Chapter 23: Each Harboring Their Own Schemes

"Have you contacted the Emergency Department?" Li Jiajie stood at the doorway, a cup of coffee in his hands.

"I've already reached out to the Administration Department. They're assigning us the nearest emergency team, but even at the earliest, they won't arrive until dusk," Dai Yin reported.

"Alright, I understand. Rest a little more, we'll have work to do soon." Li Jiajie patted Dai Yin on the head, offering a gentle reminder.

9:00 a.m., at the village gate

As Akun passed by the entrance to the village, he spotted the members of the Phoenix Song Squad.

He walked over and saw the short boy, half his body buried under the open hood of a car, fiddling around. When he emerged, his face was smudged with dirt, and he looked utterly dejected.

Seeing this, Akun mustered a stiff smile on his thin face and asked, "Young man, why are you all still here?"

Si Guilong was nearly fuming with anger. "Brother Li is something else. We came out here for fun, the car broke down, and he just let me work on it all night while he snored away! And now, look, after all that, I still haven't fixed it! No one should expect to head back, humph!" With that, he ran off, clearly upset.

"Hey! You...!"

"This gives me just the opportunity I need..." Akun's expression shifted from surprise to something dark and sinister, a chilling smile creeping across his face. Zijin's guess had been right—Akun was, in fact, Zhang Gong, the infamous murderer from years past.

Meanwhile, after Si Guilong was out of Akun's line of sight, he quickly rejoined the captain. "Captain, I've finished my act. It's your turn now. I'll head over to the pond."

"It's in your hands," Li Jiajie replied quietly.

About half an hour later, Li Jiajie arrived at the cement house where the old woman stayed.

"Elder, are you awake? We have a few questions for you." Li Jiajie knocked gently on the wooden door and waited patiently for a response.

Not long after, the door opened, and it was Akun who greeted him. He looked Li Jiajie up and down, puzzled. "What do you need?"

"Well, brother Akun," Li Jiajie replied with an awkward smile, "only that kid of ours can fix cars, and after working all night, he still couldn't get it running. So, we can't leave today either. We thought of calling someone to tow it, but the mechanic we contacted won't arrive until tomorrow. Would it be too much trouble for us to stay another night?"

He kept smiling apologetically and pulled two thousand yuan from the inside pocket of his coat. "I know this might not be enough, brother, but if you let us stay just one more night, I'll double it!"

Akun considered for a moment, then feigned reluctance. "Alright, you can stay, but you must promise not to disturb my mother. She's frail and can't take the commotion."

"No problem at all," Li Jiajie replied cheerfully, slipping the wad of cash into Akun's padded jacket without drawing attention. "Uh... Brother Akun, I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead," Akun replied, his head lowered as he counted the bills.

Elsewhere, Zijin and Si Guilong arrived at the pond where they'd been the previous night.

Zijin scanned the area. "Senior Si, where did you find the tracks yesterday?"

Si Guilong looked around, then pointed to a spot near the pond, close to the village. "Over there!" The two approached, and in broad daylight, the signs of disturbed earth were all too clear.

"Let's dig it up," Si Guilong said seriously, convinced something was buried beneath.

Shovel after shovel, the pit grew deeper. After an hour, the two stood in the hole, only their heads visible above the earth.

Zijin, slightly out of breath, asked, "Senior, is this the right place? We've dug over a meter and found nothing. Did we miss a step?"

Si Guilong was deep in thought. By rights, his night vision was excellent, and he couldn't have misremembered the spot. Yet, every place they'd dug, guided by his memory, yielded nothing.

"We'll have to leave it for now," he said, checking the time—it was already two in the afternoon. Frustration gnawed at him. Missions in the past had never been this complicated; he was used to collecting data and intelligence, nothing more. Now, things grew more tangled by the minute.

"Let's keep searching along the edge of the pond. Maybe we missed something," Zijin encouraged him.

On the rooftop beside the cement house, Dai Yin was using a micro-lens to observe what was happening inside. The screen showed Li Jiajie and Akun chatting. Another window displayed the old woman, sitting motionless in a rocker by the window, her legs wrapped in thick cloth, basking in sunlight—her condition seemed to be worsening.

"Oh, so that's why we haven't seen any other villagers since yesterday—they're all out hunting," Li Jiajie laughed heartily. "I was starting to think the place was haunted!" Hours passed, and he and Akun, chatting in the yard, laughed as if they were old friends.

"Our village is poor," Akun explained. "In summer, we gather herbs in the mountains—lingzhi mushrooms, regular mushrooms, those are our main source of income. In winter, all we can do is hunt and make jerky to survive the cold. The mountain paths are steep, and if you want good game, you have to stay out there a long time. This time, everyone’s been gone more than seven days. By my count, they should be back tonight. You're in luck!"

"Ah, thank you so much, brother. But I heard something odd recently—didn’t someone go missing in the village? Could it have happened while hunting?" Li Jiajie asked, his tone grateful but quickly shifting to curiosity.

He noticed Akun stiffen, the smile faltering for a moment before he forced it back, answering casually, "That was just some mischievous kids playing a prank on the patrol. They thought it was fun—when the truth came out, their parents gave them a good lesson. No one’s missing, really!"

"Tonight, when everyone is back, I'll call you all over for a meal—be sure to come!" With their conversation complete and his goal achieved, Li Jiajie took his leave. Standing in the doorway, he responded enthusiastically, "Don’t worry, brother Akun. I’ll bring them all tonight!"

Watching Li Jiajie walk away, Akun's expression suddenly turned cold. "You'd better come. I’ll deal with all of you in one go."