Case Files 013

Chapter 71: Die a Hero

I understood something but not all. Human heart was the most complicated thing in the world, the death of five represented the rebirth of another 4. If the 16,000,000 RMB were split evenly, each would get 4,000,000 RMB. That wasn't that much in a big city but in a small town, it could last a lifetime. That night, Lee Taida said he wanted to buy a house and then invite his mother to move in with him; Zhao Erming wanted to go world-travelling; Lin Rou wanted to open a caf; Zhang Xue wanted to move to a place where no one knew her. With 4,000,000 RMB each, that was now all possible.

The night was darkening. Looking at the blinking stars, I was reminded of something. That fateful night on the rooftop was 2 years ago today. But now Zhou Guo was dead and Lee Taida was in detention. I wondered if they felt discomfited by that. The moonlight scattered on the floor.

"Come on." I patted Gu Chen beside me. "I'll bring you to find that missing 20,000,000 RMB tonight."

"But it's already so late." Gu Chen looked out the window. "Are you sure we can find it?"

Gu Chen and I came to the rooftop of Yu Cai High School's office building. I carried military grade night vision goggles with me. If I was not wrong, Zhang Xue's group would appear tonight. I had a feeling that Zhang Xue played a great role in Zhou Guo's death. If not for Zhang Xue, I wouldn't have known about what happened 2 years ago; if not for Zhang Xue, I wouldn't have seen the knot Zhou Guo taught her. Of course, this was all based on the presumption that Zhang Xue had unwittingly revealed these details to me. Or could Zhou Guo have arranged such details too? But how would the young man have known we would trail his group today?

While I was thinking, Gu Chen tapped my shoulder. "Someone's here." I accepted the goggles Gu Chen handed me. I looked through the distance and saw human figures appear on the opposite building's rooftop. I looked closer and confirmed it was indeed Zhang Xue's group but Lee Taida and Zhou Guo were conspicuously missing. There were only Zhang Xue, Lin Rou and Zhao Erming. The three looked at each other but didn't say anything. I saw Zhang Xue pull out something and hand them to the other two. In the dark, I could only make out that it was something thin. It dawned on me then. Those had to be bank cards. Had Zhou Guo planned everything 2 years ago when they gathered on that same rooftop?

The 2 were first startled before they broke into laughter and finally tears. Zhang Xue appeared to tell the two something and then we heard Zhao Erming's raspy voice growl, "Zhou Guo, you motherfucking idiot!"

As I expected, Zhang Xue knew about Zhou Guo's plan but she didn't stop him. I remembered Zhang Xue said that she had been to Zhou Guo's home before. Then she would have known that Zhou Guo's mother had already passed away but that was not what she said when I was at her home. Zhang Xue told me that Zhou Guo's mother was still suffering from paralysis but based on our observation of Zhou Guo's home, that was definitely not the case. In other words, this was not Zhou Guo's plan alone, it was a plan hatched together by Zhou Guo and Zhang Xue but Zhang Xue didn't look like someone who would trade Zhou Guo's life to achieve her own dream. Zhou Guo loved Zhang Xue deeply, perhaps he did this on his own volition, he hoped that the case would end with his death so that the police wouldn't investigate it further.

Zhou Erming was still screaming, eventually his shouts would attract the school security's attention. Gu Chen had no goggles so he had no idea what was happening, he pushed my shoulder and asked anxiously, "What's happening? The money is with those students?" I wanted to say yes but the words got lodged in my throat. The 20,000,000 RMB was traded with 5 lives. Gao Rui was always a kind person, everything that he did was for the betterment of others. Could his death be a way to help others too?

Lee Zhinan and Wang Yiman, they were both individuals of extreme loneliness, one had chosen to die quietly, the other with a bang. No one cared about their lives and soon, no one would care about their deaths. Were their deaths then a way to show kindness to these children, these younger versions of themselves? The kids who were lonely, abandoned and overlooked?

With regards to Ma Liliang, he had scammed so many people for 3 years, he chose death to seek salvation. Then who were we to deny him that?

The saddest though had to be Zhou Guo, his mother had died but he had to act like everything was normal. He was always smiling in class like there was nothing bothering him. How deep he must have hidden his scars. Zhou Guo chose to die to fulfil the dreams of others. He chose to die to give the police a closure, so that we could end the case with him.

So what should I do? Confiscate the money on the basis of its suspicious origin and squash these teens' dreams or just let the case end with Zhou Guo? Zhuo Guo had done his best to cover up his tracks. He even went so far as to launder the money so that his friends could use them without any legal problem. Furthermore, did I really have proof? The money came from winning the lottery, granted the money used to purchase the winning ticket was illegal but the people who knew about that were all dead. I had no witness.

If I took back the money, these teens would have to return to their parents who were by no means guardians. Could I really do that? Had Zhao Erming's mother continued to prostitute herself so that her son could attend school; had Lin Rou continued to suffer under an obsolete tradition of misogyny; had Zhang Xue return to that nightmare house where she was whored out by her father; had Lee Taida return to the life of crime? If the law was not to punish the bad but to limit the good, then what was the point of law?

Gu Chen nudged me again. "So what did you see?"

I shook my head and decided to let the sleeping dog lie. "Nah, I believe I got it wrong. The suicides have nothing to do with the students. Mary said that the stolen money probably has been moved to an offshore company, she's probably right. Sigh, and I thought we would intercept the money tonight." Gu Chen patted me and consoled, "The money is no longer a problem as long as there is no more death. Does that mean we can close the case now?" At this point, Gu Chen suddenly shook his head. "But how are we supposed to conclude this case anyway? Did the victims die from voluntary death or were they coerced by Zhou Guo?"

I was reminded of a poem by Cang Kejia, A person is alive, but he's already dead; A person is dead, but he lives on. In a city as big as Dong Xing City, in less than a day, these suicide victims would be forgotten by all but their closest family. However, perhaps even their family didn't know how magnificent they were before they died. Half of their bodies were sunken in darkness, swallowed by it but before they died, they did their best to save these teens from the same pool of darkness.

The next morning, an envelope arrived at the station. The sender was Zhou Guo, this was a letter addressed to us. Zhou Guo chose next day delivery, he had even calculated this. Other delivery services would have sent out the letter before he could commit suicide. I opened the envelope to see what it was that Zhou Guo wanted to tell us.

"When you read this, I would have committed suicide already. I did everything, I told those people to take their own lives like I am about to take mine. Perhaps you might not understand the reason why. I can't tell you why, it's the secret between us." With Zhou Guo's death, everyone who was involved in the money laundering was dead. The 20,000,000 RMB became an untraceable thing. "This world is very strange, some people are more useful dead than alive. Before this, I never understood why people would commit suicide. Since they were brave enough to die, why couldn't they find the courage to live? The answer is fear, because there are so many things in this world which are so much harder than dying.

"Some are permanently separated from their loved ones; some have their loved ones stolen away from them; some have to suffer extreme loneliness at night; Some have to suffer extreme guilt under the sun. Loneliness can kill, solitude can kill, melancholy can kill.

"Compared to living, dying is the easiest thing to do. Only the weak will choose suicide as the way out. That's not wrong. But since we're already here, we do not wish for our lives and deaths to be a waste. Suicidal emotions echo among kindred hearts. Sometimes I wonder why I can pinpoint easily what others cannot. Within the past year, I've seen multiple times the suicidal ideas within these 4 practically overflowing from their bodies but no one else could see it. Eventually I understood why... It was because I also had this seed of suicidal ideas within me. Only those who have suicidal thoughts can see them in others.

"Therefore, goodbye to this world. Goodbye Zhang Xue, Goodbye Lin Rou, Goodbye Zhang Taida, Zhao Erming. Goodbye. I am merely leaving one step ahead of you. You have to keep on living, take my life with you, bring me to see the world. Keep on living and complete your dreams.

"Your good friend, Zhou Guo."

Reading this letter, I was reminded of what Guan Zhenglin told me when we were outside the classroom, stealing the cyanide was probably the most brazen thing Zhou Guo would do in his life.

At the time, we had no idea how wrong we were. Zhou Guo had done more than stealing cyanide, he had stolen something more significant than that.