"How could someone die inside the police station?"
I pushed through the crowd gathered for the commotion and squeezed into the very back. It turned out that an overloaded truck had lost control and crashed directly into the police station's entrance. The scene was brutal—shards and fragments from the truck scattered everywhere.
"Hey! What are you doing? Step behind the barricade!" an officer shouted.
"It was Captain Tie Ningxiang who sent me. There's a new development in the Anxin Motel case," I said calmly.
The officer looked at me skeptically, then made a call. His attitude changed immediately. "Captain Tie said you should come straight in."
I nodded. Tie Ningxiang was definitely a good card to play—being the head of the Criminal Investigation Division really made a difference.
I arrived at the CID, and under the hostile stares of several officers, I entered Tie Ningxiang's office.
She was intently flipping through case files, her sharp nose framed by a pair of glasses, looking like a refined senior sister with a commanding presence.
"Why are you pretending to have my orders to come to the police station?" Tie Ningxiang looked down at the files as she spoke.
"If I said I came just to see you, you wouldn't believe me, right?"
"Cut the crap." She took off her glasses, pulled out a pair of handcuffs from her drawer, and slammed them on the desk. "You're obstructing official business. Next time, I'll have you locked up for a few days."
Knowing her personality, she would definitely follow through on that threat. I quickly moved to stand beside her.
"Just joking! I'm here to see how busy you've been, to help ease your workload."
"Say what you need to say. Don't waste my time."
"I have a very important lead about the Anxin Motel case." I smiled, having thrown out the bait. I was sure Tie Ningxiang, who was desperate to solve the case, wouldn't resist.
"What lead?"
"A certain Two-Faced Buddha statue. You should've seen it inside Anxin Motel." The Two-Faced Buddha was the key link connecting the Anxin Motel and New Hu High livestream locations. That meant the third livestream task on The Netherworld Live Show likely involved the Two-Faced Buddha as well. Using police resources to investigate the statue's background would be extremely helpful.
Tie Ningxiang nodded and pulled out five or six photos from the files. "Good. We found many similar statues in the building, but when we interrogated the landlord couple, they didn't believe in Buddhism."
"The murders Lu Xing committed were directed by the Two-Faced Buddha. Although I'm not sure if the Two-Faced Buddha refers to a person or an organization, wherever it exists, murders happen."
"Have you found other murder scenes recently?" A woman's intuition is terrifying, especially in an excellent police officer.
The New Hu High mass death incident was too big to reveal for now, so I shook my head silently. "The Two-Faced Buddha is dangerous. Be very careful investigating. If you encounter something bullets can't handle, call me."
"Bullets can't handle it? What is it?"
"Can't explain clearly, but it exists." Having spent time around half-immortal Daoist masters in livestream chatrooms, I'd learned to speak ambiguously.
Tie Ningxiang didn't answer for a while. After a minute, she stood, pulled the curtains shut, and walked over to me.
"Senior sister, you're standing too close. That's—not appropriate."
"At the Jiang family wedding, we sat together the whole time. Your behavior was very strange. After you pulled out that big screen phone, your demeanor completely changed. Be honest—what did that phone record that made a penniless, powerless person like you dare to stand up against the Jiang family? Could it be the kind of invisible yet real thing you mentioned?"
I inwardly panicked. Tie Ningxiang's observation was sharper than I expected.
"Explain yourself. Including Jiang Chen's strange reaction afterward. He only lightly tapped you, then has been bedridden in the hospital ever since. I'm curious—how did you manage that?"
"Senior sister, I—"
"Don't call me senior sister. Now we are cop and suspect."
"You suspect me?"
"I don't suspect you of anything, but you've hidden far too much from me!"
Tie Ningxiang's tone grew fierce, completely unlike a woman. I smiled bitterly and sat down.
"Telling you will only hurt you. Some things can be known; some once known can never be forgotten."
"Police represent justice and fairness. If I stop seeking the truth out of fear, this city will never see sunlight!"
"So, I'm not fit to be a cop." Lighting a cigarette, I avoided answering her questions and changed the subject. "A few days ago, the son of Qianding Pharmaceuticals had a car accident. I suspect it was a carefully planned murder. I want to see the autopsy report."
I smoked freely. Seeing my shameless attitude, Tie Ningxiang slammed the chair. "You really defeat me with your brazenness."
"Senior sister, at least I gave you many leads and helped with your deductions. Maybe in the future—"
"The autopsy report is in the cabinet behind. You have three minutes. Read it and disappear from my sight."
"Okay."
I skimmed the report quickly. It confirmed he'd drunk and driven, lost control, and crashed into a nearby residential building.
"But how could an alcohol-allergic person get drunk?"
Leaving CID, I saw many police academy students in uniform blocking the entrance. Most had red eyes; some girls were even crying.
"What's going on? Did a substitute teacher die?"
The officer who'd stopped me earlier softened. "It's security guard Uncle Huang. He was healthy, but fate dealt him a cruel blow."
"Police academy students here too? They're so upset."
"You don't know. Though over sixty, Uncle Huang was fascinated by solving mysteries. He used to squat by the academy's front door to eavesdrop. They couldn't chase him away. Later, the academy assigned him a seat inside classrooms so he could attend lessons with students."
"So they're classmates?"
"Yes. Uncle Huang was popular and warm-hearted. When he passed, the whole Class 3-2 stopped classes to see him one last time."
"All from Class 3-2?"
"Yeah. They'd been together for three years, about to graduate. Recently he joked to us, 'Don't call me Old Huang anymore—call me Officer Huang.'"
"Officer Huang? I don't get why anyone wants to be a cop—wake up earlier than roosters, sleep later than chickens, always stressed."
"Well, at least in the students' hearts, Uncle Huang will always be Officer Huang from Class 3-2."
"That's true." I was about to leave but stopped mid-step, grabbing the officer's shoulders.
"What did you just say?"
"I didn't say anything."
"The last sentence! 'At least in the students' hearts, Uncle Huang will always be—'"
"Officer Huang from Class 3-2."
My face darkened, pupils violently twitching. "Officer Huang from Class 3-2? Yes, that's him!"
"You know Uncle Huang?"
I pushed the officer away and dashed past the barricade frantically.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Someone's rushing inside! Stop him!"
Eyes red, heart pounding, a suspicion took shape: "Please don't be true, please don't be true!"
Traffic police and patrol cops tried to block me, but I fought through. I had to see for myself.
"Get lost!" I shouted, running wild in the cordoned-off area.
Finally, I saw Uncle Huang. His skull was bleeding, his belly gaping, but his chest still rose and fell faintly.
"He's not dead yet!" I dropped to his side. "You're the Officer Huang from Anxin Motel, right? You watched my livestream, right?!"
"Control this lunatic!" Several officers pinned me to the ground as I helplessly watched Uncle Huang's stiffening body carried away by paramedics.
"First Handsome & Skilled Girl, now Officer Huang from Class 3-2? Does everyone who watches my livestream die? Is this the real purpose of The Netherworld Live Show?"
The blows rained down heavy on me, but I felt no pain. Watching the ambulance drive away, an unspeakable guilt weighed on me.