Miss Forensics – Chapter 109

Volume Two: Second Scroll

Transaction

Whether it’s Pei Jinhong or Lin Yan, they are ultimately standing on opposing sides.

After Song Yuhang and the others had walked far away, she climbed out from behind the shipping container and continued walking, sticking close to the base of the wall.

The night was deep, but the industrial park was still at work. The rumbling of machinery from a workshop not far away was deafening, and the smoke it discharged rose into the sky, filling the air with a pungent smell.

Patrol personnel came and went in an orderly fashion, and several forklifts carrying raw materials shuttled through the cargo area where shipping containers were stacked.

Song Yuhang found it almost impossible to move, hiding in the shadows where the searchlights couldn’t reach.

A forklift passed in front of her. The driver yawned, and just then, a searchlight swept across his face, the light dazzling.

He subconsciously closed his eyes and used his hand to block the light.

The vehicle’s body shook, and Song Yuhang slipped under the forklift in a flash.

The driver put his hand down, yawned again, and continued driving forward.

Song Yuhang clung to the bottom of the vehicle, her face smeared with grease. After about five or six minutes, the vehicle stopped.

The workshop door opened, and several workers wearing white masks ran out to unload the cargo.

From Song Yuhang’s angle, she could only see the legs of their uniform blue protective suits, which looked a bit like the clothes Lin Yan wore when conducting experiments.

She frowned slightly. Isn’t this a logistics park?

Could it be that they’re hanging a sheep’s head to sell dog meat¹, conducting some secret experiment inside?

As far as she knew, Jingtai was a large, diversified multinational conglomerate with numerous subsidiaries under its umbrella. Its business scope included not only real estate, finance, education, and technology, but of course, also the medical sector.

If this was Jingtai’s experimental park, they could just do it openly. Why be so secretive in the dead of night, with such tight security?

As she was pondering, the driver, having finished unloading, was preparing to head back. As he drove to the side of the road, Song Yuhang took the opportunity to roll out and hide in the darkness behind the gatehouse.

A worker walked past her, complaining in a low voice to his companion.

“Working overtime every day for the better part of a month, I really can’t take it anymore.”

“Tell me about it. The higher-ups have changed, a new broom sweeps clean, and we’ve taken on another big order. Of course we have to work overtime.”

“I haven’t been home in a week, sleeping in the lab every day.”

The speaker then nudged his colleague’s arm.

“Hey, I accidentally saw the formula the other day. Guess what I saw?”

His colleague was curious: “What?”

The man glanced around. Seeing no one, he said mysteriously, “γ-hydroxybutyric acid².”

Before his voice had even faded, his colleague grabbed him by the sleeve. “Shh, do you have a death wish! That’s a controlled substance!”

Song Yuhang’s heart leaped in shock. She poked her head out, but the two men had already reached the workshop entrance. After being searched by the staff at the door, having their IDs checked, and their fingerprints verified, they were allowed inside.

Damn it, they even need to verify fingerprints? Are they that cautious?

She had come in a hurry and hadn’t prepared anything. It was probably impossible for her to get in.

But…

Song Yuhang closed her eyes slightly, recalling what Lin Yan had once said.

“γ-hydroxybutyric acid, a natural substance found in the central nervous system, was once used in medicine to treat psychiatric conditions like insomnia and depression.”

“An overdose of this drug can easily be fatal, and… it has withdrawal symptoms.”

She suddenly clenched her fists. Since it was connected to several cases, she had to get inside to take a look, no matter what.

Song Yuhang turned back and fumbled on the ground for something she could use. She picked up a rock, weighed it in her hand, and then fiercely threw it towards a nearby shipping container.

CLANG— The rock hit the container and bounced a few times, making a noise that was neither too loud nor too soft. The attention of the staff at the entrance was immediately drawn over.

Song Yuhang watched as they pulled out electric batons from their waists.

“Who? Who’s there?!”

A group of people hurried past her.

Once they were far away, she quickly slipped to the door, pried open a crack in the workshop’s iron door with her fingers, and pressed her eye against it.

Then her pupils contracted. She saw one of the most shocking scenes of her life.

The workshop was brightly lit, as if it were daytime.

Dozens of workers in blue protective suits were standing in front of machines, operating them. The liquid flowing out of the reactors, after being filtered, distilled, and separated by centrifuges, became rows of neatly arranged blue test tubes on an assembly line.

The entire atmosphere was silent, tense, and solemn.

On the largest central iron tank, “γ-butyrolactone³” was written in red paint.

She had heard Lin Yan say that this was one of the essential raw materials for synthesizing γ-hydroxybutyric acid, as well as a Class 1 hazardous material that was flammable and explosive, and it was also on the national list of Class 3 carcinogens.

Song Yuhang was too shocked to speak. Her Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and it took her a long while to come to her senses. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone, turned on the camera, and aimed it inside.

The camera had been recording for less than three seconds when a beam of light enveloped her, followed by a sharp shout: “Who is it?!”

An electric baton came crashing down on her head!

Song Yuhang subconsciously raised her sleeve to block her face and retreated. The iron baton hit the door, and she turned and ran.

“Chase her!”

The people behind her gave chase relentlessly.

Song Yuhang nimbly vaulted over the surrounding wall, her palm cut by the broken glass shards embedded on top, and quickly disappeared into the night.

The pursuer, panting heavily, stopped with his hands on his knees. “Damn it, go back and report to the Young Master that this place has been discovered.”

When the subordinate came to report to him, Lin Ge was toying with his precious crystal ball, wiping it again and again with a velvet cloth.

As if he had long expected it, he raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So soon? I thought it would be a while longer.”

“Then tomorrow’s transaction…” the subordinate began, then hesitated.

“Continue,” Lin Ge said, placing the crystal ball back on its stand on the desk.

“Yes.” The subordinate, unsure of his meaning and seeing his inscrutable expression, bowed and left in a hurry.

Lin Ge stood up, his gaze falling directly on a gouache painting on the wall. In the picture, two children, one big and one small, were sitting and lying side by side on a hillside, looking at the stars.

It was the work of a young Lin Yan.

In the deep blue night sky, the stars were brilliant. Beside them, the green grass swayed, and the girl’s back was slender and delicate, her soft hair falling onto her shoulders.

The boy lay beside her, his arms pillowed behind his head, his features obscured by the green grass.

Although her painting skills were clumsy back then, the whole picture was undoubtedly very harmonious and pleasing to the eye.

When she gave him this painting, it was the first time she had called him “Gege”. She was ten years old that year, and he was about to go far away to study.

Upon his departure, Lin Yan gave him this painting as a gift. So many years had passed in a flash.

Lin Ge took the picture frame down, wiped the dust off it with the velvet cloth, and gently stroked her back.

“Yanyan, Ge won’t let you die in vain.”

---

Song Yuhang didn’t go home. Instead, she drove straight to another location and knocked on the door.

After a moment, an old man’s voice came from inside.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

Song Yuhang knocked lightly a few times in a pattern of two long and one short.

Feng Jianguo opened the door, still in his pajamas and slippers, and looked out into the hallway. “Come in quickly.”

Song Yuhang took off her hoodie and walked in, her face still stained with grease and her body bruised.

“You are…”

“To make a long story short, I have a major discovery to report to you. Whether it’s by email or phone, there’s a risk of being monitored, so I took the liberty of coming late at night. I apologize for the disturbance.”

As Song Yuhang spoke, she glanced around the room.

Feng Jianguo pushed open the study door. “It’s fine, come in and talk. They’re all asleep.”

He pulled some tissues from the desk and gestured for her to wipe her face first. Song Yuhang took them, gave her face a quick wipe, then took her phone out of her pocket, opened the photo album, and held it in front of him.

The image flashed by, showing only a few blurry blue figures.

Feng Jianguo was taken aback. “This is…”

Song Yuhang’s eyes held a hint of regret. “Jingtai’s logistics park in the suburbs. I managed to sneak in by chance and discovered a large drug manufacturing factory inside.”

“I accidentally revealed myself when I was leaving. They should realize it soon. Director Feng, I request that you issue an order to raid and seal the factory immediately. We will definitely be able to catch them red-handed with the evidence.”

After she finished speaking, the room fell into silence.

Feng Jianguo looked at her suspiciously. “How can you be sure it’s Jingtai? And how did you find that factory?”

Song Yuhang knew that if she didn’t explain clearly, she couldn’t dispel his doubts.

She licked her lips; her throat still tasted of blood from the intense run.

“I’ve seen it. The logo on their work uniforms is identical to Jingtai’s trademark.”

As she spoke, she drew it from memory and handed the white paper to him.

Feng Jianguo studied the paper, pondering to himself: Song Yuhang said she followed the logistics truck supplying the Huange Nightclub to the industrial park and found a well-organized, large-scale drug factory. This means the information sent back by the undercover agent is true.

That batch of goods is most likely scheduled for shipment tomorrow. Sending people to surround it now would be no different from beating the grass to startle the snake⁴. In that case, although we could catch many of the drug manufacturers, the mastermind behind it might not be caught in the net.

Cutting the grass without removing the roots, it will grow again when the spring wind blows⁵.

In the brief moment their eyes met, countless thoughts flashed through Feng Jianguo’s mind. He calmly met her gaze.

“I understand. You should go back now.”

Song Yuhang was stunned. “What do you mean? You’re not sending anyone?”

Seeing Feng Jianguo’s inaction, she shot to her feet and roared in a low voice, “So many people have already died for this stuff! The innocent children in the ‘White Whale Case,’ the manipulated Li Yang, the ill-fated Yu Jing, the heroically sacrificed Captain Zhang…”

She suddenly bit her lower lip. “And… my Lin Yan.”

“Are the lives of so many people not worth anything at all?!” Song Yuhang’s eyes reddened slightly as she said this.

She thought of the deceased Lin Yan, thought of the thousands upon thousands of families that could be destroyed once this batch of drugs was released. For a moment, she felt her blood boil, chewing on a mouthful of hatred.

A trace of deep pain flashed in Feng Jianguo’s eyes.

He also desperately wanted to bring the criminals to justice, but now was truly not the best time to close the net.

Song Yuhang was blinded by hatred, but he would not be. Therefore, he simply repeated himself, in a commanding tone.

“Go back. We will consider this matter at length.”

Song Yuhang raised her voice. “Why?! If you won’t go, I will!”

Feng Jianguo stood up, the chair making a soft sound. “You stay right there! You are just a patrol officer now, what right do you have to go!”

Song Yuhang froze, her eyes bloodshot, biting her lip hard and clenching her fists.

“What’s wrong with being a patrol officer? A patrol officer can also…”

Feng Jianguo paced back and forth in the room, his tone resolute.

“Without advanced equipment, without firearms and ammunition, without strong backup, you’d just be throwing your life away!”

“Do you think the drug traffickers will put down their guns and let you arrest them with your bare hands?”

“Look at how radical you are right now, you’re exactly like Lin Yan!”

In his anger and anxiety, the words slipped out.

After a long moment, he felt that something was not quite right and rubbed his nose awkwardly.

Song Yuhang had already calmed down. The tears welled in her eyes but did not fall; instead, she swallowed them all back.

“You’re right. I used to think she was radical too. But to live in this world, if you don’t have people or things that can stir your heart and make you willing to give everything, including your life, how boring would that be.”

“My father also started as a patrol officer in a police station, and Lin Yan also started as an intern forensic examiner. Everyone is born ordinary and common, with no distinction of high or low.”

“Even if I am just a grassroots beat cop, I should die at my post, not turn a blind eye to illegal and criminal activities and eke out a meager existence.”

As she spoke, she took the paper from the desk, crumpled it into a ball, threw it into the trash can, and turned to leave.

“You have your grand strategy, and small figures have their own persistence. Neither of us can convince the other. I’ve disturbed you tonight. Farewell.”

Feng Jianguo was so angry his lungs were about to explode. He was both angry and afraid—angry that she had learned Lin Yan’s stubbornness instead of her good qualities, and afraid that she would rush off to her death in a fit of impulse!

He had promised someone he would protect and look after her.

If Lin Yan found out about this, she’d surely kick up a fuss and refuse to cooperate.

Seeing that she was about to leave, the situation was urgent.

Feng Jianguo almost had a heart attack. He pleaded earnestly, “You stop! I told you not to go, so don’t go! The municipal bureau and the narcotics division have their own arrangements for this matter. You little brat, don’t you dare beat the grass and startle the snake for me!”

He had cursed, which meant he was anxious.

A faint smile appeared on Song Yuhang’s lips under her hood. She turned around.

“Then I can rest assured.”

Feng Jianguo was stunned and raised his teacup as if to throw it.

“You were testing me?”

Song Yuhang didn’t dodge. “If I didn’t test you, how would you tell me the truth?”

Feng Jianguo ground his teeth in frustration. Damn it all to hell⁶, Song Yuhang not only learned seven or eight-tenths of Lin Yan’s radicalism, but she also stole her cunning and slyness.

Truly, birds of a feather flock together.

“You don’t have to throw the teacup. It’s late, and it wouldn’t be good to wake your granddaughter. Tell me, what’s the top-secret plan?”

She sat down again with composure, scooped some tea leaves from the tea caddy into a disposable paper cup, and poured hot water to soothe her throat.

That night, the light in the study stayed on for a long time.

When Feng Jianguo gently closed the door after seeing his guest out, his little granddaughter opened her bedroom door and stood there, rubbing her eyes.

“Grandpa…”

Feng Jianguo turned around, his face immediately overflowing with a benevolent smile, and he scooped her up in his arms.

“Aiyo, why is my little Fengfeng still not asleep so late?”

The little girl held a cloth doll in her arms, her big eyes wide open. “I can’t sleep.”

“Then how about Grandpa tells you a story?” Feng Jianguo said, carrying her as he pushed open her door.

The little girl clung to his neck. “Okay~”

“What story do you want to hear?” Feng Jianguo turned on the table lamp and put on his reading glasses.

“Cinderella? Snow White? The Adventures of Pinocchio?”

The child thought for a moment, hugging her doll. “Grandpa, I want to hear a story about the police.”

The old man smiled, the hair at his temples already white, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out. The sharp aura from his work was gone.

At this moment, he was not a formidable director of the Public Security Bureau, but just a grandfather doting on his granddaughter.

“Alright, then Grandpa will tell a story about the police. Once upon a time…”

Before he could finish his made-up tale, the little girl was already half-asleep, her eyes drowsy as she held onto his wrist.

“Grandpa is so amazing. Fengfeng wants to be a police officer when she grows up too.”

Feng Jianguo lovingly stroked her head, tucked her small arm into the quilt, turned off the lamp, and quietly left.

---

The next day, Song Yuhang went to work as usual, patrolling the streets of her precinct and resolving a few neighborhood disputes. The time quickly passed until evening.

She chewed her instant noodles expressionlessly while looking at the clock on the wall.

Two hours before eleven, the police alarm rang.

The dispatcher picked it up immediately; it was an internal line from the 110 command center.

“Receiving a report from the public. A large quantity of suspected drugs has been discovered inside the Huange Nightclub. Someone is conducting a transaction on-site. The higher-ups have ordered us to control the scene before the narcotics division arrives to prevent the drug traffickers from catching wind and escaping.”

Song Yuhang hadn’t even finished her soup when the station chief ran in. “Quick, quick, everyone grab your gear and follow me! We’ve got a big case!”

Hearing the order, Song Yuhang’s instinct was to obey. She put on her uniform, grabbed her electric baton, holstered her gun, and put on her body camera before heading out.

It wasn’t until she saw the station’s only two police cars and the entire office emptying out that she felt something was not quite right.

“Chief, where are we going? What’s the mission?”

“Hah, if our station wasn’t so close to the Huange Nightclub, this mission wouldn’t have fallen to us. A citizen reported that someone is dealing drugs in the nightclub! The guys from narcotics will be here soon. They want us to control the scene first.”

Huange Nightclub, a drug transaction scene.

Song Yuhang’s heart suddenly dropped. She looked out the window at the flashing neon lights.

The police car, with its lights flashing and siren wailing, sped through the intersection.

---

Fifteen minutes earlier.

Lin Yan was pacing back and forth in the room.

“Is Wang-ge back yet?”

Liu Zhi shook his head. “Not yet. I just went to Chen Fang’s room, and she’s not there either. Most likely…”

They went out to fool around together.

Fearing he would displease her, Liu Zhi swallowed the rest of the sentence.

Lin Yan gritted her teeth. Damn it, can’t they see what time it is? Men really are animals driven by their lower bodies, a hopeless Ah Dou who cannot be helped up⁷.

As if to confirm her thoughts, her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar landline number.

Puzzled, Lin Yan answered it on speaker in front of him.

“Hello?”

“Jun’an Branch Police Station. Is Wang Li your boyfriend? During our routine law enforcement patrol, we found him engaging in a transaction of sex for money with an unknown woman in a room. Please come and pick him up.”

The officer was already being very tactful. Wasn’t it just getting caught soliciting a prostitute?

Lin Yan almost spat out a mouthful of blood. She knew without thinking that this Wang Li was Wang Qiang’s alias, and he had most likely used a fake ID.

She pressed her fingers to her brow. “Fine, got it. I’ll be there in a bit. Hanging up.”

Seeing her looking dejected and chain-smoking, Liu Zhi assumed she was upset about Wang Qiang’s cheating and silently handed her a cup of tea.

“Saozi, don’t be angry. I’ll go bring Dage⁸ back.”

Before his voice faded, there was a soft knock on the door.

Lin Yan stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray. “Come in. What is it?”

The attendant bowed slightly. “Hong-jie, the people have arrived.”

Lin Yan’s pupils contracted. “Didn’t we agree on eleven o’clock?”

“The buyer requested it. He said that long nights are full of dreams, so an earlier transaction would bring earlier peace of mind. Therefore, the time was changed at the last minute. Tiger is also on his way with the goods and will be here in ten minutes at most. He wants us to set up the place and prepare to receive the goods.”

Hearing this news, Lin Yan’s first instinct was that it was too conspicuous. If she sent someone to bail out Wang Qiang at this time, she might be seen by the drug traffickers lurking nearby as tipping off the cops.

She lowered her gaze slightly and quickly made a judgment.

“Alright, I understand. You may go down first. Allow me to prepare, and I will go to meet the guests shortly.”

The attendant bowed respectfully and retreated.

Liu Zhi walked up behind her, watching as she opened a lipstick tube in front of the mirror, applied it lightly, then pursed her lips and put on a black gauze hat, concealing most of her charming face, including the beauty mark.

He couldn’t help but straighten the brim of her hat, his eyes filled with a certain infatuation.

“Saozi is so beautiful.”

Lin Yan gave a faint smile, looking at the man’s intoxicated expression in the mirror. In that instant, she suddenly felt that something was wrong. She had never seen that kind of expression on Wang Qiang’s face, neither towards her nor towards Chen Fang.

Wang Qiang was more like her former self, playing with the world, never truly falling for anyone.

Moreover, although he was a man, he was also a drug lord, a criminal, and a minor leader of a criminal gang. He wouldn’t be so careless as to get caught by the police while soliciting a prostitute!

At this thought, a cold sweat broke out on Lin Yan’s back.

With a snap, she placed the lipstick on the table, and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.

Seeing her crying in the mirror, Liu Zhi was greatly alarmed and turned her around. “Saozi, what’s wrong?”

Lin Yan’s soft, boneless fingertips rested on his wrist, and her tears fell like pearls onto the back of his hand.

“Liu Zhi, none of them believe me. Only you believe me, love me, and protect me. Whether I can live or not depends on you.”

---

Five minutes later.

A small delivery van drove in.

Tiger, dressed in a work uniform, jumped out of the van and knocked on the door. Liu Zhi welcomed him in, looked around, and closed the door.

“Hong-jie is already waiting. Please.”

He led the man upstairs, while outside, the workers unloading the cargo got busy.

Someone handed cigarettes to the men Tiger had brought. “Brothers, you’ve worked hard.”

“Hah, we’re all working for Dong Ye, it’s no trouble.”

The man gave a signal to someone beside him.

A van with an identical license plate quietly drove over.

The man who had handed out the cigarettes put his arm around the speaker’s shoulder. “Every transaction, Hong-jie keeps a little for herself. If there’s good stuff this time, share some with us brothers.”

“That would be great. That place in Southeast Asia is a shithole, not even a decent woman to be found. But here—”

The men grew more excited as they spoke, laughing heartily.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. What kind of place is this? A nightclub! And what do nightclubs have the most of?”

The men laughed with ill intent, chiming in together, “Women, of course!”

In the midst of their conversation, the vehicles passed each other.

The man who had first handed out the cigarettes was one of Liu Zhi’s subordinates. He released the shoulder of Tiger’s underling.

“Let’s go, let’s go, time to work.”

---

As the police cars entered the block, residents all craned their necks to watch.

Song Yuhang still felt something was wrong. “Chief, I think we should wait for the narcotics team to arrive before we go in.”

The Lianhuachi Branch Police Station was an obscure little station, not even ranking among the major branches in Jiangcheng. The chief had been working for half his life with little chance of promotion, and he was hoping to score some merits to move up a rank.

“This is a matter of utmost urgency! What if the drug traffickers escape? We can’t wait any longer!”

Of course, Song Yuhang also understood the urgency of the situation, but…

She couldn’t very well talk about what happened last night.

Before she could think it through, they had already arrived at the Huange Nightclub.

The police cars couldn’t drive in, so they stopped at the entrance of the street. The officers opened the doors and jumped out one after another.

The chief loaded his gun. “On my command, we’ll break down the door and arrest them. If anyone violently resists arrest, feed him a bullet. Just don’t aim for the vitals.”

The bullets they had were all rubber, more for deterrence than lethal force.

Song Yuhang sighed deeply. It was too late to stop it.

---

“Where is Auntie Hong? Does she look down on… on me? Still not… not coming out to greet me?”

He spoke with a noticeable stutter, his words slurred.

Liu Zhi, having seen his share of big scenes with Wang Qiang and now under Lin Yan’s instructions, calmly poured him a cup of tea.

“Boss Qian, don’t be anxious. When our Hong-jie comes out, she will naturally have good stuff for you.”

Two beautiful women in low-cut, midriff-baring sequined tops fed him another grape.

Boss Qian’s expression finally softened.

“Fine. Since Wang-ge isn’t here, I’ll trust Auntie Hong one more time, for your sake.”

In her room, Lin Yan thought it over and over but couldn’t find a way to get a message out. There was definitely something wrong with this transaction!

Her only hope now was that the police wouldn’t come. Please don’t come. If they came, she would be exposed and die, and those who came would also be in danger. If they didn’t come, she still had a sliver of a chance to survive.

Her current phone was definitely being monitored. She couldn’t make a call, and email was even more impossible; the account was controlled by Wang Qiang.

Lin Yan gently pushed open the window, leaving a small crack, and looked outside.

The quiet alley behind the Huange Nightclub was also teeming with people, all unfamiliar faces, not her own men.

She closed the window again and paced back and forth in the room, her heart burning with anxiety.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside again. It should be the person coming to rush her. The voice was unfamiliar.

“Where is Hong-jie?”

“In there.”

A knock sounded at the door.

“Hong-jie, Boss Qian invites you.”

Lin Yan’s fingernails dug hard into a cigar, leaving several marks. She lit it, draped a shawl over her shoulders, and walked out with the cigar between her lips.

“Coming. Just changing my clothes. What’s the rush?”

With that, she gave him a bewitching glance and stuck the cigar in his mouth.

“Here, a gift from your big sister.”

After she turned her face away, the man sneered, took the cigar from his mouth, and threw it on the ground.

In this kind of transaction, in order to completely absolve the drug manufacturing group behind Tiger, a third party was usually involved. Pei Jinhong and Wang Qiang would act as intermediaries, taking a portion of the money or drugs as commission after the deal was done. Tiger himself would most likely not appear. After delivering the goods, he would hide in the shadows, sending his men to monitor the scene. This was ostensibly to prevent the other party from engaging in black-on-black⁹ tactics, but in reality, it was also to guard against them.

These criminal groups were truly full of cunning schemes, rotten to the core.

As Lin Yan thought this, she secretly broke into a cold sweat for herself.

With Wang Qiang absent, she had no support. She faced the buyer in front and Tiger behind. It was truly a case of a wolf before her and a tiger behind her; every step was difficult, like treading on thin ice.

She had to be careful with every word she said, every expression, every action, even every glance.

If there was any misstep, let alone waiting for the police to arrive and her undercover identity to be exposed, just showing a hint of fear or abnormality under the noses of these extremely vicious and wicked thugs could get her torn to shreds and fed to the dogs, with not even bone fragments left.

The first major battle of her undercover assignment was about to begin.

A thin layer of cold sweat formed in Lin Yan’s palms. She secretly adjusted her breathing, just as she was about to lift her foot to go downstairs.

The main door was kicked open, and several attendants fell in, their faces bruised and swollen.

The colorful lights of the dance hall flickered on her, illuminating Song Yuhang’s face, which was as sharp as if carved by a knife and axe.

Why is it her?!

Lin Yan’s hand, which was resting on the railing, trembled slightly.

Song Yuhang wore half-finger tactical gloves and held a pitch-black Type 54 pistol, which was pointed coldly at everyone.

“Police! Don’t move! We have received a report from the public that you are suspected of conducting a drug transaction. Hands on your head, squat down, and cooperate with our inspection!”

Her voice, neither too loud nor too soft, was firm and resonant, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

The moment Lin Yan saw her, her mind was in turmoil, and her eyes filled with hot tears. However, she could not cry.

Because in her peripheral vision, she saw that Tiger’s men behind her had already drawn their guns from their back waists and loaded them.

More footsteps were heard, and Song Yuhang and her companions were firmly surrounded.

Although she didn’t know these people, they were wearing the same police uniforms she once wore.

She couldn’t stand by and do nothing, especially with Song Yuhang right there.

Her Song Yuhang, whom she had been thinking about and protecting.

You came after all.

Lin Yan closed her eyes slightly, her Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. She quickly opened them again, a cold light flashing through.

She slowly pushed back the gun of the man behind her.

“This is my territory. Leave it to me.”

“But if we don’t kill the cops today and get caught red-handed, no one is getting out of here.”

Lin Yan lowered her voice and said coldly, “As if you could get away after killing people in a bustling city with several police stations nearby, once you’ve alerted them.”

In the end, she managed to turn the gun aimed at Song Yuhang away. Taking advantage of the fact that Song Yuhang hadn’t seen them yet, she pushed the man into the shadows.

“I’ll hold them off. Take your men and get the hell out of here.”

The man was stunned, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

Lin Yan—no, Pei Jinhong—had already spoken.

As she spoke, she lifted her foot and walked downstairs, each step like a blooming lotus, her figure enchanting.

“Well, well, what wind has blown the police here? We’re just a small place, doing some liquor business, listening to some songs, and singing a tune. Is that against the law too?”

This woman’s voice was unfamiliar to her, even carrying a hoarse, seductive charm, but the tone of her speech was one she was incredibly familiar with.

Song Yuhang suddenly looked up. The moment she saw her, her whole body shook, and the gun in her hand slowly lowered.

She took a step forward, her eyes red, and said in a hoarse voice, “Lin… Lin Yan?”

“This officer must have mistaken me for someone else,” the woman sneered, descending the last step while holding the railing.

If she didn’t do this, Lin Yan felt she might not be able to stand steady and would collapse on the spot.

She composed herself, gathered the shawl that had slipped to her shoulders, and, wrapped in a qipao slit to the top of her thigh, she walked towards her, each step bewitching. She sized her up, a harmless yet secretly cold smile on her face.

“The officials just have to open their mouths, and we become drug traffickers? Without any reason, without producing any evidence, I can go to court and sue you for trespassing and assault.”

Hearing her say this, the few subordinates of Liu Zhi who had been beaten struggled up from the ground and limped to her side.

“Hong-jie…”

The injuries on their faces were not light.

While Lin Yan was sizing her up, Song Yuhang was also looking at her.

Although the woman’s face was covered by a black veil, her eyes, her familiar chin and cheekbones, her figure, her posture, every move she made, and even her habitual tone of voice when she spoke, were all exactly the same as Lin Yan’s!

If it wasn’t for cloning or the fact that she wasn’t dead at all, Song Yuhang couldn’t think of any other reason why she could be standing here, why she would be standing here.

From the first moment she appeared, her eyes were glued to her.

“Lin Yan” had shattered all her fighting spirit.

Song Yuhang put the gun back in its holster, a move that also silently eased the hair-trigger atmosphere.

She took a small step forward and found that their heights were also similar.

Song Yuhang reached out to lift her veil. “Who exactly are you?”

By the end of her words, she was almost gritting her teeth.

Lin Yan could not move, nor should she.

With her current skills, she was just a weak woman with no strength to truss a chicken. There was no way she could dodge it, and even if she could, she must not.

She had to make Song Yuhang give up hope in order to protect her, and to protect herself.

“Hong-jie!” Liu Zhi, thinking she was about to make a move, rushed forward and pulled her back.

The gauze hat fell off.

Revealing a face extremely similar to Lin Yan’s.

But her expression was utterly cold, even carrying a hint of disgust, as if looking at a rude and presumptuous stranger.

Song Yuhang staggered back a step, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Lin… Lin Yan…”

Lin Yan stood steady with Liu Zhi’s support, their eyes meeting.

She was holding back tears, her lips trembling. It had been so long since they had seen each other. Her hair had grown longer and wasn’t well-kept, almost covering her eyes.

The clothes she wore were just an ordinary police uniform, with no double bars on the epaulets, only a few cold, four-pointed stars.

The person who always made sure she was impeccably dressed before going out now wore a crooked uniform, the collar buttoned wrong—it should have been the one below.

Her clothes were also dirty, her face grimy, her pant legs rolled up, and the shoelace on one of her combat boots was untied.

She didn’t know what she had been through these days, stripped of her position, to become this disheveled and somewhat wretched figure.

Lin Yan wanted to laugh, but she also wanted to cry. Her heart soured, and waves of tears rushed to her nose, which she forced back by digging her nails into her own palm.

She could not laugh, and she certainly could not cry.

She had to maintain sufficient coldness and vigilance.

Because she was now a “drug trafficker,” and Song Yuhang was a police officer.

Her people and Song Yuhang’s people also stood distinctly on two sides, both eyeing each other like tigers.

Lin Yan could only meet her gaze, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips.

“I told you, my name is Pei Jinhong. They all call me ‘Auntie Hong’.”

“Patrol officer with badge number 015765, I’ll remember you,” Lin Yan said, her fingertips lightly tapping the body camera on her chest. She stood on her tiptoes, her breath like an orchid by her ear.

“You will have to bear legal responsibility for your impulsiveness today, officer.”

The last two words fell softly, the final sound drawn out, carrying a somewhat flirtatious meaning.

Lin Yan’s bright red fingernails pressed on her shoulder. Seeing her earlobe turn red from their proximity, she had a fleeting moment of daze in a place she couldn’t see, tears almost bursting forth. A strong impulse made her want to throw her arms around the person she had longed for day and night.

However, she ultimately held back. After a moment of daze, Lin Yan retreated.

“Step aside. Let them search.”

Liu Zhi took the lead and stepped back. Seeing this, the others hesitated for a moment before following suit.

Only Boss Qian in the private room sat restlessly, sweating profusely.

Song Yuhang looked down at the extremely similar face. The difference was, there was a tear mole at the corner of her eye.

When she had leaned in, she hadn’t dodged, as if to verify something. Song Yuhang smelled the lingering scent of shampoo in her hair, the smell of smoke mixed with cheap perfume on her neck, but the one thing she didn’t smell was the faint floral scent that was always on Lin Yan.

She had a face extremely similar to Lin Yan’s, her habitual tone and habits of speech, her height, her figure, but the one thing she didn’t have was her scent, and her love for her.

In the eyes of the woman before her, there was only coldness, complete and utter coldness, mixed with a hint of disgust and contempt.

Lin Yan… would not look at me like this.

Song Yuhang’s heart was in extreme turmoil and agony. However, she knew that no matter who this woman before her was.

Whether it’s Pei Jinhong or Lin Yan, they are ultimately standing on opposing sides.

Song Yuhang gave her a cold look and finally found her voice. “Take them into custody. Search thoroughly.”

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LP: Re-translated on July 28, 2025

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