The next morning, at seven o'clock.
Jianning Municipal Public Security Bureau.
—Snap!
The curtains were not drawn in the Chief's office, and the sky was dim and hazy, but the desk lamp that had not been turned off all night was still on, reflecting the two transparent evidence bags that were thrown on the table.
Yan Xie was wearing a standard light blue shirt with third-class inspector insignia on his shoulder, dark blue police uniform pants, and leather shoes. With a rare serious temperament, he reached out, picked up the two evidence bags, and frowned.
It was a slightly rusted cartridge case and a twisted bullet.
"Do you recognize it?" Chief Lu stood behind the desk with his hands behind his back and asked in a low voice.
In an instant, countless memories swept through Yan Xie's mind. As if the computer CPU instantly filtered a large amount of data, and the final picture was late at night in the village under Jiangyang County a few months ago when Fan Wu and other outlaws were about to pounce and Jing Ting's index finger resolutely pulled the trigger.
"…I can't recognize it," Yan Xie raised his head and looked back at Chief Lu, and calmly spat out these words.
The space that the lamp could illuminate was limited. So when Chief Lu stood up, his upper body was almost shrouded in darkness, but the eyes on his round face were extraordinarily bright, fixed in the depths of Yan Xie's pupils: "Even you can't recognize it? Then let me remind you of the location, Jiangyang County — do you have an impression?"
Yan Xie put down the evidence bag and smiled apologetically: "To tell you the truth, Chief Lu, I really don't understand what you are trying to say. It may be because my grades in the police academy were average, and my theoretical knowledge of firearms and bullets have been returned to the teacher in the past two years, which is really…"
"I thought that even if there was only one person in the world who could recognize this bullet, that person would definitely be you." Chief Lu interrupted him, and finally laughed heartily, returning to the smiling Maitreya appearance of the past: " On the 619 serial kidnapping case, you went to Jiangyang County to interrogate Li Yuxin, and on the way back, you encountered Fan Wu's group who attacked the police with guns. You, Xiao Zhang, and Li Yuxin were all shot. Afterward, Lao Wei personally took Huang Xing and the others to the scene to investigate. This 9mm Luger cartridge case was one of the pieces of physical evidence brought back at that time, and it was among the eight cartridge cases found at the scene, but — both the primer and firing pin traces on it were completely different from other cartridge cases."
Yan Xie's expression changed slightly.
"The bullet was found in the gap in the back seat of the police car after the police from the Jiangyang County Police Station retrieved the police car from the bottom of the river. Preliminary ballistic analysis showed that the bullet plunged into the water after hitting the target, and just happened to burrow into the broken car window, and got stuck in the back seat — if it hadn't penetrated into the interior of the car, maybe the police would've never have been able to salvage this bullet from the mud at the bottom of the river, but because of this coincidence, it was found by us. It can be said that Heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing can escape from it1
."
"…Does this bullet have any characteristics?" Yan Xie asked cautiously.
"There are two." Chief Lu paused and said, "First, it has rifling."
Rifling?
The manufacture of professional gun barrels required high-end equipment controlled by the state. Therefore, whether the bullet had rifling was one of the key criteria for distinguishing between local guns and service guns. The local guns and bullets used by Fan Zhengyuan and Fan Wu's group were all unrifled, but now the bullet in the evidence bag had rifling. What did this mean?
——There was a service pistol at the scene that day, and it was even possible that it was a military police gun!
"Second," Chief Lu stared at Yan Xie and said slowly, "Your blood was detected on this bullet."
Yan Xie's eardrums rang loudly, and for a few seconds, he was stunned and sat motionless on the chair.
"After interrogating Fan Wu, his confession proved my guess. The bullet at the scene was not shot from their gun barrels. This means, in addition to Fan Wu and others who were hired by Wang Xingye to kill Li Yuxin, there was another group — or another gunman, who only fired this one shot."
The office fell into silence, and because it was not the time to go to work in the morning, the city bureau building was still shrouded in tranquility.
Chief Lu's voice finally broke the dead silence:
"The target of this shot was you."
Yan Xie slowly loosened his hand that was clutching the evidence bag tightly, leaned back on the back of the chair, and finally said in a low voice, "I didn't notice it that day…"
"The work of the criminal police may lead to many enemies, but I have never seen criminals who dare to take revenge on the Deputy leader of the Provincial Public Security Division in my career as a policeman. Of course, that doesn't mean they do not exist. You have a good background, enough confidence, and your usual style of doing things is very bold. It is possible that you have done something that caused others to hate you and want you dead. Do you have any guesses?"
Yan Xie was silent for a long time and said, "I don't know."
He didn't look away when he said these words, but Chief Lu seemed to have seen something from his subconscious micro-movements. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "You really have no clue at all? — Yan Xie, you are not the kind of person who does things that attract people's hatred, and don't count in your heart!"
Yan Xie repeated in a deep voice, "I don't know."
He didn't even change his tone.
Chief Lu nodded, as if he knew that Yan Xie would not say another word, so he stopped asking this question: "Have you found any abnormalities in your life after returning from Jiangyang County, such as being spied on, tracking, monitoring, etc.?"
In an instant, the silver Hyundai Elantra that appeared and disappeared like a ghost appeared in front of Yan Xie's eyes, but as soon as the idea came to him, he cautiously pressed it back and said, "I haven't found anything unusual for the time being."
Chief Lu was noncommittal, and said with a "hmm", "You must be very careful. If we can confirm that the bullet came from a certain service gun, or even a police gun registered in the public security system, then the situation will become quite complicated — Then again, I have already asked Lao Huang to compare the rifling data. Since all military and police guns have a rifling record, let's see if we can find any."
Yan Xie nodded, forced a smile, and pointed to the two evidence bags: "Can I take a few photos?"
Chief Lu gestured for him to do as he wanted.
In fact, this was basically useless. The bullet had been twisted to death, and the rifling and ballistic analysis were also done with the help of an electron microscope. But Yan Xie still took out his mobile phone to take dozens of pictures, trying to enlarge every detail and carefully photographing it so that it could be clearly recognizable.
"Regarding the shooting in Jiangyang County, I will let them conduct extensive investigations again to try to find clues about the mysterious gunman at the scene. Before this, your personal safety is not 100% guaranteed. In my opinion, it would be better if you come back to work tomorrow." Chief Lu glanced at Yan Xie from the corner of his eye, suddenly hummed a little, and slowly picked up the large tea mug: "I have a feeling that the longer you stay at home, the bigger the disaster will be!"
Yan Xie was stunned for a moment, and keenly sensed some vague hint from Chief Lu's words. But when he looked up, he saw that Chief Lu was already drinking the tea, and the big tea mug blocked his chubby face, so he couldn't see any expression at all.
Did he really find out something?
Or was he just feeling guilty?
"Go," Chief Lu put down the tea mug and waved his hand: "I will explain this to Lao Wei, so don't mention it to anyone!"
Yan Xie hesitated for a few seconds, then got up and nodded, forcing himself to stare at Chief Lu, and then turned and walked out of the office.
...…
"This 9mm Luger bullet has rifling…"
"The target of this shot was you."
"The longer you stay at home, the bigger the disaster will be!"
…
Yan Xie opened the photo album on his mobile phone and stared at the bullet in the evidence bag that once penetrated his abdominal cavity.
The bloodstains on the bullet could no longer be discerned with the naked eye, only the twisted shape revealed a hint of ferociousness, and the heavy and cold weight of the brass could be felt across the screen. Yan Xie no longer remembered the pain of the bullet passing through his body. He didn't even realize that he had been shot at the time. Now when he closed his eyes and recalled that again, all the impressions that could come to his mind were nothing more than the word: Chaos.
Jiang Ting, who had just been rescued from the bottom of the river at the risk of death, was on the verge of suffocating at that moment, exclaiming, screaming, gunshots, fear… All the chaotic details were entangled in a mess, forming a bloody and bizarre picture.
Where was the gunman hiding?
Who was his gun pointed at, Jiang Ting or himself?
If this matter had been put forward three weeks ago, Yan Xie would have thought that the other party was probably from within the public security system without hesitation, and the target who he was trying to get rid of or silence by taking advantage of the chaos was Jiang Ting, and the whole assassination was nothing more than a continuation of the previous car crash on the highway three years ago.
But since being followed late that night, Yan Xie suddenly realized another terrifying possibility—
On the day of the attack on the police in Jiangyang County, the moment he emerged from the water, the bullets flew from the dark, but the muzzle of the gun was not aimed at Jiang Ting as he had imagined. On the contrary, it was precisely because Jiang Ting was in his arms at close range that the killer had to shift his muzzle to avoid accidental injury, resulting in the bullet failing to penetrate the original target on the spot — Yan Xie's heart.
The King of spades didn't want to kill Jiang Ting, his goal was very clear. It was Yan Xie from beginning to end!
Yan Xie's pupils were contracted into a line a little bit, and he suddenly heard a voice behind him: "What are you looking at?"
Yan Xie's thumb moved, and the phone screen turned to current affairs news at the same time Jiang Ting's eyes fell on it, "Oh, this."
The sudden rise in housing prices in Jianning City in the middle of the year was suspected to be related to the out-of-town real estate speculators — Jiang Ting glanced at it, then looked at Yan Xie for a moment. He didn't say anything and seemed to be thinking that it was interesting for him to watch this kind of news.
Jiang Ting was used to drinking Pu'er tea after dinner, but the first Lao Tongxing tea cake had been emptied out bit by bit by him over the past four months. It was exactly the same as what Yan Xie had estimated. He really didn't have the courage to open the second cake immediately and pretended to brew a bag of ordinary Pu'er tea every day. According to Yan Xie's observation, he should have bought it from the tea shop at the entrance of the community.
Yan Xie also didn't rush, like a beast who was still able to bear his temper for the time being, waiting for his prey to slowly approach, waiting until Jiang Ting couldn't stand it anymore, and took the initiative to run to secretly open the second tea cake.
"Why did Chief Lu ask you to go to the City Bureau today?" Jiang Ting sat on the sofa and asked after a sip of tea.
As I thought, Yan Xie thought. If this was the Lao Tongxing, he would never speak so quickly after taking the first sip. He would squint his eyes so slightly that even he might not notice, secretly feeling enjoyable, like a cat reminiscing about the most delicious small dried fish.
"It's nothing, it was about the report of the suspect Bu Wei jumping into the river and putting it in the closed case file. He asked me to sign it." Yan Xie seemed to inadvertently stuff the phone back into his trouser pocket, and at the same time moved onto the sofa, next to Jiang Ting while looking at him.
Jiang Ting had already taken a shower, his hair was dark and soft, and there were faint traces of water on the side of his face as if the water had completely soaked his skin. He was holding the steaming teacup in both hands, his fingertips were slightly red. It was a bit unnatural to be seen by Yan Xie's undisguised gaze at such close range, so he slightly tilted his head back and pulled a little distance: "What are you looking at?"
Yan Xie suddenly wrapped his palms around his hands holding the teacup, stared at his face firmly, and said, "I received a call from the hospital this afternoon. Shen Xiaoqi woke up."
Jiang Ting didn't expect him to suddenly say such a sentence. He didn't react, but a little relief appeared in his eyes: "Woke up?"
"Although he can't speak yet, brain scans show that there should be no major sequelae. If the follow-up treatment is done properly, normal intelligence and mobility will soon be restored, and he should be able to go back to school within three to six months."
"That's good." Jiang Ting sighed softly and said, "Although this child has suffered a lot of misfortune, it is at least a blessing among misfortunes now."
"There are many accidents and misfortunes in life," Yan Xie said while looking at him.
——This sounds very strange, especially when Yan Xie said this while his eyes fixed on Jiang Ting's beautiful eyes as if he was going to look into his mind through those pupils, making Jiang Ting involuntarily avoid it again. He asked with a smile again, "What's wrong with you?"
"We are criminal policemen. Our daily work is very dangerous and there are various unexpected situations."
"..."
"What if something happened to me one day?"
"Yan Xie, this is…"
"If I'm gone and died in the line of duty, will you miss me? Or will you forget me after a while?"
"Yan Xie!" Jiang Ting forcibly withdrew his hand, and the hot tea spilled on the sofa in the struggle: "What's wrong with you!"
Yan Xie grabbed his hand and refused to let it go. His strength was so strong, almost stubborn: "Let's get engaged. If something really happened, at least there will be a marriage contract, and after everything will be settled, you can go abroad to register. Or we can confess in front of our parents and family, at least to leave the proof that we have been good to each other. At least there will be someone in this world who knows that you and I are the real ones…"
"You let go of me first!" Jiang Ting stood up from the sofa and frowned, "Speak properly!"
Yan Xie turned a deaf ear, and the blue veins burst out on the back of his hand that was grabbing Jiang Ting's hand. This force was almost rude. Jiang Ting wanted to force his hand to break free, but in a hurry, all the tea was poured out and sprinkled on Jiang Ting's bare feet and carpet: "Let go, you are burning me! Yan Xie! "
The living room suddenly returned to quiet. Yan Xie gasped heavily, the light in his eyes was like a trapped beast, and in the silence he stared at Jiang Ting for a long while, the muscles of his arms tensed.
"..."
Jiang Ting frowned and looked back at him. After a long time, Yan Xie finally loosened his pincer-like hand a little bit while looking at him as he barely restrained himself, then turned around and went straight into the master bedroom.
After a few seconds, he walked out of the bedroom and went into the kitchen, took out the ice cubes from the refrigerator, and returned to the living room. Then he knelt on the carpet in front of Jiang Ting and wiped his reddened feet little by little with a towel wrapped in ice cubes.
Jiang Ting was not very accustomed to this posture, so he wanted to withdraw his feet and sit down, but as soon as he moved, Yan Xie grabbed his ankle: "Don't move."
"You..."
"Don't move."
Jiang Ting stood there stiffly, watching Yan Xie finish icing his scalded skin, releasing the towel, and in this half-kneeling position taking out a ring from his trouser pocket.
It was the platinum ring that had been on Jiang Ting's hand three weeks ago.
"This is the ring that my father wore when he married my mother. After I was born, they changed to a pair of commemorative rings, and the wedding rings of the year were left to me. Last year, I was free, so I took both rings to be refurbished and polished. At that time, I thought that no one would have a chance to wear it for a few years, but I didn't expect to meet you so soon."
The night outside the window was dark, and under the bright lights of the living room, the plain ring flickered with the gentle shimmer of the years that had passed.
"Can you accept it, Jiang Ting?" Yan Xie asked in a low voice while maintaining his kneeling posture.
"...."
"If you accept it, I will order another one according to my own size, right when we have an agreement to get married in the future, will you agree?"