Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
These officials were not familiar with Zhao Yu, and because they happened to witness Zhao Yu’s abnormal behavior, they stayed for no more than 10 minutes before leaving in a hurry.
Those who came to visit Zhao Yu all expressed their condolences, praised Zhao Yu’s heroic deeds and achievements, then left. After their departures, only the head of the Yaoming Police Station, Bureau Chief Guan, remained behind.
Bureau Chief Guan expressed his dedication to his work to Zhao Yu. He then said that he would do his best to coordinate his team to help deal with Jiang Ke’s case, and that he would also fully cooperate with Zhao Yu’s investigation in terms of lending human or financial resources. To quote him exactly, he said, “Zhao Yu, as long as you ask for my help, I will give you my full support.”
In the end, Bureau Chief Guan instructed Officer Wang to do as Zhao Yu said in the future. When Bureau Chief Guan left, Zhao Yu finally had some time to himself, which he used to read the information on the whiteboard more carefully.
This time, Cui Lizhu had obviously learned her lesson, so as Zhao Yu pondered over the case, she stopped talking and just looked at him silently. After nearly 20 minutes, Zhao Yu knocked on the whiteboard with his hand, then said, “I’m hungry now. But, I don’t want porridge this time. Can I have some meat instead?”
Cui Lizhu nodded, but did not know what to say.
“How about steak or a hamburger?” Officer Wang replied quickly with a suggestion, then said, “There’s a restaurant that’s right across the street from the hospital. The food there tastes really good!”
“Don’t forget to get me a cup of coffee!” Zhao Yu yelled as he snapped his fingers and kept staring at the whiteboard, without even raising his head to look up at Officer Wang.
“No problem!” Officer Wang shouted back before immediately calling his colleagues.
At this time, Zhao Yu pointed to one clue on the whiteboard and said, “Last night, I found Han Kuan’s confession to be very strange! He was so calm and direct! He didn’t attempt to hide anything about his experience in Beiqian. If he really had something to do with the Devil Case, he wouldn’t have done that!”
Zhao Yu then added, “And… The most questionable thing about his confession is that he brought up the SARS outbreak at the very beginning. As we all know, the Devil Case happened during that time period. So… I think that he mentioned the SARS outbreak on purpose! I feel that he knew the facts of the Devil Case, but is not necessarily the murderer, which would explain why he was not scared of telling us those things.”
“Um… Um…” Cui Lizhu wanted to say something, but she recalled Zhao Yu’s behavior last night, so she didn’t say anything in the end.
“Did you mention a shadow killer last night?” Zhao Yu thought for a moment, then asked.
Cui Lizhu nodded, but there was doubt in her eyes. She was wondering what Zhao Yu was thinking.
“You see… We can make two assumptions based on that hypothesis…” Zhao Yu pointed to the white board and said, “The first is that Han Kuan is the real murderer in the Devil Case! After killing Laogua, he found out that the police did not suspect him, so he got prideful and became addicted to killing. He then decided to kill people who bullied others in the same way that he killed Laogua!”
Zhao Yu then said, “So, when he was in Beiqian, he looked for suitable targets while he was working. That’s how he committed the murders in the famous Devil Case!”
Having said this, Zhao Yu paused for a long time, then continued, “But, there are still many things that do not make sense to me. On the one hand, Han Kuan’s psychological characteristics are inconsistent with this murderer. On the other hand, he didn’t hide the fact that he had studied in Yaoming and had worked in Beiqian, which I feel is very strange.”
Zhao Yu then said, “So, I have a feeling that the reason why Han Kuan told us these things is either that he is not involved in the Devil Case at all, or that he is trying to protect someone else! Either way, he’s not very likely to be the murderer in the Devil Case.”
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“Protect… Protect someone?” Although Cui Lizhu tried hard to suppress her curiosity, she could not help but ask, “Do you think that there is an entire killer team or something? Who would he want to protect?”
“Well… Let’s look at the second assumption…” Zhao Yu said as he pointed to the whiteboard again. “This time, let’s assume that Han Kuan is not the murderer, and that there is a shadow killer instead. This man must know Han Kuan very well, as in Yaoming, he killed Laogua to protect Han Kuan! Later, when Han Kuan went to Beiqian, he committed the murders in the Devil Case. So, the shadow killer probably went to Beiqian with Han Kuan!”
Zhao Yu paused to take a deep breath, then said, “The victims in Beiqian did not bully Han Kuan, so this shadow killer must have chosen his targets from all kinds of bullies that he came across on a daily basis. And… This killer must have a close relationship with Han Kuan.”
As she was listening to him explain this theory, Cui Lizhu suddenly look scared stiff as she said, “I see! What you mean to say is that one of those students who went to Beiqian with Han Kuan could be the murderer! The shadow killer could be one of Han Kuan’s classmates!”
“Yes!” Zhao Yu nodded, then said, “So, this shadow killer came to the same place with Han Kuan! Because they did the same work, this person also had the opportunity to meet the same people Han Kuan met!”
Cui Lizhu suddenly sat straight up and patted Zhao Yu on the shoulder. She then exclaimed, “Boss, you basta*d! I guessed right last night! So… Why did you scold me?”
Zhao Yu quickly made up an excuse, “You were wrong about some important details. See… Now, with my guidance, you can understand everything quickly.”
Cui Lizhu pouted her lips, then asked earnestly, “In that case, don’t we need to focus on the people who went to Beiqian with Han Kuan?”
“Yes! This person likely returned home after the SARS outbreak, like Han Kuan did. So, the Beiqian Devil Case ended at that time,” Zhao Yu said.
Cui Lizhu couldn’t help wondering again. “That’s terrible. This shadow killer is a real devil! If he went back to his hometown… Or somewhere else…”
Cui Lizhu was still mumbling in shock when her cell phone rang suddenly. When she saw that Miao Ying was calling, she immediately handed the phone to Zhao Yu.
After the call went through, Miao Ying told Zhao Yu that they had found several new clues: Firstly, Zhang Jingru did return home to escape the SARS outbreak, which meant that she was not in Beiqian when the Devil Case happened.
Secondly, Zhang Jingru had not been bullied in school. In fact, all of her teachers and fellow classmates had said that she was a very popular, lively, and outgoing girl. Thirdly, Zhang Jingru did not know Lei Ting, who was the Devil Case victim who went to the school that was right next to hers.
Fourthly, and most importantly, the victim named Lei Ting was indeed a campus bully. She and a group of bad students often bullied other girls, and even charged them protection fees!
Those who refused to pay these fees and dared to report her bad deeds suffered greatly from her extremely inhumane revenge plots! The school girls were really scared of her!
After hearing Miao Ying’s report, Zhao Yu exchanged shared his latest findings with her. As Miao Ying attached great importance to Zhao Yu’s contributions, she immediately adjusted her investigation to focus on two things.
The first one was to find out whether all of the victims in the Devil Case were bullies. The other regarded Han Kuan’s work during that year, specifically finding out exact details about it, such as his company, where he had been, and who his colleagues were.
Miao Ying had just hung up the phone when she received some new information from Wu Xiumin. She said that they did not find similar cases like the Devil Case in Golden City. Although there were people who died from falling from a building, they either committed suicide or suffered from illnesses, neither of which scenario was consistent with the Devil Case.
This news undoubtedly confirmed Zhao Yu’s hypothese, and Zhao Yu immediately asked Officer Wang to send some people to go and find out who went to Beiqian with Han Kuan. This was because he secretly wondered if the real murderer was among those classmates who went to Beiqian with Han Kuan.