Strike while the iron is hot. After the task force successfully apprehended Wu Yang and Lin Jinnan, they did not immediately transfer them back to Jianyang City. Instead, they borrowed facilities in Linchang City to conduct interrogations at the fastest possible speed.
Perhaps because, at this stage of events, speaking up or not no longer mattered, Wu Yang surprised everyone by confessing with unusual willingness. However, he had one condition: he wanted to see Guan Xia.
Quite coincidentally, Guan Xia had also been wanting to see him for a long time. So, when Director Gao asked her, she agreed immediately without hesitation.
Countless mysteries that had piled up over many days and nights were finally about to be unraveled. Not only was Guan Xia feeling a mix of excitement and complexity, even Ji An, who rarely showed her emotions outwardly, came over and gave Guan Xia's shoulder a firm pat. A thousand words ultimately condensed into a few: "We'll be waiting for you outside."
Pang Le chimed in, "Right, we'll all be watching from outside. Interrogate him well, give it your all, and try to get a complete confession in one go."
Guan Xia knew that given the multitude of crimes Wu Yang had committed, getting everything out in one session was nearly impossible. But she didn't argue, just nodded seriously and said, "Okay."
Xu Nian, standing nearby, offered a few words of reassurance. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. The task force has many interrogation experts, each battle-hardened and very experienced. It's common for them to fill in gaps for local branches. The most important thing is that the suspect is caught and the evidence is solid. Even if the criminal resists stubbornly, getting his confession is just a matter of time."
Xu Nian's words were tactful, but Guan Xia understood immediately: he was hinting for her not to be nervous. Even if her interrogation results weren't ideal, plenty of experts could pool their wisdom. She should just go in and do her best boldly.
To be honest, being among the first to interrogate Wu Yang in front of a crowd of experts and leaders did make Guan Xia somewhat nervous. However, because she had so many questions she wanted to ask, she kept turning them over in her mind, leaving little time to dwell on other things. Now, with Xu Nian's words, Guan Xia felt even less nervous. She even relaxed and smiled at the others, saying confidently, "Wait for my good news."
Guan Xia had always been curious about Wu Yang. Previously uncertain, but after the moment their eyes met at noon, she believed Wu Yang was curious about her too.
Sure enough, as Guan Xia followed Captain Zhang into the interrogation room and stepped through the door, she immediately felt Wu Yang's focused, probing gaze land on her. It was so persistent, following her even as she sat down in the chair. Before Captain Zhang or Guan Xia could speak, Wu Yang's voice, tinged with a faint smile, rang out. "So you're Guan Xia? I never imagined our orphanage could produce such an outstanding talent."
Captain Zhang, perhaps briefed by superiors, merely frowned slightly but didn't reprimand him, allowing Guan Xia to take the lead.
Guan Xia wasn't entirely sure of Wu Yang's intent, so she didn't interrupt his opening monologue, letting him continue.
Wu Yang indeed seemed to have a lot he wanted to say to Guan Xia. Without waiting for her response, he went on, "You're injured. Judging by the location, you must have discovered that passageway A'Nan dug. No wonder you caught me so quickly. So that's how it was."
Guan Xia watched Wu Yang's calm, seemingly hate-free gaze impassively, while in reality, the system interface kept flashing data showing the halo's intensity was decreasing.
In such a serious, suffocating atmosphere, Guan Xia found herself somewhat relieved, thinking: Thankfully, with Wu Yang's arrest half an hour ago, the halo had undergone another wave of sudden, immense recharge. Even if she interrogated Wu Yang in this room all day, it wouldn't affect her retirement life after this case was over.
Her thoughts wandered for a moment before she immediately refocused, continuing to look at Wu Yang with a stern expression.
Wu Yang was still talking to himself, using a gentle, almost avuncular tone of someone appreciating a promising junior. "A'Nan prepared so many smokescreens; you must have suffered quite a bit. Speaking of which, you both came from the same orphanage, and you're both so outstanding. You originally had the chance to meet and could very well have become friends. What a pity."
Wu Yang murmured "what a pity" several times, sighed regretfully a few more times, then said, "I know you must have many questions for me. At this point, there's nothing I can't say. So, ask whatever you want. After all, you and I came from the same orphanage. Consider this my final bit of consideration for you, a junior from the same place."
Guan Xia had no particular reaction to his earlier words, but upon hearing this last part, she couldn't help feeling genuine disgust from the depths of her heart. Consideration? What kind of consideration? Was it almost recruiting her into the organization, or almost silencing her permanently? Guan Xia now truly understood the meaning of phrases like "wolf in sheep's clothing" and "a beast in human form." Things had progressed to this point, Wu Yang was sitting in the interrogation room, the evidence was irrefutable, and yet he still wore this facade of having her best interests at heart.
Even Captain Zhang looked somewhat uncomfortable, his frown deepening.
Guan Xia took a deep breath to suppress the rising nausea before asking as calmly as possible, "Since there's nothing you can't say, then start from the beginning. Talk about the case from your high school years. Why did you kill Sun Yanghui?"
The name Sun Yanghui seemed unfamiliar to Wu Yang. For a moment, his face showed only confusion. Then he tried hard to recall, spending several minutes before suddenly realizing, "Sun Yanghui? Oh, I remember now. He was the father of my high school classmate, Sun Xiuxiu. Why kill him? I felt like killing him, so I did. What reason is needed? If you insist on a reason, let me think... why did I want to kill him back then?"
Wu Yang pondered deeply for another while before having another moment of realization. "Oh, I remember. Actually, I didn't intend to kill him at first. After all, I'd never met him. Whether he lived or died had nothing to do with me and didn't affect me. But the pity was that he was Sun Xiuxiu's father and treated Sun Xiuxiu poorly. And my deskmate at the time was Sun Xiuxiu's good friend. She chattered in my ear every day, saying her dad hit her yesterday, and even in senior year of high school, he was causing trouble, not letting her go to school. A couple of days later, she'd say her dad actually chased her to school and hit her in front of the teacher, accusing her of not studying properly at such a young age, learning to seduce people, even seducing his friend. I listened until my head was spinning every day. I wanted her to shut up, but I also felt Sun Xiuxiu was truly pitiful. So I endured and endured until I couldn't take it anymore. The only solution was to kill Sun Xiuxiu's father once and for all."
At this point, Wu Yang even showed a relieved smile. "Sure enough, once Sun Xiuxiu's father died, my ears were finally clear. No more of those mosquito-like buzzing complaints. With no one disturbing me, my grades indeed became more stable. On the day the college entrance exams ended, I knew my dream school was within secure reach."
Wu Yang spoke as if it were the most casual thing, but Guan Xia listened with surprise and shock.
She had previously imagined countless motives. Perhaps Wu Yang had heard about Sun Xiuxiu's situation and, feeling sympathy, killed Sun Yanghui. Or perhaps Sun Xiuxiu was also exceptionally talented, and he admired her, regretting that she couldn't take the college entrance exam, which led him to kill Sun Yanghui. But she never expected that Wu Yang's reason for killing was simply because someone was constantly complaining near him, disturbing his studies. He killed to have a quiet environment for learning.
Guan Xia looked at Wu Yang, and a term suddenly popped into her mind for no reason: born sociopath. She hadn't studied psychology and didn't know the full extent of what that term encompassed, but after hearing Wu Yang's motive for murder, she felt that Wu Yang must be a born sociopath.
Making an effort to calm her emotions, Guan Xia continued to ask, "You killed Sun Yanghui in your senior year of high school because you wanted a quiet study environment. What about Qiu Zijin, whom you killed during your university years? What was the reason for that?"
Compared to Sun Yanghui, Qiu Zijin was also a stranger to Wu Yang. He fell into deep thought once again.
Seizing the opportunity, Guan Xia also recalled this case. Although she had only skimmed through the case file while speculating about Wu Yang's first crime, because it hadn't happened too long ago, she still remembered the general details.
This case occurred during Wu Yang's sophomore year of university. The victim was the husband of a female professor at his university. He was killed in a rented room in an urban village late one night. The cause of death was a stab wound to the heart with a dagger while he was intoxicated. Perhaps due to insufficient skill in killing, the victim wasn't killed instantly. But due to the severe injury and intoxication, he ultimately failed to call for help successfully. By the time he was discovered, the body was already stiff.
Although there was no direct evidence linking this case to Wu Yang—and the victim's wife, that female professor, wasn't even in the Computer Science department where Wu Yang studied—due to the modus operandi, Guan Xia and her team had still identified it as a possibility. Now, knowing Wu Yang's motive for the Sun Yanghui case, Guan Xia was even more certain upon recollection that this murder was indeed Wu Yang's handiwork.
The facts proved that Guan Xia and her team's speculation was not wrong. After a few more minutes, Wu Yang finally remembered. Still speaking in a flat tone, he said, "Oh, I remember now too. That scumbag who cheated when he was young and then threatened to kill Professor Hong's entire family to force a reconciliation when he got old? Actually, it's similar to Sun Yanghui. I didn't initially intend to kill him either. But who told him to be so notorious? He became infamous at our school. No matter where I went, I could hear his name. Even when I hid in the small grove on campus to read, I could hear a young couple cursing him. I simply couldn't find a quiet place to read, so I had no choice but to kill him."
Having experienced the shock from the Sun Yanghui case, Guan Xia was less stunned this time, but she still couldn't help feeling incredulous. Simultaneously, a new speculation formed in her mind.
She had previously thought that the reason Wu Yang established this criminal organization, which used an image like the "Judgment Angel" with its clear connotations as an emblem or symbol, carried some meaning of punishing evil and promoting good, or upholding justice. But now it seemed more like a slogan, a fig leaf, a tool he used to achieve his own ends.
Guan Xia immediately followed up by asking Wu Yang about his motive for killing Li Song.
This time, Wu Yang finally didn't put on a look of confusion. He wasn't even surprised, glancing at Guan Xia with a calmness that suggested he had anticipated this. He gave a light laugh and said, "You really are excellent, having even uncovered Li Song. But this time you guessed wrong. Li Song wasn't killed by me."
Guan Xia's expression remained unchanged from start to finish. She still looked at him seriously and said, "I know you weren't the one who actually did the deed. But his death is inextricably linked to you. The final order to kill him came from you, didn't it? What happened between you? Did a divergence in ideas lead to internal strife? So much so that you parted ways just a few years later? And Lv Xiangmei, you remember her, right? The wife of Li Feng, the brother you grew up with. Her death was also ordered by you, through Li Feng, wasn't it? Do you know Li Feng has always felt deeply guilty about his wife's death, even to the point of hating you for it?"
Mentioning the brother he grew up with finally brought a flicker of human emotion to Wu Yang's expression. He sneered mockingly and spoke as if casually, "Brother? My surname is Wu, theirs is Li. If we're really talking about brothers, only Wu Xingxian is my brother. But unfortunately, even brothers who grew up together will eventually change. Time, ah, is truly terrifying. It changes everyone beyond recognition. I know you were at the scene when Wu Xingxian died. Did you see his body? Did he die in pain? He must have been utterly disbelieving. He was my only family left, yet one day he ended up dying indirectly by my hand."
Guan Xia didn't speak. She watched as Wu Yang seemed to sink into memories, his expression becoming varied—mocking at times, self-deprecating at others, then full of nostalgia.
Although Wu Yang didn't explicitly state it, he had indirectly admitted that the deaths of Wu Xingxian, Li Song, and Lv Xiangmei were all connected to him.
