A madman in France? How come he's always at crime scenes!

Chapter 96 Standoff

Wu Liang parked his car diagonally across from the residential area; it was Fang Lue's Santana.

This car has one advantage: it's very inconspicuous. Wu Liang had never driven it into the police station before; it was always parked in the hotel parking lot.

Li Mu's voice came through the earphones.

"He Minsheng hasn't left the house yet."

Wu Liang adjusted his seat back a little, placed his hands on the steering wheel, and looked through the car window at the gate of the residential area across the street.

"I've arrived."

"Santana? I see you," Li Mu said. "The camera at the entrance of the community can capture the first three parking spaces on the roadside, and you're right on the edge right now."

Wu Liang leaned back in his chair, his gaze never leaving the entrance of the residential complex.

Ever since Fang Lue was discharged from the hospital, he's been clamoring to return to the team, but Zhao Anmin has kept him at home, insisting that he wait until his arm is fully healed before going back.

When he came to Feishui to borrow a car, he was quite envious.

"Attorney Wu, I'm a policeman, and you're a lawyer, so how come you spend more time on the front lines than I do?"

Wu Liang was stuck for a long time.

Wrong? How come it makes such a good point?

Through the earpiece, Li Mu suddenly said, "They're out, heading towards the main gate."

Wu Liang immediately snapped out of his thoughts.

This residential area consists of old-style company-built housing, with low walls and some peeling white paint on the exterior walls.

He Minsheng was wearing a dark gray jacket and carrying a very ordinary black cloth bag. He walked slowly and looked just like an old policeman who had taken sick leave to go to the hospital for a check-up.

They didn't look around or deliberately avoid the security cameras at the entrance of the residential area.

If a veteran detective really wants to pretend to be an ordinary person, he will often be even more ordinary than an ordinary person.

"He's left the residential area," Li Mu said steadily. "He's heading east; there's a bus stop up ahead."

Wu Liang did not start the car immediately.

He Minsheng walked to the bus stop, glanced at the sign, and then boarded a bus that had just pulled into the station.

"Don't get too close, the bus route passes by the Second Municipal Hospital."

"You actually went to the hospital?"

"Sick leave must be taken seriously, that's normal."

After the bus had driven some distance, Wu Liang started his car and slowly followed.

There were quite a few people at the entrance of the Second Municipal Hospital. Wu Liang stopped and waited in front of a funeral clothing store. More than half an hour later, He Minsheng came out of the hospital's main entrance with a bag of medicine.

He walked to the roadside, neither hailing a taxi nor returning to the bus stop, but instead walked south along the outer wall of the hospital.

Wu Liang's eyes narrowed.

"They've changed direction."

"I see it," Li Mu said. "There's a back street to the south with few security cameras."

"I'll go with them."

Wu Liang got out of the car and casually pulled his hat brim down.

The south side of the hospital is an old town area with narrow streets and a mix of shops. Pharmacies and breakfast stalls are crammed together, and the roadside is full of parked electric bikes.

He Minsheng did not walk fast.

As he passed the pharmacy, he didn't turn around, but paused for half a second in front of the glass door, as if looking at the blood pressure monitor inside.

Wu Liang passed by him at a distance of about 30 meters, casually looking down at his phone.

A faint electrical sound suddenly came through the headphones.

Li Mu's voice trailed off.

"The signal is bad in that old street ahead, don't go there."

The second half of the sentence was swallowed up by noise.

Wu Liang raised his hand and pressed the earphone.

"Officer Li? Li Mu?"

There was no response, only intermittent rustling sounds.

Wu Liang frowned.

The buildings here are packed together, with air conditioner units and messy wires hanging all over the exterior walls, so poor signal is to be expected.

He glanced at his cuffs.

The communicator was still silent, indicating that Li Mu had not sent a retreat signal.

Wu Liang continued walking forward.

Ahead, He Minsheng stopped in front of an old pharmacy, then turned into a narrow alley on the right.

The alleyway was narrow, with peeling paint on both sides and water that had accumulated on the ground the night before.

Wu Liang's heart sank slightly, and he quickened his pace to the alley entrance.

no one.

He Minsheng has disappeared.

Just as I was deciding whether to follow them in, the communicator on my sleeve suddenly vibrated twice.

Without hesitation, they immediately turned and retreated.

But the next second, a familiar voice came from in front of him.

"Attorney Wu."

Wu Liang's body stiffened.

He Minsheng stood not far in front of him, holding the black cloth bag in his hand, his expression calm.

"Now that you've come this far, don't pretend you were just passing by."

Wu Liang's fingers stopped at the edge of his sleeve. He Minsheng stood on the other side of the alley entrance, blocking Wu Liang's way back to the main street.

There was no sound in the narrow alley behind me, only the dripping water from the air conditioner unit in the corner, making a constant echo.

Wu Liang paused for a second, then slowly smiled.

"Officer He, you're being too polite. I'm a lawyer from out of town, unfamiliar with Feishui. It's perfectly reasonable for me to get lost, isn't it?"

"Reasonable."

He Minsheng nodded.

"It makes sense that I started walking wrong from across the street from my apartment complex, followed the bus to the hospital, got off at the hospital, and then walked wrong all the way here."

Wu Liang's smile remained unchanged.

"You see, the law emphasizes the presumption of innocence. You can't presume I had the intent to stalk someone just because the route was coincidental."

0

He Minsheng did not laugh.

"Wu Liang, don't try to talk your way out of this."

He took a step forward.

Wu Liang did not back down. His gaze swept across He Minsheng's face and quickly fell on the black cloth bag in his hand.

"Officer He took sick leave, it seems it wasn't just to get his blood pressure checked."

7

The two people stood less than three meters apart.

He Minsheng stopped and slowly asked, "How far have you gotten in your investigation?"

Wu Liang looked at him.

"Officer He, that's a strange question. You're a police officer; shouldn't you know better than me how far the investigation has progressed?"

"Stop playing dumb," He Minsheng said in a low voice, "Does Meng Jiang know?"

"Officer He, are you trying to trick me into telling me something?"

He Minsheng stared at him and said coldly.

I'm giving you a chance.

Wu Liang's smile faded slightly.

"What opportunity?"

"Stop."

After those two words were spoken, the alleyway fell silent for a moment.

He Minsheng continued, "You're a lawyer, not a policeman. You don't understand how complicated things are here, nor do you know who you've encountered."

"You know?"

Wu Liang countered with a question.

He Minsheng remained silent.

Wu Liang took half a step forward.

"Officer He, you didn't come out today to deliver a message to anyone, did you?"

He Minsheng's eyes suddenly turned cold.

Wu Liang acted as if he hadn't seen it and continued, "If it were just about sending messages, you wouldn't have taken such an obvious sick leave. Now that you've discovered we're watching you, you should be more cautious than ever."

Wu Liang looked at He Minsheng.

"But you still came out."

Upon hearing this, Wu Liang noticed out of the corner of his eye that He Minsheng's lips were slightly pursed.

Emotions may not be written on your face, but your body language tells a lot.

"So I guessed you're not here today to do something for someone else," Wu Liang continued. "You want to confirm something."

He Minsheng looked at him coldly.

"Wu Liang, you're too smart, but you should know that being too smart isn't a good thing."

He Minsheng took a step forward, reducing the distance between the two to less than two meters.

The wind from the alley entrance squeezed in through the cracks in the wall, but Wu Liang did not back down.

It's not that I'm completely unafraid, but I know very well that He Minsheng won't make a move here.

It's too close to the main street here. There are shops and pedestrians at the entrance of the alley. Although there are few surveillance cameras nearby, it's not like there's no one around.

More importantly, He Minsheng has now taken the initiative to appear before him.

"What makes you think I won't do anything to you?" He Minsheng seemed to see right through his thoughts.

Wu Liang smiled.

"motivation."

He Minsheng's eyes flickered slightly.

"Taking action against me now will not benefit you at all; it will only provide evidence for the police."

"And, if I'm not mistaken—"

Looking at He Minsheng's constantly shifting eyes, Wu Liang's suspicions grew stronger.

"You must be feeling bad about Diao Wei's death."

He Minsheng's eyes widened in shock.