"This must be it!" Liu Yuning gritted his teeth and replied.
I dared not speak, my eyes fixed on the distance, but there was no movement at all...
As minute after minute ticked by, just as we were about to give up hope of any support, the rumbling sound of armored vehicles echoed from all directions around the iron tower, accompanied by the drone of helicopter engines.
"See! Dad, Mom, everyone's here!"
Li Fan, Zhao Xiong, and others, leading countless police officers, arrived at Lester. As soon as they did, they began spraying smoke and liquid from the helicopters and vehicles onto the ground. For some unknown reason, the rats that came into contact with these substances immediately seemed poisoned, struggling on the ground before perishing.
It wasn't until they approached us that we descended from the iron tower. I saw Xie Chuchu, Xiao Yuande, Xiahou, Dao Zhi Yong, and Xia Xiaoling, all emerging with the help of SWAT and armed police. They were indeed safe!
Once the Punishing Sin Squad members were all reunited, joy filled the air. We then joined the police and some personnel in heavy protective suits to commence a rat extermination operation throughout Lester!
This undertaking was estimated to take a considerable amount of time, but we wasted no moments, spraying everywhere with our aerosol cans. During this process, Li Fan informed me, "While you were busy here, we had already received information and begun developing an antidote for the rats. If Professor Xia and Professor Huo hadn't asked us to wait a bit longer, we would have come much sooner. But they were right; this agent is indeed highly effective in eliminating the rats!"
"I see. I thought you weren't coming," I said, feeling relieved.
"Of course, we would! What were you thinking? I actually wanted to join this operation from the start, but you only sent the Punishing Sin Squad back then."
"Mhm, please tell Captain Guo from Gaogang City that his brother..."
"I understand. I knew him before. That guy is quite a talent. If he hadn't been impulsive in his youth and had to come here to work, he'd probably be even more accomplished than his brother now. This person simply doesn't care for being a high-ranking official; he prefers to dedicate himself to places with high crime rates!"
"Oh? So Zhengxiong is that kind of person?"
"Otherwise?"
The cleanup operation continued from 6 AM until late into the following night. Once the rats were all cleared and Lester returned to normal, many lives had already been lost. We could only proceed with disinfection and then temporarily depart.
During the process, we apprehended the cement factory director and several employees. They have now all been escorted to the interrogation rooms at our provincial headquarters.
These individuals are suspected of being involved in the research of the red-eyed rats and have now been brought to justice.
Of course, Li Fan and his team handled the initial work. By the time we were on our way back, the interrogation phase had already begun.
The director's name is Yin Deyuan, 45 years old. He had never left Lester. It is said his wife is British and a local resident of Lester. Originally, Lester was like a Chinatown, a special residential area for foreigners in China. Recalling it now, I felt a sense of encountering something akin to "Detective Chinatown," but this was now "Lester Strange Case."
It sounds a bit ironic, but this incident was ultimately completed successfully. This was the conclusion I reached when I confirmed that the person in the interrogation room was indeed Yin Deyuan.
"Yin Deyuan, tell us everything truthfully. We've seen what you've done in Lester. Did you produce those rats?"
"We certainly couldn't produce rats. I don't understand what's going on with those creatures. We rarely see rats normally, so why are there so many this time? And those rats even eat people!"
What was this guy doing? Was he questioning me back? I couldn't help but want to laugh, causing Xia Xiaoling, who was interrogating with me, to wear a somewhat wry smile.
"Tell me, you don't know?" Xia Xiaoling spoke first.
"I don't know. Oh, no, you're arresting me because you think I have something to do with this? No way! I really don't know! That... I am indeed the director of the cement factory, but the rat plague has nothing to do with me!"
"Heh, you're quite good at evading responsibility. Do you think saying this will make us stop suspecting you? The cement factory had the most severe rat plague. Everyone would naturally think about the source of this plague... You don't know yourself?"
"So what? I haven't been to the cement factory in a long time. When your people caught me, didn't they find me in a tall building?"
At that time, our people had found a clue indicating Yin Deyuan was on a building not far from the factory. The place seemed like a shelter; besides him, some Lester citizens were also living there. It appeared they had been trapped there for quite some time.
But as the owner of the cement factory, we police could not believe Yin Deyuan was uninvolved. Yet, he was now trying to exonerate himself. Honestly, I had expected from the beginning that he wouldn't confess easily. His face was narrow at the forehead, indicating a sinister and cunning person.
"You're unwilling to talk, aren't you? Then don't blame us for being impolite! We will continue to investigate you. Now that you are a suspect and in custody, once the police have their eye on you, confessing will only be a matter of time! Please understand this!" I said sternly.
"But I really didn't do it. It's not good for you to frame me like this, is it? Are you going to make me take the blame just because you can't find any other mastermind? Police officers, you can't do this, you can't do this!"
This guy was full of supposed grievances, his face filled with fear and tension, making it seem as though he might genuinely be innocent. It almost made me waver for a moment. In fact, we hadn't found any crucial evidence directly linking him to the rat plague. Perhaps we should let it go for now; this fellow would certainly not admit anything. Seeing me and Xia Xiaoling stand up to leave, Yin Deyuan called out, "What are you doing? Are you not asking anymore?"
"Asking your head! Didn't you say you didn't do it? We'll go find some evidence, you wait!" Xia Xiaoling retorted impatiently, leaving with me without looking back. However, we didn't leave immediately. Instead, we stood in the observation room, looking in through the one-way glass.
"Looking at his reaction now, even if this person isn't the main culprit, he's undeniably connected to this rat plague. The evidence is still insufficient; we'll have to go back to the scene and take another look!"
"Even though that place is disgusting and might still have rats, there's no other way. We have to go back."