64: Chapter 64 A Phone Call to the Past

Zhao Yi just sat there, motionless, with only the slight rise and fall of his chest.

Jiang Feng did not urge him.

He simply gave Old Chen a look. Old Chen understood and took an unopened bottle of mineral water from the wine cabinet, unscrewed it, and placed it by Zhao Yi's hand.

Time passed minute by minute.

Outside the window, the color of the sky turned from deep blue to a pale fish-belly white.

Zhao Yi finally moved.

He didn't drink the water; instead, he reached out a trembling hand and picked up that evidence bag.

Through the layer of plastic, he gently rubbed the rust-stained lighter with his thumb.

"When I first joined the team, he was the one who mentored me."

Zhao Yi spoke, his voice raspy.

"The first time I went to a crime scene and saw a body, I vomited until I was dizzy. He handed me a bottle of water, patted my back, and said, 'Kid, if you want to make a living in this profession, you have to grow some guts.'"

"The first time I fired a gun, my hands shook so much I couldn't hold it. He taught me hand-in-hand, telling me how to aim and control my breathing. He said, 'Remember, the muzzle must never be pointed at our own people.'"

He spoke sentence by sentence.

"I've been to his daughter's hospital room no less than ten times. Every time I went, he would be sitting by the bed, reading storybooks to his daughter and peeling apples. He was the gentlest man I've ever seen."

Zhao Yi looked up, his bloodshot eyes filled with pain.

"Brother Jiang, tell me... what should I do?"

Jiang Feng looked at him.

In Jiang Feng's vision, the gray-black aura of frustration entwined around Zhao Yi was churning violently.

It was the collapse of conviction.

"I am not a police officer."

Jiang Feng replied calmly.

"I'm just a fortune teller. I'm only responsible for telling you where your lost items are. As for how to handle it once you've found them, that's your business."

He stood up and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window.

"But as a friend, I can say this: some lines must never be crossed."

The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the silhouette of the city.

"It's dawn, Captain Zhao."

Jiang Feng's voice was very soft.

"Make a choice."

Zhao Yi looked at Jiang Feng's back, then looked down at the lighter in his hand.

He slowly stood up.

Throughout the process, he didn't make a sound, but there was no hesitation in his movements.

He picked up the car keys from the coffee table, turned around, and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Old Chen asked instinctively.

Zhao Yi did not look back.

"To get an answer."

The villa door opened, then closed.

Old Chen walked over to Jiang Feng's side, watching the police car speed away downstairs, feeling somewhat worried.

"Boss, he won't do anything rash, will he?"

Jiang Feng shook his head, picked up the cup of cold honey water from the table, and took a sip.

"He's tougher than you think."

Jiang Feng watched the direction where the car had disappeared.

"He needs to end this himself."

...

An inconspicuous Volkswagen sedan parked under the old locust tree in the City Bureau's Family Quarters.

Zhao Yi sat in the driver's seat, having stayed awake all night.

He stared at the gray six-story building ahead: Unit 3, Room 402.

That was Liu Zhengguo's home.

He could rush up right now, kick down the door in a standard tactical posture, and snap handcuffs onto the wrists of the man he once respected most.

He had the authority and sufficient evidence.

But he couldn't do it.

His mind was filled with images of Liu Zhengguo teaching him how to shoot and the sight of Liu Zhengguo's back as he shielded him whenever he made a mistake.

Emotion and law were a tangled mess in his head.

He fished out a cigarette and lit it, but didn't smoke it.

He just watched the smoke rise and spread in the sealed car cabin until his eyes stung.

The cigarette burned out.

Zhao Yi extinguished the cigarette butt and picked up his phone.

He didn't call for backup, nor did he notify the bureau.

He simply scrolled through his contacts and found that familiar name.

The call was placed.

It rang for a long time before being answered.

"Hello, A-Yi."

On the other end of the line, Liu Zhengguo's voice was as gentle as ever, even carrying a slight nasal tone from just waking up.

"So early, did something happen?"

Zhao Yi gripped his phone, his knuckles turning white.

He was silent for a long time, so long that Liu Zhengguo curiously said "Hello?" a couple of times.

Zhao Yi finally spoke, his voice raspy.

"Uncle Liu..."

He paused and asked word by word.

"Is the wind at Pier 3 very cold?"

The other end of the line fell into a deathly silence.

Zhao Yi could hear the other man's breathing, which became heavy for a moment before returning to calm.

A full half-minute passed.

A long sigh came through the receiver.

"Yes..."

Liu Zhengguo's voice carried a sense of exhaustion that came with relief.

"It's been cold for three years."

No excuses, no quibbling, not a single redundant word.

Just a simple admission.

Zhao Yi's eyes instantly turned red.

He thought he would be furious, that he would roar and demand to know why.

But hearing that sigh, all his emotions turned into desolate sorrow.

"A-Yi."

Liu Zhengguo spoke again.

"Can you... give me another half hour?"

There was a hint of pleading in his voice.

"I want to... talk to Yueyue again."

"And... I want to fulfill a promise from three years ago."

Zhao Yi did not answer.

He hung up the phone directly.

After briefly instructing the two Criminal Police Officers, Wang Chao and Li Jun, to watch the place, Zhao Yi remained in the car alone.

Tears could no longer be suppressed, rolling down his cheeks.

He slumped over the steering wheel, his shoulders shaking violently as he let out stifled sobs.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

He looked up and messily wiped his face with the back of his hand.

He started the car.

The engine let out a low growl.

He jerked the steering wheel, turned the car around, and sped off in the opposite direction of the Family Quarters.

That direction was the City Bureau.

...

Half an hour later.

The City Bureau Chief's office.

Zhao Yi pushed open the heavy wooden door.

He placed the lighter sealed in the evidence bag and a report requesting a search of Liu Zhengguo's office and residence onto the Chief's large desk.

"Chief."

His voice was calm, but every word carried weight.

"I want to file a report."

...

At twelve noon that day.

Jinghai City's local news channel broadcasted an urgent news flash.

"Latest news from this station: at approximately 10 AM today, the City Public Security Bureau's criminal investigation consultant, a certain Mr. Liu, committed suicide by gunshot in his home."

"Police subsequently searched his office and uncovered a large number of confidential ledgers and key evidence related to overseas drug trafficking groups."

"According to preliminary investigations, Mr. Liu was significantly involved in the case of the narcotics officer who sacrificed his life at Nangang Wharf three years ago. Currently, the case is under further investigation..."

Inside the Longhu Mountain Villa.

Jiang Feng sat on the sofa, watching the rolling news on the television screen.

Old Chen stood to the side, holding a piece of buckskin cloth and wiping an antique vase while clicking his tongue.

"You can know a person's face but not their heart. Who would have thought such a veteran predecessor would actually be a mole?"

Jiang Feng picked up the remote and changed the channel.

A boring variety show began to play on the screen.

He leaned back on the sofa and stretched.

That nightmare that had haunted Zhao Yi for three years had finally come to an end.

Although this full stop was drawn with another person's life.

As for the mission, there was one last divination remaining.

He could take a nap before heading to the subway station.

Jiang Feng was about to tell Old Chen to prepare for the afternoon's affairs when he noticed he was still wiping that vase.

"Old Chen, I've noticed you've been distracted these past two days. Is there something you want to say to me?"

"Don't tell me you've lost your first love too?"