Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 68: Again

“Have you already sorted out the crime scene?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, as he always did things with great care and attention to detail, ensuring everything was flawless before leaving the mansion. Cheng Zhenqing reached into his pocket and took out a gun, placing it on the table. “Here, take this; keep it safe.”

On the table was a Type-92 pistol. He Wei picked it up and examined it for a moment, asking, “Is this the one from the basement?”

“Yeah, I retrieved it. You’ll need extra guns for the house search tomorrow, right?”

He Wei tightened his grip on the gun, his gaze toward Cheng Zhenqing turning even colder. “Are you saying Cheng Zesheng’s death has nothing to do with you? The murder weapon is right here in your possession.”

“…Is it because it’s in my possession that I’m the one who did it?”

“How do you explain this gun, then? Its ballistics match the bullets found in the basement, as well as the ones recovered from Cheng Zesheng’s chest.”

“I couldn’t explain the previous times, and this time, I have no explanation either.” Cheng Zhenqing shrugged, seemingly indifferent. “Think whatever you want. Let’s get things organized; we still have work to do.”

He Wei asked him what he was doing, and he mentioned that he had to visit the pianist’s house. He took out a necklace from his pocket and waved it in front of He Wei. “I forgot to place this there.”

He Wei looked at the gun, put it in his pocket, and together with Cheng Zhenqing, they headed to the luxurious villa where the pianist lived under the cover of darkness. The house was pitch black inside, as all the servants had been called in for questioning due to Cheng Zesheng’s death, and his mother was still at the police station. No one would come here until tomorrow morning, when Chong Zhen would come to collect evidence.

Cheng Zhenqing had all the access keys and passwords for Cheng Zesheng’s house, and his words were true. He had indeed taken the blame for He Wei when giving his statement. The two of them entered the house stealthily, and Cheng Zhenqing, knowing the layout well, found the sofa and stuffed the necklace into the crevice. He Wei went upstairs to Cheng Zesheng’s bedroom, wearing gloves, and took down the notebook used for composing songs.

He turned on a flashlight and flipped to the latest page, where he indeed found an unfinished musical score. Cheng Zhenqing leaned in and asked, “Have you deciphered this musical score?”

He Wei shook his head, glancing at him. “If you know something, just say it.”

Cheng Zhenqing didn’t respond and patted He Wei on the shoulder. “You told me this yourself; don’t be in a hurry. You’ll figure it out soon.”

He Wei placed a leaf he had picked up from a vase on the table onto that page of the musical score and placed it in a drawer.

Leaving the villa, Cheng Zhenqing said again, “Don’t forget your own house. If I recall correctly, you’re moving out in the next couple of days, right? Better pack your things.”

“I remember. No need for reminders.”

“…” Cheng Zhenqing was speechless. “Your attitude is really cold. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re my brother-in-law, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

Suddenly, his collar was grabbed, and He Wei looked at him coldly. “I haven’t figured out whether Cheng Zesheng’s death has absolutely nothing to do with you. If you weren’t his brother, I wouldn’t be standing here so peacefully with you.”

“Fine, fine, you can think whatever you want. I’ll wait for your temper to cool down before saying more.” Cheng Zhenqing didn’t argue with him; he was used to it. He Wei was usually cold and composed, and not much could make him angry. But in the case of Cheng Zesheng’s death, his emotions were clearly fluctuating. To describe it in Cheng Zhenqing’s words, He Wei simply valued Cheng Zesheng too much.

At midnight, He Wei returned to Lian Jingyuan’s home. He opened the door quietly, trying not to make any noise. Stephen jumped down from the windowsill and barked at him.

“Shh,” He Wei put his index finger to his lips. “It’s late now; don’t wake up your dad.”

Unfortunately, he spoke too late. Lian Jingyuan’s bedroom door opened, and he walked out, wearing a coat, giving He Wei a warm smile. “You’re back.”

“Yeah,” He Wei changed his shoes and entered, noticing that Lian Jingyuan didn’t seem like he had just woken up from sleep. “You’re still not asleep at this hour?”

“I was reading.” Lian Jingyuan didn’t finish his sentence; reading was just a way to pass the time. In truth, he was more concerned about He Wei’s safety.

They had been good friends for many years, and Lian Jingyuan knew exactly what was on He Wei’s mind. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I understand my current situation and will be careful.”

Lian Jingyuan nodded. Indeed, there was no need to worry too much about someone like He Wei. Now that he was back, Lian Jingyuan could finally go to sleep in peace. However, before he could do so, He Wei stopped him. “Can I borrow your computer for a bit?”

Lian Jingyuan gestured towards the study, letting him use it as he pleased.

He Wei went to the study, turned on the computer, and then went back to his room to fetch Cheng Zesheng’s phone. After sitting down, he looked at the computer’s screen, which required a password. He thought about asking Lian Jingyuan, but the lights in Lian Jingyuan’s room were already off, and He Wei didn’t want to disturb him. So, he sat back down, staring at the keyboard.

On the numeric keypad, the keycaps for the numbers “4,” “2,” “1,” and “0” were smooth and reflective, indicating that these four numbers were frequently used. When setting a password with these four numbers, the most common choice was a birthday. He Wei quickly came up with several combinations in his mind. When he came across “0124,” he paused for a moment and instinctively entered it.

The user’s login was unlocked.

He Wei stared at the numeric keypad, somewhat puzzled by its significance. January 24th was his own birthday, and Lian Jingyuan had used his birthday as the power-on password?

The reason he didn’t suspect it had anything to do with He Lu was that He Lu’s birthday was on the 25th. He Wei had been born around 11 p.m. that night, while He Lu was born the following morning at 6 a.m., which was why he was named “Lu.” Despite being twins, their birthdates were one day apart on their birth certificates.

After pondering for half a minute, He Wei put this matter aside for the time being. Given his relationship with Lian Jingyuan, it was better to directly ask than to guess randomly. He connected Cheng Zesheng’s phone to the computer using a data cable and found a USB drive from the desk drawer. He copied the segment of the piano composition stored on the phone onto the USB drive.

Once the phone was connected, the photo gallery appeared, displaying crime scene photos at the beginning, similar to those on his own phone. When he opened it, he saw gruesome images of bodies and various pieces of evidence. As he scrolled further, he noticed that the recent photos had changed, focusing on individuals, with one person as the main subject—He Wei himself.

There were photos of him leaning against a railing while lighting a cigarette, others of him sprawled lazily on a sofa bed in deep slumber, and a variety of expressions, each one capturing a different moment. He Wei found himself both familiar and unfamiliar when he looked at these pictures, unaware that he could appear so vivid and real through someone else’s lens.

The last photo showed him sleeping on his side with a bony hand resting against his cheek.

He Wei suppressed the welling of emotions and, after copying the piano composition onto the USB drive, turned off the computer. He sat there, staring at the dark screen.

In the study, he randomly picked up a notebook and tried to mimic Cheng Zesheng’s handwriting to transcribe the musical score. Unfortunately, his handwriting didn’t resemble Cheng Zesheng’s, and there were noticeable differences. He tended to connect the strokes when writing the number “5,” making it look like an “8.” This time, he deliberately separated them, but it still didn’t match Cheng Zesheng’s style, appearing somewhat awkward.

He Wei gazed at the musical score, recalling the hint Cheng Zhenqing had given earlier. “Many things aren’t as complicated as you think.” Did it mean that deciphering this musical score was actually quite simple and didn’t require applying the usual types of codes they were familiar with?

He tore off the completed musical score, turned to another page, and took a pen to approach it from a different perspective. This kind of musical notation, with characteristic dots and dashes, was typically associated with Morse code. However, using a direct numeric code decryption method, the results from the alphabet didn’t make any sense, forming a string of letters that couldn’t be pieced together.

What if… one of the dashes or hyphens didn’t need to be added but instead represented a single digit when connected with the number?

He Wei tried leaving the dashes unadded, but quickly ruled out this set of numbers because 65 exceeded the 26 letters of the alphabet by too much. Normally, numeric codes wouldn’t select numbers requiring more than doubling.

What if it was the hyphen that didn’t need to be added?

8, 5, 23, 5, 12, 11, 21.

H, E, W, E, L, K, U.

“Snap!” He Wei’s pen dropped onto the table with a crisp sound.

He closed his eyes, pushing back the sour feeling that had welled up in his eyes, and picked up the musical score again. His fingertips trembled slightly as he finally understood the meaning behind it.

He Wei clenched the sheet of paper tightly, biting his lower lip.

It’s not too late; I still have a chance to save you.

———

Before dawn, He Wei, wearing a hat and a mask, returned to Future Domain 404. He spent two hours erasing all traces of his recent activities, packing his belongings into a large bag, and taking everything with him to be destroyed.

He Wei stood on a chair and inserted the USB drive behind the quartz clock. He then used a mobile app to set the alarm music to play at 12 o’clock. Leaving Future Domain 404, the first rays of dawn were breaking through, and He Wei pulled down his mask, taking in the fresh morning air. Today, he had to make a trip to the city police department before returning home, and time was running out.

The old butler hadn’t expected the young master to come back today, so He Wei told him to go about his business and not worry about him. He was only here to pick up some clothes.

Pushing open the bedroom door, he noticed that the room retained the same appearance as he remembered from childhood to adulthood. Although He Wei didn’t live at home, Ye Lanlan had kept his room as it was, making it convenient for her son to stay over when he came. Unfortunately, this simple thought had become a luxury for He Wei since he transferred to the city police department. His work was so demanding that he didn’t even have time to come home for meals, let alone stay over.

He Wei opened the closet, specifically selecting two sets of old uniforms he used to wear. This was the primary reason for his return today; he was about to take a significant risk by visiting the city bureau, and he couldn’t afford to be identified. He also packed a few shirts, trousers, and two pairs of sneakers he had worn before. When he closed the door, his small bag was already filled.

“Why do you have time to come back today?” Ye Lanlan asked as she unexpectedly appeared in the doorway, smiling gently and gracefully.

“Just getting a few clothes,” He Wei replied, standing up with the bag in hand. “Mom, why aren’t you at the company?”

“I haven’t been feeling well these past couple of days, so I’m working from home,” Ye Lanlan said, walking up to He Wei. She noticed he was dressed all in black and remarked, “Look at you, always wearing black and white. You’re still young; you make yourself look old.”

He Wei chuckled and gave her a one-armed hug, patting her on the back. “You still don’t understand me after all these years. I’ve gotten used to it.”

“When you were a child, you didn’t dress like this. Back then, you used to cry a lot and like wearing colorful little clothes. Later on, you stopped crying and dressed like a piano keyboard.”

He Wei couldn’t help but laugh at her words, and with a single hand, he embraced her. Then he bid his mother farewell, telling her that he had work at the station and promising to come back for dinner next time.

As he walked down the stairs, Ye Lanlan held onto his arm and accompanied him, saying playfully, “You should come back more often. When you’re not here, I’m so lonely all by myself. Lately, A-Lu is abroad again, and with your busy work, I don’t even have anyone to visit me when I’m sick…”

He Wei suddenly stopped in his tracks. “He Lu is abroad?”

“Yeah, he called me yesterday and said he wouldn’t be back for ten days or two weeks. He told me to drink hot water and take care of myself. Honestly, that boy has no heart.”

He Wei fell into deep thought, and Ye Lanlan, noticing his silence, asked softly, “What’s the matter, A-Wei?”

“It’s nothing,” He Wei replied, his lips curling up. After saying his goodbyes to his mother, he left.

———

Around ten o’clock, He Wei hurried to the city bureau. He entered through the parking lot gate and saw the Jeep that had been following him for years. He looked up just in time to see himself descending the steps at a brisk pace. He was dressed in a blue uniform shirt with a black coat hanging over his arm, heading in this direction.

He Wei quickly hid behind the Jeep, waiting until the person had entered their car. Then he crouched low and swiftly moved behind another vehicle. The fleeting figure had caught the attention of He Wei inside the car, who raised his head to survey the area. He spotted the bird on the opposite side of the railing and gave a smile before driving away.

He Wei let out a sigh of relief, watching the Jeep drive away. He removed his mask and put it in his pocket, taking off his coat and holding it in his hand. He tried to maintain a relaxed expression as he entered the city police department.

A colleague carrying documents saw He Wei and found it odd, saying, “Hey, Captain He, didn’t you just leave? Why are you back again?”

“I came back to get something,” He replied, and walked into the office, heading straight for Ke Bo. “Is the confession of Li Chenggui, the one we arrested, all recorded?”

“It’s all recorded,” Ke Bo replied. “He confessed quite readily.”

“Let me see the transcript.”

Ke Bo found the transcript and handed it to He Wei. As he skimmed through it, he noticed that Li Chenggui had confessed to the entire process of his crimes but had never mentioned anything about him and Cheng Zesheng.

Could it be that his crimes were not influenced by him and were not part of this loop?

He Wei thought for a moment and asked someone to bring Li Chenggui in. He had a few more questions to ask.

Ke Bo was puzzled. He didn’t understand why there was more to investigate in this case, but he picked up his notepad and prepared to accompany He Wei to make a record. However, He Wei told him it wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t a formal interrogation; he just wanted to ask a few questions on his own.

Li Chenggui was dressed in an official government uniform, his hands cuffed together. He was alone in the room with He Wei, and he smiled, saying, “Officer He, what can I help you with?”

He Wei lowered his voice and asked, “You should know what I want to ask. What can you tell me about your modus operandi?”

Li Chenggui maintained his smile. “I thanked you when I was arrested, Officer He. You might not have noticed.”

He Wei’s heart sank. As expected, this was just another link in the loop. His expression became serious as he asked, “Why didn’t you say anything during the interrogation?”

“There’s no particular reason. I just felt that this was my own business. I’ve taken my revenge, and there’s no need to involve others,” Li Chenggui shrugged. “I just had a feeling of bad luck. I didn’t hear everything and thought it was just two customers casually chatting about solving cases. I didn’t expect it to be a case you had previously handled.”

He Wei cleared his throat and said, “Well, focus on your rehabilitation.”

After leaving the city police department, He Wei’s thoughts became clearer. He reflected on what had happened earlier and suddenly realized that there was more and more he needed to do.