Crimson Instinct

*Xin Lei*

I typed. "Please, no matter what, just keep looking. It is still possible to find them."

It had been an hour since, but there was still hope.

Duan Deming nodded. "I know. But from what one officer told me, the base was in a secluded area, so there is no CCTV's for quite a stretch of the road. We will find the next nearest footage we can look for to know the direction."

Bai Li said, "I'm sure that they might be heading to Lang Fang."

Duan Deming widened his eyes. "How do you say that with so surety?"

I typed. "It's because Fu Meili is there, Liao Chuntao was killed there, and that woman would surely take Chu Jie over there."

He paused for a minute and then slowly nodded. "As I thought, the cases are linked together."

Bai Li asked, "What brought you to Andingzhen?"

"General Song. He recognized Xin Lei in the rally as your car was passing by. He knew that we cops would trace you two in Andingzhen soon enough. He wanted to take custody of Bai Li because he is from the army but he didn't want to involve Xin Lei since she is a civilian so we made a deal that he will take Bai Li and I will take Xin Lei. General Song didn't want to stake the army's reputation."

Bai Li snorted.

"That is the only thing he cares about."

"But how did you two escape the army base?"

I shrugged and typed. "Well we had a deal with him too just like you."

Duan Deming raised his brow.

Bai Li asked, "Didn't you get a clue from Gen Gen's base?"

Duan Deming sighed. "The cyber team is checking the computer but their security and firewalls are too strong. And it's even more difficult because when they tried to dig into tracing the server location, all the data and information in the computer started to self-destruct. It was strange because they had already checked for danger signs and did the risk analysis. It was negative. But in the end all data is lost. They are trying to recover it now."

That was strange indeed. But at least we managed to get those lists.

I typed. "Chu Jie's parents would have lodged a complaint about his disappearance, right?"

He nodded. "Indeed. His mother and father came rushing to the headquarters when Chu Jie didn't return even after a few hours. He had said that he was out to buy some study materials, but he didn't return. Then his mother, Chu Xi, tried to reach him on his phone, but it was out of the coverage area."

Duan Deming then stared at us, and I sensed that he might have to say more.

"You two might have been there to save Chu Jie, but I need to know the full story to let of my suspicions on you completely."

Bai Li then narrated everything from the beginning.

Duan Deming looked stumped. "What!? Song? Are you talking about Tian Song?"

"Yes."

I nodded.

Duan Deming was serious, "Do you know that accusing an officer without evidence can lead to serious consequences? I work with him, and he is a good officer."

I typed. "We are telling the truth. He is in Andingzhen too, and he wanted us to come with him to meet somebody, presumably his boss."

Bai Li said, "But well, the army came to welcome us too, so he didn't get that chance."

"Andingzhen? But he had taken a leave today."

Duan Deming seemed to be in thought.

Bai Li asked, "What are you thinking?"

"Actually...now that you talk about the evidence, I remember something."

I typed. "What?"

"The night before you came disguised as cops and all the chaos happened, I had seen Tian Song late at night coming out of the forensic lab. I felt a little odd at that time, but I thought he might have work with Guozhi, but then the next morning, he told me that Tian Song never met him that night."

Wait. Outside the forensic lab? It meant that he had stolen the evidence!

Bai Li said, "So this means that Tian Song stole the evidence, and then planted in Xin Lei's pocket to frame us?"

Duan Deming seemed hesitant. "It points out to that, though, I still feel that Tian Song cannot do that."

"So Tian Song knew that we were going to come as cops. Somebody already informed him. But who?"

"I think I know that too. I have seen him one or two times getting calls from a mysterious person whose name started from R."

What? R?

I glanced at Bai Li and saw him squinting his gaze.

"Rodey?"

"Who is Rodey? We didn't get any clue about this name in Gen Gen's base."

Bai Li slowly said, "He is with Gen Gen too. He was involved in Liao Chuntao's case, and that means behind the disappearances of all the victims."

I typed. "But Rodey is caught now."

"What?"

"And Dad is safe too. They are with the army. All thanks to Bai Li."

Bai Li shrugged. I shook my head.

Why doesn't he take the credit but is quick to blame himself?

"Damn!" Duan Deming seemed in trouble. "Everything is now really pointing at him. I cannot believe he is a spy and works for the gang!"

He seemed to really think well of him that it came as a shock. "We have to weigh our options here carefully. Should we expose him? But there is really no evidence."

I typed. "Liao Huifang had also seen him threatening us. She can be a witness."

Bai Li said, "She can be, but he is very sharp. He can twist around the whole thing into pretending to arrest us as a cop who was following the trail to catch us."

Duan Deming nodded. "That is true. Her statement will definitely help, but we cannot just rely on that. We need some proof as well. Maybe it is wise not to expose him right now. Using him, we can even find out about who he works for."

I slowly nodded. Bai Li said, "We can do that for now. Catching him red-handed is the most efficient way."

Somebody then knocked on the door.

"Sir, Duan! Reporting!"

Duan Deming asked, "Did you get any lead?"

I pinned all my hopes on him. Bai Li also seemed eager.

"Yes, sir. One lead."