Controlled Experiment Chapter 62

Two Missing One – 12

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Du Yusheng rubbed his fingers together as he stared into the pitch-black room, his ears catching the brief and urgent knocks on the door.

Three knocks each time, no more, no less, and every few seconds, they sounded again.

Du Yusheng had no weapon on him, his gun had been taken away ages ago when he was suspended. He didn't know the layout of Li Yao's apartment, so he could only rely on the faint glint of metal in the large living room to find something usable. From the dining table, he grabbed a fruit knife, the kind used to slice watermelons, long and sharp.

It had a black handle, and Du Yusheng gripped it tightly in his hand.

As he listened to the knocking, he kept wondering who the person could be.

First of all, it definitely wouldn't be Li Yao, who the fuck knocks on their own door when they come home?

Could it be his brother?

Du Yusheng could hear the person outside fiddling with the security door. He hid behind the entranceway, and almost at the same time the door was pushed open, he didn't hesitate, he thrust the knife out, holding it flush against the person's carotid artery.

His movements were swift and precise, Zhuang Hao barely had time to react. One foot was still outside the door, but he didn't dare step in. He stood frozen, holding his breath, staring at the sharp blade beside his artery.

"... Wait, Mr Li..." Zhuang Hao licked his lips and glanced at the knife. "Mr Li, isn't this a bit much...?"

The voice sounded familiar.

Du Yusheng switched on the light in the entranceway. When he saw Zhuang Hao's face, he sneered and withdrew the knife.

"It's not Mr Li," Du Yusheng said, tossing the knife onto the dining table. "It's your Uncle Du."

Locking the door behind him, Du Yusheng looked at Zhuang Hao, who was standing at the door, unable to decide whether to enter or retreat. He sat down at the dining table and gestured him over.

Zhuang Hao stepped in cautiously. He might have thought that Li Yao wasn't home, but he definitely hadn't expected to find Du Yusheng there. Once his body relaxed a little, he leaned against the table, his eyes scanning the room for any sign of someone else.

Compared to when he'd last left the country, Zhuang Hao considered himself far more dishevelled now. In Africa, he'd been practically sunbathing every day. The UV rays were brutal, and not only had his skin darkened significantly, but he was also sunburnt. All of that was tolerable, what really got to him was the language barrier. Zhuang Hao barely had enough Mandarin idioms to get by, let alone speak English like the African brothers there. Moreover, the food and accommodation were unbearable, and he'd lost a visible amount of weight. Daily necessities were also scarce, and Zhuang Hao hadn't used various skincare and bathing products for a long time.

Even the cheap roadside perfumes mixed with god-knows-what had seemed like luxury to him.

Du Yusheng looked at Zhuang Hao with a faint smile, tapping the glass dining table with the tip of the knife. "Have we met before?"

Zhuang Hao shook his head.

"Then why are you so scared of me?" Du Yusheng chuckled strangely. "I thought we had met."

Zhuang Hao didn't respond, his eyes still darting around the room.

"What are you looking around for?" Du Yusheng pointed at Zhuang Hao. "What do you think this is? Weren't you already dead? What is this, coming back from the grave? Stop looking around. I'm telling you, right now, in this place, I'm in charge, got it?"

You're in charge?

Zhuang Hao froze.

Could it be that while I've been in Africa, I missed the news that Li Yao and Du Yusheng have progressed to this point?

"Where's Li Yao?"

Du Yusheng licked the corner of his mouth and asked, "Which Li Yao are you referring to?"

"......"

Zhuang Hao paused, then looked up. "You know?"

"I know," Du Yusheng nodded. "The two of them, messing with me in different ways. Him and his brother, playing a double act. Since I can't catch his brother, I won't let Li Yao off either. They made a fool of me, didn't they? Fine, I'll make sure they both die."

Something felt off to Zhuang Hao.

"You killed him?"

Du Yusheng stifled a laugh, picked up the fruit knife from the table and toyed with it in front of his face. He nodded solemnly and pointed the tip of the blade towards the kitchen. "Fancy some soup? That's what's stewing in the pot."

The blood instantly drained from Zhuang Hao's face. He shot to his feet, intending to flee, but Du Yusheng was faster, and the fruit knife slammed down between Zhuang Hao's fingers.

Li Yao's dining table was made of glass, and unlike wood, the knife couldn't pierce it. Du Yusheng had to grip the handle firmly to keep the blade from sliding about between Zhuang Hao's fingers.

A mournful cry tore through Du Yusheng's ears.

It was a little shameful to admit, but Du Yusheng hadn't been willing to do this to Li Yao. And Zhuang Hao, of all people, just had to walk in at this particular moment, so he could only vent his frustration on him. The blade between the fingers wouldn't cause permanent damage, but the pain was real. Du Yusheng looked at Zhuang Hao's agonised expression, and his own face still curled into a cold sneer.

"I can kill him, and I can kill you too." Du Yusheng smiled and said, "Why did you come to find Li Yao today?"

His hand was pinned to the table by the knife, and Zhuang Hao was in so much pain that his forehead was drenched in sweat, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"The man's already dead, what the fuck's the point in asking all this?" Zhuang Hao roared. "Aren't the police supposed to uphold justice, are you fucking crazy?"

"I've been suspended, didn't Li Yao tell you about that? Or did he not get the chance?" Du Yusheng shifted the knife slightly and was quite pleased to hear Zhuang Hao's anguished scream. "Li Yao's dead now, and his brother is next. I'm guessing you definitely know how to find him. Even if you don't, I suggest you start thinking very carefully."

"Jing Mo?" Zhuang Hao curled his lips into a pale grin. "You won't be able to find him before the next person dies, not unless he comes looking for you himself. Besides, you fucking idiot, you actually killed Li Yao. Don't you realise the only person who can find Jing Mo is his brother?"

Sensing something crucial, Du Yusheng raised his eyebrows. "You mean to say that Li Yao knew where Jing Mo was?"

Zhuang Hao let out a strange laugh and turned to look at Du Yusheng. "You still don't get it, do you? The scapegoat behind all of Jing Mo's actions is Li Yao. They look exactly alike. Setting aside the fact that Jing Mo's supposedly been dead for over a decade and has no traceable life, he's got countless so-called evidence that pins those murders on Li Yao. And now that you've killed Li Yao, the only shot he had at clearing his name is gone. Jing Mo just needs to casually send that evidence to your team, and Li Yao will officially be labelled a murderer."

Du Yusheng froze for a moment. He looked at Zhuang Hao, and the pain in the man's eyes told him this wasn't a lie.

"You've met Jing Mo, and I've met him too," Du Yusheng said. "He and Li Yao are not the same person."

"Jing Mo doesn't even have an ID card," Zhuang Hao added after a pause. "Even if he did, it would've been obtained under Li Yao's name. All those things you saw, all the inconsistencies surrounding Li Yao's identity, none of them actually belong to him, they're all Jing Mo's. Do you remember those first few times you met Li Yao, that villa that 'belonged' to him? That was a property Jing Mo deliberately bought. In other words, before you ever met Jing Mo, did you even doubt for a second that those things didn't belong to Li Yao?"

Du Yusheng was stunned, unable to utter a single word.

He suddenly thought that perhaps the account under the name "Li Yao," which had been constantly troubling him with the money being deposited into it, didn't actually belong to Li Yao.

Du Yusheng looked up at Zhuang Hao, the knife still wedged between the man's fingers, the pain clearly far from over.

"Then what about Li Yao's connection to the police bureau? Why did he know Xiao Bai?" Du Yusheng tapped the table and said, "Don't tell me that was Jing Mo too."

Zhuang Hao snorted, tilting his chin towards the kitchen. "Why don't you go ask the pot, aren't you so impressive? Let me tell you something, Du Yusheng, some things, you can wait and ask him yourself when you're down below. How can I let you know everything so easily?"

Du Yusheng curled his lip. This bastard actually has a sense of loyalty.

Seems like befriending Li Yao hadn't been a waste after all.

"I'm not even that curious about that one, it's fine if you don't say anything." Du Yusheng smiled. "But this, you must tell me, why did you kill my dad?"

Du Yusheng's tone wasn't loud or aggressive, he sounded calm even, but his hand pressed the knife deeper between Zhuang Hao's fingers.

He wasn't going to let Zhuang Hao dodge this one.

"My pot's still missing a garnish," Du Yusheng said. "Fancy being it?"

Zhuang Hao clenched his teeth against the pain and slowly squeezed out a few words.

"I didn't kill..."

But Du Yusheng never heard the rest, because another voice interrupted him.

At some point, Li Yao had quietly opened the door and come in.

From his shadow, it looked like he was standing at the entrance, changing into his slippers.

The scent of blood inside was unmistakable, yet Li Yao seemed to ignore it completely, calmly slipping on his shoes and walking in.

The first thing he saw was Du Yusheng's face, his posture, and only then the miserable state Zhuang Hao was in. Li Yao gave him a cursory glance, walked over, and pulled the fruit knife from between Zhuang Hao's fingers, then he opened a drawer in the living room, took out two rolls of gauze, and tossed them to Zhuang Hao.

Zhuang Hao was terrified, staring in disbelief at both Li Yao and the gauze in his hand. Still in shock, he stupidly kept checking Li Yao's shadow for confirmation.

"... Didn't you say you were making soup?" Zhuang Hao, clutching the gauze, rushed into the kitchen, then came storming back out, cursing as he pointed at Du Yusheng. "Motherfucker, you fucking lied to me! Mr Li, he fucking said he'd killed you and cooked you into soup!"

His shouting and swearing echoed through the apartment.

Li Yao turned to look at Zhuang Hao coldly. "Shut up."

Then his gaze shifted to Du Yusheng.

"Thirsty?"

Du Yusheng didn't respond to Li Yao. Instead, he walked over and stood in front of Zhuang Hao, repeating the question he had asked earlier.

"Why did you kill my dad? What was his connection to you?"

Du Yusheng was half a head taller than Zhuang Hao. Zhuang Hao could only cautiously shift his gaze to the side, sneaking a glance at Li Yao behind him. Li Yao said nothing, he merely shook his head at him.

Zhuang Hao was stunned. So you haven't told him Old Master Du is still alive?

Aren't you just throwing me under the bus?

Zhuang Hao smacked his lips and braced himself. Pointing at Li Yao, he said, "... Ask him."

With that, he crouched to the side, holding his injured hand, and refused to look up no matter who spoke.

Du Yusheng turned to look at Li Yao and let out a cold laugh. "So this has something to do with you too?"

Li Yao stared blankly at Du Yusheng without answering.

Du Yusheng shrugged. "Just now, Zhuang Hao told me that Jing Mo wouldn't show up unless someone else died, and I think I've figured out a way to solve that problem."

"... What are you planning to do?"

Du Yusheng smiled. "There's something I really do need your cooperation on." He paused for a moment, then added, "Welcome to my game."

Just before he left, Du Yusheng turned back to look at Li Yao.

He had a sudden thought, What if everything is the opposite of what I believe?

What if Jing Mo is actually the victim, and Li Yao really is the murderer?

Du Yusheng turned back and waved at Li Yao.

Right now, there is only one path in front of me, and I have to walk it to know the outcome.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Angel: I don't know what to believe any more...

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

Translated: June 23, 2025 by Angel

Edited: August 5, 2025 by Angel