Chapter 54 Seeing the Beautiful Snake
"Wait, I'll bring some people to go with you." Tian Yongfeng met Shen Zhenzhu and the others downstairs and they immediately joined up.
Lu Ye joked, "What's wrong? Didn't we say we'd have a competition to see who can solve the case first? We'll share any clues we find with you."
Tian Yongfeng said dejectedly, "We shouldn't wash our dirty linen in public. We call each other 'grandpa' behind closed doors, but when we open the door, we have to live up to the police badge and not let the people on the other side of the strait really think that our mainland police are pushovers!"
Although there has been some negative public opinion surrounding "a certain female police officer" recently, the vast majority of media outlets and ordinary people remain calm. Even the fact that her two daughters still support Shen Zhenzhu shows that the majority of people are still rational.
His eldest daughter even said, "This is to stop Sister Shen from solving the case," and his youngest daughter said, "He's just like the villains in TV dramas."
This morning, Tian Yongfeng passed by Sister Liu's Restaurant and saw that the breakfast queue was still long. As usual, the people were not influenced by the bad media. Instead, they mocked Zhao Bingrui, the host of the morning program "Liancheng Legal Online," while eating glutinous rice wrapped in fried dough sticks and treating Zhao Bingrui and his program as side dishes.
Shen Zhenzhu's mother and sister could even joke with the neighbors, saying things like, "With fame comes trouble," "Soap operas aren't as good as morning news," and "It's a pity they didn't name names and didn't give her an appearance fee."
The whole family has a strong heart, and Chen Zhenzhu has perfectly inherited this trait.
Tian Yongfeng's worries about her competitors these past few days have vanished as she chatted and laughed with the neighbors of Tie Si. A person as upright and honest as the warm sun, how could she fear the darkness? She would only face the darkness head-on.
Tian Yongfeng returned to his office to gather his men, while Shen Zhenzhu and the others arrived at the parking lot.
"How is it?" Gu Yanzheng pointed at the Cherokee that had been "renovated" and patted the hood as he looked at Chen Zhenzhu.
Shen Zhenzhu circled the Cherokee. She didn't know much about off-road vehicles, but she saw that the paint had been repainted, the running boards had been replaced, and the national flag was printed on the doors. Only the frame of the car was still there; everything else seemed to have changed. It was more powerful and domineering than the old Cherokee.
"Boss! This car is so cool!" Zhao Qiqi, who had served in the military motor transport unit, was excited when he saw the modified Cherokee.
"I'll let you go for a drive after we're done." Gu Yanzheng opened the passenger door for Chen Zhenzhu and said in a low voice, "I moved the foot pedal a bit so you can relax a bit."
Shen Zhenzhu didn't want this kind of treatment. She supported herself on the seat with her left hand and held onto the car door with her right hand, then lightly jumped into the car. As she closed the door, she said to Gu Yanzheng, "Don't underestimate people."
"You said it yourself." Gu Yanzheng walked around the front of the car to the driver's seat, slammed on the gas, and the Cherokee sped off from the criminal investigation team's parking lot. The metal crash bar at the front of the car looked like a shark's fangs as it headed straight for the third body dumping site.
Coast Guard patrol boats and fishing vessels arrived quickly, with underwater searchlights readily available. Search and rescue operations commenced wave after wave amidst the rising tide.
Since Shen Zhenzhu couldn't pinpoint the exact location where the body was dumped, she couldn't provide the salvage team with a precise area, leaving them to search on their own.
Section Chief Liang came overtime, followed by Liu Mei, the host of the "Legal Scene" program, and a cameraman, carrying long lenses and cannons to film the salvage scene, determined to clear Section Chief Shen's name.
Because the program "The Rival" subjected Section Chief Shen to negative public opinion attacks, the staff of "Legal Scene" filmed with even more dedication than they would in a studio. This was not only to give an explanation to Section Chief Shen, but also to the program's viewers.
They have applied to the Municipal Public Security Bureau for permission to cover this bizarre murder case of a Hong Kong businessman. The Municipal Public Security Bureau quickly approved the application, agreeing to allow "Legal Scene" to record the entire process as long as confidential clues are not disclosed and the progress of the investigation is not affected.
This is also a powerful counterattack against the tabloid weekly magazines on the other side of the strait!
Whether Section Chief Shen was created to be a star or was a star in the police force all along, the answer will be revealed after the case is solved.
This was Gu Yanzheng's first time here, and he carefully observed the environment at the salvage site. After walking around for a long time, he returned close to midnight, but there was still no progress from the patrol boat.
A light rain began to fall from the night sky. The humid summer wind and fine rain clung to my clothes and skin, making me feel extremely uncomfortable.
All around were people working in the rain, their expressions tense and their steps hurried.
The only thing visible in sight was a small figure kneeling in a corner where no one paid any attention, picking at the dried cement with its hands.
Her rain-soaked hair clung to her cheeks, and she didn't have time to fix it. She looked up at the cluster of fine tire tracks, then braced herself with her hands on the ground, sticking her buttocks out, and suddenly stood up, her big eyes desperately searching for her navigator in the rain and mist.
"Brother Zheng!" Shen Zhenzhu ran towards Gu Yanzheng with her footsteps clattering, her expression as if she had encountered something she was unsure about and urgently needed advice from someone she trusted.
Gu Yanzheng walked towards her, about to answer her call through the rain and mist, when suddenly a hand gripped his wrist tightly and pulled him back to the corner.
“There are tire tracks here, but I don’t understand why they’re here. It’s not even on the way.” Chen Zhenzhu pointed to a small, hidden tire track about the size of her palm and said, “The first body was found over there. Didn’t the second body get dumped at the third dumping site?”
"First, there's one thing we need to confirm: you definitely have a second body?" Gu Yanzheng opened the police raincoat hanging on his arm and gestured for Chen Zhenzhu to get in and put it on.
Chen Zhenzhu muttered as she put on the police raincoat, which was a size too big for her, and then awkwardly rolled up the sleeves, saying, "Everyone's here, and you only realize you need to ask me to confirm now?"
Gu Yanzheng pulled her forearm and helped her roll up the long sleeve of her raincoat, saying, "I kind of regret not coming with you when the first body was recovered. Now I realize I can't keep up with your detective thinking, which is my fault."
Shen Zhenzhu looked up at him in surprise, and Gu Yanzheng said calmly, "What's wrong?"
Shen Zhenzhu didn't want to see Gu Yanzheng's expression. Actually, the clues for the second corpse were only found after repeatedly checking the Heavenly Eye's retrospective, and it had nothing to do with Brother Zheng's ability.
“However,” Gu Yanzheng said with a smile, “I can give you some advice here, do you want to hear it?”
"Listen, listen!" Shen Zhenzhu pulled Gu Yanzheng down to squat down, and all the random thoughts in her mind were immediately thrown to the back of her mind.
Gu Yanzheng pointed to the sea at the end of the broken road: "Last time you came to salvage, it was high tide, and today is high tide again. So you can't see where the low tide line is. Before it rained, I walked around here and found seaweed and other marine attachments under the bridge piers. Based on the height of the bridge piers, we can judge that the ocean depth below is about two meters under normal circumstances."
Shen Zhenzhu immediately understood and said, "The tide is definitely below two meters during low tide, and the cement block is about one square meter. To ensure that the cement block wouldn't be discovered during low tide, the murderer pushed a cart here to observe. In the end, they chose the relatively deeper side as the first place to dump the body. This shows that the tracks that were initially thought to be empty might not actually be empty tracks; perhaps a second body was also on the cart. If we follow the tracks to retrieve the body, we will definitely find the second body."
Gu Yanzheng applauded Shen Zhenzhu in a serious manner: "Section Chief Shen's analysis makes sense."
"Thank you for the guidance, leader." Shen Zhenzhu perked up and called Lu Ye and the others for an impromptu meeting.
After comparing images of the ocean basin with those of Shen Zhenzhu and the others, Gu Yanzheng pointed out several possible locations nearby.
After everything was arranged, Chen Zhenzhu gave a thumbs up: "Old ginger is spicier!"
"No, it was only when you said there was a second body that I started to think about it." Gu Yanzheng said as he watched the patrol boat follow the newly planned sea route for the salvage operation. "Besides, I'm not that much older than you. That's not the right way to put it. It would be more appropriate to say that to Lao Wu."
Shen Zhenzhu's mood improved considerably. She waved the flag, pointed out the coordinates to the coast guard, and said, "You're hot, you're the hottest."
These words were both laughable and absurd. Gu Yanzheng knew she probably didn't mean any harm by putting anyone down... right?
The second body took twice as long to recover as the first, enduring the ordeal from the evening of the first day to the afternoon of the second day, before finally finding traces of it in a pile of seabed debris more than fifty meters from the blocked road.
"They actually dared to dump construction waste on the seabed! Using this kind of stuff to reclaim land?" Lu Ye's blood rushed to his head. Staying up all night had turned the lower half of his face blue. If he stayed up any longer, he was afraid he would grow a full beard.
A small sand-carrying boat was filled with abandoned construction waste illegally dumped by unscrupulous developers. Among this waste, a cement block of about one square meter was slowly lifted out of the sea.
Shen Zhenzhu held a small hammer, Lu Ye held an axe, Zhou Chuanxi carried a hammer, Wu Zhongguo carried an entrenching tool, and Zhao Qiqi frantically searched for tools everywhere. Finally, she got a wrench and bumped into Qin An, who was carrying an electric drill, and Lu Xiaobao, who was carefully walking with an electric wire.
Same lineup, same old moves.
A male corpse that was not so familiar, but whose posture and dog cage were very familiar, appeared in front of everyone.
"It's a cult, definitely an infiltration by a foreign cult." Wu Zhongguo, finally able to light a cigarette outdoors, stood to the side and asked Zhao Qiqi, "What do you think?"
Looking at the busy, tireless figure, Zhao Qiqi said, "I see it this way, no matter what you think, Sister Pearl."
The concrete block where the body was located was cracked by the impact of the dumped construction waste. The body inside had been eaten by fish and crabs and eroded by the ocean, with half of the body rotting and the other half being bones.
She was kneeling in the dog cage, her left hand fully raised, her neck suspended, and her right hand bound behind her back. Her necklace, watch, and wedding ring were still there, but not a single piece of clothing was found.
Qin An's hands went numb from the vibrations of the electric drill. He removed the drill, bent down, picked up a piece of cement, and broke it open. Inside was a piece of paper that had been soaked in water.
"Go back and ask our forensic team to see if we can restore it." Qin An said, holding up a piece of paper that was about A4 size. "There's printed text here. Doesn't it look like 'contract'?"
"How could such a thing exist? Are they afraid we don't know his identity?" Lu Ye said.
Gu Yanzheng said in a low voice, "It seems more like a deliberate attempt to mislead."
Shen Zhenzhu withdrew her gaze from the corpse, suppressed the upturn of her lips, and nodded, saying, "Is this a name, Ma... Xiang... Xiang?"
Qin Anzai examined it carefully, feeling that it resembled something but not quite. However, he trusted Shen Zhenzhu's words and nodded, saying, "It does resemble something."
"Brother Qi, later check if there is a man named 'Ma Xiangxiang' among the missing persons.
"Yes, Sister Pearl."
......
"Another naked corpse kneeling in a dog cage. I can only say that these two corpses are indistinguishable in terms of horror."
They stood on a wild beach not far from the construction site. Tian Yongfeng, wearing sunglasses, maintained order while saying to Liu Mei of "Legal Scene": "I have never encountered such a shocking case in all my years of solving cases."
Liu Mei deliberately steered the conversation toward Shen Zhenzhu, holding the microphone and saying to Tian Yongfeng, "I heard that Section Chief Shen initiated the second salvage operation?"
"If it wasn't her, then who was it?" Tian Yongfeng sighed. "If she hadn't discovered the cut marks on the cement block, this body would have been lost at sea and become part of the land reclamation along with the construction waste."
Standing behind Liu Mei were many ignorant tourists watching, as well as busybodies who had seen the morning news and came specifically to pay their respects after learning about the body dumping case.
They crowded behind the police line, trying to stand tall to catch a glimpse of her face, to see if the policewoman standing at the forefront was as beautiful and flawless as she appeared on television.
Finding the body could lead to clues to solving the case. Everyone looked somber, but optimistic about the progress of the investigation.
When the producers of "Legal Scene" learned of the news, they praised Section Chief Shen's case-handling abilities over the phone, thinking they could finally vent their anger, but then they received some bad news—
The detective from Hong Kong, brought by Mrs. Xu, has caught the murderer.
“We didn’t give any clues to the so-called private investigator, so how could he possibly catch the murderer?” Tian Yongfeng met with Shen Zhenzhu and Gu Yanzheng, and after receiving the news, everyone found it unbelievable.
Xiao Min pointed at the second team, who were diligently maintaining order at the salvage site, and glared at them as if about to swear an oath, but Gu Yanzheng stopped her: "They're all our brothers, how could we not trust you? Now that the body has been retrieved, go back and check on it."
Shen Zhenzhu hung up her mobile phone, watched the forensic vehicle leave the scene, walked up to them and said, "The private investigator has taken the suspect to the Criminal Investigation Team building. There are media present."
“If we have them, we have them too,” Lu Ye said angrily. “Who’s afraid of who?”
The group got into the car and returned to the city police criminal investigation team. The Cherokee got stuck in traffic at the intersection. Shen Zhenzhu and the others got out of the car and walked forty or fifty meters to the entrance of the criminal investigation team, where they saw another group of people with long cameras and microphones interviewing the private detective in the middle.
Some spoke Cantonese, some spoke Mandarin, and in addition to cameras, there were flashes constantly taking pictures.
Upon seeing that the officers handling the case were indeed outside, a group of so-called media reporters swarmed over.
Gu Yanzheng stood at the front and, before they could speak, stretched out his hand and said, "Let me see your press credentials first. The public security authorities have the right to order you to stop your activities and deal with you according to law if you conduct interviews without a license."
After Gu Yanzheng took the initiative, only two of the dozen or so "media reporters" surrounding them produced their interview permits.
Lu Ye whispered in Shen Zhenzhu's ear, "It seems the others are just gossip paparazzi trying to muddy the waters."
Shen Zhenzhu pulled her peaked cap down low and looked at them sharply. Zhao Qiqi stood behind her, scanning the paparazzi who wanted to take pictures, as if he would rush up and snatch the equipment and detain them if they made any move.
“We have credentials to conduct the interview!” Zhao Bingrui has a prominent mouth and two mustaches on his upper lip, making him look like a catfish in disguise.
"To conduct interviews within our country, you must obtain the prior consent of the interviewee or organization. Who here has consented to your interview?"
Shen Zhenzhu walked up to Zhao Bingrui. The pressure of justice made him blink rapidly. He looked around and said, "Then how do you explain that the Hong Kong detective caught the murderer first?!"
Shen Zhenzhu sneered and said, "As a host of a legal program, don't you know that before a court verdict, you can only refer to someone as a suspect, not as a murderer? Your so-called detective has no law enforcement authority. To me, it's just child's play. He has the ability to arrest people, and I have the ability to demand that he release them. If they don't obey the orders of law enforcement officers, then I support the comrades he brought in to file a lawsuit for defamation and illegal detention."
Zhao Bingrui knew that Shen Zhenzhu was a sharp-tongued opponent, but he did not expect her to be so arrogant in front of the camera.
Lu Ye, Zhao Qiqi, and others began clearing out irrelevant personnel. In the end, only Zhao Bingrui, two other Hong Kong media outlets, and Detective Bai Xiaodeng, who had been waiting inside the Criminal Investigation Team building, remained standing at the entrance of the team.
Bai Xiaodeng had come here on another mission today and did not want to anger Shen Zhenzhu.
Seeing this, he came out of the building and said a few words to Zhao Bingrui and other media people, asking them to wait in the distance first. Then he invited Shen Zhenzhu to meet him in the conference room on the first floor.
“Brother Zheng, you guys go ahead with your work, I’m going to meet the ‘suspect’.”
Gu Yanzheng stepped forward, suddenly put his arm around her shoulder, patted her, and said, "Okay, be careful."
Shen Zhenzhu felt a weight in her pocket and said cleverly, "Understood." Then she put her hands in her pockets and followed Bai Xiaodeng into the building.
Wearing a felt hat and a plaid trench coat, Bai Xiaodeng looked quite like a detective if it weren't for the black eye on his left eye. He entered the conference room and got straight to the point: "Mrs. Xu has been unwell for the past few days, so I've come to take her place."
Across from Bai Xiaodeng sat a glamorous woman wearing a modified mini-skirt and sporting trendy perm curls. She was blowing on chewing gum as she watched Chen Zhenzhu and the others enter the conference room. With a broad smile, she reached out and patted the seat next to her, saying, "Officer Chen? Come on, sit next to me. Where's the person with the camera? Could you please take a picture of us? Video would be even better."
Bai Xiaodeng coughed and warned her in broken Mandarin, "Cai Yajun, please don't try to get close to the police. Do you know you're highly suspicious?"
"So what if you know? Just because you say I'm a suspect doesn't mean I am. Do you think I would have come with you if you hadn't said you could see Officer Shen?"
Cai Yajun blew a bubble, finished speaking with a disdainful look, then turned to Shen Zhenzhu with a bright smile and said, "I watch every episode of your show. I never expected to meet you in person. You are so much prettier than on TV. Tsk tsk tsk, so radiant."
Shen Zhenzhu sat down next to her, feeling both amused and exasperated. From Ma Xiangxiang's telepathic vision, she had successfully seen the murderer's face, which had nothing to do with Cai Yajun.
Shen Zhenzhu sized up Cai Yajun and suddenly asked, "What's your profession?"
Bai Xiaodeng spoke first: "She works in the sex industry. She had a brief affair with Xu Jiachang two months ago. I even found Mr. Xu's wallet at her residence."
Cai Yajun leaned back, crossed her legs, and said, "That wallet was a gift from him. I don't accept Hong Kong dollars, I only accept RMB. He couldn't produce any RMB, so he said the wallet was a designer brand and told me to sell it for money. Business has been so good lately that I've been too lazy to go out, so I just left it at home."
Shen Zhenzhu asked Bai Xiaodeng, "How did you know she had Mr. Xu's wallet at home? Did you illegally enter someone else's residence?"
Bai Xiaodeng, who is almost forty years old, shamelessly said, "I paid to get in; she took two hundred yuan from me, but I didn't do anything."
Cai Yajun said with a disdainful look, "So what if you did it? Not a single hair on my head will be missing."
"You suspect she murdered Mr. Xu based on this alone?" Shen Zhenzhu sighed, stood up and said, "I don't want to waste any more time with you, Cai Yajun, you can go back now."
Bai Xiaodeng walked around to the side and blocked Cai Yajun's way, spreading her arms and saying, "She has met Mr. Xu and knows that Mr. Xu is very rich. You know that they play very openly in this industry, maybe this is just a gimmick to attract Mr. Xu. What kind of woman does Mr. Xu want in Hong Kong—never mind, never mind what I said. Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu's love is stronger than gold. He was deceived for a moment and suffered a terrible fate at her hands."
"Stop talking nonsense. You can't even imagine how impatient Xu is. He and his wife are supposedly inseparable. I just asked him how his wife compares to me, and he almost lost his temper."
"Comrade Cai Yajun, this is none of your business. Please go back. If anyone stops you, just say I released them." Shen Zhenzhu touched the empty eye drops in her pocket and felt she also needed some ear drops.
For the first time in over a year in the industry, she felt this job was really tough.
Cai Yajun glanced at Shen Zhenzhu several times before reluctantly leaving, regretting that Shen Zhenzhu couldn't give her an autograph before she left.
After she left, Bai Xiaodeng sighed, closed the meeting room door, and sat down opposite Chen Zhenzhu, staring at her intently.
Shen Zhenzhu had no time to waste testing each other and asked bluntly, "What exactly do you want? Or rather, what exactly does Mrs. Xu want to do?"
Seeing that she was unmoved by his words, and knowing that the meeting room door was already closed, Bai Xiaodeng simply told the truth: "She wants the body to be taken back and cremated as soon as possible. We can't delay any longer. If Mr. Xu's illegitimate son found out, Mrs. Xu would be in trouble."
"So you'd rather let an innocent woman bear the suspicion of murder than not solve the case?" Shen Zhenzhu said, "I'm sorry, I can't cooperate."
Bai Xiaodeng raised his voice and said, "As long as Mrs. Xu takes Mr. Xu's body back for cremation, the illegitimate children outside the marriage won't be able to have their kinship determined by DNA. You know DNA, right? It's the latest British technology—"
“The body cannot be taken away. The public security organs have the right to detain the body before the murder case is solved, and can conduct an autopsy if necessary,” Shen Zhenzhu said. “In my opinion, the truth is far more important than money.”
Bai Xiaodeng looked around and, seeing that it was just him and Shen Zhenzhu, mysteriously took out a check from his bag and pushed it in front of Shen Zhenzhu: "Here is a check for 500,000 Hong Kong dollars."
Shen Zhenzhu picked up the check and shook it, the check making a crisp sound like coins: "And then? What do you want me to do?"
Seeing that she did not refuse, Bai Xiaodeng leaned closer to Chen Zhenzhu with his arm on the table: "Use your power to arrest the woman surnamed Cai. This is the stepping stone I have finally found for you to solve the case. You can take this money to your superiors and colleagues, close the case as quickly as possible, let Mrs. Xu take the body to the nearest crematorium for cremation, and I will give you another 30,000 US dollars as a reward after it is over."
Shen Zhenzhu said with a forced smile, "You even let the media slander me, how do you plan to settle that?"
Bai Xiaodeng said, "Isn't this all to put pressure on you? If I had known that giving you some money would have been enough, would I have needed to go through all this trouble? You were so confident and pretended to be a respectable person before. Mrs. Xu always said that no one is immune to the lust for money, and it seems that she was right. If you care about the media, I'll shut up the media that's slandering you."
Shen Zhenzhu tilted her head and looked at him, asking, "Which media outlet can you shut up? The ones that criticize me the most aren't your Hong Kong media."
Bai Xiaodeng said confidently, "Zhao Bingrui, is it? Mrs. Xu gave him 50,000 yuan to put pressure on you through the TV station. If you can't stand it, you'll definitely find someone else to solve the case. You can use the money then."
Shen Zhenzhu feigned helplessness and pushed the check back: "Even if I assert that Cai Yajun is guilty, my superior will not approve it. I am just the deputy captain; he is the case supervisor."
Seeing that she had agreed, Bai Xiaodeng gave her no chance to back out. Thinking he had seized the opportunity, he pushed the check in front of Chen Zhenzhu again and said, "You know how to seize opportunities. How do you know your boss doesn't? Who doesn't love money? Let me tell you, I gave him 100,000 yuan, and he accepted it gladly. He is willing to follow Mrs. Xu's lead."
"Hahahaha—" Shen Zhenzhu clutched her stomach and laughed maniacally, slapping the table with her small hands, unable to speak for a long time.
Bai Xiaodeng quickly made a "shh" gesture and said, "I know you've never seen such a large sum of money before. It's too early to be happy. When Mrs. Xu successfully obtains Mr. Xu's entire inheritance, she might even reward us. I'll definitely praise your contribution to her—"
"Mrs. Xu, you deserve a lot of credit for what you have today." Gu Yanzheng clapped as he entered, leaning against the door to make way for him.
Liu Mei, the host of "Legal Scene," waved to the camera behind her: "Did you get a clear shot?"
The man behind the camera nodded emphatically, his eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of revenge!
Bai Xiaodeng stood up angrily and said, "What are you doing? What right do you have to come in!"
Shen Zhenzhu took out a microphone from her pocket, looked at it, and said, "Hello... is there any sound?"
The colleague next to the camera gave an "OK" sign: "Don't worry, Section Chief Shen, it's a high-end microphone imported from abroad, and it recorded everything that needed to be recorded."
Bai Xiaodeng's right eyelid twitched wildly, and he asked in a trembling voice, "What do you mean? I don't understand what you're saying?"
"Let me explain. Bai Xiaodeng, a man from Gangcheng, attempted to bribe the police, defame state officials, interfere with law enforcement, and bribe a TV program host—"
Shen Zhenzhu held up a HK$500,000 check and said, "Now that the suspect has been caught red-handed and the evidence is conclusive, I request immediate criminal detention!"
Gu Yanzheng strode towards Bai Xiaodeng and placed the handcuffs on the table: "Cooperate or resist?"
Bai Xiaodeng, stubborn as ever, stood up and pointed at Chen Zhenzhu, saying, "How do you know there's money in the check?"
Shen Zhenzhu laughed and said, "Alright, if it's fake, your crime of forging checks will be compounded."
Bai Xiaodeng slumped into a chair and muttered, "There was no forgery. The check is real, and there really is HK$500,000 in it. Please stop recording, destroy the videotape, and I'll give you whatever money you want. I'll even give you my own money, as long as you let me go, I'll leave Liancheng immediately and go back to Hong Kong, and I'll never appear in front of you again."
Shen Zhenzhu shook her head and said, "You just happened to be caught in the special crackdown on bribery and corruption. 500,000 yuan is considered an exceptionally large amount and will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. You know how severe the maximum penalty is in mainland China, right?"
Bai Xiaodeng didn't know and didn't want to know: "Please let me go. This money wasn't mine to pay, and I wasn't the one who slandered you. I was just a gofer."
"Who are you running errands for?" Gu Yanzheng stepped aside, and Lu Ye and Zhao Qiqi came over, grabbed Bai Xiaodeng's wrists, and pulled him out from between the tables and chairs.
Bai Xiaodeng's face drained of color instantly. He had been worried about how to explain things to Mrs. Xu if he hadn't succeeded, but now he blurted out, "It's not that I wanted to bribe you, it's Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Xu, she, she told me to give it to you!"
Shen Zhenzhu and Gu Yanzheng exchanged a glance. Gu Yanzheng said to Lu Ye, "Didn't we set up an anti-corruption task force? Let's send it over to the other departments for their help in the investigation. We can avoid any appearance of impropriety."
After Bai Xiaodeng was taken away, Liu Mei and the others erupted in cheers!
“Great! I’ll go back and edit the program right away and schedule it for broadcast soon! Let’s see what Zhao Bingrui has to say.”
Shen Zhenzhu said, "Don't forget that he also received money."
“We’ll request the other departments to arrest Zhao Bingrui,” Gu Yanzheng said. “He can’t cash the Hong Kong dollar checks right now, so he must have hidden them somewhere. Once we find the checks, he won’t be able to sit in front of the camera and keep cursing you peacefully.”
"Scoundrel!" Liu Mei shouted angrily, "A scoundrel who colludes with others."
Upon hearing that the Hong Kong detective had been arrested, Section Chief Liang broke out in a cold sweat. After understanding the whole story, he burst into laughter, slapping his thigh: "I've seen stupid thieves before, but this is the first time I've encountered a stupid detective. By the way, Captain Gu, this matter can be reported on 'Legal Scene,' so let's go and consult with Director Liu about some points?"
“Okay.” Gu Yanzheng glanced at Chen Zhenzhu and left with Section Chief Liang.
After they all left, Liu Mei stepped forward and gently hugged Shen Zhenzhu: "Thank goodness, thank goodness you held on."
"Sister Mei, thank you for your continued support."
"Isn't this what we should do?" Liu Mei said with a smile. "Alright, I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm going to go ask Director Liu about the broadcast issue."
See you later.
After she left, Chen Zhenzhu sat down, closed her eyes, and rested briefly. In this rare moment of leisure, she recalled the second corpse, Ma Xiangxiang's, clairvoyant recollection—
The dark red skirt swayed between the bars of the dog cage, and Ma Xiangxiang's knees, which were kneeling, were already bruised and bleeding, with scabs sticking to the rusty bottom of the cage.
His left hand, which was supporting him, was stiff and numb. His gaze passed through the gap in the dog cage, and he saw her dancing with the new man on the terrazzo floor. Her skirt cut through the suffocating air in front of him like a blade.
The new man would steal glances at the dance steps and peek through the cracks in his eyes. When he saw Ma Xiangxiang humbly pleading for love, Xu Jiachang, thinking himself the victor, tightened his grip on the woman's waist and measured her inch by inch.
Ma Xiangxiang had not eaten for many days, and when he smelled the woman's fragrance, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva, which mixed with the rusty taste in his mouth.
As the tango began, the woman turned around and pressed her back against Xu Jiachang's chest, her fingertips tracing his forearm and causing his muscles to tense.
This is the same ambiguous gesture Ma Xiangxiang experienced yesterday, now resting on a strange man's body.
He slowly lowered his left hand, gazing at the silver ring held in his palm.
This is one of the rules for women: the man who lifts her up to the end will be the one to put the wedding ring on her head and ultimately win her body and soul.
The chains at the bottom of the dog cage rattled with his movements. The woman stopped dancing and lowered her waist, her lips almost touching Ma Xiangxiang's face. She stared at him silently through the dog cage.
The woman's eyes, beneath her lashes, flashed with the wild light he had witnessed during his passionate encounters. In those moments of love and primal release, it was her eyes that kept him caught between shame and ecstasy, unable to extricate himself.
The woman's slender fingers reached into the dog cage, and Ma Xiangdong obediently closed his eyes and raised his head, only to have his neck tightened again.
He trembled and submitted, once again humbly offering the woman a silver ring of submission.
The woman still refused, turned and left, the rhythm of her high heels clicking on the floor sending a jolt through Ma Xiangxiang's soul.
The dried blood on his lips and the hazy, senseless mind made him completely immersed in addictive pleasure, willingly offering his right to life to his goddess, obediently shackled his body, all for the sake of a more liberated soul.
The daily suppression of sex, washed away by thrills and intoxication, becomes an exhilarating feeling that no amount of money can buy.
Ma Xiangdong shifted his gaze to the side, where there was another competitor who was persevering for the next competition.
He struggled to maintain the posture of supporting his left hand while his body was wrapped up, leaving only a hole under his nose. He was unaware that the silver ring he had used for his proposal had fallen to the side of his knee.
It's ridiculous and laughable, but hard to defeat.
Ma Xiangdong slowly raised his stiff left hand, imagining himself as an Indian ascetic with devout faith, who had kept his arm raised for decades.
His humble posture not only won him the favor of the goddess, but also caused a surge of dopamine in his brain, giving him an extraordinary feeling of pleasure even when he was still.
"I'll give you both a chance." The woman finally spoke, her fiery red lips seeming to flick out a snake's tongue: "I love watching you suffocate in the darkness. This is the final game, and your last chance to win my love and this body. Do you want to participate in my game?"
Unable to answer, Xu Jiachang silently knelt at her feet, pressing his face against hers to express his stance.
He, respected in the port city, set aside money and will use his perseverance to win everything the woman he loves. This is a thrilling game with no turning back, a primal contest.
Ma Xiangxiang did not refuse; he leaned against the iron cage, closed his eyes, and waited for the game to begin.
......
......
Shen Zhenzhu opened her eyes.
She mentally pictured the woman's stunning beauty and cold eyes, then slowly stood up, supporting herself on the table as she pondered.
There is one survivor.
Why didn't the murderer let him participate in the so-called game?
Could it be...?
She was also looking for someone to become his rival?
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Author's Note: Old Gu: Who says otherwise?
***
See you tomorrow, there will be red envelopes!
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