap Wei Demian, but this time I don't want to do that because I understand now that I was wrong back then."
"The bad guy was caught, which indeed upheld justice in the world and spared many from harm." Old Shao pointed to his conscience. "But here, I've never moved past it."
Old Shao wiped away his tears and said, "Even though I specifically chose you all from the beginning, during our time together, we have almost become a family. Therefore, the murderer cannot target your families, so he will turn his attention to you. If you are marked by the killer, the outcome will not be death, but it will be worse than death."
He patted his leg and continued, "Alright, I've shared my thoughts. Now let's focus on the case itself. Everyone, stay alert."
The group nodded in agreement.
Old Shao went on, "Everyone here is someone I personally selected, except for one person. The reason I allowed him to join the task force was merely to facilitate communication with various police departments. I initially thought we wouldn't have much interaction, much like our relationship with Captain Liu."
"But I never expected that we would experience life and death together. Aside from Guan Deng, our lives were saved by him." Old Shao sighed and added, "Back in Desolate Village, if it weren't for him, Yuan Jun and Xu Yiman wouldn't be sitting here today, and Jiang He and I might not have escaped either."
"After the case," Old Shao looked at Jiang He, "his wife once knelt and begged us not to let him join the task force. This was also an opportunity for us to isolate him from the group. We did this not out of rejection but because we didn't want a good police officer—a good husband and father—to sacrifice himself at any moment. We didn't want a daughter to lose her father or a wife to lose her husband."
"But perhaps that still came to pass." Old Shao said helplessly, "Before the incident on the 88th, Lu Zhengye received a strange phone call. One of the calls about 'revenge' was naturally from the Criminal Consultant. The other call, Jiang He and I have deduced, was from Wang Chao."
Jiang He nodded and said, "Lu Zhengye feared being falsely accused of doing something he shouldn't have done like ten years ago, so he ran away."
Old Shao nodded in agreement. "Ten years ago, it was Wang Chao who captured Lu Zhengye."
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