Half an hour later.
Xu Dayuan and Zhang Chunbo were also waiting in the office, each of them anxious but refraining from rushing anyone.
Just as Mr. Zhao refreshed the desktop, the computer coughed twice, and when he clicked open the chat box, Mr. Huang, the forensic expert, sent a gritted-teeth emoji followed by a ssage.
"In a hurry, aren’t you?"
Xu Dayuan looking impatient, took out his phone.
"What’s their number? I’ll call them."
Zhou Ning with a face full of exasperation, blocked Xu Dayuan’s actions; people were having a good conversation with Mr. Zhao, and if you intervene now, wouldn’t that be like tattling? They were all working hard in their respective technical fields, yet still ended up being resented for their work. This wasn’t good, as he stopped Xu Dayuan.
"Don’t worry, Boss. Mr. Zhao is the best at handling this."
Xu Dayuan pursed his lips, look staring at the back of Mr. Zhao’s head.
Mr. Zhao seed to sense sothing, shrank his neck, and sped up his typing. The other party didn’t dilly-dally, sending many photos and several videos. Mr. Zhao hurriedly opened the videos.
"Buddy, we’ve already dismantled the undercarriage guard, and as expected, there’s a compartnt in there with a tal slot on the side, hanging a small padlock. I’ve collected the fingerprints, and upon comparison, they’re all Wang Hongzhan’s prints.
The padlock has been destroyed by us. I’ll send you the full video shortly. I’ve never seen so many gold bars in my life, there are twenty in total, each gold bar wrapped in newspaper. The newspaper dates are all from February 3, 2009.
According to this date, it happens to be the ninth day of the lunar calendar, the day when all enterprises here start work after the New Year, a date symbolized by the saying ’no outings on the seventh or return on the eighth, the ninth is full of tasks,’ as people like to seek a good on.
Moreover, the newspapers span various types, including the Shen City Daily, Citizens Weekly, Shekou News, and China Business Electronics News; the variety is quite comprehensive. I think these are newspapers that companies would subscribe to – after all, subscribing to newspapers also has its quotas."
Zhou Ning patted Mr. Zhao on the shoulder, speaking quickly:
"Tell him not to open the newspapers in a rush, go to the inspection departnt to do it, weigh all the gold bars, extract fingerprints from each gold bar’s surface, and collect DNA. As for the gold bars and related evidence..."
Zhou Ning looked at Xu Dayuan, who gestured with his hand.
"I’ll send soone right away. Mr. Yang should join Zhenshan and the others on this trip. As for the DNA testing, let’s trouble the brother unit to help with it, and send the results to Cui Lili. We will directly carry out the comparison."
Mr. Zhao quickly passed on the information; neither Yang Xuetong nor Tao Zhenshan objected, and several people kept discussing. Zhou Ning closed his eyes, heaving a sigh of relief. The gold bars were with Wang Hongzhan, which ant that he was at least not as innocent as he claid.
Especially with the newspapers bearing such a significant date. His parents t with misfortune before the Lunar New Year’s Eve. This ant he left shortly after the seventh day of the lunar year, and being the only child and being in a place like Ludong, it couldn’t just be described as being in a rush.
Xu Dayuan took out his phone and dialed a number, speaking as he walked outside.
"Mr. Hu, let tell you about a case. The situation is like this..."
Mr. Zhao, overhearing a bit, nudged Zhou Ning.
"What’s up with leader Zhou Xiaozhou?"
Zhou Ning raised an eyebrow.
"Don’t be nosy; that’s sothing for Director Xu to worry about. We can’t assist with the interrogation, and this case makes it hard to decide on Wang Hongzhan’s role. Obviously, Director Xu needs to communicate with Mr. Hu. Urge Mr. Huang to expedite sending everything for inspection. Mr. Yang and Tao Da are about to set off, right?"
Tao Da just happened to walk in, nodding at Zhou Ning.
"I ca to call Mr. Yang. Let’s go. Handling so many gold bars as evidence for the first ti, I’m a bit nervous, but being this close to unexpected wealth, I can’t wait to experience it!"
Everyone laughed, and Liu Yongxin approached Tao Zhenshan.
"Buy so local specialties on the way. The brother unit has put in a great effort for us, and they’ve been troubled in the middle of the night. Director Xu is too anxious right now to care about these details."
Tao Zhenshan slapped his thigh and nodded gratefully at Liu Yongxin.
"Thanks, Dr. Liu, for the reminder. I had totally forgotten about that. Mr. Yang, let’s get going."
They all left in a hurry. Zhou Ning had nothing more to instruct. Xu Dayuan returned after a short while with a sowhat relaxed expression, waving at everyone.
"No interrogation for Wang Hongzhan today. Sampling and sending it for testing will take until evening. Zhenshan and his team are leading the trip, and the fastest they’ll be back is by night flight. We’ll wait for the test results. I’m sohow looking forward to what kind of surprise Wang Hongzhan will bring .
However, we must secure Wang Hongwen. Mr. Zhao and Mr. Qu, organize the photos and videos, especially the video of the car chassis modification, prepare it for . I’m going to get an hour of sleep. Yufei, bring Wang Hongwen here; today we have to buckle down with him."
With that, Xu Dayuan, holding his coat, went to the next room. Zhou Ning picked up the thermos that Xia Momo gave him, took a couple of sips of the ginseng tea, and couldn’t deny that the slightly bitter taste was indeed invigorating.
Mr. Zhao spoke with Mr. Huang for a while, saying that the people here were already rushing to the airport, carrying the relevant docunts, and would contact them before takeoff. After ending the chat, Mr. Zhao glanced at the ti.
"So, the leader is planning to start the interrogation around noon to use a fatigue tactic, eh? I’d better hurry and have them prepare the boxed lunches."
...
Half an hour later.
In the observation room, everyone looked towards the interrogation room, where Wang Hongwen had been brought in. Xu Dayuan stood in front of the interrogation chair with his arms folded, sizing up Wang Hongwen, as Liu Yufei set up a laptop.
Wang Hongwen was seething with anger. Upon seeing Xu Dayuan, he roared:
"Don’t think that I don’t understand the law. You have detained for over 24 hours now. This is illegal imprisonnt! What, do you still want to force a confession from ? Go ahead, lay a hand on !"
Xu Dayuan smiled, and Zhou Ning knew that when Xu Dayuan showed that expression, it ant he was truly angry.
Mr. Zhao surreptitiously stuffed a soup dumpling into his mouth. Zhou Ning turned sharply to look at Mr. Zhao, who didn’t even dare chew, pressing the dumpling to one side of his tongue and mumbling:
"Can’t I eat a little, Zhou Xiaozhou?"
"Go and eat your fill before you co back in."
"I’m done eating."
Zhou Ning moved closer to the one-way mirror, saying nothing more, and focused on the interrogation room.
Xu Dayuan gestured to Liu Yufei, and a photo was enlarged. Zhou Ning recognized it; it was a photo taken by Mr. Zhao. The image was of the back panel of a bookshelf in Wang Hongzhan’s living room.
In the next photo, two small wooden wedges were enlarged, and the bloodstains on them were plainly visible to the naked eye.
"At the cri scene of Ho Dongi’s death, after multiple inspections, not to ntion finding so peculiar areas, in one of Wang Hongzhan’s living room bookshelves, we found a hidden panel, this one here.
When we opened it, behind was a safe embedded in the wall. In the first image, on these two wooden wedges blocking the panel, we found Ho Dongi’s bloodstains, and of course, there were also on the position of the safe’s combination lock. Are you still going to resist stubbornly, or would you like to tell sothing?"
Wang Hongwen’s hands lay on the small table, clenched tightly together, yet he remained silent.
Xu Dayuan waved to Liu Yufei, who stood up and handed over a stack of paper docunts. Xu Dayuan flipped through to the last page and held it up in front of Wang Hongwen.
"Look at my mory, let Teacher Wang see this first, Yufei. What did we find in the waste oil drum at the scene? Otherwise, he might think I’m framing him."
Liu Yufei found the waste oil drum where the latex gloves were discovered. As several photos were viewed in succession, Wang Hongwen closed his eyes just before Xu Dayuan kicked the leg of the interrogation chair.
"Oh no, after our special case team has worked so hard for so many days and presented the evidence before you, you finally show such a heart-wrenching expression. Too bad you didn’t choose the right mont for your performance. Have a look at this report.
We sent the fragnts of latex gloves found in the waste oil drum for examination, and after multiple extractions, we found that the gloves’ exterior was stained with mud, tal fragnts, petroleum jelly lubricant, and so basic copper carbonate components. It might be a bit too technical, don’t worry, the comparison results are written down below.
After the comparison, the basic copper carbonate was found to be completely identical to the rust components on the safe’s combination lock. As for the petroleum jelly lubricant, it matched the residue on the hilt of the dagger. Most crucially, we discovered your DNA inside the glove.
How about that, surprised or not? You didn’t expect us to find these things after a year, did you?"
Wang Hongwen’s nostrils flared rapidly. Although he said nothing, Wang Hongwen was no longer calm. Xu Dayuan didn’t even intend to give him a chance to catch his breath. Bending down, he rested his hands on the small table and continued, staring into Wang Hongwen’s eyes:
"I won’t get into the matter between you and Ho Dongi, but let show you sothing you’re most interested in. Yufei, please display the pictures and videos."
Liu Yufei selected a photo that showed several gold bars wrapped in newspaper. On one bar, the paper had been removed, revealing the clear stamping, including the na of the bank along with weight, purity, supervisory agency information, and more.
With Xu Dayuan’s gesture, the photo changed to the compensation statent sealed by the town governnt’s stamp, enlarged to fill the screen.
Just after Wang Hongwen finished looking, Xu Dayuan gestured again, and this ti the photo showed the layered compartnt under the car’s splash guard.
"Twenty gold bars, though not the pure gold of today, date back to before the founding of the PRC. Valued at antique auction prices, they’re worth more than their actual gold content. Do you regret it? You killed soone, got the keys and the password, only to find an empty safe. How did you feel at that mont?"
Wang Hongwen roared in fury, but Xu Dayuan didn’t blink. The suspect was breaking down, which was precisely the desired effect.
Wiping his jaw, Wang Hongwen’s breath sprayed across Xu Dayuan’s face. Xu Dayuan, looking slightly disgusted, pulled out a piece of paper and carefully wiped himself as he spoke slowly:
"Yelling won’t help. Think about how you’ll explain yourself. From surveillance footage to evidence at the scene, and even the remnants of Ho Dongi’s blood found in your office, you have nowhere left to turn.
I showed you this to make it clear that Wang Hongzhan knew you were after the gold bars long before. Even if you got the password and the keys, you wouldn’t get the gold. It was hidden in the chassis of his car, wrapped in a newspaper dated February 3, 2009. Do you know why he was so prepared?"
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