For Tan Mingjiu, the direct consequence of getting caught gossiping about his superior was that, instead of packing up and going home to sleep, he had to stay and work overtime. He was to cooperate with the public security brigade in interrogating the people just brought back from Liang Jing Jing KTV and dig out some information about Tang Jinglong from them.
Tan Mingjiu wailed on the spot, banging his head on the ground with tears streaming down his face. “Captain Huo, five days! For five whole days, I haven’t been home before ten o’clock. Today I finally have the chance. Captain Huo, are you sure you won’t reconsider? Look at these dark circles under my eyes, they can almost rival Ji Xun’s!”
“Don’t try to drag me into this,” Ji Xun said without even lifting his eyes. “I’m a genuine national treasure. You probably just didn’t wash your face properly this morning.”
“Less nonsense, get to work,” Huo Ranyin declared with finality.
After leaving the police station, Ji Xun got back into Huo Ranyin’s car. They had little else to discuss and continued talking about the Tang Jinglong case.
It was again Huo Ranyin who started.
“According to Rao Fangjie’s statement, the last time she saw Tang Jinglong was at six in the evening on January 19th. The police investigated Tang Jinglong’s subsequent movements that day. He went to the Museum Park on Xinglin Road to attend a medical conference.”
Ning City Museum Park was a newly developed area in the suburbs of Ning City, used for various business gatherings and exhibitions. It was not yet fully developed, with many construction sites in progress. Currently, apart from when exhibitions or gatherings were held, the area was remote and sparsely populated.
The conference started at 7 PM on the 19th, and Tang Jinglong arrived on time.
Because he attended the conference with his arm in a sling, the attendees had a strong impression of him. To make things more convenient for Tang Jinglong, who would have trouble moving for the next month, they all called his phone number when handing him their business cards, saving their numbers directly into his phone.
Therefore, during the two hours of the conference from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM that evening, nearly a hundred calls were made to Tang Jinglong’s number. Looking further back, he received an average of thirty to forty calls on a slow day, and sixty to seventy on a busy one, making it difficult to investigate suspicious numbers.
“However, during our visits, we found that Tang Jinglong had argued with someone that night.”
“With whom?”
“The argument happened in the restroom, where there were no cameras. The person who overheard it didn’t pay much attention and only vaguely heard a sentence: ‘You said you would give me money, where is the money?'”
“What, was he being blackmailed?” Ji Xun whistled. “Considering all of Tang Jinglong’s various little secrets, it would be quite normal for him to be blackmailed.”
“We can’t rule out that possibility,” Huo Ranyin said noncommittally.
“As the conference was about to end, the organizer offered to drive Tang Jinglong home directly, but he declined. After that, Tang Jinglong left early.”
The time was 8:55 PM. By 8:58 PM, a camera at a nearby ATM captured Tang Jinglong withdrawing cash. The bank confirmed that Tang Jinglong withdrew a sum of ten thousand yuan.
At 9:02 PM, a camera at the intersection where the ATM was located captured Tang Jinglong’s last known image.
“Tang Jinglong’s phone was found in a trash can near the conference venue; the killer had discarded it directly. The shortest driving time from the conference venue to Wushan is three hours. Tang Jinglong’s arm was broken. Whether the killer took him to Wushan alive or dead, a vehicle was necessary.”
“In other words, not counting the time the killer spent murdering and dismembering the body, just calculating the driving time, the earliest the killer could have appeared on the Wushan surveillance footage is 00:02 AM on the 20th.”
“What’s the terrain like around the Museum Park?” Ji Xun asked.
“The Museum Park is located at the Xinglin Road crossroads. Directly opposite it is an abandoned, unfinished building. When there’s an exhibition at the Museum Park, many people choose to park there to avoid fees. This area has surveillance blind spots, and there are also many ongoing or suspended construction sites around the abandoned building,” Huo Ranyin said.
“I remember that although the Wushan area is quite remote, there are surveillance cameras on the roads, right?” Ji Xun thought for a moment and asked again.
“That’s right, all roads leading to Wushan are equipped with surveillance cameras. There are no blind spots here. No matter how the killer transported Tang Jinglong up Wushan, the killer would definitely appear on the surveillance footage. The bureau is now reviewing the Wushan road surveillance footage from 00:02 AM on the 20th onwards, searching for suspicious individuals and vehicles. It’s just that the workload is substantial, and it will take some time to get results.”
Ahead was another red light.
Huo Ranyin stopped the car, pulled the handbrake, and continued, “The body has been sent to the forensic lab. In the woven bags and plastic bags containing the body parts, the medical examiner found some small, miscellaneous items.”
“Oh? What kind of things?”
Ji Xun asked casually, closing his eyes to rest, waiting for the end of this journey home, while listening to Huo Ranyin speak:
“There were wood chips on the incisions of the body parts, one of which was stained with some blue paint. Inside the plastic bags were fragments of patterned mosaic tiles, and the bags were stained with a red-gold powder.”
“Anything else?” Ji Xun asked leisurely. He relaxed his entire body, letting it sink into the seat.
Huo Ranyin glanced at him through the rearview mirror and reclined the seat back to allow Ji Xun to lie down more comfortably.
“Thanks,” Ji Xun said vaguely.
“The killer specifically targeted the joints of the human body. The technique was clean and efficient, suggesting they possessed relevant anatomical knowledge and were familiar with the human body’s structure. Also, based on the marks on the wounds, it’s analyzed that the killer used a tool like a chainsaw for dismemberment. This is also a direction for investigation.” Huo Ranyin finished giving the last of the clues and asked Ji Xun, “What do you think?”
“Me? Oh, me…”
It was late at night. He had woken up at seven this morning, from being caught by Huo Ranyin at the Lizhu Community, to running into Huo Ranyin again while investigating the Blue Peacock, followed by a chase scene action sequence, and then being forced to meet an old acquaintance and recall things he didn’t want to remember. He had really been through a lot.
Ji Xun’s brain was no longer working.
He could even feel a trace of drowsiness creeping in from all directions, weaving a net to capture his mind.
This was truly rare.
He hadn’t felt this normal sensation of being able to rest well just by lying down in nearly three years.
He decided to cherish this hard-won opportunity, stopped thinking altogether, and started talking nonsense:
“I think… um… the killer is a construction worker, or maybe the dismemberment site was a construction site. With the paint, wood chips, and a chainsaw, the direction is too obvious, don’t you think?”
“Then what about the gold powder and the patterned mosaic tiles? Which of these two things would appear on a construction site?” Huo Ranyin retorted. He pondered for a moment and said, “Patterned mosaic tiles have a strong period style. What about considering an old building?”
“Makes sense.” Ji Xun had no firm stance, like grass on a wall, swaying towards Huo Ranyin. “So, the body was dismembered in an old building using a construction worker’s chainsaw.”
Huo Ranyin said, “Are you having a serious conversation?”
“Where am I not being serious?” Ji Xun was displeased. “Aren’t I making very serious wild guesses?”
“…” Huo Ranyin was speechless.
“Look, I make bold guesses, you carefully verify them. We complement each other, partners in crime.”
After a moment of silence, Ji Xun heard a snort of laughter.
Huo Ranyin said, “We’re here.”
“That was pretty fast.” Ji Xun opened his eyes and languidly opened the car door. “Well then, see you later…”
He stopped mid-sentence.
What appeared in his field of vision was definitely not the familiar neighborhood, not the familiar scenery. He was standing in front of a completely unfamiliar, old five-story building. The first floor of the building had a small storefront with the words “Hao Jia Guesthouse” written on it. Just five steps away, a streetwalker, wearing a tight miniskirt that exposed half her chest and pale thighs even in the dead of winter, threw him a flirtatious glance.
“Captain Huo,” Ji Xun said. “I think you took a wrong turn.”
“No wrong turn. This is the rental unit Zeng Peng is short-leasing. It’s still early. Before I take you back, let’s meet with Zeng Peng first,” Huo Ranyin said matter-of-factly.
“Zeng Peng and Xi Lei have nothing to do with Tang Jinglong’s case, right?” Ji Xun asked.
“As far as we know, no.”
“Then why are you here?”
“An exchange with Captain Teng,” Huo Ranyin said. “He deletes the body cam video, I give him a clue.”
“But Tan Mingjiu already knows. The whole police force will know by tomorrow. Deleting it or not is meaningless now. Captain Huo, you got a bad deal,” Ji Xun said.
“…”
“So why bother giving him a clue? Let’s just go home early and get some sleep—” Just as Ji Xun turned, Huo Ranyin’s cold hand reached out from behind, closing around his wrist. Ji Xun felt as if he had been handcuffed.
“Captain Huo, one shouldn’t be too much of a gambler,” Ji Xun said helplessly. “Since you’ve already lost, you should fold your hand and cut your losses.”
“A loss is a loss, but a promise must be kept,” Huo Ranyin said faintly.
“Then you go ahead and be busy, I won’t disturb you?” Ji Xun thought for a moment and said.
“You’re doing this with me.”
“…Don’t you think this is a raw deal for me too? So please, display the noble character of a people’s police officer,” Ji Xun said. “It’s better for one to suffer a loss than for many to suffer.”
“Compared to that saying, I prefer another one: share weal and woe.” Huo Ranyin was simple and direct. “You now have two choices. Walk up with me, or I carry you up.”
Ji Xun looked at the sky, looked at the ground, and then surveyed the cold, deserted, and miserable surroundings. Forced by the tyranny, he accepted reality and finally dragged his feet upstairs with Huo Ranyin.
The building was old and had no elevator. The light bulbs in the corridor flickered on and off. Ji Xun had absolutely no motivation, his steps were unsteady, and he tripped on the stairs several times. He had to rely on Huo Ranyin, who was walking ahead, to steady him from time to time, so accurately it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
Unfortunately, even though he presented such a disabled appearance, Huo Ranyin, walking ahead with his hands in his pockets, remained as hard-hearted as ever and still didn’t suggest that he should go home and rest first.
Helpless, Ji Xun tried to make conversation. “What’s the lead on Zeng Peng?”
Huo Ranyin: “Drugs.”
Ji Xun: “Ah…”
Huo Ranyin: “What, you’re surprised because you didn’t notice before?”
“I am surprised,” Ji Xun said. “He doesn’t look like a drug user.”
“He doesn’t use, but he deals.”
“How can you tell?” As soon as Ji Xun asked, the black bag Zeng Peng was carrying when they met that day flashed through his mind, and he silently stuck out his tongue at his own blindness.
“First, when I met you at the Raccoon Bar, the narcotics team was conducting surveillance inside the bar, which proves there is drug trafficking in that area. The Dolphin Bar is 200 meters in a straight line from the Raccoon Bar, well within their transaction radius.”
“Second, Zeng Peng is a high school dropout from a rural area whose parents died early. He has no education or skills to get a high-paying job, and no family to support him. How did he manage to come up with a large sum of money to buy a house in such a short time?”
“Third, during the previous questioning, Zeng Peng confessed to sneaking into Xi Lei’s residence to steal money on the day of the incident. His explanation to the police was that his savings were depleted after buying the house, and he needed a sum for taxes to get the deed, so he secretly took the money for that—which is completely illogical. He was being secretive and resorted to theft because he knew what he was doing was unreasonable and illegal, and he couldn’t tell his girlfriend.”
After Huo Ranyin finished this string of analysis, Zeng Peng’s residence was right in front of them.
Huo Ranyin raised his hand and knocked.
After two knocks, the person inside opened the door. It was Zeng Peng.
Unseen for a day, Zeng Peng, who had been fine when he left the detention center, now had a bruised and swollen face, a staggering gait, and was clutching his stomach with one hand, as if he had been brutally beaten by a group of people.
When he opened the door and saw Huo Ranyin and Ji Xun, he instantly used all his strength, trying to slam the door shut again.
But Huo Ranyin was faster than Zeng Peng. He pushed at the same time, forcing the door wide open.
Pushed off balance by the force, Zeng Peng stumbled back and ran towards the window. He pulled it open and was about to climb out when he was immediately grabbed firmly by Huo Ranyin, who twisted his elbow and pinned him to the ground.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Ji Xun stood motionless at the door, his hands in his pockets. The yawn he had started when Zeng Peng opened the door was still not finished, its tail still lingering in his mouth.
After a long moment, he raised his hand, pressed the corner of his eye where a tear had welled up from sleepiness, and said weakly to Huo Ranyin:
“Why did you stop him? It’s the third floor. You should have just let him jump. He’d break an arm and half a leg, and then he’d be stuck in bed for the next three months, available whenever you want to see him, ready to answer any question. Now you’ve restrained him. Great. Tomorrow he’ll go lie down at the entrance of the bureau, show off the bruises he got from who knows where, and first accuse you of police brutality, then he’ll take off and disappear. Where are you going to catch him then?”
An eerie silence fell.
The remaining two people both looked at Ji Xun, and at the same time, a single line of thought gently drifted through their minds:
This guy is ruthless.
