"You know now, it's not too late. Good, with your confession, we have grounds to apprehend Yi Chengwen," I said, satisfied, and looked at Liu Yuning.
As we walked out of the interrogation room, I handed the recording to Captain Guo. He praised it and immediately dispatched people to search for Yi Chengwen.
However, the guy had vanished. His phone signal couldn't be traced either.
It seemed he had discovered Di Leyin's capture. I went to the technical department of the Gangao City Police Station. Under He Xin's search, we found that Yi Chengwen's phone signal had last disappeared near Panlong Mountain.
Could this guy have hidden in the mountains? Panlong Mountain is very remote. I checked online; it has many densely packed mountain villages in Gangao City. If Yi Chengwen had really gone into the mountains, finding him would be very difficult.
But even so, we wouldn't give up. The special police team of Gangao City immediately cooperated with the criminal investigation team and set out. Liu Yuning and I were among them, and of course, Captain Guo couldn't be absent.
Within an hour, we had surrounded Panlong Mountain. Over 200 police officers began a sweep of the mountain. Around 6 PM, we arrived near a village called Luodong Village on Panlong Mountain. A tip mentioned that a person of Yi Chengwen's approximate height and weight had been seen in the vicinity a few minutes ago.
Our team immediately deployed drones to search within a 2-kilometer radius of Luodong Village. Yi Chengwen wouldn't have gone far in just a few minutes.
However, the drones sent out couldn't locate him. I then deployed Xiaodoudou, and the police dog unit was also mobilized.
Fortunately, before we went to look for Yi Chengwen, we had visited his accommodation. The police dogs already knew his scent. Following the scent, police dogs named Da Hei and Xiao Niu led the way and soon found a water gate near Luodong Village. There was a tall dam and several tall buildings standing above it.
Some villagers told us that the tall buildings were for the staff of the water gate to live in.
Looking at the majestic flowing water and the towering structures, we cautiously walked upstairs. Passing several giant water wheels and a corridor, we entered the building.
This was the path found by the police dogs; it should be correct.
Holding our police handguns, we ventured deeper into the building, which was filled with machinery.
If someone was hiding here, it would be difficult to find them. We could only proceed cautiously, spreading out into several groups, each group consisting of a few people, essentially sealing off every corner of the entire building. Now, only one room not far away remained. The words "Control Room" were written on the door.
Liu Yuning and I exchanged glances. Several SWAT officers moved to our front, guarding us from the sides. I bravely stepped forward and kicked open the door. Unexpectedly, a giant nearly two and a half meters tall rushed out from inside and slammed into me. This guy was none other than the Yi Chengwen we were trying to apprehend.
It turned out he was wearing a prosthetic leg used for circus performances, which made him look so tall. He stomped his prosthetic leg heavily on my calf, and I screamed in pain, almost passing out.
This thing seemed to be made of wood. If it were steel, my leg would probably be crippled.
He was incredibly strong, lifting me completely. "Back off! Or I'll kill him!"
Seeing me held hostage, the SWAT officers hesitated to advance, standing frozen in place.
Liu Yuning pointed her gun at him. "Yi Chengwen, you can't escape! Surrender now, and I can still plead for leniency with the judge!"
"Hmph! You actually found me here. I thought my disguise was impeccable." Yi Chengwen took off the prosthetic leg, and I followed him back to the ground.
He held a gun to my head. This guy actually had a gun; I didn't know how he got it.
I glanced at his gun and noticed it looked somewhat homemade.
"Back off!" Yi Chengwen roared again as the SWAT officers tried to move forward.
"Don't be nervous. I'm genuinely curious, why did you control those people to serve you? And how did you do it? Did you just use your fans? But they wouldn't kill for you, would they?" At this moment, instead of being nervous, I was filled with curiosity, even with the pain in my leg.
"You really want to know, Detective He? I'll tell you when we're all in hell!"
"No, tell me now, or I'm afraid you won't have the chance!"
"What are you talking about? I'll definitely escape!" As he spoke, Yi Chengwen suddenly picked up an ink marker and blew on it. He quickly chanted words: "Look at this ink marker. Imagine you are not facing a criminal, but a beautiful, natural tourist area. Relax your bodies completely, put down your weapons, and enter the tourist area to enjoy life!"
Initially, the police officers paid no attention. But for some reason, after Yi Chengwen looked at them with his peculiar, unfocused eyes, starting with Liu Yuning, everyone present gradually became dazed, as if they had become different people.
"Alright, you are all my people now. Leave here!" Yi Chengwen said.
At this moment, Liu Yuning slowly turned around with everyone, walked out of the water gate, and stood by the water downstairs, like puppets!
Seeing them like this, I was horrified. "Yi Chengwen, what did you do?"
"Hahaha! Detective He, didn't you see? They've all been hypnotized by me. You asked me how I did it just now. The principle is very simple. It's what I just did. I can make those fans become like them too. But to maintain it for a long time, I first give them a psychological suggestion, and then place a controller on them. When it's time to activate, I'll press a switch, and the controller will extend a small needle, causing pain to the hypnotized person."
"The activation method you give them is this pain?"
"Exactly, you could call it a trigger. When the pain arrives, they will enter the hypnotized state again. At that time, I will use this instrument in my hand to instill my thoughts into them, and they will naturally act according to my will!"
"Who gave you this instrument?"
"Haha, can't you tell I can't make these things?"
"Of course, aren't you just a novelist?"
"Since I can learn hypnotism, why wouldn't I learn physics? Detective He, you underestimate me too much!"
"You mean you designed all this yourself? So, where did you study hypnotism?" I asked. He pulled me and led me to a high platform outside the water gate.