The Serious Crimes Unit was still as busy as ever, with a constant shortage of personnel. The people being questioned in the interrogation room had to be guarded by police officers borrowed from other departments.
Hao Yiming sat upright, composed and relaxed, as he glanced at the police officers guarding him. He casually observed the interrogation room and suddenly spoke, “Your conditions here are pretty basic, huh? The foam on the walls is even exposed. How about I pull some strings and get you guys some funding?”
The two officers, unsure of what to make of this guy, exchanged a glance and then went back to fiddling with their phones, ignoring him.
Hao Yiming’s expression darkened, but then he scoffed. “Do you have any water? I’m thirsty.”
One of the officers pulled out a bottle of Nongfu Spring water from under his chair and handed it to him, but Hao Yiming pushed it away. “This water isn’t high enough quality for me. I won’t drink it.”
The officer responded stiffly, “This is all we have. Just make do.”
Hao Yiming clicked his tongue in feigned displeasure, but under the table, his leg trembled slightly with barely perceptible anxiety.
He had felt it coming ever since he decided to kill Lin Shaohuai.
He had a hunch that his secrets wouldn’t stay hidden.
And after that… he had indeed made some hasty, foolish moves.
Last night, when he heard that Zhang San had been arrested, Hao Yiming’s normally dull mind suddenly cleared.
He had made a mistake.
Lin Shaohuai might not survive the critical condition. He shouldn’t have been so hasty to silence him, and he definitely shouldn’t have hired just anyone for the job.
Now that he was thinking clearly, he realized that he would never have entrusted such a task to anyone other than Shao Heng.
Not trusting others was one thing. Their competence was another.
So why had he turned to that so-called Brother Long to kill Lin Shaohuai last night?
This wasn’t like him.
How had he made such a decision?
Hao Yiming shook his head, feeling foggy, as if those memories had been covered by something.
All he could vaguely recall was a voice whispering in his ear, telling him that Lin Shaohuai was about to wake up and that he needed to be eliminated. Otherwise, everything Hao Yiming had worked so hard for would be exposed and destroyed.
And so, he had followed that voice’s instructions.
Now, looking back, Hao Yiming felt a chill run down his spine. It was scarier than any horror story.
“Click.”
The door to the interrogation room opened, and Hao Yiming shivered instinctively at the sound.
A voice full of mockery rang out, “What’s this? I just opened the door, and our esteemed President Hao shuddered in fear?”
Hao Yiming looked up to see the two deputy team leaders of the Serious Crimes Unit, Zou Shuyang and Captain He, walking in.
Captain He glanced at Zou Shuyang before nodding to the two officers guarding Hao Yiming. Understanding the signal, they left the room, leaving only the three of them inside.
“Hao Yiming, male, 27 years old, Han ethnicity, residing at…”
Before Captain He could finish, Hao Yiming interrupted him, “Captain He, both you and I know these details already. No need to go through the formalities. What do you want from me?”
Captain He set aside the documents and clasped his hands together. “We suspect that you’re involved in the murder of Lin Shaohuai yesterday, as well as the murder of Shen Tinglan ten years ago. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”
The words were polite, but the tension in Captain He’s clenched fists, with knuckles turning white, showed he wasn’t as calm as his words suggested.
Hao Yiming leaned back, subtly hiding his sweat-soaked hands. “Oh? I don’t know anything about that. I’m a law-abiding citizen who pays taxes every year.”
Hao Yiming was too smooth with his words, so Zou Shuyang played the interrogation footage of Brother Long and Zhang San.
“Any comments on these accusations, President Hao?”
Hao Yiming shrugged. “False accusations, that’s all. I don’t even know this Brother Long. Why would I hire him to kill one of my subordinates, an old friend?”
The unease inside him grew stronger.
Hao Yiming’s hands began to tremble, but he kept up his tough facade. “Without solid evidence, I’d appreciate it if you treated a taxpayer with respect.”
Zou Shuyang exchanged a glance with Captain He, who then pulled out Brother Long’s confiscated phone and played an audio recording. “Does this count as solid evidence?”
Listening to the recording of himself instructing Brother Long to kill Lin Shaohuai, Hao Yiming felt all the strength drain from his body.
It was over. Everything was over.
Zou Shuyang paused the recording. “Anything else you’d like to say?”
Hao Yiming remained silent, his head hanging low.
Zou Shuyang raised an eyebrow. “And there’s more. I hope you’ll listen to this.”
Hao Yiming didn’t look up, but the sound of the recording crawled into his ears like an unwelcome parasite, impossible to block out.
“What are you going to do? Kill Shen Tinglan?”
“I’ve got connections in the hospital. Even if Shen Tinglan doesn’t die from the beating, he won’t survive once he’s in the hospital.”
Though the voice was slightly distorted by the recording equipment, it was unmistakably Hao Yiming’s. He shot a glance at Zou Shuyang, who had the laptop open in front of him. “How… How did this happen? Lin Shaohuai recorded it?”
Hao Yiming suddenly remembered the item he had taken back from Jian Mengyan yesterday—Lin Shaohuai’s so-called gift to her…
“Was it Jian Mengyan? Did she give this to you?”
Zou Shuyang didn’t confirm or deny it. “Judging by your reaction, you’re admitting to it?”
Hao Yiming lowered his head again, unwilling to let them see his expression. “Heh, recordings like these can easily be faked. Who knows if that’s really my voice?”
“Alright then, we’ll request an audio analysis in court.”
All three of them knew that Hao Yiming was merely putting up a final, desperate struggle.
Captain He suddenly asked, “So, did you kill Teacher Shen Tinglan because he knew you had assaulted Ding Jing?”
Hao Yiming gritted his teeth, refusing to admit anything. “Captain He, I don’t understand what you’re saying. Who’s Shen Tinglan? Who’s Ding Jing? I’ve never heard of them.”
Captain He sneered. “The evidence is irrefutable. What else do you have to say?”
“I’d like to request my lawyer. Anything further can be discussed with him.”
Zou Shuyang said regretfully, “Your lawyer will be here soon. But in the meantime, let’s talk about these recordings, shall we?”
As Hao Yiming’s body trembled more visibly, Zou Shuyang suddenly softened his tone, speaking slowly. “Let’s walk through the timeline. First, you assaulted Ding Jing. Then, Teacher Shen Tinglan found out about it, and to stop him from reporting you, you decided to kill him. But you couldn’t do it yourself, so you hired someone named Shen Jun.”
As Zou Shuyang spoke, Hao Yiming’s shaking grew worse.
“At first, Shen Jun refused,” Zou Shuyang continued, holding up a copy of Shen Jun’s diary. “But then you offered him 500,000 yuan and promised to take his mother to get her eyes treated after the job was done. Unfortunately, Shen Jun never betrayed you, but you failed to keep your promise to him. Shen Jun didn’t complain, though, because he found a better way.”
“He must’ve had some evidence against you, right? That’s why he could keep blackmailing you after he got out of prison. But as his demands grew, you couldn’t tolerate it anymore, so you… had him killed.”
“I didn’t!”
Suddenly, Hao Yiming shouted, breaking his usual demeanor. “I didn’t kill Shen Jun. His death had nothing to do with me.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hao Yiming realized his mistake.
But it was too late. Zou Shuyang immediately followed up, “So you admit that you hired Shen Jun to kill Shen Tinglan?”
Once again, Hao Yiming lowered his head, refusing to speak.
No matter what Zou Shuyang said after that, Hao Yiming remained silent, clearly resolved not to say another word without solid evidence against him.
Captain He exchanged a glance with Zou Shuyang, who nodded knowingly. The two of them left the interrogation room, one after the other.
Zou Shuyang still had the presence of mind to thank the police officers guarding the door. “Thanks for your hard work.”
“How can you still be smiling?” Captain He asked, looking at Zou Shuyang with a stern expression. He rubbed the cigarette between his fingers until the paper tore, spilling tobacco everywhere.
“Why shouldn’t I smile? We’ve been investigating this case for so long, and now it’s finally coming to an end. Shouldn’t we celebrate?”
Captain He pointed toward the interrogation room door. “That guy in there hasn’t confessed yet.”
Zou Shuyang dusted off his still-damp clothes and replied nonchalantly, “It’s only a matter of time. We’ve got witnesses and physical evidence. His confession isn’t that important.”
He looked at Captain He’s dark expression and teased, “What’s wrong? Doesn’t he have the right to remain silent?”
Captain He turned his head away. “Don’t you feel that this whole thing reeks of something strange?”
When Zou Shuyang looked at him, Captain He continued seriously, “From the deaths of Shen Jun and Cheng Hao, it feels like someone has been deliberately guiding us to focus on those two cases from ten years ago. That person has been slowly leading us to uncover Zhong Langming, Lin Shaohuai, and finally, Hao Yiming.”
Zou Shuyang knew all of this, of course.
“So, Zou Shuyang, have you ever wondered why all this evidence has been preserved so well after all these years?”
Zou Shuyang followed up, “Why would Hao Yiming hire someone like Brother Long, whom he had no connection with? And why would a thug like Brother Long think to record the phone call?”
“The mastermind behind all of this is certainly meticulous.”
At that moment, Xiao Tang entered, leading a lawyer in a suit. Upon seeing Zou Shuyang and Captain He, Xiao Tang said, “This is Hao Yiming’s lawyer. Captain He, Deputy Zou, what do you think…”
The lawyer adjusted his glasses and smiled. “May I see my client now?”
Captain He nodded, motioning for Xiao Tang to take the lawyer to the interrogation room.
As the two walked away, Captain He was about to continue their conversation when he noticed Zou Shuyang frowning, lost in thought.
“What’s wrong?”
Zou Shuyang asked, “What role does Yin Zhuo play in this case?”
Captain He didn’t respond, and it seemed like Zou Shuyang didn’t need an answer. “He’s Ding Jing’s potential boyfriend, the one who invented PHR769, and he’s also the reason we caught Zhong Langming.”
“Captain He, do you think it’s possible that the mastermind behind all of this is Yin Zhuo?”
Be my Patron ~ Buy me Ko-Fi
✨Be a part of the story – support my translations✨
✨Buy me some Ko-FI | Paypal to support my effort✨
✨✨Advance chapter at Patreon✨✨
