BL Ch45

An enlarged photo was projected onto the white screen. In the picture, the person lay with arms spread wide on the gray-black floor tiles, two familiar parallel slashes visible on the twisted neck. The blood that had flowed out was maliciously shaped into a painting beneath him, forming a crimson cross.

It looked like a deity in suffering.

Lu Qing couldn’t help but cover her eyes and whispered, “I think I’m suddenly feeling a bit queasy from the sight of blood.”

Ji Lin kicked her under the table and muttered through clenched teeth, “Old Peng is speaking. Pay attention.”

The special task force was gathered in full, and the conference room at the Xinjing District Police Station was packed. Sitting at the head of the table, City Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Unit Captain Feng Jinmin wore a solemn expression. His sharp, blade-like eyes were fixed on Peng Deyu, who was presenting the case. Feng’s gray brows were deeply furrowed, likely a result of years of worry, giving him an air of authority without needing to raise his voice.

Peng Deyu, who held the same rank as Feng and was also the deputy leader of the task force with years of friendship between them, still found himself unable to lift his head. After more than a month of investigation, they had not solved the case, and worse, the killer had struck again in Xinjing District, leaving no trace. This failure weighed heavily on him, and he kept his eyes glued to the screen.

“We only found this one photo at the scene, placed inside an envelope. There were no fingerprints, and the paper used was ordinary A4, making it impossible to trace.”

Peng Deyu switched to the next photo, showing a plain brown envelope with the handwritten message: To Mr. Yu and the Officers, open for a surprise.

It seemed like a greeting card or a gift, but inside was a gruesome photo of a corpse. The back of the photo had another message: This is your final warning. Stop the investigation, or one of you will be next.

The killer’s audacity and malice were evident.

“What about the backstage surveillance?” Feng Jinmin asked.

Peng Deyu glanced at Ji Lin.

Ji Lin immediately reported truthfully, “The backstage area of the auditorium is mainly used for students to change costumes before performances, so there are no cameras. While there are cameras inside the auditorium, there’s a back door in the backstage area that’s usually left open. Some students sneak in to avoid teachers and use their phones or meet secretly. The surveillance doesn’t capture that area.”

In other words, if someone entered the backstage area to place the photo, they could easily do so without leaving any trace.

Ji Lin, with dark circles under his eyes from sleep deprivation, continued with the lengthy report, “Pingzhong Middle School runs a summer camp during the break to offer classes for students entering the third year of middle school. There’s no requirement to wear uniforms, and with so many students coming and going, the school security is pretty lax. If someone wanted to sneak in, it wouldn’t raise suspicion. After the meeting, we’ll work overtime to review the surveillance footage at the school gates and try to quickly identify any suspicious individuals.”

Feng Jinmin interlaced his fingers and pressed them against the table, his gaze sharp. “Identify? Based on what characteristics?”

Ji Lin swallowed hard and braced himself under the fierce gaze. “We’ll filter based on the characteristics of the Rainy Alley case suspect. The wounds on Huang Hanxiang’s neck are identical to those of Wu Min, both inflicted by a parallel-bladed weapon. From the Rainy Alley case footage, the known information is… the suspect is an adult male, likely over 1.8 meters tall, wearing a large jewel-encrusted ring.”

Feng Jinmin let out a cold laugh.

The rest of the room sat on edge.

“Your intelligence is worthless,” Feng Jinmin lashed out, his words growing harsher with each sentence. “Let’s not even mention that adult males over 1.8 meters tall are everywhere, and the ring might not be worn every day. How can you guarantee it’s the same person using the weapon? Is it even the same weapon? Even if it is, who told you that the person who placed the photo is the killer? What if the killer had someone else, like a random student, slip in to place the photo? Or worse, paid off a student or staff member? How would you know? With your investigative skills, no wonder the case is still unsolved!”

Ji Lin hung his head, silently taking the scolding. After running around nonstop, his skin had darkened several shades, and his face showed no emotion.

Lu Qing asked softly, concerned, “Brother Ji… are you okay?”

Ji Lin shook his head. “I’m fine. Captain Feng is right. It’s my lack of ability.”

Normally, Lu Qing was brash and could joke about anything with him, but now she couldn’t think of a single comforting word. The sense of helplessness reminded her of when the Rainy Alley case first happened last year. Ji Lin was even more despondent back then.

Back then, he was constantly running between the city and Changhe District police stations, asking for updates on the case, leaving early in the morning and returning late at night. His eyes had dark circles with red veins crisscrossing them, his face unshaven, and he smelled so bad it seemed like he had slept in a dumpster. When she saw him in the station and called out, “Brother Ji!” he often didn’t respond, as if he hadn’t heard.

It was as if his soul had been sucked out, leaving him walking around like a shell of a person.

Feng Jinmin’s fury didn’t abate despite Ji Lin’s acknowledgment of his fault. His sagging cheeks trembled as he demanded, “What about the stage lights going out midway through? Has the lighting technician been questioned?”

Peng Deyu, feeling bad for Ji Lin, couldn’t bear to see him take any more scolding, so he answered first, “Yes, we questioned him. The technician said that since the June 1st Children’s Day event, the stage lighting equipment hadn’t been used. The control room is usually locked, but when Ji Lin brought Yu Duqiu’s team to inspect the equipment on July 9th, the technician noticed signs that the lock had been tampered with. At the time, he thought it might have been some mischievous students, since there’s nothing valuable inside and thieves wouldn’t bother. He checked everything and found nothing wrong. The lights worked fine, so he didn’t think much of it and didn’t report it to us. It wasn’t until the incident happened that we discovered two of the plugs under the control panel, which were originally plugged into two separate outlets, had been moved to one outlet. This wouldn’t cause any issues with short-term use, but after a while, it would cause an overload, resulting in the power cut and the lights going out during the lecture.”

Such a small action triggered a chain reaction, as if everyone was sitting in a boat, pushed along by the killer, smoothly arriving at their predetermined destination—the one the killer had set for them.

Feng Jinmin squinted his eyes into a sharp line that seemed to cut across everyone’s faces, making them wince: “So, to sum it up, the killer has fooled you all again, and you still have no solution?”

Peng Deyu wiped the nervous sweat off his bald head and said, “That’s not exactly true. We were somewhat forward-thinking in predicting that someone might be advising Huang Hanxiang and that he might leave his phone behind to complete the rest of the deal. So, we installed surveillance around his rental apartment and assigned someone to keep an eye on him—Niu Feng.”

Everyone waited for two seconds, but no one responded.

Peng Deyu had been trying to save face, but when his subordinate was daydreaming, it became unbearably awkward. He raised his voice and angrily called out again, “Niu Feng! Report! What are you spacing out for?”

“Huh? Oh, oh!” Niu Feng snapped back to reality, and under the stern, reproachful, and confused gazes of everyone, he nervously avoided eye contact and stammered, “Uh… Huang Hanxiang went out around midnight on the 8th, hailed a taxi, and I traced the car by its license plate to find that he went to the Yiqing Bar in the Changhe district…”

Hearing the familiar place name, Feng Jinmin’s expression became even more serious, and he asked eagerly, “And then? Who did he meet?”

Niu Feng swallowed with difficulty: “He… went in alone and came out alone. He stayed from one o’clock to one-thirty. The bar was busy at that time, with lots of people and chaotic lighting, so it was hard to tell if he had gone into the alley through the back door. The surveillance at the front only caught him walking along the street when he left because he couldn’t get a taxi in the heavy rain. The rain and umbrella seriously interfered with the footage, but we could barely make out that he entered a blind spot on Songchuan Road and then disappeared…”

Ji Lin was surprised: “Wait, does that mean he had already been missing for two days before the crime yesterday? Why didn’t you report this to me?”

Niu Feng looked troubled, scratching his short hair, unable to answer.

Peng Deyu said, “You were busy the past two days, inspecting Yu Duqiu’s speech content and venue, so he reported it directly to me. But that’s not the main point. The key issue is that Huang Hanxiang was killed after one-thirty on the 8th, and the photo was most likely released before the surveillance room lock was found pried open on the 9th. So, we just need to check the people entering and leaving the school on the 8th. Also, in my opinion, Pingzhong High has a strict atmosphere, and students tend to be more safety-conscious. It’s unlikely any of them would casually help a stranger with something so suspicious. Outsiders are more likely involved. We can have the teachers verify whether anyone in the footage is a student.”

Feng Jinmin’s face softened slightly, and after some thought, he added, “Also, check the surveillance at the bar entrance. Was this the first time Huang Hanxiang went there? Was anyone following him when he left? Was he captured by the killer and taken to their hideout? These are all things we need to clarify. The body… we must find it quickly.”

At this, he suddenly paused for some reason.

Peng Deyu noticed his odd expression and roughly understood what was going on. He tried to comfort him, “Don’t worry, Old Feng, we’re investigating all you mentioned. Once we catch the culprit and interrogate them, we’ll definitely find Mu Hao’s whereabouts.”

Feng Jinmin’s stern brow showed a trace of fatigue, and his aggressive attitude eased as he waved his hand while supporting his forehead, saying, “I don’t expect him to still be alive, but at least we need to give his parents an answer.”

An hour later, the meeting concluded.

Feng Jinmin had to go to the Changhe branch for further guidance and left immediately.

People in the meeting room started leaving one after another. Lu Qing nudged their team leader beside them, “Aren’t you going?”

Ji Lin kept his head down, disheartened, staring blankly at the notebook on the table, which was filled with detailed notes about Huang Hanxiang’s personal information.

Peng Deyu walked over with his thermos and heavily slapped Ji Lin on the shoulder: “Kid, don’t be so down. Captain Feng was just worried and lost his temper; he wasn’t targeting you. As Mu Hao’s direct superior, he stayed out of the investigation to avoid conflict of interest, but he’s been keeping an eye on it. The case has been stagnant for over half a year, and now another person has died. Anyone would be angry.”

Lu Qing watched Peng Deyu’s large hand, thinking that it would definitely leave a bruise.

However, Ji Lin seemed completely numb to it, nodding mechanically, “I understand. Captain Feng thought highly of Mu and cared for him. I hold no grudges. I just want to ask: has the search warrant been approved? If we don’t search soon, I’m afraid more people will die.”

Peng Deyu withdrew his hand and asked seriously, “Do you suspect the Pei family is involved in this murder and intimidation? Do you have evidence?”

“Searching might uncover evidence. The recurrence of a similar weapon suggests that the killer likely hides the weapon after use. Also, the Pei family has a history of drug-related offenses, which makes them highly suspicious.”

“But the Pei family has six or seven properties—factories, warehouses, real estate. Even if I get you a search warrant, with our task force’s manpower, we won’t finish searching in a day. We might alert them instead, giving them time to destroy or move evidence.”

“Then I’ll search myself.” Ji Lin slammed his notebook shut. “I’ll infiltrate them, search for ten days or half a month. I refuse to believe I won’t find anything.”

Peng Deyu instantly got angry: “What kind of nonsense is that? Do they not know who you are? Go wash your face and clear your head. Then go back to monitoring the surveillance!”

Ji Lin was also frustrated and mentally exhausted. Grabbing his notebook and pen, he walked out disheveled: “Understood.”

“This kid… Has he been spending too much time with Yu Duqiu? He’s becoming more and more worrisome,” Peng Deyu sighed. “Lu Qing, Niu Feng, keep an eye on him for me. Don’t let him do anything foolish!”

Lu Qing immediately straightened up and saluted, “Yes, sir!”

Niu Feng, however, remained motionless, saying, “I still have some things to discuss with Director Peng. Xiao Lu, you go find Captain Ji first.”

Lu Qing didn’t think much of it and quickly ran out.

Only two people were left in the conference room. Peng Deyu took a sip of tea, his irritation slightly easing, but his mind was tangled with several cases that seemed impossible to resolve. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with anything else and casually asked, “What’s up?”

Niu Feng gritted his teeth, finally making up his mind. He stepped forward a couple of paces and lowered his voice: “There were too many people just now, so I didn’t dare to say anything. Actually… that night on the 8th, I saw someone else went to the bar in the surveillance footage…”