Chapter 44: Someone Leaked a Key Clue About the Blue Whale Game Case

The Ferris wheel came to a halt as the power was cut.

At the same time, Su Ming, Xu Changsheng, and the others were striding toward the cabin.

The sudden approach triggered a surge of emotion in Huang Yan. In a panic, she fumbled through her backpack and pulled out a fruit knife with dried bloodstains on it, shouting:

“Don’t come any closer!”

“I don’t know how you found me so quickly, but stay back! Don’t come any closer!”

Su Ming and the others had originally planned to subdue Huang Yan immediately and restore power to the Ferris wheel as soon as possible to avoid alarming other visitors.

But the moment they saw the fruit knife in her hand, they all stopped in unison, not daring to rush forward.

Of course, it wasn’t because they were afraid of being hurt by her.

What they feared was that, in a fit of emotional turmoil, she might take her own life.

If she accidentally slashed an artery, they might not even make it to the hospital in time.

Xu Changsheng stepped forward slightly, raising his left hand in a calming gesture and spoke gently:

“Don’t be nervous, Huang Yan.”

“We’re here to help you, not to arrest you. There’s still a chance to turn things around.”

“Can you come out of the cabin now?”

But his words had no effect.

The moment he took two small steps forward, Huang Yan grew even more agitated and shouted:

“Back off! Stay away from me!”

“You can’t help me. If you really wanted to help…”

“Then start the Ferris wheel again, okay?”

“Please, Officer! I’m begging you, just let me ride one more round!”

“Just one more round, that’s all I need!”

She was visibly emotional, her arm trembling as she gripped the fruit knife.

In this situation, Xu Changsheng, with all his years of experience, would never allow her to ride the Ferris wheel alone.

Because it was highly likely…

That after one more round, what awaited them wouldn’t be Huang Yan, but a lifeless body.

But they couldn’t just keep stalling either.

They had to find a way to stabilize her emotions quickly, or convince her to step out of the cabin on her own.

At that moment, Su Ming, who had remained silent until now, narrowed his eyes and thought deeply for a couple of seconds.

After analyzing Huang Yan’s emotional state and the likely reason for her red-rimmed eyes, he spoke seriously while holding up his phone:

“Huang Yan.”

“Your parents are on their way here. I think that even if you really plan to do something this extreme…”

“You should at least…”

“See your parents one last time. Say everything you want to say before you go.”

“And do you know why we were able to find you so quickly?”

“It’s because after we called your parents, they immediately told us…”

“That this was the most likely place you’d be.”

“You think they don’t care about you, but then how could they be so sure you’d be here…?”

Before Su Ming could finish, Huang Yan interrupted, her voice rising with emotion as she shook her head:

“No, that’s impossible!”

“They haven’t even called me! How could they be on their way here?!”

“Stop lying to me!”

“Lying? Why would I lie to you?” Su Ming replied with a look of disdain, shaking his phone.

“All the evidence is right here.”

“To prevent you from becoming even more emotional and doing something irreversible, we specifically asked your parents not to contact you. We told them to leave it to the police.”

“All they had to do was drop everything and come here immediately.”

“Huang Yan, if you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. But think about it…”

“If your parents hadn’t told us that this Ferris wheel was where you took your last family photo, and that you’d definitely come here, how could we have found you so quickly?”

“The police wouldn’t lie to a kid like you.”

“There are even call records in this phone. I’ll hand it to you now. The lock screen password is 2580.”

“And for the case file, we even recorded the call. You can listen to it yourself later!”

These words clearly left Huang Yan dazed, her inner resolve starting to crumble.

That’s right.

If her parents hadn’t told the police, how could they have found her so fast?

That would’ve been impossible.

So maybe…

The reason her parents hadn’t called was because the police had asked them not to, to avoid upsetting her?

Huang Yan kept questioning herself in her mind.

Unaware that she had already walked right into the trap Su Ming had carefully laid for her.

He had taken advantage of the likelihood that Huang Yan had recently used drugs or opioids.

Exploiting the fact that her ability to think and judge had been significantly impaired in the short term.

He subtly implanted the idea…

That the police had found her so quickly because her parents had helped.

To prove to her…

That her parents still cared about her deeply, even knowing exactly where she might go.

Using this kind of psychological suggestion and reverse logic…

He gradually eased Huang Yan’s tightly wound emotions, and used the excuse of handing her the phone as a way to slowly approach her.

Standing behind him, Xu Changsheng quietly drew in a sharp breath, his heart filled with shock and disbelief.

Because…

Everything Su Ming had just said was a textbook example of psychological suggestion and manipulation.

The most incredible part…

Was that he had come up with such an effective method in such a short time. Even professional psychologists couldn’t do better.

Not to mention…

He lied using the police name without the slightest change in his expression.

This was…

Thank goodness Su Ming was a Criminal Police officer. Otherwise, with psychological skills like these, if he weren’t a top-level fugitive, he’d at least be flagged for early monitoring.

…

At that moment.

While Huang Yan was still questioning herself, Su Ming had already walked up to the cabin.

He gently knocked on the door, unlocked the outer latch, and said seriously:

“Here.”

“I’ve unlocked the outer door.”

“Now you just need to unlock the inside latch and open the door just a little.”

“Then I’ll hand you the phone. Once you check the call records, you’ll know whether I lied.”

“You only need to open it a crack. You’ve got a fruit knife, after all, so you don’t need to worry.”

Huang Yan quickly reacted. She glanced at Su Ming’s calm smile, then shifted her body slightly.

She unlocked the cabin door from the inside, gently pushed it open a little with one hand, while still gripping the fruit knife in the other.

Just as she was about to take the phone…

Su Ming suddenly pulled it back slightly, as if he had just remembered something, and said with a warm smile:

“Wait.”

“I just remembered something I wanted to ask.”

“Huang Yan, have you been really into blue whales lately? Or are you planning to go to the coast to see one?”

“I noticed…”

“You and Zhang Wan have both been paying a lot of attention to blue whales recently. What’s going on with that?”

“I’m a little curious. Just answer that, and we’ll call it even for me helping you.”

Looking at the phone just inches away…

But still deliberately kept at a distance by Su Ming, Huang Yan bit her lower lip and scooted even closer to the cabin door.

Her desire to get the phone grew stronger, and she said anxiously:

“It’s not because I like them. It’s a game, a game!”

“We’ve been playing this thing called the Blue Whale Game lately!!!”

The moment he heard the words “Blue Whale Game,”

Su Ming’s eyes instantly sharpened with intensity. He deliberately lowered his phone slightly.

Just as Huang Yan had gripped half the phone and was about to take it away, Su Ming suddenly and without warning asked,

“By the way.”

“Huang Yan, do you still remember what I said my lock screen password was?”

Su Ming’s sudden question caught Huang Yan off guard, her attention completely focused on the phone. She instinctively showed a confused expression, trying to recall the four-digit lock screen password.

And just as she slipped into a daze, her vigilance clearly lowered,

Su Ming didn’t hesitate for a second. He immediately stuck his right foot in the cabin door and forced his way inside.

His left hand, which had been holding the phone, instantly let go and reached straight for Huang Yan’s right wrist—the one holding the knife.

His free right hand was ready to act at any moment, prepared to stop Huang Yan from doing anything more extreme.

Su Ming’s sudden move caught the dazed Huang Yan completely off guard!!!

By the time she instinctively tried to swing the fruit knife, a sharp, unbearable pain shot through her wrist. The knife, stained with dried blood, fell to the floor of the cabin.

Su Ming immediately stepped on the fruit knife with his left foot, using his body weight to further restrict Huang Yan’s movements.

This sudden act of restraint made Huang Yan even more agitated. She struggled and screamed,

“Ah… it hurts!”

“Let go, let go of me!!!”

But her struggle was completely futile.

Whether in strength, skill, or size, the two were on entirely different levels.

What’s more,

after being under prolonged mental stress, combined with the effects of medication and drugs,

Huang Yan had no strength left to resist!

Xu Changsheng, who had been standing behind them, rushed forward and asked urgently,

“Xiao Ming, how is it?”

“Did you get control? Are you hurt?”

In situations like this—restraining a Criminal Suspect or someone attempting suicide—

it’s very easy for police officers to get injured. There have even been cases where officers were pulled off buildings and died despite emergency rescue.

So,

Xu Changsheng’s first concern was naturally Su Ming’s condition.

Su Ming didn’t respond right away.

He looked at Huang Yan, who was still emotionally unstable but no longer able—or perhaps no longer willing—to struggle.

He pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his waist. Since they were inside a Ferris wheel cabin, he simply cuffed Huang Yan’s right hand to his own left hand.

Then he exhaled deeply and spoke in a gentle tone,

“Alright, relax, Huang Yan.”

“What I just did was to ensure your safety. That’s why I had to use force.”

“I hope you’ll cooperate from here on out. Don’t do anything so extreme again. It’s better for all of us that way.”

After saying that,

Su Ming turned to Xu Changsheng behind him, lifted their cuffed hands slightly, and smiled casually.

“I’m not hurt, Brother Sheng.”

“Things got urgent just now, so I acted on instinct…”

Xu Changsheng waved his hand, signaling that Su Ming didn’t need to explain. Then he turned to Huang Yan and said,

“Huang Yan.”

“This morning at Shude High School, there was an incident involving someone falling from a building. At the scene, we discovered…”

Before Xu Changsheng could finish,

Huang Yan, clutching her phone tightly in her left hand, stared at Su Ming with lifeless eyes and choked out,

“So you…”

“You… you were lying to me just now? My parents never… they never even looked for me!!!”

“They’re still busy with their so-called work. They didn’t tell you anything about where I was!!!”

“You tricked me. You’ve been lying to me from the start!!!”

Seeing the disappointment in Huang Yan’s eyes,

and…

sensing her emotions teetering on the edge of collapse, Su Ming let out a long sigh and gently took the phone from her grasp.

Without offering any explanation, he dialed the top number in her contacts and put the call on speaker.

The call connected instantly—before even the first dial tone could sound, someone picked up.

A panicked middle-aged man’s voice came through immediately.

“Officer Su, Officer Su!”

“Did you… did you find Xiao Yan? Have you found Xiao Yan?!”

The moment she heard that familiar yet distant voice,

Huang Yan’s eyes widened, and her emotions visibly began to stabilize.

Seeing that Su Ming didn’t respond right away, the man on the phone grew even more anxious.

“O-Officer Su, please say something.”

“We followed your instructions. We didn’t call Xiao Yan or try to contact her at all.”

“What’s happening now? Xiao Yan’s not… she’s not…”

Just then,

a hoarse, furious, and almost hysterical woman’s voice burst through the phone.

“Huang!”

“A year ago, when Xiao Yan got into that car accident, I told you to forget about the company. But what did you say to me…”

“You said it was a critical time for the company. Just two more years and we’d retire. By then, even if Xiao Yan couldn’t work because of her leg, the money we’d earn would be enough for her whole life!!!”

“And what happened? You’ve been running around every day, barely home more than a few times a year. I’m done with this company. You go find someone else to run it!!”

“And if anything happens to Xiao Yan, you can forget about living in peace!!!”

…

That outburst—

Su Ming could already guess it was Huang Yan’s mother. He turned to look at her.

She was staring blankly ahead, her eyes misted over with tears.

Su Ming sighed helplessly and finally responded,

“We’ve found her.”

“I’m with Huang Yan right now. Do you want to speak with her?”

He held the phone out in front of Huang Yan.

Seeing the familiar number on the screen, Huang Yan opened her mouth as if she had a lot to say.

But in the end, she didn’t know what to say. Her eyes drifted to the gray bottle in the corner of the seat, and she shook her head at Su Ming, signaling she didn’t want to talk.

Su Ming didn’t mind. He pulled the phone back and said,

“Your daughter doesn’t want to talk right now.”

“Also, there’s no need for you to come to Fantawild Adventure Park. Head straight to the Huaihai Criminal Investigation Brigade.”

“We’re taking Huang Yan there now. There’s a case she needs to assist with.”

“As for the details, we’ll talk once you arrive at the brigade.”

“That’s all.”

With that,

Su Ming ended the call without hesitation. He looked at Huang Yan, who still seemed dazed, and explained,

“Yes.”

“I lied to you earlier. Your parents didn’t know you were at the amusement park. I figured it out based on clues.”

“But…”

“I wasn’t lying about how worried your parents are about you. And we were the ones who told them not to call you, to avoid triggering any unknown consequences.”

In cases involving minors,

protocol requires notifying their guardians. So on the way to the amusement park,

Su Ming had already contacted Huang Yan’s parents. Which meant, in a way, the comforting words he used earlier to lower her guard were half-truths.

He put the phone back in his pocket.

Then he gently rattled the handcuffs, bringing the dazed Huang Yan back to her senses, and gestured to her.

“Alright, now you understand where you stand in your parents’ hearts, don’t you?”

“Stop talking about dying. Just explain the problem clearly, and that will be enough.”

“As for why they’re so obsessed with making money and neglecting to spend time with you, that’s something for your family to talk through properly later.”

“For now, let’s return to the Police Station.”

“We need you to tell us everything you know about the Blue Whale Game.”

The word “later” in Su Ming’s sentence struck a nerve in Huang Yan. The mist in her eyes finally broke, turning into tears that rolled down her cheeks. In a dazed, hoarse voice, she said:

“Later?”

“But I don’t have a later…”

“Even if I start regretting everything now, I don’t have the chance to regret anymore!!!”