179: Chapter 179 The Scapegoat

Lin Ning clearly captured the other party's "malice."

But before he could think it through, those two men had already approached him from the left and right, their hands resting on his shoulders, subtly posturing to restrain him at any moment.

Lin Ning looked around—the Sub-bureau lobby was gradually filling with people.

He lowered his eyes, concealing the flickering light within them. When he raised them again, he had returned to calmness.

The situation was pressing; resistance was useless and would only invite trouble.

He followed their force and walked slowly toward the elevator.

The elevator door closed, and they went all the way up.

Interrogation room.

The door slammed shut with a "bang," cutting off the sounds from the outside.

Lin Ning was pressed into a chair, and his mobile phone was confiscated. Of the two men who had escorted him, one remained to guard the door, while the other walked away quickly.

From beginning to end, Lin Ning did not say a word, nor did he even use his Eye of Insight.

Although those two men just now were marked in red, it wasn't deep red. Moreover, he had a vague feeling—the real culprit had not yet appeared.

The low-level police officers knew limited information. He needed to save his energy for the crucial moment.

This was Yanjing. He did not believe these people could cover up the sky with one hand. He wasn't without connections either.

A moment later, the door opened again, and two people walked in.

Lin Ning recognized the man walking in front at a glance—it was the police officer who had handled the bail for Huang Chenggen.

Above his head was a glaring red halo—[Zhang Fan, Police Officer].

Lin Ning and Zhang Fan locked eyes. Both were expressionless, but an invisible aura was already clashing between them.

Zhang Fan's hostility and malice were too intense.

Lin Ning did not hesitate and clicked down with his Psychic Power.

Fragments filled with noisy sounds surged like a river.

Lin Ning had no other interest in him, only grabbing the last two fragments flashing with red light—

[In the living room, Zhang Fan, wearing pajamas, held his phone, his brows tightly locked, eyes revealing worry: "Director Jin, is Huang Chenggen really dead? What should we do then? ... This, this, this won't do now, right?!"

He didn't know what was said on the other end, but after a long while, Zhang Fan's face turned pale: "Okay, I understand. I will take people to secure the scene immediately..."

Putting down the phone, Zhang Fan grabbed a cigarette pack, his fingers fumbling two or three times before he managed to extract a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. He smoked violently, and the cigarette was soon burned out. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with sinister intent, as if he had made a certain resolution, and he stubbed the cigarette butt hard onto the coffee table. He got up to change clothes, opened the door, and left.]

[In the suburbs, at a remote and empty outdoor food stall, a cordon had already been set up. The sky was faintly whitening; dawn was approaching.

Zhang Fan stared silently at Huang Chenggen's corpse on the ground. The two police officers he had called over looked terrible: "Captain Zhang, this isn't 20 years ago..."

Zhang Fan interrupted him, his eyes faintly carrying threats and deep meaning: "Huang Chenggen had a conflict with this Lin Ning and died on the day of the conflict. Citizens reported seeing Lin Ning beating Huang Chenggen. Do we have any issues suspecting Lin Ning? Lin Ning is a major suspect; is there any problem with us summoning and detaining him? Even if subsequent evidence collection rules out the possibility of him committing the crime, is there anything wrong with our case handling procedure? Haven't there been cases where suspects were detained for a year or two before being proven innocent?"

Both men fell silent.

Zhang Fan sighed heavily and patted both men on the shoulders: "That's why all procedures must be compliant!"

The two men looked reluctant, but they nodded anyway.]

Lin Ning exited the vision, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.

So, Huang Chenggen was dead.

He quickly sorted out the situation—

Director Jin had Zhang Fan use him as a "scapegoat"—oh, that's not right, a temporary "scapegoat."

A cold arc curled up on the corner of Lin Ning's mouth.

Procedures complete, reasonable suspicion, legally detained?

Good methods, good calculations.

Zhang Fan felt a bit unnerved, as if Lin Ning's gaze had seen through everything about him.

He walked to the interrogation table and sat down, lit a cigarette, leaned back in his chair, and sized up Lin Ning, his gaze exerting pressure like a physical force.

It was silent and invisible, but the air in the small interrogation room seemed to thicken.

Lin Ning knew this was an interrogation tactic; silence and aura were also a form of psychological warfare. Yet, he only found it amusing.

He also leaned back, returning the gaze willfully, his mind rapidly calculating a way to escape.

The fact that they could accurately call out his name meant they had already pulled his file once.

It seemed that "Director Jin" probably hadn't personally looked at his file; otherwise, just for the "Red Label," he wouldn't have dragged him in to be a "scapegoat."

Because compared to his own crisis, he himself was a double "big trouble."

So, the one who pulled his file must be this Zhang Fan in front of him; he didn't understand what the "Red Label" was.

His file also had a warning set by Chen Zhi; every time it was accessed, the Ministry of State Security system would trigger an alarm.

Lin Ning narrowed his eyes.

Just in case Chen Zhi was too busy to notice, he would trigger it again.

Chen Zhi would contact him to confirm the situation, but since his phone had been confiscated, if he couldn't reach him, he would definitely sense that something was wrong.

And his secure phone's location tracking was always on...

He had just reported last night: Ma Xiaofu, foreigners, contraband, and the Sub-bureau's protective umbrella, Director Jin. Once all the clues were connected, Chen Zhi should know he had been controlled...

Lin Ning instantly had a full plan in his heart. Trick them into pulling his file again to trigger a double alarm.

Chen Zhi would likely deploy control over Ma Xiaofu's side first, to avoid alerting the enemy by moving here first.

Then, once he finished sounding the alarm, he would just keep his mouth shut and stall for time.

Lin Ning's gaze when sizing up Zhang Fan became even more unruly.

Zhang Fan hadn't expected Lin Ning to dare show such an attitude, and it wasn't the pretense of some street thug or seasoned rascal. This was not the reaction of an ordinary person.

He suppressed the sudden unease rising in his heart, changed tactics, flicked the cigarette ash, and asked: "Do you know why we are looking for you?"

Lin Ning did not answer, his eyes rebellious, carrying undisguised contempt.

"I'm asking you!" Zhang Fan suddenly raised his voice.

Lin Ning remained silent, looking as if he were watching a clown.

Zhang Fan's expression darkened completely; he leaned forward and stared fixedly at him: "Lin Ning, where were you between 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM last night?"

Lin Ning finally spoke, his tone flat, yet with a condescending feeling: "Did you not look at my personal information file carefully?"

Zhang Fan was stunned: "What?"

Lin Ning said word by word: "My personal information file. Did you not check it properly? You have quite a lot of nerve!"

Zhang Fan paused, frowning as he recalled—there was nothing in Lin Ning's file; he was just an ordinary person.

But this kid's attitude was wrong, very wrong!

He stared into Lin Ning's eyes: "What do you mean?"

Lin Ning seemed too lazy to pay attention to him, leaning lazily against the chair and saying nothing more.

Zhang Fan hesitated, turned his head, and glanced at the police officer taking notes. The man typed a few times on the computer and turned the screen over.

On the screen was a personal information file, completely unremarkable.

This time, Zhang Fan looked carefully again; the family background was ordinary and from out of town, the school was ordinary, the experience was ordinary, and the occupation was even "delivery driver."

He looked at Lin Ning with contempt, feeling that he had seen through this kid who was just bluffing.