Chapter 1402: A Woman’s Eyes
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Qin Zimo was a sullen middle-aged man. His eyes were gloomy and had high cheekbones. His hair was always a mess, looking like he had just recently rolled out of bed.
Xia Fan and Qin Zimo left Dad’s apartment and took the lift down. Leaving the precinct, they walked side-by-side into the lonely night as they headed in the direction that the lame man was seen disappearing toward.
“Have you caught the killer’s scent?” Qin Zimo asked Xia Fan curiously.
Xia Fan shook his head, “There are twelve households on Dad’s floor, and several dozen people of all ages. Even with my Scent special ability, I have trouble differentiating the smell of the killer in such a complicated environment.”
Qin Zimo was perplexed. “Then how do you plan to locate the killer? He’s been gone for more than an hour. Who knows where he disappeared to?”
!!
Xia Fan smiled and reached out his arm, pointing at two mice that had appeared from the darkness and promptly climbed up to his shoulder. “Naturally I’ll be relying on these little guys! As long as there are humans around, there will be mice. They are very clever and are great at hiding. Just give them a little treat and they will provide us with all the information we need.”
Qin Zimo was speechless. He was not used to Xia Fan calling mice little guys. Practically everyone viewed mice as germ carriers, dirty little creatures that people were disgusted by, and who needed to be avoided as much as possible.
*Squeak squeak*
The two mice chittered while eating the sugar-frosted nuts that Xia Fan had swiped from Dad’s candy stash, almost as if they were trying to communicate something to him.
Qin Zimo had also heard from Cheyenne that while Xia Fan knew how to control more than just one species of animals, he was still most adept at controlling mice!
As they walked, Xia Fan kept using his whistle to call the mice staying around the area, asking if they had seen a lame human making their way past. Approximately forty minutes later Xia Fan and Qin Zimo arrived at an observational pier by the sea.
“Have you found the killer?” Qin Zimo asked Xia Fan.
“Nope, though the little guys hid very well, their areas of activity are limited, so we lost signs of the target after approximately two kilometers,” Xia Fan answered.
Qin Zimo furrowed his brow and shrugged, “What a pity!”
Xia Fei nudged his chin and laughed, “It is quite a pity, but don’t you think that mother and daughter pair by the pier seems very strange?” Glancing down to check the time, Xia Fan softly added, “It’s already 1.35 AM.”
At Xia Fan’s comment, Qin Zimo turned toward the pier.
The Fisherman’s Pier was a fairly well known scenic spot. The waves on the coast were fast, constantly cras.h.i.+ng into the gray rocks that made up this pier. The sound of the waves wasloud, and the spray splashed several meters high.
There was a lighthouse at the end of the pier. Below it was a restaurant with an ocean view where tourists would be able to rest and have a meal.
As it was a little past midnight, the lights of the restaurant had long since gone out, but there was a mother and daughter pair sitting down by a bench close to the sea.
With how they looked from behind, the mother appeared to be skinny and frail, while the daughter had braided her hair into two pigtails, with a red bow on them. She had to be tired, because she was currently snuggled up in the arms of her mother.
“It is rather strange,” Qin Zimo mused. “To be up despite being past midnight, bringing their child out to such a place. But we’re not looking for them, but an older male with a limp. Perhaps they are poor and homeless.”
Xia Fan shook his head, “The mother’s wearing a windbreaker made of llama wool; such high-end goods cost well into the tens of thousands of union dollars. They might be pitiful, but they are definitely not staying there because they have nowhere else to go.
“Anyway, the trail has already gone cold. Let’s head over there and check on them.”
Qin Zimo was startled and nodded his head slightly, somewhat annoyed over his comparatively inferior observational skills.
The two men made their way over to the mother and daughter, circling around the bench until they were facing one another.
It was late in the night, yet the mother was still wearing a large pair of sungla.s.ses. Even stranger was the fact that the little girl, who looked to be about five or six, was also wearing a pair of sungla.s.ses that covered half her face.
Xia Fan was suddenly reminded of Faran Liang, the detestable person who had caused plenty of trouble for Dad. He was also someone who wore sungla.s.ses most of the time, whether it was day or night, or if he was inside or out. Xia Fan had not once seen him without his sungla.s.ses.
‘What time is it already? Faran and those investigators he gathered at the last minute ought to still be busy at the station, right?’, Xia Fan wondered to himself quietly.
Qin Zimo furtively nudged Xia fan’s arm and with a frown at the mother and daughter, asked them, “We are investigators from the Special Bureau. It’s very late, and neither of you are safely at home yet. Is there anything you need help with?”
That slender sungla.s.ses-wearing woman lifted her head and peered through the black sungla.s.ses to regard Xia Fan and Qin Zimo. Suddenly, the corner of her lips twitched, forming a smile that Xia Fan found to be very strange. The expression on her face seemed to indicate that she had recognized the two of them.
“Oh, I’m very sorry to have caused trouble for you two,” the woman said politely.
Once she said that, she lifted her right hand and took off her sungla.s.ses with her thin fingers.
At that moment, both Xia Fan and Qin Zimo found themselves in a complete trance.
Heavens, just what kind of eyes were those?! Xia Fan could feel Qin Zimo shuddering involuntarily beside him.
…
…
Icy cold sea water splashed on Xia Fan’s face, along with the strong smell of salt. He was s.h.i.+vering uncontrollably, coming back to his senses after losing consciousness.
Opening his eyes, Xia Fan was greeted with the sight of Cheyenne. She was holding an empty bucket in her hand; beside her was Dunn. Xia Fan could clearly remember that he had not seen him anywhere in Dad’s home. He had no idea when Dunn had appeared from out of nowhere.
Beside Xia Fan was Qin Zimo, who was not faring any better. He was also completely soaking wet, and the moment their eyes met, they let out a bitter laugh in unison.
“We were fooled by that woman.”
“Yeah.”
“If she was the killer, why didn’t she take the opportunity to kill us?”
“Who knows.”
Xia Fan and Qin Zimo answered each other’s questions, p.i.s.sing off Cheyenne. She yelled at them both, “Just what were you two doing?! You were like two idiots, sitting here on this bench. It was a good thing Dunn found you, or who knows what might have happened to you two?!”
Xia Fan laughed and scratched his wet hair, “Hey, can you be a little quieter? My head’s hurting right now.”
From the corner of his eye, Xia Fan saw Dunn was holding onto a manilla envelope, the exact same kind that Dad had received at midnight.
Qin Zimo also spotted the letter and hurriedly asked, “Hey Dunn, what’s that you have in your hand?”
“When I found the two of you, this letter was placed between you both. I haven’t had the time to open it yet,” Dunn replied.
Qin Zimo immediately exchanged glances with Xia Fan, who reached out and took the letter, placing it under his nose and taking a big whiff then closed his eyes.
“The smell of that woman lingers.”
“Open it and have a look.”
“Yeah.”
Qin Zimo and Xia Fan were talking to each other again, and Cheyenne was left feeling anxious watching from the sidelines. She had no idea just what weirdness the two men had actually encountered.
Opening the letter, inside was a photograph. It was a photo of the living room wall in Wu Jie’s home.
“Huuu!” Everyone sucked in cold air at the same time. This was the proof that they had been searching for all this time; why did it suddenly appear here?!
They saw that someone had used a red water-based pen to write across the wall.
“The Ariane, 5493 lives; blood demands payment in blood.”
Qin Zimo felt his throat tighten and his heart beat faster. He nearly leapt off from the bench!
It was the Ariane again, the tragedy that had happened as a result of a failed military operation! It was truly the reason for Wu Jie and his family’s death!
All of a sudden, while everyone was still reeling from the shock, Xia Fan shook his head slightly, “Something’s off.”
“What is?”
Xia Fan lifted his head and explained seriously, “Six years ago, the tragedy of the Ariane… There were a total of 5482 pa.s.sengers and crew, along with the squad of twelve from the military. That is a total casualty count of 5494, but the number written on the wall was one less.”
…
…
By the time they made their way back to Candy Dad Jerry’s home, it was already close to four in the morning. Qin Zimo and Xia Fan had been sitting by the sea like idiots for more than an hour without even realizing it.
Cheyenne had already called in advance to tell Dad and the others about what had happened to them. When Xia Fan stepped into the sitting room, Dad did not need to ask why he and Qin Zimo were completely drenched, but simply handed Xia Fan a copy of information that they had recently printed out, still warm from the printer.
Xia Fan flipped through the collection of information while Chenchen sighed, “So it turned out this was not the first murder. Intelligence officer Blair and technical officer Strong were both in charge of the Ariane operation and have already been murdered. That was roughly six and three months ago, respectively. Wu Jie was the third victim of this serial killer case.”
The information in Xia Fan’s hands were the reports on Blair and Strong’s murders. He had no idea where Chenchen had gotten his hands on them, and felt that it must have been Dad using his connections to Headquarters.
Setting the papers aside, Xia Fan said, “According to the message the killer left on Wu Jie’s living room wall, it’s apparent that they did not think the Ariane tragedy was an accident, which is what is driving them to commit their crazed revenge.
“If we follow along the a.s.sumption we can draw from this clue, there would be even more victims after this; At least, the command-in-chief and the incident investigator would be the main target of the killer.”
“The reason is simple. Wu Jie, the field commander, only began the operation at the order of the commander-in-chief, while the incident investigator was in charge of the conclusion. The killer believes the tragedy was no accident, which is why they must hate those two to death.
“We just have to find those two in advance, then we can stop the killer from continuing their spree.”
“What a coincidence!” Chenchen flashed a mysterious smile as he took out a list of names and handed it to Xia Fan. “The commander-in-chief and the investigator happen to both be staying on Brenia right now, and we even know the latter.”
Xia Fan was surprised. He took the list that Chenchen had finished compiling and the name of the incident investigator stood out: Faran Liang!
“It’s actually him?!” Xia Fan definitely did not expect that. To think Faran would actually be the same investigator who had determined the Ariane tragedy was an accident!
His mind raced, and a thought that left Xia Fan absolutely astounded quickly formed in his mind.
“Give me the list of names of the twelve members that made up the commando squad,” Xia Fan ordered quickly.
Chenchen plucked a piece of paper from the pile and handed it over.
Xia Fan placed his finger on it and went down the names list. His finger stopped over a particular name and he let out a low whistle. He then raised his head and looked at Dad intently. “Dad, I believe I’ve already figured out the truth,” Xia Fan stated.
“Oh, then let’s hear it.”
“I still can’t tell you just yet. We need to hurry back to the station and confront Faran Liang again,” Xia Fan said earnestly.
“It’s four in the morning!” Chenchen yawned as he checked the time.
“The task force will not be resting, because they have already run out of time. The evidence very clearly indicates that the commander-in-chief of the Ariane tragedy, the retired Lieutenant Zhang Qichao, will be celebrating his 80th birthday today. If I was the killer, this would definitely be a chance I wouldn’t want to miss.
“From what I judged of the killer, wanting people like Wu Jie and Zhang Qichao dead is only secondary. What they truly wanted was to expose the real truth behind the tragedy, which was why she had taken the initiative to send us information regarding the incident, and also why she let me and Qin Zimo go, even leaving behind that photo.
“If we don’t stop this person soon, tonight might very well be Zhang Qichao’s day of death.”
Hearing Xia Fan’s words, Dad nodded slightly, the light in his eyes reigniting.
“Speaking of you and Qi Zimo meeting the killer, what exactly happened there?”
The two men looked at one another, and Qin Zimo said in a suppressed voice, “Dad, the woman’s eyes were very special, like those of the devil. There was an irresistible quality to them. Dad, you know me, and there aren’t many things in the world that can instill fear in me, but honestly, I do not wish to b.u.mp into her again. Xia Fan and I are lucky to have made it out with our lives.
“It is best if we act according to what Xia Fan had said, or everything will be too late.”