"Director Xu, you're joking. How would I know?"
"Oh, you don't know? Then what is this?" Xu Ming took a stack of photographs from the drawer and threw them in front of the woman. "The person in these is you, right?"
"How did you get these photos?" The woman exclaid, quickly flipping through them, seeing images of her dining and having tea with Xiao i. She looked up at Xu Ming; these were from before the incident, how could this man have them?
"There's an organization called Dark, there's nothing they can't find." The shock Xu Ming felt when he received the photos from Xiao Lin was no less than the woman's; what kind of people are their boss, to obtain such impossible things so easily? "Do you now know whom you're dealing with? Don't assu all cops are fools; if we want, there's no evidence we can't get."
Upon entering the police station, the woman looked at Xu Ming seriously, finally realizing the true gravity of his repeated warnings. "In the photos, you and Xiao i don't appear as hostile as you claid. Did you ever take kickbacks from her privately?"
"I didn't lie to you about this, it's true, but there are things behind the photos you don't know."
"Xiao i was originally with my people, our relationship was quite close, but cracks appeared when I discovered she was involved in illegal drug trade. She's Yao Zheng's mistress, although I don't know who pursued who, Yao Zheng just suddenly appeared at 'Phoenix Tail,' and the big boss rumored outside might very well be Yao Zheng. A few days before Xiao i's incident, she ca to saying she might end up dead."
"She knew she would die?"
"She didn't say much, only that if one day she disappeared, it ant she was dead. She hoped I would avenge her sohow." The woman spoke through tears.
"I didn't understand why she wanted revenge, but seeing her despair, I thought maybe there was so problem between her and Yao Zheng, or perhaps so woman threatened her, but she just shook her head, saying sothing would be given to , and to hand it over to soone who could stand up to Yao Zheng."
"Where is the item?"
"I never received anything, and from that day Xiao i disappeared until Zhao Soldiers unearthed a corpse by Central Lake did I know Xiao i was dead." The woman suddenly knelt down before Xu Ming, startling him.
"What are you doing?"
"I know you're not with them. Please, look into Xiao i's death thoroughly." This change left Xu Ming sowhat at a loss, as he helped the woman up. "Everyone in the North District from top to bottom is one of them, it's hard to discern truth from lies. You never know when there's one of them nearby; that's what Xiao i said, she seed scared, always hiding."
"Can you think of anywhere Xiao i could hide sothing, or soone she trusted?"
"Xiao i didn't trust people, but she was close to Ah San. I think she didn't give the item to for fear Yao Zheng would suspect , so it could very well be Ah San, that fool truly loved Xiao i and would do anything for her."
"Looks like you'll be staying here for a few more days." Xu Ming thought for a mont, Master Shuai had already gone to Xiao Lin's place, unsure if there's any result; this woman before him was in the most dangerous position, Yao Zheng coming out of 'Phoenix Tail' was unexpected, and with Yao Zheng's suspicion, the manager of 'Phoenix Tail' is now seen as an obstacle.
"Why? Haven't I confessed everything?"
"If you go back, it's sending you to die." The woman widened her eyes; Xu Ming's intentions were clear now, she understood, is this considered inviting death?
"Will I die?"
"You won't if you cooperate properly." Xu Ming's subordinate handed him the written records, many people connected to Xiao i. "Keep all these people together, let those uninvolved go, and get soone from the lodging house to bail the one nad Ye Zi, then put her with the others, keep tight watch, especially on a few others, if there's any movent, arrest imdiately, no need to report."
"Understood."
Watching his subordinates take the woman to the detention area, Xu Ming suddenly felt the weight of the material in his hands; it's not enough to indict Yao Zheng, at most it's barely a case, with a skilled lawyer, they'd find countless loopholes to evade punishnt. Once escaped, re-arrest would be difficult.
He walked out of the hall, standing in the courtyard, the night sky was bright, raising his head to look at the stars, his mind was a tangled ss. "Old bro, heard you brought in soone from 'Phoenix Tail,' what's going on?" The lodging house worker appeared before him upon receiving the news.
"Your news is really quick, just as I was about to send soone for you, you ca over." Xu Ming chuckled, patting the worker's shoulder. "Perfect timing, saves the trouble of sending soone again."
"What happened? Did sothing happen with my Ah i?" The worker imdiately grew tense.
"Your Ah i is also detained in the back, but before you bail her, I have a few questions." Xu Ming casually flipped through the testimonies from those ladies, the one nad Ye Zi isn't entirely innocent either.
"Ask away." The worker seed truly concerned about this Ah i.
"Are you and Ye Zi just siblings, or lovers?"
"Well..." The worker hesitated for quite a while before sighing. "We're siblings, but she's my dad's adopted child."
"You previously told Ye Zi wasn't involved, but soone testified she was."
"That's impossible!" The worker angrily struck the table. "She promised she wouldn't do it."
"Hmm!" Xu Ming drew out a record. "She was involved once, as part of a group affair."
"What?"
"This ti, I'll let her go, you know what to do?"
"What does Director Xu want to do?"
"You've been at the lodging house for quite so ti, right?"
"Yes, just tell what you want."
"Nothing much, just keep an eye on your boss."
"You an my boss…"
"Not really, but your boss and Director Zhao are close, and we can't find Director Zhao right now, maybe he knows sothing."
"I understand! Can I take my Ah i back now?"
"Do the paperwork and you can." At Xu Ming's instruction, a delicate girl was brought over, indeed she was lovely. "Go back with your brother to be a good citizen, find a decent part-ti job. You won't be so lucky next ti."
"Okay, I know." The girl's voice was as lodious as herself, completely unlike the lodging house worker; it's indeed odd these two are paired together without any issues.
"Thank you, Director, for being lenient this ti; I'll make sure to discipline her." The bailed worker took Ye Zi's hand and left.
Once the two disappeared down the street, Xu Ming called over an underling. "Follow that girl 24 hours." He had a strange feeling about Ye Zi, couldn't pinpoint what was different, so he decided to have soone follow her, to discuss further with the leader.
"Lao Xu, what about those inside? We can't keep them locked up forever."
"Notify their families to pick them up." He didn't intend to keep them there long, his gaze fell on the pile of bones still stacked to the side; Mu Rongyun said she wouldn't co, took away the skull and vanished, the bones weren't a problem but couldn't be casually dealt with either—truly a headache!
Turning off the lights, Xu Ming locked the doors and returned to his dormitory, waiting for Master Shuai's report, and reviewed the records again.
A shadow dropped down from the corner of the wall, sneaking to the locked door at the entrance, soon the door was unlocked, he slipped inside and closed it. Xu Ming stood in the dark, watching the shadow's every move, issuing no warnings, awaiting his arrival.
Before long, the shadow slipped out from inside, turned, locked the door, and flipped out of the corner. Xu Ming returned to bed, closing his eyes.
Just as the leader anticipated, the other party was bound to land a move, and he awaited such an opportunity to identify the mole among them, eagerly anticipating his appearance.
When Master Shuai found Xiao Lin, he had already received a text from Xu Ming, feeling a certain excitent. The chaos of the night had provided the opportunity; standing below the building looking up, finding one person isn't easy, but finding a group surely is. Flashing a badge at the gate naturally granted access, indicating a peer's location.
Xiao i's residence was more luxurious than anticipated, living alone in a two-bedroom apartnt, fully equipped with facilities; the kitchen had pots, pans, and appliances, all seemingly unused and new.
Xiao Lin wore gloves, lightly tracing the corners of the walls while the person behind him searched every place that could be opened. Their actions were cautious and deliberate, instructed not to disturb the owner's original arrangent. Unlike typical searches, which usually result in chaos, this required ticulousness, doubling the usual search ti per location.
Xiao Lin was unaware his command posed a difficulty for ordinary cops, though for Dragon Soul mbers, it was standard practice. (To be continued. If you like this work, visit Qidian (qidian) to recomnd it, cast monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)
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