The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 22

Worship – 07

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Gu Yanta sped along the Yubei National Highway at eighty kilometres an hour in his battered jeep. Lu Zheng, sitting in the passenger seat, was clearly struggling to handle the bumpy ride in Little Green and remained silent throughout the journey.

Ten minutes earlier, Gu Yanta had received a call from Director Wu, instructing him to return to the bureau within half an hour.

"Consultant Lu, are you all right?" Chen Chen asked cautiously from the back seat. "Your face looks terrible, you're not carsick, are you?"

Lu Zheng's face was pale, and he tightly pressed his lips together. He nodded reluctantly.

Chen Chen hurriedly fished out a plastic bag and handed it to Lu Zheng, complaining, "Boss, I told you this Jeep is a wreck, and you got upset and threatened me. Look at this now, driving a bit faster has turned it into a vomit machine for Consultant Lu!"

Before Gu Yanta could reply, Lu Zheng suddenly whispered, "Stop the car!"

Gu Yanta immediately hit the brakes, and Lu Zheng flung the door open and stumbled out.

"Hey, hey, are you okay?" Gu Yanta grabbed a bottle of water and rushed out to check on Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng spent a while vomiting before straightening up. Taking the water bottle Gu Yanta handed him, he drank a few sips and only then started to recover some colour in his face.

"Er... looks like it's time to retire this car."

Half an hour later, at Director Wu's office 

Gu Yanta pushed open the door, and the three people inside immediately stood up.

"Come in, let me introduce you, this is Captain Gu Yanta from the criminal investigation team, he'll be in charge of this case. And these are experts from the provincial task force, assigned to restart the investigation into the 98.4.19 serial murder case." Director Wu introduced.

Gu Yanta nodded and shook hands with each of the task force members.

"Captain Gu, hello. I'm Yu Fei, the leader of this task force," the eldest of the three spoke first. "Since we're all here to solve the case, let's skip the formalities. I heard there have been two recent murders in Yuchuan that are identical to those from twenty years ago. Captain Gu, could you brief us on the details?"

"Certainly." Gu Yanta nodded and began to detail the case and its progress. "The identities of the two victims have been confirmed, but we can't rule out the possibility of other victims."

Gu Yanta laid out the crime scene photos one by one. The three members of the task force gasped as they examined them.

"They're indeed strikingly similar to the scenes from twenty years ago," Yu Fei said, patting Gu Yanta on the shoulder. "From now on, this case will be handled by the task force and combined with the earlier case for unified investigation. Captain Gu, I trust you won't have any objections, you've worked hard so far."

"Unified investigation? Absolutely not!" Gu Yanta slammed the table and stood up. "This case and the one from twenty years ago were not committed by the same person!"

"What?" The task force members exchanged bewildered looks.

"What evidence do you guys have? From what I know, the killer has become more sophisticated this time, leaving no fingerprints or DNA. The modus operandi is identical, and the scene clearly points to the same perpetrator! If you insist on holding onto the case, it's purely to take credit!" Yu Fei slammed the table and stood up as well, not showing any weakness.

"Leader Yu, isn't your rush to take over and merge the cases an attempt to take credit?" Gu Yanta looked at Yu Fei with disdain.

"You..." Yu Fei's face turned bright red with anger. "Fine, then show us your evidence to back up your claim, and I'll immediately report the situation truthfully to my superiors!"

"At present, we don't have direct evidence, but from a practical standpoint, considering today's surveillance systems and investigative techniques, it would be incredibly difficult for the perpetrator to select random victims without being noticed. This time, the victims were carefully chosen, which differs from what happened twenty years ago." Gu Yanta said firmly.

"How do you know the perpetrator hasn't just upgraded their methods?" Yu Fei was aggressive.

"Leader Yu, you're the experts here, I believe you know better than I do that a serial killer doesn't simply stop killing. If the killer from twenty years ago wasn't caught, then they're either dead or incapable of committing more crimes!" Gu Yanta's gaze was sharp, his tone resolute, making Yu Fei momentarily speechless.

Yu Fei scrutinised Gu Yanta more closely. The young captain of the criminal investigation team had strikingly well-defined features, but his overall demeanour exuded a sort of casual indifference. Initially, Yu Fei had underestimated him, dismissing him as a slick, smooth-talking pretty boy. Now, however, he was a little impressed.

Director Wu, who had been silent all along, finally spoke, "Experts, let's call it a day for now. Regarding the question of merging the cases, I'll consult with the provincial department leadership before making a decision."

Grateful, Gu Yanta glanced at his long-time superior.

Yu Fei opened his mouth as if to argue, but Director Wu waved him off. "We're busy here, forgive me for not seeing you out!"

Frustrated, the three members of the task force stormed out, slamming the door behind them.

Gu Yanta had barely opened his mouth to express his thanks when Director Wu launched into a tirade. "Two murders in one day! You haven't got a single lead, and you still have the gall to show your face here?!"

"......"

Under the baptism of a storm of spittle, Gu Yanta stood silently, enduring Director Wu's lecture. Worse yet, every time he was lectured by Director Wu, he always managed to run into Lu Zheng right afterwards, looking every bit as dejected and hopeless as he felt.

"We're even," Gu Yanta said.

"Ah? What?" Lu Zheng was clearly puzzled.

"I saw how miserable you looked when you got carsick, now you've seen how miserable I look getting yelled at."

"Who's competing with you over that? Besides, my carsickness is a physiological reaction. Your pathetic display when getting scolded is a psychological problem." Lu Zheng said with a calm expression.

"My psychological resilience isn't good enough? Lu Xiaozheng, it's easy for you to talk big when you're not the one in the hot seat. Hurry up and get your formal paperwork sorted, let Director Wu tear into you for a change and see if you can still make this kind of expression." Gu Yanta ground out through clenched teeth.

"Boss!" Chen Chen's voice echoed down the hallway as he sprinted toward them, clutching several lunch boxes. "I got the stir-fried pork liver you wanted! I went to three different restaurants to get it!"

"Gu Yanta, you..." Lu Zheng's face alternated between red and white. "Are you deliberately trying to ruin my appetite?"

"Hahaha..."

Gu Yanta pushed Lu Zheng into a chair, opened the lunch boxes one by one, and handed him a pair of disposable chopsticks. "Look, isn't this your favourite pan-seared cod?"

After dinner, it was already close to midnight. The daytime hustle and bustle had just quieted down, but the beer stalls along the streets were still in full swing. Walking side by side, Gu Yanta and Lu Zheng strolled down the street. In light of Lu Zheng's carsickness earlier, Captain Gu decided to personally escort this seemingly frail, "weak" young man, who in truth was strong enough to toss him around with ease, back home.

"Do you even know where I live?" Lu Zheng asked helplessly.

"I don't, I'll just follow you," Gu Yanta said with a sincere expression, "Who told you not to drive and to get carsick in my car?"

"My car's parked downstairs at your building," Lu Zheng replied in a complaining tone. "And that's because I drove you home last night after you drank too much."

Gu Yanta rarely heard Lu Zheng speak in such a tone, and for a moment, he oddly found it rather pleasant.

"Ah, I see. Then how about this, we walk back to my place first since it's closer, then I'll drive you home and walk back?"

"It'd probably already be morning..." Lu Zheng had black lines on his face 

"Then what do we do? Your call."

"......"

After a pause, Lu Zheng said helplessly, "I'll take the bed tonight, your sofa is murder on the back!"

Gu Yanta, pleased with his victory, stuffed his hands into his pockets, whistling cheerfully as the night breeze brushed past.

By the time the two finished washing up, it was two a.m. Lu Zheng turned and walked into the bedroom, locking the door behind him with a sharp click.

"Lu Xiaozheng! What the fuck is this supposed to mean?" Gu Yanta, lying on the sofa, shouted in frustration. "Even if you know my orientation, you don't have to be so defensive, do you? Do I look like that kind of casual person?"

"You do," Lu Zheng's voice came through the door. "You're not the type to mess around casually, you're the type who, when you do mess around, isn't even human!"

"You just wait, how dare you look at me like that..." Gu Yanta stormed to the bedroom door, knocking furiously. "Hurry up and open the door, we need to talk!"

With another click, the door swung open.

Lu Zheng's expressionless face appeared in the doorway. "Hurry up and go to bed, I'm exhausted. Keep making trouble, and I'll strip your trousers off! Also, where are the pyjamas?"

"Ah... in the leftmost drawer of the cabinet, goodnight!"

Gu Yanta didn't expect Lu Zheng to open the door so quickly. He jumped back to the sofa sheepishly, thinking to himself, Gu Yanta, you're such a coward. Where's that bravado you have when you're arresting criminals or arguing with the higher-ups? How come you turn into a wimp the moment you see this guy? Wait! What did he just threaten me with just now? 

"Lu Xiaozheng! You!" Gu Yanta, recalling his past humiliations, suddenly felt a pang of melancholy. It seemed his lifelong image as the dominant one was on the verge of complete collapse...

Lu Zheng turned back and shut the door behind him, but didn't lock it this time...

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: December 15, 2024 by Angel

Edited: January 14, 2025 by Angel