Over the next two days, I walked around with a heavy heart. Stuck in a situation where our enemies remained in the dark, we were powerless to protect ourselves. Xiaotao planned to assign several plainclothes officers to the graduation ceremony, but I refused. If Deng Chao really planned to spread the virus, not even an army could resist.

Of course, I made my own preparation by asking Xiaotao to ready some gas masks and wireless headphones. For the meantime, officers would patrol around the campus to ensure no suspicious persons were mixed in the crowd.

In the blink of an eye, the day of our graduation ceremony arrived. All the graduates gathered at the school auditorium. The entire ceremony was as follows: first off, the student representative would give a speech, followed by the dean, and finally the graduates would receive their certificates from the dean.

At 8:00 AM, the auditorium was already filled with the fresh graduates. Excitement was in the air as they chattered elatedly. I scanned the enclosed space, plagued by a nagging suspicion.

Right then, our class burst into loud discussion. I looked up and saw a familiar figure in front of me; it was Xiaotao.

She was dressed like a young, energetic student–in sportswear, hair tied up in a ponytail and wearing a pair of rimless glasses. But none of this could hide her proud, glamorous aura.

The boys whispered, "Wow, she’s hot!"

"Why haven't we seen her before? Which class is she from?"

"Could she be someone’s girlfriend?"

Xiaotao slowly walked up to me and said to the boy sitting beside me, "Excuse me, I have something important to say to Song Yang!"

The boy shyly offered up his seat, to which Xiaotao thanked him. Then, gracefully dropping into her seat, Xiaotao rubbed her shoulders against mine and asked, “Are you surprised?”

This intimate action of hers drew whoops and loud gossiping from the other boys. Anyway, I was about to graduate, so what was there to be embarrassed about? "How can a plainclothes officer be as outstanding as you?" I chuckled.

Dali looked even more surprised than I was. "Dude, I really envy you! If only my girlfriend could be here."

It was Xiaotao’s turn to show astonishment. "Your girlfriend?" she asked.

"It’s all nonsense,” I mocked. “The relationship hasn’t even been confirmed."

"Although that may be true, I'm 100% sure this is it!” Dali patted his chest proudly. “After this, I’m going on a date with her! I don't have to sit here and play the third wheel any longer!"

"Congratulations then!” said Xiaotao. “I’ll be waiting for your wedding invite!"

Xiaotao got down to business, "With me escorting you today, you’ll definitely graduate safely. I’ve asked several officers to check the premises and the surrounding area. Everything looks normal."

“We set up a temporary command center there,” she pointed to a small corridor outside the window. “In case of any emergencies, we can respond immediately. On top of that, the No. 1 and No. 2 SWAT teams are on standby and can provide support within ten minutes."

"Do you have that much authority now?" I asked.

"I reported this to Sun Tiger,” she smiled. “When he heard that someone was trying to sabotage your graduation ceremony, he immediately asked me to lead a team to protect you."

"Has there been any progress in the case?"

Xiaotao shook her head, “We found another dead body in the morning with the same MO. The victim’s identity hasn’t been confirmed yet. We didn’t inform you because of your graduation ceremony."

We were suddenly interrupted by several loud calls. A few of the boys I usually hung out with teased, "Song Yang, aren’t you going to introduce your girlfriend to us?"

"Geez, where are your manners?” I laughed. “We’re about to enter society, you know!"

The boys booed in return.

"I miss my graduation,” sighed Xiaotao. “By the way, Miss Sun wanted to come as well but Sun Tiger refused to give her the green light. Her graduation ceremony is next week."

"I know. I was planning on seeing her then." Worried Xiaotao would be displeased, I added, "But if you’re not happy about that, then nevermind!"

"I'm not some controlling psycho,” she joked. “I won’t restrict you from making friends. You can go if you want to."

At this moment, the student representative walked to the podium and the auditorium immediately quieted down. After his speech, an old man walked onto the stage and bowed to the audience. "Is that the dean?" asked Xiaotao.

"Not the dean, but an honorary alumnus!” whispered Dali. “He’s the famous entrepreneur Bai Lei, the founder of Egou!"

Xiaotao pointed to the old man on the podium and said, "In the near future, you’ll be the honorary alumnus standing there."

“Then I’ll have to tell the graduates how much I liked skipping classes!" I chuckled.

Bai Lei's speech was brief and impactful, winning a thunderous applause from the students. His speech was followed by the dean’s. During the entire process, I seemed to be holding my breath for fear of any accidents, like a microphone explosion or the sudden emergence of toxic gas.

However, nothing happened at all. The graduation ceremony entered the final program. The graduates went up on stage one by one to receive their certificates signed by the dean. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

It was soon our turn. We walked to the aisle and formed a line. When I got up, Xiaotao stretched out a grubby hand and spanked my butt. "Good luck!" she grinned.

"Would I need luck for this?" I retorted.

"Have you two done it yet?" Dali whispered from behind.

"Get lost!” I rebuked. “You’re so dirty-minded!"

The graduates walked up on stage in perfect order. Some of the more polite students bowed to the dean and the counselor, some cried on the podium, while others grinned from ear to ear, shouting at the audience, "I graduated!" In short, it was a mix of reactions.

The first thing most graduates did as soon as they stepped down from the stage was excitedly call home and inform their families of their achievements.

The line grew shorter and shorter. One of the girls stepped onto stage when she felt a drop of liquid splash onto her. Both her and the dean looked up. "Ahhh, they’re dead!" came her ear-splitting screams.

The audience burst into panic and the dean fell to the ground in horror. Several professors rushed up to assist him.

Xiaotao pushed her way through the crowd and walked over, holding up her police badge. "Let me pass, I’m a policeman!" she yelled.

As the crowd made way for her, I too walked up on stage and looked up, only to see three pairs of feet dangling from above. On closer inspection, it turned out that there were three bodies hanging from the top. The girl’s certificate had been thrown to the ground, stained with a drop of crimson blood.

Above the podium was a curtain that could be lifted and lowered, and the bodies were tied to the curtain rope. With the dim lighting and dark red color of the curtain, it was very easy to miss the bodies if we weren’t looking carefully.

Xiaotao ordered the auditorium administrator to lower the bodies. As the curtain fell, I caught a better glimpse of the three dead bodies. A visual inspection showed that they had been dead for more than twenty-four hours. Though hung by the neck, their tongues didn’t extend out of their mouths which suggested they were murdered before they were hung.

When we noticed their faces, both Xiaotao and I had a feeling of deja vu. "Have we met them somewhere?" asked Xiaotao.

"They were Deng Chao's former roommates!" I exclaimed.

"That fucking son of a bitch!” cursed Xiaotao. “He didn’t even let his roommates off!"

I was well aware of the reason behind his actions. During the investigation, his roommates had provided a lot of information. Perhaps in Deng Chao's opinion, the cause of his imprisonment was closely related to his roommates.

Xiaotao was about to call for backup when a loud voice reverberated in the auditorium.

"Song Yang, long time no see! Do you miss me? Although I'd like to congratulate you on graduating, I'm afraid that’s not going to happen!"

Upon hearing the voice, I felt a sudden rush of blood to my head. It was him–Deng Chao was back!