Chapter 24: The Will of Nature
Chapter 24: The Will of Nature
There was a serious attack on police officers, resulting in one officer being critically injured and another killed in the line of duty.
By the time many police officers and ambulances arrived, everything was too late. The perpetrator had fled, and Ma Xiang was pronounced dead at the scene.
The officer who was stabbed at the entrance of the alley did not die, though he was wounded in a vital area. He held on until reaching the hospital, where he underwent emergency treatment.
As for Ma Xiang, his body was placed in the morgue, with few people coming to inquire about him.
The special task force from the bureau hurriedly rushed to the hospital, heading straight outside the emergency room, just to wait for the rescued officer to come out.
The only ones who came to see Ma Xiang were his father, the station chief, and the female police officer Tang Jing.
Seeing his father’s aged and weary appearance, Lan Mu stood with his head bowed heavily, not uttering a word.
When Tang Jing saw Lan Mu, she barely recognized him. She didn’t question why Lan Mu looked like a cross-dresser, but instead pulled him aside and asked softly, “You were at the scene?”
Lan Mu slowly nodded.
Tang Jing said, “How dare he rush to the front? How dare he go after the killer by himself?”
Hearing this, Lan Mu felt even more pain in his heart.
Without him there, Ma Xiang might not have dared to apprehend anyone himself.
If he hadn’t displayed his swift abilities, if he hadn’t blocked the killer’s escape route, if he hadn’t easily subdued the other person. Perhaps he wouldn’t have pushed the other person to desperation, forcing him to kill Ma Xiang in order to escape.
This was all caused by his carelessness. No one could have expected that person to be so ruthless.
By now, Lan Mu understood that the person was probably not a journalist at all, but a skilled murderer, cold-blooded and ruthless, likely connected to the Dismemberment Case.
Seeing him silent and in pain, Tang Jing sighed and did not press further.
Soon Cheng Ming also rushed to the hospital. As soon as he arrived, he asked, “What happened? Damn it, what happened?”
His voice was loud, suddenly breaking the heavy silence.
If Ma Xiang were the one being rescued, Ma Xiang’s father might have scolded Cheng Ming. But now that Ma Xiang was dead, his father had no heart to scold anyone.
When Cheng Ming arrived and saw everyone, noticing Tang Jing was a woman, he rushed over to Ma’s father, who was in police uniform. He actually grabbed Ma’s father by the collar and shouted, “What are you police doing? Have you caught the killer? I’ll fucking cripple him!”
Lan Mu rushed forward, pushed Cheng Ming away, and pinned him to a chair, saying, “Calm down! This is Ma Xiang’s father!”
Cheng Ming was stunned, extremely embarrassed, and hurriedly apologized to the station chief. He didn’t know Ma Xiang’s father.
Ma’s father then let out a long sigh and forced himself to gather his strength. Cheng Ming’s words reminded him that the killer was still at large. Though he was old, it wasn’t time to lose heart yet!
“You must be Ma Xiang’s classmate, right? Lan Mu?” Ma’s father knew Lan Mu; clearly, Ma Xiang had often mentioned him.
Lan Mu replied respectfully, “Yes. Please accept my condolences.”
Ma’s father nodded, waved his hand, and said, “Come with me!”
Lan Mu followed Ma Xiang’s father as he left, leaving Cheng Ming standing there dumbfounded. He still didn’t know what was going on and could only listen as Tang Jing slowly explained to him.
Ma’s father directly took Lan Mu to the local police station. After entering the station chief’s office, he began questioning Lan Mu alone to understand the situation at the time.
Facing Ma Xiang’s father, Lan Mu did not hide anything. He truthfully recounted everything, including how Ma Xiang had taken him to secretly film.
Ma Xiang was his son, and now that he had died in the line of duty, there was no point in pursuing the matter of letting a friend secretly film.
Instead, he placed great importance on the situation at the time.
“You’re saying Ma Xiang thought he was a journalist, so he dared to go after him alone?”
Lan Mu nodded and said, “That’s right. It was all my fault. If I had helped, it wouldn’t have…”
Ma’s father waved his hand, smiled bitterly, and said, “It has nothing to do with you. I know this child very well. He was very independent; he wanted to rely on his own abilities for everything. I…”
After saying a few words, Ma’s father couldn’t continue. After calming himself slightly, he spoke with determination.
“The killer won’t remain at large. He can’t escape!”
“Lan Mu, assist us immediately in sketching the killer’s appearance. Since he showed his face, we will definitely catch him!”
Lan Mu had been waiting for someone from the bureau to summon him. This matter should have been handled directly by the bureau, with the local police station assisting. But now, as the station chief and Ma Xiang’s father, he seemed to want to solve this case himself and hadn’t immediately notified the bureau.
After thinking for a moment, Lan Mu gave Ma’s father the secretly filmed footage and told him that it contained the killer’s appearance.
Ma’s father’s eyes gleamed sharply as he said, “Good! Good! Lan Mu, the bureau will send someone to find you soon. Don’t mention the secret filming. As for the rest, don’t hide anything; cooperate fully.”
Lan Mu smiled without speaking, not directly agreeing to this.
Since Ma Xiang’s father wanted to investigate the case privately, Lan Mu wouldn’t sit idle either. He was determined to take charge of this case.
Sure enough, before long, someone from the bureau came looking for him and requested his cooperation.
Lan Mu said nothing and simply went with them.
What followed was an entire day of questioning. To these police officers, Lan Mu only said that he was passing by and saw his good brother Ma Xiang, then noticed someone who looked like a journalist. After that, the other person ran, they gave chase, until the other person suddenly turned violent and killed.
No matter how many times the police asked, Lan Mu stuck to this story.
Regarding the killer’s appearance, Lan Mu described it carefully, as he also wanted the police to find that person.
It wasn’t until evening that Lan Mu finally returned home.
During the questioning, Cheng Ming had called him countless times. Lan Mu only called back now.
“Brother Mu! What were you doing? Why were you dressed like that?”
“Cheng Ming, it’s nothing. I was at the scene, and the police asked me some questions. Also, please help out more with Ma Xiang’s funeral affairs…”
Cheng Ming said sadly, “How could this happen? How am I supposed to explain this to Xiao Ling!”
“Xiao Ling?”
“Brother Mu, have you forgotten? She’s Ma Xiang’s fiancée! They were engaged!”
Hearing this, Lan Mu mumbled for a long time, at a loss for what to do.
He could only say, “She has to be told…”
“But I have something to take care of these days. You handle it for now!”
Cheng Ming said angrily, “What do you have to do? What could be more important than Ma Xiang’s funeral?”
Lan Mu was silent for a while, then said, “Yes! Ma Xiang did not die in vain.”
Hanging up the phone, Lan Mu took a deep breath and walked briskly toward home.
He had already decided that he would avenge Ma Xiang himself!
Not just the killer who murdered Ma Xiang, but whoever was behind him, all criminals related to the Dismemberment Case; he would find every single one of them.
And personally deliver justice!
Ma Xiang was one of his best brothers, about to get married, yet he died in the line of duty.
Lan Mu couldn’t accept standing by and doing nothing; he could only repay blood with blood.
He had never really trusted the efficiency of the police in solving cases. Rather than passively waiting for the killer to be caught, he would find him himself.
And what he wanted wasn’t for the killer to face the law, but revenge!
When Lan Mu returned home, he first spent some normal time with Su Yue. After Su Yue went into her room, he began rummaging through his clothes.
He found a black hoodie he had worn a few years ago, covered his head with the hood, zipped it up high, put on a pair of jeans, and went straight out.
He didn’t return until the next day. Throughout the entire night, he had walked through one-third of Metropolis, using his Natural Force to transform all the street trees.
He showed the killer’s appearance to them, communicating it. If they encountered this person, the transformed trees would remember and notify Lan Mu when he was nearby.
Originally, trees had a great affinity for Elves. After being transformed, they even gained the ability to communicate with Elves.
He wanted to turn all the trees in Metropolis into his eyes and ears. No crime could escape the will of nature.
…
For three days straight, Lan Mu worked day and night without rest, finally transforming all the trees in Metropolis.
Not only was he not tired from this, but he actually felt refreshed and clear-headed.
The exchange of life energy between him and the trees seemed to bring him a slight benefit as well.
Over these three days, he not only didn’t feel hungry, but his Natural Force even grew slightly richer.
Wherever there were trees, his will of nature extended.
However, there was still no trace of the killer.
Lan Mu was somewhat disappointed. This was really a clumsy method. Even though he had planted eyes all over the city, it was useless if the killer didn’t go outside.
“Where is he hiding?”
On the fifth day after Lan Mu transformed into an Elf, he stopped looking for the killer.
Because today was Ma Xiang’s funeral.
Ma Xiang’s family, classmates, friends, and colleagues from the local police station—everyone who should come had come.
Lan Mu also saw a woman crying extremely sorrowfully. She looked just like the photo on Ma Xiang’s phone; she was his fiancée, Xiao Ling.
Cheng Ming and Lan Mu had been helping at the funeral. These past few days, it was mainly Cheng Ming who had accompanied Ma Xiang’s family in arranging everything.
Ma Xiang had already been cremated. His mother held his ashes all the way, and he was finally laid to rest at Mingjia Mountain.
By evening, most people had left, leaving only a few close ones behind.
The police officers from the local police station were still there. After all, their station chief was Ma Xiang’s father. Whether sincere or hypocritical, they at least stayed until the end.
The funeral ended, and the meal was finished.
Lan Mu spoke with Ma Xiang’s father alone, asking about the police’s progress in the investigation.
Ma Xiang’s father shook his head and said, “The footage you provided did capture the killer’s appearance. I checked. His name is Yu Hetu, 23 years old, from Shandong. He graduated from a technical school and came to Metropolis to work. He pursued a female manager at his company. After being accused of harassment, he lost his job. He was fired last month.”
“Could it be…” Lan Mu said, stunned.
“That’s right. He is the prime suspect in the Dismemberment Case because that female manager was the first victim in the Dismemberment Case. He more or less had a motive.”
“If it’s so obvious, why has the police investigation taken so long? As soon as the female manager died, they should have suspected him!” Lan Mu exclaimed in surprise.
But Ma Xiang’s father shook his head and said, “It’s not that simple. The bureau investigated him before. He has an absolute alibi.”
“What alibi?”
“During the time of the female manager’s death, he was detained at the local police station, so it was impossible for him to commit the crime.”
“What?”
“He happened to be accused of molesting a woman and was arrested.”
Lan Mu thought for a moment and said, “He must have an accomplice! That accomplice avenged him against the female manager. Since he was the most obvious suspect, they deliberately had him molest a woman and got detained to create an alibi.”
Ma Xiang’s father nodded and said, “That’s right. I know that now. Unfortunately, it’s too late. When we went to arrest him, we couldn’t find him. He didn’t even clean up the things in his room. Clearly, after he killed… Ma Xiang that day, he didn’t return to his rented room at all. He went into hiding directly.”
“We searched various black-market hotels, black-market internet cafes, and even entertainment venues these past few days but couldn’t find him. It’s highly likely he’s hiding in someone’s home, probably the accomplice’s. But we have no idea who it is, and we can’t search everyone’s home.”
“We can only stake out various places and check surveillance footage, trying to find him.”
Lan Mu pressed, “What about the surveillance footage?”
“The surveillance shows that after he ran away that day, the last place he disappeared was Pinghu Pedestrian Street. There’s no surveillance there, so we still haven’t found out where he went last.”
Ma Xiang’s father added, “But he can’t escape! As long as he’s still in Metropolis, I will definitely catch him! I don’t believe he’ll never show up!”
“Even if he keeps hiding in a residential house, we’ll search house by house until we find him!”
Lan Mu nodded. He knew the police would eventually find him. Now, police across the city were looking for Yu Hetu. He could hide for a while, but not forever.
However, Lan Mu wasn’t prepared to wait slowly for the police to find him. After confirming where Yu Hetu had last disappeared, Lan Mu left.