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At one o'clock in the morning, Lu Jianming was suddenly awakened by the ringing of the phone. He got out of bed and picked up the phone from the bedside table, speaking in a low voice, "This is Lu Jianming, please go ahead."
"Director Lu, there's been another incident at Liyuan Mall!" On the other end of the line, Wang Wei's voice sounded somewhat anxious. "The general manager of Liyuan Mall, Fan Zhesi, has been murdered."
"Oh? Where did it happen? Where are you now?" Lu Jianming did not panic; he had anticipated that Liyuan Mall would eventually have more problems. It was only a matter of time. The earlier incidents of vandalism or injuries were clearly not their ultimate goal; those were merely preliminary setups to divert the police's attention to where they wanted it. Now was when they were truly making their move.
"I'm at the scene of the incident. The location is Building 6, Room 605 in Fuyuan Community. Director Lu, do you want to come over?" Wang Wei said on the phone.
"I'll come take a look. Send a car to pick me up," Lu Jianming replied, pressing his fingers against his temples. This nervous breakdown had plagued him for years; he could never sleep soundly at night and would wake up at the slightest noise. Perhaps this was also a part of his job, Lu Jianming thought to himself. His wife had already been awakened; as Lu Jianming's wife, she was used to her husband, who often found himself at crime scenes late at night even after becoming deputy director. She handed him his clothes and simply asked, "Are you coming back?"
"Well, it depends on the situation. I probably won't be back; I'll go straight to work in the morning. It's still early; you should get some sleep," Lu Jianming said as he got dressed and went to the living room to wait for the car.
Just as Lu Jianming sat down in the living room, the door to the adjacent bedroom opened. A girl in her twenties wearing pajamas walked out, yawning as she went straight into the bathroom without closing the door and sat down on the toilet… With a flush sound, she came out yawning again. At this moment, Lu Jianming cleared his throat.
"Who?!" The girl in pajamas jumped up, her previous laziness instantly replaced by alertness as she assumed a defensive posture.
"Xiaomeng, it's Dad," Lu Jianming said.
"Oh, it's you, Dad? I thought there was an intruder," she replied with a pout, sounding somewhat disappointed. "What's going on? Oh! I know! You must have gotten up secretly to smoke! Where's your cigarette? Hand it over!" The girl perked up with an evil grin as she approached Lu Jianming.
"Stop messing around! Dad is waiting for a car to take me; I'm going to handle a case," Lu Jianming explained helplessly. If he didn't clarify quickly, she would start searching him again. To his surprise, his daughter still eagerly leaned closer with an excited expression and asked, "Is there another case?! Is there a dead body?"
Sighing inwardly, Lu Jianming thought about how his precious daughter was great in every way except for being too violent; it seemed like she got excited whenever there was a case involving death. If he had known this would be her personality, he wouldn't have named her Hanmeng—such a character didn't suit such a poetic name. Names like Iron Man or Victory Boy would have been more fitting; she was even more fierce than him!
"Stop messing around and go back to your room and sleep," Lu Jianming said.
"Dad, why don't I go with you? Maybe I can give you some ideas," Lu Hanmeng said as she sat down next to Lu Jianming and shook his arm.
"No way! This isn't your business; hurry back to your room and sleep!" Lu Jianming firmly rejected her request.
"If I can't go then fine! What's so great about it anyway! Don't forget I'm also an honorable people's police officer; one day I'll handle cases myself!" Seeing that her pleas were in vain, Lu Hanmeng stood up angrily and turned to leave.
"Cough cough, Xiaomeng…" Lu Jianming called after her. "Could you please close the door when you use the bathroom from now on? You're already a grown woman…"
Lu Hanmeng ignored him and slammed the door shut as she returned to her room. Sigh, who would want such a careless girl? Lu Jianming shook his head in frustration.
……
Fan Zhesi's death was gruesome; his entire head was smashed to pieces. A bloodied axe was left at the scene. The one who reported the incident was Fan Zhesi's lover, A Fang. She said that someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night, and when Fan Zhesi got up to answer it, she heard a dispute about something related to protection fees, followed by sounds of a struggle. A Fang peeked through the door and saw a young man furiously striking Fan Zhesi's head with an axe. After several blows, Fan Zhesi fell silent. As the young man left, he cursed about what it meant to oppose Three Tiger Hall, then walked away. It was only then that the stunned A Fang remembered to call the police.
When Lu Jianming arrived, a female officer was taking A Fang's statement. A Fang was crying as she spoke, her face filled with fear, and her body trembling. When the female officer saw Lu Jianming, she respectfully greeted him: “Director Lu.” Upon hearing that a leader from the bureau had arrived, A Fang cried even harder and insisted that the police quickly solve the case and bring the murderer to justice.
Lu Jianming casually asked a couple of questions and then said, “A Fang, do you remember what the murderer looked like?”
“I remember! I could recognize him even if he turned to ashes!” A Fang replied firmly, then began lamenting again: “Oh! My poor old Fan, how could you leave me like this? How am I supposed to live alone now…”
Lu Jianming coldly glanced at the sobbing A Fang, then turned and left the room.
“Director Lu, based on the scene, it appears that there was only one assailant. Given that the victim was willing to open the door for him, they must have known each other. The fatal injury was to the head, caused by a blunt object—most likely this axe—which delivered lethal blows. The assailant must have had considerable strength; judging by the depth and angle of the wounds, he is likely an adult male around 1.75 meters tall… That’s all we can deduce for now.” Wang Wei reported succinctly.
“Alright, check with the neighbors and community security for any witnesses. Also, retrieve surveillance footage from the community and nearby intersections to see if there’s anything useful. And have someone sketch a likeness based on what that eyewitness claims she can remember about the assailant!” Lu Jianming assigned tasks.
The evidence collection at the scene proceeded in an orderly manner as dawn began to break in the sky.
……
Several police cars rushed into the headquarters of Three Tiger Group, followed by a police Iveco. A dozen armed officers disembarked from it, along with armed paramilitary police in military green uniforms holding submachine guns. The officers immediately took control of everyone in the lobby and seized phones. The atmosphere in Three Tiger Group became chaotic as people wondered why such a large police presence had arrived.
Aside from leaving a few paramilitary officers to guard exits, the group marched straight toward the president's office. Inside, Huang Mang had already received a phone call; many employees of Three Tiger Group were former members of Three Tiger Hall, making it impossible for the police to maintain complete control.
“What should we do, Third Brother? The police are here; maybe you should leave first while I hold them off!” Huang Mang urgently suggested to Xin Yi. Earlier that morning, he had received news about a murder case at Fuyuan Community. Instinctively, he knew it must be targeting Three Tiger Hall, so he quickly called for Xin Yi. Just as they began discussing, the police arrived—clearly acting fast.
“It’s fine, Second Brother; if they come for me, I’ll just go with them. After all, we didn’t do anything wrong—what’s there to be afraid of? If I run away now, it’ll only make things worse,” Xin Yi replied nonchalantly.
"Ah, Third Brother, you have no idea that those guys are just robbers dressed in legal attire! Once you step inside, you won't die but you'll definitely suffer. They can impose any charges on you, even if you haven't committed a crime! I think it's better for you to leave first; we can think of a way later!" Huang Mang was an old hand at this; he knew the ins and outs of such places very well. In short, those kinds of places are not to be entered—once you're in, it's like being stuck in yellow mud—it's not shit, but it might as well be.
"It's fine, I know what to do. If they really dare to act recklessly, I can find a way to get out," Xin Yi still wore that indifferent expression.
"Find a way out?" Huang Mang was taken aback. He had seen Third Brother's Kung Fu before, but could he really escape from a heavily guarded detention center?
As they spoke, the police had already arrived. Xin Yi smiled and calmly walked out to greet the leading officer, saying, "I am Xin Yi. May I ask what brings you here?" Suddenly, the sound of gun bolts being pulled echoed in the corridor; the armed police had raised their submachine guns and aimed them at Xin Yi. If he made any sudden movements, they would shoot him on the spot. Xin Yi didn't seem fazed by this display; he smiled and glanced around before casually saying, "The equipment is quite impressive, but it's a pity it's being used on me."
The team leader was Captain Wang Wei of the Criminal Police Team. Seeing this young man so calm and composed made Wang Wei secretly admire him; if it were someone else, they might have already wet their pants. Yet here he was, chatting away with ease—truly a leader's demeanor. No wonder Hong Tianhu wanted to pass on the position of Third-in-Command of Three Tiger Hall to him. But admiration aside, Wang Wei was here to take someone in, so he said sternly, "You are Xin Yi? You are suspected of involvement in a murder case and need to come with us for questioning! Cuff him! Take him away!"
Two detectives stepped forward and roughly twisted Xin Yi's hands behind his back and cuffed him. These handcuffs were indeed tight; the two detectives treated Xin Yi like a vicious murderer without leaving any room for leniency. The cold handcuffs clamped down on Xin Yi's wrists as if they were about to dig into his flesh. However, Xin Yi did not resist and allowed them to tighten the cuffs.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; they had expected some resistance but were surprised at how easily they had subdued the suspect. Wang Wei wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and ordered in a deep voice, "Take him down!"
A group escorted Xin Yi down; due to the large number of people, they could only split into two elevators. The first team led by Wang Wei took eight fully armed officers with them while others took another elevator. Wang Wei's elevator reached the lobby first. Upon arrival, he sensed something was off; looking up, he saw that the entire lobby was filled with people—men and women of all ages wore angry expressions and directed furious glares at Wang Wei's group as they exited the elevator.
Wang Wei felt uneasy; could these people be planning a rescue? The armed officers were also on high alert, ready to sound their alarms or charge through if necessary. Sure enough, as they saw Xin Yi being escorted out, the crowd stirred restlessly. A man in a suit and tie stepped forward from the crowd and shouted sternly, "On what grounds are you taking Mr. Xin away? Don't think that just because you have guns you can do whatever you want! Let me tell you, unless you explain yourselves today, you won't be able to leave Three Tiger Group!"
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