Qing Caiyue’s neck was stiff, but it wasn’t to an extent of extreme rigour mortis. It felt like someone who had just died not more than one hour ago. During then, Xia Lei was still out there chasing after Fan Yiming.

Lu Sheng seemed to have realized it, prompting the man to hurry over to the bed and press on Qing Caiyue’s wrist. Her wrist was devoid of any temperature nor was there a hint of her pulse.

“How... How is this possible?” Lu Sheng let his shock sink in before screaming at the door. “Both of you! Get in, now!” The muscular man was positively enraged.

The two security guards made their way in, all while glancing at a fuming Lu Sheng nervously.

They had no idea what had happened.

Lu Sheng wanted to yell at them but Xia Lei stopped him. Xia Lei began to question, “Were you two stationed at the door since the start?”

The two guards nodded. One of them voiced nervously, “Director Xia, we’ve been guarding the room entrance since the beginning. We didn’t even step away for a second. What happened?”

Xia Lei pressed on, “Did you see anyone here all this while?”

The two guards looked at each other for confirmation before shaking their heads in tandem.

“Leave, do not say a word about this incident,” warned Xia Lei.

To which the guards nodded and left the security office together.

Xia Lei’s mood was dampened and heavy. He thought to himself darkly, “How did Qing Caiyue die? Was she killed or was this a suicide? She’s so vain and incredibly afraid of pain. Would she have such courage to end her own life?”

Qing Caiyue’s death was filled with mystery.

“Director Xia, do you think this damned woman killed herself to avoid charges?” guessed Lu Sheng.

“What do you think?”

Lu Sheng shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Xia Lei laid down stern instructions. “Keep watch over her body. Do not let anyone near her. Also, make sure all her belongings are safe, no one is allowed to touch it until I say so.”

“Do we call the police?” asked Lu Sheng.

Xia Lei replied, “Keep the thought on hold. Just do as I say for now.” The man quickly left the security office for the material science laboratory urgently.

All the signs and hints had pointed to Qing Caiyue being the pesky spy and her death could be fully interpreted as a suicide to avoid legal punishment. This case seemed to have arrived at its closure but Xia Lei did not think so.

Everything felt too normal, too simple in fact. That spy had successfully hidden around him and lurked around in the Thunder Horse Organization for so long, only deciding to show their existence during the birth of the new material. Now that America had only begun its initial steps, would the spy die in such a crucial time? Would that spy be Qing Caiyue? She was a woman who was blinded by greed.

This whole ordeal wouldn’t be something so simple. And that spy was definitely not someone of Qing Caiyue’s level. Qing Caiyue was just a mere chess piece that got sacrificed by the real mastermind! It was an act of sacrificing one’s pawn to save the queen.

Xia Lei barged into the material science laboratory without hesitation.

The lab personnel were bustling about their jobs, no one had time to learn what happened earlier. Upon realizing the presence of their boss, everyone left the lab to grant Xia Lei some privacy with their superior.

Xia Lei strode towards Li Youdun’s office.

His left eye twitched slightly and pierced through all the obstacles in his view. Li Youdun entered his line of vision and Xia Lei could clearly see that the scientist was still hard at work. Li Youdun’s focus was placed fully onto the sheet ahead of him, it almost seemed as if everything that had happened outside of this laboratory had nothing to do with him. He, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about it too.

Xia Lei intensified his X-ray vision, scanning along the length of Li Youdun’s body. Surprisingly, there was no weapon on the scientist. The drawers beside his work desk had nothing of that sort too.

Everything about the material scientist felt normal to the point that to even think about him being the spy was an accusation and defamation. Despite the revelation, a cold smirk appeared on the edge of Xia Lei’s lips. Li Youdun was a great actor. Everything was too perfect and it felt artificial. His flawlessness was a flaw in itself.

Xia Lei reached a hand to knock on the office door.

Li Youdun hadn’t even bothered to lift his head. “Come in.”

And so Xia Lei did.

It was only then that Li Youdun spared some attention to glance at Xia Lei. Noticing his boss, the scientist stood from his seat and greeted Xia Lei respectfully. “Director Xia, are you here for the plan? There’s no need to come here personally, you could always phone me and have me deliver it to you.”

Xia Lei’s smirk turned a few degrees colder. “Since when?”

“What? ... What do you mean?” Li Youdun was perplexed.

“Why are you doing this?” Xia Lei shot another question.

Li Youdun’s face contorted into something more anxious. “Director Xia? What’s the matter? Why are you asking me questions that don’t make any sense?”

“Quit acting!” Xia Lei roared. “This is pointless, I know you’re the spy!”

“Huh? What...” While Li Youdun’s shock was written all over his face, the glint in his eye was oddly sharp.

Xia Lei chuckled dryly. “You’ve been hiding around in my place since the beginning, stealing information from Thunder Horse for America. You tricked Qing Caiyue to work for you. Not only had you used her, but you also killed after you were done. On the surface, you managed to make it look like Qing Caiyue was a female spy sent by the American government who seduced you to get a hold of formulas and samples of Alloy X. It would have worked on everyone but not me.”

“Director Xia, I... I’m not the spy!”

“You entered the Thunder Horse Organization when it was in demand for material scientists through Qing Caiyue’s recruiting agency. Qing Caiyue has been your target since the beginning, huh? You made it into Thunder Horse and continued to lurk around, waiting for the right time to shine. Your main aim was the new material all along.”

Li Youdun fell silent.

Xia Lei went on, “Qing Caiyue had no idea of the danger she had invited. She was young, beautiful and incredibly vain. But you and I would have to admit that she was too simple-minded. You maintained a secret affair with her and she unknowingly became your scapegoat. You sent Alloy X’s early phase findings and carbon arrangement to America so that they could start a similar new material project. Sadly, the early conclusions were failures, which was why America’s new material project had not been able to see success. You continued to lurk around, waiting for a new chance to strike. After my success in solving the material issue, Alloy X was born and that was when you finally lost your patience. Which is why this is happening today, right?”

Li Youdun’s lips were tight, saying nothing in response. The gaze he had on Xia Lei was complicated, but there was no fear.

“I was thinking... Your appearance probably has something to do with the AE Research Centre. Am I right or am I wrong?”

Something odd flashed briefly in Li Youdun’s pupil.

“I’ve managed to obtain a material that did not belong to this realm and I possess evolution beyond that of current mankind. The brains of America would certainly have some research or deductions towards me. They’ve studied me and made a hypothesis. That’s where you come in, right?” analyzed Xia Lei.

There was a quiet pause before Li Youdun sighed and disturbed the tension. “Director Xia, I sincerely have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know why you’re so adamant that I’m a spy sent by the American government. I understand that you’re a stubborn person set in his opinion once set but I must make this clear. I am not a spy sent by America and I really, really liked Qing Caiyue. How could I bear to kill her?”

“Li Youdun... Is this really your name?” Xia Lei huffed, “When I told you about Qing Caiyue’s death, you did not even blink. Now you’re here talking about your genuine love? Do you think I’m stupid or is this a ploy to humiliate yourself?”

Li Youdun went quiet again.

“Today, if this wasn’t your last chance to strike, you wouldn’t have thought of implementing something so risky. But you couldn’t take it any longer. When you made up your mind, you had already decided to sacrifice Qing Caiyue, right?”

There was a faint bitter smile at the corner of Li Youdun’s lip.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

“I said so much and yet you’re still not keen on admitting anything?”

“Director Xia, I don’t understand the source of your severe misunderstanding. Why are you trying to make me admit to something I’m not? I really can’t do it but I am clear that I can no longer work in this place. If you’ve got evidence, I urge you to bring it to the correct authority,” replied Li Youdun.

Xia Lei abruptly raised his hand, fingers now coiled around a Viper pistol. He glared at the scientist. “There is no appropriate authority to turn to. If I wanted, I can kill you right here, right now!”

In the face of death, Li Youdun looked as peaceful as ever.

Though he had not admitted it, his response for the past few minutes was enough to determine the truth. A scientist, or more rather, a regular civilian would not be able to stay so calm in front of serious accusations and a threatening gun.

“Qing Caiyue may have betrayed me but honestly, she did not deserve to die. You’re the one who needs to die!”

Nonchalantly, all Li Youdun said was, “Shoot me then.”

Xia Lei pressed on the trigger.

A soft click rang out from the unloaded Viper pistol.

Yet, Li Youdun did not even blink.

To have this courage to face death. This was something Xia Lei couldn’t achieve!

“Are you not afraid of dying?”

“Everyone dies eventually, you’ll die someday too. What’s the difference between dying now and dying tens of years later?” mused Li Youdun.

“You should be clear about this. My mercy and graciousness do not mean that I don’t wish to beat the shit out of you. But if you really wish to launch this whole ordeal into a bigger mess, I’ve got no objection. You’re allowed to not admit it out loud because I’m not the investigator in charge of this case. All I need is for you to answer a few of my questions. If you cooperate, I’ll do nothing to you and you’ll get to leave this place in one piece.”

“You’re going to let me go?” Li Youdun smirked mockingly, it was evident that he did not believe that Xia Lei would let him off so easily.

“No, but I’ll be sending you somewhere you deserve to be.”

“Then I’ll ask you a few questions in turn. Likewise, I’ll answer your questions and you’ll answer mine. This is more of a fair exchange.”

Xia Lei laughed. “You dare to ask for things in a situation like this? Do you really think I’m that easy of a person?”

“You can torture me but it’d be pointless. I’ve received the most gruelling and cruel pain tolerance training in the world. You’re not someone who’s intensely sadistic and inhumane, I’m sure you’re not willing to do the dirty deed too,” answered Li Youdun calmly.

Xia Lei stared at him in silence. “Very well, consider it a deal. I’ll begin first.”

“Go on.”

“Who was the one who leaked information about Long Bing’s mission in Japan? Was it you or Qing Caiyue?”