Chapter 31: Gao Ming Finds a New Job
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
“The situation is being handled with utmost seriousness by the headquarters. They’ve been extremely thorough in choosing the team for this investigation, conducting several layers of screening to ensure only the best are involved. Even if you’re highly skilled, they’re not just going to let you be part of it,” Bai Xiao explained, his fingers brushing against a folder on the table bearing Qin Tian’s name. “We’ve got additional responsibilities too, like keeping an eye on Minlong Street and Li Jing Street. Believe me, the tasks we’ve been assigned are just as challenging as any.”
As he finished, Bai Xiao turned his attention to the senior team members who remained in the room. Together, they began to meticulously map out their strategy for the evening’s operation, painstakingly considering every possible outcome and preparing for various contingencies.
Meanwhile, Gao Ming was conspicuously absent from this high-level discussion. He was engrossed in something else, hunched over Qin Tian’s computer, his fingers rapidly navigating through various files and applications in search of a specific piece of information.
The Investigation Bureau had a specialized team adept in gathering and organizing information. Recognizing the need for their expertise, Gao Ming reached out to one of these specialists, tapping into the bureau’s extensive investigative network to track down an individual for a personal quest.
He then took out his phone and began inputting some criminal profiles that he had crafted himself. These profiles were the product of his unique insights into the criminal psyche, designed to identify the most dangerous and unstable elements in society – those who needed to be neutralized promptly – as well as those who might be amenable to cooperation.
Gao Ming prided himself on his deep understanding of these criminals’ psychological weaknesses and vulnerabilities. He was the only one in the city who dared to engage with such volatile and dangerous individuals.
“I always believed a truly gripping suspense game should be logically coherent and devoid of supernatural elements. But I’m just an average game designer. Some of my case designs lack rigor, and I’ve encountered criminals with abilities that surpass those of normal humans. These abilities could potentially develop into extraordinary powers, influenced by the enigmatic ‘shadow world’, much like Xuan Wen,” he mused.
In less than thirty minutes, a bureau staffer sent Gao Ming information on his first target.
This criminal was unusually tall and had a striking appearance, which made it virtually impossible for him to evade the city’s extensive surveillance network unless he was deliberately concealing his whereabouts.
“An underground fight club?”The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.
Impressed by the bureau’s quick work, Gao Ming swiftly grabbed a raincoat and prepared to leave.
“Where are you off to? I’ll join you!” Zhu Miao Miao, who had been lost in her thoughts, suddenly stood up, her eyes scanning the room for a fire axe.
“That won’t be necessary, stay here.”
“But Chief Chen instructed me to stick with you,” Zhu Miao Miao protested, abandoning her search for the axe and hurrying over to Gao Ming. “Is there a new assignment?”
As Gao Ming spoke, the atmosphere in the restaurant seemed to grow even heavier. The few remaining customers quickly finished their meals and left, sensing the tension at the table.
Gao Ming, however, showed no sign of leaving, clearly intent on seeing this encounter through. “That gambler had no right to be called a father. After his wife’s death, he became even more abusive towards his stepchildren. He forced the elder daughter to endure endless chores and harsh beatings for even the smallest mistakes.”
Gao Ming, maintaining his calm demeanor, leaned slightly forward as he continued his narrative, his voice taking on a slower, more hypnotic cadence. “But the younger son, he was even more pitiable,” he said, his tone laced with a subtle sense of empathy. “This innocent and kind-hearted boy was constantly berated and threatened by his abusive stepfather. The terror and stress he endured led to a chronic condition of enuresis – bed-wetting – a problem that haunts him to this very day.”
Across from him, the muscular man’s eyes flickered with a turmoil of emotions. The pain of long-suppressed memories seemed to crack through his hardened exterior, revealing a vulnerability he had long fought to conceal.
Observing these changes, Gao Ming continued to speak in a gentle yet probing manner, his fingers lightly swirling the water in his cup. “Each time the boy wet the bed, it triggered a violent outburst from the stepfather. He would cruelly cover the child’s face with the soiled sheet, force him against the urinal, and taunt him, saying that even dogs knew where to relieve themselves.”
“Are you done?” The man’s voice was strained, his breathing accelerated, eyes now bloodshot. The stirring of deep, painful memories was bringing childhood nightmares back to the surface.
This man, who would later become the infamous murderer known as Yan Hua, was still in the process of transformation, his dark past not yet fully defining him.
Gao Ming, sensing the increasing tension, quickened his pace. “His fear of wetting the bed grew so intense that he dreaded even the thought of sleep. On countless nights, he would force his eyes to stay open, slowly turning into someone abnormal,” he said. “Feeling helpless and powerless, he started to grow crueler, understanding the vicious cycle of violence begetting violence, yet unable to escape it. He became precocious and cunning, all the while harboring a growing, hidden desire for aggression.”
As Gao Ming spoke, the man’s body tensed, his muscles straining against the fabric of his suit, which seemed on the verge of tearing under the pressure of his imposing physique.
“His stepfather never saw him as a human being, even giving him the feminine name of Yan Hua,” Gao Ming continued, his voice steady.
“Shut up!” The man’s fist clenched, raised threateningly toward Gao Ming, his inner turmoil reaching a breaking point.
“Even as he grew up and trained himself almost to the point of self-torture, the fear lingered, and his bed-wetting only worsened,” Gao Ming added, unflinching.
“I said, shut up!” The man’s voice was a mix of anger and desperation, his body trembling and bones cracking under the strain.
“He despised his own body, pushing himself harder in his training, but few knew the true reason behind his efforts,” Gao Ming said, his voice now a whisper.
As the man’s fist descended, Gao Ming delivered his final, cutting remark: “All he ever wanted was to kill his stepfather.”
The fist halted mere inches from Gao Ming’s face, frozen in mid-air. His sharp and revealing words had pierced through the man’s defenses, laying bare a secret hidden for over two decades. The revelation left the man feeling exposed and vulnerable as if standing naked in a downpour.
