The next day, the news of this murder incident spread like wildfire. It wasn’t a surprise, given He Xiong’s public impression and the number of witnesses present at the bar.
Besides, Yang Qingxi didn’t forget to add fuel to the fire, as the news spread far and wide.
[Mr. He Xiong of Sunshine Charitable Trust was killed last night. According to the relevant reports, he had received five stab wounds on his body...]
[Murderer is confird to be a psychotic killer and has severe violent tendencies...]
[... The police investigation is still ongoing as the suspect nad Ye Chen is under interrogation.]
[We shall update as soon as there are results.]
*Beep*
Inside the hotel room, the man turned off the TV with a grave expression. Just then, a soft voice called out to him from behind.
"What’s wrong, Xiao Mu?"
’Xiao Mu’ turned around to look at her, then shook his head. "Nothing, Sister Jing. It’s just that such an incident happened at the place we were last night is kind of scary."
"It sure is." Sister Jing nodded in agreent.
Fortunately, they left early. Although the murderer didn’t kill anyone else, who knows, they might have been the unlucky ones.
Sister Jing pretended to be sacred and snug to him in a coquettish manner. "Oh, Xiao Mu, what if sothing had happened to us?"
"Everything’s fine, Sister Jing."
’Xiao Mu’ comforted her with a calm expression. While inwardly, his heart was anything but calm.
’How did the scapegoat swap? There’s no way I made a mistake. In that case, what happened?’
This feeling was like a pair of invisible hands watching her from the dark and manipulating her every move like a chess piece in the ga.
It was rather unpleasant.
’No, I have to find out who is behind this, or I won’t be able to rest easy.’
Just then, a notification sounded on her phone. He excused himself to go to the bathroom and checked it.
’Did the bounty arrive?’ he thought with anticipation. There’s nothing better than seeing the account balance increase after completing a job.
However, today, ’Xiao Mu’ was bound to be disappointed.
[Bounty Claim Rejected!]
’What? Why?’
’Xiao Mu’ frowned and ssaged back, suppressing his fury.
[The client has revoked the bounty.]
’Are you kidding ?!’ he almost scread, but considering soone was present outside, he didn’t voice out.
Annoyance and anger surged inside him. ’After all that hard work. I get nothing?’
A cold sneer appeared on his face as he stared at his phone’s screen in silence.
---
Jiangnan City Police Station
Officer Lu Han stepped out of his office, a case file tucked under one arm and a cup of coffee in his hand. He let out a tired sigh.
’It seems age is finally catching up to . Back then, a bit of overti never felt this draining.’
With that thought, he walked toward the captain’s office and raised his hand to knock—only for the door to open from the inside.
"Officer Lu?"
Lu Han looked at the young officer standing there and smiled faintly.
"Xiao Tang, good morning. Did you just submit the report to Captain Song?"
"Morning," Tang Hu replied, forcing a smile. "Yes. Just finished."
Lu Han’s brows furrowed. "Weren’t you supposed to question the witness, Li Su? It shouldn’t have taken that long."
Tang Hu shook his head, a wry curve forming at the corner of his lips. "The case got complicated, Officer Lu."
"..plicated?" Lu Han echoed, confusion deepening.
Before Tang Hu could elaborate, a clear and commanding female voice ca from inside the office.
"Officer Lu, please co in. I’ll explain. Officer Tang, go back and get so rest."
"Yes, Captain," Tang Hu replied promptly. As he spoke, his gaze landed on the coffee in Lu Han’s hand. "Mind if I take that?"
Before Lu Han could even respond, Tang Hu had already snatched the mug and walked away.
’I never agreed,’ Lu Han thought, irritation rising instinctively. He almost called out to scold the cheeky junior, but the exhaustion evident in Tang Hu’s back made him swallow the words.
’Forget it. Just this once.’
With that, he stepped into the captain’s office.
---
"Have a seat."
Captain Song glanced briefly at Lu Han before returning her focus to the report in her hands. He sat down obediently, resting the file he carried on his lap.
The room fell into a quiet pause, broken only by the soft rustle of paper.
Lu Han didn’t rush her. Instead, he studied her in silence.
Captain Song looked visibly worn, with dark shadows beneath her eyes.
’With public opinion spiralling over the murder case, the pressure on her must have been imnse.’ Lu Han guessed.
His gaze drifted to the report in her hands.
Tang Hu’s words echoed in his mind.
The case just got complicated.
’Wasn’t Li Su just an ordinary hostess working in one of those shady establishnts? What could she possibly have said to warrant such a reaction?’
He thought of several possibilities, but couldn’t conclude due to the lack of information.
After a long mont, Song Jinyu finally lowered the report. A deep frown creased her brow as she exhaled slowly.
Her eyes shifted to the file Lu Han was holding.
"Suspect’s Interrogation Report?" she asked.
Lu Han nodded and stood, handing it over without a word.
A deep frown settled on Song Jinyu’s face as she read through Ye Chen’s interrogation report.
Several minutes passed. Then her brows lifted slightly.
"Even after the evidence was laid out in front of him," she said coldly, "Ye Chen still denied any involvent. He insists he was frad."
Lu Han nodded, his expression unreadable. "He claims he’s just an ordinary worker who recently lost his job."
The mont the words left his mouth, anger surged through Song Jinyu.
"What a load of bullshit," she snapped. "The calluses on his hands are unmistakable. That kind of wear doesn’t co from factory work. It’s from years of handling firearms."
Lu Han agreed with her words in his mind.
Song Jinyu suppressed her anger and asked, "What about the president of Bluewing Costics, Su nghao, and her cousin, Su Roxue? Are they here?"
"They arrived half an hour ago and are waiting in the reception room," Lu Han replied. "Should I call them in?"
"Let them wait."
Song Jinyu shook her head and slid Li Su’s report across the desk toward him.
"Read this first."
Lu Han raised his brow and began reading the report. As his eyes moved down the pages, the initial confusion on his face slowly faded, replaced by a tightening frown—and then clear surprise.
As they expected, Li Su had indeed concealed part of her statent during the initial interrogation.
According to her testimony, the victim, He Xiong, had gone there to et a man nad Wang Cai.
He is the owner of a small pharmaceutical company nad Ankang Biotech. Li Su worked as a hostess under him. Her role was to accompany clients during drinking sessions and business etings—and if required, to engage in more intimate arrangents.
So far, every individual she had accompanied had been a client of Wang Cai’s pharmaceutical business.
During these encounters, the only thing she heard was casual chatter. Anything of substance was strictly off-limits. Even then, she was warned repeatedly to keep everything confidential.
If it hadn’t been for Tang Hu’s careful psychological work, she wouldn’t have revealed any of this.
’As expected of Xiao Tang,’ Lu Han praised him inwardly and continued reading.
Based on the conversation between He Xiong and Wang Cai that occurred in front of her, He Xiong was far from the benevolent image he maintained publicly.
He had embezzled donations, coerced won into sexual activities, and even allowed his mistress to sleep with Wang Cai to facilitate the eting.
Lu Han’s eyes widened, and he clicked his tongue. "These rich people sure know how to play."
The mont the words left his mouth, he felt a cold gaze settle on him.
His scalp tingled.
If he rembered correctly, his captain also ca from a wealthy family.
Sweat imdiately ford on his forehead as he hurriedly clarified,
"I misspoke, Captain Song. I wasn’t generalising the rich people. What I ant was—"
Song Jinyu raised her hand, stopping him mid-sentence. She pointed at the report and spoke calmly.
"Their discussion also involved vague references to higher-ups, replacing him with soone, and the most unsettling thing is, He Xiong openly admitted that he knew soone wanted him dead."
She tapped on the desk and asked. "Is there any information regarding He Xiong working for soone?"
"No, Captain," Lu Han replied without hesitation. "On the surface, he’s just the head of the Sunshine Charitable Trust. He also owns a small supermarket selling children’s products."
Upon hearing this, the tension in her expression didn’t fade.
"According to Li Su, Wang Cai and He Xiong’s discussion revolved repeatedly around goods, supply, and demand."
"He Xiong claid he was unable to et the demand due to ’difficulty harvesting the goods.’ In the end, he agreed to double the supply. Only then did Wang Cai agree to withdraw the bounty."
"Which ans He Xiong was the supplier here, not Wang Cai. Then the question arises: what could He Xiong possibly supply?"
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