Chapter 93: Courage

“Not necessarily?” That remark left everyone puzzled.

How could there be anyone inside a building that had been shut down for days? Anyone working there would’ve left the day construction stopped.

“Changfeng, what do you mean?” Lei Liming knew Song Changfeng well. He never spoke without reason. If he said something like that, then he must have noticed something.

Song Changfeng said, “Come take a look.”

Once the others gathered around, he pointed at the surveillance footage and said, “Look at this person.”

Everyone looked. The man was wearing work gear and carrying an old cloth bag. His appearance clearly marked him as a laborer, completely different from the residents of the apartment building beside him.

Song Changfeng tapped the screen again. In the footage, the man walked out of the apartment building, and not long after, returned with a transparent plastic bag in hand. Through the bag, a few packets of instant noodles with a recognizable brand name could be seen.

After watching both clips, the group was still confused. Buying instant noodles didn’t really prove anything, did it? Even though they were all police officers, when a case got busy, they barely had time to eat. Instant noodles were often their go-to meal during long investigations.

When the higher-ups issued welfare packages¹, other departments got snacks and drinks. Their team? Their cabinet was stuffed to the brim with every flavor of instant noodles imaginable. If a major case broke out, the whole office would reek of noodle broth.

“He never came out again after going in that time,” Song Changfeng explained. He had been watching that man closely and discovered that ever since construction was halted three days ago, the man had gone out to buy a few packets of noodles and then vanished from the surveillance footage.

“Old Zhao, you just asked property management. Which unit was under renovation?” Lei Liming stood up immediately, his tone serious. The man’s outfit and behavior were highly suspicious. Someone who clearly didn’t live in the building had stayed inside for three days without coming out. The only place he could be hiding was the unit under renovation. Coupled with the fact that the victim in this case had previously reported the renovation to the Environmental Protection Bureau, leading to the construction being halted, this man became even more suspicious.

Old Zhao said, “Should be 303.”

The group moved swiftly to the door of unit 303. The door was tightly shut. Lei Liming stepped forward and knocked a few times, but there was no sound from inside. It was clear someone was trying to pretend no one was home. Lei Liming glanced at the peephole but didn’t dare look through it. Some criminals were extremely cunning and might stab through with a sharp object the moment someone peeked in. To avoid losing an eye and to prevent the person inside from seeing out, Lei Liming took out a bandage and stuck it over the peephole.

Once that was done, Lei Liming motioned for the others to gather around and said, “Listen up in there. You’re not getting away. I’m giving you a few minutes to think it over. If you don’t open the door, we’ll take forced action.”

There was still no response from inside. Lei Liming turned to Old Zhao and said, “Call Xiao Jiang. Tell him to be on standby.”

Xiao Jiang, full name Jiang Bai, was also part of their Criminal Investigation team. He didn’t stand out in many areas, but he had one skill that left everyone else in the dust: lockpicking. No matter the lock, it never took him more than three minutes. If he hadn’t dreamed of becoming a police officer since childhood and actually achieved it, with that talent, he would’ve long been on the Public Security Bureau’s watchlist.

Old Zhao stepped away to make the call. Aofeng listened to his footsteps fade into the distance, but his eyes remained fixed on the security door in front of him, as if trying to see through it and figure out what was inside.

At the same time, his ears were perked up, catching even the slightest sound around them.

One, two, three… Aofeng seemed to hear a symphony in his ears. Accompanied by steady, rhythmic breathing, hearts pounded in the tense atmosphere like war drums, each beat sounding especially loud and clear.

After counting the heartbeats, Aofeng immediately sensed something was off. Seven people had come down, and including himself, that made eight. But Old Zhao had already left. So why were there still eight heartbeats? Someone extra was inside!

Aofeng’s expression turned serious. He stepped forward, came up beside the security door, and pressed his ear against it. Sure enough, a fast heartbeat could be heard just beyond the door, separated from him by only a thin layer of metal.

His action confused the others, though it also brought a sense of relief. They had thought Aofeng was about to shout into the room. Only Song Changfeng understood that Aofeng must have discovered something to act this way.

Aofeng pressed his ear tightly against the door, likely trying to catch any sounds from inside. But with a dog’s hearing, even the faintest movement should be audible. Could it be that the person inside was moving so quietly that Aofeng had to get this close just to hear clearly? If that were the case, did it mean the person was standing right by the door?

With that thought, Song Changfeng immediately pulled out his phone, typed a few words, and showed it to everyone one by one. After reading it, they all silently stepped back a few paces, forming a semicircle around the doorway and leaving the entrance clear.

Just then, Old Zhao arrived with Xiao Jiang. While Old Zhao had been on the phone, Xiao Jiang had already made it to the edge of the complex. He had been out earlier with the Criminal Police Detachment helping with a lockpicking job. When he returned to the station and found everyone gone, he got the location and rushed over.

Lei Liming pointed at the door lock. Xiao Jiang gave an “OK” gesture, then tiptoed over to the door and crouched down to examine the lock. After a quick look, he pulled open his coat. Aofeng, sitting beside him, stared wide-eyed. It was like a miniature hardware store in there, packed with all kinds of tools – long and short, round and sharp, straight and curved, everything you could imagine. Watching Xiao Jiang work so skillfully, Aofeng felt a bit of admiration. He thought, once Xiao Jiang retired, he could probably land another job just with his lockpicking skills.

This was an old residential complex, and the locks installed back then were outdated models. Xiao Jiang took out his tools and fiddled with the lock. It only took twenty or thirty seconds before they heard a soft click – the door had been unlocked.

Xiao Jiang gave a hand signal. After a silent countdown – three, two, one – he yanked the door open and immediately jumped behind it. You couldn’t blame him for acting fast. Opening a door like this was risky. If a knife suddenly came flying out, who would he complain to?

The moment the door opened, a cloud of white powder burst out toward them. Luckily, everyone had kept their distance, or they might have gotten hit. The powder was lime² dust, a material used in renovation work. If it had gotten in their eyes, the guy inside might have had a chance to escape in the chaos. But there was no way he could get far. Officers were stationed at the building entrance, and until they gave the all-clear, no one was getting out.

As the lime dust settled harmlessly to the ground, the outcome was already decided. The moment the man inside tried to dash out, everyone swarmed in and took him down.

Once they had him in custody, they saw it was indeed the same man from the surveillance footage – the one who looked like a quiet, honest laborer. Now, with his hands cuffed and a defeated look on his face, no one could tell what he was thinking.

Lei Liming’s first question was, “Why did you throw lime powder at the door?”

The man replied, “I used to… read novels. The characters in them liked to use lime. Once it’s thrown and people can’t see, you can escape.” His Mandarin, tinged with a regional accent, made everyone want to laugh and sigh at the same time.

Lei Liming pressed on, “Then why didn’t you run earlier?”

That was what everyone else wanted to know too. He clearly had a chance to escape after committing the crime. Why wait until the police arrived to try?

The man was silent for a while, then said, “At first, I thought… one life for another. But later, I didn’t want to die anymore.”

Lei Liming understood. When someone who normally leads an honest life breaks the law, their first reaction isn’t to run – it’s confusion. That one blow might have felt satisfying in the moment, but what followed was overwhelming guilt. From what he said, it was clear he’d been a fan of martial arts novels. He probably wanted to imitate those characters who took responsibility for their actions. But when the moment came, the instinct to survive overpowered everything else, and he lost the courage to face the consequences.

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Translator’s Notes

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1. welfare packages: In Chinese workplaces (danwei), ‘fuli’ (welfare) refers to non-monetary benefits or seasonal gifts, such as food, cooking oil, or snacks, distributed to employees by the organization. ↩
2. lime: Throwing lime powder (shihuifen) to blind an opponent is a classic ‘dirty trick’ trope in Chinese Wuxia (martial arts) fiction, often used by desperate characters to facilitate an escape. ↩