Yang Yi found it interesting how Indians spoke; they clearly meant to express agreement and approval, yet their heads would shake back and forth.
When he first saw Kadipur and his fellow townsman discussing swapping cars, Yang Yi thought he was being rejected. But not long afterward, the two men exchanged their taxis.
Becoming a taxi driver in London is no easy feat; or, to put it another way, London's taxi driver's license is certainly the hardest to get in the entire world. Hence, unlike in other developed countries' cities, it's quite rare to encounter Indian drivers in London.
After a brief discussion, Kadipur and his friend exchanged cars and drove off, with Yang Yi and his company heading toward Ryan's home.
Kadipur was still very agitated. As soon as he got the car moving, he couldn't help but exclaim loudly, "Something has definitely gone wrong! Everything's been fine for so many years, so why did things suddenly go awry? Even Mr. Jones and Mrs. Jenny are dead! What kind of trouble have we run into!"
Yang Yi said softly, "There's a mole, someone looking for the information we stole from Egertoni Company. They're not only trying to recover the lost items but also to kill people."
Kadipur angrily said, "Egertoni Company? Of course, it has to be an issue with that company. But is it worth killing us all just for a business secret? If they have evidence, they could sue, or they could have the police arrest us!"
Yang Yi replied softly, "They don't have the evidence to accuse us, nor enough to convict us. But they don't need evidence. They just need to wipe us all out."
Kadipur fell silent for a moment before whispering, "Is it just for retaliation then?"
"No, not just retaliation. The information we stole involves the hidden financiers of the Egertoni Company, their capital flows have issues, and I think there must be some secrets in there that must never be revealed, secrets that we stumbled upon."
Kadipur said helplessly, "But we never stole any secrets that shouldn't be known about Egertoni Company."
Jenny hadn't clarified what she entrusted before her death; they only knew that the Egertoni Company's information involved serious secrets, which is why the killer came knocking the very next day. As for what exactly happened, of course Yang Yi didn't know.
Gao Yang sighed helplessly and whispered, "Don't think too much about it. We need to find out who the mole is and then leave London as soon as possible to find a place to hide out until this blows over. There's no other way."
After a moment of silence, Kadipur suddenly asked, "And after we find the mole?"
Yang Yi paused briefly, then whispered, "Of course... take him out. I've never killed anyone, and I've never even thought about it, well, I have thought about it, but now... Unless you have a better suggestion?"
Kadipur suddenly exclaimed, "Damn, I need to call my wife. I didn't realize things were this serious..."
Kadipur began calling his wife while driving, telling her to quickly pack and be ready to take their child and leave London with him.
While Kadipur was on the phone, they arrived at Ryan's house.
It was already nine o'clock in the evening, but there were no lights on at Ryan's house. The taxi stopped a few dozen meters from Ryan's front door, and then Kadipur said with a trembling voice, "Ryan's car is here, so he should be in the house. Why are the lights off?"
The answer seemed quite obvious. Kate looked at Yang Yi and asked softly, "What do we do?"
Yang Yi was the least experienced among them, but Kadipur and Kate both looked to him. After a moment's thought, Yang Yi whispered, "Ring the doorbell, just like before. I'll have the gun behind you two."
Kadipur, seeing Yang Yi clutching his stomach and moving with difficulty, said, "Are you injured? I'll take the gun."
"No! No need, I'll keep the gun. Now, go ring the doorbell."
Kadipur hesitated for a moment, but he mustered the courage to walk up to Ryan's front door. Looking at Kate who stood beside him, he pressed the doorbell.
No one answered; there was no response at all.
Kadipur and Kate looked back at Yang Yi.
After the terrifying experience of being strangled, Yang Yi felt an indescribable fear of entering a friend's door. He thought for a moment and whispered, "Are there surveillance cameras here?"
Kadipur shook his head, "I've been to Ryan's place many times, we are good friends; there are no cameras here."
Yang Yi asserted, "Call the police!"
"Call the police?"
"Yes, report a murder, say someone's been killed at home. Let the police come and open the door. If Ryan is fine, then it's just a prank, but if Ryan's dead... at least we don't have to risk going in ourselves."
Pushing at the door and twisting the handle, Kadipur was stunned when the door opened a crack without resistance and said, "It's unlocked, should we still call the police?"
Yang Yi sighed, "Then what's the point of calling? Let's go in!"
Kate pushed the door open and rushed in, followed by Kadipur, who then turned on the lights.
Ryan's tongue was hanging out very long, with a recently unwrapped takeout in front of him.
Kadipur was at a loss, covering his face, stumbling over his words, "Ryan is dead, he's dead!"
Yang Yi walked over to Ryan's corpse and took a careful look, whispering, "It was dinner time, the killer was waiting for him at home, and strangled him when he was about to eat. There's a takeout order here, placed at 7:20 PM. The takeout would've arrived right around the time we got home."
Kate nodded.
Yang Yi scrutinized the strangulation marks on Ryan's neck.
Kate murmured, "What do you see?"
"Someone strangled him with a very thin wire, stopped when he was about to suffocate to ask him questions, and then strangled him again. This went on for at least ten times or more; the marks on his neck are too numerous to have been made in one go."
Standing up, Yang Yi sighed, looking desolate, "It wasn't a single killer; several people were involved."
Kadipur trembled all over and whispered in a low voice, "Many killers, so many, what do we do, what do we do?"
Yang Yi murmured, "Let's leave here, find Wells. No, find Daniel first, maybe we can still save him."
Kadipur said with a shaky voice, "But Wells lives right here, very close, just under a five-minute drive."
Yang Yi glanced at Kadipur, slightly annoyed that Kadipur hadn't mentioned it earlier. After some thought, he whispered, "How far away is Daniel's place?"
"Very far, in the East District, it would take about forty minutes by car."
Yang Yi scratched his head vigorously, looking conflicted, "But I feel that Wells is the mole. If we see him first, we'll have to make a quick decision on how to handle Wells. Once we meet him, if he is still alive, what do we do? Do we take him into custody?"
Kate looked at Yang Yi and whispered, "It was you who said Wells was only a suspect."
Yang Yi paused, then said, "Alright, let's go to Wells's. If he's dead, he's naturally no longer a suspect. If he's alive, well, we'll deal with it then!"
The three got back into the car, and soon, Kadipur pointed to a house with the lights on and said, "That's it, Wells's house."
Anticipating a confrontation with the mole, Yang Yi drew his old pistol again, with a hint of nervousness, "If Wells doesn't cooperate, Kate, you must subdue him. Otherwise, otherwise, I might have to shoot. I hope I don't have to, let's go!"
Kadipur whispered, "Could Wells be the one who betrayed us? If he is, he must have already left. If... I don't know, let's go up, I'll knock on the door!"
Kadipur nervously knocked on the door, so quietly it was almost inaudible. After Yang Yi gestured for him to be louder, Kadipur banged on the door with force, loud enough for the neighbors to hear.
There was no response. Kadipur looked back at Yang Yi. Yang Yi surveyed the surroundings and gritted his teeth, "Break in, we can get in through a window, or does anyone know how to pick a lock? No, first see if the door's locked."
Kadipur grabbed the doorknob again, while Kate clenched her fists, ready to strike.
The door quietly opened again.
Yang Yi was stunned, then thought that Wells might have left his home.
The three slowly entered the house and turned on the lights in the dark room.
Wells's home was tidy, no one was in the living room, and having already found three bodies in the living room, Yang Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Then he became even more convinced that Wells was the mole.
You can't just check the living room and leave, Yang Yi murmured, "Let's go check the bedroom, look everywhere, we must stick together, move as one."
Opening the bedroom door, turning on the lights, Yang Yi's mind was blown.
Kadipur let out a cry of alarm, trembled as he went limp, and Kate covered her mouth.
Wells wasn't the mole, he was dead, and his death was gruesome.
All his fingernails had been pulled out, and wounds covered his body. Wells's expression of agony had frozen on his face.
Wells wasn't the mole, he definitely wasn't, and Kate was even less likely, leaving only two people.
Kadipur and Daniel.
Yang Yi pointed the gun in a new direction, straight at Kadipur.
All three were shocked. Yang Yi swallowed and whispered to Kadipur, "Where have you been today?"
Kadipur trembled, glanced at the gun in Yang Yi's hand, then back at Yang Yi, and stepping back two paces against the wall, his voice trembling, "You want to kill me? No, it's not me, it really isn't me..."
Considering his interactions with Kadipur, Yang Yi felt his suspicion was really small, so he put away the gun, his face full of pain, "It leaves only Daniel..."