Chapter 5: Could There Be Two Han Lings?

“Um... could I have some water to wash my face? I’m Han Ling.”

The command center fell silent instantly.

After a brief moment of stunned surprise, everyone’s expressions turned to astonishment. Even Deputy Director Zheng Hongyi didn’t react immediately.

Han Ling?

How did he get out?

Wasn’t it clearly instructed that if Han Ling attempted to leave the film base, he was to be stopped immediately and deemed defeated?

All present were seasoned police officers. Within seconds, judging by Han Ling’s soot-covered face, it was quickly inferred that this was related to the earlier fire incident.

Suspecting that Han Ling might have escaped the film base by setting a fire, every leader’s gaze grew peculiar.

Deputy Director Zheng Hongyi remained silent, while Deputy Captain Wu Bin narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing.

The first to speak was Ding Lingfeng. He stood up, gesturing Han Ling to come forward. “Did you start the fire just now?”

Han Ling nodded obediently. “Yes.”

Upon confirmation, Ding Lingfeng’s anger flared. “Han Ling! What are you trying to do? Set a fire inside the film base? What if it caused a real blaze! No organization, no discipline!”

Han Ling explained, “Sir, there was no wind tonight. I only ignited a small amount of cloth, plastic, and wood in an open area, surrounded by natural firebreaks. I immediately covered it with soil to greatly reduce what was already a minor fire.”

“There was only smoke, hardly any flames. It was very safe.”

“According to the drill rules, the film base has a damage allowance, meaning… a certain degree of destruction is permitted.”

“You…” To Ding Lingfeng, this sounded like sophistry. He turned to Zheng Hongyi. “Director Zheng, this behavior is a serious violation of rules and discipline, and outright cheating.”

Zheng Hongyi stared at Han Ling for a moment but withheld comment.

At that moment, Wu Bin spoke up. “Hold on, Old Ding. Let’s set aside the rule-breaking and discipline issues for now. Where is the cheating?”

Ding Lingfeng turned to him. “Didn’t we discuss before? The drill continues, but Han Ling must not leave the film base. If he tries to leave, he immediately loses and the drill ends.”

Wu Bin replied, “But we didn’t notice. He just swaggered right into the command center.”

Ding Lingfeng was dumbfounded. He realized Wu Bin seemed to be defending Han Ling.

“This… that’s not…” Ding Lingfeng tried to retort, but couldn’t find the words.

Wu Bin stood up. “Old Ding, just think about the logic here. Let me talk to him first.”

He then approached Han Ling.

Han Ling stood quietly, meeting Wu Bin’s gaze.

Unfazed and composed, Wu Bin gave a preliminary judgment and asked, “By leaving the film base this way, you not only outsmarted Zhang Yunhang but also the command center. Was that your goal?”

Setting the fire was just a small trick; Wu Bin wasn’t surprised.

It was just a drill. The police guarding the gate wouldn’t suspect a thing.

Han Ling answered, “I just didn’t want to waste time with Zhang Yunhang inside the film base. I wanted to resolve things quickly. Everyone’s pretty tired.”

Wu Bin nodded slightly. “The plan worked, you succeeded, but there’s a flaw, or rather an uncertainty. If Zhang Yunhang and his team were drawn here and recognized you immediately…”

“From the moment of fire to extinguishing it and leaving the base, about ten minutes? That’s roughly right. Ten minutes is a long time; the film base isn’t very large.”

Han Ling smiled. “They couldn’t get here that fast.”

“Oh?” Wu Bin grew interested. “Why not?”

***

“You’d know if you called them. Might as well ask them to come back,” Han Ling said.

Hearing this, Wu Bin’s curiosity deepened. He turned and instructed, “Call Zhang Yunhang to check.”

An officer pulled out his phone and dialed Zhang Yunhang’s number.

“Hello, this is the command center. Where are you?”

“What?”

The officer showed a puzzled look. “Wait, I’ll switch to speaker. Repeat that.”

The call went on speakerphone, and Zhang Yunhang’s voice echoed in the command center. “We trapped Han Ling in a storage room. The door’s locked from the inside, but Han Ling refuses to open it. We’re breaking the door down now.”

Everyone’s eyes shifted to Han Ling standing before them. Even Deputy Director Zheng Hongyi raised an eyebrow, his gaze strange.

Ding Lingfeng twitched his mouth, realizing Zhang Yunhang had been made a fool of by Han Ling.

Wu Bin guessed the situation and cleared his throat. “Zhang Yunhang, Han Ling is here in the command center. The drill’s over. Come back.”

Zhang Yunhang was stunned. “The… command center? Impossible. Are you sure?”

Wu Bin said, “Come on, hurry up. Is there more than one Han Ling?”

Zhang Yunhang was speechless.

***

Ten minutes later.

Outside the film base.

All the leaders and remaining rookie officers gathered. Most of the new officers watched Han Ling closely, who had now washed off the black soot, revealing a sharply defined face.

They had basically figured out the situation: Han Ling, playing the blue side, revealed as the “culprit,” ran away—not just ran, but left the film base without the guards noticing.

This was truly… an eccentric move. None of them had the guts for it.

Seeing Han Ling actually inside the command center, Zhang Yunhang lost control of his expression, stunned for quite some time. Peng Yao was equally dumbfounded.

How was this possible?

“Tell us everything. Start from the beginning,” Wu Bin asked.

Zhang Yunhang fell silent briefly, then recounted the drill’s events in detail.

Wu Bin understood and laughed aloud. His gaze toward Han Ling shifted again. The fire was a small trick, but fooling Zhang Yunhang’s six-man team required some skill.

“Give me the storage room key,” Wu Bin held out his hand to Han Ling.

Han Ling pulled the key from his pocket and handed it over.

Seeing the key, Zhang Yunhang wasn’t stupid. He immediately realized he had fallen into a trap set by Han Ling.

“You… you left footprints on purpose, walking backward when you left?” Zhang Yunhang couldn’t help but ask.

Han Ling nodded.

“So… when we saw you at the café, that was intentional exposure?”

Han Ling nodded again.

Zhang Yunhang was speechless.

Come on, it was just a drill. Was that really necessary?

They had spent a long time talking at the storage room door, mocking Han Ling for nearly ten minutes. When they finally decided to force the door, no one was inside!

***

The other rookie officers weren’t sure if they respected Han Ling or felt something else. Either way, if it were them, they definitely wouldn’t have pulled off such a stunt—not in such a short time.

The trap sounded simple, but that was hindsight. In reality, given their experience and psychological resilience, it would be very difficult.

Han Ling had been barely noticeable throughout the entire drill, then suddenly made a big move at the end.

“I heard it was all for Lin Rong.”

“The campus beauty? Seriously? Love is really that powerful? Tell us more.”

Whispers circulated among the crowd.

“You were hiding in the restroom at the time, right?” Peng Yao stared at Han Ling with a slightly cold tone. “If Zhang Yunhang hadn’t misjudged, I would have searched the restroom. Your plan relied a lot on luck.”

The café was in full view; she had already searched everywhere except the restroom.

Zhang Yunhang’s face darkened, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Han Ling chuckled lightly. “The restroom was too risky. Too easy to get discovered. I was hidden in the compartment beneath the bar.”

Peng Yao and Zhang Yunhang were stunned.

People could hide under the bar?

Recalling Zhang Yunhang’s earlier mention of a “negative example,” Peng Yao glanced at Han Ling. This was a real slap in the face—six people fooled by one man.

Luckily, it was just a drill.

***

Wu Bin spoke again. “Han Ling, your handling of the crime scene was sloppy, which allowed Zhang Yunhang to quickly find the problem. But your escape method was brilliant. It makes me wonder… did you do it on purpose?”

His implication was that Han Ling hadn’t taken the crime scene seriously at all, only focusing on escaping.

Zhang Yunhang’s team looked at Han Ling. If he had done it intentionally, was it just to mess with them? How could they tolerate that?

Han Ling immediately denied it. “No.”

Wu Bin didn’t press further and sought Zheng Hongyi’s opinion. “Director Zheng, how should we handle this?”

To Zheng Hongyi, this was just a farce. That Han Ling… was indeed interesting, but not enough to inspire any special regard for talent.

“The drill is over. Everyone go back and rest. Summarize your experiences well.”

Zheng Hongyi spoke.

“Han Ling’s behavior is just the tip of the iceberg for how cunning criminals can be. Although this drill isn’t very instructive, it’s a lesson: never think you’re smarter than the criminals.”

“Oh, and it counts as… a victory for the blue side. If the criminals aren’t caught, it’s a failure for the police.”

Indeed, it lacked practical reference.

In a real fugitive capture, the storage room door lock would be broken immediately, and anyone leaving the film base would be thoroughly checked.

Zhang Yunhang felt these words were aimed at him, feeling quite frustrated and gloomy.

However, he held no strong negative feelings toward Han Ling. It was just a drill. They would be colleagues in the future. Besides, Zhang Yunhang was set to join the municipal criminal investigation team, while Han Ling would be assigned to the precinct.

Their paths would rarely cross, and their careers were quite different.

As for Lin Rong, Zhang Yunhang was fairly certain she was just messing with Han Ling. Being single for four years, there was no way she’d easily give in.

Moreover, among all her suitors, Han Ling had no competition at all.