NOS Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Birch Bridge (8)

Chapter 77: Birch Bridge (8)

Who is Yu Chang?

A brief blankness appeared in Yu Chunming’s mind. He stared blankly at Guan Yao, who also stared blankly back. They looked at each other for a long moment before turning their heads together to look at the person claiming to be Yu Chang.

Squatting beneath the slot machines in the corner was a young man with a thin, lanky build. He wore glasses on his face and a black down jacket, with a plaid shirt underneath. His attire was no different from when they had met in Songlan.

He was Yu Chang, genuine and trustworthy.

“Quickly bring him over,” Min Chao instructed, acting like a thief.

Before long, a junior officer under his command brought Yu Chang before Yu Chunming and Guan Yao.

The “suspect” kept his head lowered, a laptop bag slung over his shoulder. His face was expressionless, and he didn’t seem to be planning on explaining why he was here.

As for Yu Chunming, he was still somewhat in disbelief.

After all, such bizarre events only happened to Yu Huan in the past. As someone who had been praised since childhood for being honest, quiet, well-behaved, and sensible, Yu Chang hadn’t even been to an internet cafe, let alone an illegal establishment like this.

Moreover, this was Za Mu Er, a small border town more than a thousand kilometers from the provincial capital of Songlan. Why would Yu Chang appear here?

Yu Chunming looked at him incredulously, then tentatively called out, “Changchang?”

Yu Chang raised his head slightly, “Big brother.”

Good heavens, Yu Chunming gasped inwardly. This was truly Yu Chang.

Guan Yao was equally incredulous. Although he had only interacted with Yu Chang a few times, this rather quiet young man had left him with an impression of being honest and reliable.

So, what “unspeakable secret” did the honest and reliable Yu Chang possess?

Standing to the side, Min Chao kept his eyes lowered and his mouth shut, focusing on his own thoughts. He cautiously asked, “Officer Yu, is this really your brother?”

Yu Chunming had to admit, “Yes, he is my brother.”

“Oh, this…” Min Chao rubbed his hands together, pulling the three of them into a corner. “What’s your brother doing here? He wasn’t gambling, was he?”

Yu Chang didn’t speak.

Yu Chunming’s expression immediately changed. He grabbed Yu Chang’s shoulders and asked, “Did you gamble?”

“I didn’t,” Yu Chang said, shrinking his neck.

Guan Yao was greatly puzzled, “Then what are you doing here?”

Yu Chang glanced at Yu Chunming and answered softly, “I… I came to find my brother.”

“What the hell?” Yu Chunming almost thought his hearing was failing him again.

Yu Chang repeated, “I came to find my brother.”

“You’re looking for me?” Yu Chunming was furious. “You, you’re looking for me, and you ran to this place?”

Yu Chang also seemed a bit aggrieved, “The address I got was here…”

“What address? Where did you get the address? Who gave you the address?” Yu Chunming couldn’t quite sort out Yu Chang’s logic.

Fortunately, Min Chao was there to smooth things over. He called out, “Alright, alright, since your brother didn’t gamble, let’s go back and talk, shall we? Let’s all go back to the Linchang Police Station, it’s closer. We can have a good chat there.”

Yu Chunming and Guan Yao had no objections, and Yu Chang didn’t dare to object.

And so, Min Chao waved his hand and prepared to lead the team back.

Back at the Linchang Police Station, Yu Chunming’s old colleagues, who hadn’t seen him in a long time, didn’t even have a chance to exchange pleasantries before being scared away by his gloomy expression.

After locking up the suspects, Guan Yao led Yu Chang through the law enforcement area, found a quiet corner, and let him sit down.

“How did you get here?” Yu Chunming asked, frowning as he sized up his troublesome brother.

Yu Chang hugged his backpack, his eyes fixed on his toes, “I took the train, the same one as you.”

“The same one as me?” Yu Chunming was taken aback. “You’ve been in Za Mu Er for several days?”

Yu Chang adjusted his glasses in a cultured manner, but said nothing.

“What did you come here for? Do Mom and Dad know you’re not in Songlan? Does Yu Huan know? Are you still going to do your job? How did you manage to get on the same train as me? And why did you run to the Birch Bridge Casino today?” Yu Chunming rattled off a series of questions.

Yu Chang answered them one by one: “I came to find you, big brother. Mom and Dad don’t know, and Huanhuan doesn’t know either. I took annual leave from the company and spent money to get on the same train. I followed the address I received and found the Birch Bridge Casino.”

“No…” This answer was as good as no answer at all. Yu Chunming felt like he was punching cotton. He took a breath and asked, “What exactly are you looking for me for?”

Hearing this, Yu Chang suddenly stood up. He said seriously, “Big brother, during the days you were in the hospital, I noticed someone was following you.”

“Following me?” Yu Chunming was stunned.

In the cramped corner of the law enforcement area, a bewildered Yu Chunming and Guan Yao watched as Yu Chang pulled a computer out of his backpack, plugged it in, and then nimbly opened one file after another.

“I noticed something was wrong on October 27th. I was going upstairs with Yu Huan to deliver food when I turned at the second floor. I saw a man wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket appear there for the third time, always squinting his eyes and looking at us. And just the day before, I clearly remembered this man had passed by your hospital room.” Yu Chang said.

Yu Chunming and Guan Yao looked in the direction he was pointing, and indeed found the back view of someone wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket in the video.

“You can’t even see his face,” Guan Yao leaned closer.

“The hospital’s surveillance video is like this, blurry and the angle is bad. I looked for a lot, but couldn’t find a clear shot of his face. The main thing is, this person always wears a mask.” Yu Chang looked a little frustrated. “If he hadn’t been wearing a mask, I wouldn’t have noticed there was a problem with him so late.”

“Wait,” Yu Chunming suddenly raised a hand, “Where did you get this hospital surveillance video?”

Yu Chang looked serious, “Big brother, I majored in computer science.”

“Computer science…” Yu Chunming was speechless.

He had indeed forgotten that his younger brother had graduated with a degree in computer science from the University of Technology. His current job was in network security.

Guan Yao asked from the side, “Since you’ve seen this person, can you describe his height and build?”

“No problem,” Yu Chang sat up straight and said, “This person’s height is estimated to be between 181cm and 183cm, no taller than 185cm, and no shorter than 180cm. He has a moderate build, and his weight is estimated to be between 75 kilograms and 78 kilograms, no heavier than 80 kilograms. Because he was wearing a mask, I couldn’t see his facial features clearly, but I noticed that this person has long, narrow eyes, and there’s a small pit on his left eyebrow, probably a scar.”

Guan Yao was filled with respect, “Your brother’s eyesight is amazing.”

But Yu Chunming’s expression suddenly changed. He grabbed Guan Yao and said softly, “Qin Tian, Qin Tian has a scar on his face from when Wu Lao San hit him. He had a slight fracture of his brow bone back then, and it left a pit after it healed.”

“Qin Tian?” Guan Yao was stunned.

Qin Tian was squatting in the detention room of the law enforcement area. He glanced at Boss Tao, who was huddled in a chair, and couldn’t help but ask, “Did my mom really kick your brother in the nuts hard enough to make him bleed?”

Boss Tao had a bitter look on his face, “Could it be fake? My brother can count himself lucky, he only needs to lie in the hospital tonight, instead of squatting here.”

Qin Tian chuckled, “My mom’s pretty fierce.”

Boss Tao shook his head, “I’ve never seen a woman carry so many weapons in her bag. If I hadn’t dodged quickly, her pepper spray would have blinded me.”

As the two were talking, Liu Sheng, a police officer from the Linchang Police Station, pushed open the door and came in. He went over, picked up Qin Tian’s handcuffs, and dragged him up from the ground.

“Ouch, easy, easy,” Qin Tian shouted, “My brother is a leader at your Linchang Police Station!”

“Stop talking nonsense, when did Officer Guan recognize you as his brother?” Liu Sheng pushed Qin Tian and led him to the door of the interrogation room.

Yu Chunming and Guan Yao were standing there with Yu Chang. Guan Yao pointed to Qin Tian and asked, “Brother, take a look, is it him?”

Yu Chang only glanced at him before immediately nodding, “That’s right, the height, build, and shape of the eyes are all the same.”

“Damn.” Yu Chunming cursed clearly.

Guan Yao took a deep breath, signaled Liu Sheng to get him into the interrogation room first.

But Qin Tian started yelling, “Officer Yu, brother, big brother… I was just having a little harmless fun gambling, I didn’t commit any major crimes, big brother, please save me, you have to save me, I’m your own brother…”

As he was stuffed into the interrogation room, the wailing finally stopped. Liu Sheng looked at Yu Chunming and Guan Yao, puzzled, “Who is this kid calling brother?”

The two didn’t speak, turning around to take Yu Chang to the office on the second floor.

After entering the room, Guan Yao couldn’t help but say, “This kid Qin Tian has really grown bolder now, he even dared to run to Songlan to follow you. Wait… when did he recognize you?”

Yu Chunming also shook his head, “I don’t know, and he seems to know quite a bit.”

“Knows quite a bit?” Guan Yao asked strangely, “What does he know?”

Yu Chunming hadn’t had time to answer when Yu Chang, who was behind them, suddenly spoke up. He asked, “Big brother, who exactly is that Qin Tian?”

Yu Chunming casually replied, “My brother.”

“Your brother?” Yu Chang’s voice suddenly rose an octave. He was incredibly surprised, “Big brother, do you have another brother besides me?”

What was he talking about? Yu Chunming was confused, after all, in his mind, he only had one brother, Qin Tian. Yu Chang, the adopted one, didn’t really count.

But as soon as he turned his head, Yu Chunming met Yu Chang’s grief-stricken face. The man was holding his computer, his eyes were red, and there was even a hint of grievance in his anger.

“What’s wrong with you again…” Yu Chunming immediately felt deflated, he explained, “The younger brother of Officer Guan’s neighbor, okay? I know him too.”

Yu Chang didn’t believe him, still staring at Yu Chunming without saying anything.

Guan Yao couldn’t help but smile, “Come on, brother, sit here, sit here, sit in your brother’s seat.”

Yu Chang sat down without a word.

“Drink some hot water, it’s freezing cold, what did you come to Za Mu Er for? If you encounter something like this again in the future, just hand it over to us police.” Guan Yao said.

“He wanted to kill my brother.” Yu Chang suddenly opened his mouth.

Guan Yao frowned, “What did you say?”

As a high-tech talent of the new era, Yu Chang didn’t feel there was anything wrong with him stealing internal hospital surveillance. He neatly pulled out the saved video and pushed the computer in front of the two men: “It’s this Qin Tian, I entered his personal characteristics into the algorithm I designed, and then reconstructed his movements in the hospital those few days from the capture model. Big brother, this person sneaked into the dispensing room, checked your medical records and medication, and even tried to replace the ceftriaxone prepared by the nurse on the day you were about to be transferred to another hospital. If I hadn’t discovered it, he definitely, definitely would have succeeded!”

Yu Chunming couldn’t understand the algorithm at all, but the surveillance video captured by the algorithm was now clearly presented in front of him.

In the video, Qin Tian was sneaky, first taking advantage of the fact that there was no one at the nurse’s station to check Yu Chunming’s medical records on the computer, and then, when the nurses were changing shifts, he slipped into the dispensing room, whose door wasn’t locked tightly.

“At the time, I deliberately pretended to be looking for the restroom and shouted loudly at the door of the dispensing room, attracting the nurse and a cleaner, who pulled him out. He said he was lost and couldn’t find the ward, and ran away with his tail between his legs.” Yu Chang said angrily, “I kept following him and found that he was staying in a family inn next to the hospital. Big brother, on the day you were transferred, he also checked out. Later, I retrieved the surveillance from the sanatorium and found that he had even gone to the sanatorium!”

Yu Chunming was silent. He propped himself up on the table and sat down, a piercing pain suddenly shooting through the wound on his shoulder.

“Big brother,” Yu Chang said softly, “This Qin Tian followed you all the way to Yuya Island, and even followed you onto the K7629. I had no choice but to buy a ticket and get on the train as well. I stood in the dining car with him all the way, and then followed him to the Linchang Staff Family Compound, only to find that he was living across from you. On the train, I hacked into his phone and captured the address that was mentioned most often in his communication records, which was… tonight’s casino.”

So, Yu Chang, who was equally skilled and daring, sneaked into the Birch Bridge alone. Before entering, he even made up an identity for himself, saying that he was an accountant from a nearby construction site, who was bored in the evenings and wanted to go up and gamble a little.

The brawny guard at the door had only muscles and no brains, and actually let him in just like that. And so, Yu Chang became a “wronged soul” under the hands of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Za Mu Er City Branch Bureau.

After listening to all of this, Yu Chunming sighed, he laughed self-deprecatingly and exclaimed, “I knew it, I always felt like someone was following me on the way out of Yuya Island, it turned out that someone really was following me…”

Guan Yao was also silent. He looked at Yu Chang, who said timidly, “Big brother, I didn’t gamble, and I didn’t mean to hide it from you, I just…”

Yu Chang’s voice was getting lower and lower, “I just didn’t know how to tell you, I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Alright, I don’t blame you.” Yu Chunming softened his tone and touched Yu Chang’s coat, “Are you cold? You’re only wearing this much, where have you been staying these past few days? Have you had dinner?”

After speaking, he asked Guan Yao, “Is the cafeteria closed? Have the old aunt who serves the food make him a bowl of noodles.”

“I’m not hungry.” Yu Chang stood up, fidgeting. “I’ll buy a ticket and go home later.”

“You’ve already come all this way, what’s the rush?” Guan Yao said politely, “How about this… Chunming, you take our brother home… home to take a bath, change into some thicker clothes, rest for a couple of days and then leave.”

Yu Chunming sat still, “You take him back, I need to interrogate Qin Tian here.”

“You interrogate Qin Tian…” Guan Yao said helplessly, “Don’t be stubborn, let me tell you, the person Qin Tian is most afraid of is me, you interrogating him probably won’t work. Go back, it’s a good opportunity to check if Auntie Jiang is really at home, and if she’s not, then you have to interrogate that Tao fellow properly.”

Hearing Guan Yao mention Jiang Min, Yu Chunming finally relented. He found a cotton coat for Yu Chang, and also got him a boxed lunch, before slowly saying, “Qin Tian is not simple, when you ask him, lead him towards the case.”

Guan Yao nodded, understanding what he meant.

As someone who seemed to have been targeted by Li Guanglai, Qin Tian didn’t seem to have grown a single brain cell. He sat down on the interrogation chair as if he was coming home, back in familiar territory.

“Oh, Brother Yao, your station has money this year, has this chair been replaced with a new one?” Qin Tian asked.

Guan Yao glanced at him and signaled Liu Sheng to take notes on the side.

“Why isn’t my brother interrogating me? Where did he go? I want to see him, if he doesn’t come, I won’t say a word!” Qin Tian acted like a rogue.

“Not saying a word, huh?” Guan Yao was unmoved. “Then we’ll just wait, and in the end, if you don’t say anything, I’ll take Officer Yu’s one-sided testimony as evidence and transfer you to the prosecutor’s office, which will probably file a public prosecution on the charge of ‘extortion’.”

“What?” Qin Tian’s meager legal awareness and smooth scalp were completely insufficient to support him in understanding Guan Yao’s words. The man said shamelessly, “Yu Chunming is my brother, don’t you know that, Guan Yao? He is Jiang Xin.”

Guan Yao didn’t budge and continued to read out the legal provisions, “According to Article 274 of the ‘Criminal Law’, the crime of extortion refers to the act of illegally possessing property, threatening or intimidating others, and forcibly demanding public or private property. You used the means of harming Officer Yu himself and his relatives to extort 300,000 yuan, which may also involve intentional injury. Qin Tian, do you know why you came to the police station today?”

Qin Tian was stunned. He only had one sentence, “I want to see my brother.”

“Your brother?” Guan Yao sneered, and suddenly briefly admired Vice Director Yu’s foresight from back then. He said one word at a time, “Your brother Jiang Xin was determined to have died more than twenty years ago. Officer Yu Chunming is a criminal police officer in the Law Enforcement Team of this station, and he was transferred from the Songlan City Public Security Bureau this June. You can ask who his real father is, when did he become your brother? Stop trying to claim relatives here.”

“Guan Yao, I’m telling you, that Yu Chunming is my brother,” Qin Tian yelled, sticking his neck out. “He’s not only my brother, but he’s also the son my mother had with a rapist!”

“What did you say?” Guan Yao’s face instantly darkened.