Chapter 371: Something Big Is About to Happen

Inside the bathroom.

Fang Jie, jolted awake by the splash of cold water, shivered as he stared at the police officer standing in front of him, panic written all over his face.

“Do you know them?”

Xiao Yu held up two photographs. One showed the victim, Cao Xude. The other, Lu Shun.

“…”

Fang Jie looked at the photos, his expression blank and dazed.

‘Why that look?’ Xiao Yu frowned.

Then it clicked.

Years without contact, combined with the inevitable changes in appearance, no wonder he didn’t recognize them.

Humans are forgetful creatures. Go a few years without seeing someone, and their face fades from memory. Give it ten or twenty years, and you might pass an old acquaintance on the street without a flicker of recognition.

“Their names are Cao Xude and Lu Shun. Have you really forgotten them?”

Xiao Yu’s tone deepened, his words deliberate.

No reaction to the photos. But the moment Fang Jie heard the names, his face twisted in shock. It was as if he’d just heard something unspeakably terrifying. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. 

Xiao Yu’s sharp gaze gleamed.

‘Bingo.’

There was definitely something there.

The lack of recognition from the photos confirmed they hadn’t seen each other in years. But the panic triggered by the names?

That pointed to something from the past.

What happened between them?

What had Cao Xude and Lu Shun done?

Or perhaps more importantly, what had they done together?

“I’m taking him with me.”

Xiao Yu glanced at the two anti-narcotics officers, his tone firm. There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in his expression.

It wasn’t a request. It was a statement.

“It’s fine,” Cheng Shuai and Li Helong replied, forcing stiff smiles.

Under normal circumstances, if someone from another department spoke to them like that, they’d have bristled.

Who did he think he was, ordering them around?

But this was Bincheng.

And this was Xiao Yu.

Who in the Bincheng police force hadn’t heard of him?

The man who led the prison escape case more than six months ago and commanded the entire city’s police force. The legend of a 22-year-old first-class Superintendent. 

Who in their right mind would dare cross him?

What they didn’t know—what they couldn’t know—was that Xiao Yu wasn’t a Superintendent anymore. If they saw his current rank, they’d probably faint on the spot.

***

Criminal Investigation Brigade, Interrogation Room.

“We found you and showed you those photos of Cao Xude and Lu Shun.” Xiao Yu sat across from Fang Jie, eyes cold and unyielding. “You know why, don’t you?”

Deception and bluffing were cornerstones of interrogation.

Not everyone had the mental fortitude to withstand pressure. Some broke at the first hint of trouble.

Fang Jie, clearly, was one of them. His face paled. His body trembled. He dropped his head and stayed silent.

That reaction spoke volumes.

Xiao Yu had a bad feeling. 

It wasn’t hard to guess.

In the past, Fang Jie, Cao Xude, and Lu Shun must have been part of a group, three or more people. And they’d done something. Something bad.

When people commit minor offenses, they might get nervous when caught. But to inspire this level of fear?

This wasn’t small.

“Resist, and you’ll suffer. Cooperate, and you might catch a break.” Xiao Yu’s tone grew colder. “You only get one chance. And let’s be clear, you weren’t the mastermind, were you? Are you really planning to take the fall for them? To throw away your life for their sake?”

It was still a bluff.

Xiao Yu had no proof Fang Jie wasn’t the ringleader. 

But based on the man’s demeanor—his lack of composure, his inability to lead or command attention—it was a safe bet.

And the gamble paid off. Fang Jie’s face crumpled.

It was over.

“I… I’ll talk!”

He broke completely, his voice trembling with fear.

“I… I was involved, but they forced me! I didn’t want to! Back then… when I refused, they beat me and threatened to kill me! I had no choice! I had to go along with it!”

Xiao Yu’s heart sank.

He didn’t even need to hear the full story. Based on years of experience, he already knew this was bad.

“Good,” Xiao Yu said, softening his tone. “That lines up with what we already know.”

It didn’t, of course. But Fang Jie didn’t need to know that.

“Now, tell me everything. From start to finish. If your account matches our findings, I can push for leniency. Maybe even a chance to earn some merit.”

Across the room, Guo Qiang, who’d been silently observing, glanced at Xiao Yu. His face was expressionless, but his eyes spoke volumes.

‘Is this even legal?’

If Xiao Yu ever turned to fraud, Guo Qiang figured half the country would be bankrupt within a week.

Fang Jie took a deep breath, his face ashen.

“It… it happened after we graduated high school.”

‘High school?!’

Xiao Yu and Guo Qiang’s minds reeled.

‘Seventeen? Eighteen? You’re forty-one now! This happened more than twenty years ago?’

And yet, the story that followed left them both speechless.

More than two decades ago, five teenagers—four boys and one girl—had been inseparable. Best friends. A tight-knit clique.

They’d even given themselves a name: Brotherhood.

The usual teenage nonsense followed—fights, pranks, petty crimes. But the real nightmare began after the college entrance exams.

The five gathered to celebrate. Some had gotten into university. Others planned to enter the workforce. Either way, their paths were diverging.

That night, they drank. Heavily.

At some point, one of the boys, half-drunk and laughing, complained that he didn’t have a girlfriend. The girl teased him, and then she offered to call a good friend. So she called over a female friend—back then, they didn’t say bestie, just good friend.

One of the girls dialed her little sister and invited her over.

What happened next was a blur.

The four boys ended up gang-raping the girl who came later. The whole time, the victim screamed for help. Someone clamped a hand over her mouth. Drunk and reckless, they didn’t realize how hard they were holding her down. They didn’t realize she’d stopped moving until it was too late. By then, the girl was dead.

Panic set in.

Finally, someone suggested hiding the body, or they’d all be finished. They found a metal box, got a bicycle, and took the corpse to a reservoir in Bincheng, throwing it in.