Chapter 20: Dismissed Truths and Dark Schemes

Hao Yang gradually calmed down.

Seeing that she had quieted, Wang Jian then slowly began to speak.

“Xiao Xiao, what you saw that day was likely two people cruelly killing a dog, not a person. You must have mistaken it.”

“No! That’s wrong! I clearly saw someone being killed that day, I saw it with my own eyes! Someone was definitely killed!” Hao Yang shouted, her emotions spiraling out of control.

“Then how do you explain the dog’s corpse?” Wang Jian pressed on.

“I don’t know, but someone really died here!” Hao Yang continued to shriek.

“Xiao Xiao, since you’re so certain, can you provide any evidence?” Wang Jian persisted.

“Evidence…” Hao Yang repeated the word, her mind racing to recall anything that could prove a death had occurred here.

“We can check the surveillance cameras! They’ll show it!” Hao Yang finally remembered the existence of surveillance at that moment.

“This residential area is scheduled for demolition in a few months. All the surrounding surveillance cameras have already been removed in advance, so there are no cameras in this vicinity.” Wang Jian delivered the news.

“No surveillance, then…” Hao Yang glanced around, desperately searching for anything that could serve as evidence.

“Wait, beneath the dog’s corpse, there are traces of a fire! That’s where homeless people cook. If you don’t believe me, you can move the dead dog aside and see.” This was the only piece of evidence Hao Yang could recall at the moment.

“Tang Xiao, stop making a fuss. Come with me. I’ll take you back to the police station to help you find your family.” Wang Jian said.

“But, someone really died here! I’m not lying to you!” Hao Yang’s emotions completely shattered, and she screamed hysterically.

“Just listen. Come back to the police station with me, and I’ll help you get home.” Wang Jian continued, his tone clearly tinged with impatience.

“But—” Her words were cut off before she could finish.

“Can’t you just cooperate? Police officers are very busy; we have endless work to deal with every day. Don’t waste my time, alright?!” Wang Jian couldn’t help but roar.

Startled by his shout, Hao Yang froze. Wang Jian then took her small hand, signaled to his colleague with a glance, and led them out of the building.

Hao Yang, unsure of what else to say, allowed herself to be led. Finally, the three of them entered the police car and drove back to the station.

Unbeknownst to them, two figures in the nearby grove had been watching their every move.

****

“Damn it, the police showed up the very next day. We almost got ourselves caught.” The thin man cursed, taking a drag from his cigarette.

He then glared at the fat man beside him, whose face was equally grim, and immediately launched into a tirade.

“Damn you, you lazy pig! I told you to clean up the scene, and you dragged your feet! Good thing I’m careful. I came back to clear the site myself that very night, noticed that broken lamp was gone, and guessed someone had been here. I called you last night to help, but you took forever to show up, you absolute swine!” The thin man spat, his language foul.

“Hmph, how clever are you? You didn’t even notice someone hiding there yesterday, a whole person, and you missed them! If you’d found them yesterday, would we be in this mess today? You call me stupid, but I think you’re just as foolish.” The fat man retorted, unable to hold back.

“How was I supposed to know a kid was hiding there? I can’t wrap my head around why a child would be hiding there in the middle of the night. Last night, I did feel like that cabinet was a bit odd, but I never imagined someone was concealed inside. Could *you* have guessed that?” The thin man defended himself.

“Hmph.” The fat man grunted, then fell silent.

“You need to understand, we’re in this together, like grasshoppers on the same boat. If one of us goes down, the other will be caught too. For now, let’s dispose of that body and eliminate all the evidence. In a few days, we’ll find a new ‘item’.”

“The heat is this intense, and you still want to pull another job? Do you have a death wish?” The fat man couldn’t help but say. Although the police hadn’t found anything amiss, committing another crime now seemed like tempting fate.

“What are you afraid of? We’ve done this more than once or twice. This county is currently undergoing renovation, and many old cameras have been dismantled. A lot of the new ones are installed but not yet operational.

“We should seize this opportunity to pull a few more jobs and earn a good sum. Once we have enough, we’ll split the money and go our separate ways.”

“But…” The fat man sounded deeply hesitant.

“No ‘buts’! I’m asking you: are you in or out?!” The thin man yelled.

“Alright. After this one job, I’m done.” The fat man hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking slowly.

“Hmph, that’s more like it. Get in the car; we’re going to dispose of that body. Once everything’s taken care of, you can enjoy a few days off. I’ll contact you then.” The thin man said, slowly making his way towards the car, leaning on a cane. The previous day’s knife wound from the homeless man had left his leg unsteady, and he feared lasting repercussions.

He had no other thoughts to spare for such worries. His mind was solely focused on how to repay his usurious debts. He owed hundreds of thousands to a criminal syndicate. If it had been a typical loan shark, he could have simply defaulted, but these were ruthless men who valued money over life. If he failed to repay them within this period, they would dismember him; the best-case scenario would be losing a hand but keeping his life.

Gambling and drug use had led him down his first irreversible path of crime. He had once regretted succumbing to these vices, but it was far too late now.

To ensure his survival, he desperately needed to raise hundreds of thousands of yuan during this period.

Thus, he embarked on yet another criminal path, one that led directly to the abyss. A single misstep on this road would send him plummeting over a cliff, shattering him completely.

He was now a desperate man, a fugitive.