A Sudden Turn

Chapter 41: A Sudden Turn

The case itself wasn't complicated, but it had a huge social impact.

Though the causes and circumstances were now clear, questions still remained.

Why had Hao Bowen, a young man, suddenly become so incredibly strong?

How had Li Degang known someone would kill him? He had even known exactly when, where, and how it would happen.

And despite knowing he would be attacked, he hadn't run. What had he been afraid of?

Bai Yanliang returned to Rongyuan Residential Complex and packed his things while he thought.

"Hey, you're leaving already? Are you going undercover again?"

Yang Yiyi stood nearby, watching him with a conflicted expression.

Bai Yanliang looked up at her and smiled. "Yeah. When Uncle Yang gets back, tell him thanks for looking after me all this time. I'll be off."

"If you want to tell him, call him yourself. I'm not doing it."

Bai Yanliang faltered. To be honest, he didn't know how to face the middle-aged detective. After all, he was still carrying the identity of a criminal.

According to his original plan, he would say goodbye once he found a steady job in the next few days.

But... he hadn't expected Yanren to leave him three hundred thousand yuan in savings. That was enough for him to live alone in Ye City for quite a while.

Bai Yanliang picked up his luggage, stood, and said goodbye to Yang Yiyi.

"Goodbye."

As Yang Yiyi watched him walk away with his luggage, she suddenly had a feeling—a feeling that... she might never see him again.

"Hey! I'm going to become a detective!"

Yang Yiyi shouted after him.

Bai Yanliang paused and looked back at the girl with the awkward expression. He suddenly smiled. "Great. Once you become a detective, you might even come after me."

With that, Bai Yanliang waved and stepped into the elevator.

"I told you not to smile at girls so casually..." Yang Yiyi muttered as she watched the elevator doors slowly close.

After leaving Rongyuan Residential Complex, Bai Yanliang found a hotel and checked in for the time being.

Another reason he didn't want to stay at Yang Wanlong's house was that Yang Yiyi's father, the detective, had been keeping an eye on him.

He opened the door, looked around, set down his luggage, and sat on the bed with his phone in hand.

In the chat history from their last conversation, Bai Yanliang saw Feng Xiuxue's name.

He had found her sudden invitation very strange. As a newcomer to Mist Gathering, he was sure he and Feng Xiuxue had never crossed paths. As for real life, that was even less likely. One was a young man burdened with a murder charge, who had spent his long adolescence entirely in a psychiatric hospital; the other was a star who often appeared in the media, with fans all over the country. Even a young girl like Yang Yiyi was captivated by her.

What exactly did she want from him?

Bai Yanliang had wondered about this more than once.

After thinking it over, the only possible connection between them seemed to be what had happened in Mist Gathering. Perhaps... she wanted to ask him in person about their last mission?

Gradually, Bai Yanliang began to feel tired. He'd been on the go all day, and slowly closed his eyes.

He had no idea that Feng Xiuxue's reason for contacting him had nothing to do with Mist Gathering—and that, in a way, the connection between them ran deeper than ever before...

Ye City Police Department, Jiangbei Branch.

Officer Wang stared at the corpse before him, his face livid.

Hao Bowen was dead.

He had died in the holding cell.

But the sight before them was so bizarre that every officer who saw the body felt their scalp prickle.

"W-what happened here?"

"Investigate! Check the security footage!" Captain Wang roared, and everyone immediately sprang into action.

This was simply too bizarre!

The skin and flesh on Hao Bowen's face were a mangled mess.

Blood dripped from his wrists, and bloody foam bubbled from his mouth. Blood had spread across the floor.

The officer who had discovered the scene had nearly been scared out of his wits. He called for help, and everyone came running—including Officer Wang.

What had happened?

This was a holding cell in a police station!

Who could be brazen enough to kill someone inside a holding cell?

But after checking the security footage, everyone's faces turned even grimmer, and... an indescribable fear settled over them.

Several officers couldn't take it and ran outside with their hands over their mouths.

The footage was simply too horrifying!

The veins bulged on Officer Wang's hand as he pressed it against the desk. He stared fixedly at the footage. On-screen, Hao Bowen sat cross-legged in the corner of the holding cell with his head bowed. It was so dark there that he was hard to make out.

Suddenly, Hao Bowen began to move. He reached out with both hands and clawed at his own wrists. His nails were sharp, easily piercing the skin. Then he dug into the veins beneath, and in an instant, blood was everywhere.

He didn't stop. His hands kept moving upward, and soon his face was a mangled mess.

At last... his dying body lay twitching faintly in a pool of blood. Not a single person had entered the holding cell, and Hao Bowen hadn't made a sound throughout his self-mutilation.

The silent footage played on a loop, showing Hao Bowen violently killing himself.

The police station was utterly silent. Every so often, someone retched or swallowed nervously.

Officer Wang's pupils shrank rapidly. The veteran detective was deeply shaken.

"Investigate..."

As soon as Officer Wang spoke, he realized his voice was dry and hoarse, as though it belonged to some strange stranger.

"C-Captain Wang... how are we supposed to investigate?"

Officer Wang turned around. The officers behind him said nothing, but their fear was plain to see.

This was too strange, too bizarre.

How could a human being be so cruel to himself?

Hao Bowen looked as though... he'd been possessed by a monster.

"Everyone..." Officer Wang suddenly felt helpless. Even he had no idea where to start. How could they investigate this? The camera beside the holding cell had clearly recorded Hao Bowen's death, but... could they make this footage public?

"Do what you can. Find out who he came into contact with and whether he said anything strange. At the very least... we need to find out why he died in such a bizarre suicide."

"Yes... Captain Wang."