Chapter 101: A Weight Lifted

“I refused his request, and then… I watched as the glass tank where Xiao Bei was held got filled with a lot of water, rising all the way up to Xiao Bei’s neck. Then Xiao Bei’s upper body began to rot. She stopped screaming in pain, just wept… wept… kept weeping… and at last… her eyes closed forever…”

“That scene, I could never forget it…”

“I think rather than living on painfully and humiliatingly like this, I might as well have jumped into that pool back then to end it all…”

“…”

“If your girlfriend falls into his hands, he will contact you again soon. Right now, he is certainly carefully designing a set of killing machines and some tasks that are impossible to complete. When he has everything prepared, he will contact you again.”

“Was it that electronic synthesized voice?” Lü Yang asked Liu Yin a question.

“Unfortunately, it was that electronic synthesized voice.” Liu Yin’s hand clenched into a fist, then relaxed, then clenched again.

That electronic synthesized voice—he had always tried to record it, but never succeeded. No matter what method he used, in the end all he recorded was blank noise.

“What were the five tasks he gave you?” Lü Yang followed up with another question.

“They were terrifying… very hard to complete… extremely difficult…” Liu Yin held his head, his face showing fear and a pained, thoughtful expression.

“Just what were the tasks?” Lü Yang pressed Liu Yin again.

“Like a nightmare… fragments are all in my head… but… I can’t say them… I just can’t say them!” Veins bulged on Liu Yin’s forehead, as if he were struggling desperately against something.

If it were someone else, they would find it very hard to understand what Liu Yin was saying now. But to Lü Yang, this wasn’t something strange. Based on Lü Yang’s guess, Liu Yin must have been restricted by the Mysterious Domain, unable to speak about certain things he had experienced. Even if he said them, they couldn’t form a memory in Lü Yang’s mind.

“There’s something I have to tell you.” After struggling for a long time, Liu Yin didn’t talk about the tasks he had carried out, but remembered another matter instead.

“Speak.”

“The place where Death Killer detains his victims… I think it’s very likely not in the Real world… otherwise… it would be impossible not to leave any traces… So, you basically can’t count on the police to find where Xiao Ya is being held. The only way to save her… is to first find Death Killer, then force him to tell you Xiao Ya’s whereabouts…”

Lü Yang narrowed his eyes. Not in the Real world—could it be that Xiao Ya was taken into the Mysterious Domain?

Based on Lü Yang’s previous understanding of the Mysterious Domain, it should be a space with a time limit. When the time was up, it would throw the people inside back to the Real world and modify their memories. If Death Killer could keep someone imprisoned in the Mysterious Domain long-term, and also had the ability to show videos from the Mysterious Domain in the Real world… this further proved that Death Killer’s rank as a Mystic Scholar was far higher than Lü Yang’s current rank.

“This is all I can tell you for now.” Liu Yin lowered his head, looking very tired.

…

“This matter—you’re the one who brought the fire onto me. If it weren’t for you, Xiao Ya wouldn’t be in Death Killer’s hands now! If Xiao Ya suffers any harm, I will make you pay back double!” Before leaving, Lü Yang reminded Liu Yin.

“If you can kill that bastard and take revenge for Xiao Bei, I will let you deal with me however you want from then on.” Liu Yin wore an indifferent expression.

“Do you think I can’t deal with you right now!?” Lü Yang slammed a fist on the table.

“You can kill me right now, suit yourself.” Liu Yin took a handgun from his person and threw it to Lü Yang. This time, it was clearly a real gun.

Lü Yang picked up the gun. After confirming it was a real gun loaded with bullets, he expertly released the safety and pressed the muzzle against Liu Yin’s forehead.

Liu Yin closed his eyes, showing an expression of letting Lü Yang deal with him without any resistance.

“I’ll borrow this gun for a few days. Your life—I’ll keep it on record for now.” After a long while, Lü Yang put away the handgun and spoke coldly to Liu Yin, then turned to leave.

“Don’t you want the magazines?” Liu Yin called out to Lü Yang and threw two magazines in his hand over to him.

“Aren’t you afraid this will cause you trouble?” Lü Yang reached out to catch the magazines and turned back to ask Liu Yin. The State Security Bureau’s handguns and bullets should all be serial numbered, right?

“If I dared to give it to you, I’m not afraid of trouble. Just use it as you please. By the way, take these too. I had Xiao Ling prepare them for you…” Liu Yin’s expression now was as if a weight had been lifted, like he had finally completed a very important task.

Besides the handgun and two magazines, Liu Yin also had Zhou Ling prepare a specially made black jacket and a special belt for Lü Yang, allowing him to hide the handgun and magazines inside without anyone noticing.

…

Hengsheng Hospital, VIP ward.

“His name is Zheng Fan. Twenty years ago, a woman carrying a child wandered everywhere and ended up at the Zheng family in Huixiang Town. The Zheng family kindly gave her and the child some food. Before dawn the next day, the woman secretly left. She left the child with the Zheng family and also left some old gold and silver jewelry she had on her there…”

A man respectfully placed a photo in front of Yida Group’s chairman, Liu Jianhao, and explained to him.

Liu Jianhao repeatedly examined the photo, his face expressionless the whole time. After a long while, he finally spoke: “Does he look like me?”

“I think… he does bear some resemblance to the Chairman… Chairman, you must recognize these pieces of jewelry, right?” The man placed several other photos in front of Liu Jianhao.

“These gold and silver jewelry…” Liu Jianhao slightly furrowed his brow. Too much time had passed; he really couldn’t remember if these gold and silver items belonged to his ex-wife, Tian Qiaohui.

“We also found an old photo. According to the Zheng family’s identification, this is the woman who left the child back then.” The man took out another photo and handed it to Liu Jianhao.

Liu Jianhao took the photo. When he saw the woman inside, his hand trembled slightly, and he murmured to himself: “It’s her…”

“The headdress she is wearing in this photo happens to be one of the relics in this photo… and this Breast Chain…” The man quickly pointed at several photos, comparing them and explaining to Liu Jianhao.

“Hmm, I remember now. She was born in the year of the goat. This Breast Chain has a goat carving on it. It’s the only thing I bought for her.” Liu Jianhao finally remembered, and his expression became somewhat agitated.

The man who brought the photos felt as if a weight had been lifted. He didn’t dare say more and stood by quietly, waiting for Liu Jianhao to speak.

“Go check the DNA. Find an excuse so the child doesn’t notice anything… This matter, you handle it personally. Don’t let anyone else get involved, and don’t let anyone know about this. Remember that!” Liu Jianhao placed the photos on his chest, closed his eyes tiredly, and leaned back against the headboard.

“Yes! Chairman, rest assured. I will handle this matter personally, and absolutely not let a second person know.” The man bowed respectfully to Liu Jianhao, then slowly exited the ward.

After the man left, Liu Jianhao, lying on the bed, instantly looked much more haggard and aged. Two muddy tears overflowed from his eyes, but he himself was completely unaware.