It had been thirty hours since Wu Yang's escape was confirmed. Guan Xia didn't even know how many police officers had been mobilized in total, but they finally pinpointed Wu Yang's last known location and final escape route at 9:30 AM on September 28th.
Although the process had been a bit nerve-wracking, and both Guan Xia and Pang Le had gotten injured, the outcome was ultimately good. Guan Xia could already envision the scene: Wu Yang being brought into the interrogation room, with her on the questioning side.
There were too many puzzles waiting to be solved. Just thinking about it filled Guan Xia with excitement and energy.
As she notified Xu Nian and the others while efficiently packing her things, Guan Xia said, "All our hard work hasn't been in vain. This case is finally nearing its end."
"Yeah," Pang Le agreed, bustling around in slippers, sighing, "From when you first suspected Wu Yang had problems and we started investigating... let me think, it's been over a month and a half. No, almost two months. It's been so long, I'm starting to miss my little nest and my bed."
Guan Xia felt a bit nostalgic too, especially since her place was brand new—she hadn't even lived there for a full six months. But thinking of her new home made her think of Meng Lan. She couldn't help but pause her packing, worry creeping in. "I wonder how Meng Lan is doing. The last time I asked Xu Nian was yesterday. Meng Lan had just finished surgery and was transferred to the ICU. Normally, as her best friend, I should be by her side at a time like this, but..."
Before Guan Xia could finish, Pang Le interrupted, "Under normal circumstances, you should be there. But aren't we busy catching the person responsible for hurting her? Most importantly, this operation absolutely needs you. This is better for her than just being by her side. Think about it, once we catch Wu Yang, she'll be truly safe."
Guan Xia understood this logic, which was why she never considered giving up on participating in the arrest and returning to Yongquan City from the start. But as long as she hadn't seen Meng Lan in person for a day, she couldn't help worrying, fearing that Meng Lan might still meet the same fate as in the original plot—dying as an unnamed member of the organization in Lin Jinnan's large-scale killing spree, which served both as revenge against the police and a cover for Wu Yang's escape.
Guan Xia didn't want to make comparisons, but thinking of Meng Lan's original ending and then realizing she was still alive now made things seem not so bad. After all, as long as one is alive, there is infinite hope. She believed Meng Lan could pull through this final hurdle.
Putting down the items in her hands, she offered a silent, heartfelt prayer before resuming her busy packing. Finally, she managed to repack her suitcase in the shortest time possible.
No sooner had they finished packing than Xu Nian and Qi Bai knocked on the door. Without needing to be asked, they proactively came in to help carry the luggage downstairs. While in the elevator, Xu Nian glanced at Guan Xia's wound and said seriously, "Probably from sitting in the car all night, the wound looks unusually red and swollen. We'll apply more medicine once we get to the airport to prevent infection."
Mention of the wound reminded Guan Xia of being lectured by several people yesterday afternoon. She instinctively felt a bit guilty and naturally didn't dare argue, only nodding obediently.
Surprisingly, Pang Le also agreed in a good-natured tone, "Okay."
Rushing to the airport, Guan Xia and the others practically dashed onto the plane right at the cutoff time for check-in.
Since the tickets were bought last-minute, the seats for their group of ten were scattered. Apart from Xu Nian sitting diagonally in front to her left, Guan Xia couldn't see any of the others after everyone was seated.
Under Xu Nian's supervision, Guan Xia reapplied medicine to her wound and then sank into another round of catch-up sleep.
At 12:39 PM on September 28th, Guan Xia successfully met up with the person Captain Zhang had sent to pick them up as scheduled.
Surprisingly, they were two familiar faces: Liu Ying and Wenwen, whom she had spoken with before at Longbei Mountain.
Both were in plain clothes with large dark circles under their eyes, but their expressions were buoyant, their eyes even described as bright and spirited. They came over with wide smiles to shake Guan Xia's hand.
"Expert Guan, we meet again." Liu Ying, overly excited, even shook Guan Xia's hand vigorously up and down.
Guan Xia was equally excited. She almost jogged all the way to the parking lot and jumped into the car. Once inside, she couldn't wait to ask, "How's it going on Captain Zhang's end? Have they cornered him?"
Captain Zhang's call came in around 9 AM, and now over three hours had passed. Given the police's efficiency, even if the final arrest hadn't happened yet, the containment operation should be nearly complete.
Sure enough, Liu Ying couldn't hide his excitement either. "They've got him cornered. But because it's uncertain if the suspect is armed with firearms, for the safety of the general public, Captain Zhang and the team haven't closed in too tightly. They're just herding them towards the Longying Bay scenic area, which has been closed and evacuated."
Liu Ying glanced at the time. "It's been 40 minutes since Captain Zhang started the pursuit and containment operation. If all goes smoothly, they should have them driven into the area by around 2 PM this afternoon. That scenic spot was already prepared with an ambush by special police officers before the operation even began. Unless they can fly to the heavens or burrow into the earth, even with three heads and six arms, they won't escape the net we've laid today."
"Excellent!" Before Guan Xia could even respond after Liu Ying finished, Zhong Xiaoyu excitedly waved a fist and eagerly asked Liu Ying, "This bastard is finally getting caught. So where do we go next? Also to Longying Bay? Or do we head straight to the police station and wait for the final capture result?"
Liu Ying replied, "Although we know it's unlikely, Captain Zhang thinks it's better to be safe than sorry. He'd like Expert Guan to be there on site. We're really afraid that someone we finally catch might turn out to be another imposter."
Guan Xia felt somewhat amused hearing this, but she could understand. After all, this was a fused world of detective stories. No one could guarantee that Wu Yang, having prepared one double, wouldn't have prepared a second. However, based on her intuition from watching the surveillance footage—a hint from the system—she felt this possibility was extremely low, almost negligible.
After a half-hour car ride to the foot of Longying Bay scenic area, Guan Xia didn't see Captain Zhang. Instead, she saw Director Gao. It was unclear if something had gone wrong, but Director Gao's face showed no trace of joy. Instead, his expression was grave, the frown lines on his forehead almost forming the character for "river."
Liu Ying also sensed from Director Gao's expression that the arrest wasn't going smoothly. His own expression immediately changed. After settling Guan Xia, he hurriedly went out.
Just a few minutes later, Liu Ying came jogging back, pulled open the tent flap, and strode inside as she spoke: "I've found out what happened. There really was a complication with the arrest operation. The suspects actually had a hostage tied up in the trunk of the car. No one has figured out yet when exactly they took that hostage. The key point is that the hostage is a child, only three years old. There are five fugitive suspects including Wu Yang. Two are protecting Wu Yang, one is controlling the hostage the entire time, plus Lin Jinnan who is carrying a telescope. This has made the arresting officers and SWAT team extremely hesitant, afraid of causing harm. The two sides have been in a stalemate for about fifteen minutes now. Nobody dares to make a move."
No wonder Captain Zhang wasn't seen at the command post at the foot of the mountain, and Director Gao's face looked so grim. So the arrest operation really did hit a snag.
However, Guan Xia wasn't particularly surprised. Instead, she felt a kind of grounded sense that things were indeed not going to be easy. She didn't even show a startled expression and reacted quickly, looking at Liu Ying to ask, "What's the hostage's condition now? Is he uninjured?"
Liu Ying shook her head. "It's still not very clear. The hostage was unconscious the whole time when being controlled and taken up the mountain. It's unknown if he was drugged. But judging by his complexion and exposed skin, there don't seem to be any external injuries. His vital signs are probably still relatively stable."
"That's good," everyone in the tent let out a sigh of relief. Immediately after, Pang Le couldn't help but curse, "These scumbags are insane, actually kidnapping a three-year-old child as a hostage. Only three years old! It's utterly monstrous."
"It's probably precisely because a child is easier to control that they chose one as a hostage," Jiang Yingyao suddenly spoke up. "At three years old, as long as they're not too chubby, their weight is only around ten kilograms. That weight is very easy for an adult man to carry, even over a long distance. Most importantly, it makes the police more constrained."
This also fits the usual modus operandi of Wu Yang's organization.
Guan Xia fell silent, instinctively raising her wrist to check the time. In the few moments they had been discussing, another ten minutes or so had passed, but there was still no movement from the mountain. It was unknown if the situation had changed at all.
Guan Xia really wanted to remain composed, but watching Pang Le pace anxiously around the tent made her too restless to sit still. She simply stood up, intending to step outside the tent to get a look at the situation using the system's shared vision.
Just as Guan Xia lifted the flap and had only half-stepped outside, a very loud gunshot suddenly rang out from the direction of the main peak of Longying Bay Scenic Area, which had been quiet until then.
At first, there was only one shot, but quickly, gunshots rang out one after another.
It was impossible to know what exactly was happening on the mountain. The gunshots started and ended quickly. In her haste, Guan Xia didn't even have time to count them, feeling that in just two or three seconds, the direction of the mountain returned to silence.
Only after confirming the gunshots had stopped did Guan Xia resume breathing, push open the flap, and stride outside.
The others quickly caught up. Guan Xia heard Xu Nian speak up behind her, "I counted. There were six shots in total."
"Six shots?" Pang Le asked, both nervous and somewhat optimistic, "Then is it possible that each suspect got one shot, and Wu Yang got an extra one?"
Xu Nian shook his head. "There's no way to know that. Let's hope so."
Guan Xia's heart was also filled with both tension and anticipation. She opened the system's shared vision at the fastest speed possible, and instantly her vision was filled with a dazzling golden glow.
Guan Xia adjusted for a moment before it felt less blinding. Then, with one glance, she spotted two red light clusters entwined with bloodlust amidst countless golden ones. They were red, but actually so red they were almost black. The only difference was that one wasn't as distinctly black, while the other was strikingly, eye-catchingly dark.
Without guessing, Guan Xia knew the darkest one must be Wu Yang, and the other was probably Lin Jinnan. It was truly unexpected. Lin Jinnan was over ten years younger than Wu Yang, having only been by his side since around 2010. Yet, in just these dozen or so years, the bloodlust entwined around her soul's light cluster was almost on par with Wu Yang's. Even Wu Xingxian's wasn't as dark as hers. No wonder Wu Yang treated her as a confidante, taking her along even when fleeing. It seemed she truly was the same kind of person as Wu Yang.
Guan Xia quickly analyzed this, then immediately noticed the crucial point. She remembered what Liu Ying had just said: including Wu Yang, there were five fugitive suspects in total. Yet, she only saw two blood-tinged soul light clusters. So where were the other three? Were they dead? Were all six gunshots just fired directed at them, two shots per person?
Guan Xia's confusion wasn't resolved until Captain Zhang brought the captives down the mountain.
Although she had heard of Wu Yang all this time, it was only at this very moment that Guan Xia truly saw him for the first time. He looked quite similar to the portrait hanging on the wall of the orphanage training center: a somewhat portly, round face, regular features, not many wrinkles. Perhaps because he had pretended for so long, even now his expression wasn't particularly sinister. Instead, it carried a trace of benevolence. If one didn't know his deeds and just looked at him, no one would ever imagine he had founded such a massive criminal organization and carried countless lives on his conscience.
Whether it was because Guan Xia's gaze of hatred was too sharp, or because Wu Yang had long wanted to see her, her eyes had only been on him for a few seconds when Wu Yang coincidentally looked up.
Unlike Guan Xia's hateful stare, Wu Yang's gaze was very calm. Even upon first seeing Guan Xia, the corner of his mouth twitched, revealing a gentle smile.
But Guan Xia felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her whole body turning cold. Because the system interface was unexpectedly triggered. This time, there was no video, only text. It couldn't even be called text, but rather lines of data.
Lines of data appeared so fast they almost flooded the screen: Low-Profile Aura Intensity reduced by 100%.
Guan Xia glanced casually. In just that one second, her aura intensity had decreased by who knows how many multiples of 100%.
Guan Xia had now witnessed firsthand how skilled Wu Yang was at deception. On the surface, he was calm, but in his heart, he had probably imagined countless ways for her to die.
Only upon seeing the system interface did Guan Xia finally feel a sense of reality. After two months, the mastermind who had kept her living in fear was finally captured.
