Chapter 68

After listening, Qi Xia immediately took a lighter from his pocket. This was the one borrowed to him by "Xiao Xiao."

He lit the lighter and extended his hand toward Li Jiaoguan.

Officer Li was taken aback, then used his blood-soaked left hand to cover the flame and leaned over to light his cigarette.

A moment later, he patted Qi Xia's hand.

"Phew—"

A thick cloud of smoke was exhaled, and Officer Li seemed to relax a bit.

"Comfortable," Officer Li smiled, "Now I'm not afraid of dying."

"What do you want to tell me?" Qi Xia sat opposite Officer Li, looking at him with a serious expression.

Officer Li did not answer but instead asked, "Qi Xia, how did Tian Tian and Qiao Jiajin die?"

"They were killed," Qi Xia replied without hesitation, "After noon yesterday, they were beaten to death by the owner of this lighter."

After saying that, he pushed the lighter forward and placed it in Officer Li's hand.

Officer Li looked down at the green plastic lighter, his eyes somewhat disappointed.

"Is that so..." He raised his head and said to Qi Xia, "When that person killed Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian... was there anything strange?"

"Strange?"

Qi Xia stroked his chin, organizing his thoughts. There were indeed many strange things. He briefly organized his words and recounted everything that happened yesterday afternoon to Officer Li.

Including the woman's unusual physique and the baffling poisoning.

Finally, Qi Xia added, "By the way, before and after she killed them, I heard the sound of a bell twice."

After listening, Officer Li raised his cigarette and took another big puff, trembling. After exhaling a cloud of smoke, he said, "When the bell rang, I happened to be in front of the large display screen."

"What?"

"The loud bell rang in my ears, making me think the whole world was exploding." Officer Li said jokingly, "Do you know what was written on the screen?"

Qi Xia then remembered that the screen would display text for no apparent reason, so he asked, "What was written?"

"I heard the echo of 'frame-up.'" Officer Li said, enunciating each word.

"Frame-up?" Qi Xia murmured, pondering, "Before it was 'disaster,' and now it's 'frame-up'..."

Officer Li handed the last cigarette from the pack to Qi Xia, "Want one?"

Qi Xia nodded and reached out to take the cigarette.

Officer Li used his left hand to light it for him.

"I knew you smoked," Officer Li said, holding the cigarette and tossing the lighter to Qi Xia, "Smoking is best when you're thinking, right?"

Qi Xia didn't respond, took the lighter, and took a puff of the slightly moldy cigarette.

After being stored for a long time, the taste of the cigarette became spicy, and this one was no exception.

"I haven't smoked for many years," Qi Xia said.

"Yes, quitting is good," Officer Li nodded, "Quitting is good for your health..."

After saying that, he paused, and the two fell into silence.

They slowly exhaled smoke, like classmates who used to hide in the bathroom to smoke during school days.

"What about the second bell?" Qi Xia asked, "Was there new text on the screen?"

"No," Officer Li shook his head, holding the cigarette, "When the second bell rang, the text disappeared."

Qi Xia stared thoughtfully at the cigarette in his hand, feeling that something was still off.

"What does this mean?" Qi Xia asked, "That bell isn't a 'death knell,' but some other kind of warning."

"Leave that to you to figure out," Officer Li leaned against the wall, smoking his last cigarette, "I'm just telling you what I saw. You have a better chance of surviving here than I do."

"Why?" Qi Xia asked, somewhat unwillingly, "Why can't you survive here?"

"Because I'm a police officer," Officer Li smiled, raising his broken right arm, "I lost this hand saving Lawyer Zhang. I could have ignored her, but I couldn't let her die. But you're different... Qi Xia, you have no burdens."

Qi Xia seemed to understand Officer Li's meaning.

This man had always wanted to save everyone from the beginning.

His principles had never changed.

These principles would cost him his life here.

Qi Xia nodded solemnly and asked, "You didn't leave me alone just to tell me these things, right?"

"Yes..." Officer Li's face became even paler, "Qi Xia, I have a secret that I've never told anyone. I don't want to die with this secret, so I want to tell it before I die."

"Why me?" Qi Xia asked, puzzled, "You could have told Lawyer Zhang."

"Because you and 'he' are both liars..." Officer Li smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Although you don't look alike, it seems like fate."

After listening, Qi Xia raised his cigarette and took a deep puff, then said, "Go on, I'm listening."

Officer Li's eyes were lifeless as he slowly recounted his "true" story.

For a full ten minutes, Qi Xia listened quietly to everything he said.

Qi Xia's eyes flickered, as if he had heard something completely unbelievable.

"Officer Li... So you lied so much in the first game?" His lips trembled as he asked.

Qi Xia had always found Officer Li's story strange, but he never expected him to have lied throughout with such a huge lie.

"Yes," Officer Li's eyes instantly turned red, "This is the biggest mistake of my life..."

"Just a 'mistake'?!" Qi Xia frowned and stood up, his previous admiration for Officer Li gone, "You colluded with that liar, trying to help him escape, and you lied to us, saying you were on stakeout...? I may not be a model citizen, but I despise corrupt cops the most."

Officer Li tilted his head back, and tears streamed down his face.

"Yes, a corrupt cop..." Officer Li smiled bitterly, "I wasn't surprised to be here because I felt this was my 'judgment'..."

"What..."

Qi Xia frowned and looked at Officer Li coldly.

"Maybe dying here will atone for my sins..."

Just as Officer Li finished speaking, a loud bell rang from a distance.

"Clang!!"

Qi Xia turned to look outside, his face full of shock.

Why did the bell ring again?

What was written on the screen this time?

Officer Li, as if he hadn't heard anything, extended his trembling hand to pick up the empty cigarette pack from the ground and took out a cigarette.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal lighter.

In Qi Xia's incredulous gaze, Officer Li relit the cigarette and smiled with relief.

Then he slowly lowered his head, seemingly talking to himself, "Qi Xia, dying will atone for my sins..."

Qi Xia was stunned, looked at the perfectly clean cigarette in his mouth, and felt the situation was very strange.

"Hey... Li Shangwu, don't die yet..." Qi Xia rushed to Officer Li's side and knelt down, only to find that he had already stopped breathing.

He still had the cigarette in his mouth and a somewhat old Zippo lighter in his hand.