Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The water police, civil police, auxiliary police, and cooperative police joined forces with a civilian body recovery team to carry out a net-style recovery operation along the flow of the Zhaowang River, heading east. The informant, Zhang Tiangang, once again detailed the specific circumstances of the incident to the criminal police. The technical investigation personnel accompanying the team methodically conducted numbered photography and sampling analysis, while the civil police from the Jigong Road Substation, who had been busy for most of the night, temporarily returned to rest, except for Ji Qinchou.
"Why? Brother Ji isn't slacking off!" a colleague from the police station defended him.
"You don't understand anything!" Xu Liang pointed a finger at that colleague's forehead. "He is now under Captain Shen's supervision; when he sleeps is up to her."
All the colleagues looked at Ji Qinchou with congratulatory eyes. He felt embarrassed and glanced at Xu Liang and then at Shen Jie, looking like a shy bride. After hesitating for a while, he managed to say, "Sister Ying is investigating with me; she understands some things better than I do."
Xu Liang slapped Ji Qinchou on the back of his head. "I've been generous enough to let you go for your future. You ungrateful brat still want to sneak away our police flower? Dream on!" As he spoke, he grabbed Ye Ying's arm and pulled her behind him.
"Captain Xu, it's just a temporary assignment. Once we solve the case, I'll personally bring her back to the station, okay?"
Xu Liang gestured toward Ji Qinchou. "What about Xiao Ji?"
Shen Jie stepped in front of Ji Qinchou with long strides. "Then you can forget it."
Xu Liang huffed and led his subordinates up the stairs while Ye Ying stood awkwardly in place. Xu Liang climbed the steps and turned back to remind them, "Remember to come back on time! Otherwise, I'll make you work night shifts for a week!"
"Okay!"
"Captain Xu told me that because you were hospitalized after the explosion last time, you missed the probation exam, which is indeed unfortunate. If you don't mind, you can continue as an auxiliary police officer in Team Two. If there are any significant contributions or if there’s another probation exam next year, I’ll help you apply."
"None of that matters." Ji Qinchou turned around. "Sister Ying, are you tired? Do you want to go back and rest?" Ye Ying shook her head.
"I'm not tired either. Shall we continue?" Seeing Ye Ying nod, Ji Qinchou asked Shen Jie, "We got some surveillance footage from shop entrances; where should we go to review it?"
Well, I expressed my attitude but they have no time. Shen Jie cleared his throat. "Shi Ya, take Xiao Ji and Xiao Ye back to the bureau to analyze the surveillance footage."
"Okay."
As Shi Ya took off a disposable glove and approached Ji Qinchou and Ye Ying with a smile, she walked up the steps toward the police car. Ji Qinchou and Ye Ying followed behind and caught sight of the PINK Bar's sign. Suddenly remembering something, Ji Qinchou ran to the shutter door and looked up at the camera. After checking all night, he found that most establishments on this street—whether barbecue shops, massage parlors, or bars—had gun-type camera mounts installed at their entrances; he couldn't tell if it was intentional or accidental.
Shi Ya noticed Ji Qinchou acting strangely and was about to call out to him when Ye Ying stopped her and whispered, "He must have made a discovery. The more you interact with him, you'll realize he's both foolish and clever; he can't multitask well but is completely focused on cases. He really doesn't care much about social relationships but has great integrity; you can trust that."
Whether she felt reassured or not didn't matter; she was just curious why Ji Qinchou was fixated on the surveillance camera as if it were more than just watching it. His gaze seemed to intimidate the camera like claws gripping it as he slowly backed away until he stopped at a parking space in front of a white sedan's side mirror. Frustratedly clicking his tongue, he turned to Ye Ying and said,
"Sister Ying, all these are gun-type mounts with limited visibility; they definitely won't capture anything by the riverbank. We can only note down the license plate numbers of vehicles appearing in the footage and hope that any cars parked in reverse have dash cams that recorded images of the perpetrator."
"Double the workload?"
"Let's first jot down these vehicle license plate numbers."
Ye Ying took out her notebook, and together with Ji Qinchou, they became busy again. Shi Ya watched them from afar and suddenly felt frustrated by her own idleness.
"No need for such trouble; modern criminal investigation techniques have advanced tremendously. With TF cards, programs can automatically capture targets and record them." She shouted at them.
"Wow, that's so advanced."
In front of the computer, Ji Qinchou and Ye Ying looked like rural folks who had crossed over from before the reform and opening-up era. Upon entering the police station, they were awestruck by the high-tech and spacious fan-shaped case handling hall. Facing the automated programs, Ji Qinchou exclaimed, "If we had this thing in our department, forget about catching someone stealing an electric bike; we could definitely catch anyone groping someone in public!" He was nearly drooling.
Shi Ya felt inexplicably proud. "You all keep busy; I'm heading back to the scene. By the way, after screening the license plate numbers, directly contact the traffic police department to request detailed information about the vehicle owners."
"Okay, thank you."
Leaving the program to run on its own, Ji Qinchou tried to contact Sun Changyu, Tang Wenshan, and Zhuo Anqi, but none of their calls went through. His WeChat friend requests were also left unanswered. He then asked Ye Ying for Tong Tong's WeChat, and this time his friend request was accepted. After confirming via video call at the entrance of Hailin City Public Security Bureau that Ji Qinchou was not a telecom fraudster, they arranged a time and place to meet.
"Tong Tong is a pseudonym I used while working at a bar; my real name is Du Zao, like red dates," she said.
After hanging up, Ji Qinchou recalled Du Zao's indifferent face from the video call.
Du Zao worked at a local dairy factory in Hailin City. With her hair covered by a light blue disposable non-woven cap, she strutted over with her long legs. As she removed her cap, letting her long black hair cascade down her shoulders, she approached Ji Qinchou and Ye Ying. Tossing her cap into a nearby trash bin, she held a glass bottle of milk, unscrewed the cap, and was about to drink when she noticed Ye Ying yawning. She pulled out a packet of instant coffee from her tight jeans pocket and poured it into the milk, shaking it before handing it to Ye Ying.
"Here, this works wonders; I rely on it when I feel drowsy at work."
"Thank you," Ye Ying replied shyly as she accepted it. Du Zao showed little expression; her sharp brows made her look stern, but the naturally upturned corners of her lips added an awkward charm to her beauty. She was undoubtedly attractive, even if her icy demeanor made her seem unapproachable.
"Are you looking for Tang Wenshan and the others?" Du Zao's gaze fell on Ji Qinchou's face. "I told you on WeChat that he has been missing for several days now; I have no news about them either. If you don't believe me and insist on coming here for nothing..." She rolled up her sleeves to reveal a black hair tie with a set of keys attached. Removing the hair tie along with the keys, she handed them to Ji Qinchou. "Room 1101, Unit 3, Building 1 of Qingtong Community. The magnetic card for the unit door, the key for the entrance door, and the key for the second bedroom are all here. You can search for yourselves; once you get there, you'll know I wouldn't lie if I were still alive."
Once Du Zao entered through the sliding door and disappeared around a corner, Ye Ying playfully nudged Ji Qinchou's elbow. "How unusual, Xiao Ji; you didn't say a word! You used to be the one leading the charge—are you not dazzled by beauty?"
"Huh? No," Ji Qinchou snapped back to reality. "I just feel... she's different from others—not in an obvious way, but I can't quite figure it out."
"Is there really someone you can't figure out?"
When they got back into a taxi, Ye Ying suddenly remembered—Qingtong Community! She anxiously studied Ji Qinchou's profile as he avoided looking at her. "Looks like that packet of instant coffee really works; you slept all the way here and now you're wide awake staring at me like two big headlights."
"Who’s staring at you! And stop picking up bad habits from our chief; being too quick with your tongue can get you into trouble!"
Even without Ji Qinchou saying anything, Ye Ying could sense his unease. Qin Lang and Fang Dersee had died in that explosion; fortunately, there was no significant structural damage to threaten residential safety. But still, two lives were lost—especially since Qin Lang had once had a chance to be saved by him and didn’t have to take such a desperate path... Yet these sorrowful emotions were completely tucked away as they entered Room 1101 of Unit 3 in Building 1.
The apartment was a two-bedroom unit. Upon entering through the foyer next to a wooden cabinet on the right side was a large living room with south-facing floor-to-ceiling windows; on the left side was a narrow kitchen with a bathroom directly across from it. To the right of the bathroom was the master bedroom and to its left was the second bedroom.
After thoroughly checking the living room, kitchen, and bathroom, Ji Qinchou opened the door to the master bedroom. His eyes fell upon a large bay window adorned with pink tassel curtains outlined in gold thread. There was a folding chair pushed slightly aside and a double bed covered with white floral sheets flanked by two nightstands on either side. At the foot of the bed was a matching desk and chair against one wall stood an unsoiled wardrobe atop clean wooden flooring that mirrored the simplicity outside.
After searching through everything in sight, he found items bearing Tang Wenshan's mark: an ashtray on one nightstand, dark green men's slippers in the wardrobe alongside men's clothing items, and possibly skin cells on the sheets that were invisible to naked eyes. Next came their exploration of the second bedroom; if they had been puzzled about where Du Zao’s confidence in claiming she “couldn’t possibly lie” came from before entering this room, all their questions would soon find answers within its confines.
Comment 0 Comment Count