At that moment, Fang Rui sensed someone approaching from behind. He pretended to continue inspecting the tire, and when the person got close, Fang Rui grabbed their hand and twisted, executing a shoulder throw.
The person landed heavily on the ground, struggling to get up. Fang Rui pinned him down, took out handcuffs from his waist, and cuffed him.
"It's you?" Fang Rui finally recognized the attacker as Zhou Junwei. "We were just about to arrest you, but I didn't expect you to walk right into our trap."
Mu Mian noticed the commotion and got out of the car, then she saw another man lunging at Fang Rui from behind.
Fang Rui recognized him as Zhang Ming. Fang Rui and Zhang Ming engaged in close combat, but Zhang Ming was no match for Fang Rui. He was quickly kicked to the ground. Fang Rui grabbed Zhang Ming's collar, intending to handcuff him together with Zhou Junwei.
"Fang Rui, watch out!"
Fang Rui suddenly felt something pierce his thigh, and an icy liquid entered his veins. His whole body became paralyzed, and he quickly lost consciousness.
"Junwei, are you alright?" Zhang Ming found the handcuff key in Fang Rui's pocket and unlocked the cuffs on Zhou Junwei's wrists. "He's quite a fighter, good thing we prepared the tranquilizer. It's meant for animals, very potent. He won't wake up for a while."
An hour earlier, they had used the same tranquilizer to take down the police officer who was tailing them.
"Why couldn't you beat him? Now we have to wait for him to wake up. I don't know if we have enough time."
Mu Mian watched helplessly as Fang Rui collapsed. She couldn't do anything. But she also couldn't run away - if she did, they would surely kill Fang Rui. Besides, she wouldn't be able to escape anyway.
It had been raining for the past few days, leaving the ground covered with damp soil. Mu Mian secretly used her toe to write a few letters in the dirt. She also quietly dropped the bone pendant her sister had given her on the ground.
Zhou Junwei felt like his internal organs had been shattered. It took him a while to recover. He looked at Mu Mian and said to Zhang Ming, "Zhang Ming, grab that girl. Don't let her run away."
"She won't run. The person she loves is still here," Zhang Ming's voice was low. "She won't leave him behind."
Zhang Ming walked up to Fang Rui, glaring at him viciously. He raised his foot, intending to break Fang Rui's ribs to avenge Zhou Junwei.
"You can't hurt Fang Rui. You want us to participate in that couple experiment, don't you?" Mu Mian stepped forward. "If Fang Rui is injured now, he definitely won't be able to cooperate with your experiment. The police are already onto you, you don't have much time left to conduct this experiment."
Zhang Ming lowered his foot. He looked at Mu Mian, seeing panic in her eyes. He thought Mu Mian must really love Officer Fang.
Zhou Junwei said, "Do you think it's an experiment? I prefer to call it a game."
"Your game is very creative," Mu Mian complimented.
"Do you want to play my game? I want to see what love is like for someone with autism," Zhou Junwei's lips twisted into a sinister smile. "I've seen many people's love stories, but none were interesting. I hope you won't disappoint me."
Zhou Junwei had seen Mu Mian at school before. She was Professor Shen's sister, an autistic person with a brain defect like him. He felt it was unfair. Why could Mu Mian have love?
"I don't have love yet."
"You don't? Then you'll be killed immediately!" Zhou Junwei said ominously. Behind him, Zhang Ming pulled out a sharp knife, seemingly ready to finish off Mu Mian.
"I do have love. I love Fang Rui very much," Mu Mian quickly corrected herself. She asked, "If I win your game, will you let us go?"
"Of course, if you win the game, I'll let you go."
"Your statement is problematic. It should be 'let you both go'. You need to release both me and Fang Rui at the same time." Mu Mian caught his verbal trap.
Zhou Junwei's smile froze. After a moment, he agreed, "Fine."
"I think someone who can come up with such a creative game wouldn't lie to an autistic person, right?" Mu Mian sought confirmation again. "You won't deceive me, will you?"
"If you win, I promise I'll let Officer Fang leave with you."
Mu Mian extended her hand towards them. "I'll cooperate with your game, but you must not harm Fang Rui. I love him very much. If he gets hurt, I won't play your game. Then you'll never know what love is like for someone with autism."
"You'll be safe until the game begins," Zhou Junwei gave Zhang Ming a look. Zhang Ming took out the tranquilizer gun and injected Mu Mian's arm.
The cold liquid entered Mu Mian's veins, making her feel drowsy. She slowly closed her eyes.
But Mu Mian didn't fall unconscious. She had a high tolerance for anesthetics.
Zhang Ming brought over a silver van. They first carried Fang Rui to the back seat, then lifted Mu Mian in as well. Without even cleaning up the scene, they quickly drove away.
"Junwei, do you really have to kill them? We've already killed so many people. Why don't we turn ourselves in?" Zhang Ming suddenly said. "I'm so tired. Let's run away, go abroad, or hide in some remote mountain where no one will find us for the rest of our lives."
"Zhang Ming, we've already killed so many people. What difference does two more make?" Zhou Junwei's expression was cold. "No matter how many more we kill, the punishment will be the same."
"But they're police officers. It's different," Zhang Ming seemed hesitant. "Let's let them go. We can still escape now. Or we could use them as hostages to bargain with the police to let us go."
"It's no different. If you don't want to help me, then get out of the car. I can finish the rest by myself," Zhou Junwei coldly looked at Zhang Ming. He thought Zhang Ming was too useless. If he hadn't been desperate for help, he wouldn't have let Zhang Ming be the executor of his game.
"Junwei, I'll help you," Zhang Ming conceded. "Even if it means going to hell, I'll go with you. Whatever it is, I'll help you. You know I love you very much."
"Zhang Ming, how can you prove your love for me?"
"I've killed so many people for you. Isn't that enough to prove my love?" Zhang Ming's expression was crestfallen.
"No, it's not. I can't see it. Unless you tell me what your love for me looks like," Zhou Junwei focused on driving, his expression somewhat cold. "I can't feel love, so I only believe in what I can see."
