Miss Forensics – Chapter 125.1

Loyalty

It is late at night, and the exhausted criminals finally found a moment to catch their breath. Most of them leaned against the wall and fell asleep, while a few who were still yawning continued their patrol.

When the clock hands pointed to three, Lin Yan opened her eyes in the darkness.

She quietly got up, carefully controlling her footsteps to make no sound, and gently pushed open the wooden door.

Two armed criminals were patrolling the corridor towards her room. Lin Yan shrunk back and hid in the darkness behind the door panel as the two men walked past with heavy steps.

In a swift move, she pulled her mask over her face and darted out like an agile cat.

The two patrolling criminals turned around.

“Did you see something just now?”

The companion, who was asked the question, yawned and shook his head.

“Let’s go, stop looking around. This place is either filled with wild cats or mice. Let’s quickly finish this round and go back to rest.”

Their footsteps gradually faded away.

Lin Yan breathed a sigh of relief quietly, descended down the stairs, and encountered a tall soldier coming towards her. Probably on a night shift, he rubbed his eyes and in an instant, aimed his gun at her, ready to shout.

Swiftly, Lin Yan flew up, skillfully wielding her dagger, lightly grazing his neck. The soldier’s imminent scream was stifled in his throat as a thin line of blood sprayed out.

Gently laying the man down, she dragged him into the storage room next to the staircase, stripped his clothes to clean up the blood stains on the floor. Quickly turning back, she pushed open the glass window in the hallway, revealing an endless wilderness outside.

Taking advantage of the height of the second floor, Lin Yan leaped down. By the time the two patrolling soldiers arrived, the corridor was already empty.

Originally thinking that jumping from this height would be easy, it turned out to be a bit difficult. Fortunately, the ground below was even and soft mud. Gasping for breath, Lin Yan climbed up from the ground and limped towards her intended direction.

“Wake up, wake up.” When Lin Yan found Chen Fang in the trash heap, her complexion was pale, her body covered in wounds, and she was barely holding on.

Lin Yan tapped her face, but there was no response. She then bent down to listen to her heartbeat, felt her pulse on the neck, gritted her teeth, undid her clothes, and started performing chest compressions.

After thirty standard compressions, she gently lifted Chen Fang’s chin and gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

After repeating this several times, she finally heard a faint heartbeat.

Feeling relieved, Lin Yan’s body went limp, and she slumped to the ground.

Chen Fang coughed softly and slowly opened her eyes. In one glance, she saw Lin Yan sitting nearby, breathing heavily, with her warmth still lingering on her lips.

Feeling confused, she asked, “Why… did you save me?”

Lin Yan stood up, reached out her hand towards her.

“I promised you I would give you freedom.”

“You… you are not Sister Hong… Who are you really?” Chen Fang looked at her warily, keeping her distance.

“Who I am, does it matter?” Lin Yan’s lips curved in a slight mocking smile.

“I could go and expose you to the Supreme Lord.”

“You can try. Is my knife quicker, or are you faster at running?” She played with the dagger that had just been used to kill someone, still stained with spattered blood, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Chen Fang instinctively recoiled, grabbed her wrist, and stood up.

Joining the Supreme Lord was also a death sentence, so she might as well listen to the woman in front of her. At least, she didn’t want to kill her; otherwise, she wouldn’t have saved her.

Lin Yan was briefly taken aback but then helped her walk in the direction away from the abandoned construction site until they reached a place illuminated by streetlights on the main road.

Standing in the darkness, she handed over the dagger, along with the bus ticket and some change.

“Keep walking on this main road; there’s a bus back to Jiangcheng. Once there, head straight to the train station to leave this place.”

Clutching these items, Chen Fang’s lips trembled. “Aren’t you leaving?”

Lin Yan shook her head. “I have to stay.”

Her mission was not yet complete, not time to leave yet, even though deep down, she longed to escape this place and return to the light, back to Song Yuhang’s side.

Thoughts of Song Yuhang led Lin Yan to recall the bullet she had fired at her. Would she hate her, blame her?

Hate her for “killing” her colleague in front of her, hate her for mercilessly torturing her, hate her for associating with fugitives, hate her for sending herself down the path of destruction.

Lin Yan’s heart was pierced by a knife called “guilt,” leaving her vulnerable in front of Chen Fang, a rarity for her.

She knew this shouldn’t be, so she smiled faintly, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, preparing to walk away.

“Go quickly, don’t look back.”

Strangely, Pei Jinhong had not been kind to her before, and now Lin Yan wasn’t necessarily cruel to her either.

Chen Fang didn’t even know her real name, but in this moment, in the wilderness, in a situation where they depended on each other, a strange sense of mutual understanding arose between them.

“Are you really not coming with me?”

Lin Yan turned around, waved her hand, and walked away.

“No, take care on your journey.”

Chen Fang held onto the items Lin Yan had given her. “Is there… anything I can help with?”

Such as passing on a message, or going to the hospital to check if Song Yuhang is still alive?

Lin Yan paused for a moment. It was indeed a good idea.

However, after a moment, she shook her head slightly and said in a deep voice, “It’s not necessary. The more you know, the more dangerous it is. Remember, no matter who asks, whether it’s the police or the Supreme Lord’s men, you haven’t seen me tonight, and you can’t continue living using the name ‘Chen Fang’ in the future.”

After saying this, Lin Yan didn’t wait for her to respond, turned around, waved her hand, and walked away. Her slender black figure disappeared into the night.

In the direction she departed, the sky was still dark, but a hint of dawn broke through the mist.

Chen Fang inexplicably felt the vastness of the world; she felt as insignificant as an ant, yet a sense of unyielding courage like that of a young hero never returning and the heartbreaking sorrow akin to Jing Ke sacrificing himself against Qin warrior, causing her eyes to burn.¹

She gritted her teeth, clutching the items Lin Yan had given her, and without glancing back, ran in the opposite direction.

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“The full-scale operation at the City Bureau has been taken over by the provincial Anti-Drug Bureau, so I won’t be able to help you much then.” Feng Jianguo glanced at the time; it was time for him to leave and he put on a wide-brimmed hat as he got up.

“It’s all up to you now.”

Song Yuhang stood up to see him off, but was gently pushed back.

“You’re the patient here, focus on ‘recovering’ properly.”

Feng Jianguo’s words carried a double meaning, and Song Yuhang understood.

“Got it, I promise to complete the mission!”

The old man smiled, not the usual kindly smile, but one filled with genuine hope from within.

“It’s not about promising to complete the mission, but promising to come back alive!”

Song Yuhang was momentarily surprised, a hint of a smile appearing on her lips as she raised her right hand to her temple.

“Yes, I promise to come back alive!”

Lin Yan’s code name was “Nail,” responsible for gathering intelligence deep behind enemy lines, while her code name was “Dagger,” tasked with delivering a fatal blow unexpectedly when everyone else is unable to act.

Song Yuhang thought to herself and silently added another goal: to bring back her fiancée.

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While Song Yuhang and Feng Jianguo were plotting, another secret meeting was taking place in the abandoned factory at the seaside dock.

Kuba sat in a chair, wrapped in bandages, with only his eyes still shining brightly, filled with hatred.

“This time, I must personally kill her, kill that woman.”

The Supreme Lord absentmindedly tapped his knee with his finger, closing his eyes to relax.

“There will be an opportunity.”

The man sitting beside him chuckled, seemingly disdainful. Kuba was displeased by this laughter.

“You…”

The Supreme Lord waved his hand, cutting off his words.

“The deal is nearing completion, let’s not cause internal rifts. Once it’s done, we’ll take the money and head to Canada together, where no one will be able to catch us.”

The man’s tone remained cold, as if unconcerned about how much money they would get or where they would go.

“After causing such a big commotion, the police are not fools; the upcoming transaction in a few days will undoubtedly face numerous difficulties.”

A hint of calculated smile playing on the Supreme Lord’s lips.

“The more chaotic, the better. Chaos allows for deception. By the way, about that batch of goods…”

The man stood up, showing no interest in staying any longer.

“It’s been prepared a long time ago.”

The Supreme Lord nodded, “Indeed, if this plan succeeds, it will be a great achievement for Mr. Lin as well. Escort our guest out.”

The group accompanied him as they walked out.

After they left, the Supreme Lord closed his eyes again to rest, his fingers tapping on his knees occasionally.

Kuba, discontented, said, “Sir, he’s so unruly. Why not… if we were to do without him, we could find another partner. Anyway, the formula…”

For some reason, the Supreme Lord’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“The centipede may die but not stiffen; after all, Mr. Lin is still the young master of the prestigious Lin family. The majority of the port area belongs to the Lin family, and there will be a need for him at times.”

Meanwhile, Lin Yan walked to a secluded spot, took out her phone from her pocket. Only two people knew this phone number, and it had software installed to prevent eavesdropping.

She quickly typed on the keyboard, edited the message, and sent it. When the “delivered” icon appeared on the screen, Lin Yan breathed a sigh of relief and hurried back.

Near the abandoned factory, the headlights of a car approached. Lin Yan instinctively rolled into the darkness, hiding behind a sack.

As the factory gate swung open, a group of thugs surrounded a tall, handsome young man as he walked out. The dim light reflected on his fair side profile, and a pair of metal-rimmed glasses sat on his nose.

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1. Jing Ke (died 227 BC) was a youxia during the late Warring States period of Ancient China. As a retainer of Crown Prince Dan of the Yan state, he was infamous for his failed assassination attempt on King Zheng of the Qin state.