Chapter 133

Yi Tu had just finished lunch in the company cafeteria and was about to take a lunch break when he received a call from the police station.

"Hello, Mr. Zhong. I'm Wang Yao from the Jiangbei District Police Station. Could you please come to the police station now?"

Yitu was not surprised and spoke calmly:

"Okay, Officer Wang, is this related to Mrs. He's case?"

There was no concealment over there, and he said in a deep voice:

"Yes, please come over as soon as possible. We need more detailed clues and information for verification."

"Okay officer, I'll be right there."

Mrs. He’s death was indeed not an accident. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the position where she fell was very problematic.

But Yitu couldn't guess the cause of Mrs. He's death. It couldn't be that she was really killed by a few punches.

However, when he arrived at the police station, the police officer named Wang Yao took him into the interrogation room according to the procedure. Only then did Yi Tu know that Mrs. He was actually beaten to death by someone.

"He Hongli died around 4 a.m. on August 6th. Her autopsy report stated that she had been severely beaten, mostly on the face. Her nose was broken and three teeth were knocked out."

"Due to the force of the impact, the back of He Hongli's head hit the tiles hard, causing intracranial hemorrhage."

Wang Yao crossed his hands on the table and spoke in great detail.

"Of course, she already suffers from high blood pressure, which is also one of the causes of intracranial hemorrhage."

"Okay, Mr. Zhong, now please tell me, between 6:00 p.m. on August 6th and 8:00 a.m. on August 7th, who did you meet and what did you do?"

Yitu frowned slightly. "August 6th, 6 p.m.? Officer Wang, why are you asking about this time?"

"Mr. Zhong, please answer my question." Wang Yao did not explain and his attitude became tough.

Although Yi Tu had some guesses in his mind, he had to give up when he saw Wang Yao become serious.

The day he entered the game was August 9th, and Yitu could only grope for an answer to what happened on August 6th from his Zhongqing memory.

"At six o'clock in the afternoon on August 6th, I should still be working overtime at the company. I worked overtime until seven-thirty and then went to a friend's house for dinner." Yitu sorted out his thoughts.

This friend is naturally none other than his beloved lover, Chen Xin.

Wang Yao was taking notes and had no intention of interrupting him, so Yi Tu had no choice but to continue:

"After dinner, it was around 8:30. I drove home and ran into my neighbor, Su Ruoyun, who was on her way to work in the corridor."

"Then I went home and stayed with my husband until he left for work at 8 a.m."

"Husband?" Wang Yao was a little surprised.

"Yes, my husband and I got our marriage certificate abroad." Yitu explained good-temperedly.

Wang Yao nodded. "Leave me your friend's name, ID, and phone number. Did you hear any noise downstairs on the night of August 6th?"

"Like, quarrels and stuff."

Yitu thought about it and realized that the night of August 6 was not a peaceful night.

That day, there were too many chaotic noises coming from downstairs.

Due to Kan Xingyuan's lifestyle, Zhong Qing had to follow her husband's habits, and the two of them went to bed early, a little after ten o'clock.

Yi Tu counted and found that Zhong Qing woke up twice in total.

The first time he was woken up was around twelve o'clock in the morning. He was awakened by a violent kicking of the door, accompanied by a man's angry roar and cursing.

Zhong Qing turned over and planned to continue sleeping.

At this moment, a woman's heart-wrenching cries and a child's terrified screams were heard downstairs.

Zhong Qing opened her eyes and realized that it was the mother and son in Room 305.

The security in the community is poor and anyone can be let in. Huang Jiao's ex-husband came to the house again and acted drunk and crazy.

Huang Jiao was dragged out of the door by her ex-husband by her hair, and she faced the man's punches and kicks with a numb expression.

This wasn't the first time this had happened, and this wasn't her first place of residence.

But no matter where she moved, the devil always followed her.

What's more, she had no money and couldn't bear to change her address frequently.

At first, people in the building would come out to check or help, and Su Ruoyun even advised Huang Jiao to call the police.

But Huang Jiao is a coward. It’s not that she hasn’t called the police before, but it really didn’t help much.

The police can indeed help her this time, but if she is caught by her ex-husband again, she will be beaten even more viciously.

Huang Jiao was completely numb. She resigned herself to the fact that she could not get rid of such a scumbag.

The ex-husband's violence finally ended around 12:30. Zhong Qing glanced at her cell phone, slowly exhaled, and finally went to sleep.

He did have sympathy for Huang Jiao, but it was so little that it was almost pitiful, or rather, nothing at all.

Huang Jiao’s ex-husband left after making a fuss, and the residential building returned to silence.

By the time Zhong Qing was woken up again, it was already past two in the morning.

This time the sound did not come from downstairs, but from next door.

Next door to Room 509 lived a young couple who were just like Zhong Qing and the others.

However, the relationship between the couple was not harmonious. The man had a lover outside and had a son who was over two years old.

There were sounds of things being smashed, the woman swearing, and the walls shaking. The two people were not just arguing, they were fighting.

After all, they are young people, with hot temper, and they act ruthlessly and violently.

Zhong Qing was so sleepy at that time that she didn't know when the noise from next door stopped.

After that, he slept very soundly. Even when the sun was about to rise and he heard the barking of stray dogs downstairs, Zhong Qing did not wake up.

Yi Tu told Wang Yao the whole story in detail. After Wang Yao remembered it well, he said he could walk, and then Yi Tu stood up.

Yi Tu paused when he reached the door. Wang Yao looked up at him, thinking he had remembered something.

"Is there anything else you want to add?"

"No more, Officer Wang."

Yitu shook her head, and Wang Yao's stunned expression for a second was reflected in her light-colored eyes.

Yi Tu slowly walked out of the police station, and the information stolen from Wang Yao's mind began to emerge one by one.

He was certainly not the first person to be asked to go to the police station to make a record. Before that, the police station contacted the three most suspicious people first.

The crime scene of that day can no longer be restored, but the collection of information from residents living in the building did provide a lot of useful clues.

The time when Old Mrs. He died happened to coincide with Su Ruoyun's daily get-off-get off work time.

At four o'clock in the morning, Su Ruoyun passed by the first floor after get off work and soon heard the deafening sound of a door closing from the second floor.

She went upstairs quickly without thinking much. According to her description, there was nothing suspicious on the first floor at that time.

There was no blood, and no signs of a struggle, except that the dog kept barking.

The clue provided by Su Ruoyun directly pointed the conflict to the residents living on the second floor.

Besides the fat girl, living on the second floor was a very tall and strong man named Pan Haolong.

Pan Haolong is 33 years old this year. He was married for two years and then divorced. He has no children with his ex-wife.

He has an erratic personality and a strong tendency towards violence, which was one of the reasons why his ex-wife divorced him, although he never hit her.

But Pan Haolong once fought in the underground gambling market. He told Wang Yao that he did so to make money and to vent his abundant energy.

On the day of the incident, he did come home very late because he had recently changed his job to a security guard in a nightclub, so like Su Ruoyun, he had his day and night reversed.

After Pan Haolong appeared, Wang Yao felt that the case was solved.

Because no matter from which point of view you look at this person, he is exactly the same as the murderer who killed Old Mrs. He.

You know, although Mrs. He is just an old woman with a weak body, even a young girl can cause her fractures.

But there is a key point here, that is Mrs. He’s height.

He Hongli is nearly 1.75 meters tall. She is the tallest woman in this residential building, even taller than some men.

Therefore, this also leads to the extremely low possibility of female murderers.

Because of the height restriction, the woman would not choose to reach out and hit Mrs. He in the face at the first moment.

That position is relatively high, not only can it not exert much strength, but it is also easy to be defended.

Therefore, the forensic doctor and the police initially concluded that the murderer should be an adult male over 1.85 meters tall.

In this building, there are only two people who meet the requirements and are over 1.85 meters tall: her husband Kan Xingyuan and Pan Haolong.

Kan Xingyuan had an alibi and no motive for murder, so he was immediately ruled out as a suspect.

The only one left, Pan Haolong, refused to admit the guilt.

Yi Tu sat in the car and closed his eyes, recalling the scene when Wang Yao interrogated Pan Haolong.

He was indeed a very tall and strong man, with an ugly scar on the left side of his cheek.

But what surprised Yitu was that this was very different from the Pan Haolong that Zhong Qing remembered.

It’s not the appearance that has changed, but Pan Haolong’s eyes.

People with moody personalities are mostly inferior and sensitive, so Pan Haolong's eyes are always full of aggressiveness, which he uses to disguise himself.

However, the man sitting opposite Wang Yao at this time had a calm, even gentle expression.

"On the night of the incident, did you argue with the victim He Hongli? Did you even push her?" Wang Yao asked.

Pan Haolong shook his head. "Officer, I just asked her to bring the dog in from the hallway. We didn't have an argument, and there was no need for violence."

"Liar!" Wang Yao shouted coldly, standing up suddenly and looking down at him.

"You've been upset about He Hongli occupying the corridor for a long time, and you drank quite a bit that night. You wanted He Hongli to bring the dog in, but she refused."

"So you had a violent argument in the hallway, and in anger you pushed her to the ground and hit her in the face, right?!"

Pan Haolong smiled, his eyes showing no sign of evasion.

"No, Officer Wang."

"I hate He Hongli's behavior, but I wouldn't kill anyone for it," Pan Haolong defended himself.

"Besides, if it was really me who did it, would I not even disguise the scene and expose myself like this?"

Wang Yao sneered, "Because you didn't expect He Hongli to be really dead, and you didn't expect Su Ruoyun to arrive right after you left."

Pan Haolong was silent for a moment, but he still insisted on denying it and said:

"Officer Wang, even if that's the case, you still don't have enough evidence to prove I committed murder."

"These are your inferences, even though they appear to be mine."

After saying this, Pan Haolong looked at the speechless Wang Yao with a smile.

Indeed, even though all the clues pointed to Pan Haolong, they did not have the key evidence.

There were no surveillance cameras installed in the old residential complex, nothing related to Pan Haolong was found at the scene, and no one witnessed the crime scene.

The incident seemed to be becoming very difficult, but Yitu's focus fell on Pan Haolong, whose personality had changed drastically.

He appeared too calm throughout the entire conversation with Wang Yao, as calm as if he had already prepared a countermeasure for this.

Is Pan Haolong a gamer? Yitu lowered his head and thought for a while, then started the car.

As He Hongli's neighbor, Mrs. Shi should have been one of the most convincing witnesses.

However, perhaps because Mrs. Shi was old and had not seen much of the world, she couldn't stop shaking as soon as she entered the police station.

There were emotions in those bright eyes that Yi Tu couldn't understand: fear, panic, and a bit of... hatred?

Every resident of Unit 3, Building 9 has a story, so which key link in the game does Mrs. Shi decide?

Yi Tu couldn’t guess it for the time being. What surfaced now was just the tip of the iceberg, or maybe even no tip at all.

Old Mrs. Shi was very silent in the interrogation room. She closed her eyes as if she was confessing, or as if she was afraid.

Wang Yao asked questions one after another, and she only answered one of them.

“They didn’t do anything.”

Wang Yao had no choice but to go find the female auxiliary police officer to comfort and enlighten her.

Even so, Mrs. Shi still did not change her words.

In this way, the police station had no evidence to arrest Pan Haolong at all, and even if Wang Yao was so angry that he hammered the wall, he had no choice but to let him go.

Yitu did not go back to the company, but drove directly home.

Most of the story of Qianxiang's card game unfolds in this residential building. If he wants to solve the mystery, he cannot miss any part of the game.

However, just as Yitu walked downstairs, he was caught off guard by a familiar tall and thin figure at the entrance of the corridor.

Yitu's expression suddenly changed, "Chen Xin, why are you here?"