Shortly before one in the afternoon, a police SUV with sirens wailing sped away from the Phoenix Tail Mountain Villa District, heading for the Binhai City District.
Following behind the police car was a red Beetle.
Inside the police car, Yan Ziruo accompanied Yan Feifan in the back seat. From the front passenger seat, Zheng Libing briefed the pair on the hostage situation.
"A family, Zhu Feng and Liu Hong, have been running an unlicensed tutoring class out of their home on the fifteenth floor of Building 7, Unit 1, in the Fanhualili District."
"This morning, they were tutoring five elementary school students at home."
"Around ten-thirty this morning, a resident of the same district, Yv Yunzhi, broke into their home carrying a boning knife, a ten-liter bucket of gasoline, and several cans of insecticide."
"Yv Yunzhi locked the five children, the wife, Liu Hong, and himself in the bathroom. He poured gasoline over himself and Liu Hong, then forced the husband, Zhu Feng, to barricade the bathroom door from the outside with a sofa, chairs, and other furniture."
"Then, Yv Yunzhi had Zhu Feng call the police!"
Hearing this, Yan Ziruo couldn’t help but interrupt. "Does this Yv Yunzhi have a grudge against the couple?"
"Or against one of the children’s parents?"
Zheng Libing shook his head. "Based on the information we have so far, we haven’t found any major grudges between Yv Yunzhi and the couple or any of the children’s parents."
He elaborated, "Yv Yunzhi is thirty-one years old. His parents are still alive, and he’s unmarried. He had a girlfriend for over three years, but they broke up last year."
"He quit his job this past March, lost all his savings to online gambling, and is now heavily in debt..."
After a two-second pause, Zheng Libing added gravely, "In June, he was diagnosed with mid- to late-stage liver cancer."
Yan Ziruo gasped and asked worriedly, "Is he lashing out at society out of desperation?"
She quickly followed up, "Mr. Zheng, if he’s taken those children and the wife hostage, why is he insisting on seeing my Feifan?"
"He can’t possibly be thinking that Feifan can cure his liver cancer, can he?"
Zheng Libing didn’t answer her question directly. He said slowly, "Our officers have been strictly ordered not to enter the apartment. We can only communicate with Yv Yunzhi through Zhu Feng, who is still inside."
"During our communication, we’ve found that Yv Yunzhi is perfectly lucid. There are no signs of him going mad."
"He also made it clear to us that he knows he has liver cancer and doesn’t have much time left. He said his request to see you, Mr. Yan, isn’t for treatment, but for something else."
As he spoke, Zheng Libing handed over a tablet computer.
"Mr. Yan, do you recognize this man, Yv Yunzhi? Have you ever crossed paths with him, at work or otherwise?"
Yan Feifan took the tablet and studied the photo on the screen.
It was a man with glasses, slightly prominent cheekbones, and a somewhat scholarly air about him.
He searched his memory carefully before saying, "I’ve never seen him, nor have I ever heard of him..."
Yan Feifan searched his memory again. "I’m certain I’ve never crossed paths with this person."
He handed the tablet back to Zheng Libing and offered his analysis. "Mr. Zheng, his actions must be related to online gambling."
"I’ve read online that countless people have been ruined by online gambling. Why don’t you police crack down on it harder?"
Zheng Libing gave a wry smile. "Mr. Yan, we are trying our best."
"The problem is, many of the servers for these gambling sites are located overseas. What’s more, a lot of these sites are legal in their local jurisdictions."
"We can only go after the people promoting and recruiting players for them within the country, both online and offline, but it’s an impossible battle to win."
"We also put a lot of effort into publicizing the dangers of gambling."
"But there are always those who can’t resist the temptation, thinking they’re lucky or skilled enough to take a shortcut to easy money."
Yan Feifan let out a soft sigh.
’Did those gamblers who lost everything, just like his uncle back then, really not know the dangers?’
’They all knew.’
’Whether they went in thinking they would just dip their toes, dreaming of striking it rich, or planning to fleece the house for a quick win and then get out, they all stepped into the trap.’
’They just never expected the house to be far more cunning, luring them in step-by-step until they had lost every last thing.’
’In Yan Feifan’s personal opinion, people who ruined themselves through gambling didn’t deserve any sympathy.’
’They had brought it on themselves, so to speak.’
’And as for those who lost everything and then took desperate measures, harming others and society like Yv Yunzhi had—well, they deserved nothing but contempt and severe punishment.’
Just then, Yan Ziruo spoke up again. "Mr. Zheng, haven’t you been able to find a way to rescue the hostages?"
"Like using a sniper or something?"
Zheng Libing admitted frankly, "Our special operations team has been looking for a suitable method and opportunity to breach."
"But I have to admit, this guy has clearly thought this through and planned it meticulously."
"The bathroom is a small, confined space, and its only window is closed, so we have no way of knowing the exact situation inside."
"The door is heavily barricaded, so we can’t breach it immediately."
"Yv Yunzhi has gasoline and several cans of insecticide. If he manages to ignite it, in such a confined space..."
"Those children and the wife..."
Yan Feifan nodded in understanding, then asked, "So Yv Yunzhi hasn’t given any hint at all as to why he insists on seeing me?"