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墨書 Inktalez
I sized up the guy in front of me. His face was waxy and his eye sockets were deeply sunken, clearly showing the toll of the past month since his capture. This was to be expected; even though torture is no longer permitted, there are still many ways to make a suspect confess in a police station. For instance, keeping the lights on twenty-four hours a day so they can't sleep, starving them while placing instant noodles right in front of them without letting them eat, and so on.
Liu Jin had managed to hold out for this long, which indicated he was not easy to deal with.
Liu Jin approached with a smile. "Beautiful officer, I've finally been waiting for you to come in."
Lin Fan scoffed.
Upon hearing that, I realized my initial assumption was likely correct. When Liu Jin handed the Sunny Doll to Lin Fan back then, he probably anticipated that it would cause her great distress.
I tapped the table. "Liu Jin, right? It seems you've been suffering here as well. We all have limited time and don't want to continue enduring this. Let's lay everything out on the table and talk openly."
Liu Jin chuckled. "Sure, let's talk openly. If you want this beautiful officer to live, let me go and give me my freedom. That's my bottom line; otherwise, there's nothing to discuss."
"That's impossible!" Lin Fan slammed her hand on the table. "I'd rather die than let you go!"
Liu Jin sneered. "You need to think carefully, beautiful. Is your life worth more or mine? I'm just a rough guy with no education; I can handle prison time. But you're so beautiful and young—what a waste it would be if you died."
Lin Fan stood up and said to me, "Alright, Song Fei, there's no need to continue this discussion. Let's think of another way."
I glanced at Liu Jin and replied, "Fine, we won't talk anymore."
"Hey," Liu Jin called out.
Neither Lin Fan nor I paid him any mind as we exited the interrogation room. Truthfully, I wanted to keep discussing things; however, I needed to consult with several directors before making any promises to Liu Jin—otherwise, agreeing with him would be pointless.
As we stepped out of the interrogation room, Hao Yun stood outside with a serious expression. "What does Liu Jin mean by that? He seems to know you would come."
I replied, "Director Hao, what Lin Fan told you is true. It seems that Liu Jin has been stalling all this time because he’s counting on Lin Fan as leverage."
"Hao Yun: 'Come to my office first. Let's discuss this, Lin Fan. You won't be in any life-threatening situation right now, will you?'
Lin Fan: 'Director Hao, it's fine. If I die, I die. I absolutely cannot let that bastard go.'
Hao Yun: 'That won't do. If letting him go can save your life, then we can release him. We can always catch him again later, but if you die, that's the end of it. Let's finish our discussion first. Coincidentally, Boss Xiao is here too; we can talk about it...'
I nodded. It seemed that Hao Yun was indeed quite capable. Upon realizing that Lin Fan's life was in Liu Jin's hands, she immediately considered the idea of trading him for Lin Fan's safety.
We entered Hao Yun's office. After discussing the matter, it was clear that Chen Shan and his two companions were seasoned veterans; they quickly discerned that the bald Liu Jin was stubbornly refusing to confess because he wanted to use Lin Fan's situation to bargain for his freedom.
Xiao Teng spoke up: 'No matter what, saving a life is the most important thing. Just like Director Hao said, we can always catch the person again if we let him go, but if a life is lost, that's not acceptable.'
Hao Yun nodded in agreement.
I said, 'How about this? Let's not make any promises just yet. I suspect Liu Jin is quite selfish; what he wants right now is simply freedom and to avoid a prison sentence. Let's see if we can extract more information from him—like who is behind this smuggling case. If we can get that out of him, then letting him go might be an option. Of course, he must tell me about the Sunny Doll.'
'Alright, let's do it!' Xiao Teng immediately agreed. 'If we can follow this lead and continue investigating until we uncover everyone behind the smuggling operation, then letting Liu Jin go wouldn't be a problem.'
We established our bottom line and then Lin Fan and I walked back into the interrogation room where Liu Jin had also been brought in.
I could clearly see Liu Jin relax; it seemed he had been intimidated by Lin Fan's resolute attitude earlier.
Once seated again, Liu Jin merely stared at me without saying a word.
I asked, 'Liu Jin, do you know how many years you could be sentenced if convicted?'
'Fifteen or twenty years,' Liu Jin rubbed his nose and chuckled. 'Using my fifteen-year sentence to exchange for a life seems like a good deal for you.'
I waved my finger dismissively. 'You're overestimating your value, Liu Jin. Even if you don't provide information about Sunny Doll, I have ways to eliminate that threat. My methods might be violent and could leave Lin Fan unable to have children in the future, but that's all it would be. So don't think you're trading Officer Lin's life; you're merely bargaining with her future chances of having children.'
Liu Jin squinted his eyes and rubbed his bald head. "That's impossible! I know a bit about this kind of curse. Unless we find the one who cast it, there's no way to break it."
I chuckled lightly. "It's just a trivial trick from Japan. In China, we can easily find someone well-versed in Daoist Arts to resolve it. Even at my young age, I can see through such low-level ghost tricks. If we could find my master, Officer Lin wouldn't have to worry about her health at all."
Liu Jin fell silent for a moment, not saying anything.
I glanced at Liu Jin's expression and could tell he was starting to believe me.
Seizing the opportunity, I continued, "So, Liu Jin, if you think you can threaten us with Officer Li's life to get yourself out, that's not going to happen. However, parole is possible."
"Parole?" Liu Jin looked at me.
I nodded. "This is the police's bottom line; it's actually probation. You can be released, but you must remain under police supervision and ensure you don't engage in any illegal activities again. The police won't interfere with you otherwise. If you commit any more illegal acts, you'll be arrested and face severe punishment."
"Alright!" Liu Jin immediately agreed.
I smiled. "It seems you truly have a change of heart. We can release you, but there are three conditions on our side. The first one has already been met: you must refrain from engaging in illegal activities again. The second condition is that you need to tell us how to break this curse, and the third condition is to reveal the mastermind behind the ivory smuggling operation. The police know that with your capabilities, you can't dismantle the entire smuggling chain on your own. If you don't know who the mastermind is, then I'm sorry; our deal can't go through. Think it over; I've laid out the police's bottom line for you—if it works out, great; if not, then we're done."
Liu Jin hesitated for a moment. "I can agree, but I need assurance for my safety."
"That's not a problem," I replied, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. It seemed we were finally making progress. As long as Liu Jin agreed to these conditions, even if he was released, the police wouldn't be at a loss either.
Liu Jin nodded. "I can't fully trust you; I need to speak with someone higher up in your department."
"Sure," I said. "The chief of the City Bureau is just outside."
Xiao Teng walked in and spoke with Liu Jin briefly to reassure him.
After they finished talking, Liu Jin finally felt at ease. I then entered the interrogation room, sat down, and looked at Liu Jin. "Alright, tell me what this Sunny Doll is all about."
"Liu Jin said, 'Well, this thing was given to me by my cousin, a distant cousin. He has a company in Japan that appears to be in the stationery business, but in reality, he acquires ivory and other wildlife products from various markets in Japan. Then he ships them to Hong Kong and from there to the mainland. Japan's regulations on ivory are not very strict, so the market supply is quite abundant and prices are low. However, if it can be safely transported to the mainland, the price can multiply tenfold. The more illegal it is, the more profit there is; that's just how it works.'
I scoffed, 'Enough of that. You tell the police about this. For every piece of ivory obtained, an elephant has to be killed. Do you know how old elephants can get? Do you realize they have thoughts and feelings too? Damn it, people like you should really be executed.'
Liu Jin retorted, 'I didn't go to Thailand to hunt elephants!'
I waved my hand dismissively. 'You're an accomplice. Those who buy ivory products aren't any better either; collecting blood-stained art pieces will bring them retribution. Now, about Sunny Doll!'
Liu Jin muttered, 'Aren't I also blinded by profit? I really need money to do this job; I know it's cruel... Anyway, Sunny Doll. That Sunny Doll was sent to me by my cousin because my wife and I have been married for seven years without having children. My cousin has a temple in Japan that's particularly effective; he prayed for me. At that time, I didn't think much of it and agreed. After more than a month, I received that Sunny Doll, and I felt something was off. I asked my cousin why the doll seemed so eerie. He told me it wasn't an ordinary doll; it was infused with Yin Spirit by a master and needed to be cared for properly—no dropping, burning, or discarding it—otherwise the consequences would be dire. He also said that the doll works exceptionally well; within two months, my wife would definitely get pregnant. I regretted it immediately and wanted to send it back, but my cousin said only the master who made the doll could take it back. He specifically instructed me to treat the doll well; otherwise, there would be endless trouble...'
As I listened to Liu Jin's description, a sense of disgust welled up inside me. That Sunny Doll was clearly made from something sinister—filled with tainted blood and perhaps even remnants of umbilical cords from infants. A child born from such a thing couldn't possibly be good; if anything, they would likely seek revenge!
The Japanese have a penchant for these bizarre things; damn it!"
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