Chapter 85: Footsteps and Mischief

So the place where the killer created the footsteps should have been somewhere between the power room and the stairwell leading to the emergency passage. That test I just made can be counted as solving another mystery. On the day we heard the footsteps, we saw no one at all. And yet we felt them drawing closer and closer.

After the lights went out, we could no longer tell where the footsteps were coming from. But for one instant, I felt the person walking was right behind me, so close I could almost feel his breath. And yet we found nothing. Chen Fan was nearly frightened out of his wits because of it.

But Chen Fan was no longer afraid now, because he understood how the killer had done it.

The underground parking garage was vast and empty, making it easy for echoes to form. And between the power room and the stairwell to the emergency passage, the placement seemed just right. Any sound made there could carry very far. When I snapped my fingers, Chen Fan heard it. When I snapped lightly, he felt the sound was far away. But when I snapped hard, he felt it was drawing nearer.

Volume is often used as a way to judge how far a sound source is. In such an empty underground garage, with echo effects, the sound’s volume and the source’s distance became even easier to confuse. Replace my snap with the killer’s manufactured footsteps, and the same principle applied.

What is more, the surroundings at the time made it even easier for us to fall into an almost instinctive illusion. The lights flickered, making the garage look eerie and ominous. We heard footsteps but saw no one, which naturally stirred fear. Even though I did not believe in ghosts or spirits, I still felt danger approaching and grew tense.

Whether from fear or tension, a person’s judgment will weaken or fail. And once the garage was plunged into darkness, we became even more tense. Sound echoing through such an open space was already hard to locate, and when we heard the footsteps growing louder, we instinctively assumed the person was coming closer.

Once we could no longer see anything, the mind began to play tricks. We kept feeling that person was right beside us.

Later, when the garage lights came back on, the killer must have gone back into the power room, then come out again, locked it, taken the stairwell upstairs, found a way around the surveillance cameras, and left the residential compound. Chen Fan was even more excited than before. After leaving the compound, he could hardly wait to return to the station and claim the credit.

Before he left, I told him to keep an eye on Luo Feng’s situation and report to me immediately if anything changed. Unexpectedly, Wang Yazhuo also tossed a piece of candy to Chen Fan. He was delighted, and without another word stuffed it into his mouth before driving off.

I did not take the matter to heart. After parting from Wang Yazhuo, I took the little ghost back to Luo Feng’s place.

In the end, I waited until late at night and still had not received a call from Chen Fan. I called him myself, and only after several tries did the line finally connect. I asked whether he had checked the lock, but Chen Fan actually told me he was in the hospital. His voice was weak and breathless. When I asked what had happened, he said the candy Wang Yazhuo had given him was not right.

Not long after he had delivered the lock to the station, he suddenly felt ill in his stomach, then began vomiting, and in the end had been sent to the hospital. The doctor had pumped his stomach, and only then did he feel a little better. After hanging up, I cursed aloud. At last I understood why Luo Feng had been so unwilling to have any contact with Wang Yazhuo.

Wang Yazhuo truly was willful; she had simply never shown it. Chen Fan was a policeman, and she had even dared to play tricks on him.

I was afraid the police might start investigating, so I threw on a coat and went out. The little ghost had already fallen asleep. I told one of Luo Feng’s men to keep a close watch over him. This place was very safe; the child would be fine. I hurried to the hospital, where Chen Fan was lying in a hospital bed. I asked how he was feeling, and he lamented bitterly, saying he had no idea what he had done to offend Wang Yazhuo.

He was not seriously hurt; he should be able to be discharged the next day.

I asked whether anyone knew it was Wang Yazhuo’s doing. Chen Fan shook his head and said he had not yet had time to tell the officer who brought him there.

While Chen Fan and I were talking, a police officer came in. The moment he entered, he called out to Chen Fan excitedly, "Brother Fan, Deputy Captain Tang is coming to see you."

Deputy Captain Tang referred to Tang Jia, who was already the deputy leader of a major unit.

The officer was thrilled, but Chen Fan looked worried. I patted his shoulder and quietly told him not to mention anything he should not mention. If Tang Jia asked, he should simply say he was feeling unwell and avoid answering directly. Tang Jia would not go out of her way to care about someone she had never met before. If she was coming into contact with Chen Fan, it was probably to investigate me and Luo Feng.

Before Tang Jia arrived, I left the hospital.

By a strange coincidence, I saw Gong Yuanhai at the hospital entrance. It was already after work. If he was here, then Tang Jia might be here as well; they probably had come together. I had no intention of entangling myself with Gong Yuanhai, so I headed in the other direction. But he stepped in front of me.

Now that Tang Jia was not here, Gong Yuanhai’s attitude toward me was rather different.

"Fang Han, so late at night, who are you here to see?" Gong Yuanhai greeted me like an old acquaintance.

I sneered. "Deputy Professor Gong, why don’t you go teach at your university instead of always pestering me?"

Gong Yuanhai clicked his tongue. "I didn’t know it would be such a coincidence. Fang Han, have you been doing well these past years?"

The hidden meaning in his words instantly ignited the fire in my chest. He was about my height. I stared at him coldly and spat out one word: "Get lost."

But Gong Yuanhai still did not move. He looked me over from head to toe, his tone carrying false regret. "Seems you’re doing well enough. Still, I think if you wore a police uniform, you’d look even sharper."

I had always been calm, but there were some things that remained like a knot, lodged in my heart. This was one of them. I swung a fist at him. Gong Yuanhai did not fight back and was knocked straight to the ground. At the same time, I heard an angry shout. It was Tang Jia’s voice.

Only then did I understand why Gong Yuanhai had not struck back: Tang Jia had arrived.

I looked down at Gong Yuanhai on the ground and shook my head. "No wonder you’re a deputy professor of psychology."

Tang Jia ran over and helped Gong Yuanhai up. She was anxious, asking whether he was hurt anywhere. Gong Yuanhai adjusted his glasses and said it was all a misunderstanding.

The more he said that, the angrier Tang Jia became.

Tang Jia walked up to me and raised a hand to slap my face, but I caught her wrist.

"Fang Han, how did you become like this? I’m truly worried that one day you’ll even dare to kill someone," Tang Jia said through clenched teeth.

I pushed Tang Jia away. "I can’t help saying this again: the two of you are a perfect match. I am capable of killing. If you’re not afraid I’ll kill you, then stop interfering in my life." I pointed at Gong Yuanhai. "This is the last time I’ll let you off."

With that, I strode away. Gong Yuanhai and Tang Jia were still saying something behind me, but I did not listen anymore.

Back at Luo Feng’s home, I drifted into a drowsy sleep.

At daybreak, I received a call from Chen Fan. He told me he had already been discharged and said that, barring any mishap, Luo Feng would be released in the afternoon. After I hung up, the doorbell rang. The person outside was Wang Yazhuo. She asked whether Luo Feng had returned, and I frowned. She still looked perfectly innocent, as if nothing had happened.

"Do you know what you did yesterday?" I asked Wang Yazhuo.

Wang Yazhuo nodded, looking a little nervous. "What’s wrong? Don’t you dislike him too?"

I clenched my fist. "Why did you do that?"

Wang Yazhuo answered that Chen Fan kept staring at her, which disgusted her, so she wanted to get back at him a little. She even said it was only a prank.

I asked coldly, "Do you know he’s a police officer? If something had happened to him, could you have taken responsibility for it?"

Wang Yazhuo’s shoulders trembled, and her voice rose as well. "Fang Han, do you know that no one has ever spoken to me like this? You keep being harsh with me again and again. What is that supposed to mean?"

At that moment, I no longer doubted the rumors about Wang Yazhuo.

Just as I was about to retort, Chen Fan called me again.

"Brother Han, we found out the drunk’s identity."