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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 134: Another Tragedy
The phone number tracking of Big Gourd dealt Aeming another heavy blow.
His life was a true reflection of indulgence, having followed eleven locations: five hotels, three rental apartments, two entertainment KTVs, and his own shabby dwelling. The male targets he encountered were diverse—gamblers, hustlers, smugglers, and a whole bunch involved in construction materials. The female targets were simpler; all were fallen women, with him changing partners four times in three days. His tastes were quite mainstream, and on the last day, he didn't mind even approaching women who were clearly in their middle age after a few drinks.
This matter had already been explained to the former captain of Criminal Investigation Team Five, Chen Shaoyang. Big Gourd had self-appointed himself as Su Hang's Eighteen Routes Chief Pimp. Many fallen women who encountered aggressive clients would seek out Hu Ge for help. Some destitute individuals, recently released from detention and without a place to live, had received his assistance. Therefore, his popularity was not to be underestimated; he didn’t even have to look for clients; they came to him.
There was no remedy for this. Even the police shook their heads in disbelief at such individuals. They had their own ways of operating and could not comprehend the world these people inhabited.
At Chen Shaoyang's place, Aeming received another lead regarding Liu Yang, another thug injured during the Flame Action incident. This little gangster had also disappeared afterward. Following Shen Lingchen's instructions, Chen Shaoyang had searched in Suzhou and Hangzhou multiple times, but unfortunately, it was difficult to get close to those wary thugs again.
The gang that once roamed Cangji had scattered like leaves in the wind. All Chen Shaoyang could provide were hearsay accounts—some had taken black cars to solicit clients, some had gone out to sea with fishing boats, and many had followed Big Gourd to construction sites. They no longer touched the high-voltage lines of administrative detention or criminal detention, so police contact with them naturally decreased.
After three days of fruitless searching, upon returning to Binhai, Aeming made a trip to the cemetery—the grave of the wrongfully deceased Erhu Lu.
With a blue stone tablet and a stone base, it was quite an impressive grave. Erhu Lu, who had lived a tumultuous life, probably never imagined he would rest in such an expensive cemetery after death. Aeming stared at the clean and tidy grave for a long time and finally bowed deeply three times to this unfortunate little gangster under everyone's gaze.
“He is here; I can see his shadow wherever I go.”
Aeming said this as others grew more disappointed; he seemed to gain confidence instead...
Three days later, as their week in Anhui Province came to an end.
At the Criminal Investigation Special Training Division, Fan Saili returned at Lin Qizhao's invitation. As she stepped out of the car, Lin Qizhao approached her alone. Curiously, he asked during their handshake, “Where is Party Political Commissar?”
“Like chasing down suspects, he went after that one called Su Rongle; he hasn’t returned all day yesterday,” Fan Saili replied.
"He is quite persistent... Please," Lin Qizhao said, casually asking, "Director Fan, I mean no offense. If there's anything we can help with, just let us know. Never hesitate to ask. For Xiao Mu's sake, we will do our utmost."
"Actually, I don't agree with bringing in outsiders to solve this. I've brought the materials... Lin Department Head, is that informant really as legendary as they say?" Fan Saili asked curiously. Generally speaking, such special fringe individuals often end up as tragic protagonists; either they are eliminated by villains posing as good people or captured by good people mistaking them for villains.
"What did the Party Political Commissar say?" Lin Qizhao inquired, intrigued.
"He praised him to the skies. He said that when dealing with the 402 Pyramid Scheme, this informant was able to track down the mastermind who had fled based on minute details from old cases," Fan Saili explained.
"That should be credible," Lin Qizhao replied.
"But that person is a mental patient. Capturing someone like that wouldn't pose much of a challenge for them, would it?" Fan Saili commented.
Lin Qizhao smiled and remarked, "Saying that, you truly live up to your background in economic investigation. In criminal investigations, the hardest to deal with aren't the violent crime suspects but those who are elusive and have unique thought processes."
"Well, I believe this individual I'm about to tell you about will satisfy your curiosity," Fan Saili said.
"Sounds good, but never underestimate our limited capabilities; I can only offer suggestions," Lin Qizhao replied.
Fan Saili felt an inexplicable fondness for the modest young director. Upon entering his office, she handed over a specialized tablet. After decoding it, a detailed Case Situation appeared before them. This might be the reason they had traveled so far to find Xiao Mu. Lin Qizhao couldn't afford to overlook it and sat down to read attentively.
The Case Situation wasn't complicated. The Anhui Provincial Public Security had dismantled a drug trafficking gang with several hideouts, seizing over thirty kilograms of ice and methamphetamine along with various pills worth over nine hundred thousand in drug money. Nine suspects were arrested. Another lead from this case involved a lower-tier dealer who had purchased four kilograms of drugs using sixty thousand in counterfeit money. The identity of this person remained uncertain; only a nickname provided by the traffickers was known—Trafficker King.
"Haha, interesting! This is someone dealing in counterfeit money who got caught up in drug trafficking?" Lin Qizhao remarked after scanning through the information.
"Yes, this Trafficker King closely resembles the suspect Wang Shou who has been on the run for six years now. His last known offense was trafficking women and children. After his gang was taken down, he vanished without a trace and has since changed his line of work," Fan Saili explained.
"Four kilograms of drugs... that's not a small case," Lin Qizhao noted, though confusion lingered. He asked Fan Saili, "But this is a drug enforcement case; what does it have to do with your economic investigation?"
"We're not involved in drug enforcement; the key lies here. Please look at the next document," Fan Saili said as she stood up and indicated for Lin Qizhao to open another file.
A large part of the seized drug money was Counterfeit, and the fake persona marked several technical points. Judging from Lin Qizhao’s professional level, this was Counterfeit Money with a high level of imitation. He said in surprise: "Oh, R7 has also appeared in your place?" "Yes, and it is the largest case, 600,000. The degree of forgery is quite high, and it can deceive most non-professionals' naked eye recognition. Any inspection that has not been upgraded two years ago Money machines can also be deceived," Fan Saili said. Lin Qizhao had to pay attention, he thought: "For a long time, r7 has appeared in pieces, so do you want to find the source of Counterfeit Money through Trafficker King?" "Yes, such a large purchase , he must know the origin of Counterfeit Money, and there is also Dollar Counterfeit Money, which is in the hands of Trafficker King... This clue may lead us to find the answer to this unsolved case. We turned to the Criminal Investigation Division for help in economic investigation. We have been following this case for three months. The team members spent the New Year outside, and the Party Political Commissar had no choice, so it took me all the way to find it. This partner he once met in a mental hospital." Fan Saili said. "Oh, he is expecting Xiao Mu to guess the whereabouts of this person from the old case?" Lin Qizhao asked out of curiosity. He had no direction. He was in a hurry and went to the doctor to find an expert to guess the direction. Curiosity is the answer, Fan Saili nodded. "This is why you go to the obstetrics and gynecology department because you have a stomachache. Prescribing medicine may not be the right solution. The informant's identification ability comes from close contact with the suspect. How can we provide clues without contact?" Lin Qizhao drooped his lips. Now I understand why Aeming was deceived the most by Big Gourd, and I am also stubborn in my love. Even this Fan Saili seemed to be the same. She looked at Lin Qizhao embarrassedly, as if she had done something wrong, and she was embarrassed and speechless for a long time... "Master, follow the car in front." Aeming hurriedly got into the taxi and said hurriedly. The driver looked at him warily. He looked like a robber. Aeming was already prepared. He flashed his police card, released a hundred yuan, and comforted the driver: "The police are handling the case. Don't worry, I'll double the fare for you." "Oh, I was shocked." The driver stepped on the accelerator and caught up. It's a BMW. In fact, in a place as big as Binhai, a car costing hundreds of thousands is really inconspicuous, but in the eyes of Aeming it is valuable because the owner of the car is: Su Rongle. There are precedents of being extorted money from Big Gourd, and lessons learned from being deceived by gangsters. Aeming learned the lesson and gave up on face-to-face contact this time. He met Guan Xiangdong, and the classmate instructed him to find Su Rongle, it is said that this person named Lezi has a closer prostitution relationship with Xiao Mu than his classmates, but this has attracted even more attention from Aeming.
He found himself back in the days of stakeouts, spending over sixty hours crouched and following, once again witnessing the peculiarities of Xiao Mu, his friend. When it came to dining, he insisted on choosing the expensive places; when it came to picking up girls, he preferred pairs. Following him around, it was impossible to know what he was up to—bars, clubs, high-end boutiques, and places that even Aeming couldn't name—all filled with English signs. It was a challenge for him, a police officer who had never encountered such luxury.
However, one thing was certain: this guy was smoking. He casually rolled up some marijuana in the car and smoked it without a care in the world. Marijuana was one of the milder drugs, but it was still a drug. The more Aeming observed, the more worried he became—not about ruining the fun but about what kind of person Xiao Mu would turn into surrounded by such bizarre characters.
"Hey, officer, he turned! Are we still following?" the driver suddenly asked.
"Of course we're following," Aeming replied mechanically.
"We can't get in there; it's a high-end villa area, and taxis aren't allowed," the driver said.
"Oh, then let me off here." Aeming noticed that Xiao Mu had entered a community. He got out of the car and reached for his wallet, but the driver smiled and declined the fare. As the car sped away, he realized that after days of following Xiao Mu, he felt dizzy and hadn’t eaten or slept well. If he didn’t find someone soon in this vast city, he might lose track of him.
With his bag in hand, he headed straight into the community. The doorman flashed his badge and directed him toward where the car had gone. He followed at a brisk pace but stopped short when he saw two police cars parked in front of a villa—Xiao Mu's car was right there at the entrance.
Something had happened?
This didn’t surprise him; nothing these people did was unusual. He checked the address in his records and suddenly understood—it was another one of Xiao Mu's friends' addresses: Sun Qinghua.
But this person didn’t seem to have any criminal record; what could have happened?
He rushed to the entrance and entered the courtyard where a dog was barking from its leash. A police officer stopped him. He showed his credentials and identified himself as Shen Lingchen. After confirming via phone, they finally let him in. However, he didn’t go inside right away; instead, he turned back to ask the officer, "What’s going on?"
"It’s about that theft case online—the Wang Zihua case. It led to a major theft ring," the officer replied.
"Hasn’t it been over a year? Why is it still ongoing?" Aeming asked in confusion.
"It’s resolved on paper; we just haven’t finished recovering the stolen goods," the officer explained.
"And who is this?" Aeming asked curiously.
"Nothing much, there's a suspect who confessed to selling a bronze ding to Sun Qinghua. We need to verify and collect it... You wouldn't know, but some of these stolen goods have changed hands seven or eight times, and some have even been sold abroad," the officer explained.
Before he could finish, chaos erupted above. A loud crash echoed as a piece of glass shattered, followed by a dark object crashing down onto the doghouse. Then, a man's voice boomed: "Take it away... just take it all away... Who are you trying to scare? What's wrong with the police? I bought it with my money; I've lost millions without batting an eye... So what? Are you going to kill me?"
"Not good," the officer said as he hurried upstairs.
Things were about to get serious. Aeming was following closely behind but paused at the courtyard entrance. From his experience, whenever trouble arose, the crowd would gather; the more spectators there were, the more likely something would go wrong. As the argument escalated, voices grew louder. Suddenly, he looked up to see a man trying to jump out of the window while shouting desperately: "Lezi, you testify for me... they’re forcing me to die... Ask them, ask your mother! I bought it... I'm jumping down now, and they threaten me with a painful death. Let's see if you can live comfortably after this... I'm jumping! I'm jumping!"
Aeming dropped his bag and seized the moment of chaos to climb up the drainpipe swiftly to the second floor. Sun Qinghua was yelling passionately when suddenly Aeming pushed him from outside, and both men tumbled into the room, landing heavily on the sofa.
Inside, a circle of stunned officers stood around. Lezi finally reacted and pulled at Sun Qinghua, saying, "Mr. Sun, is this really necessary? You've lost millions and you're still fine; can this little matter scare you? Alright then, take whatever you want; it's mostly sold off anyway. Don't go throwing around accusations about theft; Mr. Sun's purchases were all high-priced—he wasn't scammed that badly..."
"Come on... what's going on?" Aeming called over several officers for a quiet discussion.
The investigating officers were also frustrated; they hadn't found the stolen goods they were looking for—only fakes remained—and they were getting agitated after just a few words.
Another officer mentioned that the stock market had cleaned him out; everything that could be sold had been sold. When asked where he sold it all, he became anxious.
Sure enough, two exquisite display racks were completely empty; the place was turning into a junkyard with bottles strewn everywhere. Aeming tried to calm the officers down; they could postpone the case for now—didn't they see how close he was to breaking down? If they pressured him and something went wrong, who would take responsibility? He contacted Shen Lingchen, who immediately ordered everyone to pack up and leave.
Meanwhile, two men nearby looked like they were about to break down in tears. Lezi watched Sun Qinghua's despondent state and urged him gently: "Mr. Sun, how did you end up like this? Isn't the market supposed to bounce back?"
"I pulled out long ago," Sun Qinghua replied with tears in his eyes.
"That's good news; how much did you manage to save?" Lezi encouraged.
"Save? I lost money trading futures for three months—enough for a house! Now I’m left with just enough for a few meals… Haha..." Sun Qinghua forced a laugh that sent chills down Aeming's spine.
"The wind blows away egg shells; wealth brings peace of mind. Mr. Sun, try to look on the bright side; you still have your brothers," Lezi patted his chest in comfort but found there was no water available. He glanced up at Aeming who commanded, "What are you standing there for? Quickly bring a glass of water."
“Oh… I’ll be right there.” Aeming searched for a cup, rummaging through the house. There was no hot water, so he looked for some cold water. To his surprise, there wasn’t even any cold water in the bathroom. When he came out in shock, Sun Qinghua weakly said, “The property fees haven’t been paid; the water and electricity have been cut off… The house is about to be repossessed.”
“What? You’ve mortgaged the house too?” Lezi was stunned, and Ruhua was ready to fight; it was a reckless situation.
“Haha, I’m back to my miserable days, hahaha… Lezi, no, no, you’re not Lezi; I’m the biggest joke here, hahaha…” Sun Qinghua laughed maniacally, uncontrollably. His voice was both mournful and pleading, sending chills down one’s spine while also evoking sympathy. It was truly remarkable that he hadn’t gone off the deep end yet.
“Don’t say anything… Let’s go to my place… Mr. Sun, money is worthless; we can earn more after spending it. When I was poor, you never treated me like an outsider; now that you’re down on your luck, I can’t just stand by… Come on, it’s just a matter of paying it all back, right? We can start over!” Lezi pulled at Ruhua, and this made Aeming ’s impression of him improve significantly.
Just as things seemed to brighten up a bit, Lezi comforted him: “Brother, being poor is one thing, but you still need to enjoy life—go out with girls and eat well. Isn’t that what life is about? What’s there to be upset about… Oh right, why are you alone? Where’s Shishi?”
“Haha, my wife was bought with money; without money, will she still be around?” Sun Qinghua snapped angrily.
“Alright then, forget about her; what good is a wife anyway… Come on, let’s go.” Lezi insisted on dragging Sun Qinghua along. As they approached Aeming, he caught a strong smell of alcohol mixed with body odor; it seemed he had been drinking quite a bit this morning.
Taking advantage of the moment, he supported Sun Qinghua on the other side and said to Lezi, “You go drive; I’ll help him.”
“Okay.” Lezi turned and walked away but soon turned back in confusion and asked, “Who are you?”
“A friend; I used to work as a security guard. Mr. Sun helped me before; I just came to check on him,” Aeming fabricated an excuse smoothly. This way of misleading Lezi posed no problem; Lezi didn’t suspect anything at all. As for Sun Qinghua, he had already drifted off into his own world, squinting as if his spine had been pulled out.
It wasn’t until they got into the car that Aeming noticed something was off. Sun Qinghua looked like he had been high before and was now coming down from it; he felt something wasn’t right and reached out to touch Lezi. “Lezi, Mr. Sun’s pulse isn’t right… Hurry up and take him to the hospital.”
“Isn’t it nothing? Ever since he lost everything and became broke, he’s been like this. Now that his wife has left him too, his symptoms have just worsened,” Lezi replied.
“Shut up! I’ve slept with the most beautiful campus goddess; you’re just jealous,” Sun Qinghua suddenly opened his eyes and cursed.
“Look at that; he can still curse. Is everything alright?” Lezi asked.
“Stop joking around; we should really go to the hospital. His condition is so bad—what if something happens… Hurry!” Aeming urged.
Lezi was feeling increasingly anxious, muttering to himself about Mr. Sun and hoping it wasn't anything serious. Still uneasy, he drove straight to City First Hospital.
It's hard to say what was going on with people sometimes. The doctors at the hospital checked his saliva, drew blood, and took a general look. It didn't seem like a drug overdose; rather, it resembled alcohol poisoning. Just when you thought he was on the brink of collapse, he suddenly opened his eyes and spoke, leaving you speechless. Aeming was also somewhat annoyed by this inconsiderate person who didn't appreciate the kindness of others.
As they were waiting for the test results, Sun Qinghua opened his eyes and pitifully told Lezi, "I'm hungry."
"Hey, that's good news... Just wait here; I'll go get you something to eat," Lezi said cheerfully. The desire to eat was a sign of life and vitality.
He stood up, but Sun Qinghua grabbed his arm. Lezi smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Thank you, Lezi. My friends all say you're an idiot," Sun Qinghua replied with a strange smile.
"Heh, who cares?" Lezi laughed. He had never been concerned about others' opinions of him; it couldn't get any worse anyway.
Sun Qinghua smiled sadly and said, "Right, who cares... Friends have all left, my wife is gone too; only you, this idiot, still thinks about me."
"Of course! We've been through thick and thin since high school, standing in the corner of the playground together as outcasts. Who else would I think about?" Lezi comforted him with a grin before heading out to find some food from a stall outside the hospital.
He didn't notice that as he disappeared from Sun Qinghua's view, tears streamed down Sun Qinghua's face. He wiped them away, gritted his teeth, and shakily made his way into the crowd.
Soon after, Aeming returned with the test results and was stunned to find both of them missing. He didn't even have their phone numbers and had no idea where these two fools had gone.
Before long, Lezi came back with a bag of food, looking excited but then bewildered when he asked Aeming, "Where are they?"
"I don't know!" Aeming replied in shock while holding the test results. "It seems like there's not much wrong."
"I told you it wasn't serious! You insisted on making a big deal out of it. This is just post-stock trading stress—high blood pressure, fast heart rate; red and green can easily lead to a stroke," Lezi said while looking around in confusion. Then he added regretfully, "Looks like losing his wife hit him hard... Luckily for me, I'm steadfast in my resolve not to marry."
What kind of people are these? Aeming thought helplessly as he handed the results to Lezi and asked, "So here you go."
"Oh... thank you, brother," Lezi said.
"You're welcome, you're welcome." Aeming replied modestly, pondering how to build a closer relationship. Unexpectedly, Lezi took the initiative and asked, "Hey, brother, are you still working as a security guard?"
"Uh, more or less. What's up?" Aeming inquired.
"Hey, I can find you a job. Come supervise at the construction site. With you standing there, the migrant workers won't dare to slack off. That little blind stream won't dare to come steal anything... So what do you say? The pay won't disappoint you—four thousand a month with meals included... Hey, why are you staring like that? Let me tell you, I have a brother who's the top pimp of Su Hang Eighteen Roads Flowing Oriole. The one with the 'female' radical in the character for 'pimp.' If you work with us, all your living issues and physical needs will be taken care of..." Lezi was eager to recruit him and revealed too much, drawing a crowd of onlookers who stared at him like he was an idiot.
"Hey, hey, hey, let's keep this between us... Actually, I'm looking for someone..." Aeming pulled Lezi aside and whispered.
"Finding someone is too easy... We have hundreds of brothers; finding one person is a piece of cake. Wait? Oh crap, did your sister get abducted? No way! With your genetic makeup, you don't look like someone who'd attract human traffickers... Oh, I get it! Your wife ran away? It must be because of low income; wives can be picky. It's nothing to be ashamed of... Mr. Sun is a millionaire and his wife still left him..." Lezi spat as he looked at Aeming's unremarkable attire and quickly concluded his judgment.
Aeming didn't expect to encounter such a chatty oddball again. He was overwhelmed by Lezi's nonsensical theories and couldn't get a word in edgewise. Just as he tried to interrupt Lezi to clarify who he was looking for, a piercing scream echoed from outside the hospital: "Ah... someone is going to jump off the building! Come quick!"
"Whoa, it's Lezi! Let's go check it out." Excitedly, Lezi exclaimed and shivered as he spoke. "Oh my gosh, it can't be that Ruhua are feeling hopeless."
Thinking of this, Lezi was so scared that he bolted outside. Before Aeming could say anything, he was hit by the food container that Lezi had thrown away, splattering soup all over him. Grimacing, he chased after Lezi and looked up at the building in shock.
Could it be that peculiar Mr. Sun? He sat on the edge of the building crying, looking like he was about to jump...
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