Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 206: Someone’s Coming

Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Someone’s Coming

"Did you find anything?"

Bai Yanliang’s unusual behavior quickly caught Yang Wanlong’s attention.

At this moment, Bai Yanliang’s breathing was somewhat rapid, and his eyes were wider than usual. Those who knew him were greatly surprised. What earth-shattering clue had he discovered?

It’s worth noting... Even during Lei Dongming’s case, which was so horrific with maggots crawling all over the house, Bai Yanliang did not have such a big reaction.

Bai Yanliang also realized that his emotions were somewhat out of control. He took a deep breath and lied for the first time:

"No discoveries."

A look of disappointment flashed in Yang Wanlong’s eyes, but He Yige seemed to notice something unusual about Bai Yanliang.

"Can I see the suspect?" Bai Yanliang asked.

"Xiao Lin! Take Advisor Bai to the interrogation room." Yang Wanlong instructed Lin Wan.

Lin Wan nodded, leading Bai Yanliang out of the meeting room, through the major crimes unit, and into the interrogation room.

Through the one-way glass, Bai Yanliang saw the suspect who had detonated the bomb.

She was a woman in her forties with rough fingers and sallow skin, a typical image of a laborer. Such a person should be found in a marketplace, not in a bomb suspect’s interrogation room.

"She refuses to speak, no matter what we say. She acts like she can’t hear, trembling all over, extremely sensitive, and screams at the slightest touch," Lin Wan looked at Cao Xiurong, her eyebrows full of fatigue and helplessness.

While Lin Wan was talking, Bai Yanliang was also observing this middle-aged woman in front of him.

She indeed didn’t look normal. Her eyes were dull, her expression vacant, and she was whispering to herself, as if possessed by evil spirits.

"We also don’t want to believe she is the terrorist who detonated the bomb on Rong Bridge Sky Street. Statistical summaries of explosive attack cases at home and abroad show that male perpetrators far outnumber female ones. This discrepancy is even more pronounced in our country, with the ratio reaching an astonishing one in a thousand, meaning that only one in a thousand bomb-related crimes is committed by a woman." Lin Wan frowned deeply. "But the remaining surveillance footage at the scene clearly captured her detonating the bomb."

"What about the bomb installation process?" Bai Yanliang asked.

"That wasn’t captured. Do you suspect that after the real criminal installed the bomb, they directed her to press the detonation button?" Lin Wan’s eyes lit up.

"I don’t rule out this possibility. There are many ways criminals can force her compliance — threats, bribery, intimidation, or even drugging, hypnosis, and brainwashing, all are feasible." Bai Yanliang articulated each word seriously, for the first time with unprecedented earnestness.

This seriousness did not go unnoticed by Lin Wan, significantly changing her perception of Bai Yanliang.

In fact, although Bai Yanliang had indeed been involved in many cases before, Lin Wan always felt that Bai Yanliang was just "doing it casually." She never sensed his curiosity for the truth of the case, nor did she think he had the heart to uphold justice and eliminate injustices. Everything Bai Yanliang did seemed merely to help as a favor, with the outcome irrelevant to him.

But this time, Lin Wan found Bai Yanliang very proactive.

Maybe he also realized the danger of the two remaining unexploded bombs.

It seems... this guy does have some conscience after all.

Thinking this, Lin Wan handed a stack of documents to Bai Yanliang, saying, "These are the suspect’s files, take a look."

Bai Yanliang took the documents and quickly skimmed through them.

"Cao Xiurong, female, forty-five years old, a housemaid, divorced, lost her son, introverted, quiet, not good at social interaction."

"Local from Ye City, likes listening to songs (old songs), no other hobbies, middle school education, lacks the capability to make bombs."

Soon, Bai Yanliang set down her files, asking, "Does she have any family history of hereditary diseases?"

Lin Wan folded her arms and shook her head at the question: "No."

"You suspect she’s pretending to be insane?"

"No." Bai Yanliang lowered his head and thought for a moment, "Let’s send her home first."

"What?"

Lin Wan looked at him in surprise. If she didn’t know Bai Yanliang’s capabilities, she would surely have thought he was being reckless.

"What if she runs away?"

"A middle-aged woman running out of a lockdown zone of Ye City?"

Rarely did Bai Yanliang respond with a question, "It’s impossible to get anything out of her here. Her mental state is too tense, and the police station environment doesn’t give her a sense of security. Currently, her psychological defenses are extremely high. Only in familiar surroundings will she naturally let down her guard, so, let her go home."

"But..."

Although Lin Wan thought Bai Yanliang’s explanation made a lot of sense, she knew this wasn’t her decision to make.

"Do as Advisor Bai says!"

At this moment, Yang Wanlong’s voice came from the corridor outside the interrogation room.

"Captain Yang!" Lin Wan greeted.

"Make arrangements immediately, but keep alert at all times. Letting her go home doesn’t mean giving up surveillance. We must ensure she remains within our control at all times, understand?"

"Understood!"

With Yang Wanlong’s orders, Lin Wan immediately took vigorous action.

But at this moment, something unexpected happened.

"What are you doing? Leave the person here for me!"

A rough, hoarse male voice sounded, and everyone turned simultaneously to see a group of heavily armed people.

"This case has been taken over by the central bureau. Jiangbei Branch will only assist in the investigation and handle aftermath work from now on." The tall, middle-aged man showed his credentials to Yang Wanlong.

Yang Wanlong, who was about to burst with anger, immediately quieted down after glancing at the name on the credentials.

"Let’s go!" Yang Wanlong shouted unwillingly, his eyes bloodshot.

Seeing Yang Wanlong like this, the other officers quickly understood that someone significant had arrived.

Bai Yanliang stood silently on one side, not speaking, while the tall middle-aged man seemed to give him an intentional-or-unintentional glance as he passed by.

The branch officers followed Yang Wanlong out of the interrogation room. Unable to hold back any longer, Lin Wan asked, "Captain Yang, who exactly is he?"

A complex look of discomfort mixed with admiration flashed in Yang Wanlong’s red eyes.

"Wu Kuifeng, a retired military personnel turned police officer. I didn’t expect... this time the central bureau actually sent him."

"So what? I respect the military’s style, but that doesn’t mean he’s necessarily more professional than us! I’ll go and reason with him!" Lin Wan, a second-generation official, had never hidden her background. If it were someone else, Yang Wanlong might have just let her go argue, but... Wu Kuifeng was different...

"Forget it, compared to us, he truly is more professional. Before retiring, Wu Kuifeng served in... the top bomb disposal unit."

Lin Wan was suddenly at a loss for words.

It was then that Yang Wanlong suddenly realized someone was missing. He looked around and asked, "Where’s Advisor Bai?"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.