Zhao Ming hung up the phone and returned to the room, only to find Han Fei and Zhang Xiaotian desperately swiping the screens of their phones.
"What are you guys doing?"
"I've entered the description of the person that Han Fei described into the database; he was very detailed, and I think we'll be able to match the results soon... Found it!" Zhang Xiaotian's expression grew increasingly strange as he looked at the face that appeared on the screen. He handed his phone to Han Fei: "I used the facial features you described for simulation and matching, take a look, is this the store boss?"
Upon seeing the old man on the screen, Han Fei blurted out, "That's right, it's him! He even said his whole family were my fans! They especially loved my show!"
"I think he didn't lie to you, rather it seems like you are lying to us." Zhang Xiaotian swiped on the phone, revealing additional information: "This old man is a tomb guardian from the Xinhu Outer City. Both his parents died early, he had no children, and if we must talk about family, his family should be the hundreds of unnamed solitary graves in the cemetery of the Outer City District."
"No way! The old man was still in the secondhand store comforting me yesterday, telling me to buck up. Could you guys have made a mistake?" Han Fei repeatedly reviewed the information and photos on the phone.
"He comforted you yesterday?" Zhang Xiaotian scrolled to the last page of information on the phone: "Look carefully, this old man passed away three days ago, and he himself was buried in the cemetery of the Outer City District."
It was impossible for the citizen information system to make a mistake. Han Fei stared at the last page with the old man's gray portrait, completely stupefied.
"However, there is one thing you didn't get wrong. He indeed was your fan, liked your type of humor that wasn't actually funny, and would even play your show out loud in the cemetery at night, which scared passersby several times. There's a record of our police response in his citizen file."
After Zhang Xiaotian finished speaking, he put away his phone and, together with Zhao Ming, looked at Han Fei: "Don't just stand there like a fool. If you really didn't commit arson, then just come with us. We won't wrong a good person, nor will we let a bad one go."
"I can cooperate with you, but I hope to take a look at Antique Street, I'm still having a hard time accepting this." Han Fei's mind was in chaos, with everything piling up at once; he thought his life was already bad enough, without expecting there to be such a huge fall into despair awaiting him.
After personally visiting Antique Street and seeing the street completely burned down, Han Fei completely gave up hope.
With the evidence destroyed and even the ground cracked open by the fire, any potential evidence had likely turned to ash long ago.
"Why would it be me? Simply because that old man is my fan?"
"Other stars' fans send handwritten letters, chocolates, pens—why are my already few fans trying to kill me?"
At nine o'clock in the morning, Han Fei arrived at the Happiness Road Police Station in the Old City District, perhaps because it was his first time riding in a police car; he looked pale and was in poor spirits.
"I'll go report to Captain Wang, you keep an eye on him." After Zhao Ming left, Zhang Xiaotian had Han Fei enter the interrogation room first. In his view, "the arsonist" Han Fei was very dangerous and had to be isolated from others.
"You guys really have the wrong person—I've never even lit a firecracker, let alone set fire to a street."
"Stay put and be honest."
"It's a misunderstanding!" Han Fei's words were cut off as the door to the interrogation room closed: "You've really got the wrong person! The real criminal is someone else! I'm a victim too!"
"Stop yelling. Don't you know in your heart whether you've committed a crime?" A woman's voice rang out in the interrogation room.
Han Fei turned around and the first thing he saw was a pair of black half-tube Doc Martens propped on the interrogation room's table, followed by slender legs clad in black jeans.
"Like what you see?"
The woman sitting at the far end of the interrogation room had a stunning figure. She kept her head down, constantly focused on playing with her phone, but it seemed as though she was keenly aware of everything happening in the room.
"Take a few more good looks because once you're inside, you won't have the chance. Our 'Criminal Law' may only stipulate the crime of arson, without a specific crime for arson with intent, but for arson resulting in major damage, there's no cap on the sentencing. I heard you burned down an entire street—how could you not get a life sentence for that? You're quite ruthless."
"Don't falsely accuse me. I'm not the same as you criminals. I'm here to help the police find the truth. This arson case is not so simple; there are other forces behind it." The only people who could be in the police station's interrogation room were either police or suspects, so Han Fei didn't think too much about it—his mind was full of thoughts about the game.
"The mastermind behind the scenes?" For the first time, the woman looked up, as if she'd discovered something amusing, "Indeed, to burn down an entire street requires meticulous planning. Multiple ignition points are needed to spread the fire rapidly, but the surveillance footage captured nothing but you. It feels like you were deliberately set up to take the fall."
"At last, I meet someone who understands," Han Fei had no particular liking for the woman, but so far, she was the only one speaking up for him.
"It's simple logic, but what about you is worth framing? A fly doesn't sting a flawless egg; there must be something wrong with you too." The woman's intuition was very sharp, her gaze piercing.
"What could be wrong with me? I worked hard to finally get a chance in front of the camera, only to be pushed out by someone with connections; looking forward to relaxing a bit, but then..." Han Fei recalled his ordeal from the previous night, feeling it was a miracle that he'd survived, "Never mind, I used to think that when God closes a door on someone, He would always open a window, leaving a glimmer of hope."
"And now?"
"Now, I feel like God has not only sealed all my doors and windows but also put a ghost in my house."
Han Fei had always been a man of few words, but after playing "Perfect Life," he found himself talking more, perhaps a last flicker before the light goes out.
"Although I'm not clear on the details, it seems to me you've had it pretty rough."
"The more I talk, the more it hurts, big sister, what are you in for?" Han Fei walked over to the woman.
"Big sister?" The woman's eyelid twitched, but she didn't take issue with Han Fei, "I got into a fight. I broke someone's nasal bone and kicked a few ribs in on two others. It was an emergency, I didn't think much of it."
"You're that good at fighting?"
"I'm alright."
Perhaps because they were both in a sorry state, their conversation flowed smoothly, and Han Fei even attempted to discuss the events that occurred in the game.
"Your deduction is correct, that old lady definitely has a freezer hidden in her house, but from a physical standpoint, she shouldn't be the murderer, just assisting in hiding the corpse. I suspect the real killer is a member of her family."
"I think so too!"
The two chatted fervently in the interrogation room as if they had just exchanged a secret passphrase.
"What's the old lady's name? I can help you check it out when I get out," the woman appeared genuinely serious, a rare trust given to Han Fei's words.
"The old lady's name is Meng Shi, probably in her seventies, with a full head of silver hair, slightly stooped shoulder. She also has a grandson named Chenchen..."
"Alright," the woman recorded all the details in her phone, "Add my account, and we'll keep in touch by phone from now on."
"Thanks for the help, but it's an emergency on my side. How soon do you think you can get out?"
"If you're in a hurry, then I'll leave right now," as soon as she finished speaking, the woman stood up and kicked the door of the interrogation room.
"Bang!"
The door swung open, leaving Han Fei completely bewildered, "Is that even possible?"
The woman walked out boldly, followed by an angry roar from within the station, "Li Xue! You have no discipline, no organization! You've gone too far! I'm going to call your superiors!"
Hearing the middle-aged man's voice, Han Fei began to understand, "Is she a cop?"
"She's not just any cop. At 23, she joined the criminal investigation team's major case squad. Over the past five years, she participated in solving multiple major cases, but due to repeatedly beating suspects and not following protocol, she was disciplined and transferred out of the investigation team." Zhang Xiaotian looked at the broken lock, sighed, "Officially, it's said that the station needs to strengthen its investigative force, so they brought her in to bolster the team. In reality, she's here to be punished, doing basic work at the station. Her leaders wanted to temper her temperament."