The Brain Science Case 93

Chapter 93: Mandatory Protection Order- 18 (End)

‘I’ve spoken with Chief Fang. They’ll be here in ten minutes. Vicky said their rehearsal is divided into two halves, with an hour-long break in between. I guess now is the time to make a move. You find Zhou Jingxun, quick.’

“Easy for you to say. I don’t even know where I am.”

Returning to the basement, Zhou Jinglin ran, barely holding her wound. She could only rely on her imagination to guess the route Yingli had described.

‘If you don’t know, just rely on your sense of direction. The lounge and the dressing room are connected, right under the stage.’

“But the stage is so big.”

‘Right under the circular part of the stage. That’s the only place with a lift.’ Yingli explained, racking her brain.

“Roger that.”

Just as she was on her way, the lights of the fire safety system suddenly turned on, followed by the blaring of the alarm.

“A fire… Teacher, there’s a situation here.”

‘I heard it.’ Yingli immediately reacted. ‘Could it be… I get it. She’s planning to burn Zhou Jingxun to death.’

Is she planning to let Zhou Jingxun die the same way as her daughter?

Zhou Jinglin gritted her teeth and ran with all her might, and she heard Yingli say, ‘Don’t worry about the location of the alarm. You go to the lounge first. Maybe Shi Changyun is trying to create chaos to cover up her real intentions… just like the assassination she arranged.’

“Got it.”

Approaching the dressing room, Zhou Jinglin heard a mixture of Korean and Chinese shouts. She managed to grab one of the male staff members. “Where’s Keys’ lounge?”

He understood Chinese. “The l-lounge?”

“Yes.”

He took her to the lounge door. Zhou Jinglin touched the doorknob and felt an unusual heat. “It won’t open… there must be someone still inside.”

“Someone? But Keys went out for dinner…”

She quickly dialed Zhou Jingxun’s number and vaguely heard a phone ringing inside. “Jingxun, Jingxun is still in there.” She tried to ram the door, but the pain in her waist made her bend over and kneel. Her wound had opened.

She panted, and with her last bit of strength, she rammed it again. The door was still intact. “If I don’t, if I don’t open the door…”

Just as Zhou Jinglin was in a panic, the staff member, as if he had seen a savior, said a long string of Korean and pointed at the lounge.

The person he had grabbed was the manager. After hearing the description, he was shocked and quickly fumbled for the key to open the door.

As soon as it opened, a thick smoke came out.

The lights had been cut, and more than half of the gifts that had filled the lounge were on fire. Relying on the flashing screen of her phone, she finally found Zhou Jingxun lying on the sofa.

She rushed in, and the staff member immediately came to help. The two of them supported Zhou Jingxun. The manager, who had gotten a fire extinguisher from somewhere, managed to put out the flames near the door, and the three of them, working together, finally brought Zhou Jingxun to safety.

“The fire in the women’s restroom has been put out.” “How did a fire start here?” “Keys’ lounge is on fire.” All sorts of shouts were intertwined in her ears, and it was chaotic. Zhou Jinglin held her wound, and the bandage on her left hand was already stained red. She looked up in Zhou Jingxun’s direction.

“Jingxun… Jingxun.”

The manager and the staff surrounded Zhou Jingxun. After being shaken a few times, she coughed several times and then opened her eyes, still dazed.

“Um… Brother Tae-sung?” she recognized the manager who was holding her, and then a series of worried faces, “what are you guys… what happened?”

“Oh my god.” he shouted, taking off his glasses and choking back a sob, “thank goodness… you’re okay, Xiao Xun. You were almost burned to death in there.”

Looking at the smoke-filled lounge entrance, Zhou Jingxun couldn’t help but shiver. She touched her forehead, and from her blurry memory, she remembered drinking the hot chocolate Shi Changyun had given her, and then reading the small card, and then…

“Jingxun.”

She followed the familiar voice, and Zhou Jinglin wiped her sweat and managed to stand up. “Sister Zhou… is that you?” Wearing a suit… so Kim Hyun-joo was talking about her?

“This lady saved you. Do you know each other?”

“Yes, she’s a detective. She was protecting me before.” She explained to Lee Tae-sung and, with unsteady steps, walked to Zhou Jinglin. “How did you get here? Your injury…” Seeing Zhou Jinglin holding her side tightly, she instinctively knew something was wrong.

“I’m fine.” Enduring the pain, Zhou Jinglin’s face was pale. “Listen, we’ve finally figured it out. The person who was watching you and who attacked you… is Shi Changyun.”

Zhou Jingxun trembled, and at this news, everyone started to talk, except for Lee Tae-sung.

“I knew her expression was not right…”

“As soon as the break started, I drank the hot chocolate Changyun gave me, and I suddenly felt very, very sleepy…” The work and fire personnel were pulling up a water line to fight the fire, and the lounge behind them was already in flames. Looking at all of this, Zhou Jingxun was not so much scared as she was sad.

“Why did she do that…”

“The situation is a little complicated. In any case, it’s good that you’re okay… hiss.”

“Sister Zhou, are you okay?” Zhou Jingxun snapped back to reality and found that Zhou Jinglin’s side was bleeding. The wound had completely opened, and she was bent over in pain. “Someone call an ambulance for us, quick.” She helped Zhou Jinglin lie down slowly.

“I’m fine…” her face was pale, but she still tried to be strong. Zhou Jingxun immediately took off her earpiece. “Jing…”

“You lie down. Hello… Teacher Tang? It’s Jingxun. The fire here is being put out, but Officer Zhou’s wound is bleeding.” Zhou Jinglin was trembling in pain. She instructed the staff to get a stretcher. “Yes… I’ll go with her to the hospital.”

Zhou Jinglin had protected her several times. This time, it was her turn to step up.

**

Ending the call, Tang Yingli couldn’t help but smile.

“Hmph, whether it’s me or Zhou Jingxun… we’re not some spoiled princesses.” she said, looking at her phone.

“Teacher.”

Turning, Fang Zijun had just arrived at the Taipei Arena plaza. “We’ve already deployed our men as we discussed… how is Jinglin?” Tang Yingli is actually smiling?

“Ah, you’ve worked hard, Chief Fang. I just received a report that Officer Zhou’s injury seems to have recurred, but fortunately, Zhou Jingxun is safe. They’ll be going directly to the hospital for emergency treatment in a bit…”

‘Calling the chief.’ Chen Huomu’s tense voice came through the radio. ‘We’ve intercepted Shi Changyun. She was driving a rental car, not only in disguise, but also with a fake ID… on Section 3 of Bade Road.’

“Good. Take her back to the office…” he gritted his teeth and put away the radio, “now I finally have something to report to the director.”

She looked around and saw Vicky, who had quietly followed. “With Miss Chen here, you should be able to conduct the interrogation yourself, Chief?”

He was taken aback. “Teacher… you’re not coming back with us?”

“I have to drive Officer Zhou’s car back, and Zhou Jingxun also has a concert to worry about. She’s a public figure, so it’s not good for her to stay at the hospital.” She pushed up her glasses and walked to the small car parked on the side of the road.

“I see… you’ve worked hard, Teacher.” he shouted at Yingli’s back, “I’m sorry about earlier.”

Without turning, she waved her hand coolly.

**

In a daze, Zhou Jinglin was once again pushed into the operating room. The entire rescue process had been very uncomfortable for her, and it wasn’t until Zhou Jingxun was confirmed to be safe that, with the relaxation of her mood, the suppressed pain had suddenly erupted.

Woken by the pain in her wound again, she opened her eyes, and what came into view was Zhou Jingxun, still in her performance costume.

“Jing…”

“Shh, the doctor just left.” She winked and put a finger to her lips. “He was super angry. He said you’re a disobedient patient, not only did you sneak out, but you also made your wound worse. Now everything has to be done all over again.”

“What can I do…” Zhou Jinglin gave a weak smile and grabbed the work pass on her chest, “you only got me one. You didn’t get one for her too…” she glanced at Yingli, who was standing on the other side.

“I didn’t know you would use it like that.” Zhou Jingxun pouted, and what caught her eye was the ice blue on Yingli’s neck. “By the way… I get it.”

Zhou Jinglin frowned. “What?”

“It’s nothing.” Zhou Jingxun smiled as if she had discovered a small secret. “Here’s your phone back. In the end, my phone was still burned… but that’s a small matter. Brother Tae-sung will be here to pick me up in a minivan in a bit. The lounge is like that, I wonder if it will affect tomorrow’s performance.”

“About Shi Changyun…” Yingli tentatively brought it up.

Zhou Jingxun was silent, and after a moment’s hesitation, she said, “I probably know why Changyun did that… I’m sorry for what happened to her. But actually, every girl who enters the entertainment industry should have that kind of perseverance. Don’t give up any opportunity, go all out, and do everything you can not to be eliminated.

“Brother Tae-sung has mentioned it to me privately. Yoon Su-jeong eliminated herself… I just didn’t expect that after all these years, Changyun would…” she covered her mouth and didn’t continue.

“So you knew.” After all, she had been through the cruel reality of the entertainment industry. In a way, they had all underestimated this young girl in her early twenties.

She nodded, and a moment later, Lee Tae-sung came with an assistant, including Choi Eun-hee, who was closest to Zhou Jingxun.

They hugged tightly and comforted each other in Korean. Lee Tae-sung looked directly at Zhou Jinglin on the hospital bed and bowed deeply.

Although they didn’t speak the same language, this gesture was more than a thousand words.

“By the way, Teacher Tang.”

Before leaving, Zhou Jingxun tugged at her collar and said with a long, drawn-out smile, “That scarf is so—beautiful.”

Yingli raised an eyebrow, and before she could react, she had already left with Lee Tae-sung, Choi Eun-hee, and the others.

She held the scarf. “She seems to be implying something. What’s going on?”

“N-No, she was just complimenting you on how good it looks on you, wasn’t she…” Zhou Jinglin looked away, a little uncomfortable.

“Hm?”

She lowered her head even more, and a few seconds later, the curtain of the hospital bed was quickly pulled back.

What greeted her was the attending physician’s sharp, almost murderous gaze.

“Miss. Zhou. We should have a good talk about what happened tonight.”

“Uh, wait a minute, doctor. I have a very important…”

“Your injury is even worse than before, you know? All the treatment these past few days has been wasted, and the whole thing has to be re-stitched… how long are you planning to stay in the hospital?”

“Ugh, but…” she threw a pleading look at Yingli, but to her surprise—

“You and the doctor can talk slowly. I’ll just browse.” Yingli pushed up her glasses with a cool demeanor and ran out in front of everyone.

She just ran away like that? She’s an accomplice.

“Hey, Tang Yingli, you can’t…”

“You still dare to move.”

Ugh, so scary.

**

With Vicky’s help in translating the interrogation, the arrested Shi Changyun confessed to the method and reason for the crime.

But when asked why she had decided to act after three years, Shi Changyun mentioned another person’s name.

“Lisa.”

Fang Zijun’s eyes widened.

“That woman knew all the pain Su-jeong and I had been through. She even said she could understand the feeling of being a single mother… even though we had never met.” Shi Changyun let out a piercing laugh. “I was just convinced by her. She came up with the plan and also provided the money to bribe the killer. All I had to do was carry it out.”

“How did you contact each other?”

“By phone. But her number changed frequently, especially in the last two or three months.”

“Your goal was to kill Zhou Jingxun. What about her?”

Shi Changyun shook her head. “I don’t know. I only know that she mentioned that before I acted, she would also make a move on her end, but I have no idea what her ‘move’ would be, or what her purpose was. That’s not something I could ask.”

It seemed that was all the information they could get.

The entire report and file were quickly sent to Zhou Zengxiang, who was still dealing with his paperwork, and he temporarily stopped.

Jingxun had been saved at the last minute again, and this time, they had finally caught the mastermind behind the whole incident. It was certain that his daughter was finally out of danger.

But the real mastermind was still at large.

And the interrogation of George Miller, which Tang Yingli had led a few days ago, had also been transcribed with Tao Qianya’s translation.

Two seemingly unrelated cases, but they both mentioned the same person.

The name Lisa, he was all too familiar with.

Ever since the end of last year, when Li Yuejiao had been murdered at her home in Taoyuan, but her body had not been found, he had felt that something was very strange, and then these two incidents had happened one after another.

After Shi Changyun’s testimony, he was almost certain of one thing.

Li Yuejiao was still alive.

If that was the case, then Li Yuejiao’s “move”…

Thinking of this, Zhou Zengxiang couldn’t help but shiver. As if his intuition had been confirmed, his inbox immediately received an email—the sender he had become all too familiar with over the past two weeks.

But this was the first time she had sent a letter directly to his inbox. Before, he had always gotten the information from Keys’ contact email.

The email had no subject. He took a deep breath and opened it, and almost cried out in surprise when he saw the photo.

Su Huiquan was blindfolded, her hands tied behind a chair. There was blood on the corner of her mouth, as if she had been beaten…

He glared at the photo, scrolled down, and at the bottom, a line of text appeared first.

‘If you want Su Huiquan to live, then bring the list. Don’t try to be clever, and don’t use the police, otherwise I can’t guarantee your daughter will be able to finish her concert.’

The email was specially signed at the end. It was the first time the sender had revealed their identity, and it was also the name of the organization—“Mountain Wind.”

Zhou Zengxiang closed his eyes in near despair.

**

On the third day of the new year, the long-awaited Keys concert was finally about to begin.

A long line of fans had formed outside the Taipei Arena, and they were preparing to enter with a sense of excitement and pilgrimage. Most of them would not know that the backstage had been in chaos last night, and that one of their favorite members had almost died in a fire.

Besides these two—

“I thought you would be in line with your friend.” Cai Yuwei couldn’t help but mutter.

“He sees me like a jinx now. Besides, it’s not bad to watch a show with a colleague, is it?” Xiangrong was all smiles, excited to see his favorite idol.

“What’s not bad? We’re not even sitting in the same section… in the end, it’s because you were too fierce before.”

“But…” Xiangrong suddenly lowered his voice, “it’s a good thing we got out of it in one piece last night.”

Cai Yuwei froze. “Yes.” Counting the series of events from yesterday afternoon to evening, and comparing it to the cheerful atmosphere of waiting in line now, he almost thought he was in a parallel universe.

The suppressed atmosphere was quickly swept away as the line moved forward. After they entered, they immediately separated and went to their respective seats.

And Keys’ opening quickly received the enthusiastic cheers of the fans.

Zhou Jingxun on stage specially greeted the fans in Chinese. “…I’m so happy to be able to see everyone in Taiwan. We’ve received all your passion, and we’re really very moved.

“Actually, I want to especially thank a Miss Zhou here.” She took a deep breath and said with a slight choke in her voice, “If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t be able to meet everyone smoothly today. Although she’s not here, I believe her passion will always be with us. I hope everyone can enjoy our performance today and have a wonderful and happy day.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the entire audience applauded enthusiastically, especially Cai Yuwei.

The lights went out, and the fans held their breath.

When they came on again, they had already changed their clothes, and the melody that came from their ears was the title track of their latest album.

The whole place immediately went crazy.

**

In the hospital, Zhou Jinglin was watching a special live broadcast of the concert by Vicky on Yingli’s phone.

“That was very thoughtful, to put that part at the very beginning of the show.”

“Yes.” Zhou Jinglin held the work pass in her hand and watched the performance intently. “By the way, I only thought of it last night, and then I liked Keys’ Taiwan fan page.”

“Oh?” Yingli drew out the word. “Are you starting to seriously connect with society?”

She pouted. “You make it sound like I’m so out of touch. I was just thinking… after watching these little girls for a while, I think they’re quite good-looking. And their songs are pretty good…”

Pushing up her glasses, Yingli glanced at her, who was engrossed in the performance, and smiled.

“Of course.”

**

Driving alone, Zhou Zengxiang arrived at the location specified in the letter as promised.

And Su Huiquan was tied to a chair, her hands behind her back, and next to her stood a woman in a mask. She had a gun in her hand.

The woman pulled off the blindfold covering Su Huiquan’s eyes.

“Honey.”

“Huiquan.” Zhou Zengxiang’s heart suddenly tightened, and the woman deftly loaded a bullet. “Wait, don’t be rash. I brought the stuff.”

“Where is it?”

“Here.” He opened his palm, and a USB drive was in his hand.

“An electronic file? Hmph, throw it over.”

Zhou Zengxiang threw the USB drive at the woman’s feet. Another man came from somewhere, holding a laptop, and confirmed the contents of the USB drive.

“It’s yours… it should be right.” He nodded.

“I’ve given you the stuff. You have to keep your promise.” Zhou Zengxiang stared at the empty eyes on the mask.

“Of course. I’m not like our national security agency, one thing on the surface, and another behind the scenes.” Her left hand, which was not holding the gun, gently stroked Su Huiquan’s shoulder. “But… Zhou Zengxiang, it would be a waste for you to have come all this way if I don’t make you suffer a little.”

Her muzzle suddenly turned and aimed at him.

“Honey, no.”

The woman decisively pulled the trigger. The bullet accurately hit Zhou Zengxiang’s left shoulder, and he fell to his knees in pain.

“Hey… something’s not right. We should go.” The man next to her urged. She put away her gun and quickly got into the car with the man.

“Honey, are you okay? Honey.” Su Huiquan screamed hysterically, and two police cars silently surrounded the meeting place from the front and back.

Zhou Zengxiang shook his head, staring at the car that was speeding away, and sighed as if with helplessness and regret.

**

“That was too dangerous. You think he’s going to play by your rules? You’re dreaming.” Wu Jianxiong, who was driving, cursed and urgently called for backup to cover them.

“I’m sorry. This time it was for my own personal grudge… I won’t do it again.”

“You’d better not.”

Taking off her mask, she personally confirmed the list she had gotten from Zhou Zengxiang, and after confirming it was correct, she closed the computer with satisfaction, and at the same time, her mind began to plan for her future actions.

From today on, she had officially provoked a conflict with the authorities.

The name of the organization was her old code name.

“Mountain Wind” was to start a fire. Soon, she would let the many officials, including Zhou Zengxiang, know what it meant to—

Set oneself on fire.