Blank Charge

“Lawyer Jin?”

Xie Yao quickly snapped out of his daze and pulled back his right hand from behind the curtain.

The white rubber glove he wore on his hand seemed awkward and unnecessary at that moment. He lowered his gaze slightly and calmly looked at his hands. As he took off the gloves, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you,” Jin Zhou said calmly. “Waiting for the moment when you make a move against Luo Xueqing.”

Luo Xueqing had opened the door for the culprit and knew who the culprit was. Therefore, no matter what happened, the culprit would not let Luo Xueqing wake up.

“I admit it’s strange for me to be here at this time,” Xie Yao paused and didn’t make any meaningless excuses. He straightforwardly asked, “When did you know?”

“That evening,” Jin Zhou slowly spoke, ” When Yang Shiyu and I went to inspect the crime scene. On the way back home, we happened to run into you just getting off work.”

It was after Luo Xueqing had an accident that Jin Zhou started investigating the serial killer cases. At that time, WangTai had already arranged for someone to follow Yang Shiyu. So when Yang Shiyu and Jin Zhou went to the crime scene, they deliberately changed their appearances – wearing a baseball cap, not wearing gold-framed glasses, and dressed in black attire.

“I was indeed working overtime that day,” Xie Yao raised an eyebrow, “but I wasn’t following you.”

“It’s not strange that you appeared there. What’s strange is,” Jin Zhou said, “you knew that the person beside me was Yang Shiyu.”

Xie Yao’s eyes twitched left and right, and then he squinted slightly, “I see.”

At that time, Xie Yao approached Jin Zhou and Yang Shiyu from behind and didn’t get a clear view of Yang Shiyu’s face. Yet, based solely on his back, Xie Yao could recognize who the person beside Jin Zhou was, indicating that he had long known that Yang Shiyu occasionally dressed like that.

“Besides Yang Shiyu, there were only two people in the world who knew I was working together with a man in black,” Jin Zhou continued, “one was Wang Darong, who is already dead.”

During the setup to catch Wang Darong at the bar, Wang Darong had seen Jin Zhou and Yang Shiyu together.

“As for the other person,” Jin Zhou intentionally paused, gazing straight into Xie Yao’s eyes, “it’s the culprit of the serial killer case.”

When Jin Zhou went to investigate Wang Darong at the first Building when the murder happened, he unexpectedly ran into Yang Shiyu, and after a fight between the two, they stood by the hallway window and chatted.

According to the timeline stated by the police, the killer passed by them from behind and went upstairs at that time.

“You approached me for the first time as a prosecutor involved in the case,” Jin Zhou continued, looking at Xie Yao, “When you saw the case files, you discovered that I lied when giving the statement where I claimed not to know the man in black. But as the killer, you were well aware that I was chatting with that man in black at the time.”

“You were curious about what was going on and especially curious about the identity of the man in black, so you started getting close to me.”

“Finding out about Yang Shiyu was only a matter of time, and you quickly figured out the whole story. You knew that we were investigating WangTai, and in your mind, a certain reflex formed—the person in black beside me must have been Yang Shiyu. Because of that, when you encountered us, you instinctively greeted us but overlooked a crucial point: you shouldn’t have known who that person in black was.”

“Impressive,” Xie Yao smirked, nodding approvingly. “So you started suspecting me since then?”

“No, at that time, I just found it strange and didn’t think much of it,” Jin Zhou said. “I truly began to suspect you when it came to Liu Yongchang’s case.”

“Oh?” Xie Yao raised an eyebrow, smiling softly. “Tell me more.”

“Liu Qian was very worried about Liu Yongchang and asked me if she should bribe the prosecutor. I told her it wasn’t necessary. But if I’m not mistaken, she was still concerned, so she privately approached you to offer a bribe.”

“Hmm, I refused,” Xie Yao said in a cheerful tone. “How could a People’s Prosecutor accept bribes?”

Upon hearing those words, Jin Zhou furrowed his brow slightly. “But you still added each other as friends on WeChat.”

“What’s the problem with adding friends?” Xie Yao asked. “It was just to put her mind at ease.”

“She was always urging you to make progress in the case, so you told her that it would be better if she found a way to push me instead because I was the key to clearing Liu Yongchang of the crime.”

“Isn’t that right?” Xie Yao crossed his arms and smiled with a hint of mockery. “Whether Liu Yongchang could be determined innocent or not depended on how hard you worked as a lawyer.”

Allowing Liu Yongchang to escape legal punishment was the biggest mistake of Jin Zhou’s legal career.

He averted his gaze for a moment, then looked back at Xie Yao, redirecting the conversation. “It was you who came up with the plan to commit perjury and give a false statement, not Liu Qian. You shared a movie in your Moments, along with detailed commentary, explaining how a wife in the movie provided false testimony to help her husband clear his suspicion. That’s what inspired her to give that fabricated testimony.”

“It seems you’ve already talked to Liu Qian?” Xie Yao smiled. “That movie is really good; I highly recommend it.”

In fact, Jin Zhou had never contacted Liu Qian. He knew he couldn’t extract any useful information from her, so he handed the matter over to Zhang Rui.

Zhang Rui arranged for two young masters to accompany Liu Qian for drinks and managed to extract all the information he needed.

It was said that when Liu Qian went for drinks that day, there were clear palm prints on her face. Jin Zhou didn’t need to think much to know that Liu Yongchang had hit her.

Liu Qian was just slapped by Liu Yongchang. She was angry, and coincidentally, she had drunk too much alcohol, so she half-truthfully revealed the truth.

Jin Zhou handed the recording obtained from Zhang Rui to Ren Wenli. Now the case had been reopened for investigation.

“The motive behind arranging all these things is simple,” Jin Zhou said, continuing his inference without time to discuss movies with Xie Yao.

However, this time Xie Yao no longer watched Jin Zhou’s one-sided performance and interrupted, saying, “Because you are too capable, Lawyer Jin,You saw through it,” Xie Yao shrugged.

“Not only that,” Jin Zhou said, his voice gradually lowering, “you also revealed to WangTai that Yang Shiyu is investigating him, causing Yang Shiyu…”

Taking a deep breath, Jin Zhou barely controlled his emotions.

In fact, he couldn’t understand it at first. Obviously, WangTai didn’t suspect Yang Shiyu at the beginning, and the people assigned to track Yang Shiyu would leave at nine o’clock, which was clearly just ordinary caution.

Why did WangTai suddenly develop such a strong murderous intent and even prepare in advance to kill Yang Shiyu?

Jin Zhou could only think that there was a mole the whole time.

The police have always been very cautious in their actions, and the fact that WangTai was caught also indicated that the mole was not a police officer.

WangTai knew nothing early on, but at that time, he suddenly knew that Yang Shiyu was on to him. This again indicated that the mole and WangTai had no prior contact and it was an impromptu decision to inform WangTai of that matter.

Combining it with Liu Qian’s situation, Xie Yao’s name emerged in Jin Zhou’s mind.

—Xie Yao wanted to completely distract him, so he wouldn’t have the energy to deal with the serial killer case.

“But there’s one thing I don’t understand,” Jin Zhou asked in a deep voice, “Why didn’t you mention me to WangTai?”

According to reason, it would be a permanent solution to let WangTai deal with both of them together.

“Because,” Xie Yao smiled and said, “I wanted to replace Judge Yang.”

“Replace?” Jin Zhou furrowed his brow in confusion.

“It would be an achievement to have someone like you as my lover.”

Upon hearing that, Jin Zhou got goosebumps all over.

Xie Yao put away his eerie smile and continued, “By doing all this, it can only be concluded that the killer is likely me. But you won’t be able to deduce that just based on this. You wouldn’t come here today to ambush me, would you?”

“Of course not,” Jin Zhou frowned. “I measured the dimensions of the three crime scenes, and the chair on which the victim sat must be at the point where the diagonals of the living room intersect and form a right angle with the bedroom. Besides your OCD, who else would do such a thing?”

“Correct, you know me so well,” Xie Yao lightly applauded. “But what about my motive?”

“To punish disobedient children,” Jin Zhou said.

“Hmm,” Xie Yao seemed somewhat dissatisfied with that answer. He stroked his chin and said, “Am I really willing to ruin my promising future for a few useless children?”

“You are,” Jin Zhou said coldly, “because this is not your life at all.”

Or perhaps, one shouldn’t measure a madman with the mindset of a normal person.

“The first time I mentioned the first Building case to Yang Shiyu,” Jin Zhou continued, “I said the police couldn’t find the suspect. Yang Shiyu suggested paying attention to the children, as some kids could commit murder at the age of ten.”

“Oh?” Xie Yao’s eyes lit up with a pleased smile. “So you know about that.”

“That child is you, Xie Yao,” Jin Zhou looked at the person in front of him with a complex expression. “No, to be precise, you’re the juvenile offender who killed his father at the age of ten. Because you were too young, you didn’t receive any punishment. You killed your father because he abused your mother, thinking she would be grateful, but instead she abandoned you out of fear. A few years later, your mother accidentally fell into the water and drowned. I suppose you did that too, right?

Later, you met the real Xie Yao. He was an orphan with very simple social ties, and you two happened to look very similar, so you killed him and took his place.”

Upon hearing that, “Xie Yao” chuckled and said, “It’s not that simple.”

“What did I miss?” Jin Zhou frowned, asking.

“Let’s give you a 90 percent score for now.” “Xie Yao” showed a somewhat satisfied expression. “You’re right, Xie Yao and I do look very similar, but initially, I didn’t plan to kill him. After all, who would want to kill their loved one?”

Jin Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t thought of that point.

“I was with him for three years while he prepared for the civil service exam, but he failed. It disappointed me greatly. Seeing him gradually get depressed day by day, what could I do? I could only take his place and pass the civil service exam for him, so I could fulfill his wish.”

Jin Zhou couldn’t help but swallow his saliva. He had indeed underestimated the extent of this madman’s madness.

A juvenile offender couldn’t enter the judicial system. This person had to replace the real Xie Yao in order to start a new life.

“He had no family or friends. It has been three years since graduation, and even his classmates don’t contact him. No one would know if he died.” “Xie Yao” shook his head with regret. “It’s such a waste for this loser to have this identity. It’s better to give it to me. I can pass the civil service exam on his behalf and become an outstanding prosecutor.”

“You…” Jin Zhou pursed his lips. “Are you insane?”

“Being insane is quite good.” “Xie Yao” laughed nonchalantly. “Jin Zhou, do you think the existence of the law is to punish bad people? No, it’s to protect bad people. When I was ten, I wouldn’t receive any punishment, even if I’m insane.”

The serial killer case was finally solved, and the once fearful old neighborhood regained its peace.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Jin Zhou never saw any disobedient children on the streets again. Perhaps it was because parents warned their children that disobedient kids would be targeted by a killer, scaring them into obedience.

Few people knew that the reason the killer murdered the single mother was partly to punish the child and partly due to resentment towards his own mother.

But all of that was no longer important. How the case would be judged in the end was the headache of the court. Jin Zhou couldn’t even muster the interest to live his own life, let alone have the energy to focus on the case.

It didn’t take long for Luo Xueqing to wake up. She had been responsible for reporting on the serial killer case and had interacted with the “Xie Yao” who was investigating the case.

On that day, “Xie Yao” went to her house. She wouldn’t normally open the door for a stranger, but seeing that he was a prosecutor, she didn’t suspect anything.

On Valentine’s Day, Luo Xueqing received flowers from her son Luo Zihao, and the photos she posted on social media looked blissful.

At that moment, Jin Zhou also held a bouquet of roses—common and cliché.

Bringing roses to the grave, he was probably the only one in the entire cemetery.

Prior to this, Jin Zhou had never visited Yang Shiyu’s grave.

Although he had been on a break for over a month, he hadn’t gotten any better. But that day was Valentine’s Day, and he should at least come to spit out some saliva, right?

“You bastard, do you know how miserable my life has been?” Jin Zhou hung his head, looking at the man in the photo, struggling to hold back tears welling up in his eyes.

Jin Zhou angrily threw the roses in his hand in front of the tombstone. But at that moment, he suddenly noticed that there was already a flower there.

He looked at the stem of the flower held upright, it was a type of flower he hadn’t seen much before. The petals were red, and the dark green leaves had light green patterns.

Seeing the dewdrops on the petals, it seemed like it had just been placed there. Jin Zhou pondered for a long time but couldn’t think of anyone other than himself who would come to gift flowers to Yang Shiyu on Valentine’s Day.

Could it be that Yang Shiyu had a secret lover?

That couldn’t be possible. If it were true, Jin Zhou would definitely dig up that bastard’s ancestral grave.

Could it be just a random person with good intentions?

Who the hell comes to the cemetery on Valentine’s Day?

Jin Zhou  took the unknown red flower, heading to the cemetery office.

Coming up with an excuse to check the surveillance was not difficult, Jin Zhou casually made up an excuse, saying that he had lost something, and the security guard at the cemetery pulled up the surveillance footage near Yang Shiyu’s grave.

After rewinding two hours back, a suspicious figure holding a flower finally appeared on the screen.

The person wore a black baseball cap and a black suit. The way they walked was exactly the same as Jin Zhou remembered, but their face was not clearly visible under the hat.

Jin Zhou could hardly believe his eyes. He dialed the familiar number on his phone, but the voice prompt was the same as before— the number was out of service.

He looked at the unknown red flower in his hand and scanned it with an AR image recognition software. The result showed that the flower was a type of Rhododendron.

“Rhododendron?”

Jin Zhou furrowed his brow, looking at the inexplicable flower in his hand. What the hell did it mean?