Miss Forensics – Chapter 66.1

End

“Bang—”

The sound of gunfire echoed in the empty corridor.

Sirens blared.

A group of heavily armed special forces rushed in, trudging through accumulated water. Duan Cheng, in a daze, dropped his gun. The child had already vanished at the end of the corridor.

In that moment, he pulled the trigger, but ultimately missed by an inch.

Duan Cheng, covering his face, knelt in the knee-deep water, crying out in despair, “Captain Zhang, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I…”

“Captain Zhang, Captain Zhang, hold on! Hold on!” Fang Xin’s clothes were already soaked with the continuously flowing blood. Before they could lift him onto the stretcher, Zhang Jinhai’s arm slipped down.

Zheng Chengrui took off his glasses, covered his face, and turned away, choking back tears.

The others maintained silence, with only Fang Xin softly sobbing.

A special forces member stepped forward, closed Zhang Jinhai’s still-open eyes, then took off his own uniform and draped it over him. He raised his right hand.

“Hero, rest in peace!”

The journey back felt so long. Despite the thrilling experience on the way here, the group had been lively and boisterous.

His instructions seemed to linger in their ears: “Wear the bulletproof vest like this, fasten it tightly here; it’s a matter of life and death…”

How did it happen that, in the blink of an eye, he was lying here quietly?

Duan Cheng, Fang Xin, Zheng Chengrui, and several special forces members escorted the body out. The police cars and ambulances were already waiting, but it was too late, too late.

The group carried Zhang Jinhai’s remains through the crowd. On both sides of the road, detectives raised their right hands simultaneously, including Feng Jianguo in the training room and the technicians who remained at the Municipal Bureau.

Zhang Jinhai’s wife and daughter pushed through the crowd and rushed over.

He was right; his daughter and that child were indeed about the same age. Next year would be the college entrance exam, but he would never see the day his child entered university.

The girl cried out heartbreakingly, “Dad! Dad! Weren’t you supposed to send me to Beijing for college next year? Didn’t you say you’d finish work early this afternoon and come home to cook for me? Dad, Dad, say something…”

“Old Zhang doesn’t go on field assignments, right? How did this… how…” Zhang Jinhai’s wife, tears streaming down her face, grabbed their arms one by one, demanding answers.

Fang Xin turned away, crying uncontrollably.

“Tell me! Speak!” Zhang Jinhai’s wife shook Duan Cheng’s shoulders again.

But her question was one that no one could answer now. How could one face a wife and daughter who had lost a husband and father, and at the same time reveal that he was fatally attacked by a child almost the same age as their own daughter, with a throat slit by a single deadly blow?

What’s even more cruel is that he couldn’t take revenge on his assailant.

Duan Cheng stood in the rain, crying. This heavy rain also washed away his youthful innocence as a boy, and his features began to show the sharpness and vicissitudes of a man.

* * *

In the moment the girl ran in, both Song Yuhang and Lin Yan reacted.

However, Lin Yan sensed the impending danger and instinctively pushed her out, while Song Yuhang felt someone rushing in behind the door. Acting on instinct, she executed a grappling move, locking onto the intruder’s neck.

When they came to their senses, the pitch-black barrels of guns were already aimed at her temple.

Li Yang picked up the sidearm that had fallen from Song Yuhang, while she held the opponent’s gun against the little girl’s forehead.

Lin Yan gasped, slightly choked from being strangled, and she looked at Song Yuhang, barely managing to utter a few words, “Quick… go… don’t… worry about me…”

Her voice had just fallen when she was struck with the butt of a gun, bending at the waist, and blood oozed from her mouth and nose. “Cough, cough…”

Song Yuhang’s eyes widened in fury, wishing she could bite and devour him alive. “Let… her… go.”

Li Yang looked at the little girl in her hands, then glanced back at the group of special forces behind her. The muzzles of their guns were all pointed at him.

He slowly stepped back, dragging Lin Yan with him. “Let her go? Will you let me go? No, I never intended to live until today. If I’m going to die, I’ll drag someone down with me!”

The little girl in Song Yuhang’s arms seemed to be struggling with the grip around her neck, extending her arm to try to reach Li Yang. “Dad…”

Li Yang gasped for air, and the fresh blood flowing down his forehead further distorted his already ugly face.

Lin Yan’s entire face turned purple from his grip, not to mention the gun pressed against her head, ready to fire at any moment.

Song Yuhang trembled violently; her hands were gradually losing sensation. She had no awareness of the force she was exerting, and the girl struggled to pry Song Yuhang’s wrists apart.

In that fleeting moment, Song Yuhang considered breaking her neck.

The captain of the special forces sensed the danger and discreetly took a step forward, leaning in close to her ear, “Lead him towards the window, the sniper is ready at any moment.”

Song Yuhang took two deep breaths, pressing the gun against the girl’s temple and twisting it slightly. “Do you want to die without letting her live?”

Li Yang’s throat moved, a flash of ruthlessness passing through his eyes. He pressed the gun against Lin Yan’s shoulder and fired a shot suddenly, catching everyone off guard.

When the gunshot rang out, Song Yuhang’s eyes instantly reddened, and a burst of blood sprayed into her field of vision.

She almost knelt down with Lin Yan, if it weren’t for the fact that she still held onto the hostage.

Even so, her mental state was on the verge of collapse. With tears streaming down her face, she slightly squeezed the trigger, joining Li Yang in a howl.

“Don’t touch her! Don’t touch her! Damn it!!! I told you not to touch her! Do you believe I’ll kill her?!!!”

Blood streaked down the girl’s temple from the gun’s barrel.

Several special forces members rushed forward, trying to pry her hands away. “Captain Song, Captain Song, don’t shoot. It’s against the regulations…”

Li Yang’s eyes were bloodshot, roaring, “Shoot! Shoot! Coward! I don’t care if she lives or dies! If you have the guts, shoot! We’ll both suffer!”

Lin Yan’s arm hung limp on the ground, her head pulled by the hair with the gun pressed against her temple, swaying with Li Yang’s movements as he spoke.

Due to the close-range gunshot, the bullet lodged in the flesh, causing a burst of blood and tearing through the skin.

“Cough, cough…” Blood frothed at the corner of her lips, but she still looked up at Song Yuhang.

“He… he’s right… Song Yuhang… if you’re still a cop… shoot!” She suddenly emphasized her words, and another mouthful of coagulated blood sprayed out.

Lin Yan slowed down, her gaze blending into the darkness. She saw tears streaking down her face, the hand holding the gun trembling slightly.

Lin Yan felt satisfied, “Kill him… help… help me and… and Chu Nan get revenge…”

In that instant, it seemed as if time and space were flowing and twisting.

Song Yuhang found herself in a dilemma.

“Yuhang… kill him! Take care of your sister-in-law…” The scene from seven years ago replayed before her eyes.

Lin Yan’s figure gradually merged with Song Yichen, and Li Yang’s face transformed into the face of that drug dealer, recurring in her nightmares every midnight.

The same despicable cruelty, the same madness, holding onto the deepest vulnerability of her entire life.

The gun, which had just been steadied with great difficulty, began to tremble once again.

Song Yuhang desperately shook her head, biting her tongue until it tasted of blood.

She looked at the frenzied Li Yang, then at the barely breathing Lin Yan, still holding onto the girl’s neck. However, the gun wavered and shifted, stumbling back a few steps before being steadied by a teammate.

“No… no… Lin Yan… Lin Yan… I can’t… can’t do it… can’t do it…”

This was the first time she admitted her own weakness.

Lin Yan cried, desperately tilting her head to force back tears. “Song Yuhang…”

She called out her name, but the words that came out were somewhat harsh and merciless. “You really are not as good as a man, in every aspect!”

Lin Yan took a breath, endured the pain, and clenched her teeth to keep herself alert. “How could I… like a coward like you… if you don’t want me to hate you and curse you for the rest of my life… fucking shoot! I can still… still…”

Lin Yan slightly closed her eyes. “Consider some of your merits.”

Song Yuhang breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling dramatically. The gun in her palm, slick with sweaty blood, was almost slipping away.

She and Li Yang were like two desperate beasts, tearing and biting at each other with their eyes.

Li Yang aimed the gun at Lin Yan’s temple, while Song Yuhang slightly pressed the trigger.

If she squeezed it, everything would be ashes.

Without the hostage, Li Yang was undoubtedly doomed, and Lin Yan would also drift away, dissipating into the air.

Her time with Lin Yan was so short, just two seasons, but in this moment, all the past arguments, fights, and jealousies became incredibly clear and prolonged.

Her forehead still retained her warmth.

Her lips still bore the marks she had bitten.

As long as she pressed the trigger, all of these would cease to exist.

Song Yuhang’s lips trembled, feeling as though her heart had died even before she fired the shot.

It was the kind of despair where every thought turned to ashes, torn into pieces, repeatedly trampled, and thrown into the furnace to be consumed by smoke and ashes.

However, Lin Yan’s gaze remained tender yet resolute. She had never looked at her with such eyes before, and the first time she did was in this moment. Tears streamed down her face, and those eyes, capable of speaking, seemed to convey a message: Song Yuhang, thank you. I don’t hate you, and also… I like you.

How could one refuse Lin Yan with such an expression?

Whether she was smiling, crying, happy, angry, vibrant, or cold and sharp…

Song Yuhang couldn’t refuse her. She wouldn’t and couldn’t.

Tremendous sadness welled up in those light brown eyes. She bit her lip, tears flowing, and together with Li Yang, she squeezed the trigger.

The girl widened her eyes in terror, tears rolling down from the corners, and she screamed, “Dad—”

It was this one word, “Dad.”

“Bang—”

Song Yuhang’s gun pointed towards the ceiling, and Li Yang’s arm fell powerless.

Lin Yan gasped, tightly closing her eyes, but she didn’t wait for the intense pain to strike.

“Song Yuhang, shoot! Shoot!” She struggled, being pulled up again, her neck held back.

“Captain Song, Director Feng’s call.” A detective handed her a walkie-talkie from behind.

Song Yuhang took it, and Feng Jianguo had already arrived at the hospital perimeter, striding down from the command vehicle.

“Li Yang, listen carefully—”

Song Yuhang put it on speakerphone, and his stern yet somewhat solemn voice resonated.

“I am Feng Jianguo, Director of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau, and the highest on-site commander. As long as you release the hostage, we won’t harm your daughter.”

Li Yang dragged Lin Yan back step by step, leaving the operating room. Outside, there was a staircase, and he pulled Lin Yan up step by step, with Song Yuhang closely following, holding the little girl.

As Li Yang walked, he pointed the gun at Lin Yan’s head. “Back off, everyone back off!”

Song Yuhang raised her hand, and the others stayed downstairs. Only she, holding the little girl, followed them up.

She licked her lips, looking at Lin Yan. “You may not believe me, but Director Feng’s words, you should trust. As long as you release her, we won’t harm this little girl.”

The two exchanged a knowing glance. Song Yuhang remained expressionless, while Lin Yan subtly curved her lips.

Li Yang used his back to push open the door on the rooftop, pointing the gun at her with a slight tremor. “How do I know if what you’re saying is true or false?!”

“If it were false, I would have shot just now,” Song Yuhang said, pushing the little girl into the rain curtain.

She turned her head to look at Lin Yan. With no one around now, she could freely express her feelings.

“I like her, not any less than you like this child. You won’t let her die, and likewise, I won’t let my beloved woman die.”

The heavy rain washed over the wounds, bringing both waves of pain and a momentary clarity of mind.

Song Yuhang felt that she could now slightly use her brain to consider the situation.

“Li Yang, you’re on the brink of death, but she is still young, with a chance to start anew. Haven’t you been tirelessly searching for a kidney source for her all these years, hoping to give her a new lease on life?”

“Dad—don’t listen to her! They’re all liars! Police are not good people! Hurry, leave!” Due to weakness, the girl’s face turned pale, her voice hoarse in the wind and rain.

Song Yuhang did not intervene; this played right into her hands.

“Telescope,” Feng Jianguo reached out and asked a subordinate for a telescope, lifting his head to gaze at the rooftop.

The sniper also adjusted his aim, aligning the scope with them. However, due to Lin Yan blocking his line of sight, he hesitated to pull the trigger.

Inside the telescope, Li Yang roared frantically, “Shut up! Don’t call me Dad! I’m not your dad! Your dad died a long time ago! You’re just an unwanted bastard!”

In the long period when the two relied on each other to hide and survive, Li Yang’s attitude towards her varied. This kind of frantic outburst was not the first time. When he was in a good mood, he would touch her face and call her “Little Princess.”

When he was upset, he would fiercely kick her and curse her as a bastard, telling her to die.

The girl had become accustomed to it, becoming obedient to his words.

However, even though she was used to it, hearing him say such things didn’t mean she was completely unaffected.

In comparison to his madness, Song Yuhang remained relatively calm. She had already freed herself from that state, even though her inner turmoil still persisted.

The balance of victory began to tilt in one direction.

“If that’s the case, why did you keep her with you from the beginning? Wouldn’t it be too late for regrets now? Or is it that you still have a trace of humanity? Your brother left you behind in the mine, and Yu Xinye saved you. Do you want to repay the kindness, right?”

“Shut up! Shut up!” Li Yang gasped for breath, stepping backward and accidentally tripping over the steel bars and cement piled on the rooftop.

Lin Yan’s wound continued to bleed, and Li Yang dragged her, leaving her on the brink of death. However, her eyes would occasionally open, signaling to Song Yuhang that she was still alive.

Song Yuhang was the first to lower her gun but still held onto the girl. “I don’t know what exactly happened down there, but just based on your sense of gratitude, I respect you as a man.”

“Twenty years of dependence, not to mention raising a person, even raising a dog would form an emotional bond. You’ve committed numerous crimes. She’s still young. Do you really want to bury her with you here?”

“Li Yang, if she dies, can you justify Yu Xinye’s entrustment to you? Can you justify your good brother? He exchanged his life for yours! Without him, let alone living for another twenty years, would you even be standing here now?!”

In Song Yuhang’s persuasive yet cruel words.

Everything that happened in the mine twenty years ago became vivid once again.

* * *

“I heard there’s only one slot available for this group of educated youth to return to their hometown. The next batch will have to wait for another three years.”

“As for me, my family has no connections, and I can’t earn enough work points on my own. It seems like there’s no hope for me.”

“If you ask me, the ones who came earliest and worked the hardest in our group are the Li brothers. Who knows who will go back.”

“Sigh, anyway, the two brothers are the same. Don’t you think so, Li Hai?”

A companion nudged Li Hai, who wiped away his sweat, looked at his younger brother working not far away, then glanced at the dark and dirty mine around him, as well as the blisters on his palms. His expression darkened.

“Get to work!”

When the mining accident occurred, Li Hai was the first to notice. The basket containing tin ore on the ground was trembling slightly.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he stopped working. Suddenly, a small stone fell from above and hit his foot.

As he looked at it, his pupils suddenly contracted. He threw away his shovel and ran towards the exit, grabbing both Li Yang and Yu Xinye and pushing them outside.

“Run!”

It was too late, despite the urgency of the situation.

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