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墨書 Inktalez
The next day, the investigation team finally returned with good news. They reported that while investigating a chemical factory, they discovered that the factory's boss had not been seen for a week. Comparing this with the video footage received yesterday, they found that the height and weight of the boss matched that of the person in the video. Currently, no matter how they tried to reach him, they could not get in touch with the factory owner, which raised suspicions.
Since it was merely a suspicion, the deployed police force was minimal—only the Special Investigation Team along with Captain Gao. The rest continued to investigate other suspicious individuals. I noticed that the tear in Captain Gao's clothing had been stitched up; from the outside, it was nearly impossible to see any signs of stitching. It was clear he was a capable husband, which made me feel a renewed fear of marriage. Given Juan Juan's nature, I certainly did not want to come home to sewing and cooking.
"Captain Gao, your skills are impressive!" I remarked.
As he got into the car, Captain Gao replied, "Of course! Everyone says I'm a good husband."
We drove to the location provided by the investigation team. The factory was situated in the northeastern corner of Beiyu City’s Chemical Industrial Park. This area had been specifically allocated by the city government to develop local industry and stimulate economic growth. It covered a vast expanse, with several state-owned enterprises alongside numerous private and partnership businesses—part of Beiyu City's efforts to encourage economic development through favorable policies.
The chemical factory mentioned by the investigation team occupied a corner of the industrial park and was not very large. It primarily produced white carbon black and sodium silicate, commonly known as water glass. Even from outside, we could hear the rumbling of machines, indicating that production continued despite the boss's disappearance.
Upon entering, we found workers still busy at their tasks. A middle-aged man who appeared to be in charge approached us with a smile. He had dark skin and a scar on his face, dressed in an ill-fitting suit that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in ages; it was grimy and grayish. However, he wore sneakers on his feet, making him look anything but like a serious manager.
We wasted no time and revealed our identities. The man's expression suggested he was used to such encounters; he remained cheerful as he asked, "What brings you all here? Just yesterday I had some visitors..."
"Cut the nonsense!" Captain Gao said sternly, abandoning his previous friendliness. "We're here to ask about your boss."
"Oh, my boss? Sure! What do you want to know? I'm quite busy here," he replied with a hint of annoyance at Captain Gao's seriousness.
Captain Gao glanced at the information provided by the investigation team and asked, "Is this factory owned by Wang Kang?"
"That's right," the man confirmed.
"Good," Captain Gao nodded and surveyed his surroundings before continuing, "How long has it been since your boss last came here? When did you last contact him?"
The man looked around as if reluctant to answer. He hesitated before saying, "I don't really want to answer that question. Don't let my uniform fool you; I have connections above me. If my boss makes one call, you guys will lose those uniforms."
Connections above? I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be angry at his comment. Unless he was talking about someone from the Ministry of Public Security, no one could strip me of my clothes like that. However, it seemed Wang Kang had some significant social ties. I stepped closer with a smile and wrapped my arm around his neck, whispering softly, "Brother, we're just following orders here. Do you happen to know who Wang Kang's superior is?"
Feeling my submissiveness made him puff up with pride; he started walking with an air of importance. He nodded solemnly and said slowly, "To be honest with you, I don’t really know who our boss’s superior is either. But I’ve heard it’s someone from the Public Security Bureau. You know how it is; our chemical factory has many dealings with them—the Police Department has quite a bit of authority over us all. Brother, I'm not trying to lecture you; you're young and should be careful not to lose your position over trivial matters—everyone's just trying to make a living."
I immediately adopted an expression of admiration as if I had learned more from him than years of study could provide while signaling Yan Junde with my eyes. Yan Junde understood my intent; I had gathered what I needed from this conversation and it was time for him to take over as the tough guy now that my part was done. Yan Junde nodded subtly at me before stepping forward decisively; he pushed me aside and grabbed the man by his collar with one hand effortlessly lifting him off the ground.
"I don't care if there are people above you. Listen carefully, cooperate with our investigation, and nothing will happen. Otherwise, I want to see just how capable your Boss is. If you don't believe me, go ahead and call your Boss right now!" Yan Junde said angrily.
I couldn't help but give a thumbs up at his words. Although they were brief, if the person in charge got provoked by Yan Junde and made that call, Mary could use the computer to locate the factory owner. The owner's original phone had been disconnected, and it was unclear whether this person in charge could actually reach Wang Kang.
What we didn't expect happened next. When Yan Junde mentioned the person in charge, workers on both sides rushed out of the workshop. I saw that they were all holding tools—wrenches, wooden sticks, and so on. Did they really dare to attack the police?
Seeing this, Yan Junde chuckled twice, drew his sidearm from his waist, and said, "So you want to attack the police? Don't worry; I only have twelve bullets in my gun. There are more than twelve of you here. Rest assured, I can only kill one person with each bullet. Once I've fired all twelve shots, you can come at me. But I can take down a few of you with my bare hands too."
As he spoke, Yan Junde's expression was emotionless, exuding an intimidating aura that made none of the workers dare to step forward. He continued to ask, "Still the same question: if you can cooperate, nod your head. If not, I have ways to make you talk."
"Brother, just say it; look at my brothers here—they're not bluffing," I interjected.
Finally, the person in charge nodded. I signaled for Yan Junde to step back and asked myself, "When was the last time Wang Kang came to the factory? Can you contact him now?"
"My Boss hasn't been here for over a week. However, he sent us a month's salary in advance. I'm not lying; I can't reach him now," the person in charge said helplessly. "This kind of situation has happened before; sometimes it lasts for a month. He usually doesn't come here much; I've always been in charge."
Seeing that the person's expression didn't seem like he was lying, I nodded and asked, "Where do you store the toxic substances in your factory?"
"It's always been in our Boss's office," he replied. "It's kept in a safe; this stuff is extremely poisonous—just a piece the size of a fingernail could kill everyone in this factory." His words rang true; these workers didn't seem like serious employees but were indeed cautious about this matter.
The person in charge led us to the Boss's office. A medium-sized safe stood in the corner with three dials. "Do you know the code?" I asked.
"I don't know; only the Boss knows it," he replied.
"Get a technician..." Before I could finish my sentence, Juan Juan spoke up: "This kind of safe isn't difficult; it just requires one thing. But you mustn't speak or make any noise. This is an old-style safe with a simple locking mechanism."
With that, Juan Juan opened her bag and pulled out some powder from within. She gently blew it onto the dials, revealing fingerprints on them. After contemplating for a moment, she took out something resembling a stethoscope and began placing it on the metal surface of the safe while following the fingerprint pattern clockwise.
We held our breath as she worked. After three attempts, we heard a click—the safe had been opened.
"Such high technology!" the person in charge couldn't help but praise.
However, Juan Juan remarked, "This is the oldest safe; it dates back to the Republic era. Nowadays, safes use electronic codes, and some even have iris scans or fingerprint scans. In this case, it might take Mary the Little Comrade to unlock it. Now that's high technology!"
Regardless of whether it was high technology or not, when the safe opened, we saw that this medium-sized safe was divided into two layers. The upper layer contained bags of white crystalline powder, labeled with a K. This was potassium cyanide, a deadly poison that could kill within minutes. The lower layer held stacks of cash, which looked to amount to around seventy or eighty thousand.
"Compare!" I said. "Let's see where this potassium cyanide has been used. Are there any unknown applications?"
A few hours later, the investigation revealed that one entire bag of potassium cyanide was missing! It's important to note that just a tiny amount of this substance could kill! Only one person at the factory had the code, and only the Factory Director's fingerprint was on the safe. If someone else had taken it, they would have had to remove fingerprints along with the Factory Director's.
This indicated that Factory Director Wang Kang must be involved!
Captain Gao also recognized the urgency of the situation. He made several phone calls and began a citywide manhunt for Wang Kang. Meanwhile, we quickly applied for a search warrant and headed to Wang Kang's home in the city. In the car, Mary said, "Wang Kang is forty-two years old this year, married with a three-year-old daughter, living in Beiyu City, Peace Road Community."
"Police! Police!" We burst through the door only to find Wang Kang's home empty. There wasn't a soul inside; the place was tidied up very well. After a brief inspection, I said, "It looks like no one has lived here for at least two weeks. It seems Wang Kang has been well-prepared."
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