Chapter 12

With the squad leader's guidance, Tang Ruxin successfully located the two instrument maintenance workers on the installation. Both denied ever having been to the West Boundary Area. Although there was a pressure gauge in the well, the temperature below ground was higher than on the surface, so adding antifreeze wasn't usually necessary. Furthermore, they had heard of deaths in the well, so they were more reluctant to approach.

Tang Ruxin didn't get any useful information, and was a little annoyed that she lost her patience just now, so she simply sat at the door of the pump room and started to daydream.

She couldn't bear to see Tong Jiayu being wronged. Although there were company regulations, anyone with a discerning eye could see that she was making a big deal out of nothing. It didn't make sense to ask the squad leader to cover for her when she needed to go to the bathroom during internal exercises. It wasn't like she was stuck in the bathroom.

She was always busy at work, only getting home once a week was a good thing. She spent most of her time in the office, rarely interacting with Tong Jiayu. She had never considered how difficult it would be for someone with slow learning abilities to work on such a large installation. She was slow to learn, made many mistakes, and constantly needed help. And as a newcomer, she was inevitably looked down upon.

Tong Jiayu is cheerful, talkative, and always smiling, so generally speaking, she should have no trouble integrating into a new group. However, if she needs help with her work for a long time, even the best relationships won't help.

She stood up for her on impulse today, and she didn't know if it would be used by someone with ulterior motives as an excuse to attack Tong Jiayu.

Tang Ruxin wrapped her arms around her knees and sighed deeply. She hadn't made any progress in the investigation, had no clue who had imprisoned her at the bottom of the well, and might have gotten Tong Jiayu into trouble. She wasn't that stupid, so why was everything going wrong? She was extremely depressed.

Suddenly I felt a little lost.

She had originally decided to make Liu Dong's death a murder, but things seemed to develop as she wished, gradually leaning towards being man-made.

But now, for some reason, she was starting to hesitate. Her intuition told her that continuing to dig might not yield the results she hoped for. For example, if there was indeed a murderer, someone who targeted the entire company, someone who randomly selected victims, or even more than one murderer—then it might as well have been a random accident.

At most, she can change her job, or simply quit and go home to live off her father. It's better than being on guard against thieves all day long.

As soon as this thought came to her mind, Tang Ruxin stood up suddenly, raised her hands and slapped her cheeks. Her sudden stop startled Yu Lei, who had just sneaked into the pump room from another door and quietly came up behind her, trying to scare her.

Tang Ruxin turned around and saw Yu Lei touching the iron door of the pump room and looking it up and down, as if he was studying the structure of the door.

"Captain Yu, you're in a good mood." Tang Ruxin was in no mood to pretend with him, so she said goodbye with a cold face and left.

The pump room was very noisy. Even standing at the door, one could hear the sound of the bearings turning. Moreover, Yu Lei wore a safety helmet and ear protection at the insistence of the squad leader.

He didn't hear a word Tang Ruxin said; he could only see that she was unhappy.

Yu Lei took off his earmuffs, followed Tang Ruxin, and said loudly, "Have you asked those two maintenance workers? What was their route? Are there any abnormalities?"

Tang Ruxin unlocked her phone, found the recording file and sent it to Yu Lei.

"Hey? Why are you ignoring me? Can you hear me?" Yu Lei followed her back and forth like a hen.

Tang Ruxin then realized he had taken off his helmet, the cord dangling from his arm. Frowning, she stopped, unable to bear it any longer, snatched his helmet from him, slammed it against his head, and tightened the cord so hard that Yu Lei thought she was going to attack the police.

With a roll of his eyes and a flick of his tongue, Yu Lei's sudden, grimace left Tang Ruxin stunned for a moment, then she realized he was trying to cheer her up. It was a childish method, but effective, especially since they weren't close enough to care about each other's emotions. He could just as easily handle her happiness and displeasure in a businesslike manner.

She had to appreciate this kindness. Tang Ruxin loosened her hat string and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I was in a bad mood and shouldn't have taken it out on you. I've sent you the conversation with those two people. You can judge for yourself if there's anything unusual. That's all for today. I'm a little tired, so I'll be going home first."

Yu Lei was a little overwhelmed by the sudden sincerity of the Green Tea Director. He was more accustomed to her fake smile and pretentious speech.

"Don't you want to know who locked us in the well?" Yu Lei asked.

Tang Ruxin was stunned for a moment, and asked in surprise, "You found it out?"

"No." Yu Lei answered confidently.

Tang Ruxin turned around and left, otherwise she would have cursed out loud - this guy is sick, very sick!

A transparent evidence bag suddenly appeared in front of her, just a few inches away.

Tang Ruxin had to take a step back to see clearly that there was a pen inside. As she stepped back, she was right in front of Yu Lei, almost touching his chest. Yu Lei reacted quickly and immediately took a step back.

"Where did it come from?"

Tang Ruxin didn't notice the movements of the people behind her. She took the evidence bag and looked at it carefully. This wasn't the black gel pen issued by the company, but a white, slightly rounded, click-action gel pen she had purchased.

"I found it in the well," Yu Lei said. "When the well cover was closed, were you bending over to pick something up?"

Tang Ruxin recalled for a moment and nodded, "Yes, the gas filter canister on the gas mask fell off."

"He suddenly closed the manhole cover to attract your attention and prevent you from picking up the items there." Yu Lei shrugged. "He succeeded. You didn't even bother to pick up the canister until you left the well, right?"

Tang Ruxin nodded. She had completely forgotten about the matter and her mind was only focused on finding this person.

"That guy underestimated you. He didn't expect you to use the intercom to confirm his department. When his intercom suddenly rang, he realized you would immediately call for surveillance, so he ran away."

Tang Ruxin suddenly understood and continued, "That man originally wanted to wait until we left, then find a chance to return to the well and retrieve the pen he had accidentally left behind."

Yu Lei nodded: "That's right."

"But how did he know the pen would fall in that spot? How did he know I would drop the canister at that moment? He was watching us from the wellhead the whole time. How could he see my movements clearly? I was using a flashlight, not an emergency light."

Yu Lei couldn't help but smile, and said with a hint of pride, "I didn't understand it when I picked up this pen in the well just now. There's a distance from the well mouth to the bottom, and there are lighting devices outside the well, so the ambient brightness is much higher than inside the well. Theoretically, the person at the well mouth can't see what's going on below."

"Mobile phone!" Tang Ruxin's eyes lit up and she suddenly said, "The camera's night vision and magnification functions."

Yu Lei looked at Tang Ruxin quietly for a moment, and had to admit that this Green Tea boss's brain was indeed not for show, at least much better than those stupid and colorful brains of his subordinates.

"Mr. Cha, would you consider changing your career? This job isn't good enough for you."

Tang Ruxin frowned, her mind and ears were occupied by the pen, and she didn't pay any attention to Yu Lei's address to her.

"No, that's not right. You police officers searched the well inside and out so many times that there's no way a single hair would be found. How could this pen suddenly appear... That person went into the well after you searched it!"

Yu Lei sighed in appreciation. "Yes, that person must have a reason to go there. After knowing that someone died there, ordinary employees would not be willing to go near it, let alone go down the well."

"We did," Tang Ruxin said. "We couldn't just leave the leaking regulating valve there. Our people went in, cut the regulating valve, opened a bypass line, and installed two blind plates."

"All of this was done under the noses of the police. Chen Jingzhou was there at the time. We completed these tasks on the day Liu Dong's body was found, otherwise we would have been at risk of poisoning when we went down the well. After dealing with the leak, the police inspected the workers who went down the well and the scene, and found nothing unusual," Yu Lei explained.

"What was this person doing down the well after the police searched for evidence?" Tang Ruxin was puzzled. "If he was just going to take a look, he wouldn't have left a pen behind."

"It's obviously more than just looking at it. He might have done something where the pen fell." Yu Lei took back the evidence bag and waved it in front of his eyes. "This pen has a clip on it, so it's not the type that will roll around. It would be nice if there were fingerprints on it."

Tang Ruxin pondered for a moment and looked at Yu Lei.

"Now, can you confirm that this is a murder?"

"High probability."