Thud, thud, thud.
An urgent rapping sound arose, as if there was the clattering of objects being dropped within the room.
The man’s face showed anxiety as he looked towards a woman in her fifties by his side, who was still panting heavily. Climbing the stairs so quickly had clearly taken its toll on the woman’s stamina.
"Auntie, are Haicheng and his wife at ho? Or did they go out yesterday for Valentine’s Day?"
Seeing no one answer the door, the woman beca anxious and started to stutter.
"I... I don’t know, no wait... around seven this morning, Zhang Xin went to drop off the kid at kindergarten. I saw them from my window, Little Bao even waved at , they should... they should’ve gone to work, right? Why did you co looking for them at their place?"
"We had agreed yesterday that Haicheng and I would et this morning; we have to et with Qinjian Group at noon, and all the design drafts are with him. I waited until nine and still didn’t see him, and nobody answered when I called, so I ca over. Don’t you have their house keys?"
The woman shook her head.
"I just moved from the village to Unit 3, floor one, I don’t usually co over here because it’s too high up. The kids sotis stay over at my place at night, and they co to pick them up when they return, so I usually don’t keep a copy of their keys. Mingliang, nothing bad has happened to my Haicheng, right?"
The man tried his best to give a reassuring smile and patted the older woman’s back, feeling that his words might have caused her to worry.
"Auntie, don’t worry for now, I’ll go ask the other colleagues if Haicheng went to Qinjian Group ahead of us. You head ho and wait for a call; I’ll co back if necessary."
The woman nodded, gesturing hurriedly with her hands.
"Go ahead, I’ll also go downstairs to ask the security guard. Not many people have moved into this community, most of them are still decorating, and he knows my Haicheng."
They talked as they entered the hallway, quickly running down the stairs.
The man dialed a number, and just as he reached his car, the call connected.
"Mr. Wang, it’s almost ten and you still haven’t been able to reach Haicheng? Mr. Chen has pressed us twice already, and I think he’s getting ready to blow up at Mr. Huang and the others!"
"Don’t panic just yet, Mr. Qin, could you try reaching out to Qinjian Group to see if Haicheng went there directly?"
"I’ve already called them, the liaison from Qinjian Group hasn’t seen Haicheng’s car, and none of our people have gone over either."
Wang Mingliang paused, rembering the car. How could he have forgotten that?
Looking up, his gaze scanned around, and on a parking spot on the east side, there was a black Passat. Upon seeing the license plate, Wang Mingliang’s heart gave a sudden lurch.
That was Haicheng’s car, it was still at ho!
Trying to control the tension rising in his chest, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. Wang Mingliang asked urgently:
"Right, rember yesterday when you demonstrated that our newly released iPhone 4 can track live location? Haicheng’s phone was used as a sample for the search. Check where his phone is right now, as nobody has been answering it when I’ve called."
"Hang on, Mr. Wang, I can look it up right now. I just logged in yesterday, haven’t deleted the info... found it, huh, isn’t this location at Haicheng’s ho?"
Wang Mingliang was stunned, unsure if he had heard the words correctly.
"Repeat that, where is it?"
"Isn’t it Xinhua Garden Community, right next to Xinhua Village by the sea? I’ve sent you a screenshot on QQ, check if the location is correct."
As his phone vibrated, Wang Mingliang hurriedly opened QQ. The location in the screenshot was right under his feet. A foreboding feeling spread throughout him.
The residents were at ho, but no one answered the phone, this... could this an sothing had happened?
With this thought, Wang Mingliang shakily accessed the dial screen, struggling to control the tremble in his lips.
"Hello, 110? I want to report a situation, two of my colleagues are missing, and we can’t make contact with their families either. But their phone GPS shows they’re at ho, and his mother can’t open the door. I’m worried sothing has happened to them; could you please co and check? The address is..."
...
Forty minutes later.
Zhou Ning opened the car door and stepped out, with Mr. Zhao grumbling behind him, opening the trunk and carrying two cases, following unsteadily behind Zhou Ning.
"This guy, just celebrated Valentine’s Day yesterday, and now he’s on a case. Not even halfway through the New Year’s festivities, and these criminals really don’t take a day off, not even taking ti to rest."
Xu Dayuan gave him a glance, and Zhao Xinli promptly shut up, moving a step sideways to hide beside Zhou Ning.
But with his size, Zhou Ning could only block half of him.
"You know, your mouth can both make or break things. A grumble and you think you can avoid work? Besides, all the studying in the world doesn’t compare to practical hands-on experience. This is how you progress, much more than from just studying books."
Xu Dayuan glanced over again, constantly nodding towards Zhou Ning.
"Comrade Zhou Xiaozhou is right,"
Mr. Zhao chuckled, and the few policen behind him also started laughing.
"Xu Da, you’re leading by calling nicknas, isn’t it tiring to say one more word?"
Xu Dayuan glared.
"Don’t be disrespectful; I think Zhou Xiaozhou sounds nice. Quit the nonsense and follow upstairs."
"Which floor?"
"Seventh floor."
"Ah, the seventh floor? Hey, don’t smack my head; if you do, I won’t be able to carry my books, and if I fail the exams, will the boss take responsibility?"
Mr. Zhao complained all the way up, but Zhou Ning was not so relaxed. After all, on the way there, Xu Dayuan had asked quite a lot, but Chief Zhu from the port police station had provided very limited useful information. They knew about a male victim and a female who had been sent to the hospital with injuries, but nothing else.
Therefore, Zhou Ning didn’t ask further; everything would have to wait until they arrived at the scene.
Upon reaching the seventh floor, they saw many policen, and Chief Zhu was also there, smiling and shaking hands with Xu Dayuan.
"Xu Da is here, happy belated New Year!"
Xu Dayuan just smiled and didn’t go along with the greeting, glancing at the entrance to the east apartnt on the seventh floor and frowning at the chaotic crowd.
"Have you all entered the scene?"
A trace of embarrassnt flashed across Chief Zhu’s face.
"The situation was special at the ti; we didn’t know there was a victim. A designer from Huadong Design Institute called the police, saying that his colleague Wen Haicheng and his wife couldn’t be found. They had located a ’foreign’ smartphone’s position, which they claid was accurate. The phone was at ho, but the people were missing, and they wanted to break in to check.
The victim’s mother was also there; she said she saw her daughter-in-law taking the child in the morning, but not after. I called a locksmith to co over, and as soon as we entered, the room was a ss, probably the perpetrator looking for money. Things were scattered everywhere, and we found Wen Haicheng in the master bedroom.
He was tied to the bed and had died. Then we searched the room and found his wife, Zhang Xin, in the bathroom, unconscious and with many wounds. We called an ambulance and took Zhang Xin away, so several groups of people have entered the scene. But we didn’t move the body!"
Xu Dayuan nodded and raised his hand.
"All right, I get the gist of it. Have your people withdraw downstairs. I’ll have the forensic doctor and the trace evidence technicians inspect the scene. Call over the person who reported the incident and the victim’s mother; I want to ask them about the situation."
Chief Zhu’s face looked unhappy, and with a raised eyebrow, he extended his hand backward.
"Everyone, move downstairs."
Zhou Ning nudged Mr. Zhao, who imdiately got it, set up so papers and ink on the floor for collecting footprints, and smiled at everyone.
"Well now, you all wore gloves when entering the scene, didn’t you? Leave your footprints before you go, so we can check them later."
Chief Zhu stared at Mr. Zhao for a while, his expression on the verge of erupting. Zhou Ning reached out to Chief Zhu with a polite smile on his face.
"Please, Chief Zhu, have our officers move quickly. We can’t proceed with the scene examination otherwise."
Chief Zhu glanced at Zhou Ning, nodding repeatedly.
"Doctor Zhou, right? I rember you; you did a great job in that last case, even better than Doctor Liu."
Zhou Ning smiled and lowered his gaze slightly. Such praise was uncomfortable; he couldn’t solve cases alone, and Doctor Liu, his ntor, had taught him so much experience. Besides, solving cases was a joint effort by the detective team. This felt like buttering him up, didn’t it?
"First ti I’ve seen soone praising a disciple at the expense of the master. Chief Zhu, you do have a way with words. Let’s not waste any more ti, shall we?"
Chief Zhu’s face hardened, and he went in front of Mr. Zhao to leave his footprint.
Xu Dayuan’s cheeks quivered, obviously holding back laughter, and quickly turned to shout orders.
"What’s the holdup? Get to work, each to their own duties. He Chunyang, go talk to the person who reported the incident. Ask about every detail and ti point."
He Chunyang led people away, and the corridor emptied a bit, with Chief Zhu’s people leaving their footprints and heading downstairs without saying much more to Xu Dayuan.
Mr. Zhao ca closer, looking at Xu Dayuan with a mischievous smile.
"Boss, this ti Comrade Zhou Xiaozhou has made you proud, hasn’t he?"
Before Xu Dayuan could glare, Zhou Ning had already co over.
"Stop with the nonsense and open up the pathway. Take out the new inspection pads we just got, and we’ll set them up before heading to the master bedroom where the body was found. Then we’ll photograph each part of the room."
"Geez, you really are treating like a trace evidence technician, huh?"
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