Chapter 86: The Grand Opening Act

The streets were nearly deserted in the dead of night, with private cars lining both sides of the road, their owners having given up hope of finding a proper parking spot. The explosion had occurred in a battered old van parked by the roadside. Officer Tang, gripping his gun, hurried over to investigate and found the vehicle’s windows completely shattered, flames licking hungrily inside. Thick black smoke billowed out from the windows, making it impossible to discern what remained inside.

The van crackled and hissed as it burned, while the blast had set off the alarms of every car nearby in a discordant chorus. The street, which ought to have been peaceful at that hour, was now engulfed in noise and confusion. Lights flickered on in the apartment buildings on both sides, and residents parted their curtains, craning their necks to see what was happening below.

As Officer Tang approached the van, a heavy stench of cheap gunpowder hit him—much like the illegal fireworks and firecrackers that had been banned for years. He circled the van once, seeing neither anyone inside nor any sign of casualties. In the midst of bad news, at least there was this small blessing: no one had been hurt.

From above, residents watched the burning van, discussing the incident and filming videos on their phones. “Take a look! Can you believe someone’s car blew up in the middle of the night? Still burning, too.” “They must’ve left a gas canister or something flammable inside—let’s see who dares keep a lighter in their car now.” “There's a person down there checking it out, hey! Stay back, don’t get yourself blown up!”

Officer Tang knew all too well that the explosion was a pointed message meant for him. Who would believe it was anything but a provocation, happening so close to the police station? But this was not something to share with the public; panic would only spread. He also suspected a direct connection between this incident and the earlier bomb threat call. Everything about tonight seemed touched by an eerie strangeness.

“Old Tang!” Mo Fei jogged over, clutching a red fire extinguisher. “Didn’t I tell you to stay put?” Officer Tang took the extinguisher from Mo Fei and aimed it at the interior of the van, dousing the flames while admonishing, “Go back and stay out of this.”

Mo Fei could follow Officer Tang’s train of thought and understood what he was trying to do. He and Officer Xu, his mentor, shared a similar spirit—both unwilling to let civilians get caught up in a case, preferring instead to bear the risk themselves. But this time, Mo Fei was not entirely uninvolved.

Mo Fei had grown up in an orphanage. His odd dreams had always set him apart, making him an outcast with no friends. Lü Chunqiu was strong-willed, yet she had treated him with care, always seeking solutions that balanced Mo Fei’s interests with her own. Had she ever compromised her conscience, she wouldn’t have lived such a hard life. Once a person lets go of their morals, happiness is easy enough to find. But she chose the more difficult path, and when Mo Fei called her “sister,” it was from the heart.

“Officer Tang, do these explosions have something to do with the people who took Sister Lü?” Mo Fei frowned, voicing his suspicion.

Officer Tang didn’t answer immediately, instead finishing off the fire extinguisher on the van. He peered inside—the van was empty, even the seats had been stripped out. “There’s no direct evidence yet linking the two cases,” he finally said with some relief, turning to Mo Fei. “But we’ll do everything we can to bring her back.”

Catching sight of Mo Fei’s expression, Officer Tang’s hand stilled for a moment as he added in a warning tone, “Mo Fei, don’t do anything foolish.”

Mo Fei had behaved so normally lately that Officer Tang had nearly forgotten the initial sense of danger he’d once felt around him. Now, with Lü Chunqiu abducted, Mo Fei was furious—he could not possibly feel anything but malice toward those responsible. Even if that hostility wasn’t aimed at Officer Tang himself, its intensity was enough to make him wary. This was no meek, harmless lamb before him, but a man who could single-handedly take down four grown men.

“What foolish thing could I possibly do?” Mo Fei grinned broadly. “Police and citizens working together, aren’t we?”

Danger. Danger!

Officer Tang felt his hair stand on end. With a complicated look at Mo Fei, he set the empty extinguisher down beside the van. This case had already grown too large for the handful of officers on night duty to handle alone. Officer Tang began calling in reinforcements.

Most officers were roused from sleep in the middle of the night to work overtime. Though their families grumbled, there was nothing to be done—the nature of the job was what it was.

Officer Liu managed to unlock Lü Chunqiu’s phone and scrolled through her contacts. Nearly all were work-related, and the list was so long it took minutes to reach the bottom. The officers began investigating her social connections, while Mo Fei squatted in the courtyard, speaking quietly to a stray cat.

“Get your little friends to help me track down a scent,” Mo Fei instructed, his face serious. “Those two explosions are definitely related to Sister Lü. I caught a faint whiff of ammonia mixed with the gunpowder on the van—someone’s made homemade ammonium nitrate explosives.”

“Homemade ammonium nitrate explosives are usually grayish-white or pale yellow powders, wrapped in oil paper or tape, shaped like a cylinder. Tell your friends to look out for anything like that.”

The cat distilled the key points: ‘Pungent odor, oil paper or tape-wrapped cylinder.’

‘Leave it to me,’ it replied before darting off around the corner.

Homemade explosives are usually made from sulfur or ammonium nitrate, both easily obtained household chemicals. The former is used for matches, vulcanized rubber, pesticides; the latter in fertilizers. If someone were determined, it wouldn’t be hard to source them.

Black powder, composed of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter, gives off a rotten-egg smell. Ammonium nitrate itself is odorless, but homemade explosives using it emit a strong ammonia odor. Mo Fei knew all this, and soon Officer Tang would know as well. With no way of knowing how much explosive remained hidden in the city, their only option was to race against time to eliminate every hazard.

But the perpetrator seemed to anticipate their every move, leaving them no time for bomb disposal. Within just two hours, the station received reports of four more explosions. Thankfully, there were no fatalities—only a drunken man left with a bloodied face but no threat to his life.

Officers from several districts joined forces, leading police dogs through the darkness as they combed the streets. Strangely, the stray animals that usually fled at the sight of humans now seemed to take the lead, guiding the officers along.

Even during routine patrols, they found numerous homemade bombs at curbsides, shopfronts, and beneath apartment buildings—places that would be crowded come morning. The bomb squad was overwhelmed, and when Mo Fei volunteered to help, the urgency of the situation overrode protocol. Once the officers saw his expertise with explosives, they made an exception and allowed him to join the operation.