Beneath the Dome, Sin within Sins - Chapter 77 - Text Message

Director Su! I mean, can’t you just use your brain for once? Have you ever stopped to think? If you had rushed in and there were suddenly a group of people inside, wouldn’t that’ve been the end for you?”

“Senior, I…”

“What do you mean, ‘I’? I know seeing Jiang Wu roam free makes you anxious, but no matter how anxious you are, you can’t behave like this! Let me tell you something harsh: if you barged in and got yourself killed, that’d be a minor issue. What I’m really afraid of-you know what it is, don’t you?”

“Wha… what?” Guilt flickered across Su Mo’s eyes. I could tell the kid was starting to take my words seriously.

“Alerting the enemy!”

When I said those four words, Su Mo stared at me in shock. “No way. Aren’t all of this Jiang Wu’s doing?”

“Jiang Wu’s doing? Ha!” I gave a scoff and said, “Let me tell you something. All Jiang Wu did was sell a bottle of perfume. The investigation results haven’t even come out yet, so we don’t know if the perfume works at all. Even if it does work, why are you so certain that all of this was orchestrated by Jiang Wu?

Let me remind you, Jiang Wu is penniless right now. His so-called relatives only hung out with him and indulged him when he had money to spare. The moment he fell into hard times, they all treated him like a plague to avoid.

Tell me, with someone in Jiang Wu’s situation, how could he possibly have the ability to pull off a scheme this elaborate?!”

My words seemed to have completely shaken Su Mo. He stood there, his mouth agape, stunned for a moment before finally saying, “You… you mean the murderer is someone else?!”

“The fact that you could even say that means you’ve completely forgotten about the bandaged man, haven’t you?” I said, shaking my head helplessly. Su Mo, this guy-sometimes, he could be really dense.

“No, I haven’t forgotten. It’s just… there’s no reason for him to help Jiang Wu like this, right? I mean, these actions are crimes so severe, even being executed ten thousand times wouldn’t be enough to atone for them.”

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “You think the bandaged man is helping Su Mo? Let me tell you something: from start to finish, the bandaged man hasn’t helped anyone.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Ever since the first mutant incident, that bandaged man has been playing a game of chess. It might seem like we’ve played a major role in all of this, but in reality, we’ve been completely useless. Haven’t you noticed? Out of all these cases, only the first one was actually solved by us. As for the rest, either the murderer waltzed right into our hands or they surrendered themselves.”

Did the bandaged man have a hand in all of this?

Truthfully, I’ve had my suspicions for quite some time. But it wasn’t until that night that I was finally certain-not only was the bandaged man involved, but he was also a master puppeteer, flawlessly orchestrating the movements of every piece on the board. Not a single misstep, not even the slightest hitch.

This is precisely why I wouldn’t let Su Mo bring Jiang Wu to justice just yet.

On one hand, I wanted to cast a long line to catch the big fish. On the other hand, I was wary of the people pulling the strings above Jiang Wu. The bandaged man’s schemes were just the tip of the iceberg-who knew what other traps he might still have in store for us?

“So what do we do now? Just leave him alone?” Su Mo asked.

“And what exactly do you propose? Haul them in and prosecute them right this second? Listen, here’s what we’re going to do: pack up and leave, go back and set up a few secret posts here. That way, we won’t have to worry about them slipping away.”

With that said, I didn’t bother waiting to hear whether Su Mo understood or not. I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out.

Though clearly unwilling, Su Mo eventually yielded to my reasoning and reluctantly returned to the bureau with me to begin planning the setup.

It was already nightfall by then, and both of us hadn’t had a proper meal. So we decided to find a quiet, elegant restaurant where we could eat and chat at the same time.

But just as we had ordered and were waiting for the waiter to bring our food, I suddenly received a text message. The moment I read the contents, the expression on my face instantly froze.

Su Mo quickly noticed something was off. “Hey, are you okay? What’s going on?” he asked, concerned.

I forced out an awkward laugh and shook my head. As I was about to put my phone away, Su Mo suddenly grabbed my hand, clearly annoyed. “What are you hiding now?!”

I paused, momentarily baffled by his reaction, but it didn’t take long for me to figure it out.

Su Mo had told me time and time again-anything unusual must be reported to him. He was probably furious at me now for trying to keep something to myself.

You know what? Fine. Telling him wouldn’t hurt. If anything, one more person in the loop could only help.

With that thought, I handed him my phone.

When Su Mo saw the phone I handed him, his expression changed slightly. “Damn it! This is infuriating. I’m going with you!”

At this point, you’re probably wondering what exactly was on that phone to make both Su Mo and me react so dramatically.

Honestly, it wasn’t anything particularly elaborate. It was just an anonymous message sent to me by an unknown sender.

The message read: “Meet me at the pharmaceutical factory on the outskirts of town at 10 PM.”

“Don’t overreact. It could very well be a prank,” I said, trying to calm Su Mo down.

But as soon as the words left my mouth, another message came through: “Don’t think this is a prank. If you don’t come, this case will become a cold one.”

If there’s a thing called instant karma, I experienced it today with this text.

“Looks like we don’t have a choice-we’ve got to go,” Su Mo said, looking dead serious.

I frowned slightly. “If I’m not mistaken, this message is meant for me, not both of us.”

“No way! It’s too dangerous for you to go alone. Besides, the message doesn’t explicitly say no one can accompany you. Senior, let me go with you! I promise I won’t cause trouble!”

Whether Su Mo would cause trouble, I wasn’t entirely sure, but given his notoriously fiery temper, the prospect was concerning.

When I didn’t respond immediately, Su Mo took it as me rejecting him and started pestering me nonstop, stubbornly persisting.

At this rate, I had every reason to believe that if I didn’t agree, my night would get a whole lot worse.

“Fine, I’ll let you come, but you have to promise me one thing.”

The moment I said this, Su Mo’s tension eased, and he nodded repeatedly. “Don’t worry! Not just one thing, I’d agree to a hundred things if you asked!”

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but shake my head with a bit of exasperation. “Relax, it’s not a hundred things. I just need you to promise: once we get to the pharmaceutical factory, you’ll do exactly as I say. No acting on your own-at all.”

I said this with a level of seriousness that left no room for negotiation. If Su Mo couldn’t follow this condition, he could forget about joining me again for any future tasks.

“This…”

Seeing his hesitation, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Clearly, this was asking too much of someone like Su Mo, who hated being told what to do.

Sensing his reluctance, I figured some tough love might be necessary.

“Oh, is that so? Then forget it-you’re not coming. I’ll handle this by myself.”

As I stood up and made a move to leave, Su Mo immediately grabbed the hem of my shirt, nodding frantically. “Fine, fine, fine! Whatever you say goes!”

While his words sounded agreeable, his attitude left me skeptical. Was he really going to follow my lead, or was this just lip service?

Still, I didn’t have the time or patience to debate this further. We were running out of time before the meeting.

And so, with Su Mo in tow, I headed to the pharmaceutical factory.