CH 241

Wang Chao was pacing around in the Guanghua Chemical Factory.

He didn’t understand why the boss had thrown him here to assist a junior chemical engineer. Even though he was obviously younger than the busy engineer, he felt that he might be more useful at the crime scene.

Xiao Zhan was busy in front of the gas chromatograph, surrounded by a bunch of beakers and various complex chemical instruments that were incomprehensible to Wang Chao. Wang Chao sighed heavily and shifted his gaze. Suddenly, Xiao Zhan stopped his work and glanced at him.

“What’s wrong?” Comrade Xiao Wang stood up straight and turned to ask.

“I…” Mr. Xiao Zhan hesitated, struggling with his words. After a while, as if he had made a decision, Mr. Xiao Zhan silently walked to the desktop computer at the other end of the lab bench and began typing on the keyboard slowly.

His typing speed was incredibly slow, and it was only then that Wang Chao realized that Xiao Zhan had wanted him to look up some information.

“Wait, wait, why don’t you let me do it? If I’m here, you don’t have to do it yourself. Isn’t this underestimating me?” Wang Chao swiftly opened his own laptop.

“It’s a lab report, mainly in English, and I’m afraid… afraid that you…”

“What do you need? Just tell me!” Wang Chao exclaimed loudly. He wasn’t sure if he had shouted too loudly or what, but in the next second, his phone rang, and seeing Lin Chen’s name on the caller ID almost made his hand tremble.

Excitedly, Wang Chao answered the call. Of course, he knew about the news regarding the nursing home and the unfortunate incident. He was deeply concerned about Lin Chen, but the feeling of being completely useless was driving him crazy. Now that Lin Chen was calling, he finally had a chance to talk to him. “A’Chen Gege, what happened? Are you okay? Do you need me to come over?”

On the other end of the phone, Lin Chen’s calm voice came through the waves. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I need you to do something for me.”

“Tell me, tell me!” Wang Chao held the phone between his shoulder and cheek, gesturing to Mr. Xiao Zhan to search for the information on his own. Then he grabbed a pen and paper, adding, “A’Chen Gege, you can speak now.”

“First, I need the driving route map from the nursing home to the abandoned car location; second, I need a map of the current locations of the roadblocks set up by the police; third, I need the current locations of Chen Jianguo, Shen Lian’s middle school teacher, the old police officer who received Shen Lian along with Lao Bian at that time, Shen Lian’s middle school, and… Zhourui Pharmaceutical. Fourth, please compile the above requests on a map of Hongjing and send it to me. Fifth, do we have an alternative communication network that is not easily monitored?”

Wang Chao quickly jotted down the information and suddenly realized something. “A’Chen Gege, what are you planning to do?”

“Preparing a chessboard.”

……

Like Wang Chao, Li Nuo also had a vague understanding of the consultant’s final words, but that didn’t prevent him from following Lin Chen’s orders.

He was driving with the car window halfway open, and Lin Chen sat beside him. Their destination was a small police station close to the nursing home. With the wind blowing through the open window, they appeared as if they were leisurely going for an outing rather than embarking on something of life-and-death importance.

Li Nuo’s palms were slightly sweaty, and after Lin Chen finished the phone call, the atmosphere in the car became heavy once again. The sound of the engine was clearly audible. Li Nuo had a strong feeling that whatever Lin Chen was about to do was extremely dangerous, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. He remained silent and focused on driving.

They soon arrived at the police station.

From getting out of the car to entering the building and turning on the computer, it took no more than three to five minutes; a brief moment that could almost be ignored. But the moment Lin Chen opened his email, a complete map of Hongjing appeared on the old computer screen at the police station.

On the blue and white base map, a yellow line indicated Shen Lian’s driving route from Hongshu Town to Yulin District. In addition, there were several colored markers on the map. Li Nuo was amazed that such detailed map markings could be made in such a short time. The person who did this was truly terrifying.

Li Nuo could recognize the red circular markers, most of which represented intersections and roadblocks set up by the police.

Standing beside Lin Chen, he watched as Lin Chen clicked on one of the green markers. A note popped up, clearly indicating specific individuals, locations, and brief descriptions of those places.

Li Nuo realized that it was the information about Chen Jianguo’s workplace that Lin Chen had been looking for.

Chen Jianguo was a security guard who worked at the Hongjing Huihaodi shopping mall. According to the shift schedule, he should be on duty at the moment. The straight-line distance from the abandoned car location to the Hongjing Huihaodi shopping mall was about 5 kilometers.

Following Lin Chen’s clicks on the markers, Li Nuo looked at the information one by one. Each marker represented a predetermined chess piece strategically placed on the map. And in that moment, he finally realized what Lin Chen meant by the “chessboard.”

“Do you know where she’s going?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then… are you planning to… lead… Shen Lian?” Li Nuo stared at Lin Chen in shock.

Lin Chen, as if finishing reviewing all the markers, leaned back in his chair and spoke in a calm tone. “Mm, thank you for your reminder earlier. I want to try guiding Shen Lian to a predetermined location.”

“What did I say earlier?” Li Nuo quickly waved his hand. “I just said something casually. I really don’t understand criminal psychology.”

“It doesn’t require too much specialized knowledge. What’s more important is the analysis of human nature. It’s actually quite simple. You reminded me that Shen Lian had too many potential targets for attack, and the incident happened suddenly. She wouldn’t have had a chance to decide on a final target. Therefore, her choice has a high level of randomness. Since it’s random, we can manipulate her choices.”

“Attack?” Li Nuo took a step back, accidentally bumping into the desk behind him, causing a long and jarring noise as the desk legs scraped against the floor.

“She killed everyone in the nursing home. With such madness, how could she continue to live as a lone individual?”

“Do you think she wants to make sure she gets enough victims before she dies and uses more people as shields?”

Li Nuo instinctively asked, but at the same time, Lin Chen’s phone rang.

The office was very quiet, and Li Nuo could hear the crisp sound coming from the other end of the phone.

“A’Chen Gege, the boss asked if you’re planning to trap Shen Lian!”

Lin Chen’s face showed a serene expression of understanding as he responded to the person on the phone. “Mm, that’s the plan.”

“Did you see the map I sent? Did it help? You asked me to mark so many locations earlier. Where exactly do we plan to trap Shen Lian? And the new secure communication channel will be set up quickly. What should we do? You tell me, and Mr. Xiao Wang will take care of it for you!”

The rapid-fire words came through the receiver, which was, of course, the question Li Nuo wanted to ask.

“Yes, I’ve chosen a location.”

When Lin Chen answered the call, he supported his cheek with one hand and tilted his head slightly, looking at a specific spot on the map.

Li Nuo followed Lin Chen’s gaze and once again looked at him with disbelief.

……

“Is… Is Consultant Lin insane?”

Inside the Municipal Bureau Command Center, Wang Chao’s voice came through the speakerphone, and everyone gathered around the square table listened intently. When they heard the location, someone couldn’t help but interject.

Xing Conglian sat at the edge of the table, furrowing his brows in contemplation, and didn’t immediately respond. Another officer spoke after hearing the comment. “If we really lure Shen Lian to that location, the media and public will definitely condemn us!”

Xing Conglian listened silently, as if he didn’t notice the inquiring gazes around him. He turned his head, and on the display screen behind him was a map of Hongjing, compiled according to Lin Chen’s requirements.

He looked at the various colored markers on the map, imagining the pros and cons that Lin Chen had considered in that brief moment. Despite having various personal emotions, in the end, all he could do was silently marvel; indeed, it was Lin Chen, truly worthy of being Lin Chen.

At that moment, another officer ventured, “No matter the outcome, Consultant Lin’s arrangement will undoubtedly implicate public safety. The other side is quite capable of causing trouble, and they might even accuse us, the police, in the end!”

Upon hearing this, Xing Conglian calmly spoke, posing a question in return, “Then, should we let Shen Lian target the middle school?” He turned to the first officer who had raised doubts. “Nearly two thousand teachers and students.”

The person was instantly rendered speechless.

“Or the Hongjing Huihaodi shopping mall?” Xing Conglian looked at the second person. “It’s a workday today, and the mall has relatively low foot traffic. But the problem is, we know this, and Shen Lian is well aware of it too. Similarly, if she appears during the peak hours after work when the foot traffic is high, the danger level in the mall is clearly no less than that of the school.”

“What about the Louyuan Community? Can’t we use that place?”

On the speakerphone, Wang Chao suddenly explained, “A’Chen Gege said that the area that needs to be monitored there is too large. It’s a very remote and modern residential area, and it’s unlikely to satisfy Shen Lian’s psychological desire for ‘massive harm’. The chances of her choosing that place are very low.”

“The office building isn’t remote, but there are too many people!”

“Lin Chen’s intention is actually quite simple. He wants to choose an area that appears to have a dense crowd, which can attract Shen Lian, and at the same time, it should be convenient for us, the police, to set up surveillance and implement the arrest.” The old director, who had been silently drinking tea in the background, suddenly spoke up. “A large building with a single entrance and exit is certainly preferable.”

“But is there really no other way? No matter where Shen Lian appears, as long as Consultant Lin’s plan is revealed, it will be seen as a sign of incompetence on the part of the police.” A policewoman spoke up. “Moreover, it’s really unfavorable for your team, Captain Xing. It will be seen as… retaliation.”

The policewoman emphasized the last word, and Xing Conglian looked at her and nodded, expressing gratitude for her concern. Then he looked at everyone present and calmly said, “You should all be aware that whether we are seen as competent or not is the public’s evaluation of us. But many times, what we need to care about is not these hypocritical praise or malicious criticism, but whether we have done our best within our capabilities for each case.”

After Xing Conglian finished speaking, he stood up from his chair.

“Captain Xing!” The surrounding officers spoke up one after another.

However, Xing Conglian seemed not to hear them and decisively said, “Mobilize all available police forces in the city and divide them into three groups: A, B, and C. Group A will maintain their original communication devices and follow Consultant Lin’s arrangements; Group B and Group C will use more secure communication systems. Group B will be responsible for surveillance at the following locations, and Group C will accompany me to the final possible location where Shen Lian may appear for surveillance.”

Xing Conglian laid out the specific arrangements in great detail, and for a while, the office was filled with the sound of writing.

At the end, someone suddenly raised their hand and asked, “Captain Xing, everything you said is fine, but how can Consultant Lin guarantee that Shen Lian will really go there?”