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墨書 Inktalez
"Let's make a bet, where do you think Liu Qi will go?" I asked Ah Huang.
"Bar Street!" we both replied in unison.
"Do you also suspect that Professor Qin gave Liu Qi a hint, which is why Liu Qi periodically goes to Bar Street to look for victims?" Ah Huang said.
I pondered for a moment. "No, that doesn't connect the whole situation. Professor Qin—Liu Qi—victims, there's also Li Ping involved here. Oh no, it's Liu Fei! I wonder if it's possible that Professor Qin's key is in Liu Fei's hands. Liu Fei used it on Liu Qi. You saw it too; the effect I had on Liu Qi was the same, right? Besides, Liu Fei has surveillance; he wouldn't be surprised to know a little."
"Is that so?!" Ah Huang thought for a while before asking, "Then why would Professor Qin give Liu Qi a hint? What does he want?!"
"I don't know," I replied after a long pause.
The case—or rather, the case within a case—was becoming increasingly unclear, and both Ah Huang and I fell into silence.
The car indeed arrived at the entrance of Bar Street. Watching Liu Qi sway as he walked into a bar, I couldn't help but ask, "Ah Huang, should we send someone to follow him?"
Ah Huang smiled mysteriously. "Of course!" He took out his phone and made a call without saying much. "You come to the entrance of Bar Street. When you arrive, look for my car."
"Who? Are you bringing another handsome guy?"
"You'll find out when you get here," Ah Huang said with a mysterious smile.
"You're being cryptic!" I scoffed.
We sat in the car for less than thirty minutes when suddenly, a sports car pulled up beside us. A girl got out of the vehicle—what the hell! Is she nearly six feet tall? Oh wait, she's wearing high heels! Seriously, how can she wear high heels at that height?!
She had short hair styled like a boy's and was dressed in a t-shirt and hot pants. There was gauze wrapped around her arm, but for some reason, she looked familiar. She approached directly and knocked on my window. I rolled down the glass. "You’re here?" Ah Huang greeted her.
"Yeah, hi, Brother Wang!" The girl smiled brightly, revealing two prominent canine teeth.
"Who are you?!" I hesitated.
"Tian Tian."
"Tian Tian?" I was thoroughly confused.
"That's Tian!" Ah Huang interjected.
What the hell! Tian? Tian is a girl?! My eyes nearly popped out.
"You're a girl?!"
"Yeah! Didn't we fight side by side before?" Tian squinted at me. I looked her over; really, without this outfit, she could totally pass for a handsome guy! Oh! And she has earrings! Can the police really handle this?
"Hey, what are you staring at?" Tian seemed a bit displeased.
"Nothing, nothing," I quickly averted my gaze. How could I not tell the difference!
"The third bar, the target is Liu Qi," Ah Huang said leisurely.
"Huh? Aren't we wrapping up?"
"Just go when I tell you to, stop talking back," Ah Huang replied impatiently.
Tian stuck out her tongue and turned to walk into the bar.
"What is the deal with that field?" I asked, looking at the BMW parked outside.
"Why do you care so much?" Ah Huang glanced at me. "Are you thinking of chasing her?"
"Don't joke around. Liu Qi is way out of my league; it's impossible! I have no such thoughts! Just climbing a mountain, you know? But you, hiding a tall beauty next to you, why not let us in on what that means?" I shot back.
"It's just for convenience at work. Usually, she dresses up as a guy; it's easier that way. Besides, it's her own hobby, no need to interfere."
"Hey, can I ask you something? Is drug use rampant around here?" I asked curiously.
"Why are you asking that?" Ah Huang seemed surprised.
"The three missing people were all involved with drugs, did you know that?" I mentioned Island Buried in Earth.
"Oh, the field gave it away."
"Aren't you going to do anything about it?"
"That's the job of the city's narcotics team. If we have leads, we report them there," Ah Huang shook his head.
"Sigh, drugs have ruined so many lives," I thought of the late Liu Fei and lamented.
"Drugs?! You mentioned the three missing people involved with drugs; where do you think the drugs came from?" Ah Huang suddenly asked.
"How would I know? Maybe they got them at a bar," I recalled something from a Hong Kong movie I'd seen.
"Not here, not here, there's another place," Ah Huang shook his head.
"Then it must be a place where drugs are sold. But why would anyone do that? Knowing they could lose their heads over it."
"Because they're poor. Poverty drives people to sell drugs," Ah Huang said, somewhat absent-mindedly, lost in thought.
I shook my head. "There are many poor people; poverty isn't the root of evil. The root of crime lies in the desires within a person's heart."
"Hey, you're sounding like Lao Zhao now."
"No, it's just some realizations I've had. I don't know why, but I actually feel sympathy for Liu Fei."
"Well, she broke the law and should be punished."
I fell silent.
So, there we were, chatting in the car while waiting for Liu Qi to come out.
This time, just past eleven o'clock, Liu Qi emerged from the bar, undoubtedly leaning against a tall man. They walked toward a Mercedes-Benz, and behind them, Tian stumbled out as well.
She quickly walked up to our car. Ah Huang signaled for her to get in quickly. Tian opened the back door and squeezed in, and Ah Huang swiftly started the car and followed suit.
"What’s going on? Where are we going?" I asked.
"Just follow them," he replied.
The car turned down several streets before finally slowing to a stop at the edge of a forest. Although there was a road, there were no streetlights. The Mercedes SUV remained running as we parked some distance away, watching quietly.
"What are we doing here?" I asked, increasingly confused.
"Just watch," came the reply.
Before long, the Mercedes began to sway side to side and then started to tremble slightly.
"What is this?" I wondered aloud, realizing only years later that there was an activity known as car shaking.
"You'll understand when you look at Liu Fei's video recordings later," Ah Huang replied, skillfully avoiding the question.
Tian Ze curled up in the back, asleep. I smoked two cigarettes in quick succession before noticing the Mercedes slowly revving up again and driving off in a different direction.
Ah Huang quickly followed suit. This time, we knew where the car was headed: Liu Fei's house. The Mercedes passed by the entrance of Liu Fei's alley and stopped. Liu Qi stepped out, leaned against a tree to smoke for a moment, and then casually got back into the car.
The Mercedes finally parked in front of Liu Qi's shop.
At this point, Ah Huang and I understood everything clearly. It turned out that my suspicions were correct—Liu Fei had used subtle manipulation to control Liu Qi, sending her out to scout for potential targets at night and then luring them near Liu Fei's house for kidnapping or worse after their encounters.
Watching Liu Qi open her shop from inside the car, I asked Ah Huang, "So we have a basic understanding now? Can we move on Professor Qin?"
Ah Huang nodded. "It's time to uncover who is behind all this."
The next day, I took a special leave from the army to come out—not for any other reason but to see Professor Qin's true face. I hadn't expected this case to be so complicated, and I was particularly eager to find out how Ah Huang planned to expose Professor Qin's identity.
Upon arriving at Ah Huang's office, I was surprised to find that he had already called Lao Zhao over. After reporting to the Department Leader, Ah Huang drove with Tian, who was dressed in male attire, and me, Lao Zhao, to Professor Qin's hospital.
"I've already set everything up; you just need to watch. I'll call you when I need you," Ah Huang said outside the outpatient hall.
There was no one in Professor Qin's office when Ah Huang stepped in first. "Hello, Professor Qin!" he greeted the bewildered professor.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Professor Qin asked. Upon seeing me enter, his expression changed instantly.
"I'm a police officer. I need to discuss a few cases with you and gather some information."
"I'm at work!"
"Don't worry; it won't take long." As Ah Huang walked into the Emergency Room and took a look around, he turned back and said, "Hey, the camera has been removed? Professor Qin, did you do that?"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand!" Professor Qin's face changed.
"Professor Qin, we've found something that we need you to explain," Ah Huang said, holding up a bank statement.
I glanced at it; it was a remittance receipt showing a transfer of fifty thousand.
"This is a remittance receipt for fifty thousand that you transferred to Liu Qi two years ago. Can you explain why you sent money to a patient?"
Professor Qin was taken aback. He forced himself to remain calm. "This... she borrowed it from me."
"Borrowed? Were you two close?"
"Yes, yes, we have known each other for several years."
"Haha, when you sent money to Liu Qi, it was just four months after she came here. How could you be so familiar with her?"
Professor Qin's face continued to sweat. "Does your wife know about your relationship with Liu Qi?" Ah Huang continued to ask.
"What? What do you mean? What could I possibly have with her? What could I have with a patient?!" Professor Qin began to stutter.
"Calm down, calm down. Right, you and Liu Qi are quite close. It's understandable that she borrowed money from you. But can you explain why Liu Qi deposits a large sum of money into this account at the bank every month?" Ah Huang pulled out a piece of paper with a bank account number written on it.
"Who knows?" Professor Qin clearly couldn't sit still.
"The bank surveillance captured footage of you withdrawing a large sum of money—tens of thousands—exactly from this account. You have no business dealings with her; Liu Qi's main job is running a pet store. Where is the money coming from? Why don't you come back to the police station and explain?"
Professor Qin suddenly stood up. "You... you all know?"
Then he abruptly sat back down in his chair, despairingly saying, "It's over, it's over! There's no escaping this, no escaping at all!"
(The entire story of Hypnosis Duel has concluded. Stay tuned for Military Training, Love Like the Wind, and The Work of Chasing the Wind. Tomorrow will be even more exciting!)
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