Chapter 85: Explosion, Explosion!

There were few surveillance cameras in this building, but fortunately Officer Tang was experienced and sharp, and managed to piece together the general outline of events from the available footage.

First, Lü Chunqiu left the elevator after work, with her handbag and phone left at home. There were two possibilities. Either she returned home and was abducted by someone familiar who knocked on her door, or someone rendered her unconscious outside her apartment, used her keys to enter, and placed her handbag and phone inside the room.

Based on the information Mo Fei had received, the person who targeted Lü Chunqiu was familiar with her line of work and knew her home address, but lacked a deeper understanding of her personality and the dynamics between her and Mo Fei. This pointed to someone in Lü Chunqiu’s circle whom Mo Fei did not know well. That largely ruled out the possibility of a revenge attack by human traffickers. After all, human traffickers wouldn’t care whether Lü Chunqiu’s phone and handbag were in her room or tossed in a trash bin.

The second clue was the timing. Officer Tang reviewed footage from the elevator lobbies on other floors and found that seven minutes after Lü Chunqiu left the elevator, a cleaning worker appeared on the fourteenth floor. At that point, he was already pushing a garbage cart into the elevator. Judging by his movements and the direction of the cart, it was clear the cart was loaded with something. It was likely that this person, disguised as a cleaner, attacked Lü Chunqiu, rendered her unconscious, and removed her in the garbage cart.

Unfortunately, the suspect was fully covered, and the cameras never caught his face. All that could be determined was that he was a man, approximately one meter seventy tall, with a medium build. The building’s traffic was too chaotic, with a mall entrance as well, making it nearly impossible to match surveillance footage to individuals.

Officer Tang stepped outside to look for any cameras facing the building, but his search proved fruitless.

Night had deepened. By now, most people had finished their nightly routines, either lying in bed ready to sleep or idly scrolling through their phones, preparing for a late night.

Officer Tang circled the building several times, asking Mo Fei as he walked, “Do you know if she has any other family or friends here?”

“Since I met Sister Lü, I’ve never heard her mention any relatives,” Mo Fei replied, frowning in thought. “As for friends, she used to manage a few artists besides me, but recently she terminated their contracts.”

“Terminated artists?” Officer Tang paused, turning to Mo Fei. “Was it due to moral issues or financial disputes?”

“Neither. Sister Lü said she wanted to focus on managing me, so she ended their contracts,” Mo Fei followed Officer Tang’s train of thought. “We were never famous before, but recently my work started to gain attention, and she let them go. Maybe someone really holds a grudge about it.”

“But I’ve never met any of them. Including me, Sister Lü had about six artists under her before.”

“Jealousy and human nature are hard to fathom. If everyone were normal, the police wouldn’t always be short-handed,” Officer Tang said, dialing his phone again.

After dialing, he asked Mo Fei, “Is her phone with you?”

Mo Fei nodded just as the call was answered.

Officer Tang nodded and spoke into the phone, “Hello? Hey, Xiao Liu, it’s me. Can you come to the station right now? It’s urgent.”

“Mm, okay. No problem. See you at the station soon.”

He hung up and called to Mo Fei, “Get in the car.”

The gate guard at the police station recognized Officer Tang’s car and was surprised to see him return so late. But when he glimpsed Officer Tang’s serious expression through the window, he realized something had happened.

There were few officers on duty at night, and the sound of their arrival drew out a group of surprised faces. They’d sent everyone home for the holidays that morning—now they were back?

But when they saw Mo Fei step out of the passenger seat, their expressions all turned grave. This guy never came without reason—work had arrived.

“Old Tang, this—” The duty officer stepped forward to ask about the situation.

Officer Tang issued his instructions crisply, “Take him to file a case. Open the information room; Xiao Liu will need it soon.”

“File a case?”

“Illegal detention,” Officer Tang said with a deep frown. “We need to find her as quickly as possible. Do you know her ID number?”

Mo Fei searched his handbag and pulled out Lü Chunqiu’s identification. “I have it.”

“Start the case,” Officer Tang waved his hand.

He knew that his earlier search of the building’s surveillance was already a breach of protocol. Normally, the police could only act after a case was officially filed.

But rules were set in stone and people were alive—if everything followed regulations, ‘adaptability’ would never be a word.

Mo Fei followed procedures, registering everything, but felt a growing unease. He worried whether this incident was drawn in by “Moths to Flame”—whether Lü Chunqiu had been implicated because of him.

He’d felt the same when they were ambushed last time.

Mo Fei wondered if it would be better to find a remote place to practice alone, so as not to endanger others.

‘I’ve sent my little brothers out to look for her.’

A slit spirit slipped in from outside, leaping onto Mo Fei: ‘But finding a single person this time is much more difficult.’

It was rare for a group to be held captive; when just two people were involved, the target was less obvious.

Mo Fei said nothing, merely stroking its soft fur.

Before Officer Xiao Liu arrived, the station received another emergency call. Someone reported an explosion near a residential building. No casualties, but residents were panicked.

The duty officers responded immediately, leaving the already sparse station even emptier.

About fifteen minutes later, an electric scooter rolled into the station. Its rider parked without even removing the key, running inside, “Captain Tang, I’m here!”

“Unlock this phone,” Officer Tang, a cigarette dangling unlit from his lips, handed over Lü Chunqiu’s phone. “Check the contacts.”

Officer Liu took the phone, examined its exterior and charging port. “Do you have a type-c cable?”

Officer Tang rummaged through his desk, pulling out a grimy white cable and handing it over.

Officer Liu plugged the phone into the computer and began working. “Give me ten minutes.”

Mo Fei watched from the side and said, “I know how to do this too.”

He’d learned the skill himself, saving dozens when he forgot his phone password and couldn’t afford to pay someone to unlock it.

Officer Tang glanced at him, just remembering that, though Mo Fei didn’t look much like an actor, he was also a computer science student—jailbreaking and decoding should be easy for him.

As characters flickered across the computer screen, a sudden explosion sounded outside the station.

Everyone inside was startled.

Officer Tang rushed forward and pushed Mo Fei behind him. “Xiao Liu, you keep working. Don’t come over; I’ll go check outside.”

He pointed at Mo Fei, then closed the door behind him as he left.