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墨書 Inktalez
The murderer fled east, and Ji Qinchou and Ye Ying lifted the police tape, squeezing through the crowd of onlookers. They prepared to start from PINK Bar, heading east to retrieve surveillance footage from all storefronts that might have captured images of the murderer.
"Ying Jie," Ji Qinchou paused, "let's do a simple experiment."
"Hmm?"
At that moment, the entire Shizigui road was bustling with customers and staff, resembling a rural funeral where villagers couldn't wait to bring their families along to join the excitement. They crowded towards the crime scene, putting all the pressure on the police officers protecting it.
Ji Qinchou and Ye Ying found a secluded spot. Ji Qinchou introduced himself to Ye Ying, "I am 1.83 meters tall, pretending to be the murderer. You are 1.7 meters? Can you pretend to be the victim?"
"With heels, I'm 1.73 meters, just about the same height as the deceased described by the reporter. Let's do it."
The two took their positions. "There are two possibilities here; let's try the first one." Ji Qinchou pulled a pen from his pocket and began demonstrating, "Initially, I hold a dagger facing you, intending to harm you." Ye Ying pressed her back against the wall in fear, trying to distance herself from Ji Qinchou. "Suddenly, the reporter appears! I quickly turn around; at first, he doesn't notice my presence, so I turn my whole body towards him, intending to kill him to silence him—" Taking this opportunity, Ye Ying dashed towards the brightly lit pedestrian street filled with people and pretended to shout for help in a low voice, "Help—"
After running more than two meters, Ye Ying stopped and turned around; the answer was right in front of her. "When the reporter appeared, the deceased didn't notice the murderer's intent at all. It's highly likely that the dagger in the murderer's hand wasn't drawn in front of the deceased."
Ji Qinchou seemed lost in thought. Ye Ying returned and waved her hand in front of him. "There's another possibility; shall we try it?"
They faced each other again. "We are talking; on the surface, everything seems calm. I take this chance to turn around," Ji Qinchou said as he turned back. "I pull out the dagger just as the reporter appears. I'm startled and freeze in place, struggling internally about whether to continue; at that moment, the reporter turns his head and sees me, which shocks me. I'm weighing whether to proceed with my murder plan; if I do, two people must die: you behind me and the witness who disrupts my scheme. I can't determine if he noticed any of my features. I grit my teeth; no turning back now! Taking advantage of your unpreparedness, I launch a frenzied attack on you!" Ji Qinchou tightly gripped his pen and repeatedly stabbed Ye Ying in the abdomen. Ye Ying covered her abdomen with one hand while reaching out for help from Ji Qinchou's "witness" with the other hand. "Help..." Following her survival instincts taking over her consciousness, she desperately pushed away her attacker and painfully ran towards the bustling crowd across from her. In her haste, she stumbled over a step and fell to the ground. Ji Qinchou caught up and continued stabbing her back. A few seconds later, they both stopped and looked towards the "witness." "He should have run off to call for help by now."
They got up and brushed off their clothes. "Did we make any mistakes during this process? Why does it not match what was described by the reporter?" Ye Ying asked in confusion.
"The most illogical part is that whether or not I drew out the dagger in front of you before attacking you—if a witness appears before I act, shouldn't my most normal reaction be to withdraw immediately? Even if for some reason I must kill tonight, couldn't I wait until after the witness leaves before making my move?"
"From this perspective, both the murderer's reaction and the victim's response seem abnormal..." Ye Ying pondered while twisting her fingers. She looked up and saw people leaving in their cars one after another and hurriedly urged Ji Qinchou, "Let's check the surveillance footage first and conduct a simple interview investigation while we're at it. Hurry up! There's just a pool of blood at the scene; we can't keep onlookers here forever; if we delay any longer, everyone will leave."
In recent years, China's crackdown on organized crime has been effective; when police request surveillance footage, most people are willing to cooperate actively. After receiving a TF card from PINK Bar's manager, Ji Qinchou's gaze pierced through the dance floor into the depths of the bar as he approached the manager and said in a low voice that was somewhat ambiguous, "Call all the girls in here; there are drunks and guys waiting to pick up bodies in that alley."
That was blunt enough; if the manager pretended not to understand after that, it would be quite rude. Trying to fake a smile to please them while forcing a grin that looked worse than crying he said, "Police Comrade can ask anything you want; I will definitely tell you everything!"
Having worked together for three years now, this was Ye Ying's first time witnessing Ji Qinchou's less subtle tactics. She quietly took out her notebook as he asked the manager, "Are there any dishonest staff members or gangsters cheating customers here?"
"Of course... just two or three of them; however, I've already fired them! Although we run a bar here, our ways of making money are absolutely legitimate! The social atmosphere is so good now; our boss often reminds us 'don't touch what shouldn't be touched; whoever does will get kicked out!' So we rely entirely on repeat customers for our business; we don't dare offend anyone easily."
Ji Qinchou understood and nodded. "Names."
"Sun Changyu, Tang Wenshan, Zhuo Anqi—those are their real names! I have their contact information too!"
The manager pulled up his contacts and handed his phone to Ye Ying while she recorded their numbers at reception. Ji Qinchou then asked again, "What do they generally do?"
"Well—our Mingxin District has a University of International Business and Economics not far from here—about ten kilometers away—so there are often students coming over to hang out. The boys are fine; as for girls... they tend to be nervous and shy during their first few visits; some girls even tremble when they try to order on their tablets with just one finger! Sun Changyu and his friends specifically target these girls—especially Tang Wenshan—who has a face like those popular Korean boy band members from a few years ago; he charms many young girls who get tipsy after drinking and end up being taken away without realizing it! The three of them act like brothers—they do everything together; you understand? After such incidents happen, those young girls never come back."
"I see."
Ye Ying noted down all three phone numbers and added the manager on WeChat so he could send her their contact cards later. As they walked out of PINK Bar, Ji Qinchou exchanged glances with Ye Ying; they both understood what those few words from the manager concealed behind them meant—a sigh escaped them as they felt an added weight on their hearts.
"Do you have photos of the three of them?"
"I'll take a look."
The store manager hurriedly searched through the photo album on his phone, and soon said, "Got it! But... is a video okay, Police Comrade? It was taken during a gathering at the store a while back, and all three of them are in it."
"Let me see."
The store manager handed the phone to Ji Qinchou and leaned in a bit too close. Ji Qinchou uncomfortably rubbed the back of his neck and clicked to play the video.
The video was shot right there, with a group of people occupying a row of booths. The table was filled with barbecued food and drinks. The store manager was clearly drunk, standing on the sofa in his shoes, saying, "Come on, handsome guys and beautiful girls, let's take a group photo!"
Everyone posed for the camera, making peace signs, dancing, and raising their bottles in cheers...
"This one, skinny as a twig," the store manager pointed to a young man who looked even more slender than the girl, "that's Tang Wenshan."
"Hey hey, pause here. Yes, this one with the square face and flat nose is Sun Changyu."
"This chubby one is Zhuo Anqi."
"Send us a copy."
"Sure thing."
The store manager sent the video to Ye Ying.
After asking most of their questions, Ji Qinchou and Ye Ying stood up, ready to head to the next place when the store manager rushed out, breathless as he leaned against the door frame and said,
"I forgot to mention earlier, Tang Wenshan has a girlfriend named Tong Tong. She used to be a waitress at our store but got fired for being too impulsive and spilling drinks on customers. If you can't reach any of the three of them, Tong Tong is definitely a good lead; she lives with Tang Wenshan. Should I give her WeChat info to Officer Ye?"
After receiving Tong Tong's WeChat contact information, Ye Ying walked beside Ji Qinchou and asked, "Why did you ask if there was gang harassment as soon as you walked in? What does that have to do with gangs? Could it be multiple perpetrators?"
Ji Qinchou shook his head. "The only reason I can think of for leaving witnesses is to convey information to the outside world. This information could be directed at the police or could indicate a firm stance to certain individuals. It might not be appropriate to say 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey,' but... there may be others behind the victim."
Shizigui road stretched over five kilometers; just the nightlife area spanned three kilometers. The two reviewed surveillance footage and conducted interviews while encountering some minor obstacles along the way. By the time they exited the last establishment, daylight had already broken. The bright red sunlight poured down like spilled paint, shattering the neon lights and drunken haze like soap bubbles, leaving behind only dusty light tubes, rusty wires tracing female body curves, cigarette butts, condoms, and excrement... everything was ugly enough to make one nauseous.
At that moment, Ji Qinchou suddenly realized something and slapped his forehead. "I forgot!"
"What?" Ye Ying wiped her face with her hand; she felt quite uncomfortable as if her face were coated in oil.
"Let's go!" Ji Qinchou strode toward the shore. "If the murderer really wanted to convey information to certain people, then committing the crime directly across from PINK Bar can't be coincidental! The video that the store owner just sent you—let's have witnesses identify it!"
"Yes, that's him!" Zhang Tiangang pointed at Tang Wenshan on the screen with certainty.
"Are you sure? With so many people around, can you recognize him at first glance?"
"I can't recognize faces, but I can recognize this tattoo!" Zhang Tiangang took the phone from Ye Ying, zooming in on the video until Tang Wenshan's hand was enlarged to the maximum. "Get ready! This koi fish is brightly colored, especially noticeable at night. I clearly saw it when I was kneeling on the ground!"
Ye Ying looked at Ji Qinchou's expression just as Xu Liang walked over.
"What's wrong?"
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