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墨書 Inktalez
The members of the task force, with the help of local police officers, quickly arrived at Peony District and found Zhang Zong's home. It was already past three in the morning, and every household in Peony District had turned off their lights. The task force members, along with a few officers, were knocking on the door, but after a good ten minutes, there was no response from inside.
"What's all this knocking for?" shouted a loud voice from the other side. "Can't anyone get some sleep? Are you all rushing to be reborn or something? Who died?"
The group was startled by the booming voice, which was much louder than their knocking. If it got any louder, it would likely wake up everyone in the hallway.
Old Shao turned to the others and said, "If they can hear us, then Zhang Zong's family must have heard us too. This means either there's no one home or they can't come to the door."
"Break it down," Old Shao commanded after considering this.
The others exchanged glances and then began to kick at Zhang Zong's door. Despite the security door being relatively sturdy, it couldn't withstand the assault from several strong men. Within twenty minutes, the security door gave way, and Yuan Jun kicked open the wooden door inside.
"Clear," Old Shao instructed as he stood behind them.
Yuan Jun drew a gun from his waist, holding it with the muzzle slightly lowered. His left hand rested lightly on his right hand to prevent accidental discharge. He moved silently like a leopard stalking its prey in the dark. Jiang He positioned himself at the entrance hall door, guarding the switch. A few detectives also drew their guns and followed Yuan Jun as they cautiously moved through the house.
"Safe," Yuan Jun reported after a quick sweep of the area.
Jiang He then turned on the lights, flooding the room with bright light. Everyone instinctively blinked as they adjusted to the sudden brightness; this was why Jiang He had been stationed by the switch. After spending too long in darkness, they needed time to acclimate. If there had been any hidden threats inside, they would have been at a disadvantage.
"There might not be anyone in here," Yuan Jun said as he prepared to secure his weapon while moving toward the entrance.
At that moment, a voice shouted from across the way: "Damn it, how long is this going to go on? Can't anyone get some sleep? Come on! If you have guts, just kill someone already! Why do you keep torturing us? The people over there are dead!"
Hearing that loud voice, everyone turned to look at her. She was a middle-aged woman, likely in her forties, with curly hair and wearing an oversized nightgown that struggled to contain her figure. In her hand was a Wang Mazi Kitchen Knife, and she glared at them with an expression that suggested she was ready to chop them up on the spot.
She glanced at the guns in their hands and then looked down at her kitchen knife before quickly saying, "Hey, you all carry on; I didn't see anything! Just go ahead..."
She started to walk back inside.
At that moment, Old Shao stepped forward to block her path and said, "Don't be afraid; we're police officers. Do I look like a bad guy? From what you just said, it sounds like many people have come looking for Zhang Zong. What's going on?"
The woman hurriedly set the knife aside and said to the crowd, "Yes, it's been over half a month now. Almost every night, someone comes knocking, looking for Zhang Zong."
"Every night? Who are those people?" Jiang He asked.
The woman waved her hand dismissively. "I don't know them, but I can tell they're all Dog Relatives..."
"Dog Relatives?" Jiang He inquired.
"You see how my mouth gets me into trouble; just don't let me go out. If others come knocking at my door, I can't handle it." The woman continued, "They must be dog lovers. There was a video online of Zhang Zong abusing dogs, and ever since that video came out, I don't know who leaked Zhang Zong's address, but now there are always people coming by."
She stepped outside and pointed at Zhang Zong's door. "Sometimes when I come home from work, I see his doorstep covered in dog poop, and people even write things like 'pervert' on his door with markers. Every night, someone knocks on his door just to torment him. Zhang Zong may abuse dogs, but what does that have to do with me? I still have to put up with the knocking."
Jiang He nodded, recalling what the local police station had said. Afterward, the dog owner withdrew the complaint and never bothered Zhang Zong again. It seemed these people were not summoned by the dog owner but were self-appointed justice warriors from online communities. The Criminal Consultant could very well be among them, having already scouted the area.
"No one." The group searched the house thoroughly but found no sign of life.
Old Shao nodded and asked the woman again, "Do you know what the people across the street are up to? Doesn't Zhang Zong have a wife and a child?"
"A four-year-old," the woman replied. "His wife asked me how to raise a child when she was giving birth. We chatted a bit back then, so I know."
"Why is there no one at home?" Old Shao pressed further.
The woman leaned in to look inside. "I don't know. Ever since that incident happened, this family hasn't stepped out of their house. I haven't seen them at all; I'm really not sure."
Old Shao nodded and said to her, "Alright, thank you for your help. You should go home and get some good sleep."
The woman glanced inside once more before reluctantly turning to leave. As she walked away, she asked, "What's with the gun? Is something going on?"
Old Shao smiled and replied, "No need for you to worry about that."
Old Shao led Jiang He into the house. Jiang He wandered around until he reached the bedroom. The quilt on the double bed was still messy. Jiang He reached in to touch it; the cup had already gone cold, indicating that Ming Zhangzong had left some time ago.
Jiang He opened the wardrobe, which was filled with men's clothing. There were no women's or children's clothes in sight, suggesting they had been taken away.
In his heart, Jiang He already had an answer. Thinking of this, he went to the kitchen and searched around, but the items he expected to find were indeed missing.
"Did you find anything?" Old Shao noticed Jiang He's actions.
Jiang He nodded and said to Shao the Elder, "When I entered the bedroom just now, I noticed the quilt on the bed, but the whole room was relatively tidy. It seems that Ming had someone clean up while she wasn't home. So I went to the kitchen and found there was no baby formula, which leads me to believe that Zhang Zong's wife and child must have left this home for a while, while Zhang Zong is likely still living here."
"But it's already late at night, and Zhang Zong hasn't returned. I'm afraid..." Jiang He continued.
"Afraid he has already been taken by the Criminal Consultant?" Shao the Elder interjected.
Jiang He nodded.
Old Shao sighed and said, "We might have played right into their hands. Or perhaps everything was already prepared by the Criminal Consultant. The events that happened over half a month ago were planned long in advance, and at any time they could have moved that truck of dogs to Dragon City, but they chose only that moment. They deliberately left us clues to lead us along."
"Let's go find that dog owner," Old Shao said, rubbing his temples. He turned to a nearby police officer and asked, "What’s that dog owner's name? Where does she live? From that video, she should also be in Peony District."
"Yes," replied the police officer. "That woman is named Liu Jialu. She's in her thirties, married but without children, living in Peony District as well. They don’t live in the same building but not far apart."
Old Shao pondered for a moment. "Let’s go look for her. Since Zhang Zong has gone missing, perhaps we can hear something from Liu Jialu that will help us piece together what happened."
After sealing off Zhang Zong's front door with tape, everyone finally left his house and headed toward Liu Jialu's place. Not far from Zhang Zong's home, they arrived at Liu Jialu's doorstep after a few minutes. Yuan Jun pressed the doorbell, and after four or five minutes, a man's voice came from inside: "Who is it? Your mother is knocking on the door in the middle of the night; are you trying to die?"
"Police," Yuan Jun replied. "Open the door immediately."
"Police?" The man's voice sounded skeptical from behind the door. "Hold on a second; let me see."
Yuan Jun took out his police badge, and only then did the man open the door.
The man yawned widely. "I'm Officer, what brings you to our home at this hour? I recognize this officer; I've seen him at the precinct before. What's going on?"
"It's about your dog," said Shao the Elder.
The man glanced at Old Shao and replied, "That issue was resolved a while ago. We dropped the case, and everything is fine now. Why are you still bringing it up? It's not like I committed murder. Are you going to throw me in jail over this? Besides, that dog has already been skinned by Zhang Zong, so why keep dwelling on it?"
Old Shao sensed the underlying meaning in the man's words. While it seemed clear that someone else had skinned his dog, the man appeared to feel guilty about something, indicating there were aspects of the situation that others might not understand.
"Honey, who is it outside?" Liu Jialu asked, dressed in her pajamas with a fox fur scarf around her neck. "What’s going on?"
"The officer is asking about our dog," the man replied.
"But that's all settled, why are they asking again?" the woman interjected. "Even though it's just a dog, it's exactly like our son. We don't have children, so that dog is our child. I haven't even settled things with Zhang Zong yet; he should be punished by those who love dogs."
"What do you mean?" Old Shao felt increasingly uneasy about the situation and quickly asked, "If that dog was your son and Zhang Zong cruelly skinned your son, why did you voluntarily drop the case? What kind of private settlement did you reach?"
(End of Chapter)
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