Pure Darkness
Chapter 120
This is the temporary police command center. Right now, Zhu Tao was busy leading a team to comb through all the clues related to Bo Jinyan and the Buddha Hand. Fang Qing stood in front of the map, his brows furrowing in concentration, a cigarette in his left hand and a pen in his right hand, completely immersed in his thoughts. He had already marked the map with various graffiti.
Oi! I am an article!
An Yan sat in front of several computers, and his delicate brows furrowed as well. He kept looking for signals, but could do nothing because the signal was too weak. He could only ascertain the approximate direction without showing the exact position.
Fang Qing stared at the corner of the map for a long time before he threw the pen to one side and turned his head to ask, “What progress did you make?”
Oi! I am an article!
An Yan pointed the computer monitor towards him. He pointed at her and said, “I can only determine that they are in this area. There might not be much power left in the Jinyan reading device, so the signal is very weak. The internet in the surrounding area is bad and too much of a distraction. Aiya, it's my fault for not thinking about it carefully. I should have paired it from head to toe with a signal transmitter.”
Fang Qing laughed and said, “It's not that we have no results at all. I have also determined that the Buddhist Hand fort is in this area, completely in accordance with your monitoring results. ”
“How did you reach that conclusion?”
Fang Qing took out a photocopy of the information Zhu Tao had and said, “Jinyan told Captain Zhu that, with this information and more time, she was able to deduce the fortress of the Buddha Hand. In recent years, the route that the Buddha's Hand had taken when committing crimes, their escape route, their come and go path, combined with the road and highway on the outskirts, were taken, the state of the aqueduct and the geological features around it — I understand what Jinyan is saying, it's like solving a complex multi-factor equation. The solution to the equation is the coordinates of the Buddhist Hand fortress. This is actually a question that displays probability and logic. I have marked all these factors on the map. The area that has been the center of all Buddhist Hand activities in recent years,
Oi! I am an article!
An Yan said, “But the area on this map has several remote cities; Zhu Tao has sent people to secretly observe the area by sea, land, and air, respectively, they have even visited several cities. However, they had not found any traces of the Buddha Hand. The area is very large and sparsely populated. Other than a few small towns and villages that were easy to count, there were almost no signs of human habitation. If they hide in the mountains, there is no way for us to detect them. If we browse the area inch by inch, we will take a few years.”
Fang Qing said, “No, there is no way such a criminal gang can hide deep within the remote mountains and forests, isolated from the rest of the world, for a long period of time. They need to live, go out, be women, to run their shady business. At the very least, they should live in a small city.”
The two of them fell silent for a while before Fang Qing said, “As Sherlock Holmes said, ‘when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever is left, however impossible, must be the truth’. Hey, kid, check if there's a small town in the area that doesn't show up on the map and is also almost disconnected from the outside world. This would be more in line with the conditions that the Buddha Hand considered when choosing a location for their fortress.”
An Yan glanced at him in disbelief but still started his search on the computer.
Fang Qing leaned back on the chair and exhaled slowly, while his expression turned serious. The two were the most tenacious and honest people he knew; if anyone should die, it shouldn't be them. He had to bring them both back safely.
At that moment, his phone rang. He glanced at her, received the call, and whispered a few words with a smile. An Yan felt as if his ears were numb just hearing Fang Qing's soft and lazy tone of voice. However, from Fang Qing's honest manner, it was clear that he did not hesitate to seduce someone while at work.
After a while, An Yan looked at the screen and smiled.
Being in a relationship is definitely not the same as being single*. He suddenly just recalled the kiss he shared with Gu Fangfang. In that short span of a few days, the two of them must have shared many kisses. Her boyfriend is a cosplay champion and ‘strength of his attack’ full. One time, they had been kissing for a few minutes, and she was almost out of breath, but she only opened a little bit of her beautiful eyes and said, “I can hold my breath for a long time. I never lose to anyone.”
*T/N (and sheng gou) – lit. Single dog, used to describe someone who is not married or in a relationship, is usually used to self-deprecate.
Foolish girl, kissing is not a competition, but she goes one step further by pitting herself.
An Yan's face smiled widely as his fingers tapped on the keyboard, continuing the quest for which he was responsible.
However, even though he was a top hacker, it took him no less than half a day to find the answer Fang Qing wanted.
Dusk time.
“Finded him!” An Yan wriggled and said, “You guessed correctly, there is indeed such a place.”
Fang Qing immediately moved but only saw an obscure picture of the small town on the screen. It is located on the top of several mountain ridges, with an ancient building that looks as if it was built in the previous century. The yellowing slogans were still stuck to the wall, and many places were in a collapsed state.
An Yan said, “Information about this place is not available on the Internet, nor can it be found in the ordinary Ministry of Public Security system. I hacked the old archive library system and found scanned copies of these old photos. This place is called Pu Luo . Originally the location of the district capital was on the Jinsha river, but in the 1950s, geologists noticed the danger of large landslides, so the entire district capital was moved. It became an abandoned ghost town. Now, almost 70 years later it is said that no one lives there. Perhaps for political reasons Pu Luo had been removed from the history and geography books. So, in our generation, even the previous generation, almost no one knows that Pu Luo exists.”
——
“You didn't tell Captain Zhu about Zhizi Zhou ?” Jian Yao asked.
Zhao Kun leaned against the sofa with a cigarette between his teeth, and said, “No. In reality, this is only my second time in Zhizi Zhou . If not for the large shipment of goods that came in at the beginning of this year, and the plans to move out, Song Kun would not have stayed in this place for long. Locals call this place Zhizi Zhou, but I can't find the name of the place on the map or the Internet. It was night time when I came here twice, and the waterway route was very complicated with many twists and turns; there was no way to remember it. In addition, Song Kun always arranged for specially assigned people to take turns driving the boat. He does not easily trust people, and will not let his subordinates know too many secrets.”
Sitting across from him, Bo Jinyan pondered for a moment before asking, “Other than Song Kun's people, how many ordinary citizens are there in this small town?”
“150, 160 people,” Zhao Kun replied. “I also don't know how this small town became what it is today, without running water, electricity, or internet access. The people here are independent and isolated from the outside world. The only waterway is controlled by the Hand of Buddha, and the Hand of Buddha also controls this small town. The two sides coexist harmoniously, and have been doing so for several years. Song Kun took a lot of trouble to find this place. That you guys could accidentally drift into this place, and ask Ah Hong to guide you guys, is really luck.”
“We must protect the citizens on the day of the police attack,” Bo Jinyan said.
Jian Yao and Zhao Kun both agreed.
Dusk had descended upon them by then. Zhao Kun peeked through the gap in the curtain and said, “I'll go to the boss first. You guys are coming in a minute. ”
Moments after Zhao Kun left, Bo Jinyan leaned on her staff, put on her sunglasses, and walked, with the help of Jian Yao, towards the house where Song Kun lived. It's time for dinner, it's also time for discussion. If they could gather more information, it would be easier for them to take the initiative to act.
Along the way, they once again saw some civilians walking in buckets filled with water. The only drinking water in this small town comes from a well. Naturally, the two best wells were controlled by the Buddha Hand. People were appointed to take and transport water to the brothers every day. Every day, when dusk falls, that's when the water is channeled.
“Are you thirsty?” Jian Yao asked.
Bo Jinyan shook her head.
Jian Yao said, “When we return tonight, I will boil some water for you to drink. Don't be like them and drink raw water. I saw you drinking it all the time yesterday.”
Bo Jinyan laughed and said, “I will obey.”
Jian Yao also laughed.
Unexpectedly, while they were on their way, the two brothers stopped them. “Ular ge , Snake sao *, something has happened! The boss asked you to immediately go to Zhao Jian's house, in front of you!”
*T/N (sao) – wife older brother; brother-in-law – this term is not only for blood relations; it can be used to call wife (or boyfriend, girlfriend, in a seductive way) from an older man close to her. For example, An Yan greeted Jian Yao in this manner.
Who was Zhao Jian? He was also a courageous leader among Song Kun's men; although his status was not as high as Five Luohans, he had improved greatly in recent years. He had been with Song Kun for several years, and managed many of their important businesses.
As soon as Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao walked into Zhao Jian's house, they saw many people milling about in the chaos.
And, they also smelled a strong smell of blood.
Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao entered the house and saw Song Kun sitting on the living room sofa, his face pale, with Zhao Kun and Qin Sheng standing beside him.
“Bos, what happened?” Bo Jinyan asked.
Song Kun said, “Go and see for yourself.”
With Jian Yao's help, Bo Jinyan walked to the inner chamber door. Both of them froze at the same time.
Blood had flowed all the way to the door, and it was almost dry. A man was sitting by the bed, headless. The head had been neatly cut across the neck, and it looked as if it had been done with great savageness.
His head had been thrown into a corner, and it looked as if it had rolled around in a pool of blood several times. Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan both met Zhao Jian and recognized his head.
Next, on the wall behind the bed, in a dim light, hung the mask of the king. Under the mask was a sentence written in blood:
You can't kill me.
J
It was signed by ‘J’.
In this dim, bloody, and unfamiliar room, in the presence of this killing like a sudden bolt of lightning, Jian Yao felt a chill penetrate his heart, threatening to swallow his entire body. He never expected that he would see that ‘J’ again in his life, he said, because the handwriting was exactly the same as the one in the message left by the butterfly killer when he killed Feng Yuexi.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind, the main one being: Luo Lang is not dead?
No, no, even if Luo Lang did not really die, there was no way he could become a member of the masked assassin gang. He ambushes and kills a member of a gang of masked killers in his quest to save her. He has also warned them not to go to the animation park. He had lived his entire life shackled by his guilt and regret, and his ethical perspective was more severe than that of an ordinary person. He obviously doesn't fit the profile of the masked killer, and is even less likely to team up with the masked killer.
Then, why did that ‘J’ appear once again?
Jian Yao suddenly broke out in a cold sweat as she thought: could they be wrong? That the person who killed Feng Yuexi was not Luo Lang? Butterfly killer. . . Not Luo Lang?
