The Brain Science Case 120

Chapter 120: The Collapsing Tower – 1

#I just don’t want to see anyone else suffer the same pain as me.

**

Taoyuan International Airport, a flight from Japan landed smoothly on the runway.

At seven in the evening, the passengers of this flight disembarked one after another. One of them, a seemingly inconspicuous old man, walked to the VIP channel, where he collected his luggage and passed through customs with a leisurely posture.

Arriving at the arrival hall, as soon as he opened his phone, he immediately received a message. He went to the pickup platform, and a white luxury car silently approached.

He handed his luggage to the driver and got into the back seat first.

“Welcome back.”

The man’s hand reached out to him, and Wei Yumin smiled and shook it.

The car started smoothly and quietly joined the traffic. He stretched, and after relaxing, he spoke, “I’ve heard everything from Shenghui… the men you’ve trained have done a good job.”

“You’re too kind.” Zhou Zengxiang snorted. Although Fang Zijun had successfully rescued Wei Shenghui, he was not satisfied with his arbitrary killing of the culprit, and he had privately reprimanded him for it.

“Especially since I heard there seems to be a female detective who is good at negotiating and has a good grasp of psychology.”

“You mean that one… she’s not a female detective from the bureau, but a scholar, a neuroscientist, who was invited to assist with the case through a special relationship.”

“Oh, oh, I see.” Wei Yumin shook his head. “Shenghui mentioned it… I’m getting old, and I can’t remember a lot of things.”

Ever since he had left his official post, he had been frequently traveling between Japan and Taiwan these past few years, and had almost made Japan his second home. This time, if it weren’t for the fact that Wei Shenghui had withdrawn from the election after being kidnapped, and the family business was suddenly without a leader, he would not have rushed back, especially after the incident was over.

“I heard you were shot in the shoulder before.” Wei Yumin mentioned it with a laugh. “And it was by the bitch you used to keep.”

Zhou Zengxiang hid his face in the shadows, not easily letting his displeasure show. “Yes.”

“But I’m not qualified to say anything about you. If it weren’t for the police’s quick action, I would have been very worried about Shenghui falling into their hands… this kid is in politics, and after a few years, his control over the business has loosened.”

“A city councilor is also very busy. You can’t have it all.”

“That’s right.” Wei Yumin laughed. “No more nonsense. How far have you investigated? That organization, I still don’t understand it.”

“Didn’t they ask you for information?”

In the past, during the inspection and purge, Wei Yumin, who had been an official of the Taipei Investigation Bureau, still had a lot of records of interrogating political prisoners.

“That’s right. Those are all paper copies, and I’ve locked them in a special place.”

“That’s it. They got the list and recruited them one by one. Those who didn’t cooperate were dealt with as accidental deaths… I still don’t know what her real purpose is, but the more she gets a hold of, the more disadvantageous our situation will be.”

“She also did a lot of important missions back then, including so-called social activists…” he shook his head, “could it be that she’s feeling guilty? She’s actually planning to dig up those old things.”

With the current social trends and atmosphere, there are not a few who specialize in studying the actions of the rulers during the authoritarian period. “Although logically, no one knows her better than I do, but people’s thoughts can change,” Zhou Zengxiang said quietly.

“This change has caused a lot of trouble. Not only did she secretly take over the club you and the other sponsors had funded, but now it has also become a den to cover up her own actions. Who’s backing her?”

“The network she cultivated with those gangsters when she was the owner.” He had originally wanted to use Li Yuejiao to further control the gangster forces, but after she had cut off her contact with the national security agency, this network had become her lifeline.

“It’s quite troublesome… how are you planning to solve it?”

“As I said before, I have already set up a special task force to investigate this case, and I am also actively monitoring the candidates on the list. If I encounter anyone who has contact with them and may cooperate with them, I will strike first.”

“Ha, this ‘it’s better to kill a hundred by mistake than to let one go’ policy, I never thought it would come from your mouth.”

“She was trained by me, after all. If I let things continue to escalate, I will also be held responsible.”

“That’s true. Your career is still important. You’re not very satisfied with your position as the director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, are you?”

“Aren’t you?” Zhou Zengxiang said with a smile, “don’t tell me you’re enjoying this retired life.” He had come back this time to get involved in the crumbling construction company.

Wei Yumin slapped his thigh and laughed, nodding vigorously as if in agreement.

The conversation between the two of them was hidden by the space in the car. The car continued to speed through the traffic, in the direction of Taipei.

**

Not a single “read.”

The exquisitely made menu was opened and then closed. Tang Yingli continued to stare at the chat window between her and Zhou Jinglin, and the tapping of her shoe betrayed her anxiety. She tried calling again, but it still went to voicemail.

“Miss, I’m sorry.” The service staff gave a shy and friendly smile. “May I take your order?”

It was 7:30, and she had been sitting there for an hour.

“No, that’s all for now.” She stood up, picked up her bag and coat, and nodded to the service staff.

Thank you for coming—with the service staff’s smile, she took a car home.

On the way, she had also tried to contact the other people at the station, but they had all replied that Zhou Jinglin had “already left the office.”

Should I ask Chen Huomu? As the deputy chief, he might know Jinglin’s whereabouts… but Yingli quickly dismissed the thought. After all, she was looking for Jinglin for a personal matter.

What’s wrong? Walking into the elevator, she kept searching for the little things in their contact. She remembered that when she had invited her this morning, she had seemed very happy…

Turning on the lights, the room was so quiet that she could only hear the sound of the golden hamster running on its wheel. It was almost eight, and Jinglin was not at home.

Could something have happened? Taking off her outdoor clothes, Yingli decided to try again.

But just as the call connected, she vaguely heard a familiar phone ringing from outside the door.

The golden hamster was staring at the main door. As the door was unlocked, that slender, tall figure quietly appeared at the door.

“I thought something had happened to you.” She hung up the phone with a sigh of relief. “What’s wrong? Did you forget about our…”

“I remember.”

Jinglin did not take off her shoes, and held her car keys as she slowly walked before her—with an angry expression. “I remember our date tonight.”

“Hm? Then why didn’t you come…”

“Not only that… I also remember all the details of the cases we’ve investigated together. I remember your care, your thoughtfulness, and… your every promise.”

She took a deep breath, and Tang Yingli’s fair, pretty face was covered with a layer of confusion. “You’re the one who forgot. You forgot what you promised me after my mom’s incident.”

“Officer Zhou…”

“I was on duty this morning, and the case I was handling, the victim was Dingdang… Tan Ziying. Do you know what she told me?” Jinglin gritted her teeth. “I saw my mom.”

Yingli’s heart felt as if it had been stabbed. In that instant… Jinglin’s deliberate coldness toward her had a perfect explanation.

Right? She finally knew the truth.

“I’ve been investigating all afternoon… and I only just found out how many tricks you’ve played. The test report actually found an anticoagulant, which means that the blood on the bed was not the blood my mom shed when she was killed. Wu Jianxiong was not moving a body, and he wasn’t even the one who killed her, but he was taking her away from the so-called ‘crime scene.’ If I’m not mistaken… she had plastic surgery, right? That’s the only way to explain why she has a different face.

“So that sense of familiarity wasn’t fake, it wasn’t some bullshit déjà vu… it was her, my mom. The woman in the white suit who smiled at me. She changed her appearance, but her eyes can’t lie. And because I’m the mastermind’s daughter, I was deliberately excluded from the special project by you all.”

The large indoor space reflected the echo of Jinglin’s questioning. Yingli gave a bitter smile. “You’re right. I specially asked you out tonight to talk about this…”

“Oh, really? You’re only going to confess now that the cat’s out of the bag? Why didn’t you say so when you had so many chances before?” Jinglin shook her head and pushed her hard. “You liar. You used me, you got information about my mom from me, but you pretended to know nothing…

“I’ve always tried to convince myself to trust you… but you chose to hide it from me.”

Her tears rolled down the corners of her eyes. Yingli watched, her fingers trembling slightly, and finally, she clenched her fists tightly.

“Regarding your accusations,” she turned her face away as if in defeat, “I have nothing to say.”

Jinglin was taken aback for a moment, followed by a sense of betrayal and anger. “Tang. Ying. Li.”

Compared to Jinglin’s passionate anger, Yingli was surprisingly cold. “If you think I deliberately hid it from you, and even used you… then so be it.”

“Is that it?” Jinglin took the initiative to grab her hand. “You’re admitting your mistake. Your concern for me was all… all fake, wasn’t it? What about being friends? I thought our relationship had long surpassed all of that. What colleagues, friends, confidants…”

Jinglin’s fingers dug into her arms, but she just laughed and repeated coldly, “I have nothing to say.”

“To hell with your nothing to say. I want your explanation.”

Yingli’s back was against the hamster cage, and to keep her balance, her fingers accidentally knocked over a few bottles of nutritional supplements. “I’ve always respected you. And I’ve always believed in you… I thought you wouldn’t lie to me, and until now… I still remember what you said after the incident. I remember everything about being with you.” She let go of Yingli. “Why did you have the heart to disappoint me? Why wouldn’t you just tell me the truth?”

“No matter what I say now… it will just be sophistry to you.”

Yingli slowly raised her hand, and just before she was about to touch her tears, she stopped and instead gently pressed Jinglin’s hot forehead.

“If you really remember what you said, you should know why I couldn’t say it.”

“I only know you were trying to smooth things over.” Jinglin forcefully pushed her away. “Tang Yingli… I hate you.”

Jinglin’s departing steps, along with the loud slam of the door, faded into nothingness. Yingli knew that her anger this time was unusual. She had just left, and she might never come back.

The golden hamster was clearly frightened, but Yingli was as dazed as a puppet with its strings cut. After a long moment, she slowly walked to the wine cabinet and chose a bottle of red wine.

She also remembered everything since she had met Jinglin.

From their initial confrontation, they had gradually come to trust each other, and from that trust, they had developed a rapport and had become an inseparable team.

But after Li Yuejiao’s fake death, the development of events seemed to have gotten out of control. It was she who had allowed it, had allowed Jinglin to cross the line she had originally set, only because she had seen her former self in Jinglin and had given her an unimaginable amount of care, and in the end, she had been mercilessly drawn into the conflict between mother and daughter, and even the entire criminal organization’s conspiracy.

She had brought it on herself.

The red wine spilled on the table, but she didn’t care, and she tilted her head back and drank the full bitterness.