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墨書 Inktalez
"What happened?" Xu Yiman and Yuan Jun both noticed Old Shao's unusual expression and quickly inquired.
Old Shao spoke into his phone, "Actually, it won't take that long. Just one hour is enough."
With that, Old Shao put his phone away in his pocket.
He glanced at the others before continuing, "Just now, the Director of the Provincial Public Security Department called me. A reporter has learned about Deng Xiangyu's death, and yesterday, a reporter got wind of that Threatening Note. Therefore, it's easy for those reporters to connect Deng Xiangyu's death with the Threatening Note."
"Right now, the higher-ups are trying to suppress this matter, but those reporters won't care. In no time, they will link these two cases together in their reports. Soon, the headlines will read something like this—'New Developments in Fourth Middle School Bullying Case: One Participant Murdered, Killer Left a Threatening Note.'"
"But how would the reporters know about Deng Xiangyu's death if they only knew about the Threatening Note? Didn't they tell the parents and students to keep it confidential?" Xu Yiman asked.
Old Shao rubbed his temples before responding, "First of all, it wouldn't be information leaked from the school. Bullying and a student’s death are two entirely different concepts. There's only one person who is most suspicious. No, I'm certain it's him."
"Who?" Xu Yiman asked.
Old Shao replied, "That would be Wang Liguo's gambling father. That case has stirred up quite a commotion; almost everyone is paying attention to it. He must have gotten such explosive news and would naturally think about selling it to reporters for money. Originally, the killer who left that murder note didn't know about Deng Xiangyu's death; now, he probably has already found out."
"This puts us at a disadvantage; the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. It's really hard to deal with," Old Shao sighed.
"What do we need to accomplish in one hour?" Xu Yiman recalled Old Shao mentioning this timeframe earlier.
"Find the killer," Old Shao said. "The Director wants us to find out who killed Deng Xiangyu within three hours. I told him we don't need that long; just one hour is sufficient."
Xu Yiman looked at Old Shao in surprise and asked with some doubt, "Is that really possible?"
At that moment, Jiang He said, "It's possible, because I am eighty percent sure that this case is a suicide."
Old Shao looked at Jiang He, patting him on the shoulder with a sigh. "Actually, what I fear most is that statement of yours. Now that we have found the first crime scene, we will soon know who disposed of the body. Following this lead, it won't take long for us to identify the murderer."
Jiang He did not understand Old Shao's meaning and replied, "Isn't it the same? We have both found the truth."
"It's not the same," Old Shao said, looking at Jiang He with a somewhat somber tone. With a hint of helplessness, he continued, "You always think my approach is mysterious, but it's really not. This method is based on extensive factual analysis and probability. There are no two identical people in this world, yet human nature is quite similar across the board."
Then Old Shao asked, "So tell me, how are you so sure that Deng Xiangyu committed suicide?"
Jiang He shook his head and said, "It's not certainty; it's an eighty percent likelihood. Once I get up to the water tower, I will give you a definite answer—whether it was a suicide or not."
"The water tower?" Old Shao inquired.
Jiang He nodded and glanced at Yuan Jun beside him. "Can you help me out?"
With that, Jiang He approached the broken ladder.
Yuan Jun examined the ladder and then took a stance, saying to Jiang He, "First step on my thigh, then onto my shoulder. That should be enough for you to climb up this ladder."
"This ladder is broken and rusty; it won't snap, will it?" Xu Yiman expressed her concern.
But at that moment, Jiang He paid no mind to such worries; he had already stepped onto Yuan Jun's body. Without any hesitation, he used Yuan Jun as a stepping stool and placed his hands on the ladder. Jiang He pulled on it firmly; it seemed quite sturdy.
At that moment, Yuan Jun exerted himself with a light shout and stood up straight, lifting Jiang He up.
Jiang He climbed up the ladder without a word, swiftly ascending to the platform of the water tower. The height of over ten meters was not particularly daunting, and with his slender build, he moved with the agility of a monkey. In no time, he reached the platform. As he surveyed the area, he realized his suspicions were correct.
On the platform, a backpack came into view.
Jiang He did not rush over but took his time to observe the surroundings. The water tower had been abandoned for quite some time, and dust had settled thickly on everything. Without needing to bend down for a closer look, he could see numerous footprints etched into the layers of dust.
Analyzing the patterns in the footprints, it was clear they belonged to a single pair of shoes. This indicated that someone had indeed been here, and only one person had visited.
Jiang He pulled out his phone and carefully took pictures before making his way toward the backpack.
The backpack was not far from the edge of the platform, only about ten centimeters away. A strong gust of wind could easily send it tumbling down. Jiang He noticed clear footprints near the edge, suggesting that this person had stood here for an extended period.
He positioned himself in the same spot, donned his gloves, and reached down to grab the backpack lying nearby.
Upon inspection, he found that the backpack contained four or five neatly folded pieces of clothing and several high school textbooks. This explained why it appeared so bulky in the video.
More importantly, next to the backpack was a brown bottle.
The bottle emitted a foul odor that Jiang He had already noticed.
He bent down again and finally picked up the bottle.
There was no cap on it, and despite looking around, he could not find where it might have gone. It was likely that this lightweight object had fallen off the water tower long ago.
Jiang He examined the bottle closely; most of the label had worn away, leaving only a faint glimpse of a character that looked like "withering." It seemed this was indeed the Paraquat used by Deng Xiangyu for her suicide.
The bottle contained a small amount of Paraquat liquid, and Jiang He carefully set it aside before leaning down to take a look.
At that moment, Jiang He was completely focused, which startled the person below.
Jiang He stood at the edge of the platform, already in a precarious position. Now, as he crouched down further, it was all too easy for him to tip forward and fall from the edge, plummeting from a height of over ten meters. This was no trivial matter, especially considering that Jiang He had a tendency to suffer from sudden headaches.
“Yuan Jun, go up and keep an eye on him,” Shao the Elder instructed.
Yuan Jun nodded and jumped up, grabbing hold of the broken ladder with both hands. He then performed a pull-up and climbed up the ladder.
Jiang He leaned further forward, seemingly fixated on a diagonal beam below the platform.
The beam was covered in many sheets of metal, and despite his careful observation, Jiang He couldn't make out what lay four or five meters away on that thin sheet of metal suspended in mid-air. Even with his keen eyesight, the metal sheet appeared distant and thin, resembling a fine line from afar.
Yet Jiang He insisted on discerning something from this fine line. Leaning even further forward, he finally saw it clearly. On the now rust-red metal sheet was a color distinct from rust—a deep crimson red.
“This is it!” Jiang He couldn't help but exclaim.
Just then, a gust of wind swept through from above.
In that instant, Jiang He's center of gravity shifted completely. He began to tilt downward without any chance to adjust his balance.
Before he knew it, Jiang He had fallen. His intense focus on what lay before him left no room for concern about his own safety.
As he neared the diagonal beam below, someone grabbed hold of his foot just in time.
Jiang He slid down another half meter, finally hanging in mid-air.
"Don't move, I'll pull you up!"
Yuan Jun appeared behind Jiang He, having grabbed his foot.
"Wait!" Jiang He stopped Yuan Jun.
"What are you doing?" Yuan Jun lay flat on the platform, gripping Jiang He's foot tightly with both hands. "I can't hold on much longer."
Jiang He pulled out his phone from his pocket, extended his arm, and took a few photos before saying, "That's enough."
Yuan Jun let out a loud shout, using all his strength to slowly pull Jiang He back up.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Yuan Jun lay on the platform, panting heavily as he spoke to Jiang He.
Jiang He stood up, zipped up his backpack, and slung it over his shoulder. Then, cautiously, he picked up the bottle and began to climb down the ladder.
At that moment, Yuan Jun was drenched in sweat, his face pale and terrified. Yet when he looked at Jiang He, there was not a hint of fear on his face; it seemed as if he didn't regard life and death at all.
"Let's go!" Jiang He had reached the middle of the ladder. He shouted, "It's confirmed—Deng Xiangyu committed suicide."
"What a lunatic!" Yuan Jun slapped his forehead in disbelief.
When Yuan Jun stood up, he realized his legs felt weak and were trembling uncontrollably. The situation had been extremely dangerous; under the force of gravity, Jiang He could have easily pulled him down as well. But in that critical moment, Yuan Jun couldn't think too much about it. Fortunately, Jiang He was slender and didn't have much weight...
Yuan Jun descended the straight staircase.
"Be careful," Jiang He said, handing down a bottle. "There's Paraquat inside; don't get it on yourself."
Old Shao took the bottle, and Jiang He jumped down.
Xu Yiman was furious. "You tell us to be careful, but what are you doing? Do you realize you almost cost two people their lives just now?"
"I had calculated the center of gravity," Jiang He replied.
"You rely on calculations for everything," Xu Yiman scolded. "But do you understand that your calculations are just probabilities, and anything based on probability can happen?"
"As long as there's a sixty percent chance, I'll go for it," Jiang He countered.
Xu Yiman was enraged, shouting, "Sixty percent? Are you saying that anytime you might put us at such risk? Someone who doesn't cherish their own life can't possibly value others' lives! If I were in danger and you had to save me, with only a forty percent chance of survival, what would you do?"
Jiang He fell silent.
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