Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 409: Time To Go Back

As it turned out, Blue Lotus had been hiding right in the research facility in the suburbs of Qingxi Province. This was also the main reason why He Juan could not find him despite months of searching. Due to the secrecy of the experiment, the facility was built into a closed-off and private space, and it had everything the staff might need; dormitories, clothing and basic necessities stores, a small park, restaurants, security station, etc...

Thanks to his vital role of supplying necessary test subjects to the facility, he was able to enjoy the same treatment as the snobbish and conceited researchers. He thought that he would be safe from He Juan’s clutches as long as he stayed there, but who could have guessed that the facility would be raided by the devil himself one day?!

Blue Lotus was caught red-handed, and this time, he could no longer attempt to flee. The mighty ringleader of the drug distribution in Yubei Province, who was supposed to be elusive and mysterious, whose mere whisper of his nickname was enough to make people shrink and tremble in fear, posed a very pitiful and miserable figure under He Juan’s hands.

Until this moment, Ye Qiu could still vividly recall the day when He Juan was supposed to conduct an ’interrogation’ session on the man, right after they had seized control of the entire facility.

She had offered her assistance at first. After all, she and Blue Lotus had also crossed paths once in the past, and they even had past enmity with each other. But He Juan was adamant on keeping her out of it.

"You may not know this, Little Missy," the man’s silver eyes held gentleness like he was lecturing a misbehaving child, yet there was also firmness that brooked no refusal. "But there are certain boundaries, once crossed, will leave you no chance to turn back anymore. I don’t want you to walk through it."

Even though Ye Qiu had killed a couple of people before, it was all for self-defense and she had always finished them within the span of one breath with the crushing might of her pheromones. To torture a criminal in order to extract information from his mouth, this was the first for her. She reckoned that this must be the boundary He Juan was talking about. Yet somehow, it did not feel right for her to leave all the dirty jobs to He Juan. She opened her mouth to protest, "But—"

"No buts," He Juan cut her off, his tone final. He would never allow this honest and upright girl to follow him into the dark side. Feeling strange for Ye Qiu’s eagerness, he asked, "Why do you want to take part in this? Is it because of what had happened in the Queen of Spades?"

All this time, he had been wondering why a girl like Ye Qiu would appear in such an inconspicuous bar in the city and leave only after killing Blue Lotus’ men. After all, it was all due to the traces of pheromones she left behind that He Juan came to know about the existence of mutated Alphas in this world.

Ye Qiu pressed her lips tight, still upset whenever she remembered that day. "I went there to meet a broker..."

He Juan blinked in surprise as he had not expected this kind of answer, "A broker?"

"He agreed to smuggle me and the other children to the cargo ship. I intended to leave the country once and for all to escape from the hunt. No matter what, it will still be safer than to move from one city to another. We set up a meeting in the Queen of Spades to discuss the payment. But then..." she gnashed her teeth in anger. "He turns out to be one of Blue Lotus’ men! As soon as he saw me, he thought I was an Omega and wanted to knock me out and kidnap me!"

He Juan grimaced. Indeed, if he had not sensed Ye Qiu’s pheromones, he would have thought that she was a Beta or an Omega from her delicate and youthful features. He could imagine what a tempting sight she must have posed to the men dabbling in omega traffickers and illegal prostitution. A minor walking around without a guardian’s protection, who even wanted to smuggle into a ship to leave a country, she was practically a piece of fragrant meat that attracted all sinister eyes. It was no wonder that the broker wanted to take a chance with her.

Regrettably, the prey they had set their eyes on was a fierce predator in disguise, and the price they had to pay for their imprudence was – their lives.

He Juan showed a helpless look. He had assumed that there was a deeper interaction between Ye Qiu and Blue Lotus, but everything turned out to be a mere coincidence. But then, he recalled one more thing, "Ah, that’s right. Did you see Blue Lotus himself? What about the body in the bathroom? Was it your doing too?"

Ye Qiu harrumphed, "I only saw him when he entered the bar because he came together with the broker. But when I was invited to the VIP room, I didn’t see him anywhere. I did not know where he went, but I heard his men saying that it was him who gave the order to get me. Unfortunately, I had to return in a hurry so I quickly left after dealing with those men, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to escape from me too!" A flicker of doubt flashed in her mind. "There is a body in the bathroom too? It’s not me. I never stepped foot in there."

He Juan hummed in thought. If it was not Ye Qiu, then who had killed the man in the bathroom? Blue Lotus or Mo Feng? Well, he would get his answer soon after he asked Blue Lotus. "So, you don’t know either that there was a bomb inside the VIP room?"

"What?!" Ye Qiu’s eyes flew wide in shock. "A bomb? I... I know nothing about it at all!"

He Juan nodded; he believed that Ye Qiu couldn’t have done something like that. The one who had fired a clean headshot and also planted the bomb in the VIP room to get rid of the evidence must have been done by the same person. The main question was, why would they do that? It was as if they were helping Ye Qiu clean up the mess she had left behind...

Also, the timing behind his arrival, was it still a coincidence or not?

He Juan’s eyes sank as doubt continued to brew in his mind. It seemed like he needed to have a long, long talk with Blue Lotus...

He offered a slight smile and patted the girl’s shoulder. "It’s nothing for you to worry about, Little Miss Ye. Go, do not linger around here."

Ye Qiu had no choice but to nod and walk away from that place. He Juan’s insistence notwithstanding, she was also worried about the other five children who had been brought along with them. She was afraid that they would be triggered upon seeing the familiar research facility, and she could not wait to return and comfort them.

. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Seven months had passed since that day, and Blue Lotus had long since been buried three feet underground.

Until now, Ye Qiu still did not know what He Juan had talked about with Blue Lotus, as she had only seen He Juan emerge from the building the next day covered in blood from head to toe. Even the mere reminder of it was enough to make her heart tremble.

She had never seen He Juan exude such a hostile and unapproachable aura before. Somehow she had a hunch that she should not get close to the man when he was in this state, and thus she could only curb her urge to ask for the time being. After that, they had promptly continued their journey to Guangnan, and she lost her chance to find out about what He Juan had heard for him to be so furious.

She was brought out of the memory lane when He Juan remarked softly beside her, "We have come this far, huh?"

"You are right," she nodded. "I have never imagined that I would have a life like today. It’s all thanks to you."

"What are you saying?" He Juan let out a soft chuckle. "It’s all our joint effort. The credit can’t all go to me, can it?"

Even though he said that, Ye Qiu knew that He Juan was the one who did the most for them. He freed all of the test subjects and offered them shelter. Not only that, he had also been working to give them a proper and legal identity in the country, so that they no longer had to drift aimlessly like the seed of dandelions which could only fly where the wind blew them, never knowing where or when they would land. However, she also knew that He Juan would brush it away carelessly if she ever brought it up, and thus she could only stay silent and keep this deep gratitude in her heart.

Ye Qiu. She had come up with this simple name after seeing the ground covered in thick layers of brown leaves on a beautiful autumn day. Before then, she had always been called Test Subject A–288.

She, like the five other children, were born and raised in the facility. They had never known who their parents were nor did they have a real name. They had always been referred to by numbers since day one, and all they knew was a monotone life within the enclosed walls and air that smelled heavily of disinfectant.

They longed to have something that belonged only to themselves, so they came up with a silly game to create their own names. She chose Ye Qiu because she liked how it reminded her of the breathtaking scenery she very seldom saw, while the younger children could only think of simple names like Xiao Gu, Xiao Hu, Xiao Bao, etc...

Now that she and the others could finally have a legal name that was properly registered in the system, she couldn’t help but feel that the memory of that time had become bittersweet.

"After we scour through all of the secret facilities, can this madness be stopped?" she could not help but ask.

"Yes," He Juan answered with nary a hesitation. She raised her head to see He Juan staring at the map with a look of resolution. It was this look of his that gave her the courage to fight against what destiny had set for her instead of running away and hiding like a coward. "We will destroy all the facilities and draw out the people behind this. Soon, everything will be over."

’Soon’, she whispered in her heart, every fiber in her entire body sang and thrummed in thrill at that one word. Soon.

She withdrew her gaze and the tail end of her eyes caught sight of the calendar on the table. She suddenly recalled something, "Ah, that’s right. The death anniversary of your parents is coming up. Are you going to take the days off like usual?"

"Of course," He Juan replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "I will give you some extra pocket money before I leave. So make sure to take the others to eat delicious food, okay?"

Ye Qiu did not make any attempt to refuse it, not only because of how the children would be happy to eat sumptuous meals once in a while, but also because how He Juan had 1001 different ways to get the money into her hands. She had learned her lesson the hard way.

"Now that you are leaving..." she suggested in a careful tone. "Why don’t you take the chance to visit that person in Yuyang?"

He Juan’s smile froze for a split second before he swiftly concealed it, "...Who?"

"Don’t pretend to be a fool, XIU," she huffed in exasperation. "You always buy gifts in every city and send them to the same address. There’s also this one time when you drove a ten-hour round trip in the winter just to buy him a birthday present. But not only do you send those gifts anonymously, you never contacted him and you never went back to Yuyang either.

"Our workload has decreased so much since then, and I’m certain that I can hold the fort for a week or two even if you’re not here. I can also ask M for help if need arises. So don’t worry about us." She gave him a tiny encouraging smile. "It’s been a year, don’t you think it’s time for you to go back?"