The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 68

Final Part – 09

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"You guys, look." Chen Chen continued typing on his laptop. "This is Chang Xi's death certificate."

Chang Xi's file on the computer was frozen at March 2009. The face in the photo was one they all recognised, but the name field contained a stranger's name: Ma Yu.

"After Ma Xiangrong adopted Chang Xi, he was renamed Ma Yu. While Ma Xiangrong was studying, he left Ma Yu in the care of his wife back in their hometown. Later, during Ma Xiangrong's doctoral studies, he brought both his wife and Ma Yu to live with him. In 2000, Ma Xiangrong's wife passed away due to illness, and from then on, Ma Yu lived with Ma Xiangrong." Chen Chen explained.

"2009? Ma Yu would have only been twenty-five then, how could he have just died out of nowhere?" Gu Yanta asked.

"It was a traffic accident. In March 2009, Ma Yu was driving his Santana through Jiupan Mountain when the car veered off the winding mountain road and plunged into the valley below, a drop of several dozen metres. The cause of the accident was drunk driving combined with brake failure. Because of this, the car company even compensated the family. Ma Yu's family, of course, was Ma Xiangrong. Look here, here." Chen Chen pointed at the blurry scanned document on the screen. "Ma Xiangrong's signature is on all of it."

"Wait, 2009..." Lu Zheng mused. "Wasn't that the year Chang Le was transferred to the criminal investigation team after receiving a second-class merit at the police station?"

"Yes. Back then, Chang Le was the leader of the field team at the station. He used an informant to take down a major drug den in Xia County, which was operating under the cover of a well-known entertainment venue at the time." Chen Chen said. "Because of that, he earned a second-class merit and was promoted to the Xia County Sub-bureau."

"You suspect that there is something fishy about Chang Xi, rather Ma Yu's death?" Gu Yanta looked at Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng nodded.

"There are too many people involved in this case and it's been too long, we can't even untangle the timeline properly for now." Gu Yanta frowned. "Where do we even begin?"

"I think there's one thing that's questionable." Lu Zheng said. "Ma Xiangrong is a meticulous, forward-thinking person, why would he send someone to commit the gas station case? The perpetrator in this case was reckless and brazen, in order to taunt the police, that's not Ma Xiangrong's style." 

"Could there be some internal conflict? Infighting?" Gu Yanta wondered aloud.

"That's a possibility," Lu Zheng said. "We can use this as our entry point. If we can capture the real culprit behind the gas station incident, we won't be far from uncovering the whole truth!"

"Then what about Chang Le?" Chen Chen asked. "We don't have any solid evidence proving he's the mole..."

"I'll give Old Jiang a heads-up on the situation and have him keep an eye on Chang Le," Gu Yanta said. "If our theory is correct and this gas station incident was the result of internal strife within the crime syndicate, then Chang Le is bound to be on Ma Xiangrong's side. He would also be keen to help Ma Xiangrong eliminate his rivals. We can use him to draw out the real culprit!"

"Let's pretend that we didn't get any useful information from Chen Qinglong," Lu Zheng added, "and outwardly maintain that Ma Xiangrong was merely a technician who was taken hostage. This way, we can set Ma Xiangrong aside from them, luring Chang Le into revealing something."

"Got it." Chen Chen nodded. "Then we'll put on a show for Chang Le! Whether it's real or not, we have to test him!"

The next morning, Xia County Sub-bureau.

The three of them sat in the meeting room, their faces gloomy. The atmosphere had dropped to freezing point.

"So, you were shut out by Chen Qinglong?" Jiang Ziyu played along, deliberately steering the conversation in that direction.

"Mm." Gu Yanta gave a perfunctory response, making it clear he didn't want to dwell on the topic.

Lu Zheng, sitting to the side, covertly observed Chang Le's expression. His face showed no noticeable change, Of course! If he were that easy to read, Chang Le would have been exposed long ago.

"How's the investigation into the culprit behind the gas station incident going?" Gu Yanta asked. "Any new leads?"

"None!" Jiang Ziyu shook his head helplessly. "We spent half the day investigating the scene and the surrounding areas yesterday. The damage was too severe, there wasn't a single valuable clue!"

"What about the car driven by the perpetrator?"

"We found a car frame that had been burned beyond recognition in the barren mountain area to the north..."

"Leader Chang, what do you think?" Gu Yanta suddenly asked Chang Le. 

Chang Le was momentarily taken aback before replying, "Right now, the only lead we have is Ma Xiangrong. As for the rest..."

"Ma Xiangrong can basically be ruled out, there's no way he was behind the gas station incident!" Gu Yanta waved a hand, cutting Chang Le off. "Ma Xiangrong's just a technician who only joined them last year, the only reason he's working for them is personal gain. And judging by his reaction after Huang Chufeng's accident, he must be being held hostage by the syndicate now!"

Lu Zheng nodded in agreement from the side.

Chang Le wasn't that easy to fool. He wouldn't just believe that they had cleared Ma Xiangrong of suspicion based on a few words from Gu Yanta. His expression shifted slightly. "That might not necessarily be the case..."

"The Yuchuan authorities have some information on Ma Xiangrong's whereabouts," Gu Yanta said seriously. "We can't reveal too much at the moment, but we can rule out Ma Xiangrong's connection to this gas station accident."

Gu Yanta didn't even need to prepare a script for his lies. Plus, he did have the authority to withhold information, which was enough to bluff Chang Le into submission.

Chang Le's expression soon returned to normal. "Oh, I see! The Yuchuan police are handling the case well. After all, our Xia County police force is weak, we're no match for them!"

Seeing that Chang Le had let down his guard, Lu Zheng signalled for Gu Yanta to continue.

"That's why we need to keep our focus on the cargo dock area. If we can uncover their drug lab and take them down in one swoop, all these problems will be solved at once!" Gu Yanta declared firmly.

"Right, but that's easier said than done," Chang Le replied. "All these years, we've been fighting them with everything we've got, we've even had comrades sacrifice their lives, yet there is still no result."

"That's because they haven't revealed their cracks," Gu Yanta said. "But this gas station incident has finally given us an opening."

"You're right," Chang Le nodded. "This is indeed an opportunity. As long as we can seize on their mistake, we might actually be able to wipe them out completely! Finally avenge our fallen brothers!"

After the meeting was adjourned, Jiang Ziyu led Chang Le and the team to continue investigating the gas station incident. Everyone hurried off to their respective tasks.

Meanwhile, Gu Yanta sidled up to Lu Zheng and whispered, "Lu Xiaozheng, what do you think about my acting? Has it improved a lot since the last time in the nightclub?"

"Just so-so..." Lu Zheng took a bite of his bread and said expressionlessly, "Still not as good as me!"

"Of course not!" Gu Yanta didn't try to argue. "My Lu Xiaozheng, you were sacrificing yourself for the greater good, going straight in for a forced kiss, who could possibly resist that?"

Lu Zheng shot Gu Yanta a glare and continued munching on his bread.

"Be honest, was it because I'm handsome?" Gu Yanta grinned.

"Haven't I already told you? It was just something I came up with on the spot, I might as well take advantage of you while I was at it." Lu Zheng's expression didn't change in the slightest.

"You know, your biggest strength is how pragmatic you are and your willingness to tell the truth! Hahaha..." Gu Yanta was thoroughly amused by Lu Zheng's attitude.

"It is the truth!" Lu Zheng finished his bread, and casually tossed the wrapper into the garbage, "By the way, how's that thing I asked Chen Chen to handle? Has he done the groundwork?"

"Nope. I don't know how to bring it up..." Gu Yanta looked embarrassed.

"Alright, I'll go talk to him later," Lu Zheng said.

"Lu Xiaozheng, you really are something." Gu Yanta chuckled. "How did you figure out that Chang Le is gay? And then get the idea to send Chen Chen in as bait? Your mind works in some wild ways!"

"What's so hard about that? I could tell from the way he looks at us! Plus, I saw a dating app on his phone... Isn't that one exclusively for gay hookups?" Lu Zheng said. "Not only do I know he's gay, but I also know he's a top."

"So you decided to send Chen Chen in as bait?" Gu Yanta asked. "What if he actually gets... seduced? You know, his physique can't compare to Chang Le..."

"That's fine." A rare mischievous glint appeared in Lu Zheng's eyes. "It's a chance to open up a whole new world for him! Besides, he's been wavering about his own sexual orientation..."

"Lu Xiaozheng ah Lu Xiaozheng, you're evil! Hahaha..."

Meanwhile, Chen Chen was still blissfully unaware that he had shouldered a heavy responsibility, straight out of a classic spy thriller. He was happily soaking his instant pickled mustard beef noodles, and just as he peeled back the lid, the rising steam fogged up his glasses.

Chen Chen took off his gold-rimmed glasses, pulled out a cloth, and carefully wiped them clean. Before he could put them back on, he saw a tall, lean figure slowly approaching him...

‿︵‿︵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: February 20, 2025 by Angel

Edited: February 26, 2025 by Angel