After a long day of work, Guan Xia and Xu Nian reconvened in the evening. Since Wang Yu was the only one living alone, her room was relatively less crowded, so everyone gathered there again. Scattered around, eating takeout, they discussed the results of their day’s efforts.
Wang Yu said, "Brother Jiang, Xu Nian, and I identified three suspicious pedestrians and two suspicious vehicles overnight. We’ve ruled out three of the pedestrians and one of the vehicles, but this one here—" She set down her disposable food container, wiped her hands with a tissue, and pulled out printed photos and documents from her bag, placing them on the cluttered but empty bed.
Guan Xia, who had been sitting on a chair, stood up with her food and moved closer, followed by Pang Le. The three of them huddled together, examining the materials.
Wang Yu pointed to the top photo. "This man is Luo Deye, 52 years old, a project manager at Jinsheng Construction Company. On July 12, 2023, at 5:01 PM, he parked his car in the residential complex where Meng Lan rented an apartment but never got out. He stayed inside until the natural gas leak incident occurred at Meng Lan’s place. Only after the police and fire trucks arrived did he drive away. Most importantly, we looked into his connections and found he had business ties with Meng Lan’s biological father. Their relationship was quite close. His presence at Meng Lan’s complex at that exact time is… suspicious, to say the least."
Guan Xia and Pang Le frowned.
Though they had already speculated that Meng Lan’s parents might be morally questionable, having it confirmed by evidence was still shocking and hard to accept.
"I never thought something straight out of a crime drama would happen in real life," Pang Le muttered, his appetite vanishing. "But one thing I don’t get—Meng Lan’s family was well-off, right? Why would they sell out their own daughter? Even if they had no emotional attachment, she was grown up. They could’ve arranged a marriage alliance or something. Wouldn’t that have brought them more benefits? Why resort to something so short-sighted?"
Jiang Yingyao interjected, "We didn’t have much time, but we did a quick check on Meng Lan’s father’s business dealings with Jinsheng Construction. They’ve collaborated for over a decade, developing six properties in Linshan City. We also found that, apart from his real estate company, Meng Lan’s younger brother owns two commercial concrete plants. We drove by them on our way back—small-scale operations. And, no offense, but based on my experience, the employees there didn’t seem like the most upstanding folks."
His words were a bit roundabout, and it took Guan Xia a moment to grasp his meaning. "Brother Jiang, are you saying Luo Deye might’ve blackmailed Meng Lan’s father over construction materials?"
Jiang Yingyao nodded. "Human greed only grows. Once you have money, you want more. Power, control…"
This time, Guan Xia understood immediately. Luo Deye had likely extorted money from Meng Lan’s father using some leverage, then shamelessly set his sights on Meng Lan herself. Her parents, under pressure, might’ve agreed to hand her over—but for some reason, Meng Lan caught wind of it and turned the tables?
Guan Xia’s mind raced. Yet, recalling the surveillance footage they’d reviewed earlier, Meng Lan’s behavior had seemed entirely normal—her expression a mix of joy and anticipation. Unless she was a professional actress, it was hard to believe she’d known what was coming. But if she hadn’t, how had the "accident" happened at the exact time her father and Luo Deye had arranged it? Not only did Luo Deye’s plan fail, but Meng Lan’s parents ended up dead.
Lost in thought, Guan Xia stopped eating, her arm growing stiff from holding her food container mid-air until she finally snapped out of it.
Xu Nian said, "This is just speculation based on preliminary findings. We’ll need further investigation to confirm. What about you guys? Any leads from the surveillance footage?"
Guan Xia glanced at her now-soggy rice noodles and lost her appetite, setting the container aside. "We spotted one suspicious person and two suspicious vehicles. I took screenshots of the person’s face and noted the license plates."
She shared the images and details in their group chat. Everyone checked their phones, unanimously ignoring Qi Bai’s instant reply.
After a moment, Wang Yu said, "One of these cars looks familiar. Hang on, let me check." She exited the chat and scrolled through her photo gallery. "Yeah, same car. We already ruled it out—it’s unrelated to Meng Lan’s case. The owner was visiting his mistress in the complex. On the day of the incident, he parked at the entrance for an hour and a half, waiting for the mistress’s husband to leave before pulling into her parking spot."
Guan Xia was surprised. Recalling their earlier mention of three suspicious pedestrians and two vehicles, she asked, "What about the others?"
Wang Yu sighed. "That complex might be small, but it’s a hotbed of drama. There was a private investigator hired to catch a cheating spouse, a burglary crew scouting the area, and even a stalker obsessed with some girl. The local police station was swamped—they called in off-duty officers just to handle the arrests."
Guan Xia didn’t know what to say. Meng Lan sure knew how to pick a place to live. She wondered if Meng Lan had moved out after the incident. Now that she’d inherited her father’s estate, she probably had her own place. But another question nagged at her:
If Luo Deye’s leverage was tied to Meng Lan’s father’s real estate company, then even with her father dead, the company remained. Given Luo Deye’s unscrupulous nature—as Wang Yu had deduced—he wouldn’t let go of such a lucrative opportunity. So how had Meng Lan dealt with his harassment?
During their last meeting, apart from the natural maturity that came from experiencing many things, Guan Xia didn't observe any particularly obvious signs of irritability or sorrow in Meng Lan's demeanor.
Guan Xia found it hard to believe that Meng Lan could completely hide her emotions from her, given that the two had grown up together and spent over twenty years in each other's company. Barring Oscar-worthy acting skills, the only explanations Guan Xia could think of were that Meng Lan had either completely resolved the issue with Luo Deye or that she now possessed the ability to skillfully navigate around him. Both scenarios, however, exceeded Guan Xia's understanding of Meng Lan. She was growing increasingly curious about what Meng Lan had gone through during the years they had been apart.
In the following days, the entire second squad was so busy with their investigations that they were practically invisible. Since the work involved basic door-to-door inquiries, and Guan Xia and Pang Le had already satisfied their curiosity by participating earlier, the two of them spent their days holed up in the hospital room with Ji An and Lu Tingfeng, listening to them share their years of experience in solving cases and the processes behind cracking major criminal investigations.
Another evening arrived, and after receiving a call from Xu Nian, Guan Xia and Pang Le left the hospital and drove straight back to their hotel.
Guan Xia wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but after running around for days, Xu Nian and the others seemed to have tanned slightly.
Out of habit, Guan Xia took the takeout container handed to her by Xu Nian. As she mechanically picked at her food, she listened intently to Wang Yu’s report on their day’s findings.
Wang Yu, clearly famished, wolfed down several mouthfuls of food before speaking somewhat indistinctly, "We uncovered something unusual today. On June 19, 2023, Meng Lan attempted suicide. According to the police records, around 10:19 PM, a delivery rider received an order to transport high-proof liquor from a convenience store. On his way to deliver it, he encountered another rider on a narrow path. Since the destination was near a park’s artificial lake—an area with relatively low foot traffic—he suspected they might have the same customer. He casually asked and found out the other rider was delivering antibiotics. Realizing the implications, he immediately called the police."
Wang Yu swallowed another bite before continuing, "I reviewed the statement from the rider who reported it. According to him, after calling the police, he asked the other rider about the delivery time and told him to go ahead while he waited nearby in a concealed spot, buying time for the police to arrive. While waiting, he saw a middle-aged woman notice the customer’s unusual behavior and strike up a conversation. Whatever they discussed, the customer gradually calmed down. When the police arrived, he delivered the alcohol, and the customer made no further suicide attempts, repeatedly assuring the officers she wouldn’t try again."
As Guan Xia listened, the scene Wang Yu described felt eerily familiar. She unconsciously stopped eating for a few seconds before it hit her—it was familiar. It was nearly identical to the crucial lead she had provided Xu Nian regarding the December 9, 2021 case.
Both cases involved a suicide attempt, an intervening stranger, and an inexplicable change of heart after an unknown conversation. And in both cases, some time later, the individuals became entangled in fatal incidents. The only difference was that the 2021 case was a major homicide, while Meng Lan’s situation was ruled an accident. But with so many clues surfacing now, the legitimacy of that "accident" was now in question.
Pang Le also recognized the pattern and exclaimed, "Damn, this sounds familiar! Isn’t this just like that case we investigated before? The one involving the 'Judgment Angel'—I still remember it vividly. Meng Lan is Guan Xia’s childhood friend, right? How could she be connected to that organization?"
Guan Xia had been too focused on the case details to notice earlier, but now she saw the gravity in Xu Nian’s and the others’ expressions. Even Wang Yu looked unusually solemn, far more serious than in previous days—almost grim.
Guan Xia felt a wave of dizziness. Her mind kept flashing back to Zhang Weiyan’s face from the 2021 case—a man who had appeared to be an accomplice but was actually the mastermind. She couldn’t believe that after just a few years of separation, Meng Lan could have gotten involved with such a terrifying criminal organization. Was she already a member? Had she, like Zhang Weiyan, been drawn into the group’s periphery through similar means?
The shock hit her so hard that for a moment, her vision darkened, and she nearly dropped her food. Fortunately, she was sitting down, so aside from almost spilling her meal, she remained outwardly composed.
Xu Nian was the first to notice Guan Xia’s distress. He swiftly stepped forward to steady the tilting takeout box in her hands, placing it on the small table in front of her before saying, "While the two cases do share some similarities, a closer analysis reveals many differences. Based on the evidence we have, even if we suspect foul play, we can’t prove that the deaths of Meng Lan’s parents and younger brother in that gas leak were anything but accidental. Another point is that Meng Lan chose to attempt suicide late at night in a secluded lakeside area. The chances of randomly encountering a member of that organization in such a remote place at that hour are slim. If the middle-aged woman who spoke to her really was part of the group, their meeting couldn’t have been coincidental—it would’ve required prior observation and contact. But from what we’ve gathered so far, that seems unlikely. My guess is that the woman was just a kind passerby who saw Meng Lan crying and stopped to comfort her."
Xu Nian’s reasoning helped Guan Xia regain her composure. Her breathing steadied, and she eagerly asked, "Did you manage to get the surveillance footage from that park? If we review it, we’ll know for sure."
In Guan Xia’s experience, every member of that organization she had encountered bore some kind of insignia—whether out of genuine admiration, as a tattoo, a pendant, or jewelry. They all flaunted their affiliation openly, as if wearing it as a badge of honor.
Even if the woman had no visible markings, Guan Xia had tested it multiple times—her upgraded intuition would alert her if something was off.
Wang Yu said, "We've obtained the surveillance footage and even visited the scene in person, but honestly, it's nearly impossible to determine from the footage whether the middle-aged woman talking to Meng Lan was a member of that organization. We specifically questioned the park's sanitation workers and learned that the park was built many years ago—over a decade, in fact. Despite minor repairs over the years, there are still numerous narrow pathways leading in and out without any surveillance cameras. When we left, we even took one of those cramped paths barely wide enough for a single person, just for convenience. The whole time, we kept looking up, but we didn’t spot a single camera."
Even as Wang Yu spoke, halfway through his explanation, he effortlessly pulled out several USB drives and plugged them into the computer, finishing his sentence without missing a beat.
