Crimson Instinct

*Xin Lei*

I frowned.

Liao Huifang said, "I don't know. Qiang just shuts himself whenever he is like that."

I typed. "Maybe he would have found out something? Can you try his phone again?"

Liao Huifang took out her phone and dialed his number.

Bai Li said, "Keep on speaker."

The number kept on ringing but to no avail. Nobody picked up.

Liao Huifang seemed a little anxious. "Why isn't he picking up!? Really Qiang is so…"

"Do you have his home number?"

"No…"

I sighed. I typed. "He will see your missed calls, too, but leave him a message to immediately call back just in case."

She nodded. "When should we leave? Are we going to Langfang?"

Bai Li said, "We got no choice. There is less probability for Chu Jie to be there. Even now more less, whether Fu Meili would be there or not, either. But that is the only lead we have. Liao Huifang, you keep on trying Qi Qiang's number."

"Yes."

"Let's leave for Langfang before the cops get alert and check on us."

---

Beijing Military Commission.

Rodey was locked up in a cell, hands behind him tied with the cuffs.

Two sergeants came, and one of them unlocked the cell.

"Come out and follow us."

Rodey sneered. "Heh."

The sergeants brought Rodey inside the interrogation room.

Lin Zihao and General Song were already present on their seats.

Rodey smirked, and he didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"Good evening, dear officers. Isn't it such a pleasant night?"

Lin Zihao narrowed his gaze. He really wished to tear that smirk apart from his face.

"It is indeed. After all, you finally lost to Bai Li, your arch-nemesis. The night is indeed, pleasant."

Rodey smiled. "It was an honor to lose from such a smart enemy like him. But this is just one time."

General Song silently stared at him. "You are saying as if you will walk free from the base."

Rodey raised an eyebrow at him. "Who knows? And why not? I am Rodey. I am free. I cannot be tied down anywhere for much longer."

General Song asked, "Spill everything you know. What is your gang? Who is your boss?"

"Hey, Hey, slow down. You ask too many questions, General. Are you scared that I would escape, and you won't get to ask me later on?"

Rodey was egging him on calmly with a wicked smile on his face.

General Song smiled. "Overconfidence is not too good, young man. This is the military. The army."

"And I will still walk away from the military. The army."

Lin Zihao said, "Enough. What did you do with the victims who disappeared?"

Getting confession out of Rodey was tight and they knew it, but if he didn't say anything, then they would have to think about another strategy to make him talk.

Lin Zihao already had one.

Rodey laughed. "Hmm…Who victims? I don't know what you are talking about."

"Are you saying you never kidnapped anyone?"

"No."

Lin Zihao raised his eyebrow. "So, did you order your men to do it for you?"

"No."

General Song growled. "We can make your life hell here, and you know that."

"And I am your precious witness, and you know that too. You, army officers, had to try so hard to find me. You wouldn't dare to cross your line too much. If anything happened to me, then your last link to know the truth will be gone too." He sighed, "Life is tough, huh?"

Lin Zihao said, "It's going to be a hell tougher for you. You are involved in Fu Meili's disappearance and Liao Chuntao's murder, and all those other victims who had mysteriously disappeared. Do you think you can ever walk free?"

Rodey leaned on the chair and smirked. "Well, then, why don't you prove it"?

"For starters, Gen Gen kidnapped Xin Nianzu, and when he escaped, you took Rong Zhengsheng on gunpoint and attacked the apartment with your men where he hid. We caught you red-handed aiming your guns at them, and Xin Nianzu and Rong Zhengsheng will give the testimony. The people at the area near the phone booth saw you threatening Rong Zhengsheng. They are also witnesses."

Rodey said nothing but curved his lips into a smirk. General Song carefully scrutinized him.

"Xin Nianzu is Fu Ting's lawyer, and your gang didn't want him to fight his case and let him be free, which means that you know that Fu Ting is innocent. He didn't kidnap Fu Meili."

Lin Zihao continued.

"Don't even bother to deny that you know nothing about Gen Gen. He kidnapped Xin Nianzu, but you took the matter in your hands after his death to catch Xin Nianzu. So you cannot deny your connection to him. You are also seen in a bar meeting Gen Gen."

Rodey smiled. "But then somebody else cannot deny his connection to Gen Gen, either."

But Rodey couldn't say anything else. Bai Li killed Gen Gen's gang, but he killed Gen Gen himself.

That point was a standstill.

If he confidently said that Bai Li killed Gen Gen's gang, then it meant that he was an eyewitness to the crime. He was present in the base. So there was a possibility that Rodey killed Gen Gen.

The vice versa was also correct. If Bai Li gave a statement that Rodey killed Gen Gen, then he would be implicated in killing the rest of his gang.

Rodey was exactly using it to his advantage.

If he would go to jail, then so would Bai Li.

Lin Zihao smiled. "You don't need to worry about that."

So Bai Li was pretty much secured, Rodey thought.

"Heh! Try whatever you want, but you are not going to get anything from me."

Lin Zihao shrugged.

"We have enough witnesses to put you behind bars. That will give us enough time to prove your hand in the other crimes as well as for your confession. General Song. Let's keep him hungry and thirsty till he opens his mouth."

Rodey laughed. "That is your solution? Do you think that is going to work?"

Lin Zihao laughed. "You think that is easy? You might feel nothing for a day. But soon, you feel thirsty. A human can stay without food for much longer than he can stay without water. In no time, you will be begging for it. The more your body gets dehydrated, the more you will desperately want to quench your thirst. Just two days without food and water, and you will already see stars in front of your eyes."

Rodey quietly stared at him.

Lin Zihao shrugged. "Even if you steel your mind not to succumb to it, that won't work for much longer either. You will give up. Food and water is the most basic need of our body, after all."

General Song asked, "Do you still not want to confess?"

Rodey narrowed his eyes at him. He snorted. "Do whatever you want."

They took Rodey away after the interrogation was over.

General Song said, "Good job in cornering him, Major Lin Zihao. Rodey might not show it, but he is definitely shaken from inside."

"Thank you, General."

"Have you thought about how to save Bai Li?"

"Gen Gen kidnapped Xin Lei as leverage to force Xin Nianzu from leaving the case. But by that time, Xin Nianzu already escaped unknown to them. Killing them was self-defense. If Bai Li didn't kill them, then they would have killed Xin Lei."

He looked at him in silence. "That is your story?"

"That is the truth."

"Call me if he confesses."

"Yes, General."

---

*Xin Lei*

Our car was already broken by those goons when we had met Liao Huifang. So we had no choice but to take public transport.

But we could relax since the cops were not chasing after us anymore as criminals. So we didn't need to hide or wear disguises.

I looked out the window, watching the road lit by the street lights. I couldn't help but wonder where Cocoa and Chu Jie would be.

Were they safe? Did that woman hurt them?

Cocoa was a brave dog, but fighting against bullets was different. You are at a loss when you become a target that could be shot from long distance.

And Chu Jie. He was just a teenager.

What effect would everything have on his mind?

The violence, the killings and bloodshed, and the heartbreak.

For him, he really liked that woman as OFluffy. I didn't want him to lose his trust in love because she fooled him. I didn't want him to believe that love meant sadness, pain, and betrayal.

I sighed.

"You are thinking about Chu Jie and Cocoa, right?"

Bai Li asked from my side. Liao Huifang sat in front of us.

I leaned and rested my head on his shoulder. I tapped twice on his hand.

I felt him softly kissing my hair. "They will be fine."

I hoped so too. I hoped we don't be late.

Around thirty-five minutes later, we reached LangFang.

We got down at our stop.

Liao Huifang asked, "Will Natural Park be open at this hour?"

That was a valid question. The security won't let us in.

Bai Li said, "After the cops, we don't want anybody else chasing after us. So it's better if we make some excuse for the guards to let us in as an emergency."

I typed. "Maybe we visited during the day and lost something important."

"Perfect. Let's go."