Chapter 78#
Zhao Changgen was dead.
Just as the arrest had concluded and everyone thought they could wrap up and head back to the city, he fell from the sixth floor and died on impact.
Ji Yang’s view was blocked. He could hear the chaotic sound of boots crunching on gravel, the team leader shouting, “What happened?! How did he fall?!” Others were yelling, “Cordon off the scene!”
When Nie Xu released him, the only things left in Ji Yang’s field of vision were the floodlights illuminating the crime scene and the backs of several police officers. The spot where Zhao Changgen had landed was ringed off with police tape. Ji Yang caught a glimpse of a corner of the white sheet and immediately looked away.
All the officers who had been on the sixth floor had their heads bowed, their expressions grim. One of them rubbed his face and said with deep regret, “At the time, everyone thought he was already injured and couldn’t possibly cause any more trouble. Who knew he’d suddenly shove me and charge straight out through the opening? It’s all my fault…”
The police supervisor asked, “Did he show any unusual behavior?”
“Unusual?” Several officers looked at one another and shook their heads. “Not that we noticed. Probably just afraid of being arrested?”
Ji Yang caught most of it and murmured, “Someone who fought so desperately to survive even when facing a killer… Is prison really worse than death?”
“There’s only one possibility,” Nie Xu said.
Ji Yang looked at him with confusion.
Nie Xu met his gaze. “He knew he wouldn’t survive. Or rather, even if he were arrested today, his fate would be far worse than suicide.”
Ji Yang said nothing.
A suffocating pressure settled in his chest.
Perhaps it was because death had been too close — right before his very eyes.
Ji Yang: “When I first took on Zhao Changgen’s case, the worst-case scenario I’d prepared for was that we couldn’t reach an agreement and it would end up in court. I never imagined…”
“I know.” Nie Xu cut him off. He wrapped one arm around Ji Yang’s neck and pulled him into his embrace, resting his head against Ji Yang’s hair. “This has nothing to do with you, and it wasn’t started because of you. The seeds were planted by Zhao Changgen himself. Someone was never going to let him live — if not today, then tomorrow.”
Ji Yang said softly, “You’ve already guessed it, haven’t you?” As he spoke, he raised his head so his lips were nearly brushing Nie Xu’s ear. “Because someone didn’t want him to implicate the ‘Blue Ocean Project,’ so he had to die?”
The moment Ji Yang said this, he could clearly feel Nie Xu’s gaze on him deepen and grow heavy.
“How do you know about this?” Nie Xu asked.
Ji Yang rested his chin on Nie Xu’s shoulder, speaking in a daze, “Didn’t I tell you? Besides the memory from the Qiming, I also have a memory of being kidnapped. In the forest back then, the kidnappers mentioned that project.”
Nie Xu’s grip on his arm tightened slightly, his voice betraying no emotion. “And then? Where did you go?”
“I don’t know,” Ji Yang said. “I told you already — my memories are very limited.”
Ji Yang was actually curious too.
He shot back a question: “Weren’t you there as well? What happened after that?”
Just then, the older police officer walked over.
Seeing the two standing close together, he said to Ji Yang, “First time seeing something like this? Must have scared you.”
Ji Yang stepped back and shook his head. “No.”
“No need to be embarrassed,” the officer said. “Even for some police officers, seeing things like this can mean weeks of nightmares. You get used to it.”
Ji Yang didn’t know how to respond. You could get used to something like this?
The officer turned to Nie Xu. “We took a brief statement from the sniper. He disclosed an overseas handler but couldn’t identify the person who hired him. These kinds of people always go through layers of intermediaries.”
“I understand,” Nie Xu said. “Right now, our best move is to coordinate with Fanzhou’s side as quickly as possible.”
The officer nodded. “The municipal bureau is already working on it. We heard you’re quite familiar with the people there, though. Our leadership would like to give you a call — would that be convenient?”
As the officer said this, he unconsciously glanced at Ji Yang standing nearby. Nie Xu looked over as well.
Ji Yang: “…Why is everyone looking at me?”
“Can you be on your own for a bit?” Nie Xu asked in a low voice.
Ji Yang didn’t even dare meet the older officer’s eyes. He turned to Nie Xu and said helplessly, “If you want to take the call, just go take it. I’m perfectly fine.” He gave Nie Xu a push.
Nie Xu followed the officer to a distance away.
As they walked, their conversation drifted back.
The officer: “Mr. Ji looks quite young, but he’s got more resilience than many people his age.”
Nie Xu: “He is, in fact, very young.”
The officer chatted casually: “You two are about six or seven years apart, right? Are you brothers? You seem to have a very good relationship, but you don’t really look alike.”
Nie Xu: “Mm. He’s my younger brother. No blood relation.”
When Ji Yang heard this definition from Nie Xu’s mouth, he froze slightly.
They had once been employer and employee, superior and subordinate. Even now, Ji Yang instinctively still thought of himself as a subordinate — the boss being Jianyuan’s leader, a relationship merely inverted.
But when had the definition between them changed in Nie Xu’s mind?
Was it simply because they shared childhood memories?
Ji Yang should have felt awkward about it — after all, he didn’t consider that past self to truly be him — but in reality, he didn’t feel awkward at all. It was just that hearing Nie Xu say it so casually caught him slightly off guard.
He’d been standing for quite a while.
His feet were starting to ache.
He glanced in Nie Xu’s direction, then looked away, finding nothing at the scene he could do. He returned to the police car, climbed onto the pile of rocks beside it, and found a relatively flat stone to sit on.
This night was destined to be extraordinary.
Before coming to South Island, Ji Yang had never imagined so much would happen.
He received a message from Lin Yue, asking why he still hadn’t returned to the hotel.
Ji Yang typed a reply, giving a rough account, and told Lin Yue to discuss it with colleagues — if there was nothing else, check out in the morning and head straight back to Fanzhou.
Lin Yue asked: “Little Young Master Ji, aren’t you coming back with us?”
Ji Yang replied: “If there’s time, we’ll go together. If not, you guys go first.”
Lin Yue replied with an “Okay.”
Just then, a plainclothes officer rushed up to the car, started the engine, and said to Ji Yang sitting in the passenger seat: “Little Young Master Ji, the forensic team’s car broke down on the way here. All the colleagues are tied up. Could you help me by riding along and giving navigation directions?”
“Broke down?” Ji Yang frowned and looked at the chaotic clearing.
The plainclothes officer in the car gave a bitter smile. “Yeah. Just our luck. Tonight’s field assignment is probably going to drag on until morning. I’m dead tired as it is.”
Ji Yang finally nodded. “All right.”
He stood up and wanted to shout toward Nie Xu, but found he was too far away.
The plainclothes officer: “Just get in first. You can make a call from the car.”
Ji Yang abandoned his plan, got in, and found that the rearview mirror — because of the corner — could no longer show where Nie Xu and the others were. Ji Yang fastened his seatbelt and asked, “How far is the place where the car broke down from here?”
“At least ten to twenty li.”
…
From the moment that police car left the scene to the moment Nie Xu returned — no more than ten minutes.
Nie Xu searched around and found no one. He pulled out his phone and saw he had received no messages or calls either.
He dialed. The line showed busy.
His brow was already creased.
The officer who had been with Nie Xu also found it strange. He flagged down a nearby policeman and asked, “Where did Mr. Ji, who was just here, go?”
“Oh, that Mr. Ji,” the policeman said. “Forensic Sister Liu’s car broke down halfway. Auxiliary officer Xiao Zhang went to drive and pick them up. I saw him call Mr. Ji into the car — probably worried he’d doze off on the road.”
The older officer cursed: “If you’re that sleepy, just go home and sleep! What kind of police are you?”
As he cursed, he made a phone call.
After two lines, he turned back to Nie Xu. “The car really did break down halfway. I’m terribly sorry — we didn’t realize your brother was essentially used as one of our own.”
After saying this, the officer noticed that Nie Xu’s presence was even more terrifying than when he’d just come down from the top floor.
The officer tried to say more, but was cut off by Nie Xu raising his hand.
He made a call while walking to the car door at the roadside, pulling it open. He spoke: “Send me all route maps from South Island’s city center to the north of the city. Also, gather every person we can mobilize on South Island. Ji Yang is missing. Time of disappearance: ten minutes ago. The vehicle departed from the abandoned warehouse in the north of the city. He sent no messages whatsoever — the high likelihood is that he lost consciousness or was subdued the moment he got in the car. The other side used an official vehicle, so they will very likely ditch or switch cars mid-route. Check all surveillance along potential detour transport hubs. Speed is critical.”
His last words dissolved into a cloud of kicked-up dust.
The policeman who had just been questioned ran over, confused. “What happened? It sounds like something’s wrong.”
The older officer had more experience.
His face darkened. “Something has definitely gone wrong.”
“What?” The younger one: “Is it Sister Liu and the others?”
The older officer turned and glanced at the body still lying at the base of the building. It was like a sudden chill shooting straight from the soles of his feet up his spine. He had a vague premonition — since the discovery of those cultural relics and gold at the port, one thing after another. Their precinct might not receive any commendations. If this wasn’t handled well, getting disciplined would be getting off light.
He made a decision on the spot. “File the report immediately! Handle it as a special situation. I’m going after them!”
With that, he too leaped into a car and sped off in a cloud of dust.
The car Nie Xu was driving tore through the darkness.
This was South Island. Even mobilizing Jianyuan’s Skynet would take time.
But Nie Xu directly activated the core. Whoever needed to know would receive the message within moments.
Qi Songqing was the first to respond.
He said in disbelief: “You’re telling me someone snatched a person right from under your nose?”
“Mm.” Nie Xu’s grip on the steering wheel tightened again. “The Blue Ocean Project’s remaining strength far exceeds expectations. They’ve even managed to infiltrate the fringe connections at South Island’s local police bureau. Zhao Changgen is dead, and now they’ve come directly for Ji Yang.”
Qi Songqing: “That doesn’t add up. This has nothing to do with Ji Yang. He’s from the Ji family.”
“He’s more than just a Ji family member,” Nie Xu said. His eyes, under the dim light inside the car, were so dark they seemed impossible to see through. “Didn’t you say you could never verify Elara’s existence? He’s Elara’s child.”
Qi Songqing was silent for a long, long time.
After a prolonged pause, he finally asked, “You mean… that child actually exists. Not Ji Chengyi, but Ji Yang? The one you saved?”
Nie Xu closed his eyes briefly. “No. The one I abandoned.”