Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Director Zhao was about to give instructions when he turned around and saw Director Li clinging to the wall like a gecko, inching his way toward the door.

"Li Lei, what are you doing?"

Director Li froze.

He slowly turned his head, forcing a smile that was more like a grimace:

"Chief...Chief, I..."

"You think you can run away?"

Director Zhao squinted.

"It's not running, it's..."

Director Li swallowed hard, feeling a sense of being seen through; these leaders were all incredibly cunning.

No wonder he was able to climb up the ranks; if he didn't have a hundred cunning schemes, he wouldn't even know how he died.

"It's a leave request. Didn't you refuse to approve it before? I've been thinking about it, and it's true that as the son-in-law, I should go back and take care of my mother-in-law when she gives birth."

My father-in-law is getting old and can't manage everything by himself..."

He spoke with increasing confidence, as if it were a genuine offer: "I'll only be gone for three days, no, two days. I'll be back the day after tomorrow, you see..."

"Li Lei".

Director Zhao interrupted him, his voice as cold as ice, "How old is your mother-in-law this year?"

Director Li opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"She gave birth to triplets, what could you do if you went back? Deliver the babies?"

Director Zhao stared at him, "If you're going to make up a reason, at least come up with a plausible one."

Director Li's face flushed red and then turned pale. He knew his excuse was clumsy, but he was genuinely afraid.

Having served in the police force for many years, he had never felt such fear before.

That wasn't the tension of facing a criminal, nor the trepidation of facing a superior; it was the fear of facing an unknown death.

Just now, standing at the entrance of the detention center, looking at the blood-soaked ground, and watching Yu Li's watermelon head roll to my feet.

The ripe watermelon's eyes were still open, staring directly at him, as if asking, "You're involved too? Come join us!"

Director Li was terrified; he could barely hold the keys. He didn't want to be the next one.

He doesn't want to die.

"Chief, I've worked here for over ten years. I may not have made any great contributions, but I've certainly put in a lot of hard work. This case... I really can't take it anymore. Please have pity on me and spare my life."

Director Zhao looked at him and remained silent for a long time.

He was trying to say, "Do you think I don't want to run away?"

Do you think I want to stay in this place where people could die at any moment?

But he couldn't say.

He is the bureau chief.

He ran away, what will happen to the people below?

What should we do about the case?

And...can he escape?

Zhang Jianguo disappeared in the jeep. The police station's detention cell had its doors and windows intact, but he was gone.

That thing can kill whoever it wants.

It can kill people here, and it can kill people elsewhere; it can kill people anywhere.

run?

Where to run?

Even if they ran away.

He was the first to be held accountable by the authorities.

Besides, Team Leader Chen has already paved the way. Running away now would be desertion, making the situation even more serious.

Since Li Lei, you're determined to leave, I won't stop you. You'll have to bear the consequences yourself.

As for himself, he wanted to take a big gamble.

All in!!

He figured out what Team Leader Chen was thinking and realized that they could give it another shot, and maybe even move their position up a bit more.

"Li Lei, you can leave now."

Director Li was taken aback for a moment.

Does this mean agreement or disagreement?

He dared not ask.

He lowered his head and left the police station.

Staying means death.

I participated, but Director Zhao and the others didn't. They could choose to stay, but I couldn't.

In the shadows of the corner, Lin Tian silently followed in Director Li's footsteps, not expecting the old man to try to escape.

Do you think I'd let you get away?

Director Li stood up and pedaled his bicycle home, his heart pounding with anxiety the whole way, as if a pair of eyes were watching him.

This made him even more eager to run away.

Perhaps it's just my imagination.

He told himself that.

As he turned into the gate of the residential compound, Director Li finally couldn't help but look back. The alley entrance was empty, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Everything just now was an illusion, an illusion...

Director Li Lei, panting heavily, threw his bicycle into the bike shed and practically ran up the stairs.

The key turned three times in the lock before it was right. He pushed open the door and found the room dark; his wife, Liu Ruyan, was already asleep.

Li Lei snapped on the light and shouted, "Get up! Get up now! Pack your things, we need to leave Beijing immediately!"

Liu Ruyan was jolted awake by the glaring light. She squinted and sat up, looking completely bewildered: "Leave Beijing? Why? What happened?"

He started by asking three questions in a row.

Li Lei opened the innermost drawer of the wardrobe, which contained the extra money he had embezzled over the years. He poured all the bundles of black dollars into a canvas bag.

Liu Ruyan put on her coat and walked to the bedroom door, asking again, "Husband, what's wrong? What happened?"

"What do you know, you old hag?"

Li Lei didn't turn his head, his voice filled with unprecedented irritation, "I told you to hurry up, so hurry up. If you want to die, then keep standing there. I don't care about you anymore."

He zipped up his canvas bag, pulled out his suitcase, opened the wardrobe, and haphazardly tore off a few pieces of clothing and threw them in.

The movements were quick and chaotic, and the shirt and underwear were crumpled into a ball.

Liu Ruyan froze on the spot, her face turning deathly pale.

She had been married to Li Lei for ten years, and this man had never spoken to her in this tone before.

She doesn't have the best temper and gets angry occasionally, but she would never say harsh words like "I don't care about you anymore".

Now it seems something is wrong.

The situation has certainly escalated to a point where even he is afraid.

Liu Ruyan's mind raced; she knew what case her husband had been busy with lately.

She had also heard some of the rumors circulating in Nanluoguxiang.

Those bizarre deaths, those mysterious disappearances, those discussions about "evil spirits"...

Could it be... that evil spirits have targeted the head of the household?

Liu Ruyan asked tremblingly, "Master... is it something related to evil spirits?"

Li Lei zipped up his suitcase with a "whoosh," and said irritably, "You already know, why are you asking? Hurry up!"

"Ah...okay! Okay!"

Liu Ruyan panicked completely.

She rushed to the wardrobe, grabbed a few of her own clothes haphazardly, and stuffed them into her suitcase without even bothering to fold them.

My hands were shaking, and I couldn't tuck the clothes in properly no matter what I did. I was so anxious that tears were about to fall.

She doesn't want to die.

She was only thirty-four years old, hadn't given birth to a son for the Li family yet, and hadn't enjoyed a few years of happiness.

She didn't want to disappear inexplicably like those people, or inexplicably become a corpse hanging from a crooked tree.

"Did you bring your ID?" Li Lei shouted.

"I brought it!"

Liu Ruyan grabbed the household registration booklet and marriage certificate from the bedside table. "Where are the train tickets? Where are we going?"

"Let's get out of Beijing first, and then we'll talk about it in Baoding!"

Li Lei slung his canvas bag over his shoulder, carried a suitcase in one hand, and pulled Liu Ruyan along with the other. "Don't ask any more questions, let's go!"

The two rushed out of the room.

Li Lei rushed down the stairs with his suitcase.

layer.

Two layers.

Three floors.

The entrance is on the next floor.

Just then, Li Lei suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Liu Ruyan didn't react in time and bumped into his back.

"What's wrong?"

Li Lei didn't answer, but stared intently at a dark figure downstairs who was walking up step by step.

"Tap...tap...tap..."

Each sound resonated with Li Lei's heartbeat, and his hands, holding the suitcase, began to tremble.

He instinctively took a step back, bumping into Liu Ruyan behind him.

"Master..."

Liu Ruyan saw it too.

She gripped Li Lei's clothes tightly, her fingernails almost digging into the fabric.

The shadowy figure drew closer, dragging a bloodstained axe in its hand.

The axe blade gleamed coldly in the dim light of the stairwell, with dark red shavings clinging to it.

……