The weapon by the pillow

Chapter 103 Kill Order

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Yang Hong's phone screen lit up softly.

A message, four stark words, slammed into my eyes:

"Clear everything!"

A kill order. Clean, swift, and without hindrance.

Yang Hong had only heard her predecessors mention such orders before—they would only be given as a last resort, when the lid could no longer be kept on. Receiving such an order meant risking one's life, and also meant… that one foot had already stepped into a deeper chasm.

"Ha." She let out a cold laugh through her nose.

Just moments before, they hadn't even touched her, swiftly "wiping out" Jin Xiaohao, like swatting a noisy cricket—wasn't that a form of reprimand? In the blink of an eye, they'd handed the knife back to her palm, intending to bind her even more deeply to this chariot, to bind her to that unseen core.

This change of attitude was so fast it was chilling.

But Yang Hong had no way out. Once the order was given, she had no choice but to move forward and do this blood-stained job perfectly.

In the speeding car, she had roughly grasped the situation: a group of thugs had raided the prestigious "Ah Hao Tea House" in the city, kidnapping the owner and several influential "figures," and were playing a deadly "Truth or Dare" game in front of the camera! The brief report had already shaken her to her core—this reckless exposure was tantamount to tearing a hole in the sky!

No wonder the authorities went to such lengths to cut off the citywide live broadcast and frantically try to cover it up.

No wonder Director Li rushed to the scene to oversee things.

But the "kill order" waits for no one. She didn't have time to wait for the bureau chief's instructions; she would act first and report later, and do it first and think about it later!

With her mind made up, she pushed open the car door and got out, the night wind carrying a chill to her face. Her gaze swept over the SWAT officers hidden in the shadows, her voice as cold and hard as iron: "Countdown complete. Immediately launch a full-scale assault on the target's private room. If resistance is encountered, kill on the spot. The danger level is extremely high; do not allow the armed target to escape—don't disgrace this uniform!"

"Received!" A crisp, deep reply came through the earpiece, the unwavering authority sending a shiver of satisfaction through Yang Hong. The taste of power—so chilling and scorching.

Unfortunately, this feeling lasted less than ten seconds. Before the countdown had even finished, a hurried voice suddenly cut in:

"Report! Two people have appeared at the target window... Yes, it's Captain Cheng! And Officer Chen Ming!"

How did these two end up at the forefront of the assault?! Are they hostages forced into this situation, or...?

……

Inside the private room, the air seemed to freeze.

Although the images here have disappeared from the public eye, they still appear on a cold, flat screen.

Cheng Tan raised his hand, stopping Chen Ming from blurting out, "Don't say it yet. Let me... guess. If I guess wrong, you can reveal the answer later."

His gaze was like a nail, fixed firmly on the face of the man with the gun. His voice was not loud, but every word was like a scalpel:

"Chen Hao. Li Wan's boyfriend at the time, 25 years old, worked in the same textile factory as a machine repairman. On the night of the incident, you were attending a technical training course in a neighboring city. The records are complete, and there are 23 witnesses who can testify. An impeccable alibi."

This time, under the stark white light of the overhead lamp, the man's face suddenly drained of all color. His eyes were wide open, his pupils contracted sharply, and even the fingers gripping the gun trembled uncontrollably. He never expected that this man, whom he had taken lightly, would contain such deadly fragments in his mind.

"How...how did you know?!" Chen Ming was also shocked and could not speak properly.

Cheng Tan ignored Chen Ming, focusing only on Chen Hao, speaking calmly as if recounting someone else's story: "The training is from 6 PM to 9 PM. From the neighboring city to Jiangzhou, taking the old national highway, there's no traffic, it takes about an hour and forty minutes. If you leave immediately after class at 9 PM, you can arrive by 10:40 PM. The time of the incident is estimated to be between 11 PM and 1 AM. This time... makes sense."

"There were room checks in the training dorms!" Chen Hao's voice grew hoarse. "That night I 'left early due to illness,' returning to the dorm at 9:30. My roommates can vouch for that!"

"Your roommate was from your hometown. He quit his job three months later and went back home, never to be seen again." Cheng Tan pressed on. "Back then, the police called to verify, and he confirmed you were there that night. But what if... he lied? What if you never even went back to that dorm?"

Chen Hao's breathing suddenly became heavy, and the muzzle of the gun swayed almost imperceptibly.

"Motive." Cheng Tan continued, his words flying like arrows. "You and Li Wan have been together for three years, and you were even discussing marriage. Jin Dafu took a liking to her. He used money, power, and other means to force her into submission. You hate him to the core."

"That was... A-Wan's own choice," Chen Hao squeezed out through gritted teeth.

"Is that so?" Cheng Tan shook his head, his eyes filled with pity. "Li Wan's diary doesn't say it like that. Her last entry, written a week before her death, reads: 'Haozi, I'm sorry. Father's illness can't wait, and little brother's tuition can't wait. This body of mine... I'll just sell it. In the next life, I'll be with you honestly.'"

Chen Hao shuddered violently, and spiderweb-like blood vessels instantly appeared in his eyes, like two burning embers, distorting his face.

"How...how did you see her diary?! That notebook should be...should be at Jin Dafu's house..."

"It should have been locked in Jin Dafu's safe, along with the gold bars, banknotes, and contracts," Cheng Tan continued, his voice icy. "After the incident, that diary disappeared. Like many other crucial pieces of evidence... it vanished."

He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping across the wooden box on the table containing the bone dice: "Until three days ago, someone sent it to me. Along with it came thirteen old photographs and a... list."

Chen Hao looked up abruptly: "It was you?! Those things...you sent them?!"

"It wasn't me." Cheng Tan shook his head. "It was the person who sent the package. Someone who knows the whole truth but can't speak up. Someone... hiding in the deepest, darkest corner, coldly watching all of this turn of events."

Outside the window, the police's final ultimatum tore through the air once more, like the tolling of a death knell: "Ten seconds left! Ten, nine, eight..."

Cheng Tan spoke faster, each word like a drumbeat: "Chen Hao, you planned last night's 'live trial.' You chose seven people—those involved in the Jin Dafu case, or those who profited from it. You wanted to use this method to force them to confess and give Li Wan a belated justice. But someone… interfered. Someone usurped your plan, turning the 'trial' into a 'ritual.' Am I right?"

Chen Hao's lips trembled, his gaze sweeping darkly over Sister Fang before fixing on Cheng Tan. Finally, he nodded very slowly and heavily.

"Yes," he admitted hoarsely, as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "I prepared for three years. I investigated everyone's background and gathered enough irrefutable evidence to nail them down. I bought the haunted house, 403, and arranged everything. I screened out seven 'sinners.' The plan was simple: expose their crimes live, force them to confess, and pronounce judgment in public. I wanted the whole world to see that justice, though delayed, will never be absent forever!"

"But the drama didn't go according to your script," Cheng Jing interjected, her voice tense. "Once the live stream started, the power was taken away. The mechanisms in the room triggered on their own, and those eight people... experienced something else entirely."

Chen Hao closed his eyes, as if being dragged back into that terrifying abyss of memory: "All the lights went out, leaving only a few will-o'-the-wisps of candles. A voice... a voice I hadn't anticipated... rang out. It recited the names of those who died thirteen years ago, their tragic fates. Then... a die appeared. A bone die with a missing corner. It said, 'Let's play a game, decide who will "receive" it.'"

"Receive what?" Cheng Tan pressed.

"Receive... the 'key'!" Chen Hao opened his eyes, the lingering fear from the previous night still present in his gaze.