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墨書 Inktalez
It was already past midnight, and Yang Shuai was still in surgery. We called his wife. Ironically, despite Yang Shuai being missing for so many days, his wife had not reported it to the police. If we hadn’t called, she wouldn’t have even known what had happened to him.
Once we confirmed that Yang Shuai's wife was on her way, there was no need for us to stay any longer. The attending physician informed us that Yang Shuai had only lost a lot of blood and that he was not in serious danger; a blood transfusion would suffice. However, it would take some time for his wounds to heal. Yang Shuai was already awake and out of danger.
I returned to the dormitory, lying in bed but unable to sleep, tossing and turning. The Detective Captain's words echoed in my mind: why were only the residents of the Eighteenth Floor targeted? When Sun Bikun's incident occurred, there were other residents besides those on the Eighteenth Floor. Could this really be a coincidence?
With this question lingering in my mind, I gathered the Special Investigation Team early the next morning.
I said, “Do you remember the innocent resident from the Eighteenth Floor in the Sun Bikun case?”
Everyone nodded. Mary spoke up, “Yes, at that time we didn’t know how the Killer had committed the murder, so we were all a bit scared. Especially when we encountered that old Taoist who caught demons; it felt a bit awkward. But hasn’t the case been resolved? Is there another problem?”
I pressed my lips together and replied, “At that time, our focus was entirely on the method used to kill Sun Bikun, thinking he was just an innocent victim. However, I thought about it for a long time last night and felt something was off. Perhaps we overlooked something.”
“Here’s what we’ll do,” I continued. “ Juan Juan, investigate that piece of ink jade thoroughly; don’t miss any details.”
I added, “Mary, look into the information about the residents of the Eighteenth Floor in detail. Dezi, you and I will head over to Tianyu Company.”
Following my instructions, the Special Investigation Team got busy again. Dezi and I drove to Tianyu Company. As soon as we entered, we saw a large crowd gathered outside, shouting and cursing loudly. The Receptionist was trying to say something amidst the chaos.
I identified myself and signaled for everyone to quiet down before asking, “What’s going on? Please speak calmly; let’s sort this out.”
A woman who looked to be in her forties recognized my identity and shouted, “The police are here! You should arrest all of them; these people are frauds!”
“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown.
After she explained, I learned what these people were there for. To be precise, they were there to collect debts. It turned out they had invested in something called Jade Investment under Yang Shuai's persuasion, which promised an annual return rate of 13% with zero risk and allowed for immediate redemption.
Many initially didn’t believe it; however, those who invested made significant profits at first. That’s when everyone started believing and invested in Jade Investment. Because of this, Yang Shuai's Jade Company quickly received a massive influx of investments within a short period and became one of the top jade companies in Magic City.
But after a year, not only did the investment returns dwindle significantly, but starting from the first three months of this year, users couldn’t withdraw their funds at all; transactions faced severe restrictions. A month ago, they even stopped this entrusted business altogether, leaving billions locked up in this so-called Jade Investment—investors couldn’t even get back their principal much less any interest.
They had approached Yang Shuai multiple times; he promised that their principal would be returned within months as per their agreement stating it would be resolved today. But now they still hadn’t received their principal back. Thus these investors from Magic City came to Tianyu Company while many out-of-province investors awaited news as well.
At that moment, a woman drove up in a luxury car and parked at the entrance. We looked over—it was Yang Shuai's wife. She walked in and said, “Yang Boss has encountered some issues; I will take charge of Jade Investment from here on out. Although our business has ceased operations, we will definitely repay everyone’s invested principal. Everyone please bring your contracts to my office now for immediate refunds.”
Hearing that refunds were indeed possible, everyone rushed over, leaving me and Yan Junde completely sidelined.
It looked like a Ponzi scheme from every angle. In simple terms, a Ponzi scheme uses the money from new investors to pay interest and short-term returns to earlier investors, creating a false appearance of profitability to lure in more investments. But this illusion of profit is like a bubble that will inevitably burst.
Before long, a man came down from upstairs. I asked, "Did you get your principal back?"
The man nodded happily and said, "They even paid interest at the same bank rate. It seems their returns are low, but at least I got my principal back; it wasn't all for nothing. I'm quite satisfied!"
Mary's phone call came in. She said, "The resident on the Eighteenth Floor has been identified as Wang Kai, who works in financial futures. Team Leader, you were right; he does have connections with Tianyu Company. While at the company, he analyzed something called Jade Investment, which is a service launched by Tianyu Company. The company said he was following up on this business, but since he went missing, those documents have also disappeared."
"Later, I traced Wang Kai's network and found that he exposed the money-grabbing nature of Jade Investment online," Mary continued. "I discovered that a large portion of the invested money flowed into Yang Shuai's personal account. Moreover, I found records of Wang Kai blackmailing Yang Shuai online, demanding three million yuan to be transferred into an account; otherwise, he would release those documents."
Things were indeed not as simple as everyone had imagined. The innocent person mentioned by Detective Captain didn't seem so straightforward either; he was entangled in Yang Shuai's case. I couldn't help but wonder if everyone involved in this case was so scheming and ruthless for their own interests.
Shaking my head, I told Mary, "Right now, check into Yang Shuai's wife's background immediately. I authorize you to use some special methods."
Back at the police station, Detective Captain was about to head to Tianyu Company when I waved him off and said, "No need to go there; we have something more important now."
Meeting with Mary and the others, she said, "Yang Shuai's wife is named Mi Si. She is the chairwoman of an investment company, but yesterday around midnight online, she transferred most of her company's funds into Jade Investment. Currently, her company's cash flow has collapsed; if the funds don't return soon, her company will go bankrupt and the other investors won't get a cent back. She could very well end up in prison because of this."
"What I don't understand," Mary said while looking at her computer, "is why she would do this. If she doesn't fix the cash flow within a week, she's finished. Is she really willing to go to prison just to help Yang Shuai cover his losses? To take the fall for her husband?"
I shook my head and replied, "Then some questions start making sense. The resident on the Eighteenth Floor must have uncovered something significant before being killed. However, at that time, Insect Eater was controlled by Alai; if that's the case, then Alai might not just want to retrieve Jade Investment so simply."
"No one's motives are pure!" I frowned and said. "Why was Alai so eager to leave the village? Why did he keep ignoring the old man's warnings? Never mind that now; what's important is that since Mi Si dares to act this way, it means she has the ability to fix the cash flow within a week. I can't believe a wife who hasn't even noticed her husband has been missing for days would willingly take the fall for him."
"Captain, immediately investigate what they did in the hospital after we left that day," I instructed Detective Captain. "But be careful not to alert Yang Shuai; don't let him know about this."
"Understood." Detective Captain nodded and left.
At that moment, Juan Juan approached us; it seemed she had finished examining the jade stone. She said, "Strangely enough, there was only Yang Shuai's fingerprint on it. It looks like no one else touched the jade directly; they must have just handled the box."
About half an hour later, Detective Captain returned to the Police Department and said, "To avoid alarming Yang Shuai, I didn't go into the hospital; I just copied the surveillance footage."
Through the footage, we could see Yang Shuai signaling Mi Si to lean in closer as he whispered something in her ear. Mi Si nodded and left the hospital room. About an hour later, she returned with a stack of documents from her handbag.
Then, Mi Si helped Yang Shuai to his feet. Yang Shuai took the pen that Mi Si handed him and signed something on the document. Afterward, Mi Si smiled and kissed Yang Shuai on the cheek, whispering something in his ear before walking away without looking back.
"It seems like they reached some sort of agreement," Detective Captain remarked as he watched the video.
I nodded and said, "Perhaps it was about that funding issue."
Detective Captain continued, "By the way, the officers outside just called back. They searched around the Bungalow thoroughly, almost digging three feet into the ground, but they still haven't found that batch of missing Jade. This morning, I interrogated Fatty and Slim again, asking if they had any insights about where the Jade might be hidden."
As he spoke, Detective Captain shook his head and added, "But neither Fatty nor Slim had any clues. Up until now, we still don't know where that batch of Jade has gone. The contractor has called me countless times, pleading with us to find out its whereabouts."
I tapped my fingers against my temple, starting to ponder from what I believed to be the answer. I slowly closed my eyes, connecting all the clues, characters, and events until they formed a cohesive whole. The truth was becoming clear to me. I turned to everyone and said, "Perhaps I have a way to retrieve the Jade."
Everyone looked at me in surprise.
I continued, "But not right now. Within a week, someone will naturally return the Jade. For now, I need you all to do something..."
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