Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
When a dog walks out of the house, it might just be a wolf.
We look at the people around us, sitting next to you, smiling at you in this moment. He could be the CEO of a company, a teacher at a school, or a helpful student, a polite good child. But when he turns his back to you, you will never know what he might do.
He could also be a voyeur, or someone who abuses cats and dogs; perhaps he enjoys hurling insults at others online without restraint. The side you see is always the one that others want you to see. Behind the facade of kindness and humility, there are naturally unseen claws and ferocity.
This was best illustrated when we arrived at Li Jun's home. It was around eight in the morning, and Gu Chen brought the three of us to Li Jun's house. At that moment, Li Jun's parents were home, and before we could tell Li Jun about the death, his mother began to recount how obedient and kind Li Jun was.
Yet each word she spoke sounded more ironic in our ears. A child who kicked a pregnant woman off a bus was seen by Li Jun's mother as a good child. She explained that her son's actions were due to his poor performance on the High School Entrance Exam, which made him increasingly angry on the bus until he acted out.
Seeing Gu Chen frown, Li Jun's mother said, "Even if Li Jun is completely wrong, he is still just a child! How can you hold a child to such standards? When you have children of your own, you'll understand what children are like! Why are you here if you're not going to help find my son?"
Li Jun's mother was only in her thirties and spoke aggressively, hardly giving us a chance to respond.
Gu Chen could not stand this any longer; he spoke up, "Li Jun is dead."
Li Jun's mother continued her tirade but froze upon hearing Gu Chen's words. She stared blankly and asked, "What did you say?"
At that moment, Chen Bo intervened and said to Li Jun's mother, "According to police investigations, Li Jun's time of death was around midnight the night before last. We found his body in an abandoned well in the woods behind Taishan Academy."
Li Jun's mother stood there in shock while Li Jun's father gaped, unsure of what to say.
Chen Bo shook his head and continued, "The cause of death was abuse; there were fifty-two visible wounds on Li Jun's body..."
Upon hearing this number, Li Jun's mother could no longer hold herself up. She fell straight back; if it weren't for Li Jun's father catching her just in time, she would have collapsed onto the floor. It took her quite some time to regain her composure, but she still struggled to catch her breath.
Li Jun's Dad trembled slightly and said, "Have you found the one who killed my son?"
"No," I shook my head. "The investigation is still ongoing. From the wounds on Li Jun's body, it seems that the murderer had a deep grudge against him. If Li Jun didn't provoke this himself, then do you have any enemies who might seek revenge? Do you have any enemies at all?"
Li Jun's Dad pondered for a moment and replied, "No, I'm just an honest businessman. My business isn't too big or too small; it's more than enough to live in this town. Someone like me doesn't have any enemies. Li Jun was just a child; he certainly didn't have any enemies either. What enemies could he possibly have?"
After thinking for a moment, I said, "In any case, this murderer is extremely ruthless and shows no mercy. Regardless of whether it's a child or not, if you think of anyone at all, please let us know."
At that moment, Gu Chen left his phone number with the two of them.
Suddenly, Li Jun's mother spoke up, "I know! I know who it is! It's that pregnant woman and her man—it's them!"
"That's not possible," I frowned and said firmly.
"Absolutely not!" Li Jun's Mother stood up abruptly and insisted, "It was definitely them. I could tell that pregnant woman was no good. A pregnant woman out with a big belly? She just wanted to scam people. And she even asked us for compensation—who does that? It's something a child would do; why pursue it so relentlessly? Who told her not to stand properly?"
Hearing Li Jun's mother's words ignited my anger from deep within.
But Li Jun's Mother wouldn't back down and continued, "I could see her man was also up to no good; he clearly wanted to extort money. Even giving him thirty thousand would be too much. They must be secretly celebrating at home now after doing something like this. Scum like them don't deserve to live in this world."
"Shut up," a deep voice interrupted; it was Gu Chen.
"You are all police officers; you need to uphold justice for the people!" Li Jun's Mother continued to protest.
"Shut your mouth, do you hear me?" Gu Chen pointed a finger at Li Jun's mother.
His voice rang out like thunder on a clear day, and Li Jun's mother dared not speak again. Gu Chen continued, "A human life is worth only thirty thousand yuan. Have you seen how that couple is living now? Everything has been ruined because of your uncultured son, and you dare to say such things? Let me tell you, if I weren't here in this capacity today, you would have already been in the hospital."
Gu Chen's face was flushed with anger; it was clear he was furious to speak such words to a woman.
But that was Gu Chen's nature. When faced with the darkness of the world, he always charged to the front, unable to tolerate even a hint of darkness. If there was any, he would drive it away. Yet, the world is inherently composed of both darkness and light. Within human nature lies both the kindest light and the most terrifying darkness. As long as there are people, darkness will always be present; that is human nature, and how can it be changed?
I tugged at Gu Chen and said, "Let's go."
As we stepped outside, we heard Li Jun's mother muttering to herself, "The police nowadays really lack quality."
Gu Chen angrily replied, "A child reflects their parent; I can't help but wish to tear these people apart."
I shook my head; Gu Chen's thoughts were quite dangerous.
Sighing, I said, "Yes, not everyone who does wrong receives the punishment they deserve. If it weren't for the murderer, Li Jun might have gotten away with everything in the end. He would gradually forget this incident as he grew up and become a good young man; perhaps he would even find joy in helping others in the future."
"I believe," Gu Chen said seriously, "that the laws regarding minors should be revised. The law itself needs to change; it seems that good people never receive their due rewards while bad people can reap their benefits."
"Such matters are beyond our consideration," I said as I patted Gu Chen on the shoulder.
Gu Chen stood still, looking at me with an unusual expression. "But we should at least try."
I looked at Gu Chen, speechless.
Chen Boda said, "Li Jun's dad is rarely home. It seems that Li Jun is usually managed by his mother. Just look at her; how well do you think Li Jun can turn out? A person's upbringing truly affects a child's entire life, and I'm not just talking about money."
If the parents' values are skewed, how could the child's values be any better?
At that moment, the School Leader called Gu Chen. He put the call on speaker, and we heard the School Leader say, "Officer, the Murderer called again, asking if I had solved the first task yet."
The task given to us by the Murderer was to find a reason. Analyzing the current situation, the so-called reason from the Murderer should be to determine why Li Jun died.
I spoke into the phone, "I found it."
The School Leader replied, "That's good. The Murderer will call back soon."
I frowned and asked, "Is it the same number as before?"
The School Leader said, "No, it's a different unknown number this time; it's not the same as last time."
It seemed that the Murderer had a strong counter-surveillance awareness, knowing that using one phone number would make it easy for the police to track him down. Therefore, he used a second phone number, and if there was a second number, there would surely be a third. Now that Li Jun was dead, I thought the reason might be that Li Jun kicked a pregnant woman on the bus.
However, Hu Ningning was still in the Murderer's hands, and I had no idea what he intended to do with her.
Thinking of this, I told the School Leader, "In that case, we will go to the school shortly and find you then."
“That's great, because I can't handle this alone,” the School Leader said.
I turned to Chen Bo and asked, “Is there any technology in town that can trace the source of a phone call?”
Chen Bo shook his head. “What technology does this town have? Should I apply to the City Bureau instead?”
I waved my hand dismissively. “No need for that. Let's find someone else.”
If we brought in someone from the City Bureau, I would be exposed in an instant. I couldn't let Chen Bo contact them. I said to Gu Chen, “Let's ask Mary for help.”
Gu Chen tapped his lips with his fingers. “You mean have her come here?”
I nodded. “Yes, I have a feeling that there's definitely a connection to Wu Zui Gang behind this case. The style is very similar. While I can't say for sure that Wu Zui is the murderer, they must have been involved or provided assistance. It's time we slowly gathered the Special Operations Group.”
Gu Chen glanced at Chen Bo and then back at me. “Well, even though you and Mary seem to be just joking around on the surface, I don't think Mary would…”
Seeing Chen Bo nearby, Gu Chen couldn't elaborate further.
Chen Bo looked at us curiously. “What are you two talking about? I'm not quite clear on it.”
Gu Chen replied, “It's nothing. Just some past matters between colleagues. Let's head back to school first.”
Comment 0 Comment Count