FY - 36

Feng Zhongliang looked at him: “Will you kill me?”

Si Wen also looked at him. Neither of them let go of the other’s gaze, which carried too much information. If there were an observer, they would surely see that they could only stand in two opposing relationships.

They would never be together.

Feng Zhongliang wanted to make small talk with Si Wen, but the gun pointed at his head wouldn’t allow it.

Nor did he beg for mercy. He knew Si Wen wouldn’t touch him; if he didn’t walk out of here, then no matter where Si Wen went afterward, he would be riddled with a hundred bullets. No exception.

Si Wen’s audacity lay in the fact that he wouldn’t let you catch him.

Just like his absurd identity as the owner of Dongsheng Pharmaceutical, Feng Zhongliang knew it was fake, but couldn’t prove it. There was no evidence.

Feng Zhongliang went straight to the point: “I always thought that as long as I didn’t want to, there was no way I could know you were still alive. I did it; I haven’t thought of you in years. But you wouldn’t allow it; you had to come provoke me, to make me remember.”

Si Wen lowered the gun and said nothing.

Feng Zhongliang continued to stare directly at him: “Si Wen, you truly are audacious!”

Si Wen was not from Qizhou, but from Shangmian. At 9 years old, his IQ was tested at 164. At 16, he graduated from the University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

His mentor at the time said that if he were a scientist, it would be an honor for the people. If he were a criminal, it would be a tragedy for the people.

At 18, he joined the military and was selected by the local military region to become an ordnance soldier. After a year and a half of service, his entire unit transitioned to armed police special forces, and Si Wen became an auxiliary police officer. He had an active military roster but was not part of the formal police system.

At that time, Feng Zhongliang was an anti-drug police officer in the Qizhou Anti-Drug Squad, serving as a deputy, but not formally enrolled.

During a mountain forest arrest operation, due to misjudgment of the enemy’s strength, the operation escalated into a military action. The anti-drug squad requested support, and the command center successively dispatched nine special police units, combat support, and medical teams. Si Wen’s unit was among them.

The mountain forest was densely treed, with lush foliage, rugged terrain, and a narrow field of vision, forcing them to adopt a conservative approach against the enemy, unable to advance rashly.

There were no scenes like in movies where a lone hero, unafraid of death, charges forward with a rifle; everyone wanted to complete the mission alive.

This was also the order conveyed to them by the supreme commander.

To live, and to complete the mission.

That was the first time Feng Zhongliang saw Si Wen.

He thought at the time that Si Wen was too striking to be on the front lines; he would be easily remembered, and the danger would double. Someone like him should at most be in logistics, that would be his lifelong destiny.

But Si Wen was so arrogant.

Was he the type of person who, if you thought he couldn’t do it, then he couldn’t?

No, he was good at letting his actions speak.

Based on his high-IQ role in the team, the captain of the armed police special forces unit required him to adapt to circumstances.

Later, he proceeded cautiously, analyzing the situation and proposing feasible solutions. Every critical moment, it was his strategy, combined with the tacit understanding and meticulous actions of all armed police special forces members, that saw them through the crisis.

Being from an ordnance background, the armed police special forces team was familiar with weaponry, and coupled with their clearly rigorous combat-trained physical fitness, they deservedly took the leading role in the entire arrest operation, playing a decisive role in its success.

In that operation, the anti-drug squad suffered heavy losses, and the anti-drug bureau received a notice from the Ministry of Public Security to reorganize the Qizhou Anti-Drug Squad.

Feng Zhongliang earned his first third-class merit and was promoted to captain of the anti-drug squad.

At that time, he asked the higher-ups for one person. Si Wen.

He began to feel that Si Wen possessed something even more unforgettable than his striking appearance.

That year, the high-IQ Si Wen died, and the undercover Si Wen lived.

His file was erased, and he became a nail, driven into the drug den. For six whole years, he collected intelligence, carried out missions, and assisted the anti-drug squad in dismantling countless drug trafficking rings. His medals stacked high.

Later, while undercover at a major drug trafficking and manufacturing base in the Liu Huo region, Si Wen’s identity was repeatedly compromised due to the对方’s keen sixth sense. To take down this large drug den, he ultimately contracted an opioid addiction in the line of duty to continue his mission.

During his year undercover, he never mentioned his drug addiction to Feng Zhongliang, fearing that Feng Zhongliang would no longer trust him wholeheartedly, which would be a hidden danger for subsequent arrest operations.

When the time was ripe, he collaborated with Feng Zhongliang from the inside and out, coupled with armed support from the Ministry of Public Security. After a fierce battle, they destroyed sixteen major drug trafficking criminal organizations, arrested one hundred and sixty-four suspects, and seized six tons of methamphetamine.

Only Fan Chang remained, at large.

After the success of this case, Feng Zhongliang was appointed director of the Anti-Drug Bureau.

At the conference, the head and deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security’s inspection team were present to provide guidance, and there were also media interviews. How glorious it was.

No one remembered Si Wen.

Or rather, no one knew Si Wen.

Si Wen disappeared for four months after the Liu Huo incident. Later, his body was recovered from the Ganrou River; it was in an urn, hands and feet severed, face disfigured, making identification impossible. Yet the DNA test results still shattered Feng Zhongliang’s heart.

It was Si Wen’s.

After the incident, Feng Zhongliang secluded himself in a barren mountain for a week, ignoring worldly affairs, slapping himself day after day.

There were too many suspicious points surrounding Si Wen’s death, but at that time, he couldn’t think of anything but pain, nothing else.

Later, a figure named Si Wen appeared in Qizhou.

Feng Zhongliang had always known, but he pretended not to know. He thought, if this person was Si Wen, if this was the life Si Wen wanted, he would allow it.

“You really are audacious!” Feng Zhongliang repeated again.

Si Wen pretended not to understand: “I don’t quite understand.”

Feng Zhongliang then openly challenged him: “Fan Chang didn’t escape back then; he was always in your hands. You knew he had an escape route, which was贺一’s identity, a small pharmaceutical company. That was something he prepared for himself early on.”

“You killed him, chopped off his hands and feet, smashed his face, and then took over贺一’s identity.”

Si Wen offered no expression other than indifference.

Feng Zhongliang continued: “At first, I couldn’t understand why the DNA of that corpse was yours. Until later, I inadvertently saw the procurement list for consumables at the Forensic Science Identification Center, and the Copan flocked swabs used for DNA extraction were produced by Dongsheng Pharmaceutical.”

“All the Copan flocked swabs provided to the identification center had your DNA; of course, they couldn’t identify anyone else’s.”

As he spoke, his eyes reddened, and he slowly clenched his back teeth.

He had to admire Si Wen’s calculation.

“Of course, those Copan flocked swabs must have been disposed of by you afterwards. You are from a military and police background; your anti-reconnaissance capabilities are beyond doubt. You know every loophole in our system, so you can naturally complete this deception without leaving a trace.”

What Feng Zhongliang couldn’t understand was: “You changed your identity, but you changed He Yi’s name to Si Wen. Do you want me to know you’re still alive?”

He paused after speaking, then added: “Or are you saying that, like those drug lords, I’ve become your next target?”

Si Wen listened, then said: “You came to my territory just to say a bunch of nonsense?”

Feng Zhongliang said: “You donated twenty million to charity just to let me see you. I saw you, looked for you, but you wouldn’t meet me. Wasn’t that just to make me come to Qizhou? I came, the access control to Yaogu was open to me, and then you came here to meet me. Don’t you just want to hear this nonsense from me?”

Si Wen didn’t answer, turning to walk to the window and look outside.

Feng Zhongliang looked at his back. In just five years, he had changed into a completely different person.

What exactly did he go through back then?