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墨書 Inktalez
Closing my eyes, I seemed to hear the ticking sound of the watch hands moving. Suddenly, a wave of calm washed over me, sweeping away the chaos and busyness. I gently rubbed my temples with my fingers, feeling inexplicably comfortable. No one around me spoke; with my eyes closed, it felt as if I was the only person left in the world.
I lost track of time until finally someone couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up. It was the girl from the Second Unit. I didn't open my eyes but listened as she said, "It's already eleven-thirty; in half an hour, it'll be tomorrow. There's still no sign of life outside. I think that guy, Yan Junde, probably won't make it back."
After she finished speaking, no one responded. Perhaps it was a bit awkward; after a brief silence, she continued, "Captain Shao, are you hiding your inner anxiety by keeping your eyes closed?"
Hearing what the girl from the Second Unit said, I had no choice but to open my eyes. A glance at my watch confirmed her words; it was indeed eleven-thirty-five. Yet there was still no sound from outside, and Dezi hadn't called me either. At that moment, Mary took out her phone and said, "Should I call him to check on things?"
I shook my head and replied, "No need. If he can make it back, he will before midnight. But if he's still on the plane now, calling won't help."
"It seems you all think he won't return, right?" the girl from the Second Unit remarked.
I shook my head again and said, "On the contrary, we believe he will come back, so there's no need to call."
As we spoke, everyone was watching the clock in the center, observing the second hand moving in circles. In what felt like an instant, the minute hand had moved to the nine o'clock position; it was now eleven-forty-five. At this point, Zhang Lei could no longer contain himself; he stood up and said, "It's already eleven-forty-five. Even if Yan Junde comes back now, he might not catch the Criminal. I think you should just give up and go home to prepare for returning to the department."
Just then, someone said, "Although I don't understand what you're talking about, it seems like someone is waiting for me."
Hearing that familiar voice made us turn around immediately to see Dezi standing in front of us. We all felt a surge of joy while Zhang Lei and his team members looked sullen. However, I wasn't in the mood to argue with the Second Unit; instead, I quickly asked, "Dezi, how did the investigation go?"
Dezi nodded and raised a stack of A4 papers in his hand as he said, "The investigation is clear; it turns out just as you suspected. I went to find Lü Weiguo for confirmation. He said he indeed met Zhao Ke'er at Zhao Huanghe's factory. Lü Weiguo mentioned that Zhao Huanghe said Zhao Ke'er is the daughter of one of his friends."
"In between," Yan Junde added, "I called the Kaiyang City police to investigate Han Youliang regarding Zhao Ke'er." He continued, "They gave me a satisfactory answer: after agreeing that Han Youliang would fully cooperate and play a round of Mahjong first, Han Youliang revealed a name—Hou Jianguo—who is supposedly a friend of Zhao Huanghe!"
"I immediately found this person and finally learned the truth from Hou Jianguo," Yan Junde looked at us and said. "This matter dates back twenty years!"
"Twenty years?" Captain Li couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing Yan Junde's words. "Does this case stretch back that far?"
"Indeed," Yan Junde nodded. "It all began on the day Zhao Ke'er was born twenty years ago. We all know what Zhao Huanghe does. Twenty years ago, he hadn't opened his own auto repair shop yet and didn't have much savings; he was working as a thug."
We nodded in understanding.
Yan Junde continued, "Twenty years ago when Zhao Huanghe had Zhao Ke'er, his wife died during childbirth. At that time, Zhao Huanghe was ruthless as a thug; there was nothing he wouldn't do. Naturally, he had many enemies who all wanted him gone."
"Although Zhao Huanghe is a good-for-nothing, he shows no sympathy when bullying ordinary people," Yan Junde scoffed, then continued, "But when it comes to his daughter, Zhao Huanghe has invested a tremendous amount of effort. He knows that his enemies can't get to him, but they might go after his daughter. So, when Zhao Ke'er was only a few months old, he entrusted her to a friend of his, that Hou Jianguo!"
"This happened twenty years ago, back when the household registration system wasn't very well established," Yan Junde continued. "I don't know what methods Zhao Huanghe used, but he managed to register Zhao Ke'er under Hou Jianguo's household. At the time, some people knew about their relationship, but as time passed, those who were aware forgot that Zhao Ke'er was actually Zhao Huanghe's daughter!"
Upon hearing this, Mary looked incredulous. "You mean to say that Zhao Huanghe is actually Zhao Ke'er's father?"
Yan Junde nodded and said, "That's why we didn't uncover this detail while investigating Zhao Huanghe. We thought he was a loner, but that's not the case at all. According to Hou Jianguo, around the age of fifteen, Zhao Ke'er learned about her true identity, but she seemed unable to accept it. After all, Hou Jianguo isn't her biological father, and since he never married, Zhao Ke'er hardly experienced parental love during her childhood."
"It wasn't until she turned fifteen that Zhao Huanghe's business became legitimate," Yan Junde said while holding the documents. "Gradually stepping away from loan sharking and cleaning up his image allowed him to finally acknowledge Zhao Ke'er. However, she never accepted him."
While I had suspected there was some undisclosed familial connection between Zhao Huanghe and Zhao Ke'er, I never imagined that Zhao Huanghe was her biological father. A father who had spent fifteen years facing his own daughter as a stranger just to protect her from his enemies' vengeance.
This twisted form of protection seemed eerily similar to Zhao Kaifang's situation. Perhaps in their eyes, they had done their utmost to safeguard Zhao Ke'er. And what must it feel like for her at fifteen to confront a father she had waited so long to meet? Similarly, during that same year, Zhao Kaifang might have felt something akin to that.
It made sense that the two could become friends; both faced significant blows in their lives at fifteen. Yet their paths diverged drastically afterward. Zhao Kaifang chose to protect Zhao Ke'er while she ultimately chose to kill him.
I glanced at the clock; it was only five minutes past twelve.
At that moment, a girl from the Second Unit said, "Even if you have evidence, it's only five minutes left. Even if you rush to catch the suspect now, it will definitely take more than five minutes, right? So does this mean we win the bet? Are you convinced?"
Mary looked at the girl from the Second Unit and replied, "Aren't you just being unreasonable?"
The girl shrugged. "Solving a case definitely includes catching the Killer, right? If you can't even catch the Killer, what kind of case-solving is that?"
Hearing this made us all laugh, though the Second Unit members didn't understand what was funny. Just then, Captain Li's voice weakly chimed in: "Young lady, I did say they haven't grasped any leads yet, but Captain Shao brought Zhao Ke'er into the interrogation room before they had enough evidence..."
"It looks like you're the ones who are going to lose," I smiled at Zhang Lei before walking into the interrogation room.
The girl stubbornly retorted, "Well, she still has to admit it!"
As I stepped back inside, Zhao Ke'er spoke up: "I want to know how long you're planning on keeping me here? Surely you can't intend to lock me up for life?"
"I'm afraid that's impossible for a lifetime," I shrugged and said. "Because tomorrow you'll be sent to the prosecutor's office. The interrogation room is just for questioning, not sentencing. You wanted evidence, right? I'll give you evidence. The police in Kaiyang City have already arrested Zhao Huanghe, and he has confessed everything."
Zhao Ke'er asked, "Zhao Huanghe? Who is he? A suspect? If he did it, why am I being arrested?"
I lightly tapped my fingers on the table, sneering as I replied, "At this point, do you still not understand? Zhao Huanghe has clearly explained how he killed you and how he contacted you afterward. Moreover, he detailed exactly how much money he transferred to your account."
As I spoke, I watched Zhao Ke'er's expression. Sure enough, after I finished speaking, her previously indifferent demeanor turned serious. I knew I had made the right bet. Before committing suicide, Zhao Huanghe had indeed not informed Zhao Ke'er because he feared that their last connection would lead the police to suspect her. And Zhao Ke'er was completely unaware that Zhao Huanghe had actually been dead for a day.
"Do I need to make myself any clearer?" I locked eyes with Zhao Ke'er and stated each word deliberately. "Or should I call you Zhao Huanghe's daughter?"
The moment I said this, Zhao Ke'er's face changed dramatically. I stared at her as she stared back at me, seemingly trying to engage in a silent battle of wills. This was my final card; only one minute remained. If Zhao Ke'er didn't confess within that minute, our team would lose!
I slammed my palm on the table and said, "I've laid it all out for you; do you still want to keep pretending? Do you really want me to read the messages from Qiang's phone?"
Qiang's phone had long been disposed of by Zhao Huanghe, so we naturally had no messages to refer to. In truth, I was gambling on whether Zhao Ke'er would confess herself. Sure enough, she suddenly burst into laughter and said, "That's right! It was me! I killed Zhao Kaifang, and Ma Youshan too! Xiao Jingguang was also my doing."
A senior high school student was kidnapped along with a leggy school beauty and a busty third-tier celebrity trapped in an abandoned cabin after mistakenly eating unknown wild fruit, feeling feverish in the middle of the night.
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