Blazing Armor

Cai Qiang, lounging with his legs crossed, said, “We’ve been incredibly efficient today. We interrogated Zhou Chuan and Chen Pei, as well as Chen Pei’s two lackeys. We also arrested Chen Pei’s girlfriend and seized some stolen money. Peng Fei will be here soon, so victory is within reach.”mUagPBmaUzTGlStfcJRGBPdYqrSvXz

Gong Yingxian added, “Zhou Chuan has been more cautious since we caught him in the Fourth Perspective. He no longer uses his own computer for important communications, preferring internet cafes and libraries instead. He claims we were misled by the ‘exchange arson’ post. That post has nothing to do with the Wanyuan complex case; it’s the kind of thing a rookie would post, or maybe someone just bragging. Anyone serious about committing a crime would never leave public traces on the Seraph site.”WFLmPeHaJxINgTWEhMdIuRMAwpQIBE

“So how are they communicating?” Ren Yi asked hesitantly. “Could we have been wrong from the start? Maybe the Wanyuan complex fire and the car arson weren’t part of an exchange arson scheme?”OwEhjhOLpHCXxWfnyeusLMyhUwGdsq

“We’ll have to dig the truth out of Peng Fei,” Gong replied. “According to Zhou Chuan—and Xiaotan has made similar discoveries recently—Seraph has an internal loyalty rating system for its users. Based on registration time, activity, spending, and the extremity of their posts, users get inducted into deeper, more secretive levels. It’s the dark web of the dark web, and only people in the organization know about it. Zhou Chuan himself has never been inside.”tHWoKXRegCbkZOBXDKlckeVGjSQxMn

“Does Zhou Chuan have any evidence to incriminate Chen Pei?”BfiFIMbvFRgDqBYtWAdGaFtqRZMNAS

“Zhou Chuan said that, like him, Chen Pei doesn’t have pyromania; they were both hired,” Cai Qiang chimed in, “by someone named ‘Hong Yan.'”HALhCCdttrosauGuGgzSmDNmGxxzLk

“‘Hong Yan’?” Qiu Yan muttered. “I’ve missed too much this morning… Is Hong Yan a member of the organization?”BxKlGifzVNdGiXXZDfXSqbGAsZjiPR

Cai nodded. “Zhou Chuan said half of what he knows about the fires came from the media, and the other half from this Hong Yan. Hong Yan once paid him to set fires, but Zhou didn’t dare. So, Zhou only filmed and live-streamed them. He’s heard of Chen Pei from Hong Yan but didn’t know his name or met him before. When Chen Pei was arrested, Zhou immediately recognized him. Also, Chen Pei must have recorded the arsons. That way, not only could he earn the commission, but he could sell the footage for a good price. Those recordings would be the best evidence against him.”IHpSReJzxVdmrvGRfRigDlOgYImnXI

“Where are those recordings? And how did Chen Pei and Hong Yan communicate?”kkEdomsjqUJwrRaXnoujrXnHBAVAPB

“Zhou Chuan wants to trade information for a reduced sentence, so he’s not telling us yet. As for the recordings, Chen Pei must still have them hidden somewhere. He’s waiting for the heat to die down before selling them.”jaHugIiTDCeIWbqAlYFepewNtLYcao

“So we have to find the recordings too?” Ren Yi sighed. “Isn’t this like finding a needle in a haystack?”RaPkqvnRmvuhiXXznouoKYFnsnfYJL

Gong Yingxian smirked coldly. “One of Chen Pei’s lackeys has already spilled the beans.”sgoNoYTiTiIRcCytOvOaadpJhxmmsD

Ren Yi clapped his hands. “That’s great!”HOoMRdGCECJWYahmOkXamIdXmNXvvV

“In the recording, you can see that Chen Pei didn’t expect the fire to get out of control. He tried to stop the fire from spreading westward, and then his phone rang. He asked what to do since the fire was too big. The person on the other end instructed him to close the west-side windows and the stairwell door while keeping the east-side windows and stairwell door open. During the call, he mentioned ‘2212’ twice, which is Peng Fei’s apartment.”fgXABEMbkMUsCmBrYmxrVFyILvuFdw

“Can we trace the call records?”urwyHAFloDCoenDjhBbNDMHlJsFfKr

“No, it was a burner phone.”fcXGICAqbaXdxCahLGVxZvWiDTxSaG

“With evidence like this, Chen Pei can’t deny it, right?”IvZEuitlBRHEtZgTcgLzzilrOjgnmz

“We’ve had seven or eight run-ins with this guy, and he’s always played dumb. But now that we’ve got solid evidence, he finally confessed. He said he received a cash payment to ignite the garbage piled in front of 2209 at a specific time and place. He thought it was broad daylight, so the fire would be put out quickly. He didn’t expect it to spiral out of control. Then the person who hired him suddenly called, asked him about the situation, and taught him how to control the fire, telling him to make sure it didn’t spread to 2212.”DEKeiCAFNQwcPFQZHZHEqSMXcTiYsf

“So Hong Yan must have been nearby,” Ren Yi mused. “Arsonists like to watch their handiwork. But… they usually prefer to do it themselves since the biggest thrill for them is the act of setting the fire. Why would Hong Yan hand over such an ‘enjoyable’ process to someone else? This ‘Hong Yan’ fits some characteristics of a pyromaniac but not all.”QComTQxurjggwvhWUZCzNwdiRPFUvG

“That’s also puzzling to me,” Gong Yingxian said. “I have a theory.”tTHiDbffRwPJcVkTgOOwyupppFJfly

“What’s your theory?”etCjyKoUNmicphvAhTQTvpXsRlguFx

“Do you know what ‘Hong Yan’ means?”xUFEYwOkKpzkYoZqBlOokZFSSXWwJf

Ren Yi paused. “Red flames, right?” He couldn’t immediately think of anything special about the name.ZaPeJExPOGKZcySuiQiJICErKGSQzB

Qiu Yan’s eyes lit up. “Could it refer to the temperature and color of the flame?”nRGzPVlkyzJgGkHrTCGJkMgWjXRZuK

Ren Yi suddenly understood. “Oh, I get it! Red flames are the lowest temperature of fire!”zmbxMKEAjnlZlwgUVxqvGSgabkeezY

“Exactly,” Gong continued. “If the organization Zhou Chuan mentioned really exists, there must be a hierarchy among its members, which is unavoidable in any structured organization. Let’s assume ‘Hong Yan’ is one of the lowest-ranked members. His actions could be directed by someone higher up, which means we can’t use his behavior to determine whether he’s a pyromaniac.”zoumZIujQSGdUxarrTjiXfifdTiZQI

Qiu Yan squinted. “When Chen Pei started the fire, Hong Yan was probably nearby, noticed it was getting out of hand, and called to remind Chen Pei not to burn 2212. But what’s the relationship between Peng Fei and Hong Yan? Based on the clues so far, they don’t seem to be the same person.”NxddNmArCzmnMitCYHqfAuiZyKmETt

“I don’t think they are either. Both Zhou Chuan and Chen Pei said Hong Yan always communicated with them through a single line. They couldn’t contact each other, so there’s no way to trace him. Chen Pei used to do dirty jobs for people, and Hong Yan somehow got hold of his number. He was very generous with money, but Chen Pei never met him, only confirming that he’s a middle-aged man.”LpaKsqYXrZaYTGDURKhKiTnXKYGadu

Ren Yi looked at Gong Yingxian and asked, “So, about your situation… did Chen Pei hear about it from Hong Yan too?”aIWUnPmoXuMXXDmvOTGTkBieJiuhVq

Gong Yingxian shook his head. “Chen Pei said he would only tell me if we met face-to-face, but Captain Qiu advised against it for now, to avoid affecting the Wanyuan complex case.”OBNXlXFZbOplaeyBTQQEyxnugHtheK

Qiu Yan chimed in, “Chen Pei is a desperate man, not like Zhou Chuan, who can be easily intimidated. He knows he’s facing the death penalty, but he’s still holding onto this secret. There’s definitely another motive. I think we can’t let him mess with our focus right now.”JseSYKSTAaLDKolhjqbrIPhDemmmyb

“With all this evidence,” Cai Qiang said with a heavy snort, “I’d like to see how Peng Fei wriggles out of it.”CKRZlGlcfekuWUvMRUkYVEPOaJBVrH

“The whole situation is getting clearer, but it’s still unclear how Peng Fei is connected to Seraph or that mysterious organization,” Ren Yi mused.OWqKJJmjRdgRgIzUplmCBvfdSgzaYO

“We’ll let him tell us himself soon enough,” Gong Yingxian replied coldly.kTDHCfHaFFTCYSTKQCfBOCQENzLprO

Ren Yi wanted to see Peng Fei’s reaction to the evidence himself, but he had leadership inspections to attend in the afternoon. Glancing at the time, he realized he had to leave.GaBrMidwBcUeQOmqXFOTCYkjSstALJ

Gong Yingxian walked him to the door of the meeting room. “Go handle your work. I’ll call you tonight with the results.”PedcmmBAarFwvfMExVOqgCQjKyMNsK

“Alright,” Ren Yi said, noticing the faint dark circles under Gong’s eyes. “Take care of yourself. Solving the case is important, but so is your health.”qnRyTFgkLGGENrHPoyDejNiqLWzENv

“It’s fine. The closer we get to the truth, the more energized I feel,” Gong said in a low voice. “What we’re dealing with may not just be a couple of arsonists or a single website—it could be a whole criminal organization. Thinking about that makes me feel like sleeping is a waste of time.”SKOwWpCkQhkmsovhbKHcgKmpgvDFbG

Ren Yi patted Gong’s shoulder. “You can’t think like that. First, you’re not alone—you’ve got me, Captain Qiu, and the rest of the team. Second, the more significant the issue, the longer it takes to resolve. Don’t push yourself too hard. Every day, we’re getting more clues. Victory belongs to justice, to us. Just don’t rush it.”sCSArBQZltrZgSofUBwwMppzDeYrks

Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi, his eyes softening. “No wonder you’re a squad leader—you really know how to motivate people.”JsgZpByGVMtJmlKpunyBYgGgMffRDL

“I’ve got plenty of skills,” Ren Yi laughed. “You’ve got time to discover them all.”jmFkIFqqILYnwoAvcUmdDgyTzouSEx

Gong smiled faintly, then hesitated. “When do you have time again?”JnjFASpNxwkBUTPjGMFjbgzkFWPWZz

“Why?”bCqhqeevKWkyXRgRaZYMFfeTyUfKEh

“For the next interrogation of Chen Pei,” Gong bit his lip. “I want you there.” It wasn’t that he was afraid of Chen Pei. No matter how much he feared fire, he would face it, let alone a man. But he had realized that when Ren Yi was around, he felt braver in the face of anything. With Ren Yi by his side, he felt he could conquer even his lifelong fears. Ren Yi’s presence gave him strength, making him believe he could achieve more.gylgdFzAYKJcGoweZAtyOEsSYLZxxg

Ren Yi was pleasantly surprised. “Of course, I’ll definitely be there.” A deep sense of gratitude rose in his heart. Being valued and trusted by Gong Yingxian filled him with a unique sense of fulfillment and security.hFhhPtzTKuvSXENgrOfYzGToGrmZNi

Gong Yingxian also felt a warmth in his heart. “See you later, then.”uvLzFaKrPClfDyEddMmJPrnfUxooFC

“Bye.”pcPtBzhInxLAzxMWSSJqrgZqyezYHd

They exchanged goodbyes, but neither moved a step. They stood there, staring at each other without blinking, as if waiting for the other to turn away first—yet neither wanted to be the one to leave.RJBdffNNbHLbhEFpEYYhStiyyFJWAZ

When they finally realized what was happening, a strange sense of awkwardness settled between them.FUWITFGGPFPpZoqcScNqTYNcCMVGNZ

Ren Yi pointed toward the meeting room door. “Y-you should go back to work.”zFlmDvYVlpXlBzaBDlxtXCASmIFjBd

“…Yeah.” Gong nodded and stepped back into the room.lFkdgKgGOWuvEDFVpqitVrvOhmhehO

Ren Yi turned and leaned against the wall, pressing a hand to his chest, a bittersweet smile forming on his lips. He used to think that liking someone was all about the rush of hormones, the intense desire, the explosive passion. And yes, all of that was true. But it wasn’t until he met Gong Yingxian that he understood—before all of that, there was this almost reverential feeling, as if placing the other person on a pedestal too sacred to disturb. Every unintentional glance could captivate him, every brush of elbows left him flustered, and even the rise and fall of Gong’s tone at the end of a sentence was worth overanalyzing.cjtbeuAnuSpkCAHMtTCVycsADRtiFQ

This love, so delicate, felt as fragile as glass.CErMlJhQoxgZrfKmyIEvoLtmzsXijb