Outside an unremarkable old apartment building in a bustling downtown area, a taxi slowly pulled over to the side of the road.
"Here you go, Ms. Dai. Your secret base," Han Shi said with a chuckle, taking off his baseball cap.
"You know quite a lot," Diana said, her heart sinking as she realized the other person had found her hideout.
"I've been investigating you and Ma Delu for years. You two 'wild couple' show up for a rendezvous every so often. Do you think I wouldn't know? Han Shi said with a smile, "Shall we talk in the car, or back at the house?"
"What do you really want?" Diana, seeing how much he knew, gritted her teeth and said, "I can give you money. How much do you want?"
"No, no, no, I don't want money. I just want to know what secrets you two 'wild couple' are hiding in this house," Han Shi said with a sinister grin. "For example, your daughter is clearly Ma Delu's illegitimate daughter, so why has your family never reunited?"
It turned out that during his previous investigation of Diana, Han Shi discovered that Ma Delu would sometimes meet Diana here, and Diana would occasionally bring Dai Lian to stay for a short period. However, the family of three had never been together. Han Shi's suspicion that Dai Lian was Ma Delu's illegitimate daughter was initially a guess, but the father and daughter looked so alike that it was hard not to suspect. It was possible Ma Delu didn't even know about this girl's existence. But one time, Han Shi witnessed something bizarre.
"I investigated you for years and finally gave up. Even with hatred, do you know why?" Han Shi said. "Because I was scared. I encountered problems that couldn't be solved by common sense or science."
Upon hearing Han Shi's words, Diana suddenly clutched Dai Lian's hand tightly.
"When I was undercover in Ma Delu's company, I accidentally discovered your daughter, oh, that is, student Dai, secretly went to the company to find Ma Delu. I was secretly looking for something in Ma Delu's office when he unexpectedly returned. I couldn't avoid it and hid behind the curtains, and to my surprise, I witnessed an astonishing scene."
That night, after Ma Delu returned to the office, a little girl followed him. It was Dai Lian. At first, Han Shi thought Ma Delu knew about this daughter and wanted to acknowledge her, but he didn't expect Dai Lian to be so familiar with Ma Delu's office. She casually opened Ma Delu's safe and naturally took out a stack of cash.
Ma Delu initially tried to stop her, but was slapped by Dai Lian, who was still a little girl, standing on her tiptoes. She then said something that made Han Shi's blood run cold.
"Don't treat me like a child. The moment I was born, you should have already died. I am the soul, and you are just a shell!" Han Shi uttered these words word for word, and even now, he still felt a chill.
"What does this sentence mean? Is it what I think it means?" Han Shi stared intently at Dai Lian, who had been feigning innocence from the beginning.
Diana remained silent, looking at Dai Lian with a hint of helplessness. However, Dai Lian displayed a demeanor that was far beyond that of a child, staring back at Han Shi.
"To be honest, after I was defeated by Ping An, I quietly told him about these things. After much deliberation, he told me a secret he discovered while investigating Mr. Ke," Han Shi withdrew his gaze, cautiously looking around, and then said, "Teacher Ping An said that abroad, there is a genetic technology that can synchronize and copy a person's brain information into another life form's brain. However, because it involves strict genetics, the life form that receives the synchronized copy must be genetically 100% compatible with oneself. And such a life form can only originate from one's own biological children. But even with one's own biological children, the probability is very low, about one in a hundred pairs is suitable for synchronized copying."
At this point, Han Shi looked at Dai Lian again and said, "Teacher Ping An asked me, in my logic, it is better for Ma Delu to be alive than dead, but why did I still design to kill him? My answer was, to verify an answer! Later, Teacher Ping An told me to investigate without fear, so now I really want to ask you, little friend, do you have another name, Ma Delu."
When the name Ma Delu was spoken, Dai Lian could no longer hold back. She closed her eyes gently, neither admitting nor denying.
Seeing the scene before him, Han Shi smiled with satisfaction. He had finally uncovered what he wanted to know. Then, he opened his phone and dialed Ping An.
"Teacher Ping An, it's Han Shi. My mission is complete. Yes, the answer is what we suspected," Han Shi said. "Also, a black SUV has been hiding around the corner for the past five minutes. I think the fish you're trying to catch is about to bite."
"Don't panic. Stay as you are. The police will be here soon to escort you to the Public Security Bureau. You don't need to worry about anything else," Ping An said from the city's surveillance center, looking at Han Shi's taxi and the black SUV. He then put down the phone and said to Xiang Wanfeng, "Give the order. Ou Erjian needs to be apprehended. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid he'll be silenced. Also, please temporarily protect Diana and... her daughter."
Two private cars suddenly moved from the sides, blocking the black SUV. Eight plainclothes police officers, armed, took control of the SUV. Inside, Ou Erjian offered little resistance as he got out of the car with his hands up.
At the same time, another team of plainclothes police officers secured the taxi and transferred the people inside into three different vehicles.
"You! Tell Ping An that he's poked a hornet's nest he shouldn't have!" Dai Lian shouted to Han Shi before getting into the car.
No matter how big the hornet's nest, it would be up to Ping An to deal with it. My mission is over, Han Shi thought, cooperating obediently as the police handcuffed him.
At the Municipal Public Security Bureau, Qiao Yidan and Mei Qian were waiting to interrogate Ou Erjian immediately.
Ping An, in the adjacent room, saw Ou Erjian being escorted in via video surveillance. He then walked out of the room and "happened" to run into Ou Erjian.
"I won't ask you about the despicable things you've done, nor why you framed my father. I just want to ask you one question: who is your ally hidden within An's?" Ping An stopped Ou Erjian, his tone calm.
"..." Ou Erjian opened his mouth but remained silent, only smiling at Ping An.
"Let him in," Ping An said, waving his hand in annoyance, and left.
In the interrogation room, Mei Qian looked at Ou Erjian, who appeared calm, but felt a pang of unease. It was truly this young man, in his thirties, who had caused the brutal deaths of forty-one women in Hexian City over the past decade.
"Name?"
"Ou Erjian."
"Age?"
Ping An's mother, An Wei, the chairperson of An's International and a legendary woman who had successfully transitioned from a national athlete to a business magnate, lived here.
Although he had known his mother had lived here for over ten years, this was Ping An's first visit.
Speaking of this mother and son, describing them as enemies would not be an exaggeration.
At fifteen, Ping An couldn't understand why his mother would give false testimony, causing his father to bear a false accusation. Even now, Ping An still couldn't understand. Twenty years had passed, and Ping An had countless times wanted to let go of this grudge and reconcile with his mother, but this hope was diminishing with each passing day.
If the reconciliation with Xiang Wanfeng was the best opportunity for reconciliation with his mother, then due to the incident with Qiao Yidan, not only did Ping An, who hated evil, smash the An's building in anger, but he finally understood that he and his mother were not on the same path after all.
If possible, he would have absolutely refused to come here. But today, when Ou Erjian answered him, although he didn't speak, Ping An saw his lips move: "Ask your mother!"
This was a curse, but to Ping An, it was a reasonable direction, especially after verifying the terrifying fact from Han Shi that brains could be synchronized and copied. The question of what An's International and Ou Erjian were involved in seemed to be separated by only a thin veil.
What did his father, who had intricate ties with Mr. Ke, go through?
What role did his mother play in these events?
Even, An Jing! Was she hiding something from him?
These were his closest family members. Could it be...?
Xiang Wanfeng would be busy tonight, and he didn't need to worry about him.
With a heart full of unease, Ping An rang his mother's doorbell.
"Creak—"
The door opened.
Wan Rou opened the door.
Wan Rou seemed unsurprised by Ping An's arrival.
Walking into the living room, An Wei was sitting on the sofa, engrossed in reading a novel. At her feet lay a pile of books. Judging from the bookmarks peeking out, these books had all been read.
"I didn't expect the famous Chairperson An to enjoy my detective novels to pass the time," Ping An said, plopping onto the sofa and defiantly crossing his legs.
"No, my son, I am looking for clues left by your father in your books," An Wei said kindly, putting down the book. "Otherwise, do you think An's has survived crisis after crisis? It's not just me, an old woman, who can do it!"