The weapon by the pillow

Chapter 47 The person praised by the master... is Cheng Tan.

"Repeat once, we have reached the designated location at Building 7. Please provide further instructions!"

Once again, the anxious voice of the SWAT Team A captain came through the earpiece.

He was waiting for his orders.

They had already quietly arrived up the stairs and were standing outside the iron gate, like cheetahs poised to pounce, ready to break in at a single command.

They were so close.

Cheng Jing could even hear the subtle sounds of the team members adjusting their breathing and the friction of their equipment through the background noise of the walkie-talkie.

She could picture them fully armed, pressed against the wall, guns pointed at the door.

All it takes is one word from her.

With just a single sentence, he could forcefully intervene and break the eerie and dangerous stalemate in that room.

But her lips parted slightly, and the word "action" stuck in her throat.

She was powerless to help!

Just three minutes earlier, while she was engrossed in her phone call with her mentor Zhou Zhigang, a black sedan with no police markings but a special pass silently pulled up next to the command vehicle like a ghost.

At that moment, she didn't look at them. Her master's hoarse voice came through the radio waves, carrying the lingering pain of thirteen years, and the same anxiety as now:

"It's so similar! So similar! Xiaojing, thirteen years later, the same feeling! A whole bunch of clues, like a tangled mess, come rushing out, each seemingly pointing to the murderer, yet each one feels weightless and without foundation, unable to find that 'anchor' that connects all the clues! It's like... like someone deliberately throws a bunch of broken mirrors in front of you, each piece reflecting a bit of the truth, but you can't piece it together because what's reflected might not even be the same thing! That's how I was back then, trapped in it, trying to sort it out, only to end up being cut all over by the mirrors, while the murderer always stands behind the mirrors laughing!"

"Protagonist! What does Master mean by this?" Cheng Jing was puzzled. She had already made it this far, surrounded by layers of defenses. How could she not be the protagonist?

"We only have clues, no killer, just a bunch of people, but we can't find the main character! That's our biggest problem!"

"Master, do you mean... the clues might be misleading? Someone is deliberately creating confusion?"

"It's not just misleading!" Zhou Zhigang's voice grew even more agitated. "It's a 'smokescreen'! It's a 'stage setup'! Xiaojing, don't you understand yet? This whole scheme, from Cheng Tan's nightmare to everything tonight, is too 'complete'! Too 'dramatic'! It's like a meticulously crafted script! The murderer—or rather, the one who set up the scheme—is not just seeking revenge, not just exposing something, he's also… 'performing'! He needs an audience, he needs conflict, he needs suspense, he needs all the characters to follow his script!"

He paused, took a breath, and his tone suddenly carried a hint of admiration: "But that Cheng Tan inside... he's amazing! Truly amazing! Under such extreme fear and pressure, he thought of covering the camera with a bed sheet, calmly cutting off contact, realizing the second secret room might be next door, and even dared to smash the wall... This kid has the brain of a criminal investigator! He's trying to 'break the deadlock'! He's jumping out of the stage that the mastermind set for him!"

"Break the deadlock?" Cheng Jing pondered the word. Her master rarely praised someone like this. "Master, do you mean we shouldn't be completely led by the nose? We should disrupt their rhythm?"

"Yes! It disrupted the rhythm!" Zhou Zhigang affirmed. "The reason the mastermind seems to have everything under control is because we're all reacting according to his predetermined steps. Cheng Tan smashed the wall and entered 402; I think Liu Li must be inside... This has likely deviated slightly from the mastermind's original script. Because logically, after discovering the lock-room switch (dice) and the puzzle (the sum of the numbers is seven), a normal person would continue investigating in 403 or wait for rescue. Who would think to smash the load-bearing wall? Cheng Tan, this 'variable,' has introduced an unexpected twist to the script. So..."

His voice suddenly lowered, and his pace quickened: "I just received a very vague tip about the identity of that 'Shadow' team... it might not be that simple. Also, regarding Liu Li's time of death... if it really happened just now, as you say, then the killer is likely not far away, and might even... still be in that building! This is our chance! How can we find the 'director' hiding behind the scenes, and possibly the 'actors' who are on the scene, together? Otherwise, even if we rescue these eight people, the killer will remain at large, and tomorrow or the day after, he can continue his 'ritual'!"

"But, Master..." She was about to express her concerns and worries about the safety of the people in the room.

He hadn't finished speaking.

A hand wearing a black leather glove suddenly reached out from the side.

Without a word, he decisively took the phone she was clutching.

The speed and abruptness of the action startled even Cheng Jing, a seasoned criminal investigator, for a moment.

She turned her head abruptly.

A woman with short, ear-length hair was standing outside the car.

Rain soaked her shoulders, but she didn't care. She just looked at Cheng Jing calmly with her emotionless eyes.

She was the one who took the phone just now.

Cheng Jing knew this woman—Yang Hong, the director of the Municipal Bureau's Inspection Department. A person known for only adhering to procedures and rules.

She was the one who called earlier, demanding that she return to the municipal bureau immediately for questioning.

"Director Yang?" Cheng Jing's voice instantly turned cold. "What do you mean by this? I'm on an emergency mission!"

Yang Hong didn't answer. She just glanced at the phone in her hand, which was still playing Zhou Zhigang's voice, "Hey? Xiao Jing? What's wrong?", and then gently pressed her thumb to hang up.

"Your command has been temporarily suspended, Comrade Cheng Jing." Yang Hong's voice, like her personality, was icy cold.

She handed the phone back to Cheng Jing, while taking out a document stamped with a red official seal with her other hand.

She unfolded it and displayed it to Cheng Jing.

Raindrops hit the document paper, quickly spreading into a small water stain, but the writing remained clear:

Emergency Notice Regarding the Suspension of Comrade Cheng Jing's Posts and On-Site Command Authority

The following are some of the reasons: suspected violation of major case reporting procedures, suspected conflict of interest during the investigation, failure to return immediately for questioning as required by superiors, and resistance to organizational decisions, etc.

The wording was very harsh.

As Cheng Jing looked at the document, she suddenly felt her blood running colder and colder.

It wasn't fear, but an extreme anger and... absurdity.

Conflict of interest? And Li Kai? She only learned about Li Kai for the first time tonight!

Violation of procedures? She kept records and reports of every step she took!

Confronting the organization? As the commander, she simply judged from the scene that leaving was not an option!

This is clearly... a blatant excuse!

She immediately understood: someone didn't want her to stay there any longer! They didn't want her to continue investigating!