Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 23 Confrontation
When he came here before, Xiao Huzi told Xia Qinian that besides himself, only Xu Zhihai knew how to use the printer to print out forms for him.

Ai Liang took the memory card, her indifferent face revealing no emotion.

The man with the mustache wanted to say something, but he held back in the tense atmosphere.

"Mr. Sun, I found something good, come and see how much it's worth."

A lewd voice came from outside the door, and then a hunchbacked old man pushed the door open and entered.

"Isn't this the student from a couple of days ago? Why is he here again?"

Upon seeing Ai Liang, the hunchbacked old man quickly realized who she was and looked disgusted.

The hunchbacked old man was far from giving Ai Liang a friendly look. Last time, it was because of him that he wasted an hour of his time collecting scraps, and many valuable items were taken by others.

Ai Liang realized that this was quite a coincidence; he had just been planning to go to him when he walked right into her doorstep.

"I have something I want to ask you."

"No time! I have to go collect recyclables. Boss, could you help me check how much this microwave oven is worth?"

The hunchbacked old man didn't even look at Ai Liang and flatly refused.

But the next moment he forgot all about the broken microwave oven in his hand.

Ai Liang once read a book that contained the following sentence: There is only one way to get someone to do anything, and that is to give them what they want.

What could a hunchbacked old man be doing collecting scraps?
It's all about the money.

The hunchbacked old man stared wide-eyed at the banknotes that Ai Liang handed him, which were still smelling of ink.

Goodness, that's the most you can earn by collecting scraps for a month.

The hunchbacked old man swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "For me?"

Having taken the initiative, Ai Liang simply waved the money in front of him, creating a fragrant breeze.

Have you seen these two people in the photo?

Ai Liang took out his phone and opened the class photo he had gotten from Fang Xiaoxiao that morning. Wang Zi and Gao Jiajia were circled in the photo.

"It looks familiar, but I just can't remember it."

The hunchbacked old man shook his head, his eyes never leaving the money.

Seeing this, Ai Liang immediately stuffed the banknotes back into her pocket.

This time, the hunchbacked old man realized he was in a hurry, and his aged brain started working at lightning speed.

"Wait a minute! I remember now, that's the kid who kicked my leg so hard two years ago!"

Ai Liang then pointed to Gao Jiajia and asked, "What about this one?"

The hunchbacked old man avoided eye contact: "I don't know him."

Even without reading minds, you can tell he's lying from that attitude.

Judging from his wandering eyes, it's clear that he was the one who harassed Gao Jiajia back then, which led to Wang Zi's heroic rescue.

Ai Liang stuffed the money directly into the hunchbacked old man's tattered pocket and asked, "Two years ago, when your leg was kicked and swollen, was it Xu Zhihai who helped you back?"

"How do you know it?"

The hunchbacked old man looked shocked.

Looking at the hunchbacked old man's incredulous expression, Ai Liang finally understood—it really was him.

"One last question, did Xu Zhihai come to the recycling center today?"

The hunchbacked old man's clothes had holes everywhere in the pockets. He folded the money Ai Liang had given him and stuffed it into the soles of his shoes so that the money wouldn't get lost.

He answered Ai Liang's question while busy putting on his shoes.

"Zhihai? He came by this morning. What's up? Do you need to see him?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask if he's been collecting any books lately."

Ai Liang made up a reason on the spot to get away with it.

The hunchbacked old man had no suspicions, because Xu Zhihai had also said that Ai Liang treated him to pancakes every day in exchange for two books to read.

The man with the mustache stood to the side, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. When Ai Liang approached him, he said he was there to investigate a murder case, but now he was suddenly asking about Xu Zhihai.
The man with the mustache didn't dare to say anything for fear of getting into trouble, so he could only stand aside silently until Ai Liang left.

"Rich kids are just different; they're always running to the recycling center. I wish they could come more often."

The hunchbacked old man had no idea why Ai Liang had come.

He only knew that he could make money by answering two questions casually, and he couldn't wait for Ai Liang to come more often.

The man with the mustache glared at the hunchbacked old man.

Come a few more times? Every time that kid comes here, it's with a murder case. You won't be satisfied until one of us dies, will you?
He could only think these words in his heart, and would never dare to say them out loud.

Ai Liang looked at the school gate, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

He carried his laptop bag and walked towards the school gate.

Wearing a baseball cap and carrying something in his hand, his suspicious attire caught the attention of the security guard.

As he approached the school gate, the security guard immediately stopped him: "Outsiders must register first!"

Because of Gao Jiajia's death, the school's security guard has become much more responsible than before. In the past, he would at most just glance at someone entering the school.

“I am a student here, and I was present at the conference yesterday.”

Ai Liang took off her baseball cap, revealing her true face.

"Oh, it's you. Aren't you the student who helped the police solve the case? Why are you only coming to school now? What are you carrying?"

When the security guard saw Ai Liang's face, his tone immediately relaxed.

"I took a long leave from school yesterday. I came to school today to look for someone. Is the glasses at school?"

As Ai Liang spoke, she opened her laptop bag to show the doorman.

The security guard quickly rummaged through the bag and returned it to Ai Liang.

"You mean that guy with glasses who collects junk? He's probably scribbling nonsense in his rundown house right now."

The gatekeeper pointed in the direction of the dilapidated house, clearly familiar with the glasses.

Or rather, it's hard not to be familiar with Xu Zhihai, a ragpicker, who comes and goes at the school gate every day during class time.

Ai Liang, carrying her laptop bag, approached the dilapidated house step by step, her steps much heavier than before.

The wooden door and frame creaked and groaned, making a teeth-grinding, unpleasant sound.

As usual, Xu Zhihai was hunched over a three-legged table, writing and drawing.

He looked up at the door after hearing the sound.

"Hey, what brings you here?"

Xu Zhihai still had that silly, foolish smile on his face.

Ai Liang didn't answer his question, but silently took out her computer from her bag and placed it on the broken stool.

"Grandma Liu didn't know what you liked to read, so she gave me a bunch of old books. You can choose whichever you like."

"Wang Qiang, did you kill him?" Ai Liang turned on her computer with her back to Xu Zhihai, while Xu Zhihai also turned his back to Ai Liang and packed up old books.

"Who is Wang Qiang? Why should I..."

“Wang Qiang is the one who deleted the surveillance footage of your sister’s car accident three years ago. You can’t possibly not remember him, can you?”

After turning on the computer, Ai Liang turned around and looked at Xu Zhihai, who was half-squatting, and said.

When asked about the car accident three years ago, Xu Zhihai remained motionless as if the pause button had been pressed.

"Can the former king of Crete judge himself?"
The allure of desire led those who were only now to collect Pandora's box of calamity.

The orchard's spirits were adorned as the embodiment of the god of beauty and love.
Goddess who loves to stir up trouble

Why don't you avoid the self-indulgent narcissism?
Earth Goddess who nurtures all things

The mother of monsters, the source of all evil, shall perish forever.

Ai Liang slowly read the poem from her notebook.

Xu Zhihai stood up and faced Ai Liang. The foolish smile on his face had disappeared, and he was now looking at Ai Liang expressionlessly.

"The first sentence, 'the former king of Crete,' refers to Rhadamanthys, the judge of the underworld and king of Crete in Greek mythology. However, he was driven out of the country after Minos ruled Crete, so you used the word 'former.'"

Ai Liang continued, "The law can't help you, so you choose to take matters into your own hands."

"The second sentence, 'The temptation of desire led the wise to take Pandora's box of calamity,' is an easily guessed story referring to Epimetheus, Prometheus's brother, the foolish wise one. He brought disaster upon humankind by accepting Zeus's gift, Pandora."

"You use Epimetheus to represent Wang Qiang and the supermarket to represent the disaster in Pandora's box. You are accusing him of accepting bribes from Gao Fuye out of greed, which prevented justice from being served for your sister's tragic death."

"In the third sentence, the orchard spirits are cloaked in the image of the god of beauty and love. The first two examples you used are from Greek mythology."

When I think of the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite is the first name that comes to mind. However, Aphrodite has no connection to orchard nymphs, so I'm reminded of another goddess of beauty, Venus, whose original meaning was that of a nymph who ensures a bountiful harvest in orchards.

"Your older sister, Xu Zhiling, dropped out of school early to work in order to support your education, and she happened to be a fruit farmer in an orchard in the suburbs."

"That night, Xu Zhiling received news of her mother's death and rushed back from the orchard. On the way, her car ran out of battery and she couldn't find a taxi because the buses were out of service. She walked to the hospital and died in a car accident."

"The fourth sentence, referring to the goddess who is keen to stir up discord, is Eris, the daughter of Zeus and Hera."

"That monocular telescope was actually used by you to observe Gao Jiajia and Wang Zi, right? And Eris refers to Gao Jiajia. She has ambiguous relationships with many people, causing these ambiguous relationships to become hostile and conflicted with each other, which fits Eris's divine role—to incite discord."

The fifth sentence, "Why don't you avoid the self-absorbed narcissus?" refers to Narcissus, the beautiful youth in Greek mythology, who was arrogant and narcissistic.

“Wang Zi is like Narcissus. He narcissistically believes that he is special to Gao Jiajia and that she must like him. You used this to guide him step by step toward paranoia.”

"The sixth line refers to Gaia, the creator goddess in Greek mythology, who gave birth to all things."

"I don't have a clue who you're referring to right now, but the Theogony describes it like this: 'In Him we see both creation and destruction, both order and chaos, and in general, darkness and chaos are His essence.' Are you using Gaia to represent your own inner self?"

Ai Liang looked at Xu Zhihai's lifeless eyes and asked a question in return.

Xu Zhihai did not answer.

"The last sentence says that the mother of monsters, the source of all evil, should be forever condemned. The mother of evil refers to Echinda, a half-human, half-serpent monster in Greek mythology who lived in the underworld and gave birth to monsters such as the Nemean Lion, Cerberus, Ladon, Chimera, Hydra, and Sphinx."

"The main event is often saved for last. Erkedana refers to Gao Fuye, the driver who caused the accident. He is the culprit behind all of this. Without him, there would have been no series of events that followed. That's why you use him as the source of evil."

"Rhadamanthys, Epimetheus, Venus, Eris, Narcissus, Gaia, and Echinda—the first letters of these seven mythological figures spell Revenge. This is the answer to the poem, your purpose."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhihai took off his glasses, his gaze gradually sharpening.

If Xu Zhihai, wearing glasses, has a silly grin on his face and exudes an innocent and harmless aura.

When he takes off his glasses, he exudes contempt for people and society, as if he has already seen through human nature.

However, Xu Zhihai looked at Ai Liang with a hint of a smile.

He put his glasses back in their case and asked Ai Liang, "You couldn't have assumed I was the culprit from the start, could you? Can you tell me how you deduced that?"

"So you admit that you're the mastermind behind all of this?"

Ai Liang didn't rush to answer, but instead asked Xu Zhihai another question.

Xu Zhihai just smiled and didn't say anything.

Do masterminds really enjoy hearing others expose their crimes?
Ai Liang suppressed her impatience and continued, "I only started to have doubts today."

“Wang Qiang died yesterday. When he died, he was holding a wooden box with the word Pandora engraved on it. Inside were supermarket flyers. The criminal investigation team immediately identified the car accident three years ago. When I got home, I found your notebook on my desk. And your sister also died in a car accident three years ago.”

“Wang Qiang is carrying Pandora’s wooden box, and Wang Zi finds a novel called Narcissus. These two lines happen to correspond to the poem.”

Ai Liang, who had been giving a thousand-word explanation in one go, stopped talking and pulled up the printout on her laptop.

"After thinking it over, the only convenient place for you to print your novel is that recycling station. When I checked the computer records just now, they were indeed all deleted. However, the high-end printer has a backup function, and the SD card on it clearly records everything, including the novel you printed."

"The novel is actually just a realistic record of Wang Zi's life. You created an opportunity for him to be a hero and save the beauty with the help of the hunchbacked old man. Based on your understanding of Wang Zi's personality, he will definitely continue to live in the way described in the book."

Xu Zhihai exclaimed in amazement after hearing this: "The printers in big cities are really advanced!"

What do you mean? You want me to explain? Now you're not listening to me, are you?

Xu Zhihai showed no fear or anger at having his crimes exposed. Instead, he looked at Ai Liang's computer with great interest, chuckling as he examined his work from two years ago.

No matter what Ai Liang said, he refused to admit his crimes.

In the past, Ai Liang would have already slit his own throat, but now he doesn't want to cause any more trouble, so he patiently confronts Xu Zhihai.

"So, that's all? Is there anything else? In the end, it's all just coincidences."

Xu Zhihai turned his head and said.

"All of the above can be explained by coincidence, but what truly convinced me that you were the mastermind behind it all is..."

Ai Liang swiped the mouse to open the math processor software.

"I spent the whole morning typing in dozens of pages of mathematical formulas and equations from the back of your notebook, and this is the result."

"To draw six faces using mathematical formulas, he truly deserves to be called a genius from the Mathematics Department of Kyoto University."

Ai Liang pressed the Enter key, and the math processor started running.

A large number of dense dots appeared in the software, and then the lines began to twist and turn, eventually forming six faces: Gao Fuye, Gao Jiajia, Wang Qiang, Wang Zi, Xu Zhihai, and Xu Zhiling.

"Hahaha, hahaha!"

Xu Zhihai suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face.

Ai Liang remained expressionless.

Do you think this is fun? I spent the whole morning typing on the keyboard.

After shutting down her laptop and putting it in her bag, Ai Liang asked, "Could you please turn yourself in?"

"Okay."

Xu Zhihai wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and said with a smile.

He agreed very readily.

Ai Liang led Xu Zhihai to the school gate, and surprisingly, he didn't do anything underhanded.

I really can't figure out what Xu Zhihai is up to.

(End of this chapter)