"Is that why you police officers captured me—a good citizen who has always obeyed the law—at nine o'clock at night and put shackles on me?" Bai Liu raised his hand. The heavy silver shackles swayed before he lightly dismissed the question. "This surveillance video isn't conclusive evidence at all."
"Aren't you being too arbitrary in arresting people?"
Su Yang coughed awkwardly.
Indeed, this video was only meant to trick Bai Liu. It wasn't core evidence that could be used to arrest someone.
"I'm just a laid-off worker living in a cheap rental house," Bai Liu said casually. "If I had something that could cure all diseases as you claim, why would I feed it to those children for free? You've investigated me. You should know that I'm short of money, right?"
Bai Liu's financial situation really wasn't good. If he had obtained the blood ganoderma lucidum, why would he give it to the children for no reason without taking credit? After all, normal people knew how much money they could make from something like that. Few could resist such temptation, let alone Bai Liu, who had been laid off for nearly a month.
"An ordinary laid-off worker? Then why did Miao Gaojiang—who killed his son and committed suicide not long ago—shout your name in horror before cutting his throat?" Su Yang quickly regained his composure and continued pressing the remote control.
A new video appeared on the screen.
It showed Miao Gaojiang's tired, crazed face. His eyeballs were sunken, and his cheekbones jutted sharply. He held a knife to his throat, and messy bloodstains covered the floor at his feet. Miao Feichi's corpse lay not far away.
Someone shouted, "Miao Gaojiang! Calm down! Put the knife down!"
"Suicide won't solve any problems! Control yourself first. If there's anything you can't solve, talk to us police officers!"
Miao Gaojiang shook his head in horror. His hands and feet trembled as he roared hoarsely, "I am dead! I was killed by Bai Liu!"
"This isn't suicide. It's homicide!" Miao Gaojiang seemed to resist the knife in his own hand. His forehead tightened as he tried to move the blade away, but his hand appeared out of his control. It plunged viciously into the blood vessels of his neck, and he collapsed with a scream. "It was him who killed me!"
"Bai Liu! Bai Liu! Bai Liu and that statue are my killers!"
Blood sprayed from the artery onto the ceiling. Miao Gaojiang fell into a pool of blood, staring with red eyes, the knife lodged in his neck.
The video froze on the image of Miao Gaojiang lying on the ground. Su Yang turned to Bai Liu. "Do you have anything to say?"
"I have nothing to say." Bai Liu's expression didn't change, nor did his heart race. His eyes showed only realistic confusion. "Officer, I don't know this person. Wasn't he on the news? Didn't he commit suicide? You filmed the entire process of his suicide. What does it have to do with me?"
"He shouted your name before he died." Su Yang looked at Bai Liu and emphasized each word. "He said it was a homicide and that you killed him. This is probably the dying message Comrade Miao left for us."
"So Comrade Miao's death becomes a homicide just because of his words?" Bai Liu smiled faintly at Su Yang. "Vice-Captain Su, you're forcing me like this, and my psychological state is very fragile. If I can't bear the pressure you're putting on me and commit suicide while shouting your name, would that make you the murderer who killed me?"
Su Yang slowly exhaled. He didn't follow Bai Liu's logic; otherwise, he would fall into Bai Liu's rhythm.
Bai Liu was more cunning and adaptable than he had expected. He truly seemed like an ordinary person, just as his résumé suggested.
"Of course, I don't mean that. But you do look suspicious, Comrade Bai Liu." Su Yang shifted the topic back.
"Don't police officers need to present evidence?" Bai Liu looked leisurely at Su Yang. "Aside from me 'looking suspicious,' is there any evidence that I killed this Miao?"
He deliberately echoed the word "look."
Su Yang fell silent again.
Bai Liu and Miao Gaojiang had never communicated. They had never met, and there was no overlap in their life experiences. They were completely unrelated. That made Miao Gaojiang shouting Bai Liu's name before his death even stranger. Because of this, the case had been transferred to the Dangerous Heretics Bureau.
Yet apart from Miao Gaojiang's dying declaration, there truly was no evidence.
Bai Liu asked calmly, "So there really is no evidence. Then I don't understand—how can you use methods like forcibly bringing me here for questioning without any evidence? This doesn't align with my understanding of the law."
Both Su Yang and Bai Liu looked exhausted. After staring at each other blankly for a moment, Su Yang sighed helplessly, as if his conscience had finally resurfaced. He took out another small bottle from his chest pocket and placed it on the table in front of Bai Liu.
A pink gas floated inside the small bottle like a miniature universe made of shattered stars. It shimmered beautifully within the glass.
Bai Liu's eyes shifted slightly. It looked very similar to the pink smoke he had seen in his dream when Tawil shattered.
"This is a gas perfume that has been very popular online recently," Su Yang said, looking at the pink bottle filled with a girlish, dreamy glow. "It contains a refreshing substance. It's said that if you spray it on your body, you can maintain a high level of productivity throughout the day. Many companies use it as an air freshener in their offices. It also has nicknames like 'gas coffee' and 'love work.'"
"Recently, we discovered that when companies that use this perfume on a large scale decide to stop or replace it, their employees exhibit symptoms of madness." Su Yang paused briefly. "The strange part is that we tested the perfume with all known instruments, and no harmful ingredients were detected. It fully complies with manufacturing and sales standards. However, we sensed something was wrong, so we took over the case and transferred some of the employees here for treatment and research."
"After repeated testing, we found that their symptoms closely resemble withdrawal."
Bai Liu's gaze fell on the small bottle, and he understood what Su Yang was implying.
"We defined this perfume as a new type of gaseous opium and prepared to force these employees into mandatory withdrawal," Su Yang said, taking a deep breath. "Then something went wrong during the withdrawal process."
He pressed the remote, flipping through several screens before finally pulling up another video.
In the video, a middle-aged man with bulging eyes thrashed and howled. His face was the same pink hue as the gas in the bottle. Veins stood out on his forehead as he smashed his head against the wall. Someone tried to tie him to a chair, but he soon tore himself free.
Then the man let out a piercing scream, and a strange transformation occurred. A withered rose appeared clearly in his pupil. His flesh began to dry and blacken, peeling away like shriveled rose petals. In the end, nothing remained but a pile of clothes and a stark white skeleton seated on the chair. Moments later, even the skeleton collapsed into pieces.
A distorted background announcement echoed in the video:
"…A CEDT-0756 contaminated subject attempted withdrawal for 6 days, 17 hours, and 56 minutes, but failed…"
The video ended.
Su Yang didn't look at the screen. His voice sounded dry. "We tried many methods. There is no way to keep these employees alive except by allowing them to continue using the perfume called Rose Dry Leaf Gas…"
"Otherwise, they will wither."
He fell silent for a moment.
"The production and distribution chain of this substance cannot be allowed to exist, but by the time we discovered it, it was already too late…" Su Yang smiled bitterly and picked up the rose-colored bottle. "Do you know how many units of this have been sold online in a single month? Hundreds of thousands—and the number doubles every month. So many people are using it. If it's suspended…"
"So what?" Bai Liu remained unmoved. "Vice-Captain Su, this has nothing to do with me. Catching me won't solve your problem."
Su Yang stared directly at Bai Liu. "No. You have a way to solve it."
He stood up and leaned forward, locking eyes with Bai Liu. "Our captain said that you are a monster who can solve all the evil things in this world. As long as you are captured, these insane things will stop pouring into our world."
At those words, Bai Liu slightly raised an eyebrow in surprise.
A tall, drunk man in uniform was helped by several team members into the small room where Bai Liu was detained. The team members looked at the collapsed man, who was drunk, and fanned their noses. "How much did Captain Tang drink?"
"I don't know. I don't know how long he had been lying in front of the base before he was found by the patrol members." The team member supporting him smiled bitterly. "Where is Vice-Captain Su? Is he still working on the newly captured heretic? Well, looking at Captain Tang now, I don't know whether he directed us to catch an ordinary person or a real heretic…"
"We still have to trust Captain Tang. After all, he has the ability to foresee the future, which is why he has such a high level of emergency authority. Moreover, everything he mobilized us to catch previously was correct. This time should be the same… right?"
The eyes of several team members fell on Captain Tang, whose face was covered by hair he hadn't trimmed for a long time. The drunken Captain Tang smacked his lips and scratched his thigh.
The team members hesitated again. "Although… Captain Tang has been drinking a bit too much lately. Didn't Captain Tang say that the more he drinks and loses his mind, the more heretics he can see in the future?"
"Do you believe that? It's just an excuse he made for drinking." Su Yang pushed open the door of the small room and walked out, speaking casually to the team members. "If Tang Erda doesn't touch a drop of alcohol, he can accurately predict when and where evil things will appear. Now that he's drinking, his ability has worsened. His last few operations were in vain. Perhaps the alcohol has gone to his head."
Looking at Tang Erda lying motionless on the ground and still snoring faintly, the vein on Su Yang's forehead bulged. "Go to the CEDT-0076 room and get ice water to wake him up."
Ice water splashed down, and the man on the ground coughed and sat up. His hair was messy, curling around his ears. It wasn't known how long it had been since he shaved, but his chin was covered in stubble. He wiped the ice water from his jaw with his thumb and stood up lazily.
The man's uniform was crooked. Several buttons on his collar weren't fastened properly, and the badge on his right chest had shifted up toward his chin. It read: Captain of the Dangerous Heretic Handling Department's Third Team — Tang Erda.
"Wow—burp!" The man belched, reeking of alcohol. He swept his wet hair back, revealing a pair of extremely sharp, narrow dark-blue eyes like a wolf's.
He was clearly drenched in the smell of wine, but Tang Erda's eyes showed no trace of drunken haze. It lasted only a moment. Soon, he leaned against the wall and shook his head dizzily. "Why does the wall of this bar look so much like the base?"
Su Yang helplessly held his forehead. "After three minutes, wake him up and send him into the small room. Let him deal with the human heretic he insisted on capturing himself."
Three minutes later, Bai Liu looked at the wet man sitting in front of him, his eyes drawn to the badge on the other's chest. "You're the Captain Tang that Su Yang mentioned—the one determined to catch me?"
"I don't know why you think catching me can solve these… strange little problems you're facing." Bai Liu glanced at the rose perfume bottle on the table and then at Tang Erda opposite him. "I'm just an ordinary, laid-off citizen."
"Che, an ordinary citizen? Haha." Tang Erda took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one without hesitation. He took a deep drag and slowly exhaled. Scarlet smoke curled around his index finger and reflected in his eyes like a wolf's gaze.
He stared fixedly at Bai Liu for a moment before suddenly flashing a fierce smile. "Bai Liu, why are you still pretending with me?"
"Do you know how many times I've caught you in this place?" Tang Erda stood up and pressed the cigarette butt against Bai Liu's handcuffs. He sarcastically blew smoke toward Bai Liu's face. "You've been a ten-thousand-year-old fox dozens of times. Do you still need to play with me?"
Bai Liu leaned back slightly to avoid him. "However, this is our first time meeting. Captain Tang, have you mistaken me for someone else?"
Tang Erda dropped back into his chair. He squinted at Bai Liu with drunken eyes before sneering in disdain. "First meeting? This isn't our first meeting. I've met you many times."
"The legendary believer of the evil god, Tawil's loyal lapdog, the most hated and wanted criminal of all the Dangerous Heretic Bureaus in the world, the conduit of all evil things, the gambler who uses cursed objects to swallow money mercilessly… Let me think of what other titles you have as a wicked villain—"
"Oh yes—" Tang Erda slowly turned his stiff neck and stared into Bai Liu's eyes. "The leader of the famous game team, Wandering Circus. Bai Liu (6), the White King."
"I don't remember seeing you, Captain Tang. I don't understand what you're talking about." Bai Liu lied without changing his expression.
Tang Erda stood up and pressed down on Bai Liu's shoulder. He was like a wolf lunging forward, baring his fangs, as if about to bite Bai Liu's neck. With his index finger, he slowly hooked up the chain around Bai Liu's neck. Hanging from it were a reversed cross and a gray fish scale.
Bai Liu didn't try to hide them. It would've been strange to keep so many items in his mouth. Apart from the coin, the things hanging around his neck looked like ordinary ornaments. Losing them wouldn't prevent him from entering the game.
Meanwhile, the coin couldn't be lost, or he wouldn't be able to enter the game at all.
"You're wearing this evil cross around your neck, and you're saying you don't know that you're the only believer of the evil god?" Tang Erda gripped the cross and lifted Bai Liu's chin with a smile. "Aren't you afraid of angering that evil god? Bai Liu (6), let me warn you. You'd better tuck in your tail before speaking to me again. Let me guess—where are you hiding your game manager?"
He forced Bai Liu's mouth open with brutal strength, pain making Bai Liu squint. Tang Erda covered his hand with a plastic bag in visible disgust and roughly reached under Bai Liu's tongue. Bai Liu frowned slightly as Tang Erda's fingers searched.
"There's nothing?" Tang Erda frowned. For the first time, this captain—who seemed to know Bai Liu so well—showed surprise.
"Every time I caught you in other timelines, it was hidden under your tongue. How could it not be here?" Tang Erda clicked his tongue, withdrawing his hand and shaking it with a look of disgust. "Did you swallow it? You never did something so inelegant in other timelines."
Tang Erda threw the plastic bag aside and roughly forced Bai Liu's jaw closed again. There was a sharp crack that made the sound itself painful to hear.
Yet Bai Liu didn't show the weakness Tang Erda expected. He merely adjusted his jaw before calmly looking up at him. "Other timelines? Is your personal skill time travel? You caught me many times in other timelines?"
"My personal skill isn't time travel. That's a high-risk ability—in other words, a god-tier item in the game." Tang Erda lazily leaned back in his chair, placing his feet on the table and tilting his head against the backrest without looking at Bai Liu. "I won the league in a certain timeline and was granted a wish. The game rewarded me with an item based on that wish."
Tang Erda bit down on an unlit cigarette, his eyes slightly unfocused. "This item lets me jump between different parallel timelines. Every time I'm dissatisfied or full of regret, I can go back and try to change things."
"At first, I thought I was reversing time. But I soon realized that wasn't the case. I was entering different parallel timelines. I wasn't returning to my original one." Tang Erda lowered his gaze, chewing on the cigarette tip.
He fell silent for a moment before recovering his cynical expression and turning to Bai Liu. "Bai Liu (6), the interesting thing is that in every timeline I've experienced, you inevitably become the greatest enemy of our Heretic Handling Bureau."
"Because across all eternal and repeating timelines, you are destined to be the only believer of the evil god Tawil." Tang Erda pulled out the gun from his waist. His eyes looked half-awake, but his grip was steady.
He aimed the gun at Bai Liu's right eye. "You, the devil obsessed with money, use the evil god you worship to turn the world into a hell filled with monstrosities. I've seen it in every timeline."
"You use your identity as the sole believer of the evil god to create all kinds of cursed objects for profit. You auctioned the mirror at a sky-high price so it could reflect people's inner fears, ensuring it would be stolen and resold endlessly. You displayed the siren's fishbone in a private museum so viewers would go mad over the decaying beauty of the merman. You sold the most expensive life-saving medicine—the blood ganoderma lucidum—to the rich. You smile as you collect rewards from these parasites who survive by draining the blood of children."
"And this rose dry leaf gas that drives everyone insane." Tang Erda glanced at the small glass bottle on the table. "You let it flood the market and constantly raised the price, so the poor who couldn't afford it withered in despair on the roadside, scattering the scent of roses. Meanwhile, roses bloomed in the eyes of the wealthy who could afford it, inside grand halls of glory."
Tang Erda flicked off the safety with his thumb, his index finger resting on the trigger. He stared directly into Bai Liu's eyes, sharp and piercing. "You're the same in the game—a madman who buys human souls and dumps evil things into the world for personal gain."
"Meanwhile, my destiny is to kill you."
Bang!