Chapter 2459: Chapter 2460: You Are Still Human

“With your capabilities at that time, killing Fang Daye would’ve been easy. There was no need to lie low for five years.”

“Indeed.” Zhang Long also felt somewhat emotional as he said:

“Revenge was my wish, and although I’m not afraid of death, I still have foster parents.”

Lin Yi didn’t speak, just quietly listening.

“After learning about Fang Daye’s whereabouts, I went home to see my foster parents. Even though our living conditions improved, they’ve also grown older, sigh…”

Zhang Long kept sighing, “After I was transferred back to the village, everyone, men, women, old, and young, came to see me. They praised me for being successful and said that their years of raising a son had finally paid off, as I could now return to care for them in their old age.”

“Hearing those words, I felt troubled. If I were really caught, who would care for them and see them through to their end? That’s why I devised this plan.”

Lin Yi also lit a cigarette, “Disguising and going undercover as another identity, right?”

“Right, this way no one can trace it back to me. After all, the person who killed them is someone who doesn’t even exist.” Zhang Long explained:

“From that moment, I changed my name to Zhang Long and got a fake ID. I’ve been living in seclusion in Xiangyang Village. But my parents don’t know; I only tell them that I work in Zhong Hai, boasting about a decent job. They’re country folk who don’t understand such matters, so they didn’t ask much.”

“After infiltrating Jindou Village, I quickly encountered Fang Daye, and as luck would have it, Ma Haiqiang was also with him. No one suspected my identity.”

“At that time, I had the chance to take my revenge, but killing just those two wasn’t enough, so I didn’t rush to act.”

“Over the following years, I kept gathering information on Wang Jiasu, Song Lin, and Li Hongzhu. It wasn’t until half a year ago that I fully grasped these people’s whereabouts and devised a comprehensive plan for revenge.”

“But why would you choose such a bizarre method? I don’t think it was necessary.”

“These are two separate matters,” he replied.

Zhang Long laughed, saying:

“The reason I used the Five Elements method to kill them is because an old lady once told me that people who die this way will descend into the eighteen levels of hell and won’t be able to transcend.”

“You believe in that stuff?” Lin Yi laughed, “With all the education you’ve received over the years, that doesn’t seem like something you’d do.”

“Indeed, I’m an atheist. Doing this was just for my own peace of mind. The more they suffer, the more relief I feel,” Zhang Long said:

“But Fang Daye couldn’t endure much; I barely laid hands on him before he died, which let him off easy.”

Lin Yi listened silently, recalling the gruesome details of the cases.

Ma Haiqiang’s legs were broken.

Wang Jiasu was electrocuted to death.

Song Lin was burned to death.

Li Hongzhu, who had been ruthless enough to kill, had his bones broken and was thrown from the building.

In comparison, Fang Daye indeed seemed lucky.

“So why did you provoke me?” Lin Yi asked with a smile, “Do you really think I’m that impressive? Did it stir your competitive spirit?”

“It just so happened at the time, I got into a conflict with Ma Haiqiang, and you came to investigate. I could tell at a glance that you were not ordinary, that you must be highly skilled, and my competitive nature kicked in, a case of a skilled person taking bold chances,” Zhang Long said:

“However, when I killed Wang Jiasu and Song Lin, I wasn’t thinking about provoking you, just wanted to be careful and make sure they died. Until one day, I saw you at the nursing home, that’s when I realized something was amiss. You were linking these cases together, so I had to do something.”

“So your approach was to continue provoking me?”

“You misunderstand, my plan wasn’t to provoke you, but to kill you,” said Zhang Long:

“When I learned the situation was exposed, I planned to go to Yanjing at once and kill Li Hongzhu. Coincidentally, he wasn’t in Yanjing at that time, so I could only wait for his return.”

“But right after he returned, he met with the police first. I knew I had to act fast, or I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“After that female officer left, I entered Li Hongzhu’s home immediately, killed him, and then threw him from the building.”

“Why dispose of the body that way? It was completely unnecessary.”

“I needed to vent!”

Zhang Long’s fists clenched tightly, his teeth grinding in anger.

“I wanted him to suffer more! Merely killing him would be letting him off too easily!”

Lin Yi took out another cigarette, offered it to Zhang Long, and then lit it for him.

The white smoke curled in front of his eyes, and his angry emotions calmed down.

“I was well aware of the situation at that time. You were bound to come soon; all I could do was throw him down.”

“In the moment of throwing him, I saw the police car, I knew you were here, so I didn’t choose to run. Instead, I pried open the door across the hall because I had scouted the place beforehand. I knew that the apartment was up for rent and waited quietly until it was empty before slipping out.”

“Finally, while I was following you, I was certain that you’re a formidable opponent, perhaps even my equal, so I was resolute in wanting to kill you, but I ultimately failed.”

“I think you’re not afraid of failure,” Lin Yi said:

“As long as you continue to disguise yourself, you’ll become someone else, and no one will know that you killed those five people.”

“Yes, I’m not too worried, until a few days ago when I heard my parents were beaten. I rushed back home in haste, learned the whole story, and realized you all were staying in the town.”

“But you didn’t act immediately. You must have had doubts about this incident.”

“At that time, my dad said someone wanted to build a flour mill and take our land, but negotiations over the price led to a conflict. I found it odd since an investment like building a mill shouldn’t come to our village. So, I did some digging, heh…”

Zhang Long gave a self-deprecating laugh, saying:

“After checking, I found similar information on Jinling’s official website. It was official business, so I took it for granted without much suspicion. I didn’t expect it was a trap you’d set for me, really impressive, not something just anyone could manage.”

“I think, even if you hadn’t seen that information, you would have come anyway.”

“How did you know.” Zhang Long looked at Lin Yi with surprise and confusion in his eyes.

“The various signs show that you’re still a person of deep feelings, whether it’s for your birth parents or foster parents. They’re your Achilles heel. And it’s precisely for that reason that I’m willing to have a chat with you,” Lin Yi said with a smile, gesturing with the half-smoked cigarette in his hand.

“In this world, there aren’t many people I’d sit and smoke with.”