Controlled Experiment Chapter 7

Controlled Experiment – 7

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Du Yusheng lit a cigarette at the doorway and glanced once more in the direction Li Yao had left. He began to reflect on himself, feeling he had said a bit too much that evening. If what Li Yao said was true, and he really had nothing to do with the matter, then it was fine. But if he was involved, then he had practically written his own epitaph.

Luo Daheng's residence looked exactly the same as when they had left it the other day.

Du Yusheng felt along the wall and switched on the light in the living room. The crime scene was on the second floor, in Luo Daheng's study. Cigarette in hand, Du Yusheng walked in.

The comfortable executive chair was still in its original place. Du Yusheng sat down and gave it a spin.

At ten-thirty in the evening, Du Yusheng glanced at his phone and dialled Xiao Bai's number.

After a few tones indicating the line was busy, Xiao Bai's tired voice came through.

"Brother Yu, I've been suffering from neurasthenia lately..."

"No worries. I treat neurasthenia."

"......"

"I asked you to look into Li Yao last time..."

"I did," Xiao Bai interrupted. "I left it on your desk, you'll see it when you get back."

"That's a pain," Du Yusheng rubbed his nose. "Just tell me now."

Xiao Bai yawned and cursed silently, Fuck's sake.

"His family background is pretty much what you already know. His bank account's a bit odd, his income as a doctor is steady, but every month there's a fixed transfer of twenty thousand coming in from a domestic proxy account. It's the same amount every month."

"Whose account is it?"

"It's a proxy," Xiao Bai said. "Even if we trace it, it won't mean anything."

Du Yusheng sighed. "Just twenty thousand, what's that good for, it's not even enough to buy a watch."

"Brother Yu..." Xiao Bai explained, "It's in US dollars..."

That made Du Yusheng think of Li Yao's Bentley.

"What about properties under his name?"

"Just the one you had me follow him to that day, nothing else."

Only that one. Who was the villa registered under? Du Yusheng had initially thought of checking but gave up on the idea. If Li Yao really wanted to hide it, he would not be able to find anything about the villa.

After hanging up the phone, Du Yusheng leaned back in the executive chair, lost in thought. Clearly, the lead on Li Yao ended here. He had the means to commit murder, but no motive, and after checking his account, the lack of motive became even more apparent. Li Yao earned a considerable income, what benefit could he possibly gain from killing Luo Daheng?

Does it really end here?

Du Yusheng sighed and stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.

Luo Daheng's desk was just as it had been that day, the printer, mug, project list, all still there. Du Yusheng looked at the printer. The model was an old one. He touched the logo on top, and, as if driven by some unseen force, glanced at his own thumb.

Toner, besides being found on pharmaceutical labels, could also be found in toner cartridges.

Du Yusheng stood up and opened the printer for a look, and suddenly, it all became clear.

=========

When he had left the villa and gone home, Li Yao hadn't taken anything with him. Everything he'd said to Du Yusheng had been to fob him off. Keeping up appearances was already exhausting enough, and now there was someone actively watching him. Li Yao sighed deeply. Some things, once worn, could never be taken off, like a mask.

The villa was registered under someone else's name, so checking would reveal nothing. If Du Yusheng had any sense, he wouldn't bother investigating property ownership again.

Li Yao changed his clothes and placed the two books he had taken from the department on the lowest shelf of the bookcase.

His home was plain. Li Yao didn't like wasting energy on such things. Though the décor looked refined, it had all been selected from a display at a renovation company, coordinated sets of furniture with no effort required on his part. A bunch of keys sat at the entrance. Li Yao picked them up, glanced at them, and then expressionlessly put them back in place.

After showering, Li Yao wrapped himself in a bathrobe, chest casually exposed, revealing well-defined muscles.

There were two unread messages on his phone, both from an unknown sender.

Li Yao glanced at the time. Without bothering to dry his still-damp hair, he changed and went out.

There was a black hat in the trunk of the car. Li Yao took it out and put it on.

Heading out at this time of night meant no traffic, and the roads were quick. Looking at himself in the rear-view mirror, Li Yao let out a long, deep sigh.

The car drove for an hour before stopping in an alleyway on the outskirts of the city. This area was something of a fringe zone between urban and rural, usually rather chaotic, surrounded by small shops, or porridge and bun stalls in worrying sanitary conditions. There were also cheap motels, and further out, the red-light district.

Li Yao got out of the car and came to a stop outside a closed electrical repair shop in the alley.

He knocked politely over a dozen times before a grumbling voice responded from within.

A slightly overweight middle-aged man began cursing.

"Who the hell's got a death wish at this hour... damn it, I'll–"

Li Yao took off his hat and smiled politely at Zhuang Hao.

"Li..." Zhuang Hao looked up and, upon seeing Li Yao's face, confirmed his identity. "Mr Li?"

Li Yao hummed in acknowledgement, nodded, and walked into the shop.

The interior of the shop was a complete mess, filled with an unpleasant, indiscernible stench. There were others inside too, all of them Zhuang Hao's underlings. They probably didn't know Li Yao well, but seeing the expression on Zhuang Hao's face, they could tell he was not someone to be trifled with, so they remained silent. Li Yao smiled at them, pulled out a chair, and sat down at the edge.

"... Mr Li, it's been years since we last met." Zhuang Hao fumbled a filthy pack of cigarettes from the desk and offered it to Li Yao, who shook his head. Zhuang Hao slapped his own forehead. "Ah, I mixed it up again, he smokes, you don't."

Li Yao set his hat down on a clean chair beside him and patted off the dust. He sat properly, like a well-mannered gentleman.

Zhuang Hao took a deep drag on his cigarette and blew out a smoke ring. "Mr Li, for you to come so late at night, you must need something. If you had business, a single word over the phone would've done, no need to come in person. It's not safe here, it gets wild at night. People drop dead in the streets all the time, no one even knows who did it."

Was there a hidden meaning in that?

Was it a threat? Li Yao frowned slightly but paid it no mind. In a soft voice, he asked, "He's back?"

"Who?"

Zhuang Hao feigned ignorance.

"He's come looking for you, hasn't he?"

Li Yao's tone was unhurried. His voice was pleasant, gentle and courteous, cultured and refined.

The hand holding Zhuang Hao's cigarette froze mid-air. In the dim yellow light, he studied the expression on Li Yao's face. After all these years, he was still the same. No, that wasn't quite right. They were still the same as before. Still impossible to read.

"Hai, we lost contact a long time ago. You know what he's like, comes and goes like a ghost. He won't even see you, let alone someone like me."

Li Yao nodded slightly. He was wearing a pair of leather shoes, and when he looked up, he gave a refined smile.

"I was supposed to spend last night at the police station, actually. Funny thing, a call from the hospital came through to the station asking me to return to deal with a patient. I answered it right there in the station. Thanks to that, I was able to leave."

Zhuang Hao, eyeing the expression on Li Yao's face, cautiously sat down.

"Well, that's a good thing then," Zhuang Hao said with a smile. "Places like the police station, even if nothing happens, something will come up."

"That's true." Li Yao lowered his head and looked at his shoes. "But maybe they didn't think much of it, didn't listen closely either. That call to the police station was made using a voice changer, a special one, supposedly indistinguishable from a real voice. Unless you run it through equipment, it's impossible to tell."

Li Yao lowered his head and leaned forward to be near Zhuang Hao's ear, speaking in a low voice, "That technique, you have it."

Zhuang Hao suddenly stood up and took a few steps back, doing his best to appear natural.

"What does that prove? You must be mistaken. The stuff I make, it's sold on the black market too, he's not the only one who's got it."

The more Zhuang Hao spoke, the more confident he seemed to grow. Li Yao had come alone, and the room was filled with his own men, so he didn't believe Li Yao would dare stir up trouble here. As their boss's tone began to rise, the underlings in the back seemed to catch on. One by one, they stood up, surrounding Li Yao.

"I'll ask you one more time," Li Yao was still as calm and indifferent as ever. "Has he come looking for you?"

Zhuang Hao sneered, visibly irritated. He tossed the cigarette to the floor and fiercely crushed it underfoot right in front of Li Yao.

"Mr Li, I respect you, but don't push it. I've seen plenty of people in my time, doesn't mean I remember every single one of them."

Li Yao nodded slightly and suddenly smiled.

"How is it you haven't made the slightest bit of progress all these years?"

His tone shifted so abruptly that Zhuang Hao couldn't quite tell who the man in front of him was for a moment.

With one swift kick, Li Yao knocked over the chair Zhuang Hao had just been sitting on. One hand pressed the fat man's head down hard against the cold table beside them. He used so much force that Zhuang Hao's face was nearly misshapen. In his other hand, he had somehow drawn a gun without anyone noticing, and now it was pressed firmly against the man's temple. His movements were swift, clean, and utterly precise, just a few seconds, too fast for anyone to react.

Seeing the situation, a few of Zhuang Hao's men took a step forward, clearly about to try and seize the gun.

Li Yao turned a cold gaze on everyone in the room.

"It's only been a few years, right?" Li Yao called Zhuang Hao by name. "You dare to break the rules with me? Zhuang Hao, you know the relationship between him and me. We're alike, what he can do, I can do too."

Zhuang Hao wanted to say something, but with Li Yao pressing down on him, not a sound came out.

If there was one difference between Li Yao and that man, it was this: one stabbed you with a smile, the other smiled after stabbing you.

Li Yao lowered his head and looked at Zhuang Hao's right leg.

He turned to the group behind them with a grin. "You didn't tell them how your leg got crippled?"

That line did seem to quiet the group a little. Li Yao suddenly chuckled and loosened his grip slightly.

"I was bluffing, you really bought it?"

"Let me go first, let's talk this through."

"Tch." Li Yao still wore that cultivated, refined air, as if the thing in his hand weren't a gun, but a wine glass. "I tried talking nicely several times, but you didn't listen. So now I'm giving you one last chance: has anyone come by, has anyone looked for you?"

Zhuang Hao was beginning to falter, he swallowed hard.

"Alright, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything."

Li Yao nodded, slowly withdrawing both his hand and the gun.

"If you're going to talk, then do it properly," Li Yao smiled. "Don't leave out a single word."

Zhuang Hao looked into Li Yao's eyes and drew a sharp breath.

Under the dim light from the floor, Zhuang Hao thought Li Yao's figure almost overlapped with that man's.

Zhuang Hao suddenly began to doubt who it really was that had come tonight.

‿︵‿︵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: May 14, 2025 by Angel

Edited: June 3, 2025 by Angel