I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 255: Chapter 253: Who Are You! Why Won’t You Say It

The car sped through the pitch-black night.

Then the scene suddenly shifted, and they were in a forest.

She stared at the dark woods, not wanting to get out of the car, but the woman who had been driving dragged her out.

Once he was out, he yelled, "Brother Lu! Brother Lu! I won’t say a thing! I told you, I’ll go with you, and they won’t catch me. Even if I get caught, I’ll keep my mouth shut. You’re the one who trained me! I’m your man, you know how I am. Brother Lu, Brother Lu, don’t kill me."

"Trying to play the sentiment card with me? Have you forgotten what I used to do?" Lu Xian said from inside the car, not even deigning to look at him. "I’ve abandoned brothers who went through hell and back with me for years. What makes you think you’re so special? You can say all the right things now, but no matter where I take you, you’ll still be thinking about your wife and kids. You’ll always try to sneak back. I know you all too well."

"Rather than keep a ticking time bomb like you around, it’s better to deal with you early. It’ll give me peace of mind. I’ve been good enough to you, coming all the way to Jinghai to see you off personally."

"Brother Lu, Brother Lu, if you kill me, there’ll be no one in charge in Jinghai. You’ve used me for so many years, you know I’m efficient and never screw up. If you kill me, you’ll have to find someone new for Jinghai."

"The world keeps spinning no matter who’s gone. Without you, someone better will come along," Lu Xian said. "I came all this way myself. You should understand there’s no turning back. Mia, do it."

Hearing this, he turned and ran deep into the woods.

The woman who had been driving quickly gave chase.

He didn’t know what was happening behind him, only that the footsteps were getting closer and closer. He ran for his life.

Then, suddenly, something tightened around his neck, and he was dragged to the ground.

His hands clawed at the rope around his neck as he was dragged backward for a long distance. The feeling of suffocation grew stronger.

He could feel the rope behind his neck being tied into a knot. Then he was hoisted up, hanging from a tree, his breath failing bit by bit.

Before losing consciousness, he saw the license plate of the car he’d arrived in. Another car was also parked by the woods. He saw Yuan Man being led out of it.

Then the scene changed again, and her perspective shifted.

It was the same scene: the woods, Lu Xian, the female driver, and the two cars by the forest. But now there was another man.

Hanging from a tree, her eyes bloodshot, she saw Feng Ruihao dangling from another tree across from her just before she lost consciousness.

A small sound escaped her throat, and then she was pulled out of the vision.

She hadn’t seen the license plate of the other car; it was parked sideways, so she couldn’t see it.

She also hadn’t seen the other man’s face, only the back of his head.

"I didn’t see his face, but I feel like his back looked a lot like the person we saw on the hospital surveillance footage today."

"Will Lu Xian leave tonight?" Brother Zheng suddenly asked.

"It’s possible," Su Miaoyi said. "He came to deal with Feng Ruihao. If there’s nothing else, he’ll likely leave overnight."

As he spoke, Brother Zheng let out a sudden, scornful laugh. "He’s ruthless enough to kill a brother who went through hell and back with him, yet he has the nerve to call him that! And you..."

Brother Zheng abruptly turned to Su Miaoyi. "Who are you?"

Su Miaoyi looked at him.

Brother Zheng stood up and walked toward her.

Zhuang Yanzheng grabbed his arm.

Brother Zheng suddenly shook him off and walked right up to Su Miaoyi. "Who are you?"

Su Miaoyi looked at the bloodshot whites of his eyes.

Compared to his emotional turmoil, her expression was far too calm.

’After all, I have no memories, and no feelings about this have surfaced.’

"There’s something strange about you. Who are you? You don’t just look like her—you *are* her, aren’t you! You’re back, so why didn’t you say anything? Why?" he finished, then forcefully shouted a name, "Qin Leyan."

Outside, a sudden clap of dry thunder echoed as lightning tore a gash in the night sky.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Lu Zhishen simultaneously clapped their hands over his mouth, stopping him from saying anything more.

The lightning seemed to come alive, coiling above the building, accompanied by a deafening ROAR.

Yan Cheng looked out the window.

Su Miaoyi looked at them, then at the lightning outside.

Brother Zheng glared at Zhuang Yanzheng and Lu Zhishen, his muffled voice protesting, "Mmmph! Mmmph! What are you doing?!"

"Say what needs to be said, and keep your mouth shut about the rest," Zhuang Yanzheng said with a frown. "There’s so much lightning outside, but it’s not raining. Don’t you think something’s wrong?!"

Brother Zheng fell silent.

Lu Zhishen and Zhuang Yanzheng let him go.

"You all knew, didn’t you." Brother Zheng looked at Zhuang Yanzheng. "You knew."

Then he looked at Yan Cheng. "You knew too."

Then at Lu Zhishen. "Even you knew."

Then at Chu Xingrou. "Even she must have known!"

Just then, Chu Xingrou suddenly exclaimed, "Found it! Found it!"

In an instant, the others were by Chu Xingrou’s side as if they had teleported.

All questions about who was who, who had returned, and who knew what were immediately pushed aside.

They stared at the map on Chu Xingrou’s phone.

The folding phone was opened up, revealing a large, clear map.

"Based on the time Feng Ruihao went missing and the current time, I estimated a travel time and distance for the vehicle. Using that and the location where he disappeared, I searched a few places. Then, based on what Sister Miaomiao said about the mountain, maple trees, and poplar trees, I’ve pinpointed the location here."

Zhuang Yanzheng ordered, "Yan Cheng, Brother Zheng, you two take some men to this location. Take plenty of people, and be careful."

"Alright."

Yan Cheng and Brother Zheng left.

Qi Feng returned as well. "Captain Zhuang, we traced the license plate. It’s a fake plate, but we’re tracking its route using surveillance footage. Also, we found a basement at Feng Ruihao’s building materials factory."

The factory had been sealed off after Feng Ruihao disappeared.

People were already there, conducting a thorough search.

"What was it used for?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"We heard it was built to look like a study. A large amount of cash was found inside." Qi Feng showed them photos taken at the scene. "Inside all four walls, under the floor tiles... it’s all money."

"This is the cash under the floor tiles. After they lifted the tiles, they measured the depth of the cash. It’s about fifty centimeters thick," Qi Feng said. "The entire floor was full of it, an area of over thirty square meters."

"The four walls, too. After prying them open, they were also full of cash."

"No wonder when Feng Ruihao’s wife called him, she heard him taking a few stacks of cash with him every time. So the money wasn’t in his bank account; he had it all, and it was all in cash," Su Miaoyi said. "Just looking at this... how much money is that? And his wife knew nothing about it?"

"Probably not."

...