The Brain Science Case 140

Chapter 140: The Blazing Fire (Part 1) – 10

It had been a long, long time since Yingli had heard her biological parents’ names.

Not just heard them, but she had done her best not to think of them during her investigation. The tragedy of the past was like something locked away in the deepest part of her heart—to fit into her current family, she had even forgotten her original name.

But just as Li Yuejiao had said the names Gan Shuohong and Xu Shengya, it was as if a switch had been flipped in her heart.

“You… how could you…”

‘I won’t say how I know.’ As if she had finally confirmed something important, she sighed with a laugh, ‘I never thought that the person the National Security Bureau had been searching for all those years ago would have grown up with a new identity, and had even become a neuroscientist with a specialized field.’

Closing her eyes, Yingli tried to calm herself. She was not yet completely sure of Li Yuejiao’s purpose, and she absolutely could not lose her reason.

“You’re right.” Opening her eyes, her voice had already returned to a steady tone. “But so what? Did you call me here just to confirm this in person?”

‘Of course not. Oh… where should I start? I have so much to say to you.’ Li Yuejiao took another drag from her cigarette. ‘About the killer of your biological parents… how far have you investigated?’

“At least I know that the red ceramic ox was a gift from the killer who had broken into the house at that time. I also found his personal information…” she bit her lip, “how much do you know about the case from back then, Auntie?”

‘Oh, is that all? Ha, that’s right… after all these years, a lot of the evidence has been destroyed, not to mention you’re investigating secretly.’ Li Yuejiao laughed again. ‘I know too much. So much that Shi Jingde and Zhou Zengxiang would love to shut my mouth and sink me to the bottom of the sea in cement.’

“Words are no proof. How are you going to prove your in-depth knowledge of this case? How do I know if you’re not planning to use this to drive a wedge between me and the Criminal Investigation Division?”

‘As expected of a neuroscientist, you think very far ahead. You want evidence, right? Okay.’ she said with confidence, ‘you must have found the shell casing the killer left at the scene in the evidence, right?’

“There is indeed a shell casing.”

‘Logically, there should be two. Your parents both died of gunshot wounds… but never mind. You compare the rifling marks on that bullet with Wei Yumin’s, and the result will be the same.’

This statement made Yingli’s eyes widen in surprise.

‘Do you understand? This gun of mine is the weapon that shot your parents back then.’

The weapon that shot them.

Does that mean Li Yuejiao is the killer? Otherwise, how could she have the weapon that had shot her biological parents back then?

“You… Li Yuejiao.”

Yingli’s roar drew a series of laughs from her. ‘Hahaha… don’t misunderstand. I just stole this gun from the National Security Bureau. I’m not the one who actually did it. The real killer is far more cold-blooded and brutal than I am. And there’s not just one real killer…’ she paused slightly and said, word by word, ‘one of them is on that single sofa behind you.’

She turned abruptly and met Shi Jingde’s surprised and questioning gaze.

‘This massacre was the result of a joint crime. Although I was involved, the one who really gave the order was Shi Jingde. He is now facing a death threat, and even his family is under my control. You can confront him with the details of the case I just described.’

Yingli gripped the wireless receiver tightly, and the memories sealed in her heart were triggered one by one—

On the night of the incident, she had come home and had seen the yellow police cordon pulled up before her.

The entire entrance was packed, and the scene was too chaotic. She had desperately wanted to know what was going on, but she had been knocked down by the large number of police officers who were moving around the scene and had fainted in front of the crowded entrance.

When she had woken up, she had been in the hospital, facing the reporters who had come to interview her and the police who were waiting to take her statement, her mind a blank. It wasn’t until a few days after the incident that she had gradually understood what had happened from the news and from Tang Yuzhong’s account.

‘Your parents are gone. You’re the only one left in the family.’

Gone… never to return.

‘I heard from the police that the killer had searched the entire house. I think it was to find you… you’re not safe in the hospital.’

At that time, their little daughter was also suffering from an illness.

‘Do you trust me, Uncle?’

Tang Yuzhong was her father’s friend. At this point, and in that environment, she had no reason not to believe him.

‘There’s a way to change your identity and to avoid any possible danger. Are you willing?’

She was willing.

Even though she didn’t know the price, she was willing to accept all the arrangements Tang Yuzhong had made for her.

And then, she had been taken back to the Tang family first.

There, she had met the “real” Tang Yingli, who was the same age as her. The same six-year-old body, but very, very thin. In her memory, she was deathly pale, and was on a respirator, and it wouldn’t have been strange if she had died at any moment.

‘You have to become her.’ Tang Yuzhong had pointed at his sickly little daughter. ‘You will take her place and become Tang Yingli.’

The plan was set. She had flown abroad with Shao Wanjuan—and had returned to Taiwan half a year later. To the outside world, they had claimed that Tang Yingli had been “miraculously cured.” Internally, she had worked hard to learn and to familiarize herself with everything about the Tang family.

The Gan family’s little daughter had thus become a missing person, and she had become Tang Yingli.

Because of this incident, her life had completely changed.

‘Your expression tells me what you’ve been through,’ Li Yuejiao seemed to let out a satisfied sigh, ‘this is the real reason I called you to the scene.’

“Don’t tell me you just did it for your own amusement.”

Yingli drew back the curtain and carefully searched for a possible hiding place for Li Yuejiao. “That incident not only took two lives, but it also completely overturned and affected two families, including their lives, their experiences… you were involved in this case, and you still have the nerve to talk and laugh about it.”

‘No, you’ve missed two. The ones who were changed by that incident were also Jinglin and me.’

Li Yuejiao was lurking in the building across the street. The same height allowed her to use a telescope to observe the situation inside.

“Perhaps you’ll think I’m making excuses, but at that time, I was already at odds with the agents and superiors in the National Security Bureau when I was pregnant with Jinglin.” Taking off the telescope, she slowed her tone. “It’s not just because being pregnant was not allowed, but at that time, the National Security Bureau was no longer acting for ‘national security,’ but was a tool for the government to get rid of its stumbling blocks. We were the government’s high-level weapons.”

‘I probably know who Officer Zhou’s biological father is… no wonder you’ve been so reluctant to tell her the truth.’

“It’s good that you know.” Li Yuejiao gave a wry smile. “Realizing this, and with the guilt I felt from witnessing your parents’ death, I began to question the National Security Bureau, my superiors, and even the government, which undoubtedly deepened the rift between me and the high-level officials.”

‘Tell me, are you fighting for survival, or for your ideals? From what you’ve said so far, besides the rifling marks that couldn’t be verified on the scene, what else is there to believe?’

The purpose of “Mountain Wind”’s existence, was it a desperate gamble by a former National Security Bureau agent? Or was it, as she had stated later, because she had seen that she was just a tool used by the government’s high-level officials, and she was rebelling because of a disagreement in ideals?

“I am both for survival and for my ideals. The two are parallel…”

The door was opened, and Li Yuejiao covered the receiver. The “driver” who was on lookout for her said with a grave expression, “Big Sister, the cops are now spreading out to search, and they’ll be here soon.”

I can’t stay any longer.

“If you doubt it, then just ask Shi Jingde directly. The killer is right in front of you.” Hanging up the phone, she took out the SIM card to avoid being tracked, and the phone switched to a surveillance camera screen, and she continued to monitor the scene through the on-site audio.

The call was temporarily stopped.

The number of service vehicles below was increasing, and to catch Li Yuejiao, Fang Zijun had deployed a large number of men. She turned on her earpiece. “Hello, Chief Fang… yes, I’ve talked to her a little… she was just lurking in the building across the street, and now the call has been cut off. I believe she must have received the news and is preparing to escape… she will probably call again. I will continue to stay here. That’s all for now.”

Turning off her earpiece, she temporarily put down the receiver. At this time, Shi Jingde couldn’t wait to ask, “Hey, you were shouting so loudly just now… what did she say to you?”

“She said a lot of things.” Yingli gritted her teeth and came before Shi Jingde. “While we have a little time now, I’d like to ask you, former Director Shi, according to the records of Li Yuejiao’s time at the National Security Bureau that we have, she carried out her last classified mission in 1990. What was the content of that mission?”

“Since it’s classified, it means no comment. I advise you not to be influenced by her…”

“Was it the incident known as the Gan family massacre?”

Shi Jingde was taken aback. “Did Li Yuejiao say that?”

Yingli stared at his face, not missing any subtle expression. “She said her M1911 was the weapon that killed… the Gan couple back then. And that gun was stolen from the National Security Bureau.” She crossed her arms. “What do you say?”

“Nonsense. Li Yuejiao is just blaming everything on the National Security Bureau. Don’t you understand? She’s just trying to influence your judgment…”

“There are rifling marks as proof.” Yingli interrupted him fiercely. “As long as we can prove that the rifling marks on the shell casing are consistent with Wei Yumin’s, and even the bullet in Zhou Zengxiang’s shoulder, your lies now will be exposed.”

Shi Jingde’s face twitched. “Get it straight. Although I’m tied up here, I’m definitely not a criminal you can just interrogate.”

“If you were really the mastermind behind the Gan family massacre, then that’s a different story.”

He tilted his head up, and Yingli glared at him from above, and they faced off.

The bomb continued to count down.

**

The last GPS location was in a certain part of the Xiagu Fishing Harbor in the Bali district. Tamsui and Bali again? Jinglin was first surprised that they could have taken the person so far, and then she began to worry that their rescue time might not be enough.

“The location is in the Xiagu Fishing Harbor, Bali district.” She reported through the radio and the phone group. “Please have the chief or Senior Ah Mu have the police there move out first. The target is to find a tin-roofed warehouse. They should be locked up in there.”

Another man’s voice came from the earpiece. It was Chen Huomu, and he shouted in frustration, ‘Little Zhou? How could you be the one to request backup…’

“Who is requesting backup is not important at all, senior. I just received a report from one of the victims, and the chief also agreed to let me and Xiangrong go out to rescue them. We’ve already found the approximate location.”

‘Weren’t they kidnapped? How could they have found a phone to report it?’

“I don’t know either.” Jinglin accelerated and changed lanes. “But since the victim was able to report it, it means the culprits may have been careless. We absolutely have to seize any possible opportunity to rescue the hostages.”

Chen Huomu on the other end was silent for a while, and when he spoke again, his tone had softened a lot. ‘That’s right. The taxi we’re chasing now has been circling around the Nangang area, and it’s very likely a decoy to buy time. If it weren’t for you receiving the report, we might still be going in the wrong direction… I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

“Thank you, senior.”

As she was about to cross the bridge to Bali, Jinglin received a message that the precinct police had been deployed.

She turned to contact Shi Peixin. “Hello, Peixin, can you hear me?”

‘I can hear you…’ her voice is so weak.

“We’re crossing the bridge now. The police from all the precincts have been deployed. Can you hear any sirens on your end?”

Sirens?

Shi Peixin tried to stand up and pressed her ear to the corrugated iron wall. “I can’t hear anything.”

‘You can’t hear anything… your voice is a little distant.’

She crouched down to get closer to the receiver. “Yes, I can’t hear anything.”

‘But your phone’s location is on the west side of the fishing harbor. Is your family awake?’

Shi Peixin looked at her family and found that only her younger sister, Shi Shuxin, was gradually waking up, and the other two were still unconscious. “My sister seems to be awake, but my brother and my mom are not. I don’t know if it’s because they were drugged… my head hurts a little now, and I still feel a little weak.” She was staring at the screen and talking when a sudden warning reminded her that her phone’s battery was less than 20%.

‘Are you all still safe now?’

“We’re relatively safe, but my phone is about to die.”

‘It’s about to die… okay, if the situation is relatively stable, then you can temporarily cut off the call. As long as your phone can still be turned on, we can continue to track your approximate location.’

“How much longer will you be?” Shi Peixin cried out in anxiety.

‘About… ten to twelve minutes. You hang up the phone first and stay quiet. We’ll be there soon.’

“Okay, I understand…”

‘We will definitely find you. You will be fine.’

“Yes…”

After the call was cut off, the entire warehouse suddenly became quiet. Shi Shuxin, who was across from her, opened her eyes, and she didn’t seem to have fully understood the situation yet. “Peixin, who were you… talking to just now?”

“It was the police. I’ve already reported it. Someone will be here to save us soon…”

A few sirens could be vaguely heard in the distance. “You hear that? The police are here.” The smile on her face had not even lasted for three seconds when the sound of a chain hitting the warehouse door suddenly sounded. The sisters’ expressions suddenly became very tense, and Shi Peixin couldn’t even put on her shoes and socks, and could only kick her phone to the farthest corner to hide her rescue attempt as much as possible.

The main door was pushed open, and a man’s sharp gaze swept over the four of them, who were tied up. He glanced at the scattered luggage and slowly walked into the warehouse.

Shi Peixin was on her knees, hiding her shoes, socks, and phone behind her, at the same time pretending to be still unconscious, and constantly praying in her heart that the group of people would leave quickly.

Even with her eyes closed, she could still sense the change in the light. The main door was closed again. Shi Peixin sighed, and before she could even open her eyes, her hair was suddenly grabbed.

She was forced to look up, and when she opened her eyes, she smelled a very strong and disgusting smell of betel nut.

“Still pretending to be asleep, miss?”

your family awake?’

Shi Peixin looked at her family and found that only her younger sister, Shi Shuxin, was gradually waking up, and the other two were still unconscious. “My sister seems to be awake, but my brother and my mom are not. I don’t know if it’s because they were drugged… my head hurts a little now, and I still feel a little weak.” She was staring at the screen and talking when a sudden warning reminded her that her phone’s battery was less than 20%.

‘Are you all still safe now?’

“We’re relatively safe, but my phone is about to die.”

‘It’s about to die… okay, if the situation is relatively stable, then you can temporarily cut off the call. As long as your phone can still be turned on, we can continue to track your approximate location.’

“How much longer will you be?” Shi Peixin cried out in anxiety.

‘About… ten to twelve minutes. You hang up the phone first and stay quiet. We’ll be there soon.’

“Okay, I understand…”

‘We will definitely find you. You will be fine.’

“Yes…”

After the call was cut off, the entire warehouse suddenly became quiet. Shi Shuxin, who was across from her, opened her eyes, and she didn’t seem to have fully understood the situation yet. “Peixin, who were you… talking to just now?”

“It was the police. I’ve already reported it. Someone will be here to save us soon…”

A few sirens could be vaguely heard in the distance. “You hear that? The police are here.” The smile on her face had not even lasted for three seconds when the sound of a chain hitting the warehouse door suddenly sounded. The sisters’ expressions suddenly became very tense, and Shi Peixin couldn’t even put on her shoes and socks, and could only kick her phone to the farthest corner to hide her rescue attempt as much as possible.

The main door was pushed open, and a man’s sharp gaze swept over the four of them, who were tied up. He glanced at the scattered luggage and slowly walked into the warehouse.

Shi Peixin was on her knees, hiding her shoes, socks, and phone behind her, at the same time pretending to be still unconscious, and constantly praying in her heart that the group of people would leave quickly.

Even with her eyes closed, she could still sense the change in the light. The main door was closed again. Shi Peixin sighed, and before she could even open her eyes, her hair was suddenly grabbed.

She was forced to look up, and when she opened her eyes, she smelled a very strong and disgusting smell of betel nut.

“Still pretending to be asleep, miss?”