Seeing Crime Scenes in My Sleep

"Damn it. What a waste. All that trouble, and that little bitch Jiang Li is still alive and well. Lost a few of my men for nothing, too."

In the car, Kun Sha grabbed a nearby cigarette, lit it, and took a few drags. He was pissed off. It wasn’t a total loss of a trip, but he still hadn’t managed to get Jiang Li.

If they hadn’t changed the plan at the last minute, he really would have liked to have a little more fun.

"The boss told me to tell you, once you leave this time, don’t come back. Everything next to you is yours."

The driver in the front glanced back, his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror. Too many people were watching this time, so they couldn’t risk drawing a lot of attention. That’s why, including Kun Sha, there were only three people in the car.

"I know. After this stunt of mine, his position is bound to move up a notch, isn’t it? He should be thanking me. If he doesn’t have the guts to go all the way, he’ll be stuck in his current spot forever."

Jiang Li watched Red Scorpion up ahead, following at a discreet distance.

’Looks like they’re taking Kun Sha to the port.’

"Hurry and go. I have to go report back, too." The man escorted Kun Sha onto the ship, gave some instructions to the captain standing by, and only turned to leave after watching the ship start to move.

Jiang Li, bundled up to stay hidden, blended into the crowd and followed them aboard.

"Tickets, please! Time to buy your tickets!" As soon as the ship set off, someone came around to collect fares.

Jiang Li paid and sat down off to the side. She glanced around. At first sight, there wasn’t a single decent-looking person on this ship.

There were even a few people with children.

...

「In an office in C City」

A man stared at a moving red dot on a screen, shooting to his feet in shock. He grabbed his phone and called his assistant.

"Where’s Kun Sha?"

"He’s already been put on the ship."

"Did you see anyone suspicious on the way?"

"No."

"No my ass! Jiang Li got on the goddamn boat and you didn’t even know! A bunch of useless bastards! Fuck!" the man roared, sweeping everything off his desk.

"Th-that’s impossible."

"Contact the person in charge on the ship immediately..." Before the words "blow up the ship" could leave his lips, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.

"Mayor Zhang, why the temper?"

"Lu Xingye? What are you doing here?"

Zhang Hongzhi stared, stunned, at the sight of Lu Xingye. ’Isn’t he supposed to be dead?’

"It seems my survival is a great disappointment to you, Mayor Zhang." Lu Xingye walked in, followed by a group of prosecutors and Tan Qing.

Zhang Hongzhi’s face turned deathly pale, but he quickly composed himself. "Lu Xingye, what nonsense are you spouting? Everything requires evidence."

"The fact that I’m standing here means I have evidence." Lu Xingye looked at Zhang Hongzhi. If Jiang Li hadn’t warned him in advance, he never would have guessed that the mole was Zhang Hongzhi.

On the way to B City, he had found it strange. If they had a confirmed location for Kun Sha, it was impossible for Huo Qing not to be able to catch him. His own presence wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

But at the time, Zhang Hongzhi’s words had all but forced him to come, so he had stayed on his guard.

When the car drove onto the bridge, the driver suddenly stopped. He sensed something was wrong and quickly told the others to jump into the river, just before the explosion happened.

After climbing out, the first thing he did was return to B City and go to Jiang Li’s house. She wasn’t home, but he found the clues she had compiled. Following those leads, his own investigation revealed that Zhang Hongzhi also had connections to Shi Xingchao’s group.

All the while, Zhang Hongzhi had played the part of a benevolent superior in front of them while secretly leaking their information to the other side.

On top of that, he had asked Miao Anji for a Gu Worm, and Tan Qing confessed everything.

It was Zhang Hongzhi who had someone switch the milk tea, and it was also him who threatened Tan Qing into being his mole and poisoning Jiang Li.

Furthermore, the intel on Kun Sha this time was also deliberately leaked by Zhang Hongzhi to lure them into a trap.

"So what? That fool Jiang Li chased Kun Sha overseas. You think she can make it back alive?"

Lu Xingye sneered. "You should be more worried about yourself. Your life is over. All your efforts have gone down the drain.

You should be thankful Jiang Li isn’t here. Otherwise... she has plenty of ways to make a person suffer."

Lu Xingye watched a small bug crawl inside, then straightened up and stepped back, making way for the professionals.

Zhang Hongzhi was taken away for investigation. Ji Qinghe rushed over when she heard the news.

"Xingye, how could you be just like Jiang Li? You didn’t even send a message. You scared me to death!"

Lu Xingye scratched his head. "It all happened so suddenly. Besides, if I’m not mistaken, Zhang Hongzhi planted listening devices a long time ago.

And those medals of Jiang Li’s... I’m afraid he installed something in them, too."

Lu Xingye looked at the moving red dot on Zhang Hongzhi’s computer. Jiang Li had taken that one medal with her.

Lu Xingye had shown up too abruptly. Zhang Hongzhi hadn’t had time to delete his recent files, so a quick search was all it took to make it an open-and-shut case.

Back at the bureau, Lu Xingye watched the moving red dot and took out his phone to make a call.

He couldn’t reach Jiang Li, but a call from Wu Ming came in first. The moment he picked up, he was met with an earful.

"Lu Xingye, are you trying to get yourself killed?! You’re not dead, but you couldn’t even send a goddamn message? Jiang Li thought you died because of her! She’s been blaming herself so much she’s been self-harming, you bastard!

If Jiang Li doesn’t come back safely, we’ll kill you! I... We’re capitalists now! You just wait!"

Lu Xingye’s heart tightened when he heard about Jiang Li self-harming. "I didn’t do it on purpose. Zhang Hongzhi planted a tracking device on Jiang Li. If there was a listening device too, it would have all been over."

"Fine, I guess we can’t blame you then. But I heard from Huo Qing that Jiang Li chased someone overseas. Is that true?"

Lu Xingye looked at the red dot on the computer screen. "It’s true. But she’ll be fine. You guys don’t worry too much."

Lu Xingye glanced at the screen a couple more times and stood up, but Zhao Shuo blocked his path. "Xingye, I know you’re worried about Jiang Li, but you really can’t leave right now.

We still need you for this Zhang Hongzhi case."

Lu Xingye glanced over, took a deep breath, and sat back down. "I know."

...

「On the ship」

Jiang Li finally spotted Kun Sha. He was leaning against a wall, smoking a cigarette and shaking his leg.

Jiang Li looked out at the vast ocean, unsure of their current location.

"The ship ahead, stop for a routine inspection!"

The voice boomed from a loudspeaker up ahead. In an instant, the people with children and Kun Sha scrambled to their feet in a panic, then led their groups down to the lower deck to hide.

A marine patrol boat appeared in the distance. Jiang Li glanced at the children being led away.

The sound of conversation could be heard from the deck.

Jiang Li glanced outside. ’Looks like we’re still in friendly territory.’

’But what about those kids?’

Then, the curtain to the area was thrown open, and several patrol officers came in from outside. They looked around, checking people one by one.

An officer walked up to her. "Please show me your identification."

Jiang Li took out her ID card.

"What’s your business over there?"

"Looking for relatives."

The officer looked her over a few times before handing the ID back. Jiang Li was just about to speak.

The next second, a THUMP THUMP THUMP came from beneath her feet. The officer in front of her immediately became alert and exchanged a look with his colleagues.

"Ahem." Jiang Li coughed twice and pointed in a specific direction.