Controlled Experiment Chapter 65

Two Missing One – 15

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"Li Yao, you're wanted."

There was no response from the other end of the line. Qi Lei thought for a moment that Li Yao hadn't heard him, so he repeated it once more.

Li Yao glanced at the time on the watch Du Yusheng had given him. At this moment, he felt somewhat relieved that he hadn't called Xiao Bai. Then again, considering the current situation, even if he had, the other party probably wouldn't have answered.

After a long pause, Li Yao scratched his head helplessly.

He said, "Wanted? Am I famous now?"

Qi Lei chuckled lazily and said, "Rumour has it ah, rumour has it, someone sent some things to the police, and among them are several pieces of evidence of you, 'Li Yao', committing crimes. Including using some kind of financial game to instruct Luo Yang to kill Luo Daheng, Zhao Liang to kill Chen Xin, Zhao Liang's death, and then later, Xu Yuan, who was killed at the airport, the one who killed Xu Yuan, Zhao Hang's death, and now, Wang Zhe's uncertain fate. The deaths of several people in the photos are all related to you."

Li Yao gripped the steering wheel tightly without saying anything.

Qi Lei laughed down the phone and said, "Honestly, if they hadn't told me, I wouldn't even have known you'd done all this since coming back to the country. Impressive, really."

But the other man's teasing didn't stir the faintest urge in Li Yao to laugh.

Clearly, the parcel sent to the police had come from Jing Mo.

Director Er Zhuofan was someone in the know. The fact that he hadn't blocked the release of the wanted notice could only mean that the materials Jing Mo had submitted contained nearly irrefutable proof of Li Yao's crimes.

Li Yao drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and scratched his cheek. Two people who looked exactly the same, when one of them is already 'dead', it leaves little doubt that the other is the killer.

Li Yao switched off the engine and looked up to scan his surroundings.

There were surveillance cameras, but this was a quiet and secluded junction.

"The warrant's about to be issued," Qi Lei said. "What can I do for you?"

Li Yao didn't say anything but sent his location to Qi Lei.

Qi Lei glanced at the location that had been sent over, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. In truth, he'd already started the engine before Li Yao even sent it.

Qi Lei had clawed his way back from abroad with great difficulty. It had taken considerable effort just to clean up after himself, and the peaceful life he enjoyed now hadn't come easily. He cherished this period of calm deeply, but compared to Li Yao, none of it really mattered. For Li Yao, Qi Lei was willing to do anything.

=========

Du Yusheng woke up in the middle of the night. Not naturally, he'd been woken by the urge to pee. He'd felt parched before bed and drank far too much water, which made for a restless night's sleep.

After relieving himself, Du Yusheng returned to bed and glanced at his phone.

Silent as the grave.

Apart from that one lonely text, "Hello, Du Yusheng", there was nothing else at all.

So calm and composed? Du Yusheng frowned.

To be honest, he couldn't quite figure out what Jing Mo was thinking. They were twins, but he and Li Yao couldn't have been more different.

Now, all he could do was wait.

Wait for Jing Mo to come looking for him.

Du Yusheng sat by the window, rubbing his chin. Right now, the last person in that photo, Wang Zhe, whether he was alive or dead, and if so, where he was, only Du Yusheng knew. Sooner or later, Jing Mo would come for that answer.

Suddenly, I'm looking forward to meeting him.

Just as he was beginning to feel drowsy again, Du Yusheng was startled awake by his phone vibrating.

Not daring to turn on the light, Du Yusheng glanced at his phone.

It was a message from an unfamiliar number with just two words.

"Come down."

Du Yusheng paused.

That clearly wasn't Jing Mo's style of messaging.

So which idiot sent this, then?

Du Yusheng didn't rush to reply, instead, he opened a gap in the curtains. A black sedan was parked downstairs, but the angle wasn't right, so he couldn't see the licence plate.

There was a man leaning against the car door, smoking.

His features weren't clear in the dark, but he appeared to be quite tall and dressed fashionably.

The man must have seen Du Yusheng, as he tilted his head back and flicked the glowing end of his cigarette in Du Yusheng's direction, as if in provocation.

Du Yusheng pulled the curtain shut.

The other party sent a second message.

"Hurry the fuck down, I'm only waiting five minutes."

Du Yusheng stared at the message and licked his lips. His gun had already been handed in, so he could only pull a sharp fruit knife from the drawer.

The knife is a bit pathetic.

But even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

Better than nothing.

He grabbed a random jacket, pulled on the hood, and headed downstairs.

In fact, Du Yusheng hadn't been in great shape lately. Because of Wang Zhe's case, everyone was out looking for him. He had to keep a low profile, so if he could avoid going out, he would, and if he could stay completely silent at home, he did. He tried not to use water, electricity, or gas unless absolutely necessary. He'd even had someone deliver him a stack of burner SIM cards. In his thirty-odd years of life, these past few days had been the most suffocating.

Even taking a shower had to be carefully planned.

Otherwise, if the utilities started showing abnormal usage in a supposedly unoccupied apartment, He Shen wouldn't be able to explain it away.

Qi Lei looked Du Yusheng up and down.

He cursed softly.

"I thought he wanted me to pick up someone special, but it's just you? What does he see in you?" With the cigarette clamped between his lips, Qi Lei went on, "Does he like that you haven't had a shower in days?"

The insult left Du Yusheng momentarily stunned, but he didn't answer back. He had no idea who Qi Lei was or what he was doing here.

Seeing that Du Yusheng was standing there saying nothing, Qi Lei circled him once and said, "Body looks okay, face should be fine with a good wash, height is decent, clothes are a bit dirty but you can still tell you have some taste, it's all passable. But compared to me, you're still a bit lacking." After thinking for a moment, Qi Lei added, "By a large margin."

Du Yusheng couldn't hold it in any longer.

He said, "Are you fucking mental? What is this, a beauty contest? Who the hell sent you to find me? And how do you even know I'm here? You'd better start explaining, or today won't end well."

Qi Lei glanced at what Du Yusheng was holding behind him.

He laughed. "You brought an itch-scratcher with you?"

Du Yusheng cursed under his breath. Although he still didn't know who this man was or what his intentions were, he wasn't about to be taken advantage of. He clenched his fist and made to swing at him, hard.

Qi Lei, however, suddenly laughed.

He wanted to mess with Du Yusheng a bit.

"Let me mention someone," Qi Lei said. "Li Yao."

Du Yusheng froze. His fist hung in mid-air.

"Li Yao's with me," Qi Lei said as he pulled open his car door and gestured inside with a grin. "Well, coming or not?"

To be honest, Du Yusheng did falter for a few seconds.

If this had been before, Du Yusheng would've gone with the stranger without a second thought. But now...

Go fuck yourself.

Du Yusheng let out a cold laugh, leaned against the car door, and looked Qi Lei straight in the eye. "Not going."

Qi Lei was taken aback. "Hm?"

Du Yusheng said, "If you've kidnapped Li Yao, I suggest you get on with it and kill him. If you haven't kidnapped him but taken him in, then I suggest you go back and finish him off right now."

"We're not close," Du Yusheng gestured.

Qi Lei stared at Du Yusheng's stubborn figure and suddenly understood why Li Yao had chosen this unwashed bastard over him.

Qi Lei's hand, still gripping the car door, felt a little awkward. He looked at Du Yusheng again and said, "You're not quite what I imagined."

Du Yusheng chuckled, pulled his cap lower, and said, "It's not that I want to go, but that he, Li Yao, invited me to go."

Qi Lei stroked his chin. "Hearing you say that, there's something you probably don't know yet."

Seeing the question on Du Yusheng's face, Qi Lei said, "He's wanted. Li Yao, he's wanted."

Du Yusheng froze.

He stood motionless for several seconds.

A wanted notice wasn't something anyone would joke about. Which meant this slick stranger standing in front of him was most likely telling the truth.

Du Yusheng quickly came back to his senses.

He pointed at the car door, gesturing for Qi Lei to open it. The door opened, but Du Yusheng made no move to get in. Instead, he turned to look at Qi Lei.

Qi Lei understood what Du Yusheng meant and smiled. "Don't worry, I know there are plenty of people looking for you right now. Since I've managed to find you, I can guarantee your safety."

Du Yusheng instinctively glanced at his phone. Jing Mo was still silent as a grave, nothing had come through.

Once Du Yusheng had shut the car door properly, Qi Lei finally pulled out his phone and sent a message to Li Yao before slowly starting the engine.

=========

The car came to a stop two hours later.

They'd stopped once along the way to refuel.

Du Yusheng, dazed and groggy, had spent most of the journey in the back seat, dozing off repeatedly only to be jolted awake by the bumpy road.

When they reached their destination, Du Yusheng dusted off his clothes and got out of the car.

He glanced around for a moment.

He had never been to this place before, it was completely unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that he wasn't even sure whether they were still on the island. Compared to a manor, it felt more like a countryside homestead, it was much more understated in style than a proper estate.

It was still early morning, the sky yet to brighten.

In the distance, there were faint shadows. Du Yusheng thought that there should be several large, connected ponds over there, with a bridge stretched over them, and it looked like there were fishing rods on it. On the right were a few small adjoining houses. There were a few steps leading up to the entrance, and above them, an artificial trellis for shade. A few shrivelled grapevines still clung to the structure. Though the houses didn't take up much space, there was an old-fashioned iron gate at the entrance. A faint light shone through the holes in the ironwork, and from afar, Du Yusheng could just make out someone sitting beneath the trellis.

He couldn't tell for certain, but it looked like Li Yao, slowly sipping tea.

Du Yusheng snorted lightly through his nose at the shadowy figure, then turned back to glance at Qi Lei, who had just stepped out of the car.

He said, "Can I take a shower here?"

Qi Lei had to pinch his thigh to stop himself from laughing, then pointed to a small house behind the pond.

‿︵‿︵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: June 24, 2025 by Angel

Edited: August 5, 2025 by Angel