WWY Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Suspect Number Two – Strange Noises from Above the Air Conditioning Vent…

The case, which had reached a stalemate, had a new development, and Tuxi Ling quickly gathered all the police officers from the Second Brigade for a meeting, to which the captain of the First Brigade, Yaojin Ke, was also invited.

He didn’t want to come, but due to Director Liu’s order to give the green light to the Man Qin case, he didn’t dare not to come. He couldn’t help but complain, “Ling, can you get your people to hurry up? We have a major case on our hands, and we’re very busy!”

Tuxi Ling curiously asked, “Oh? What case?”

“Smuggling.” Yaojin Ke plopped down on a chair, seeing that everyone hadn’t arrived yet, he casually began to talk about the case. “The coast guard found a medium-sized fishing boat in the offshore waters the night before last. The fuel had run out, there was no one on board, and there were multiple bloodstains inside and outside the cabin. The boat wasn’t registered, there was no logbook, and no markings of any kind. The fish hold was full, but the fish inside were already rotten. We found a large number of old porcelain and jade shards in the bottom of the hold, and a small box containing small ornaments, suspected to be antiques. They’ve been sent to the provincial capital to determine their authenticity.”

Tuxi Ling: “Huh?”

In this day and age, are people still using such traditional methods of smuggling?

Speaking of this case, Yaojin Ke looked disgusted, wishing he could pinch his nose. “I went to the scene. Those shards were found in rotten fish and shrimp. That smell… I haven’t had a decent meal in two days!”

Tuxi Ling patted his shoulder to express sympathy and asked, “They had a falling out, right?”

“Pretty much. Either it was a falling out, or it was a double-cross. The fish are common inshore fish, probably just a boatload grabbed at random to cover their tracks. The antiques were probably being shipped abroad and were taken away.”

“That’s definitely a major case. There have been quite a few major cases in our city recently.”

“Tell me about it!” Yaojin Ke pointed at him indignantly, “Director Liu is just biased towards you! We’re both solving cases, why do you get special treatment?”

“It can’t be put that way. There has to be a first come, first served basis.” Tuxi Ling chuckled and turned to write and draw on the whiteboard, quickly attracting everyone’s attention.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, he tapped the whiteboard with a pen. “Alright, everyone quiet down. Xiao Xu has discovered a new situation. He will tell everyone.”

Three photos were hanging at the top of the whiteboard. The one in the middle was a photo of Yingying Zou’s ID. She was a girl with a sweet smile, and the light in her eyes was kind and timid. Thinking of her experience, it made people feel sorry for her. The one on the left was a photo of a key suspect with a scar on his face taken by surveillance. And on the far right was the latest photo that Xiao Xu had extracted from surveillance, a photo of a person suspected to be an accomplice of the suspect holding Yingying Zou.

He pointed to the latest photo and then to the suspect’s solo photo. “This picture was also taken by the surveillance camera in the lobby on the first floor of Unit 1, Building 10 of Purple Jade Sea View. The time difference between this photo and the previous one is about fifteen minutes. After analysis, we concluded that this person is very likely an accomplice of the suspect. Yingying Zou’s appearance here also proves that this person is related to the Man Qin case.”

One police officer analyzed, “They accidentally encountered Yingying Zou by the sea in Renchao Village, and knowing that she didn’t have any other relatives at home, they took over her house as a base outside the city. That’s understandable. But why did they kill her and bring her to Purple Jade Sea View? That doesn’t make sense. Why not just throw the body into the sea?”

“Maybe they were afraid of being discovered and planned to dispose of the body after everything was over?” Yaojin Ke said.

Tuxi Ling looked at them strangely. “What makes you so sure that Yingying Zou is dead?”

Everyone looked back at him strangely. Yaojin Ke rubbed his forehead in pain. “Ling, under the premise of not knowing each other, who would bring such a big girl along to commit a crime? After so many days, is he sure that he can 100% control the situation? Isn’t that the same as walking into a trap?”

That seemed right.

But Tuxi Ling always felt like it wasn’t that simple.

He turned his head and stared at the photo for a while, carefully silent for a long time. In the photo, the man was looking down at Yingying Zou, and the things revealed in his eyes looked like tenderness and love, no matter how you looked at it.

In an instant, a certain word flashed through his mind. He didn’t dare to continue thinking about it. After all, it was too outrageous!

“Shengbo Xia, send the photo to Lao Ai and ask him if he can determine Yingying Zou’s survival status through the photo.” He paused and looked at the man again. “Also, this suspect’s face is clear, immediately issue a notice of assistance to the surrounding cities and counties!”

“Yes!”

–

In order to take care of Lan He’s health, Ya Gu didn’t make a big fuss about the press conference. She only found a familiar and authoritative media outlet, wanting to publish it in the form of an exclusive interview.

The interview time was set for 4:00 PM, and the location was at the Gu’s Trading headquarters building.

Lan He entered the building at 3:30, was taken to have a simple, photogenic makeup done, and entered the guest room used for the interview on time.

Ya Gu was chatting with the reporter, not as generous as usual, but with a girlish shyness in her gestures.

Lan He pushed the door in, and Ya Gu and the reporter looked over at the same time. Ya Gu reacted quickly, stood up, and came over to take his hand.

He resisted the disgust in his heart, glanced at the camera, held her hand back, and walked towards the seat opposite the reporter with a bright smile.

The middle-aged male reporter maintained a professional and peaceful smile, but his eyes couldn’t help but light up.

Young Master He was wearing a well-fitting, light-colored peak-lapel suit today, with a light purple turtleneck T-shirt inside. Sparkling black diamond earrings adorned his ears, and his simply styled black hair made him a bit sharper than usual.

His face was only covered with some brightening powder, and his features were close to perfect, like flawless moonlight shining into the city, clear, cold, and spotless.

Ya Gu was very satisfied with his dress, which showed that he valued today’s interview.

She introduced Lan He and the reporter to each other. After they were seated, the reporter straightened his back unconsciously.

The dazzling couple in front of him was really unbearable to look at directly. To his surprise, the source of the powerful aura was not Gu, who was a prominent figure in the business world, but the unknown Young Master He.

There’s something there! Everyone in the industry knows that Ya Gu has always been picky. No wonder she was able to take a fancy to this sick man!

Soon they got to the point, of course, all lines were arranged in advance.

“Mr. He, Ms. Gu, I heard that you two have been getting very close recently, and there have also been rumors that the He and Gu families are planning to get married. Can you tell us about it?”

Ya Gu smiled. “In the internet age, it’s really impossible to hide anything from everyone.”

“So, is it true?”

“Yes, in fact, I think some unfounded rumors should be restrained.” She looked at Lan He and smiled as she took out a red booklet from her bag and opened it to the camera, “In fact, we are already married.”

“Oh my gosh, congratulations to you both!” The reporter made a surprised expression and asked, “We didn’t get any news about this. Did you feel like it wasn’t time to announce it?”

Ya Gu nodded. “We had already planned the wedding and planned to announce it at that time, but as you know, something happened to my father-in-law, and the wedding had to be put on hold. Plus, the two families have been very busy recently, so we delayed the public announcement for a few days. I didn’t expect the public opinion to ferment into the current situation, it’s really…”

She smiled wryly helplessly, and the reporter smiled along, “So, are you two planning to officially hold the wedding after Mr. He’s mourning period is over?”

Ya Gu looked at Lan He. This question had to be answered by him personally.

“I think…” Lan He interlocked his fingers and said calmly, “The wedding is just a formality, it can be held at any time, but we must respect the deceased, so I can only wrong my wife for the time being.”

The words “my wife” seemed to make Ya Gu very happy. A blush appeared on her beautiful face, and she grabbed Lan He’s hand infatuatedly.

Lan He really couldn’t help it and quickly pulled his hand away, got up in Ya Gu’s uncertain gaze.

He unbuttoned his suit jacket, “It’s a little hot, I’ll turn on the air conditioning.”

He walked to the door and turned on the central air conditioning button. Several air conditioning vents on the ceiling simultaneously made a slight airflow sound.

The interview continued.

“Mr. He, Ms. Gu, people who care about you must be very curious. Mr. He’s health is not very good. Can you tell everyone, are you planning to have children?”

Hearing this, Lan He’s eyes narrowed and he glanced at Ya Gu.

This question was not on the interview list she gave him earlier.

But she said with a happy face, “Of course, Lan He is the only son of the He family, and the He family needs a real heir. Of course, his health is the priority. Now that science is so advanced, even if he’s not in good health, he can still do in vitro fertilization!”

Lan He took a deep breath and turned cold.

The reporter felt a chill and praised according to the script with a straight face, “Ms. Gu is really a strong woman, not only is she strong in her career, but she also has a strong sense of family responsibility and is willing to sacrifice herself…”

Suddenly, a strange sound came from the air conditioning vent above their heads.

They had heard it just now. The sound was like the air conditioning ducts were leaking, and they didn’t pay attention to it. But at this moment, the “drip, drip, drip” sound became sharp and rapid, revealing an ominous sign.

Ya Gu, the reporter, and the cameraman looked up at the same time, all with ignorant expressions, but the sound was extremely familiar to Lan He.

He grabbed Ya Gu’s wrist and ran out, while not forgetting to turn around and call out to the two people who were dumbfounded, “Run! Bomb!”

“Boom—”

They had only run a few steps when a loud noise came from behind them, followed by the cameraman’s screams.

Partitions, glass, and gravel flew around. The guest room had just turned into a sea of fire, and the alarm of the building went off.

Lan He was hit by the shock wave of the explosion and crashed into a wall a few meters away, his ears ringing.

He shook his head, but didn’t let go of Ya Gu’s hand. He turned back and saw her crying, her makeup smeared, mixed with dust and tears.

“Are you okay?”

Ya Gu shook her head frantically.

Lan He let go of her and saw the reporter kneeling in the corridor, while the cameraman was in the back, lying motionless, his lower body crushed under debris, still holding the camera in his arms.

“Don’t touch anything!” He shouted at Ya Gu, dodged the wires exposed from the wall, and ran towards the cameraman.

When he passed the reporter, he kicked him in the leg, “Get up and help!”