The Blue and Red Shadows
Li Changfeng's pace didn't falter as he turned the corner toward his hotel. An idling police cruiser sat outside, its red and blue lights casting rhythmic, clinical shadows against the peeling paint of the old walls. Li Changfeng was no ordinary convict; he was a man who had graduated from Yanjing University with a 3.8 GPA, and his mind was a high-speed processor trained to analyze complex variables under pressure.
Internal Monologue: "They've arrived. Faster than anticipated, but exactly as the logic dictated. A common criminal would turn and run, but in a world governed by reason, flight is a silent confession of guilt. A 'dying' victim like me has no reason to flee. The safest place to hide is right in the center of the hunter's gaze."
He adjusted the straps of his worn backpack, suppressed the sharp pang in his stomach, and walked directly toward the officers. At the top of the stairs, Detective Xia Zhixin stood waiting, his presence commanding the narrow hallway.
"Li Changfeng?" Xia's voice was an authoritative rumble as he flashed his badge. "You need to come with us to the station regarding a homicide investigation."
Li allowed a mask of perfect bewilderment to wash over his face. "Homicide? Officer... I've only been free for two days. All I've done is sleep." He let out a ragged, genuine cough a reminder that his body was a ticking time bomb.
The Interrogation: The Paradox Defense
The interrogation room was a sterile, windowless box. Li Changfeng sat hunched over the metal table, looking fragile and small. Across from him, Xia Zhixin leaned forward, his eyes burning with intense scrutiny.
"You visited the Heng Tai Group yesterday," Xia began, his tone cold. "You threatened Fang Yun. You told him to prepare for his funeral. Twelve hours later, he died in his sleep. Sudden cardiac arrest. Care to explain the coincidence?"
Li's eyes widened in feigned shock. "Fang Yun... is dead?" A flicker of dark satisfaction touched his lips, and he didn't bother to hide it. "That is the best news I've heard in six years. But Detective, I am no killer. I am merely a man whose resentment is larger than the cancer in his gut."
Xia slammed his hand on the table. "You threatened him, and then he died. That isn't a coincidence."
Internal Monologue: "Strike as hard as you like, Xia. Every blow you land only strengthens my shield. You seek a cause-and-effect relationship in a world of physical evidence. I will give you a paradox that will shatter your logic."
"Detective, let's be rational," Li said, his voice suddenly becoming clear and analytical. "If I truly possessed a miraculous, untraceable method to kill a man as well-guarded as Fang Yun, why would I warn him first? Does a killer alert his prey? That would be an invitation for the police to knock on my door. Warning him wasn't a professional move; it was the desperate curse of a dying man who wanted to ruin his enemy's peace. If he had died without a warning, I wouldn't be sitting here, would I?"
Xia Zhixin paused. The logic was a trap. Li's warning, which seemed like an admission of guilt, had been reframed as his strongest evidence of innocence.
The Invisible Weapon
Xia tossed Li's backpack onto the center of the table. "Officers will search your belongings."
Li's heart hammered against his ribs like a drum, but his face remained as still as stone. The officers emptied the bag: worn clothes, cancer medication, and a black notebook. An officer picked it up, flipping through the pages.
Internal Monologue: "You are looking for a weapon, Xia, but you are holding the executioner's blade in your very hands. However, your eyes are trained only to see fingerprints, ballistics, and poison. To you, these ancient symbols are just the illegible scribbles of a brilliant mind driven to madness by isolation. To hold a divine power and be unable to recognize it... that is the true essence of this game."
"What are these writings?" the officer asked, pointing at the impossible script.
"A notation system I developed in prison," Li replied calmly. "I had a lot of time on my hands, Detective. Solving complex algorithms and linguistic puzzles kept me from losing my mind in that cell."
The officer tossed the notebook back into the bag. To them, it was just paper a harmless byproduct of a high IQ and too much time. No one suspected that a simple notebook could be the most lethal weapon in the city.
"You're free to go, Li," Xia said, his voice still thick with suspicion. "But I'll be watching. Once the autopsy report is finalized, we'll talk again."
Li Changfeng stood up and grabbed his bag. As he walked out of the station, he could feel the ten days of stolen life surging through his veins. The police had touched his weapon, looked at his secrets, and seen nothing.