Chapter 60 I have no regrets, but I have a few regrets.

Criminal Investigation Detachment of Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau.

The conference room was filled with smoke.

Yuan Jianhua stubbed out his cigarette hard in the overflowing ashtray, raised his wrist to check the time: 9:07 AM, exactly 73 hours since Bai Xiao and Xu Zhi went missing.

"How's it going? Still can't get through on the phone?"

Technical investigator Xiao Wu took off his earphones, his throat dry: "It's off. The last signal was from behind the steel plant in the northern suburbs, and then it disappeared completely."

Where's the car?

"The car was found near the slag heap at the steel plant in the northern suburbs. The key was still in the ignition, the doors were unlocked, and the seats were covered in blood. After DNA testing, it was confirmed to be Xu Zhi's. Given the amount of blood loss, the chances of him surviving are very low..." Xiao Wu swallowed hard, not daring to continue.

Yuan Jianhua stared grimly at the blood-stained Santana on the projection screen. The bloodstains on the seats were splattered, but there were no signs of a struggle, indicating that Xu Zhi had been controlled or had already lost consciousness before getting into the car.

This is not an ordinary kidnapping; this is a murder plot.

Yuan Jianhua said with red eyes, "Investigate all the gangs we've dismantled in the past three years, and focus on marking those who have vowed to 'pay for their blood debts' when they get out."

"Notify the technical investigation team, forensic experts, and special police to seal off a five-kilometer radius around the steel plant, set up roadblocks at all intersections, and launch drones. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we will find him today!"

The air seemed to have been sucked out, and everyone dared not breathe.

Suddenly, Xiao Li, who was on duty, pushed open the door and rushed in.

"Director Yuan! Captain Bai... Captain Bai is back!"

Everyone was stunned for two seconds.

Yuan Jianhua immediately put down his work and was the first to rush out.

When he arrived at the gate, he saw Bai Xiao for the first time.

He looked somewhat surprised.

Because Bai Xiao's clothes were covered in blood, it looked as if he had been through a fierce battle and had only managed to escape.

Before Yuan Jianhua could ask what was going on, Bai Xiao suddenly pulled out a pair of gleaming handcuffs and slowly walked up to him.

"I'm here to turn myself in."

"Turn yourself in?" Yuan Jianhua looked at him in confusion, unable to figure out what Bai Xiao was up to.

"I killed someone." Bai Xiao stepped forward slowly and offered his hands: "I orchestrated both Lu Yao's case and Zhao Qiangdong's case."

These words were spoken.

The entire corridor fell silent instantly.

Everyone looked at each other in shock.

Yuan Jianhua's heart skipped a beat, a chill ran up from the soles of his feet to his head, and cold sweat instantly soaked the back of his shirt.

"Bai Xiao, you can't joke about that."

"Do you think I would joke about my future?" Bai Xiao looked at Yuan Jianhua, his eyes calm.

Yuan Jianhua took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and waved to disperse the young criminal police officers who were watching: "Get back to your posts!"

"Go to the interrogation room, I will ask you questions myself."

Bai Xiao had just stepped into the interrogation room when he suddenly stopped. The handcuffs clattered against the door frame with a crisp sound.

He turned his head and said in a low voice, "By the way, Xu Zhi is still alive."

"You can still make it to my house now. If you are an hour later, he might really be dead."

Yuan Jianhua's pupils constricted sharply, and he roared, "Xiao Wang, immediately take the special police and medical team to Bai Xiao's residence!"

...

In the interrogation room.

Bai Xiao sat on the iron chair, his back still straight, but his hands were neatly placed on his knees.

Yuan Jianhua poured Bai Xiao a glass of water and pushed it towards him, then opened a drawer, took out a voice recorder, and pressed the red button.

"Name."

"White Owl".

"Position".

"Criminal police officer of the First Brigade of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau."

Reasons for surrendering oneself.

"Intentional homicide".

"Did you commit the crimes against Zhao Qiangdong and Lu Yao?"

"yes."

"He gave a detailed account of the crime."

Bai Xiao recalled for a few seconds, then slowly said, "I started paying attention to Lu Yao's case at the end of last year. She is very clever, using the sympathy of cat lovers to gain traffic and money. Actually, I wouldn't kill her for doing these things, but what she shouldn't have done was to use the slogan of protecting animals while engaging in the act of torturing and killing animals. This disgusts me."

"So you killed someone?" Yuan Jianhua looked at Bai Xiao as if he were looking at a complete stranger.

"I didn't kill people, I killed beasts."

Bai Xiao said this as a matter of course.

What about Zhao Qiangdong's case?

"He's a beast. He takes his wife's hard-earned money, goes out to indulge in debauchery, and tips female live streamers. When he comes home, he beats and kicks his wife and daughters. People like that deserve to die."

"How did you avoid the cameras in both cases?"

"Lu Yao's residential area is a high-end community, and Zhao Qiangdong's hotel is a five-star hotel. The surveillance is all-encompassing. To others, killing someone under such high-definition cameras is a fantasy, but it's very simple for me. I can kill someone and then use my position to delete the footage from the surveillance. Don't forget that Xu Zhi and I have always been in charge of this. If you don't believe me, you can check the surveillance footage from Lu Yao's doorstep and the hotel elevator entrance. There are traces of deletion in them."

Enraged, Yuan Jianhua slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Do you know how many people's trust you've destroyed with your words? This police uniform represents the dignity that so many people have risked their lives to protect, yet you use it to cover up your crimes. Do you deserve this uniform? Do you deserve those eight characters on the wall?"

Bai Xiao turned around and looked at the eight large characters on the wall.

Uphold the law impartially and safeguard justice.

He suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with sarcasm.

"Do you think we're upholding justice?"

Isn't that so?

"Stop deceiving yourself." Bai Xiao's voice was terrifyingly calm: "What we are upholding is not justice, but order, the order stipulated by law."

“No matter how imperfect the law may be, it is still the cornerstone of society. If everyone were to replace the law with vigilante justice like you, the world would be in chaos,” Yuan Jianhua said with exasperation.

"I have no regrets."

Bai Xiao raised his head, a hint of determination in his eyes.

Yuan Jianhua fell silent instantly.

After a few seconds of silence, he changed the subject: "What about Xu Zhi? He didn't do anything wrong, so why did you want to kill him?"

“He saw something he shouldn’t have seen. I originally planned to kill him, but after all, we were master and disciple, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. If he’s alive, he’ll definitely report me, so I might as well turn myself in and get leniency for confessing.”

"Although your explanation is reasonable and well-founded, I still find it hard to believe that you would kill someone." Yuan Jianhua looked at him with mixed feelings.

"Evidence doesn't lie."

Just then, Yuan Jianhua's phone rang.

Yuan Jianhua glanced at his phone screen; the caller ID showed Xiao Wang.

He walked outside the interrogation room, pressed the call button, and said in a deep voice.

"How is the situation?"

"Director Yuan, the person has been found!"

Xiao Wang's voice, mixed with the urgent siren, said: "He is in shock due to blood loss, but there is still a weak pulse in his carotid artery. The ambulance is on its way to the First Municipal Hospital."

"That's good, that's good." Yuan Jianhua breathed a sigh of relief.

"And another thing," Xiao Wang lowered his voice, "we found the murder weapon in the White Team's storage room, along with crime scene photos, and we're expediting fingerprint and DNA comparisons."

Yuan Jianhua gripped his phone tightly, veins bulging: "Seal and number all physical evidence, cordon off the area, and wait for me to arrive."

Two days later, the fingerprints and DNA extracted from the murder weapon by the police matched Bai Xiao perfectly, and Bai Xiao also confessed to his actions.

The Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau issued a notice the following day, dismissing Bai Xiao from public office and launching a three-month disciplinary rectification campaign.

Because the evidence was conclusive, the case quickly entered into a summary procedure.

...

Two weeks later.

Jiangcheng Intermediate People's Court.

Bai Xiao sat silently in the defendant's seat.

"After deliberation by the collegial panel, the defendant Bai Xiao is found guilty of intentional homicide and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, and deprivation of political rights for life..."

The gavel fell heavily, the sound like a muffled thunderclap rolling across the gallery.

As White Owl was escorted out of the courtroom by bailiffs, his back remained straight.

He looked up at the last row of the audience section, where there was an empty seat. Xu Zhi should have been sitting there, but he hadn't shown up since the day he was rescued.

The steps leading to the courthouse were packed with reporters.

Upon seeing Bai Xiao emerge, a crowd surged forward.

"Bai Xiao, did you think this day would come when you killed him? Do you regret it now?" a reporter shouted.

Bai Xiao stopped and slowly said, "People will eventually pay the price for their actions. No one can escape the punishment of the law. Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent. I have no regrets, only a little regret."

After saying that, Bai Xiao felt a great sense of relief.

I looked up and took one last look at the azure sky.

Then, escorted by bailiffs, they walked step by step toward the transport vehicle and disappeared into the crowd.