Ye Sangsang looked at Wei Qingzheng, who was smoking a cigarette at her doorstep, with a mix of admiration and confusion in her heart.
As her current adversary, Wei Qingzheng was sharp to an almost infuriating degree.
There was no evidence pointing to her.
With so many suspects, why did he fixate on her?
She approached Wei Qingzheng and stood beside him. "Officer Wei, what brings you here? Is there a case nearby?"
They were barely acquaintances, so it would seem suspicious if she avoided him, wouldn’t it?
"There’s no case nearby. I just have some questions I’d like to ask you, Mr. Sun. Can you explain a few things for me?" Wei Qingzheng said, looking directly at Ye Sangsang.
Ye Sangsang scratched her head. "What’s the matter? If I can help, I will."
Her expression was natural, her demeanor calm.
Wei Qingzheng spoke up, tossing his cigarette aside. "While investigating a case recently, I came across some information about you and your wife. I have a few questions. You were a teacher—why did you resign and come to Jiang City to drive a taxi? And your wife, a nurse at a hospital, now working as a waitress—doesn’t that seem like a waste of her talents?"
He watched her closely, not missing a single change in her expression.
Ye Sangsang’s fingers twitched slightly before she sighed. "We didn’t want to, but the pay was too low. Being a teacher or a nurse might sound respectable, but the money just wasn’t enough. We’re still young, so we thought we’d try our luck in this big city."
Starting a business was not uncommon in the early 2000s.
She paused, then added with a bitter smile, "As for my wife, she had some issues with her boss. She ended up resigning."
This was the story she and Lin Shu had agreed upon. If Wei Qingzheng called the hospital, he’d hear similar things about Lin Shu.
There were other details too.
For example, Sun Bin and Lin Shu’s daughter. They hadn’t reported her missing. To the outside world, she was living with her grandparents in the countryside.
No one knew she was already dead.
When the river in their hometown flooded, their daughter would "accidentally" fall in and disappear.
The grandparents, who adored their granddaughter, would take care of everything.
After gathering this information, Ye Sangsang effortlessly pieced together the entire plan.
When she learned about it, she couldn’t help but admire the couple and the girl’s grandparents. In reality, few people would go to such lengths for someone who had passed away.
Planning something like this required immense courage.
Taking the step to kill someone required an extraordinary amount of love. Love that had fermented into hatred, driving them to do such things.
Many people talk about it, but only those who truly understand know how much courage, anger, and hatred it takes.
Ye Sangsang thought about this as she looked up at Wei Qingzheng. "We really had no choice but to leave our hometown and come here."
"Hmm…" Wei Qingzheng nodded.
At the same time, he knew the last trace of suspicion about this man had vanished.
The unique demeanor Sun Bin had, different from that of an ordinary taxi driver, was a result of his previous profession.
Thinking about this, Wei Qingzheng felt a wave of frustration.
The case was going nowhere.
Jiang City was hosting an investment event soon, and the city officials didn’t want anything to go wrong. The pressure had been passed down to his serious crimes unit.
His superiors had given him a strict deadline: catch the killer within seven days.
It was already the second day since Zhou Qiang’s death. On the surface, there was still time, but deep down, Wei Qingzheng had no confidence.
The uncertainty weighed heavily on him, which was why he had sought out Sun Bin.
Ye Sangsang looked at him. "Officer Wei, you seem troubled. I heard from one of my passengers that there was a murder at Xingyuan Residential Complex. They said the victim died horribly. Apparently, he had crossed someone."
"Don’t worry about it, Mr. Sun. I’ll be going now," Wei Qingzheng said hurriedly, getting into his car and driving off.
Ye Sangsang watched his retreating figure, wondering when he would realize something was amiss.
She felt a strange sense of anticipation.
She returned to her car and drove away.
Unbeknownst to her, Wei Qingzheng had stopped his car and was watching her intently.
"Zhao Sheng, send two colleagues Sun Bin hasn’t seen before to keep a close eye on him," Wei Qingzheng said in a low voice.
On the other end of the phone, Zhao Sheng replied, "Captain, you’re still fixated on him? We’ve already investigated Zhou Qiang’s social connections. The guy had a lot of enemies. I’m sure the killer is among them."
"Stop wasting time. Sun Bin is too perfect. I don’t trust him," Wei Qingzheng said firmly.
Zhao Sheng sighed and agreed to arrange the surveillance immediately.
Wei Qingzheng hung up and headed back to the crime scene.
He refused to believe the killer had left no evidence behind.
Meanwhile, Ye Sangsang was unaware of what was happening. She drove to the area near Jiang Jiansheng’s location.
Based on her previous encounter with Zhou Qiang, she knew that getting within about ten meters would trigger the game mission.
Sitting in her car, Ye Sangsang lit a cigarette.
She didn’t smoke—it was Sun Bin’s habit.
But it also helped mask the fact that she was deliberately waiting here.
To her surprise, Jiang Jiansheng approached her.
[What? Jiang Jiansheng is coming over?]
[Is he going to take a ride? But if he gets in the car, it’ll be harder for Sangsang to avoid suspicion if the police investigate.]
[By the way, Jiang Jiansheng looks quite refined.]
The live chat was buzzing with excitement, and Ye Sangsang also turned her attention to the man.
Jiang Jiansheng was different from Zhou Qiang and Wang Shun, who clearly looked like villains. He had a gentle, scholarly appearance, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, resembling a refined businessman.
In reality, however, he was a cunning fraudster who had made his fortune in Lin City through scams.
Many wealthy people in Lin City had fallen victim to his schemes.
According to information she had obtained through special channels, Jiang Jiansheng had grown bored and felt Lin City no longer posed a challenge. With many of the city’s wealthy willing to pay to have him killed, he had left with the other three men for Jiang City.
Ye Sangsang watched as the man approached, her mind racing with thoughts, but her expression remained appropriately puzzled. "Need a ride, sir?"
She made a show of stubbing out her cigarette, preparing to let the passenger in.
To anyone watching, it would seem like a chance encounter.
While multitasking, she checked the game mission that had been triggered.
Good. The game was going as she hoped—first the hardship, then the reward.
The best things were saved for last.
Feeling pleased, she looked at Jiang Jiansheng with a gentle gaze.
"Hey, buddy, mind lending me a lighter? I forgot mine at home," Jiang Jiansheng said with a light chuckle.
Ye Sangsang nodded, glancing at the lighter and subtly checking the street surveillance cameras. She handed it to him. "Keep it. I’ve got a few spares."
"Much obliged," Jiang Jiansheng said, accepting the lighter with a grateful smile.
Ye Sangsang gave him a nod and watched him leave. She took her time finishing her cigarette before driving off.
After picking up another passenger, she began her day of work.
Everything seemed calm, as the passage of time suggested.
Killing Jiang Jiansheng would be difficult, mainly due to an old problem: Ye Sangsang’s physical strength.
With a stamina level of only 3, breaking an adult man’s limbs was the hardest part of this murder.
Human bones were tougher than most people imagined.
As Ye Sangsang pondered this, the live chat was also discussing the game mission they had just seen.
[The mission is to quickly knock him out on the road tomorrow afternoon, break his legs, and make him crawl two kilometers. Make him think he’s escaped the devil, only to reappear and deliver the final blow. Breaking bones and ensuring he crawls two kilometers without being noticed—it’s not easy!]
[It’s definitely challenging, but I have a feeling Sangsang will figure it out.]
[Honestly, I just feel heartbroken. Sun Bin is giving them a taste of their own medicine, which means his daughter must have suffered the same torment from these monsters.]
At this point, the atmosphere in the live chat grew heavy.
If they hadn’t glimpsed the consent of that underage girl, they might have treated this as just a thrilling, albeit horrifying, game.
But knowing the truth, they couldn’t help but feel deep sorrow for the girl’s real-life suffering.
Although Sun Bin had avenged his daughter by killing all those who had harmed her, she was gone forever, vanished on that rainy night.
As they witnessed all this, there was no sense of satisfaction, only a growing anger deep within their hearts.
If possible, they wished desperately that all of this was just a lie.
Unaware of the atmosphere in the live stream, Ye Sangsang returned home, lost in thought. She rummaged through her room and found a sledgehammer.
There were also the anesthetic drugs Lin Shu had prepared in advance, along with new gloves, masks, and other items.
According to the case description provided by the game, Sun Bin had privately contacted people connected to the underground gambling den through a friend of a friend.
The informant, who knew about Jiang Jiansheng’s situation, sold his whereabouts to Sun Bin.
Sun Bin followed Jiang Jiansheng in his car, took him by surprise, quickly knocked him unconscious, and took him to an abandoned factory in the southern suburbs to carry out his plan.
Ye Sangsang looked at the items in her hands, her eyes shifting thoughtfully. She turned to Lin Shu, who was packing her bag, ready to head to work.
“I remember you’re off the day after tomorrow in the afternoon. I have a plan…” Ye Sangsang said, her voice trailing off as she leaned in to whisper the rest into Lin Shu’s ear. The live stream’s system was smart enough to censor this part, leaving the viewers in suspense.
As Ye Sangsang laid out her plan step by step, Lin Shu’s expression gradually changed. Her pupils contracted slightly, revealing a mix of surprise… and desire.
When Ye Sangsang finished explaining her plan, she wore a polite smile, her eyes devoid of any malice.
“…Is that okay?” Lin Shu hesitated for a moment before speaking, her voice strained.
Ye Sangsang’s expression turned complicated. “When there’s resentment in one’s heart, there needs to be an outlet for it,” she said.
Lin Shu didn’t respond, but she nodded solemnly before turning to leave.
Her steps, however, were noticeably lighter than before.
Ye Sangsang watched her retreating figure. Even though Lin Shu was just an NPC in this game, she inexplicably wanted to make her a little happier.
The plan wasn’t just a psychological blow to Jiang Jiansheng; it was also a way for Lin Shu to release her pent-up emotions.
Ye Sangsang thought of something, and her eyes filled with amusement.
Outside the game’s tasks, she was free to improvise.
