Chapter 206: A Fifth Possibility
Chapter 206: A Fifth Possibility
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Gen-Kan Hexagram," the system said. "Gen for mountain and Kan for water. Mountain before water, the roads ahead is curved, for forces are mysterious, and the future is unclear."
Zhao Yu really wanted to know, what does this hexagram mean? If he could understand it, could it point him in the right direction for his investigation? But even if it did not, it was still enough to excite Zhao Yu immensely.
Thinking back to his investigations, every time the "gen" hexagram appeared, it meant that he was very close to solving the case! This implied that his previous efforts were not wasted, and that his investigation direction was almost definitely correct! With this in mind, how could Zhao Yu not be excited? Could it be, Hao Gang, Han Wenjun, and even Gao Yang, really were related to the Mianling case?!
In his excitement, all of Zhao Yu’s sleepiness faded away, and he continued to stand in front of the whiteboard as he pondered over the case.
Six white boards, a huge amount of case information, and with countless people involved, Zhao Yu focused as best as he could as he waded through the evidence, trying to uncover the truth hidden behind the fog of mystery.
Unexpectedly, once he completely focused, he actually did think of another possibility! He suddenly remembered the experience kidnapper Jiao Hai’s words. Jiao Hai had mentioned four possible reasons for kidnapping and then murdering the victims. But if Gao Yang really was one of the kidnappers, then the situation of the Mianling Case was clearly not one of these four possibilities because Gao Yang’s nephew, was one of the kidnapped targets.
To kidnap his own family member was one of the least professional thing to do within the kidnapping business. Not only would it be easy to be caught, but it was also completely immoral. Even if that was what happened, why did they carry out their plan they way their did? They took the driver and the car as well, could it…could it be?
Suddenly, a thought crossed Zhao Yu’s mind. He suddenly remembered that his first impression of the Mianling Case was that it was incredibly unprofessional. That was why he had thought that the Mianling Case was an accident. If his guess was right, then could it explain this situation that he was trying to uncover?
There was no more space on the whiteboards. Zhao Yu could only pick up a pen and start drawing on his notebook. Could there be a possible fifth reason for murdering the kidnapped victims? Considering Hao Gang and the other twos plan, perhaps they had originally only intended a robbery, or had their sight on the car. But once they took down Niu Weiguang’s little van, they suddenly realized that it was filled with students, and that Gao Yang’s nephew was sitting in the car!
With such an incident happening during the robbery, the criminals then decided to take everyone and hide them somewhere. But during the process, they realized that all these children were the children of rich families, and realized that they could kidnap them, which was why it took them three days to make the call. Even though everything went smoothly, and they managed to get their ransom money, since Gao Yang’s nephew recognized Gao Yang, they had no choice but to kill the children!
If the kidnapped victims were returned, then the police would immediately figure out the kidnapper’s identities, and no amount of money would help them! So they decided to risk it all and kill all the victims involved to eliminate any future worry! But because of the guilt Hao Gang felt for killing his own nephew, he went crazy. Yet the cruel and merciless Hao Gang and Han Wenjun continued their lives without a worry.
Whew… After taking notes, Zhao Yu could not help but sigh. Could that be the truth? Was the Mianling Case an accident? Could the case really be so simple?
With these questions in mind, Zhao Yu continued to ponder over and over, trying to find some way to contradict his theory. But even as the sun rose, he still had no answer.
…
Miao Ying patted Zhao Yu’s bald head, then pulled at his ear and yelled, "Hey, hey! Master detective, it’s time to wake up! We’ve been working all night, yet here you are, snoozing away? Your snoring is quite impressive. I thought there was some sort of alarm!"
Seeing Miao Ying pull at Zhao Yu’s ear, Li Beini and the others were stunned! For a long time, no one dared to go against Zhao Yu that close or personally. Zhao Yu was famous for his temper. Who dared to mess with the devil himself?
"Holy sh*t! Who the hell?!" Indeed, Zhao Yu was immediately enraged. He immediately grabbed Miao Ying’s hand, intending to break her wrist. Yet, as soon as he realized the one pulling at his ear was Miao Ying, he immediately suppressed his anger.
"Oh, it’s Team Leader Miao." Zhao Yu gently patted Miao Ying’s pale and smooth hand, smiling from ear to ear. "Hehehe, what do you need?"
Seeing Zhao Yu’s shamelessly flirty expression, all of his co-worker’s jaws dropped to the floor. The way they looked at Miao Ying was akin to the way they viewed a demon!
"Woah." Li Beini stuck out her tongue and sighed softly. "Is this lady officer from the circus? A beast tamer?"
"Zhao Yu!" Miao Ying got straight to the main point. "I remembered something. Mr. Tao, who was responsible for throwing the ransom money off the cliff, heard the kidnapper’s voice. Can we give him the recording of Hao Gang and Han Wenjun’s voice to him, and see if he recognizes them?"
"That’s a good idea." Zhao Yu was like a servant with his master, gently putting down Miao Ying’s hand as he spoke with nothing but respect in his voice. "But I think we shouldn’t get our hopes up too high. It’s been so long. Would he even be able to recognize the voices? Besides, even if he does, we couldn’t use it as evidence. Also, the person who was familiar with the location was Gao Yang, so the person who was talking to Mr. Tao before was most likely Gao Yang, not the other two!"
"True!" Miao Ying nodded. "But we should try anyway. Also, I think no matter how we investigate, we wouldn’t be able to touch Hao Gang and Han Wenjun. The two of them are sneaky and careful. If they realize what’s happening, it would make our investigation even more difficult!"
"Yes, we need to investigate in secret!" Zhao Yu agreed. "Maybe we should talk to their comrades in the army and see how good the relationship was between the three of them?"
"Good idea!" Miao Ying’s eyes lit up. "Also, we could search their old neighbors; neighbors love to gossip. Not only could we get information, but we also wouldn’t attract any attention." Seeing Zhao Yu and Miao Ying’s cooperation, all the other investigators were stunned.
"Jesus," Liu whispered to Li Beini. "These two are quite the pair, and so in-sync too. Aren’t they a good pair?"
"Pair my ass!" Li Beini rolled her eyes. "Don’t you see Zhao Yu’s bald head? Just take a look at Team Leader Miao. A pair? Hmph…" Li Beini turned and kept typing away on her keyboard as she looked up information. Liu was suddenly a little confused, not sure how he had offended her.
At this time, Zhang Yaohui returned. He had bought breakfast for everyone. Everyone immediately crowded around and enjoyed the delicious breakfast as they continued to discuss the case. But before Zhao Yu managed to take a few bites, his phone suddenly beeped. It was a WeChat message.
Zhao Yu opened his phone, and against his expectations, saw that it was from Yao Jia. Yao Jia told Zhao Yu that she and Cang Jie were going to get married at Branya Grand Restaurant that night, and hoped that Zhao Yu could come. Maybe she was afraid that Zhao Yu would refuse, so there was another request:
"Officer Zhao, I really love officers with a sense of justice like you. Me and Cang Jie both hope that you can be our children’s godfather! I really hope you can attend!"
Seeing this, Zhao Yu could not help but be touched. To think that Yao Jia looked up to him so much. "I only acted tough in front of her a few times, but she takes me so seriously, and even asked me to be a godfather?! Wouldn’t Jiang Xiaoqing get jealous?" he thought.
How could he not go? Zhao Yu immediately returned a message to Yao Jia. First, he offered his congratulations, and then promised that he would be there on time.
It had been a while, and the love Zhao Yu held for Yao Jia had truly faded. Even hearing about her wedding, and the possibility of children, he was still relatively unaffected. He only thought that it was not really his business and that it was quite normal. He hoped that he could find some major breakthrough in the Mianling Case before he attended the wedding, so that nothing would interfere with the ceremony.
Beep, beep. His phone soon rang again. It was a quick reply from Yao Jia, expressing her appreciation. But before Zhao Yu could take a closer look at the message, his phone suddenly rang, this time from a unknown number.
When Zhao Yu picked up, a mysterious yet hoarse voice came through the phone. "Zhao Yu, in the alley to the south of the police office, we need you, hurry up."