The Brain Science Case 138

Chapter 138: The Blazing Fire (Part 1) – 8

Perhaps because her mood was greatly affected, Yingli, who had returned to the office, was unable to calm down and think about other things. As soon as the lunch break arrived, she went to the noodle shop in the alley to get lunch.

She ordered a bowl of Hakka rice noodles, and before she had had a few bites, Tao Qianya suddenly appeared. “Teacher, so you’re here.”

“Ah, I came to try the rice noodles you recommended.” She had been typing a message to Jinglin, but had to stop.

“That’s very delicious.” Tao Qianya also ordered a bowl. “I heard that you and the director and the others have a difference of opinion.”

“That’s not a difference of opinion, it’s a cover-up.” Looking up at the TV in the shop, it was just playing a recording of the press conference from before. “To blame them for a crime that is not theirs, that is not the truth, and it is definitely not the purpose of my joining the Criminal Investigation Division to investigate.”

“Me too.” Tao Qianya’s face was filled with shame. “My thoughts are the same as the teacher’s.”

Letting out a puff of hot air, the aroma of the rice noodles and the sauce filled the air. “Oh?”

“They put that in such an obvious place, which means the killer is someone else. After all, if it weren’t for the clue of the councilor Wei being kidnapped in the previous case, we probably wouldn’t have been able to lock on to the real killer so quickly.”

“Yes, even if the two M.O.s are the same, they present completely different motives for the crime. From my perspective, I would firmly argue that these were committed by different killers.” Yingli met his gaze and said, “Simply put, Li Yuejiao would not commit such a crime with an unclear purpose.”

“That’s right, this Huajiang Bridge case… thank you.” The food was served, and the topic was temporarily paused. “It’s more similar to the death of that journalist from before.”

She nodded frequently. “Fortunately, at least Dr. Tao’s position is the same as mine.”

Tao Qianya smiled faintly. “Not only that, but Little Zhou’s private action… although it’s necessary to avoid suspicion, to completely exclude her from this case, I think it’s not smart.” He lowered his voice. “Little Zhou’s understanding of Li Yuejiao is definitely more than us outsiders… that is her mother, after all.”

“Unfortunately, we now have a director who is constantly trying to cover up the truth.” She shrugged. “Don’t tell anyone, I won’t admit I said that.”

“I won’t say anything.” He laughed and made a claw shape with his hand. “I’m not that kind of person.”

“Speaking of a ‘snitch’… I’m actually very curious, why was my investigation in the evidence storage discovered?” Yingli raised a finger. “I’ll say this first, I only took pictures of the evidence and the documents. I absolutely did not steal anything.”

“I don’t believe the teacher would steal anything either… usually, no one would deliberately look at the surveillance cameras there.” He pondered for a moment and asked curiously, “By the way, did you really join the Criminal Investigation Division to investigate a case you were concerned about?”

“Do you remember the first time we met, you asked me why I came back to Taiwan?” Seeing Tao Qianya nod, Yingli looked away and said, “I came back for this… the case that has affected my whole life.”

Tao Qianya couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine, only because Yingli showed a sad expression that she had never shown before.

“It’s a little complicated. We’ll talk about it when we have a chance.” She smiled faintly, took a sip of her rice noodles, and praised, “Yes, this is really delicious.”

He looked at Yingli deeply and nodded in agreement. “Oh, yes, I like it very much.”

**

Sitting in the van, Li Yuejiao’s hands trembled as she gave herself another painkiller shot.

“Big Sister, are you okay?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine…” taking a deep breath, with a pale face, she leaned on the front and passenger seats and looked ahead, “are they out yet?”

“It should be about time. They’re on the eleven o’clock flight.” It was almost eight now, and if they didn’t leave now, they wouldn’t make it.

Thanks to the intensive surveillance in recent days, the information they had was correct. Five minutes later, a SUV-type taxi came out of the underground parking lot. The car they had arranged beforehand quickly followed.

The target was finally alone. But he was hiding in a community with security guards. From the outside to the door, there were three locks, plus a security system, which was a veritable fortress.

Even though her abdomen was aching, Li Yuejiao smiled. He thinks he’s so safe.

Under Wu Jianxiong’s arrangement, a delivery van quickly stopped at the community entrance.

“That’s the car. I’m going over.”

“Be careful, Big Sister.” The driver gave her a thumbs-up, and Li Yuejiao smiled and approached the community entrance with the “delivery man.”

In this kind of community with a management office, residents’ packages were usually received by the security guard, who would then notify the residents to come and pick them up.

This seemingly insignificant mechanism was about to become the breach in their layers of defense.

The security guard opened the main door, and the “delivery man” lowered the brim of his hat, greeted him, and pushed a cart in. “Are you looking for someone, miss?”

“Yes,” she answered with a smile, and also entered.

“Which resident are you looking for?”

“Mr. Shi in Building A, 14th floor.”

At the mention of “Mr. Shi,” the security guard’s steps faltered slightly. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No.” Maintaining her smile, in the next second, a tranquilizer dart was already in his neck. “But he will see me… he has to.”

The lobby was a bit of a distance from the management counter. While she was dealing with the security guard who had come to the door, the “delivery man” had already held down another person, and it wasn’t until Li Yuejiao had walked into the lobby that he used pepper spray. The attacked security guard didn’t even have a chance to press the emergency button before he was subdued.

Jumping over the counter, she found a magnetic card without any effort. The “delivery man” quickly came over to manipulate the surveillance footage, his technique very skilled.

“I’m going up first.”

“Wait a minute, Big Sister,” he quickly typed on the keyboard, “I’ll be done in a bit.”

“No rush. You take your time.” It might take a little longer to erase the surveillance footage.

“But the boss told me I have to be with you, Big Sister…” and the important props were still on the cart, and he had to set them up himself.

“Don’t worry.” Tossing the magnetic card, Li Yuejiao said with confidence, “he can’t stop me.”

When she had joined the National Security Bureau, Shi Jingde, who had not yet become the director, had been a feared department head. His iron-fisted policies had made everyone tremble. It was said that an unobservant agent had had both his legs broken in a close-quarters fight with him and had become a cripple.

But after he had become the director, his physical condition had declined considerably. She had seen Shi Jingde’s appearance at a wedding banquet before, and he was no longer as he had been. She was confident she could handle him on her own.

But speaking of not being as he had been—wasn’t she the same?

Putting on her earpiece to facilitate communication, Li Yuejiao swiped the electronic lock in the elevator and the elevator itself and pressed the button for the 14th floor. As the elevator was rising, she remembered that order from back then.

In the first few years of her undercover work, besides the so-called “spiritual education” that was almost brainwashing, the influence of love was the real culprit that had affected her ability to judge right from wrong. She was too young, too eager to find a place that truly belonged to her, too obsessed with a embrace that could be independent of the glamorous life and that she could rely on for a breather.

But as time went on, she gradually realized that this relationship would not have any result, and at that moment, she had unexpectedly discovered that she was pregnant.

A mixture of joy and worry had suddenly swept over her. Should she have the child? How could she hide it from the National Security Bureau and give birth to her? Could she raise her well… so many questions filled her mind, and the anxiety that came with it made it difficult for her to control herself in the high-pressure environment.

At that moment, Shi Jingde had given this order… the last straw that had broken her.

‘There are two rebels you need to deal with.’ He had thrown a photo on the table.

She had seen this kind of work content many times. But the difference was that this time, the target was not a gangster, not any smuggler or drug dealer—the couple in the photo were ordinary people, and they were smiling at the camera, and they were even holding a little girl.

These three people are the target? Rebels? They look quite harmless.

‘Originally, you were supposed to carry this out alone, but after discussing it with your superior, we decided to arrange for another person.’

‘I can do it myself.’

‘No, two people are better.’

Shi Jingde’s adamant attitude was filled with distrust of her. Looking back, had they already expected that she wouldn’t be able to do it?

The mirror in the elevator reflected her uneasy mood. She closed her eyes. At this point, there was no longer any meaning in thinking about the past.

Leaving the elevator, she quickly composed herself and came to the door of 14A. With a master key and a cracked security magnetic card that “Hacker” had given her, she swiped it at the door, and the light turned green.

It took a little time to open the door, and as soon as she stepped in, she heard soft, pure music.

At that moment, her earpiece received a report from Wu Jianxiong. ‘Yuejiao, I’ve intercepted them with the foreign workers.’

Good. Her nails lightly tapped the microphone to show that she had heard. She held her breath and snuck in, first checking the kitchen and the balcony.

The living room and the restroom were also empty, and then there was the corridor. There were three rooms here, the master bedroom, the eldest son’s room, and the twin daughters’ room.

Now that the other four were “traveling abroad,” only he was left.

But where would he be? The master bedroom? She looked up at the corridor ceiling and found that the music was coming from the speakers overhead. The room was carpeted, and with the music, she wouldn’t be able to hear his footsteps…

Holding an M1911, Li Yuejiao tried to push open the sliding doors of the other two rooms, but they were both locked. She slowly snuck into the open master bedroom and found a suspicious bulge in the bed—

“You’re still here.”

Shi Jingde’s low voice was mixed with anger. She quickly turned, but her feet were immediately tripped. His tall, fat body suddenly appeared in her sight, and his once strong and sturdy figure was long gone.

But his judo and wrestling skills were still there.

Li Yuejiao quickly got up, and before she could aim her gun, it had already been kicked away by him. He grabbed her again, and this time, he quickly got behind her.

He was planning to strangle her from behind. Even though there was a huge difference in their body mass, Li Yuejiao pushed him to the window with her feet. The full force of her body, plus his instability, still caused him some damage when he hit the wall. Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, she took out a taser and pressed it to his neck.

Ugh—he roared, but it couldn’t change the effect of the full-body paralysis. With a roll, Li Yuejiao had already picked up the gun and was aiming it at him.

She was panting, and she found a look of regret in his eyes. If she hadn’t been fully prepared, she would have almost paid a high price.

Yes, her life was not long, but she absolutely could not die here.

“As expected of a former director,” she said, rubbing her neck, which had just been choked, with a small smile, “your skills are as good as ever.”

“If I had successfully gotten behind you just now, you would have been knocked out, and you wouldn’t have even had a chance to get your taser.” Shi Jingde knelt on the ground, his face filled with regret. “I heard you were sick. Your face is quite pale, but you’re still very strong.”

“I have to take morphine every six hours now, otherwise my body hurts so much I can’t move.” She touched her abdomen. “Get up. Don’t try any tricks. Your wife and children are all under my control.”

“You, what do you want to do to them?” he stood up, and the shock made him tremble all over.

“Ha, they’re fine—at least for now. As long as you cooperate, they might still have a chance to get away.”

The “delivery man” arrived soon after he had taken care of the surveillance cameras. The two of them worked together to tie Shi Jingde to the living room sofa and gag him. While the “delivery man” was setting up, Li Yuejiao observed the room and nodded with satisfaction when she found a wireless microphone.

Her earpiece received Wu Jianxiong’s voice. ‘We’re at the warehouse… we’ve turned out all their suitcases, but we’re missing one phone… haha. They’ll probably be scrambling to pick it up. Are you done over there?’

“I’ve already tied him up. I’ll call the station after the bomb is set.” To avoid Shi Jingde hearing, Li Yuejiao walked into the master bedroom.

‘Oh, by the way… Ah Jiao, why are you doing this on purpose?’

“Of course it’s for my daughter,” she paused for a moment, “and the person who is with her.”

‘With her? You mean…’

“The friend who has been taking care of her. She… I also want to use this opportunity to tell her some things.” Looking at Shi Jingde, her mood suddenly became complicated. “So, I have to find a way to lure her over.”

‘Really… alright. Anyway, you always have your reasons. I completely trust you.’

“Thank you.” Li Yuejiao said from the bottom of her heart, “if it weren’t for your support… I really couldn’t have done all this.”

‘You’re being silly. Don’t say that…’

Hanging up the phone, Li Yuejiao went back to Shi Jingde’s side. The “delivery man” wiped his sweat with one hand. “I’m sorry, Big Sister. It will be done in a bit.”

“Yes, is there someone downstairs to pick us up?”

“The ‘driver’ will be waiting there, disguised as a security guard.”

“Very good.”

After the bomb was finally set, Li Yuejiao had him leave first, then she picked up the indoor wireless phone and dialed a number.

‘This is the Criminal Investigation Division. Do you have a case to report?’

Through a voice changer, she said clearly into the receiver, “I’m Lisa. The former director of the National Security Bureau, Shi Jingde, is in my hands now… if you don’t come soon, he’s going to be blown to pieces.”

There seemed to be a lot of commotion on the other end of the line, and she laughed a few times. “Also, remember to have Tang Yingli come to the scene. If I find out she’s not here, I will immediately activate the bomb… and I will also kill Shi Jingde’s family.”