No Resurrection Card
As a former police officer, Yu Ban felt some guilt over He Zilu’s death; she should have gone to the hospital with her at the time.
If she had revealed the matter about the Dark Mentor earlier, perhaps He Zilu wouldn’t have died—but Yu Ban herself would have been in greater danger.
Originally, the book didn’t describe the protagonist’s descent into darkness in much detail; it focused more on how the protagonist’s love for the unattainable male lead and her jealousy toward the queen played out.
According to the information in the book, there wasn’t much that Yu Ban could have foreseen in advance.
Recklessly confessing to the police would only make Gu Zhiye more suspicious of her.
And if the Dark Mentor realized she was no longer under control, he would definitely adjust his plan, rendering all the limited information useless.
If he discovered that his existence was known, he might change targets—or even kill her.
Yu Song sat in the back seat, watching the driver Ji Jiang and the front passenger Gu Zhiye, momentarily unsure of what to decide.
He Zilu had just had a full-body examination before jumping off the building.
After the fall, her body was nearly torn apart, so a forensic autopsy wasn’t needed for now, but the forensic doctors’ job was even harder.
When Yu Song and the others arrived, the police cordon hadn’t been lifted yet, and a long partition curtain had been hung along the line.
Two forensic doctors had just finished piecing together the body fragments.
Fortunately, Ji Jiang had thoughtfully invited He Feng into the duty room, preventing the family from seeing He Zilu’s horrific state.
“How could it be this bad? Did she hit something on the way down?” Yu Song couldn’t help but ask.
The thick-browed forensic doctor sighed, “The twelfth floor is under maintenance, and temporary wiring was connected. The deceased cut through the air, then hit the edge stone around the courtyard.”
He waved the small shovel in his hand, “Just finished handling it.”
“Zilu, my Zilu, let me through! Please, let me through!”
Zhao Xue somehow rushed out of the hospital building, pulling at those holding her back, begging desperately.
“Ms. Zhao, please calm down. Mr. He is in the duty room and not over there. I’ll take you to find him.”
“Let me see! Just let me see her! It’s my fault that my Zilu died! I didn’t watch over her!”
From the time Zhao Xue left the He family with He Zilu until now, less than two hours had passed.
Zhao Xue looked at least ten years older.
Though her well-maintained skin still glowed, and her clothes, though slightly disheveled, remained elegant and decent.
But her eyes were hollow and hopeless, as if all her spirit had been drained.
Every line on her face spelled despair.
Yu Ban looked at her, feeling heavy-hearted.
Seeing Zhao Xue breaking through the barriers without regard, he wanted to step forward to comfort her.
Unexpectedly, the moment Zhao Xue saw her, a raw, unhidden hatred surged in her eyes.
“Was it you? You forced my Zilu to death, it must be you! Look at yourself! You still dare to say my daughter bullied you? My daughter would never dye her hair that ugly color, nor would she kick someone’s door down in the middle of the night. I was blind to think you were going to save her…”
Like a wounded wild beast, she roared, “Ah… I shouldn’t have let you in! This ‘diamond stone’ and ‘shattered glass’—it’s all your doing! Otherwise, how would you know my daughter had those things…?”
Yu Ban knew saying anything now was useless, so she silently listened, letting Zhao Xue vent to her heart’s content.
But her calm and innocent demeanor was taken by Zhao Xue as coldness and provocation.
Suddenly, Zhao Xue lowered her head and bit the hand of the person holding her, broke free, and lunged fiercely at Yu Ban.
Yu Song could have dodged, but he didn’t want this poor mother to fall into the flowerbed.
He planned to hold Zhao Xue, control her hands first, and then suggest the hospital give her a sedative injection.
Suddenly, a figure rushed out of the building, standing in front of him, blocking Zhao Xue.
“Ms. Zhao, please calm down. We understand your feelings, but acting like this won’t help your daughter.”
The calm, powerful voice and the handsome, solid figure were none other than Ji Jiang.
Yu Song was bumped by him and almost fell, his hand instinctively grasping a Wintergreen plant in the flowerbed, then his gaze stiffened as he looked at the index and middle fingers of his right hand.
Ji Jiang protected Yu Song while restraining Zhao Xue’s hands, speaking softly to comfort her, “Rest assured, if your daughter was truly harmed by someone, we will find the culprit and get to the bottom of this.”
Zhao Xue’s attention was momentarily diverted, “What do you mean? What do you mean ‘if’? My daughter was definitely murdered! She was so good, no heartbreak, no depression—how could she possibly jump?”
Ji Jiang gently pulled her toward the building’s entrance while continuing to soothe her, and he gave Yu Song a reassuring glance that said, “I’ve got this under control.”
But Yu Song didn’t notice it.
Gu Zhiye saw her frozen there, staring blankly at her own hands, and approached, asking, “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Usually, family members go through this stage when the deceased died by suicide, refusing to believe it’s true, running around in denial.”
Yu Song sighed, holding out her hand, “Please call the forensic doctor here, there’s still a part of He Zilu left here.”
Gu Zhiye was startled and instinctively reached out to wipe the red and white stuff on Yu Song’s hand, saying repeatedly, “It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t be afraid.”
Luckily, he reacted quickly and stopped in time, then turned to call out, “Forensic Doctor Li, please come here, this part is not handled yet.”
Seeing Forensic Doctor Li sigh as he carried his tool kit over, Gu Zhiye comforted Yu Song, “Little Yu, it’s okay, it’s okay. We’re all flesh and blood. Human flesh isn’t much different from beef or pork.”
Yu Song gave him a deadpan look, “Officer Gu, better keep your mouth shut.”
Gu Zhiye felt awkward; he really wasn’t good at comforting people.
When Forensic Doctor Li arrived, it was even more brutal.
“What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just some bits of flesh splattered around. We haven’t even simulated the fall yet, so nothing should have flown this far. Miss, just think of it as having some meat stuffing on your hands when making dumplings. Clean it up and it’s fine.”
Listening to his slightly humorous words and watching his slow movements, Yu Song’s mouth twitched. “Doctor Li, if your hands were a bit faster than your mouth, I’d be very grateful.”
“Ha ha ha, why the rush? It’s already on you. Even if you wipe it off, you’ll still be scared, so better just think of this place as a dumpling shop, so you won’t have nightmares.”
Yu Song wanted to snatch the tools from his hands and do it herself.
Although Doctor Li was blunt, his actions were clean and efficient.
After cleaning her hand, he sprayed some alcohol disinfectant on it.
Then he and another forensic doctor started working on the fragments on the Wintergreen leaves.
Yu Song hurried into the building.
Though her hand had been cleaned and disinfected, she still felt water was necessary for a more thorough wash.
Gu Zhiye followed closely behind.
The hospital’s air conditioning was set quite low.
When the water ran over her hand, it felt warm, which made Yu Song think again of the thing she had touched just now.
A tiny piece, about the size of a fingernail, and long separated from the body—it shouldn’t have felt warm.
But Yu Song distinctly felt it.
It was probably psychological; after all, it was part of He Zilu’s body, and He Zilu had once been a living, breathing person!
Yu Ban wasn’t the kind of protagonist fresh out of the police academy.
She’d encountered worse situations before.
But just now, she suddenly realized this was a real world.
She had entered the book, but everyone here truly existed—not cardboard cutouts.
They had blood, flesh, thoughts, consciousness, and souls.
She could treat the original protagonist’s family like strangers, since they didn’t deserve to be family.
But she couldn’t treat everyone as NPCs, nor could she see her entanglement with the Dark Mentor as a mere game of taming and resisting taming.
Because this was not a game dungeon; no one had a resurrection card.
Gu Zhiye saw her squeeze some hand sanitizer and methodically wash her hands with the seven-step technique, frowning: “At first, I thought you were scared out of your mind. Now it seems you’re not so afraid.”
Yu Song had just been a turmoil of emotions and stomach knots, with no time to pretend.
Now, she’d decided not to fake it anymore.
She rinsed off the foam, looked up at herself in the mirror, and tidied her vibrant hair.
No matter past, present, or future, no matter the identity, she should be a fearless warrior and certainly shouldn’t be afraid.
Yu Song met Gu Zhiye’s probing gaze and smiled, “Afraid? Yes. Because I don’t know who the next victim will be.”
Gu Zhiye looked deep into her eyes, raising a brow: “The next victim? What, have you already decided you’ll show up at the next crime scene?”
“I’m not interested in any crime scene.
I just want to keep to myself. But I’m afraid I’m being watched.”
“What do you mean?”
Someone entered the men’s restroom behind Gu Zhiye as Yu Song said seriously, “Captain Gu, let’s find a safe place to talk.”
Gu Zhiye looked around.
They were standing by the sinks between the men’s and women’s restrooms. Not safe here?
He didn’t ask more and led Yu Song upstairs.
The Criminal Investigation Team had requisitioned a room in the hospital as their office.
It was a suite with a large outer room.
Ji Jiang was on one side checking surveillance, while the female lead Huo Anran was pouring water for He Feng and Zhao Xue.
Gu Zhiye took Yu Song to the inner room before asking, “What do you mean by unsafe? Do you think someone’s monitoring you?”
Yu Song nodded. “Yes. I did hide things from you before. Before I confessed, I applied for special protection from the Criminal Investigation Team because I suspected someone wanted to manipulate me into committing a crime.”
Gu Zhiye was stunned. Manipulate into committing a crime?
He immediately thought of Yu Song’s parents with their criminal records.
“Is it your family?”
“No. My parents are just petty criminals. They’re too stupid to control others. This story is a long one.”
Gu Zhiye was about to call someone else in, so they could all listen.
Yu Song pulled out a chair and sat at the desk, motioning toward the chair opposite.
“Captain Gu, let’s sit down and talk. For now, you’re the only one I trust.”
Gu Zhiye had regarded her as a suspect from the beginning and wasn’t used to her taking control, but hearing that she trusted only him stirred a sudden sense of duty in his heart.
Yu Song didn’t choose the male lead—not because she distrusted him or was annoyed by his occasional cheesiness, but because in that book, both male and female leads were hopeless romantics, with everything serving their relationship.
Although Yu Song knew this was the real world, she wasn’t sure what she could change.
Better not disrupt the main plot and stay away from romantic entanglements.
She began, “Regarding the Zhou Yaohui Case, I did lie when I was interrogated as a suspect. I wasn’t at Jin Hong Hotel to meet someone new—I received an anonymous call…”
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