The Brain Science Case 136

Chapter 136: The Blazing Fire (Part 1) – 6

After the body was sent back to the station for further autopsy, Fang Zijun packed up, and the rain suddenly intensified. The sky was as dark as night.

To him, his mood was indeed as bad as the heavy rain. As soon as he returned to the station, Fang Zijun immediately called Zhou Jinglin into the chief’s office.

“Where were you? Ah Mu didn’t send you out to search, and you didn’t report to anyone else.”

“I…” she had sent a message to Yingli. But due to their previous agreement, Jinglin had to change her story. “Although I didn’t report it, I did go out to search.”

“Search for what?”

She pursed her lips and met his gaze. “I went to find Dingdang… Tan Ziying.”

The owner of “Givenchy”? Fang Zijun frowned. “What for?”

“To ask about my mom.” To avoid any misunderstanding, she explained, “I was in charge of the case when she was attacked at her home before. I wanted to see if she would still do me a favor because of that.”

“So you acted on your own again?” he gritted his teeth and slammed the desk, “you still won’t give up? You’re so insistent on investigating the case yourself, and you’ve even delayed the investigation of other cases. Do you still consider yourself a detective?”

An unknown file flew at her, and Jinglin let it hit her. “I’m telling you, no matter how good you say you are in front of the director,” Fang Zijun hurried before her, “this absolutely, absolutely cannot happen a second time. You know that to avoid suspicion, we have already excluded you from the investigation of this case. Simply put, this case has nothing to do with you.”

“But the mastermind…”

“Yes, it’s your mom. And the person you contacted today, you should know that she is also a suspect to a certain extent. If it weren’t for the lack of evidence, she would have been taken into custody long ago.”

Jinglin stared at him with wide eyes. “I’ll say it again, you are not allowed to have any contact with any of the suspects, and you are not allowed to do any private investigation of this case. If you dare to do it again, the next time I will directly ask you to hand over your badge and your service pistol, and you will be suspended. Do you understand?”

Her face was flushed with anger, and the hand hidden in her suit jacket was clenched tightly. And Fang Zijun, who was in front of her, continued to apply pressure. “Answer me. Did you hear me, Zhou Jinglin?”

“I heard you.”

“Before you leave work today, you will hand in the information you have investigated, along with a report of your remorse, to my desk. You are not allowed to leave until you have finished writing it.” Fang Zijun put his hands on his hips and turned. “What are you still standing here for? Go back to your work.”

She took a deep breath, and after a reluctant bow, she was about to leave when she heard him say again, “What, pick up the file. You don’t even know this basic action?”

After a bellyful of anger, Jinglin returned to her seat and immediately buried herself in a pile of documents, not even looking up. The colleagues next to her looked at each other, and their gazes all focused on Xiangrong.

But he was not a fool. He shook his head frequently and pointed at the screen, saying “work,” and thus muddled through.

Meanwhile, Yingli and Tao Qianya had quickly finished the autopsy.

Besides the damaged left hand and the fatal wound on the thigh, there were no other external injuries on the rest of the body, and the organs were all intact. However, an alcohol concentration of up to 2.5 mg was found in the blood, which indicated that the victim had likely been stabbed while he was drunk and unconscious.

While changing his clothes, Tao Qianya happened to receive a message from Cai Yuwei. “The last person to see the victim was the security guard at his workplace. He said that when he met the victim, his expression and reaction were the same as usual.”

Does that mean there were no signs of coercion? “Was he not under any surveillance?” after all, he was one of the people on the list.

“Yes… probably because he had no prior record.” Tao Qianya speculated.

Yingli rested her chin on her hand. “If he was drinking with someone after work, and he was so drunk… then he must have been invited by an acquaintance.”

Because they were acquaintances, he had not been on guard and had happily had a few drinks with the killer, but had been fatally stabbed while he was unconscious. The fingers may have been cut off after his death was confirmed, and his body had been dumped before dawn.

“It was someone he knew, and that person saw the extensive news reports and kept the cut-off fingers…”

Tao Qianya heard the hidden meaning. “Do you think this case was committed by someone else on the list, Teacher?”

“Yes, although I don’t know if Peng Haoze had any direct contact with Li Yuejiao… but to be killed in such an eye-catching way at such a sensitive time, I think this possibility is the highest.”

“What do you think the killer’s intention was in cutting off his fingers, besides just imitating?”

Putting on her high heels, Yingli remembered the clean and neat stab wound on the victim’s thigh. “If it wasn’t to keep it as a souvenir, then it was sent to someone as a ‘message’.”

“A message…” Tao Qianya couldn’t help but shiver.

“He was the seventh person on the list.” Pushing up her glasses, Yingli walked out of the autopsy room. “I wonder if the remaining people on the list have been checked.”

Returning to the special task force room, Yingli’s question was immediately answered. Setting aside one person who was currently serving a sentence, the remaining two had a complete alibi for last night.

And the location of the body was a considerable distance from the surveillance cameras. Although it was in the grass, the bike path was right next to it, so the killer could have naturally dumped the body and escaped without leaving any footprints.

“The killer is very likely a former National Security Bureau agent.” After recording the clues they had gathered so far, Yingli held a whiteboard marker and said, “One, the killer’s knife was precise and without hesitation, which shows that he has had a certain amount of training. Two, the alcohol concentration found in the victim’s blood shows that the killer stabbed the victim while he was unconscious. He very likely knew the victim, and including the persuasion, there were no signs of a struggle or a fight during the whole process. Three, the killer acted after the media had reported on Wei Yumin’s murder, and he did it in a copycat manner. From the fact that the severed fingers were not found… I think the killer intended to achieve two goals with this.”

“What kind of goals?” Chen Huomu asked impatiently.

“To increase the attention on the whole incident and to apply pressure. Perhaps there was also a hint of exhibitionism.”

“This whole thing has already received a lot of attention.” Cai Yuwei couldn’t help but hold his head. Now even the major well-known discussion boards and social media sites were discussing this topic, as if someone were deliberately hyping it up.

Chen Huomu asked again, “When you say apply pressure, Teacher, do you mean to the police…”

“Not just that. Besides us, it’s also directed at ‘Mountain Wind.’”

At this, all eyes were on her.

“This is the killer’s ‘exhibitionism.’ Perhaps he also intended to frame ‘Mountain Wind’ for this case, but in this situation where a shocking case has just been committed, to say that Li Yuejiao has once again targeted the original members of the National Security Bureau, the timing is a bit too strange, at least I don’t believe it.” She looked at Zhou Zengxiang. “Am I right, Director?”

Zhou Zengxiang nodded reluctantly.

“Also, I’d like to ask a question.” She leaned on the table. “I strongly suspect that the list is not just missing Li Yuejiao. Do you have anything to add to this sudden copycat case?”

“What do you mean, Dr. Tang?”

“Is there anyone else missing from the list the director gave?” Yingli squinted. “A former National Security Bureau agent who is clean and decisive in his actions, and has a twisted and arrogant personality.”

“I thought the person you were talking about was Li Yuejiao.”

“But it wasn’t her who did it.”

“You’re so sure? The M.O. is exactly the same, only the gunshot to the forehead is missing.”

“Of course I’m sure.” Yingli’s tone was calm and steady. “Li Yuejiao cut off Wei Yumin’s fingers to force him to reveal the combination to the safe, but this later incident lacks this factor and is just a simple imitation for the sake of imitation.”

“Maybe Peng Haoze also knew some secrets that could only be forced out of him through this kind of physical torture?”

“Then he could have just questioned him when he was relaxed. He was almost drunk and unconscious before he was killed.” She crossed her arms. “Could it be… the director is still hiding some information?”

“Dr. Tang,” Zhou Zengxiang slowly stood up, “it was because Chief Fang recommended you, and you did indeed solve many cases, that I decided to ask you to join the special task force. You are here to arrest Li Yuejiao, not to be confrontational with me.”

“I’d like to say the same thing to you, Director.” Yingli did not back down. “As the director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, compared to solving this case, you seem to be more worried about more of your secrets that you don’t want people to find out being dug up by getting too deep into this case.”

“I have nothing to hide.”

“Oh, really?”

“What do you think?”

“Besides being a superior and a subordinate, do you and Li Yuejiao have a deeper connection?”

At her questioning, Zhou Zengxiang actually smiled. “Your imagination is too rich. To be honest, Dr. Tang seems to have something to hide too.”

Yingli pursed her lips, and he lowered his voice and said, “Is there anything in the evidence storage of the Criminal Investigation Division? It seems someone is particularly interested in the things inside.”

Her expression was blank, and Jian Minggui discreetly shrank his neck.

“It seems someone’s motive for joining the Criminal Investigation Division is not so simple. Are you willing to say it in front of Chief Fang and the other team members?”

The pressure suddenly shifted back to her. Yingli took a deep breath. “Even if I have other motives, my private investigation has nothing to do with this case.”

“Before you question others, why don’t you ask yourself if you also have something to hide.” After a moment’s pause, he turned to Fang Zijun and said, “The problem of Officer Zhou’s unauthorized absence this morning, has Chief Fang found out?”

“I have. She said she was investigating this case and went to question Tan Ziying.” Fang Zijun’s face was filled with defeat. “But please don’t worry, Director. I have already solemnly warned her. If she dares to do it again, I will temporarily suspend her.”

“Yes.” He walked to the team room door. “By the way, the killer in the Peng Haoze incident, for now, just tell his family it was ‘Mountain Wind.’ We must find out Li Yuejiao’s exact whereabouts as soon as possible. We don’t have time to be distracted now.”

“Got it.”

After Zhou Zengxiang had left, the atmosphere in the team room finally relaxed a little. Tao Qianya asked in a low voice, “Teacher… that, you really joined us to investigate other cases…”

“Ah, but that case should have nothing to do with this incident.”

“In any case, what you just did to the director was indeed a bit much.” Fang Zijun couldn’t help but remind her. “Even if you’ve solved many cases before, you still have to be careful with the director.”

“Yes… thank you for the reminder, Chief Fang,” Yingli put down the whiteboard marker, her gaze still locked on the link between Zhou Zengxiang and Li Yuejiao, “I’ll remember that.”

**

Zhou Zengxiang, who had left the team room, couldn’t wait to get back to his office and made a call to Yan Ruiyang on the way. The person who answered was his secretary, and Zhou Zengxiang repeatedly stated his purpose, and finally managed to get through to him.

‘I didn’t expect you to take the initiative to contact me, sir. It’s going to rain red.’

“What did you do last night?” he gritted his teeth, his tone harsh, “be honest.”

‘What do you mean?’

“‘Hacker’ is dead. The way he died is almost the same as the news report of Wei Yumin’s death yesterday.”

Yan Ruiyang let out a small “Ah,” without any sympathy. ‘How is it the same?’

“It was a copycat crime.” Zhou Zengxiang angrily locked his office door. “Be honest, was it you…”

‘Peng Haoze drank a lot last night.’ he chuckled, ‘ah, to say something you might not know, Lisa and he have been in contact. As expected of a ‘hacker,’ he seems to have dug up a lot of things. The National Security Bureau’s database has a loophole.’

“So it really was…”

‘I was just doing what a good citizen should do.’ he sighed, ‘on the bright side, isn’t this also cutting off Lisa’s clues? With one important person gone, it will definitely affect their actions.’

“Do you know where she is?”

‘I’m not sure. But I did send something to the human resources agency her man runs. Their men will surely deliver it for me. By the way, Lisa has no taste. What’s so good about that kind of man? Compared to you, he’s so much worse…’

“In any case, don’t make any more moves.” It was raining heavily outside, which made Zhou Zengxiang even more frustrated. “Don’t think the police can’t do anything to you.”

‘Ha, that’s right. One Lisa is enough to give you a headache… anyway, I’ll just be a good boy and watch this show from the side. Sir, you’d better hurry up.’

“You don’t have to tell me that.” After a fierce end to the call, Zhou Zengxiang was so angry he threw his phone on the desk. If Li Yuejiao was a wildfire that was rushing toward them, then Yan Ruiyang was a completely out-of-control mad dog, and both were equally dangerous.

After some thought, he picked up his phone. “Hello… Ou Yaoguang. Is there anyone there… okay, keep an eye on Yan Ruiyang for me.”