Chapter 3: The Serpent Case (Part Three)

The warehouse lights flickered, casting erratic shadows, while the rhythmic ticking of a countdown clock pierced the silence of the cavernous space. Li Rui stood his ground, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Aside from the man before him, the warehouse was packed with shipping containers, and the air was thick with the sharp scent of gasoline.

"You want to know the truth from three years ago?" The man’s voice remained electronically distorted. "Then let’s play a game."

He pressed a remote in his hand, and several floodlights lining the sides of the warehouse surged to life, illuminating six containers. Each was marked with a number from one to six.

"Five of these contain bombs, and only one holds the case files from three years ago," the man said. "You have thirty minutes to choose. Pick correctly, and you stop the explosion; pick wrong..." He gestured toward the countdown clock overhead. "The entire shipyard will be reduced to ashes."

Li Rui asked calmly, "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" The man’s voice suddenly surged with emotion. "Because three years ago, my sister was murdered by the Lin family! And those who call themselves 'justice' chose to remain silent!"

Li Rui felt a jolt. In the serial murder case from three years ago, the death of a young girl had indeed been ruled a suicide, though he had found it suspicious at the time.

"Your sister is... Lin Xiaoman?"

The man ripped off his mask, revealing a face ravaged by scars. "That’s right. I am Lin Xiaoman’s brother, Lin Xiuwen!"

Li Rui gasped. Lin Xiuwen, the eldest son of the Lin Group, had supposedly "died" in a car accident three years ago. It appeared that the accident had likely been a fabrication by the Lin family to silence him.

"You think Lin Xiuyuan is my brother?" Lin Xiuwen sneered. "He is nothing but a fraud, a puppet the Lin family found to replace me!"

Li Rui’s mind raced. He finally understood why Lin Xiuyuan’s background file was filled with contradictions, and why the killer had been guiding them to investigate the Lin family. Everything had been leading to the exposure of this earth-shattering secret.

"Now, make your choice." Lin Xiuwen raised the remote. "Time is running out."

Li Rui looked at the six containers and suddenly noticed a detail: there were faint water stains at the base of the container marked "3." This shipyard had been abandoned for years; why would there be water stains?

He recalled the Fibonacci sequence he had found at the club: 7-13-21-34-55. Following the logic of the sequence, the next number should be 89, and 8+9=17, 1+7=8.

But there were only six containers here...

Suddenly, it clicked. Li Rui walked quickly to the container marked "3" and felt along the bottom. Sure enough, he found a hidden compartment containing a key.

"Clever," Lin Xiuwen applauded. "But the game isn't over yet."

He pressed the remote, and the container door creaked open. Inside was not a bomb, but a massive display screen. It showed five different locations, each with its own countdown timer.

"This is the real game," Lin Xiuwen said. "Bombs have been planted at all these locations, and the control terminal is at one of them. You must find it and disarm the explosives within an hour."

Li Rui immediately pulled out his phone and sent the coordinates to Captain Zhang. At the same time, he noticed a flickering snake-shaped symbol in the bottom right corner of the screen.

"Wait," he muttered, staring at the emblem. "This pattern..."

Lin Xiuwen smiled. "Only just noticed? This symbol isn't just my mark; it’s a coordinate."

Li Rui had an epiphany. Every turn in the snake-shaped symbol corresponded to a latitude and longitude coordinate. Connecting them formed a single address: the headquarters of the Lin Group.

"The control terminal is at the Lin building?" Li Rui asked.

Lin Xiuwen nodded. "Exactly. In Lin Xiuyuan’s office. However..." He glanced at his watch. "You only have 55 minutes left."

Li Rui turned to leave, but Lin Xiuwen called out, "Wait, take this." He tossed a flash drive to Li Rui. "This contains all the evidence of the Lin family’s crimes. If you can stop the explosions, make it public."

Li Rui caught the drive and gave Lin Xiuwen a long look. "Why don't you do it yourself?"

"Because I have one last thing to do." Lin Xiuwen opened his jacket, revealing explosives strapped to his body. "I am going to make this place the grave of the Lin family."

Li Rui realized his intent. "No, you can't—"

"Go!" Lin Xiuwen roared. "There's no time!"

Li Rui gritted his teeth and sprinted toward the exit. The moment he bolted from the warehouse, a deafening blast erupted behind him, the massive shockwave throwing him to the ground.

He scrambled to his feet and looked back. The warehouse was engulfed in a sea of flames. Lin Xiuwen had used his own life to bring this revenge to an end.

But there was no time to grieve. Li Rui checked his watch: 50 minutes remained. He jumped into his car and sped toward the Lin Group headquarters.

On the way, he contacted Captain Zhang, demanding the immediate evacuation of the Lin building. Simultaneously, he sent the data from the flash drive to several major media outlets.

When he arrived at the building, there were 40 minutes until the explosions. Li Rui dashed into the elevator and headed straight for the top-floor office. However, when he kicked the door open, he was met by the sight of Lin Xiuyuan pointing a gun at him.

"Forensic Examiner Li," Lin Xiuyuan sneered. "You’re just in time."

Li Rui raised his hands. "Lin Xiuyuan—or should I call you by your real name? The fraud?"

Lin Xiuyuan’s expression turned savage. "Shut up! I am Lin Xiuyuan!"

"No, you aren't." Li Rui stepped forward slowly. "The real Lin Xiuyuan died in that car accident three years ago. You’re just a body double, a puppet the Lin family brought in to cover up the truth."

"You're lying!" Lin Xiuyuan’s hands began to tremble.

Li Rui seized the opportunity, lunging forward to disarm him. At that moment, a hidden door in the office opened, and an elderly man with white hair stepped out.

"Brilliant, truly brilliant," the old man applauded. "As expected of Forensic Examiner Li."

Li Rui recognized him—the founder of the Lin Group, Elder Lin.

"So, you were the one pulling the strings behind the scenes?" Li Rui asked.

Elder Lin sighed. "That boy Xiuwen was always too stubborn. If he had only been willing to listen, it wouldn't have come to this..."

"Come to what?" Li Rui pressed. "To being murdered by you?"

Elder Lin shook his head. "You don't understand. For the sake of the Lin family, some sacrifices are necessary."

Li Rui glanced at his watch. 20 minutes left. He had to find the terminal.

"Where is the control terminal?" he demanded.

Elder Lin smiled. "Right beneath your feet."

Li Rui looked down and saw a faint red light pulsing beneath the floorboards. He ripped back the carpet, revealing a complex control panel.

"It's useless," Elder Lin said. "Only I know the password."

Li Rui sneered. "Is that so? What about this?" He pulled out the flash drive and plugged it into the interface.

The screen lit up, and it began to automatically bypass the security. Elder Lin’s face went pale. "That's impossible!"

"This is what your son bought with his life," Li Rui said. "He anticipated that you would do this."

The security was breached, and the countdown stopped at five minutes. Li Rui let out a long breath and turned to face Elder Lin. "Now, it's time to settle your debts."

Just then, a swarm of police officers burst into the room. Captain Zhang’s team swarmed in and subdued Elder Lin and the fake Lin Xiuyuan. Li Rui handed the flash drive to the captain. "This contains all the evidence of the Lin family’s crimes."

Three days later, the scandal involving the Lin Group shocked the nation. Li Rui stood by the police station window, watching the setting sun. The three-year-long vendetta had finally come to an end, but he knew his work was far from over.

His phone buzzed. It was a text message from an unknown number:

"The game is over, but the truth will never be buried. Thank you, Forensic Examiner Li."

At the end of the message was a snake-shaped symbol, but this time, the snake’s eyes were closed.

Li Rui put his phone away and headed toward the morgue. New cases were waiting for him there. As a forensic examiner, his duty was to speak for the dead and fight for the truth.

And that battle would never end.