Chapter 691 Investigation Questions

Zheng Geng's face darkened: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Li Shang imitated the other party and analyzed righteously:

"Look, the time difference between the time you left the Emerald Garden and the time you returned after the explosion was such that you missed the entire process of the explosion perfectly.

Tsk tsk, the timing seems to be carefully planned, so that you can create an alibi, right? And…"

Li Shang's accusation was a case of giving someone a taste of their own medicine, a logic stolen from Zheng Geng's subordinates.

However, just as Zheng Geng pricked up his ears, ready to listen to what other "evidence" Li Shang could come up with, Li Shang suddenly stopped talking.

He just looked at Zheng Geng meaningfully with a look that said "you know" and "I have already grasped the key clues."

Saying this half-and-half feels like asking Zheng Geng to swallow half a fly, which is extremely uncomfortable.

He couldn't help but ask:

"No, and what? Li Shang, if you have something to say, just say it clearly. Stop trying to be mysterious here!"

This is exactly the effect Li Shang wanted, to disgust the other party and make him suspicious.

He had the title of "super detective", but his hesitant attitude really made Zheng Geng feel inexplicably panicked. He didn't dare to completely conclude that Li Shang was just bluffing to scare him.

What if...what if Li Shang really found some clues that were unfavorable to him?

Even though he knew that the explosion had nothing to do with him.

At this moment, a constable came over to report:

"Captain Li, the fire has been completely put out!"

Li Shang ignored Zheng Geng and turned around and walked quickly towards the ruins of the villa that was emitting wisps of blue smoke and a burnt smell.

The entire villa had been blown to pieces and had completely lost its shape, leaving only a pile of broken bricks and stones, twisted steel bars, and was violently washed by fire hoses. It looked black, wet, and muddy, and it was almost impossible to recognize any original structural features.

Li Shang squatted on the ruins, his face gloomy and gloomy, wearing gloves, and began to carefully pick through the debris that might contain clues. To be honest, the scene was so damaged that even if he was a detective with all-powerful abilities, it would be difficult to piece together much valuable evidence from the mess.

The triple destruction of explosion, fire, and high-pressure water guns almost wiped out everything.

Zheng Geng watched as Li Shang left him aside and concentrated on investigating the ruins. The detectives around him followed suit, busying themselves around Li Shang and completely ignoring his existence.

His eyes were so sinister that they were about to drip tears, and he secretly hated:

"This police station is really hard to command!

Fortunately, I had foresight and had already applied to the higher authorities to transfer people from the Anti-Smuggling Bureau and the Investigation Corps to work together on the case.

Once they arrive, hehe—"

Zheng Geng felt that Li Shang was wasting his time in this ruin and it was impossible for him to make any substantial discoveries.

He was too lazy to waste time here, so he decided to hurry up and urge the Anti-Smuggling Bureau and the Survey Corps to come and support him as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Zheng Geng did not stay any longer, turned around with a gloomy face and left the scene.

Not long after Zheng Geng left, Li Shang was still searching patiently in the ruins.

Suddenly, his movements paused slightly, and his fingers touched a piece of gravel that felt a little strange.

The stone was only the size of a palm, with a charred surface and irregular shape, and looked no different from the surrounding debris.

But when he exerted a little force, he felt that the inside of the stone... seemed to be hollow?

Is it a cavity formed by an explosion? Or...something else?

Li Shang's heart moved, and he gently brushed away the ashes and mud on the surface. He held the stone in front of his eyes, carefully observing its cross-section and structure, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"This piece of rubble is hollow... It doesn't look like it was simply blown away. What does this structure look like...?"

A surprising guess suddenly flashed through Li Shang's mind.

……..

Chang Erbing received Li Shang's order and did not dare to delay for a moment. He immediately appointed several careful and discreet constables to investigate the situation in the villa.

The first step in the investigation is naturally to find out who the owner of the villa is.

For this, the community property has the most basic registration information.

Chang Erbing led his men directly to the property management center of Feicui Garden. In response to the police station's inquiry, the property management cooperated very well and quickly retrieved the files of the bombed villa.

Registration information shows that the head of the household is named Zhang Siyang.

The information on the file was not very detailed. It showed that the age was 35, the gender was male, the occupation was registered as "the boss of a certain company", the citizen level was C, and a string of contact numbers was attached below.

The man in the photo has an ordinary face, without any distinctive features. He is the type that would be hard to find in a crowd.

"Contact Zhang Siyang immediately!" Chang Erbing ordered.

A constable immediately dialed the number, but all he heard from the receiver was a long and monotonous "beep...beep..." sound, and no one answered.

The constable tried a few more times, but the result was the same.

“The phone has been unanswered.”

The constable reported, his fingers moving rapidly on the portable terminal.

"I'll ask the technical department to help locate the signal source of this number."

A few minutes later, the technical department sent back a message that made Chang Erbing's heart sink.

Signal positioning shows that the signal source of this mobile phone number... is no longer in District 9.

Although the downtown area is nominally a whole, there are significant differences in the political ecology, technological level and even infrastructure between the various districts.

This difference is also reflected in the communication network. Each district has its own relatively independent communication system and powerful regional network "firewall".

Not only a technical "firewall", but also a physical firewall.

The ruins area between each zone naturally has a chaotic electromagnetic field that can shield or interfere with signals.

In other words, once the communication signal crosses regions, it becomes extremely difficult to achieve accurate positioning.

Chang Erbing frowned:

"Not in District 9? Then where is it? Any general directions?"

The constable in charge of the contact shook his head awkwardly:

"The technical department said they couldn't make a precise determination, but judging by the frequency band strength and attenuation pattern of the signal feedback, the signal source has likely entered the range of Zone 6, or even further."

Chang Erbing's face darkened, and he thought:

"That means it's at least three districts away. This is really troublesome."

Although there are economic and trade exchanges between the various districts in the lower city, they also maintain a cooperative relationship politically under the unified leadership of the upper city. In theory, there should also be a mutual assistance mechanism between law enforcement agencies.

But in reality, cross-regional law enforcement is only feasible in theory. When it comes to actual implementation, it is full of difficulties.

Of course, there are definitely ways to overcome these difficulties, but they may not be legal or compliant.

Chang Erbing thought for a moment and said:

“Keep trying to call, don’t stop!

If the connection is connected, don't mention the explosion, just say that there was a problem with the construction and decoration of the villa and the owner needs to come back immediately to deal with it and confirm it.

The tone should be urgent but natural, and try to trick him back to District 9 first!"

Chang Erbing didn't already suspect this person, but out of caution, he planned to trick him back first.

As long as the person returns to District 9 first, the final decision on whether he is guilty or not will be made by the police station.

The constable who reported the incident nodded and said, "I understand!"

Chang Erbing had been with Li Shang for a long time and had learned some real skills. He thought for a moment and asked again:

"Check when Zhang Siyang left District 9."

Not long after, the constable came back to report:

"I checked the entry and exit records and found that Zhang Siyang left at..."

Chang Erbing's pupils suddenly shrank, and he murmured:

"It happened just the day before the special envoy's accident, which makes this person even more suspicious."

Unfortunately, the person is not in District 9, so it is useless to doubt him now.

Chang Erbing frowned hard. This clue seemed to have reached a dead end for the time being.

He could only suppress his doubts, change his thinking, and continue the investigation along the second line instructed by Li Shang.

35 minutes later.

An inconspicuous private car was parked in the corner of an old commercial street, in front of a decoration company called "Anjule".

The company is not big, and through the glass door you can see that the decoration inside is quite old.

Chang Erbing and his two men had changed into casual clothes and looked like ordinary customers.

They pushed the door open and walked into the company. A young girl at the front desk was hunched over the table, concentrating on her phone. She stood up hurriedly when she heard footsteps, forcing a professional smile on her face.

"Welcome to Anjule Decoration, what can I do for you gentlemen?"

Chang Erbing pretended to casually survey the company environment before approaching the front desk and asking:

"Does your company have a project manager named Jia Zhuang? I was recommended by a friend who said that the renovation work he's in charge of is very meticulous and the quality is guaranteed.

I just happened to have a villa that I wanted to renovate, so I wanted to ask him to take charge.”

The girl at the front desk's eyes lit up and she nodded quickly:

"Yes, sir, Manager Jia is indeed our company's senior project manager..."

But then, a look of embarrassment appeared on her face.

“However, Manager Jia has taken on a lot of projects recently, and his schedule is full.

Look...if you're in a hurry, I can introduce you to our company's top project manager. His skills are absolutely first-rate and he will ensure that the renovation results will satisfy you! "

As she spoke, she secretly winked at the work area next to her.

Immediately, a man with a neat crew cut and wearing a cheap suit walked over with a big smile on his face. He took out a cigarette and offered it to Chang Erbing and the others enthusiastically.

"Boss, you want to renovate your villa, right? If you have any ideas or requirements, feel free to tell me.

I'm not bragging, I've been in this business for over a decade and have handled at least 80, if not 100, mansions and villas. I'm experienced, my prices are fair, and I'm sure you'll be satisfied!

He began to introduce the product eloquently, and he couldn't wait to sign the contract.

Chang Erbing listened patiently to the other party's boasting for a while, then shook his head:

"I'm sorry, I was introduced by a friend and I chose Manager Jia.

They say he's a good pretender, so I feel more at ease. Is he not in the company today? Why don't you give him a call and ask, or tell me where he's working now, and I can go over and talk to him directly."

The girl at the front desk reluctantly picked up the landline on the table and dialed Jia Zhuang's number.

Soon, a system prompt tone came from the receiver: "The number you dialed is turned off."

This result was within Chang Erbing's expectations - they had tried to contact Jia Zhuang before they came, but found that his phone was turned off, so they disguised themselves as customers and went to check.

Chang Erbing frowned and said:

"It's turned off? What should I do... Look, girl, tell me if Manager Jia will come to the company today? If he does, I'll wait for him here.

If he doesn't come, tell me his home address, or the address of the construction site where he's currently working, and I'll go find him directly. This villa renovation is urgent."

The girl at the front desk seemed hesitant.

Upon seeing this, Chang Erbing took out a few banknotes from his inner jacket pocket and casually placed them on the desk at the front desk.

The girl's eyes lit up, she quickly glanced around, then quickly lowered her head, pretending to tidy up her things, but actually reached out and put the banknotes into the drawer.

She lowered her voice: "Please wait a moment, I'll check the work records..."

The addresses of the projects currently under construction by each project manager in the company are registered.

The shaved man next to him saw that the cooked duck was about to fly away, and suddenly became anxious. He suddenly approached Chang Erbing, grabbed his arm, and took him aside. He said in a very low voice:

"Boss, listen to my advice! If you really want to renovate your house, don't ask this Jia to do it!"

Chang Erbing was already a little impatient and was about to push the other person away, but when he heard the words, he paused, loosened his arm, and put it on the shoulder of the man with the crew cut, leading him to the corner again. He lowered his voice and asked with confusion:

"Oh? What do you mean? My friend praised him to the skies."

The man with the crew cut saw that the client was interested, so he lowered his voice and said mysteriously:

"Think about it, what is Manager Jia's name?"

Chang Erbing cooperated with his confusion:

"Jia Zhuang? What's wrong?"

The buzz cut man winked:

"Jia Zhuang, pretending... Listen, isn't this name obvious? It's not a good sign!"

Chang Erbing frowned even more tightly:

"You mean... there's something wrong with him?"

The crew-haired man sighed and put on a sincere look.

"Hey, boss, although we are colleagues and shouldn't speak ill of others behind their backs, I really can't bear to see you get cheated.

I'll tell you in secret, Manager Jia and the group of decorators under him are a bit wild and not very well-behaved.

Nine out of ten houses they renovate have serious problems with cutting corners. They look shiny on the outside, but the interior is shoddy. Once you move in, problems ensue!

Chang Erbing asked doubtfully:

"You're so sure, do you have any evidence?"

The crew-haired man sneered:

"Evidence? In the first half of the year, he was in charge of renovating the apartment in the west of the city. Less than two months after the owner moved in, the load-bearing wall in the living room started to crack. The crack was as thick as a little finger.

Do you know how long the homeowner has been making trouble at the company? Many people nearby know about this. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask around yourself!"

(End of this chapter)