Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 547 Fishing with a Line
The two people inside and outside the door were locked in a standoff.

Ai Liang wasn't going to waste any time and directly stated the situation: "Whether you like it or not, my presence at the door is a fait accompli, and no one can change that."

Instead of calling the police and making a scene, talk to me now. Once I get the information I need, I'll leave.

Don't you want to know your husband's current situation?

Ai Liang mentioned her missing husband, which made everyone in the room restless.

"Where is he?" the woman asked hurriedly.

Judging from the degree of decomposition of the body, the person had been dead for at least two days.

If we include the time before his death, he was missing for at least three to four days.

If you're away on a trip for a day or two and don't call your family, you're probably busy.

But if there is no news for three or four days, or even five or six days, it is enough to alert the family.

His wife had been living in fear for so long that her mental state had reached a breaking point.

She wouldn't let go of any information that might reveal her husband's whereabouts.

But Ai Liang certainly couldn't tell her about her husband's death right now.

What would a woman's reaction be if she were to hear that her missing husband has passed away?
Unsurprisingly, she was in tears, making it impossible for the rest of the conversation to proceed.

"Before I tell you about him, I need you to tell me who he has been in contact with recently."

Ai Liang paused for a moment: "For example, a friend or client you've never heard of but suddenly need to meet."

The woman was silent for a moment: "How do I know if you're lying to me?"

"Because I'm talking to you through the door now, instead of breaking in."

Ai Liang looked at the doorknob: "How many impacts do you think this kind of door can withstand?"

Inside the room, the woman didn't refute Ai Liang; she simply gripped the clothes hanger in her hand even tighter.

“He told me last weekend that he was going to see an old friend.”

The woman seemed to give up resisting and began to recount her husband's unusual behavior before his disappearance.

Anyway, I've told the police and private investigators this story more than once or twice in the past few days.

It's fine to say it again to the strangers outside the door.

What if she really does know her husband's whereabouts?
"Although I was surprised that he still had old friends, I was busy cooking in the kitchen at the time, and he was standing in the doorway. I just asked him a couple of simple questions."

The woman's voice was filled with regret: "If I had said a few more words back then, perhaps everything would have been different..."

I understand your pain.

Ai Liang offered a token word of comfort to keep the conversation going: "Did he say where he was going?"

He said he was going to a coffee shop downtown, but police found through surveillance footage that he never went there!

The woman's voice trembled with a sob: "The surveillance footage shows that he changed buses several times before finally getting off at the terminal station. Then he went into an internet cafe and disappeared."

I asked many people with the police, but no one knew when he left the internet cafe. The surveillance footage showed that he never left that room…

Ai Liang didn't ask the woman about the location of the internet cafe because he had a detailed map of Nevada in his mind.

"Are there any other special things?" Ai Liang asked.

The woman shook her head silently in the room: "My husband is a rather introverted person. He rarely interacts closely with others. Last weekend was the first time in many years that he suggested meeting up with old friends."

I had asked him about his past before, but he always gave me vague answers, saying that he only knew how to study when he was in school and didn't have time to build relationships..."

Ai Liang listened to the woman's rambling account of her husband's deeds from outside the door, gaining a deeper understanding of the deceased.

Only by understanding a person's personality and habits can one predict their psychology and behavioral patterns.

This led to the discovery of clues.

"Does your husband usually wear a wedding ring?" Ai Liang asked abruptly.

“No… but he did leave with the ring on his wrist,” the woman replied.

Ai Liang had a general direction of reasoning in mind.

"In other words, he never mentioned his background to you."

While listening to her speak, Ai Liang thought about how to explain the news of her husband's death.

A bold plan was also devised.

If the fish take the bait, it will save a lot of time.

"origin?"

The woman was taken aback, somewhat confused.

"Your husband is dead."

Ai Liang didn't try to hide anything and immediately stated the result.

"Dead...?"

The woman reacted and shouted, "Impossible? How do you know he's already done it?! Could it be you...?"

Ai Liang said calmly, "Your husband is not from the Asian Union, you should know that, right?"

Bang!

The woman jumped out of bed and slammed her hand on the door: "Explain yourself! Why did you say he was dead? Where is he now?"

"I'm speaking now."

Ai Liang continued, "Your husband was once a member of a transnational underground organization unknown to most people. Later, due to some events, he defected from his organization and came to Asia Alliance."

Just recently, that organization began sending people to Asia Union, intending to silence those who had defected with him.

Although it's unclear who he met last week, it's highly likely that the person he was supposed to meet killed him.

"Trying to fool me with a story from a movie? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?" the woman scoffed.

"It's my business to promise to tell you part of the truth, whether you believe it or not is up to you. I don't mind if you treat my words as a story."

Ai Liang took out a ring from her pocket and placed it on the floor by the door: "I helped dispose of his body; it's now ashes."

Before burning the body, I left behind some personal belongings, such as his ring.

“I don’t know if he wanted you to know about his death, but I think you have the right to know. You don’t have to spend years or even decades looking for a dead person.”

Don't bother looking for the body. It was burned clean; nothing was left except this ring and fragments of the phone. Also, I left the ring by the door; as for whether it's your husband's, you can check for yourself.

After saying that, Ai Liang turned around and left the way she came.

The woman pressed against the door listened to everything happening outside.

After an unknown amount of time, she quietly opened the door, her expression filled with unease, and slowly looked down at her feet.

A silver ring sat there quietly.

The woman recognized it immediately as her and her husband's wedding ring.

She picked up the ring, pressed it to her heart with both hands, and a flood of memories rushed back to her, tears streaming down her face.

People only realize how important something that seems ordinary is when they lose it.

(End of this chapter)