Chapter 114: Qu Wenbiao’s Final Fate – Repentance, But Never an Escape

The brief discussion among the three had temporarily settled the special task force’s next course of action.

First, they would make a grand show of heading to Gusu City, high-profile and conspicuous, to join up with other task force members transferred from various cities.

When that happened, tweets from netizens and other means of spreading information would make it seem as if they were openly signaling to everyone in the drug trafficking organization—

Their next target…

Was the “Poison” hidden in Gusu City. Using numerous revealed clues and the recently deceased Fat Cat as the breakthrough point, they would create the illusion of an imminent crackdown.

But in reality—Their true target was Qiangwei in Liangxi City.

Because uncovering Qiangwei would be an irresistible breakthrough, granting them knowledge of every individual within the entire drug trafficking organization.

By then, combined with the most advanced facial recognition technology, they could very likely pinpoint the exact identities of several key members.

As for how to pull off this deception and feed the drug lord—who was always monitoring police movements—false information, that would require more detailed planning tomorrow.

—

After finalizing the task force’s agenda, Su Ming and Xu Changsheng left Lin Tian’s office to prepare the necessary documents for the next day and meticulously sort through the clues and procedures.

As for Lin Tian—After taking a photo of the case details Su Ming had written on the whiteboard, he sent it to Xu, the head of the Modu Public Security Bureau.

This was not just a progress report but also a statement that the special task force had begun operations.

Once the photo was sent, Lin Tian leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a heavy cloud of smoke toward the ceiling.

After a few seconds of contemplation, he stubbed out the cigarette and walked toward the task force’s detention area.

Nodding in acknowledgment to the officers he passed, Lin Tian reached the high-security holding cell at the back. Inside, restrained with one hand cuffed to the railing, sat Qu Wenbiao—head bowed, silent.

Lin Tian stepped forward, pulled out a cigarette pack, and offered one to him.

“Principal Qu, want a smoke?”

Hearing this, Qu Wenbiao slowly lifted his head to glance at Lin Tian, then lowered it again, shaking his head hoarsely.

“No need. I’ve never smoked.”

Lin Tian didn’t press further. He simply put the cigarette into his own mouth, flicked his lighter, and lit it.

Taking a deep inhale, he exhaled the smoke through his nose and spoke calmly—

“The person responsible for your son’s death… we’ve found him.”

At these words, Qu Wenbiao, who had been silent and withdrawn, instantly lifted his head in shock. His eyes widened, and his lips trembled as he stammered—

“W-what? You’ve found him? Where is he? Where is he now?”

“And… what about the rest of the drug trafficking organization? They all deserve to die! Have you caught them all?”

As he spoke, Qu Wenbiao violently tugged at his handcuffs, his emotions clearly spiraling out of control.

After all—In his last desperate gamble, Qu Wenbiao had placed all his hopes on that criminal organization, only to receive in return…

The cold, shattered corpse of his own son.

From the very beginning, it was this drug trafficking ring that had driven Qu Pengfei down the path of no return. How could he not hate them?

If he had the chance, he would kill every last one of them with his own hands.

Watching Qu Wenbiao’s intense reaction, Lin Tian sighed inwardly, unsure of what to say.

Though all of this was ultimately the result of his own choices, it was also true—as Qu Wenbiao himself had said before—Once caught in the whirlpool of this drug cartel, there was no way out.

You either killed for them and became part of the organization, or you were eliminated by other members.

That was why eradicating this cancer was so crucial.

Suppressing his swirling thoughts, Lin Tian sighed again, took another drag of his cigarette, and looked straight into Qu Wenbiao’s trembling eyes as he stated—

“The man who drove your son to his death was Zhou Shirui—a renowned sculptor from Modu.”

“He was also the murderer behind the dismemberment case at Modu University twenty years ago and one of the founding members of the drug cartel, using murder as inspiration for his artwork.”

“When we identified and restrained him, just as we were about to make the arrest, he detonated a high-explosive device he had strapped to himself.”

“He was blown to pieces—becoming yet another ‘inspiration’ for his accomplices.”

At this revelation, Qu Wenbiao froze momentarily. But instead of feeling the satisfaction of vengeance, he simply muttered the same words over and over again—

“Good… good… he deserved to die…”

He repeated this several times before suddenly clenching his fists and asking urgently—

“Chief Lin, what about the others?”

“What about the rest of the organization? No news yet?”

Lin Tian nodded slightly, his gaze sharp and unwavering.

“No news—yet. But it’s only temporary.”

“The police have them in our sights now.”

“No matter what it takes, we will root them out. We will not allow such a vile organization to continue hiding in the shadows of our nation!”

Qu Wenbiao fell silent for several seconds before reaching out and hoarsely saying—

“Chief Lin… give me a cigarette.”

Without hesitation, Lin Tian took out another cigarette, lit it against his own, and handed it to Qu Wenbiao.

The moment he received it, Qu Wenbiao took a deep drag—

Cough, cough!

Cough, cough, cough!

Through the violent coughing, tears streamed down Qu Wenbiao’s face. Still coughing, he muttered—

“This stuff is harsh…”

“By the way, Chief Lin… I hope you catch them soon.”

With that, he took another deep inhale.

Cough, cough, cough!

The coughing grew harsher.

Qu Wenbiao, eyes red from tears and smoke, finished the cigarette, stubbed it out, and looked at Lin Tian with a hoarse, choking voice—

“Chief Lin… let me be alone for a while.”

Seeing that the cigarette was completely extinguished, Lin Tian nodded slightly and stepped out of the cell.

But the moment he left—Painful wails of despair and the sound of Qu Wenbiao repeatedly slamming his head against the padded walls of his cell rang out behind him.

Lin Tian paused, silently listening to the anguished cries for two seconds.

Then, his eyes hardened with resolve as he strode forward—determined to wipe this drug cartel from existence!

—

As the case progressed, Qu Wenbiao fully confessed to his involvement in premeditated murder and concealing his son’s drug trafficking activities, without any resistance.

A school principal who had conspired to kill his own students—his actions had caused extreme harm and widespread negative impact. Given the severity of his crimes and his extensive cover-up of drug-related activities, a harsh sentence was warranted.

However, due to his cooperation in exposing the dark web’s operations—giving law enforcement crucial leverage to dismantle the drug cartel—his contributions were acknowledged.

The Modu court sentenced Qu Wenbiao to death, with a two-year reprieve.

During his probation period, his good behavior led to his sentence being commuted to life imprisonment.

After serving seventeen years, he was finally released from prison.

Upon his release—Now old and gray, the first thing Qu Wenbiao did was donate all his savings to Shude Middle School, establishing a fund to support students from underprivileged or broken families.

After completing this task, he returned alone to his childhood home in Shengtian Village.

For three days, he cleaned his old house and revisited every familiar corner of the village.

Then, with a single rope, he erased all his regrets and pain.

Seventeen years behind bars—That was the debt he owed the state and the students who had died. The punishment he believed he deserved.

And the final rope—Was the release of a man who had lost everything.