Chapter 13

 Ecstasy lay adjacent to the bar district. At night, it was lit up with colorful lights, and there were luxury cars and beautiful women everywhere on the streets. There was a seductive atmosphere in the air. Despite the season not being summer, the scenery was hot enough to elicit a passionate feeling.

Zhen Yi stood on the side of the road, feeling a bit uneasy. It wasn’t that she was some innocent, pure-hearted girl, but... she glanced at Yan Ge beside her, dressed in all white, looking serene and out of place in this environment.

He wasn’t like some other men who only pretend to be gentlemen. He was naturally calm and indifferent. His face and eyes were pure and transparent, showing no signs of restlessness or Immorality

Despite his remarkable beauty and charm, his aura, reminiscent of a pure-hearted monk standing in a place of temptation, seemed to evoke a sense of shame from all the women around, regardless of their walk in life.

Zhen Yi pursed her lips.

She had agreed to meet the club manager outside the entrance. She stood there with her arms crossed, and a mischievous idea crossed her mind. She asked Yan Ge, "Are you going in later?"

"Do you think I'm here just to be your driver?"

"Of course not," Zhen Yi chuckled mischievously. "I'm just worried... the women here are very open, they might try to strike up a conversation with you, offer you drinks, or try to seduce you with their dancing. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it."

Yan Ge remained silent, his brow furrowing slightly in thought.

Zhen Yi teased, "Hmm, it seems you haven't been to a private bar before."

Silence.

"No wonder you don't know," Zhen Yi continued playfully. "People here are all looking for casual encounters, they're super thirsty. Sometimes they even have sex parties. Just think about it, how could Lin Zi Yi be attracted to someone without any special qualities? Look at you..." She scanned him from head to toe like a brothel madam, unabashedly.

"Definitely top-notch. Once you step inside, there'll be a frenzy, just like entering the Women's Kingdom from 'Journey to the West.' Have you seen that? Don't worry, absolutely everyone will want to pounce on you."

She finished speaking and extended her hand like a cat's claw, even making a "roar" gesture.

Yan Ge's face turned gray for a moment. "If it's really like what you're saying, how could you dare to go in?"

"Come on," Zhen Yi raised her chin proudly. "Any man who comes here ends up being a dead end for them."

Yan Ge: "..."

Just as they were talking, the manager arrived. He was a spirited young man named Suo Lei, who smiled as he got out of the car. "Sorry, there was traffic."

Zhen Yi said, "We appreciate your help."

"No trouble at all, the police have already been here three or four times ."

Suo Lei led them inside, through a long, dimly lit neon corridor, with music coming from the front. Yan Ge walked at the back, and as they were about to enter the main hall, he suddenly pulled Zhen Yi's arm.

Zhen Yi turned around, surprised. "What's wrong?"

Perhaps because of the colorful lights, his fair face turned slightly red, and his voice was low. "What you just said... it was all a lie, right?"

"What did I say just now?"

Zhen Yi was momentarily stunned, then she realized and laughed softly. "Yan Ge, you're still as cute as ever. I really like you."

"..."

The dim and ambiguous lighting, with guests sitting in small tables or booths, chatting and drinking, created a very relaxed atmosphere. There were people dancing on the dance floor, but the music playing at the moment wasn't intense.

Going up to the second floor from the small staircase in the corner of the main hall led to the private rooms. There were only two security cameras along the way, and their angles weren't wide. As Sui Lei had mentioned, there were blind spots, and you could avoid them by walking close to the walls.

Zhen Yi asked, "Aren't the angles of these cameras too narrow?"

"Yes. This is a high-end private bar. Celebrities and wealthy people come here, and the security cameras are just for show. They often aren't turned on."

Zhen Yi checked her watch. It was 10:30 in the evening, and there was no one on the second floor. The room plaques were turned off, indicating they were unoccupied. She looked around, and the direction they had come from was the only exit. At the end of the corridor was a closed security door.

"Can we pass through that door?"

"No, although it's a secure passageway, it's locked year-round for security reasons."

"How do you know that no one passed through that door on the day of the incident?"

"Because the key is in my possession, and there's a small monitor right in front of the entrance. Not to mention the day of the incident, there hasn't been any activity for months."

"Do these private rooms remain empty at night?"

"We have private booths outside, which are already quite private. If someone specifically wants a private room, it might arouse suspicion. If they really want to do something, they'll go to a hotel. Celebrities come here to experience the bar atmosphere, not to hide in private rooms."

"Why do you think Lin Zi Yi came upstairs then?"

Suo Lei scratched his head. "If someone wanted to talk to me about something, I might come up here for some peace and quiet."

"I was thinking the same thing," Zhen Yi smiled and pushed open the door to the room where the incident had occurred. The evidence had already been collected and the cleanup done, but there still seemed to be a faint smell of blood in the room.

"Who found the deceased?"

"The cleaning lady found him. She was terrified and called me on the walkie-talkie. I was pretty scared too. I mean, I've seen all sorts of scenes before, but this one... it's just too horrifying," Suo Lei shivered. "That guy was... nailed to..."

"Nailed? Wasn't he tied up?" Zhen Yi asked.

"He was tied up, but his hands and feet were pierced and fixed to the bed with glass shards. What else would you call it if not nailed?" Suo Lei continued, "The worst part wasn't that; it was what had happened to his lower body. It looked..."

"Painful?" Zhen Yi asked.

"Well, yeah... cough cough. Really painful."

"Must've been a real pain in the... you know."

Suo Lei fell silent.

The manager couldn't handle the conversation and looked at Yan Ge for help, but Yan Ge remained calm. "Trust me, she's already toned it down."

"Is the murder weapon from here?" Zhen Yi asked.

"It's a fruit knife provided in the private rooms, a common style that you can buy at the supermarket. It was left stuck in his chest."

"What about the bloodstains?"

"The bed was covered in blood, and Lin Zi Yi's clothes were also stained, but other areas were quite clean."

"Clean?" Zhen Yi pondered aloud, "Because the killer used his own clothes to protect himself from getting cut by the weapon and from getting splattered with blood."

Suo Lei was surprised. "How did you know that?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? Using cloth to wrap the weapon also disrupts the bloodstain analysis by the police. The killer is quite clever."

Silence.

Zhen Yi turned back. "What are you looking at?"

"It's just strange; you seem to know a lot," Suo Lei said.

"Haha, well, if I were to commit murder, I'd be this thorough!"

"Don't say that, it's creepy," Suo Lei rubbed his hands. "But is a lawyer usually this knowledgeable in these matters?"

"It doesn't look like it, but I come from a criminal investigation and crime science background."

The manager said, "You're so playful; it really doesn't seem like it."

Yan Ge looked at Zhen Yi. At that moment, she was checking the screws on the window security grille, her head almost resting on the windowsill. The projection lights from the trees outside reflected on her face, making it porcelain-white, and her bright eyes were full of concentration, like they held the depth of the night. Next to her petite, upturned nose, a corner of the window screen fluttered lightly with her breath.

Doesn't seem like it? Yan Ge didn't agree.

She was always carefree, whimsical, and sometimes offbeat, but once she set her mind on something, she poured in a passion and focus that most people couldn't match, living life as if she were fighting for it.

Love was a crazy battle, work was an unyielding struggle.

People who burned with such passion often emerged victorious in whatever they pursued.

He had been lucky to have won her over.

Zhen Yi looked around, getting a basic understanding of the situation. She thanked the manager and walked out of the room, but she froze in the hallway.

Across the corridor, there was a painting hanging on the wall—a girl falling gracefully from a great height, as if she were flying. The frame had a layer of glass, and there was a faint shadow on top of it. It reflected Zhen Yi's surprised expression and the empty wall behind her, the doorway, and the black number 31 on the door panel.

She felt strangely eerie. Was Wu Zhe's dream just a dream?

Yan Ge also saw it. He had heard Zhen Yi describe her conversation with Wu Zhe, so when he saw this scene, he furrowed his brows slightly. "Either Wu Zhe has been here, or the killer had contact with Wu Zhe."

Going downstairs to the lobby, Suo Lei was quite courteous, saying, "Don't rush to leave. I don't have much here, but I can make you a cocktail."

"Sure, Black Jack."

"Unique choice," the young man smiled and skillfully mixed the cocktail with fruit juice, ice, and coffee liqueur.

Zhen Yi sat on a high stool and asked Yan Ge, "How about you?"

"I'm driving."

"It's very low alcohol content, like fruit juice."

"No, thank you."

"You always say no," Zhen Yi murmured softly, her thoughts trembling slightly.

In their younger days in Deep City, Yan Ge used to speak Cantonese, and "唔得 (ng dak)" – meaning "no, don't want" – was the phrase he often used with her. Hearing it again now, it felt like a slight distortion of time.

She rested her chin on her hand, watching Suo Lei mix the drinks, while Yan Ge's gaze was fixed on the liquor shelf behind him. "Do many customers store their own alcohol here?"

"A small portion of them."

"What about Lin Zi Yi?"

"He stored some; the police took a sample for testing, but the rest is still there." He turned and pointed to a bottle of gold liquor on the shelf.

Due to Yan Ge's keen observation, Zhen Yi suddenly had a new idea. Lin Zi Yi's alcohol could be a crucial point. She tilted her head and smiled meaningfully at Yan Ge, who remained calm. Both of them understood the implications.

She thought for a moment, then playfully brushed her foot against Yan Ge's leg, leaned closer to him, and deliberately blew air in his ear. "You're very clever."

Faced with what seemed like her teasing, Yan Ge remained silent.

Zhen Yi amused herself, sipping her drink while pondering:

The killer couldn't have escaped through the window and was still in the club after the murder.

Leaving aside the issue of binding, forcefully driving glass shards through the victim's body showed significant strength and anger on the part of the killer.

The police took Lin Zi Yi's stored alcohol for testing, indicating that drugs might have been found in his system. But why drug him? 

Wouldn't it have been better for the killer if the victim had been conscious? Moreover, Lin Zi Yi was a regular at nightclubs, so he wouldn't have had low vigilance. How did the killer manage to approach him and administer drugs?

It seemed that the killer was intelligent, meticulous, and calm, with a strong ability to evade detection. In terms of investigative psychology, they should consider individuals with a criminal history first.

As Zhen Yi was lost in thought, she suddenly heard Yan Ge's cool voice. "Something doesn't add up."

"What?" Zhen Yi was lost in her thoughts and turned her head, her eyes sparkling, staring directly at Yan Ge.

He wasn't used to the intense gaze and turned his head away. "The killer clearly planned this meticulously, premeditated it for a long time. But the murder weapons, a fruit knife and a razor blade, were improvised from the bar. Isn't that strange?"

Zhen Yi was momentarily stunned and didn't have time to think further as her phone rang. It was from Song Yi.

Her voice sounded urgent, "Lawyer Zhen, the police have arrested me and taken me to the police station. You must help me, I didn't kill anyone, I didn't kill anyone!"