“I came in with my coworkers. By the way, we excavator operators are always on the first shift. The truck drivers would park their trucks the night before. They can arrive 20 minutes later than us every day so we can load the goods first.”
"I was about to get on the truck. I was going to get on excavator number 3, but Zhou Jun told me to go directly to number 1. Sigh, if only I hadn't switched back then."
Chen Hua began to recall.
Guan Feng frowned and asked, "You said you were originally supposed to work on excavator number 3, but Zhou Jun switched you to number 1?"
Chen Hua sighed, "Yes, if this hadn't happened, I wouldn't be in this mess."
Guan Feng asked, "Do you usually change seats?"
Chen Hua shook his head and said, "No, not at all! It was changed today."
Guan Feng noted down this detail and said, "Go on."
Chen Hua recalled, "Then I got on the truck, thinking I'd finish the job quickly. I didn't check anything before getting on, but as I drove, I noticed the tracks were heavier than before. I thought the track gears were broken, but when I got off to check, I found a body underneath the truck. At that moment..."
As he spoke, Chen Hua began to gag again.
Guan Feng asked Wang Xun to hand him a glass of water.
After he calmed down for a while, he asked, "Can you describe what happened? Mainly everyone's reactions, don't describe the body."
Chen Hua said, "When I yelled, my coworkers were all terrified and rushed over. Then everyone ran away. By the way, it was Zhou Jun who dragged me away from the scene."
Guan Feng asked, "Can you recall everyone's expressions at that time? Do you still remember?"
Chen Hua shook his head and said, "I was so scared at the time that I don't remember anything. It's not that I was uncooperative, I'm sorry!"
Guan Feng comforted him, "There's no need to apologize. It's normal for people to forget everything when they're under extreme stress. However, this kind of forgetfulness sometimes resurfaces over time, so be sure to tell us if you remember anything next."
Chen Hua nodded and said, "Okay."
Guan Feng then looked at Li Ming and said, "Director Li, see if it's possible to arrange someone to take him back to the station, have a cup of tea, eat something, and rest."
Li Ming immediately replied, "Okay, I'll arrange it right away."
Chen Hua asked, "I...I need to go to the police station?"
Guan Feng comforted him, "Don't worry, this is the scene of the crime. If you stay here, you'll only keep thinking about those things. I had them take you to the station so that you can rest. You can move around freely and have some fruit and boxed lunches. We're not treating you as a suspect."
Chen Hua said gratefully, "That's good, thank you, thank you!"
Guan Feng asked Li Ming to send someone to take him away.
After arranging for someone to take Chen Hua away, Li Ming turned around and asked, "Captain Guan, I heard you're an expert in micro-expression analysis. Did you just discover that Chen Hua is a suspect?"
Guan Feng shook his head and said, "Judging from the micro-expressions, the other party's reaction is very consistent with that of a victim with post-traumatic stress disorder. The expressions on their face when answering questions do not seem fake, so they should not be a participant in the case."
After reviewing the surveillance footage, Huang Lili returned and asked, "Captain, do you still need Chief Li...?"
Guan Feng said, "Chen Hua should be a fairly honest type, and given his current precarious mental state, he's likely to spill the beans if questioned by the suspect. I'm asking Director Li to take him back, both to protect him and to facilitate our investigation."
Huang Lili and Li Ming suddenly realized.
Li Ming remarked with even more emotion, "He thinks three steps ahead before taking one step; no wonder Captain Guan was promoted to captain at such a young age."
Guan Feng waved his hand and said, "Director Li, you are of higher rank than me, and you are a senior in terms of experience. If that's how you put it, then I might as well find a hole to crawl into."
Li Ming smiled and patted Guan Feng on the shoulder.
Guan Feng then looked at Huang Lili and asked, "How's the surveillance footage coming along?"
Huang Lili said, "We've investigated everything. The construction site has only been under construction for less than a week, and the surveillance system is not yet complete. Apart from the two cameras at the main gate, there are no cameras around the site."
Guan Feng frowned.
There are no security cameras around?
If the suspect climbed over from around the construction site, there would be no video footage at all.
He sighed inwardly and then instructed, "Re-investigate the surveillance footage. Don't limit it to the construction site; check the surrounding commercial area as well. Also, Chen Hua mentioned Zhou Jun twice earlier; call Zhou Jun in for questioning first."
Li Ming nodded and said, "Okay!"
A moment later.
Zhou Jun was brought in.
Guan Feng looked over and saw a young man in his mid-twenties with fair skin, who probably hadn't been working there long. His eyes were still bright and intelligent, unlike the dullness of someone who had worked on construction sites for years.
Guan Feng said, "Please sit down."
Zhou Jun obediently sat down.
Guan Feng asked, "Do you know why we called you here?"
Zhou Jun shook his head, slightly nervous, and said, "I...I don't know."
Guan Feng asked, "Tell me what happened this morning, from when you entered the door until the police arrived."
Zhou Jun began to narrate.
The general process was similar to what Chen Hua described.
However, a crucial step was missed.
Guan Feng stared at Zhou Jun and asked, "When Chen Hua was about to get on excavator number 3, did you tell him to go to number 1?"
Zhou Jun paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes."
Guan Feng asked, "What is your motivation for doing this?"
Zhou Jun's expression changed slightly, and he said somewhat awkwardly, "I... I just wanted to take care of him. The construction site is so big. Excavator No. 1 is closer, while Excavator No. 3 is farther away. I don't want him to travel long distances. He's getting old."
Guan Feng asked, "There are quite a few older people, why did you only help Chen Hua?"
Zhou Jun's expression became even more unnatural.
Guan Feng warned, "Now that a murder has occurred, if you continue to resist like this, then we can only handle this officially and take you back to the station for investigation."
Zhou Jun hurriedly shook his head and said, "No! I'll talk! I'll talk! Can you keep this a secret?"
Guan Feng said, "Don't worry, we are criminal police officers. We will keep the case confidential and protect your personal privacy."
Zhou Jun sighed and said, "I... I'm in love with Chen Juan. Chen Juan is Chen Hua's daughter."
Guan Feng asked, "Isn't this a good thing? Why are you deliberately hiding it?"
Zhou Jun shook his head and said, "Chen Hua doesn't support us. He thinks that driving an excavator his whole life is a dead-end job and wants to find a better partner like Chen Juan. He has never supported us. I haven't dared to admit that we are dating, otherwise he would definitely break us up."
"Last night, I was with Chen Juan. She asked me to take care of her dad and make a good impression, so that if things got out, we'd still have some connection. So this morning I..."
Guan Feng suddenly realized and asked, "When the body was discovered, did you go to pull Chen Hua away?"
Zhou Jun nodded and said, "Yes, when I saw that Uncle Chen was terrified, I rushed over to pull him away."
Guan Feng asked, "So you were in pretty good shape back then? Can you recall how everyone was doing at the time? The more details, the better?"
Zhou Jun recalled, "Everyone was terrified..."
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