141: Chapter 141 The Captain, He's Killed People

Luohu Public Security Bureau, Criminal Investigation Brigade office area.

When Li Li arrived at 8:30 AM, Cheng Songyan was already sitting on a chair in the hallway.

He was wearing plain clothes, a black polo shirt paired with dark trousers, and his gait was still not quite natural.

Li Li sat down next to him.

"How long have you been waiting, Captain Cheng?"

"Not long, ten minutes."

Two wounded men sat in the police station hallway.

One had jumped from the sixth floor, and one had hung from the seventh.

If they hadn't been wearing plain clothes, the passing police officers would have mistaken them for victims coming to report a crime.

Five minutes later, a man in his early forties walked over from the end of the hallway.

He had a buzz cut, a square face, and shoulders broad enough to mount two heavy machine guns. He walked with a brisk, wind-swept energy, and every step landed precisely on the grout lines of the floor tiles—it was unnervingly accurate.

Hanging from his chest was a work badge: Captain Qiu Xiaofeng of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau Criminal Investigation Detachment.

Following behind him was a slightly slimmer man in his early thirties wearing glasses: Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng swept a glance at the two men in the hallway.

"Cheng Songyan?"

"Yes."

"Li Li?"

"Yes."

"Follow me."

The three of them entered a small conference room. Three bottles of mineral water were placed on the table, and the projector screen was pulled down but turned off. Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo sat in the corner with his laptop open, his fingers resting on the keyboard.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng sat down, opened a folder, and got straight to the point.

"Commander Cheng, let me ask you a professional question first."

Cheng Songyan sat up straight.

"Regarding the SUV that caught fire and exploded opposite the Fire Station, how long do you estimate the entire process took, from ignition to extinguishment?"

"I was not at the scene when the incident occurred," Cheng Songyan thought for two seconds, "but based on Li Li's description and the state of the fire when reinforcements arrived, I judge it to be fifteen to twenty minutes from the battery pack's thermal runaway to being basically extinguished."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng turned a page.

"Under these time and temperature conditions, is it possible that there were people inside the vehicle who were completely incinerated? Including their bones?"

Cheng Songyan shook his head.

"Impossible. The core temperature of a battery pack thermal runaway is eight hundred to one thousand degrees, but the heat distribution inside the cabin is uneven, and the actual temperature near the driver's seat is far from sufficient. For human bones to ash, it requires at least two hours of continuous heat at over one thousand degrees; even a crematorium incinerator takes ninety minutes."

He paused for a moment.

"With twenty minutes of burning, even if they were sitting directly on the battery pack, there would be identifiable bone remnants left. Li Li said there was nothing at the scene, and other Fire Station personnel checked and found nothing either, so there really was no one inside."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng closed the folder.

"That aligns with the conclusions of our criminal investigation and forensic teams."

He looked at Cheng Songyan.

"Commander Cheng, your part is finished. Please sign the transcript."

Cheng Songyan scanned it, signed it, and stood up.

He walked to the door and glanced at Li Li.

Li Li nodded at him.

The door closed.

There were three people left in the conference room.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng pushed the folder aside and rested his clasped hands on the table.

"Li Li."

"Go ahead."

"The following conversation involves sensitive content."

Li Li leaned back against the chair, relaxing.

"Ask away."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng pulled a photo from the folder and pushed it over.

It showed a blackened, burnt circuit board with a silkscreen serial number circled in red.

"That SUV—the VIN was forged, purchase records don't exist, the in-car system was flashed, and the remote control module was retrofitted, not an original factory part."

His finger tapped the photo.

"We coordinated with the military to compare the chip batch; it originated from abroad."

Li Li didn't move.

"The military's feedback indicates it is highly likely the work of foreign forces."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng withdrew his finger from the photo and tapped the table.

"Moreover, the target was not the Fire Station, nor the surrounding residents."

He paused for a beat.

"It was you."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng was slightly surprised.

Because Li Li, upon hearing this, didn't move his back, and his breathing didn't even change.

It wasn't a surprise.

Four simultaneous fire alarms had emptied the entire Fire Station, and then a self-driving SUV had charged directly opposite and detonated.

If the target had been the Fire Station, they could have just crashed into the main gate. Crashing opposite was to draw him out.

This was a warning.

It was the typical modus operandi of Israel; Dubai had already experienced it.

"We can find you, we can touch you, but we won't kill you yet."

As for what they wanted.

They believed that besides what Delia left behind, there was something else in his possession.

But he had nothing; all Delia gave him was that USB drive.

Delia really did leave him with trouble.

"Captain Qiu Xiaofeng." Li Li spoke up.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng waited.

"During my time in Ala Country, I signed a military non-disclosure agreement. I do not have the authority to disclose the involved content."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng's fingers stopped.

"Li Li, this is a criminal case."

"I understand, but the party bound by the non-disclosure agreement is not me personally, but our country's military. If you need to access relevant information, I suggest going through formal channels via the military."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng stared at him.

Five seconds passed.

This kid was twenty-five, sitting in a police station chair, talking about a military NDA as smoothly as a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It wasn't that he didn't want to press further.

But once the words "military non-disclosure agreement" were slammed onto the table, he, a municipal detachment captain, really couldn't reach that high.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng changed tactics.

"Since foreign forces have targeted you, we can arrange plainclothes officers to protect you. You are currently recording a show at the Luohu Fire Station; it's a crowded area with security risks."

"No need."

Li Li waved his hand.

"Captain Qiu Xiaofeng, I don't look down on the people under your command, but to be honest."

He deliberated for half a second.

"There's nothing for them to do even if they come. The other side isn't going to swagger in to assassinate me."

He paused and said.

"And they might not even be able to beat me."

The conference room went quiet.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng's expression shifted from professional to "Are you trying to teach me how to do my job?"

"Comrade Li Li, I have been in criminal investigation for seventeen years. Every single one of my plainclothes officers transferred from the SWAT team."

In the corner, Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo gently tugged on Captain Qiu Xiaofeng's sleeve.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng turned his head.

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo leaned in and lowered his voice.

"Boss, don't let the fact that he's an influencer fool you."

"What about it?"

"He's killed people."

The speed at which Captain Qiu Xiaofeng turned his neck back was visibly slower.

"What did you say?"

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo pushed up his glasses.

"He attended the Ala Country royal banquet. That night, it was infiltrated by a Israel spy organization. He single-handedly counter-killed several armed agents and saved the King and Prime Minister of Ala Country."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng didn't respond.

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo added another sentence.

"That scene was broadcast live globally."

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng slowly turned his head back.

He looked at Li Li.

With his short, tousled hair brushing his forehead, wearing a quick-dry T-shirt and cargo pants, a pair of old running shoes on his feet, and sports tape on his left wrist.

No matter how you looked at him, he was just an ordinary young man.

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng's brain processed this set of information.

An influencer with 99 million followers.

Has killed people.

Globally broadcast live.

Are live streams these days really that intense?

He turned his head and looked at Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo again.

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo nodded very sincerely.

"Don't you watch TikTok, or check trending news, Boss?"

Captain Qiu Xiaofeng withdrew his hands from the table and leaned back against the chair.

"Fine."

He was silent for two seconds.

"Stay safe. If there's anything unusual, contact us immediately."

He pulled a business card from the folder and pushed it over.

Li Li took it and tucked it into his pocket.

"Thank you, Captain Qiu Xiaofeng."

He stood up and walked out.

When he reached the door, Captain Qiu Xiaofeng's voice came from behind, directed at Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo, but not very hushed.

"Killing people on a global live stream... what the hell kind of person is this?"

Deputy Captain Chen Zhuo's reply was quieter, but Li Li had good hearing.

"That's why his fans call him 'The Stern Father of Squid Spies'."

Li Li closed the door with a blank expression.

---

Leaving the Criminal Investigation Brigade office area, at the end of the hallway, Cheng Songyan was leaning against the water cooler.

He was clutching a paper cup, having barely drunk any water.

Seeing Li Li come out, he swept a glance at him.

"Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, just a routine conversation."

Cheng Songyan didn't press for details. He shouldn't know about military matters, and he didn't want to know.

He tossed the paper cup into the trash can and took out his phone to check it.

"At two o'clock this afternoon, there's an exercise mission in the city."

"What kind of exercise?"

"A fire drill." Cheng Songyan walked toward the stairwell, "But not the ordinary kind."

Li Li followed.

"In what way is it not ordinary?"

Cheng Songyan walked down half a flight of stairs and stopped.

"Of all the Fire Stations in the country, only Shenzhen has this drill subject."

He turned his head.

"Super-high-rise building fire, drone fire suppression, facade rappelling, and coordinated helicopter rappelling—a joint exercise."

He paused for a beat.

"The China Resources Building, over three hundred meters tall. Guests will also participate, taking you to experience the internal conditions of a super-high-rise fire."

Li Li's footsteps halted on the stairs.

Over three hundred meters.

In his past life, during peak hours, he delivered takeout to the 72nd floor of China Zun; he waited fifteen minutes for the elevator and was docked two yuan for being late.

Now, they wanted him to climb down from the outside.

Moreover, he had just been told by the police that a foreign organization wanted to kill him.

"Let's go." Cheng Songyan had already reached the first floor, "Go back and change clothes; we assemble at two."