Chapter 244

Gu Changzheng watched him in silence, knowing this was the moment to reveal the truth behind why he had become so cruel and bloodthirsty. Fang Yuan took a breath and said, “That old witch, seeing I was already working, actually—actually demanded I serve her for another ten years! If I refused, she threatened to expose our relationship online! She said she could destroy me! I knew she wasn’t lying—she held too many things that could utterly ruin me!”

“What were those things?” Gu Changzheng guessed they might be videos of him with Zhou Hui. Fang Yuan snorted: “I destroyed them! Now that I’ve killed her, why would I let those things remain?”

“Does this relate to the deaths of Xia Fei and the others?” Gu Changzheng pressed.

“Hehehehe! Commander Gu is indeed clever—anyone who’s seen those things must die!” Fang Yuan growled.

Gu Changzheng drew in a sharp breath. Though he had been speculating about Fang Yuan’s motive, he never imagined it was truly for this reason!

“What? Does Commander Gu think I’m overreacting? I gave up so much, endured countless humiliations to achieve what I have today—how could I allow anyone to destroy it?”

“What about Zhang Shaodong? Why did he join you in killing?”

Fang Yuan’s face froze visibly. Then he sighed: “Hehe! Xiaodong didn’t kill anyone—these people were all killed by me!”

“Is that so?” Gu Changzheng abandoned his usual calm demeanor, his voice sharp: “You’re lying! You’re trying to protect Zhang Shaodong—but the truth is: Zhang Shaodong planned this serial killing spree, and you’re merely his instrument!”

Fang Yuan suddenly lifted his head to glance at Gu Changzheng, then quickly looked away—but the shock in his eyes did not escape Gu Changzheng’s notice!

“We’ve investigated thoroughly. The man who tracked and surveilled Xia Fei and Chen Mengyao was Zhang Shaodong. The man who injured Luo Fei at the orphanage that day was him, correct? Both you and he wore hoodies to confuse people—you even copied Zhang Shaodong by wearing a white mask, because his face was badly scarred from burns. That night at the orphanage, you were both there, weren’t you? You killed Zhou Hui that night because you feared she would expose you both! And in the records room, you didn’t just want to destroy some files—you wanted to take the things Zhou Hui had saved, didn’t you?”

(Before arresting Fang Yuan, police had already drawn a suspect sketch based on eyewitness accounts from Xia Fei’s crime scene, taxi drivers, Luo Fei, and the orphanage child Jia—depicting a suspect in a gray hoodie, and released it to the public for tips.)

(During this time, a young man provided a lead: on September 26, he had seen such a man in a gray hoodie on Bus 13, and he noted a distinctive trait—the man carried a strong medicinal herbal scent. When shown photos of the victims, he immediately recognized Chen Mengyao from that day’s bus ride.)

“Hehe, hehehe!” Fang Yuan laughed. “Your reasoning is brilliant—but it’s still just reasoning. You have no evidence. The cigarette butt at the crime scene bore my saliva; the scalpels used to dissect those bitches were mine—this alone proves I killed them. No matter how brilliant your theory, what good is it?”

Gu Changzheng stared fixedly at him: “Do you really want to die?”

Fang Yuan replied coolly: “I’m already doomed—what’s there to fear?” His voice was light, yet carried an unyielding resolve.

Gu Changzheng studied him deeply, as if trying to read his true thoughts in his eyes.

This matter could not possibly be as simple as Fang Yuan claimed! Zhang Shaodong had yet to show his face—was Fang Yuan shielding him?

“Ah!” Gu Changzheng suddenly cried out. Gao Ye jumped, startled, staring at him helplessly.

Gu Changzheng’s face showed urgent alarm: “Gao Ye, take him back to the station!”

He hurried out of the interrogation room, leaving Gao Ye bewildered and Fang Yuan with a complex expression.

———

Jiangjin Avenue, a newly expanded road along the river in Jiangdong District, was once a rural-urban fringe connecting Zizhen’s northwest to nearby towns—but now it had developed into a proper district.

There stood a large international chain supermarket here—Mei Delong.

At 10:15 p.m., Lin Xiaoxue, a section chief, finished her work, bid farewell to her colleagues, and headed to the employee parking lot to retrieve her electric bike. Her rented apartment was in Huzhai Community, about three kilometers away—a residential area dominated by self-built homes.

Since the serial killer “Hoodie” had been captured by Team Leader Gu Changzheng after a month of chaos, investigators Ye Lin and Xiao Sun, assigned to protect Lin Xiaoxue, had finally relaxed—but without official orders, they continued silently guarding her.

Seeing Lin Xiaoxue had finished work and was about to head home, they prepared to call their superior to ask whether they could end her protection. But just as they dialed, the line was busy.

Unbeknownst to them, Gu Changzheng was calling them at that exact moment—he had dialed the very phone they were trying to reach.

The delay lasted nearly a minute. Finally, Gu Changzheng’s call came through. They heard him warn that Lin Xiaoxue might be in danger and to stay alert. Only then did they realize Lin Xiaoxue, who had just been retrieving her bike, was gone.

They dared not conceal the situation and immediately reported it to Gu Changzheng. Xiao Sun thought Lin Xiaoxue might have ridden off during their call—after all, electric bikes start silently, and they might have missed it.

Ye Lin agreed. They decided she must be just ahead, since they knew her route well—they’d catch up immediately and ensure her safety!

But these two confident investigators were about to meet their match today.

While they were distracted by calling Gu Changzheng, Lin Xiaoxue received a call.

From her expression, the caller was someone she knew well—she smiled, chatted cheerfully, then hung up and rode off on her bike.

But she didn’t head toward her home—she went in the exact opposite direction…

When Ye and Sun finally reached Lin Xiaoxue’s residence and found no trace of her, panic set in. They no longer hesitated—they dialed her number. The phone rang with the familiar voice: “The number you dialed is currently unreachable…”

Cold sweat trickled down their backs. Had something happened again?