61: Chapter 61 What you lost wasn't a thing, it was trust.

As soon as Jiang Feng spoke, the bustling hall fell silent.

Everyone turned their heads, staring in unison at Zhao Yi on the edge of the crowd.

Zhao Yi's body tensed up.

He had become the center of attention; the faces of those around him were filled with curiosity, scrutiny, and a touch of playful mockery.

He subconsciously straightened his back; the habits formed from years of being a police officer made it impossible for him to show weakness in public.

He pushed through the people in front of him and walked step by step toward that corner stall.

Each step was heavy.

Jiang Feng watched him.

In the vision granted by the System, a grayish-black stagnant aura was coiled around Zhao Yi's body.

It wasn't the aura of illness or malevolence, but something much more complex.

It was a mixture of betrayal and helplessness, along with the exhaustion left behind by long-term mental attrition.

This aura trapped Zhao Yi firmly in place.

"Brother Jiang..."

He pulled Jiang Feng aside, away from the onlookers who were straining their ears to listen.

"I..." He lowered his voice, the words squeezed through his teeth, "I can't let you find anything."

Zhao Yi's face was full of the despair of someone who had hit a brick wall.

"I came as you said, but I have nothing for you to calculate!"

His voice was urgent and frustrated.

"For the past half month, I've checked every relevant case file and piece of evidence. Nothing is missing, and no records have been tampered with! The other side did it flawlessly! I'm chasing a damn shadow; there are no physical clues at all!"

He frustratedly grabbed his hair.

"Without an object, how can you find anything? You can't just conjure up a piece of evidence out of thin air, can you?"

The surrounding chatter buzzed, but Jiang Feng remained deaf to it.

He picked up the Pendulum on the table; the cloudy crystal swayed at his fingertips, reflecting the pale lights of the subway station.

"Who said nothing was lost?"

Jiang Feng's words caused Zhao Yi's agitation to freeze.

Zhao Yi looked up.

"You lost the most important thing." Jiang Feng didn't look at him; his gaze fell on the Pendulum as the crystal's tip traced a faint path in the air.

He looked up, staring directly into Zhao Yi's bloodshot eyes.

"Three years ago, a rainy night, a dock warehouse. Your brother Li Xiang sacrificed himself."

Jiang Feng spoke slowly, every word hitting Zhao Yi where it hurt the most.

"From that moment on, you lost the truth."

"From the moment I told you about the mole, you also lost your trust in those around you."

"These two things, although intangible and invisible, are very much real."

Jiang Feng held the Pendulum up in front of Zhao Yi. "Today, I'll help you find where the fragments of that trust have fallen."

Trust.

Truth.

These two words stung Zhao Yi's nerves intensely.

His body swayed slightly, and he leaned against the wall behind him.

That's right.

He had lost his trust.

Now, whenever he looked at anyone in the team, he wondered in his heart if they were the mole.

The team that he once could have completely entrusted his back to had now become a Rashomon that kept him awake at night.

"I... what should I do?" Zhao Yi's voice was hoarse and trembling slightly.

He was no longer fixated on physical clues; he had been led into a completely new logic by Jiang Feng.

"Reach out your hand," Jiang Feng said.

Zhao Yi mechanically extended his right hand.

"Hover it over the map."

Zhao Yi's palm hovered over the large Jinghai City Subway Map.

His hand was shaking, not from fear, but from excitement and uncontrollable anger.

"Now, close your eyes," Jiang Feng's voice was guiding. "Don't think about evidence, don't think about case files, and don't think about those headache-inducing relationships."

"Think about that rainy night."

"Think about how your brother fell."

"Think about the frustration you felt every time you found a clue over the past three years, only to be forced to stop."

"Think about the face you want to tear apart the most right now."

Zhao Yi closed his eyes.

In the darkness, countless chaotic images flooded his mind.

The torrential rain, the dense drumming of raindrops hitting the tin roof of the warehouse.

Before Li Xiang died, the last thing he said to him was: "Yi-ge, my daughter... her birthday is next month..."

And for the past half month, he had stayed up countless nights, facing that whiteboard covered in photos and relationship networks, yet unable to find a single breakthrough.

Every time, he was just a little bit short.

Every time, he was pushed back to square one by an invisible hand.

Frustration.

Anger.

Unwillingness.

Three years of pent-up emotions exploded at this moment, flowing down his arm and toward the map.

The Pendulum in Jiang Feng's hand was no longer swaying slightly.

It began to swing violently and spin crazily; the silver chain was pulled taut, leaving afterimages in the air!

The surrounding onlookers let out a chorus of gasps.

The crystal spun as if out of control, exuding an eerie quality.

Only Jiang Feng knew that this wasn't out of control.

It had found its direction.

Zhao Yi's emotions were the strongest beacon.

Finally, the crazily spinning Pendulum came to a sudden halt.

The tip of the crystal pointed motionlessly at an area on the edge of the map.

That place was enclosed by a red dashed line.

The annotation next to it read: [Demolished].

Manager Zhang from the lost and found center leaned in to take a look and gasped.

"This... isn't this the Nangang Wharf where the incident happened three years ago? It was leveled a long time ago and is now a construction site. I heard they're going to build a new logistics center there."

Zhao Yi also opened his eyes.

He looked at the location with a complex expression.

It was the turning point of his career and the greatest nightmare of his life.

Jiang Feng, however, didn't look at the map.

He had his eyes closed and his brow furrowed, as if he were listening.

A few seconds later, he spoke.

He began to describe a scene.

"The truth was left in that place that has already disappeared."

His voice was very soft, yet it reached Zhao Yi's ears clearly.

"It is locked in a small Metal box."

"A child's hope is engraved on it, and it's also stained with your brother's blood."

"It smells of..." Jiang Feng's nose twitched, "tobacco, engine oil, and despair."

A Metal box?

A child's hope?

Tobacco, engine oil, despair?

These words combined made no sense, throwing Zhao Yi's thoughts into a mess.

He was completely unable to combine these words into anything meaningful.

More importantly, that warehouse had long since been razed to the ground, turning into a pile of rubble overgrown with weeds.

How was he supposed to find it?

Was he supposed to flip over the entire construction site?

Jiang Feng opened his eyes and put away the Pendulum, which was no longer swaying.

Looking at the confused Zhao Yi, he flipped over the sign that read "Lost Item Consultation."

"Go, Captain Zhao."

"Within those ruins hides the trust you lost."

Jiang Feng stood up and pushed the desk back to its original position with a crisp, decisive movement.

"Sometimes, finding things requires a bit of luck."

He paused for a moment and then added another sentence.

"And a Metal detector."