My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

At midnight, the meeting in the police station was still going on full force. There wasn't a hint of sleepiness on their faces.

Qin Weizhe said. "I have compiled the report. Wu Wengen's case is closed and the culprit will be sent to trial next week. How about your side?"

Jin Renguang's face came from the other side of the screen, tired but still handsome and sharp. "It's useless. Yu Chuan didn't know anything. In the Recreational Park, he just received a message from a small boy that told him the location where the money would be. It was a locker in a private sauna house and the CCTV showed the other man whom we caught at the time of operation."

"Who's he exactly?" Ru Meiqi asked.

He massaged his temple. "Another middleman. The culprit contacted him online and he received the money without meeting face to face. He didn't know anything about the culprit. That day, he was also tasked to be there without knowing what he's supposed to do. He has a criminal record so when he met the police, he instinctively ran."

"A criminal record?"

"Theft and high school girl assault. He had just been released from prison a few months ago."

Ru Meiqi frowned. "What about Comrade Wang? He can't find out anything either?"

"En, it's all dead end. The phone is already deactivated and the SIM card is untraceable. Any kind of trace has been swept clean."

Qin Weizhe rubbed his face. "How terrifying."

"What about the person who went to Shi Nian's house in City A?" Ru Meiqi asked. "I have asked him to find out about it before I came to the Capital. Did he find out anything about it?"

"What? When did someone come to Butterfly's house?" Another detective inquired.

Ru Meiqi explained in a concise manner and looked at Jin Renguang inquisitively.

"Wait a moment. I will show you." The man's face was replaced with the footage of an unclear scene, similar to those old TV which had white and black lines on it. "This is the only CCTV that's working in the area and this…is the person that's caught by the camera."

Qin Weizhe cursed. "The hell? Why is the quality so terrible?"

"It's not unreasonable." Ru Meiqi mumbled as she narrowed her unfocused eyes. "The community where she lived was where the lower class in society gathered. The rent is already very cheap, what else do you need to ask for? Around 180 cm, black short hair, slender, wearing black coat, jeans, and mask…"

Qin Weizhe wheezed. "You basically can't make anything out of this blurry image."

"How about the other CCTV in the outer area?"

"Nothing." Jin Renguang said. "There's nobody similar to that at all. Either he disappeared into thin air, or he took the small alleys where there's no CCTV."

Now, there was a mysterious person who appeared out of nowhere with dubious intentions too? Exactly who was this person and why did he come to Shi Nian's house? In addition, if the middleman was only tasked to be there to misled them, then where did he hide? How could he find out that Yu Chuan's kidnapping process was only a farce?

Ru Meiqi sighed. "Let me send the footage to Shi Nian and see whether she recognizes that person."

The discussion continued to the masked man, Shin Dong. "His company is called Haishang Technology. It's a certified and legal company which dabbled in the high end technology in household appliances. Anyway, it's definitely not a company that can produce human skin masks."

Jin Renguang nodded. "I will have Tang Wei and Wang Chengbing investigate it further. Anyway, this is a bountiful development. At least, we know the direction of the search instead of being the passive party. How about Dreamscape Bar, Xu Binchen?"

"It's been three days since I went there. Don't worry, the contract will expire soon. By then, Manager Si will introduce another star product for me to choose from."

Luo Ning spoke out carefully. "Then, what about the girl?"

Xu Binchen pinched his brows. "I will try my best to rescue her. If the worst comes to worst, I will just spend some money to buy her." He said casually, and only when he received no answer did he realize that the room had turned deadly silent. "…What?"

Everyone: "No, nothing. Nothing at all. Please continue."

Qin Weizhe gave him a thumbs up and said what was on everyone's mind. "So domineering! Very cool, Binchen!" Then he straightened his expression and mimicked Xu Binchen's tone. "I will just spend some money to buy her—"

"Shut up!" Xu Binchen threw a pen to his face.

Ru Meiqi could clearly recall the people who wore collars on their necks, displayed like goods for rich people to choose from. She said with a heavy tone. "We have to rescue them as soon as possible. Who knows what they will experience inside?"

Jin Renguang agreed. "Let Xu Binchen rest for a day to recover fully from his cold. Then, the day after that, you will go there again and gather more information. How about it?"

"No problem, Captain." Xu Binchen nodded readily. "Sorry, I neglected my health and caught a cold at these precarious times."

Jin Renguang waved his hands. "Don't worry. Just recuperate and don't overwork again." 

Ru Meiqi: "Should I go with him?"

"No." Xu Binchen directly refused. "I will go alone this time. It isn't aligned with my character to stay with the same woman for a long time. Don't worry, I will be able to manage it."

Everyone: "…"

Qin Weizhe laughed until his stomach ached. "You're really a dedicated actor, huh?"

"Okay." Jin Renguang's deep voice cut through and brought everyone's attention together again. "Then we will leave it just like that. Xu Binchen, remember to pull out once the situation is deemed dangerous. I will try to investigate the loophole in the Butterfly Trap and continue to scan through the CCTV in the area nearby. I will leave the matter in the Capital to both Xu Binchen and Miss Ru. Meanwhile, I request for Qin Weizhe and the comrades in the Capital to fully assist in this case. Thank you very much."

Qin Weizhe beamed. "No problem! Just leave it to me!"

Xu Binchen nodded but inwardly he thought, even if he acted wilful, Si Yusheng wouldn't dare to do anything to him due to his identity.

"Then, we will conclude the meeting—"

"Actually, I have an idea." Ru Meiqi, who was silently contemplating since a while ago, said out loud. "But I don't know whether it will be feasible."

Jin Renguang: "Say it."

"As you all know, the culprit's profiling stated that he has a severe case of OCD, that's why he has such an accurate precision when he cut his victims and also why he's so dead set on finding Shi Nian. Such a person, what do you think he will react when he finds out that someone plagiarized his work and threw the blame onto his head?"

Jin Renguang said firmly. "He will be furious."

"Right." Ru Meiqi snapped her fingers. "Instead of waiting for him to come to us, why not bait him here? Spread the news that the serial killer has started to kill again. Of course, we will cover part of the truth to let the citizens believe that it's truly his work. Anyway, the murder is real and we have already caught the culprit. Why not make the best out of it?"

"If the culprit discovered that someone splashed dirty water onto his head," Qin Weizhe couldn't help but chuckle. "He will definitely run here and go rampant."

Jin Renguang was silent for a moment. "I will discuss it with Director Fen."

He didn't reject it meant that he was already considering it. Ru Meiqi's heart felt warm because she knew that her idea was too wild and controversial. It would definitely create some panic among people. However, Jin Renguang still considered it seriously.

"Thank you," she whispered in a small voice.

The long meeting concluded after that and there's still too much work to do. But at least, they began to make out some lights in this prolonged darkness. If they kept walking, eventually they would arrive at the final destination.

Ru Meiqi had the feeling that they would be able to achieve breakthrough soon.