“This one.” Liu Yuning looked at Nian Hanmo’s foolish expression and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
“Enough!” I continued to curse, “Nian Hanmo, if you keep pretending, don't blame me for being impolite!”
With that, I took action. I stood up from my chair, walked to Nian Hanmo, and aimed my gun directly at his head!
“He Sheng, calm down!” Liu Yuning was startled by my sudden move.
“Ah! Help! The police are trying to kill me!”
Nian Hanmo deliberately shouted to attract attention from outside. I covered his mouth with my other hand. Nian Hanmo’s eyes widened. He seemed to sense something and quickly held his breath, but it was too late.
I had unknowingly made him inhale a truth serum, a secret medicine from my family that compels people to speak the truth. It was my first time concocting it, so I wasn't sure of its effects.
My seemingly "impulsive" actions were merely to use Nian Hanmo as a guinea pig. The moment I released him, Liu Yuning almost rushed over. I signaled her with my eyes not to worry, and soon I returned to my chair.
At this point, Liu Yuning also noticed something strange about Nian Hanmo. He stared at us with wide, fearful eyes, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably. I guessed the truth serum was taking effect.
This drug contained a small amount of Datura powder, which can cause hallucinations.
Indeed, a minute later, Nian Hanmo’s expression suddenly changed, becoming very serious. His foolish demeanor vanished. Liu Yuning couldn't help but nudge me with her foot from below.
I turned and nodded at her, then spoke to Nian Hanmo, “You can talk now. Where is Pierce?”
“Master, Master is… he is indeed still in the mountain stronghold, but in the air-raid shelter. That place has a very mysterious secret room and many supplies, enough for them for a while.”
“Damn it, so that’s it! Captain Liu, notify my uncle to depart immediately!”
“Okay!” Liu Yuning and I ran out of the interrogation room. My uncle had already set out because he had overheard Nian Hanmo’s words from outside.
The Sin-Punishing team returned to the mountain stronghold.
When we arrived, we couldn’t find my uncle. I was worried he might act rashly. After all, Pierce was in the secret room, and it would be safer if we were there in case of a conflict. But my uncle seemed impatient and had already gone in alone.
Liu Yuning and I led a group of people searching everywhere. Finding the air-raid shelter was supposed to be difficult, but I suddenly noticed something. I beckoned Liu Yuning and the others towards the room I had stayed in before, near a wall.
Xiao Yuande was the first to discover a clue, “These are He Zhiming’s footprints. I clearly remember he likes to wear these sports shoes, size 39.”
“That’s right, these are Uncle’s footprints. Let’s follow them!” I gave the order, and everyone immediately moved. I led the way, with everyone following. After a few minutes, we left the vicinity of the room and arrived under a large banyan tree. The footprints disappeared here, but there was no entrance!
We were all puzzled. Several forensic investigators prepared to help me search, even taking out instruments to scan. Gao Mingqiang and Xia Hou discovered other traces in a patch of grass, but they weren’t footprints. They looked like bloodstains.
Approaching the grass, I touched the blood on one of the blades. A sniff revealed that the blood hadn't been there long. We didn't have time to take it back for analysis, so we could only follow the scent of blood.
After another stretch, I realized we were still within the mountain stronghold, nearing the back mountain. Another 2 kilometers would take us out. I was puzzled. Had Nian Hanmo lied to us?
We couldn't find anything after searching for so long. On the back mountain, we searched for another hour or so, but still found no air-raid shelter, not even an entrance leading down.
Xiao Yuande punched a tree in frustration, “Nian Hanmo, that bastard lied to us!”
“Why would he do that?” Gao Mingqiang asked.
“It’s obvious he’s stalling for time. While we were wasting time here, Pierce has probably gotten further away,” Liu Yuning said helplessly.
Gao Mingqiang nodded, “Let’s go back and settle the score with Nian Hanmo!”
“It’s too late. Since he wanted to deceive us, there’s no point in asking him again. We can only let He Xin pay attention,” I said.
“But we still need to press Nian Hanmo. I don’t believe he won’t talk.”
I didn’t answer. Honestly, I wasn’t confident either. Given Pierce’s cunning, he might have escaped and we wouldn’t be able to find him.
Back at the police station, the technical department was already reviewing surveillance footage. Since we all knew what Pierce looked like, the entire police force of Fuming City and surrounding areas had been mobilized. Director Zhang was getting impatient with us, the Sin-Punishing team. “You still haven’t found him?”
He Xin reported first, “I’ve activated the N system and the big database functions, in conjunction with surveillance, to track him in the surrounding cities and Fuming City, but there are still no traces of Pierce. He must be hiding in some remote wilderness.”
“What about Nian Hanmo?” Director Zhang asked.
I replied, “Liu Yuning is still interrogating him. Regarding his previous answer, he acted as if it was perfectly normal, but he didn’t mock us. He just said that Pierce might have other hiding places.”
“This guy. He Sheng, don’t you have eyes that can detect lies? Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Director Zhang asked me with doubt, clearly not satisfied with the interrogation.
I nodded, “He Xin, keep working hard. I’ll go and have another talk with Nian Hanmo.”
“I’ll wait for your good news, He Sheng. You must catch him, for your uncle and Du Yuting, as well as for the entire Fuming City, and for me!”
“Understood, Director Zhang. Thank you for coming personally.”
“The nature of this case is becoming more serious. I spoke with Director Huang, and we plan to personally come and oversee the investigation!”
“Okay, thank you. With your guidance from behind, I believe this case will definitely be solved!”
Director Zhang nodded seriously, patted my shoulder, and said, “He Jianquan’s descendant, you are the hope of the police force. This time, even if we have to search all of China, digging three feet deep, we will break through this city’s tumor. We are now in the final stage of the offensive. I believe that as long as you all persevere, everything will be fine!”