Chapter 113 Tumi 04
Perhaps it was because Chi Li had seen too many cases and had formed a consciousness in his mind.
Perhaps the strange scene he saw when he was unconscious yesterday gave him some clues. After waking up today, he thought of this possibility.
A haunted house can be created artificially.
Since ancient times, people have been wary of haunted houses, especially those left behind by serious crimes. Those behind the scenes take advantage of people's fear.
The first person to do this was probably the fortune teller Zhou Jingwang.
"In cases later investigated, Zhou Jingwang not only caused trouble at construction sites, but also used haunted homes as a competitive tactic for developers. For example, in the case of Yunfang Community, the community across the street invited Zhou Jingwang to perform a ritual, and the property on the other side became a haunted home before it was even put on the market."
"After the launch, two residential complexes separated by a road were completely sold out on one side, while the other remained completely unsold. It was later discovered that Zhou Jingwang had earned tens of millions from this single sale. And that tens of millions was paid for with the loss of an innocent life."
Ye Ling briefly explained, concluding, "The wax artist's crimes are a more advanced version of Zhou Jingwang's gang's, and even more hidden. The wax artist's case, coupled with widespread online coverage, has sparked heated debate in the city about haunted houses. The location of the crime is closely related to many factors, including urban development, demolition, and other factors."
"If you know the news in advance and buy and sell, you can profit and accumulate wealth in the fastest way. At the time of the incident, Donglan did not have purchase restrictions. Since this case happened many years ago, we can see the subsequent consequences."
Having said that, Ye Ling flipped through the documents on the table.
Luo Siwei also stood up and walked to her side to check together.
"This afternoon, I asked relevant personnel to help retrieve real estate transaction information and related materials in the area where the crime occurred. After analysis, we found some clues."
She pulled out one of the analysis sheets and showed it to Luo Siwei: "In all the neighborhoods where murders have occurred, housing prices have plummeted. Conversely, in some nearby areas, housing prices have skyrocketed due to supply exceeding demand. Someone is preemptively monopolizing those properties and deliberately inflating the prices."
She produced several copies of published court verdicts. "And here, in some neighborhoods where murders occurred, housing prices plummeted. After the landlords sold their properties at low prices, they were later relocated for subway construction or demolition. The government offered higher compensation than the original selling price, and those landlords felt they'd lost money. They've filed numerous lawsuits."
Luo Siwei tried to analyze it: "So... the placement of the bodies by the wax sculptor is like a game of chess, where someone decides where to place the pieces. Each crime scene is carefully selected."
Ye Ling nodded: "After the murder was reported, the subsequent consequences were like pushing dominoes, which would produce a series of effects."
This is just simple logic. The reality is definitely more complicated and changeable than this, but this logic is smooth. As long as it is operated properly, you can make money silently.
As they talked about this, Chi Li sat on the hospital bed and summarized: "So, the wax figure's case may just be a superficial phenomenon. This is also the reason why we feel that this case seems to have happened in the wrong era."
Ye Ling added, "Also, Siwei, based on your testimony, the police once suspected that Lv Mingsi had accomplices. Now it seems that he may have more than just accomplices. Perhaps Lv Mingsi is just an actor who was pushed to the front, and there are other people hiding behind him."
At this point, Director Ye sighed, "However, even if the police back then were incredibly resourceful, they couldn't have imagined someone would exploit serial murders and haunted homes to manipulate housing prices and profit from it."
After discussing the case, Ye Ling put the information aside and said, "Let's get back to the present, the cases you encountered."
Luo Siwei quickly understood: "The operation method of the Helan Community case is very similar to these cases."
Ye Ling continued to show her some news briefs.
"After the Helan arson attack, the original residents sold their properties, but immediately thereafter, news of relocation subsidies arrived. This is similar to the case involving the wax figure artist."
"Wangjianghu has always been a hotspot for industrial development, but due to the pollution it brings, it has always been resisted by locals. After the sinking lake incident, business at this popular check-in spot vanished, restaurants closed one after another, and island residents began to relocate. The previously blocked development plan for the center island was finally implemented and recently approved."
"And then there's the recent Lanxing carjacking. The Lanxing Dam has suddenly become a target of public criticism. Construction on the dam might be halted, and some of the leaders who have been pushing for its construction will be punished. This could even lead to changes in the entire city."
"Others... there are some suspected cases that have been sorted out, and each one has corresponding results. We can reversely deduce the intentions of those people from these results."
Facing the thick stack of documents, Luo Siwei flipped through them one by one. She suddenly woke up: "Those people... they are no longer satisfied with just taking advantage of the price difference to make money. They are using human lives as a condition to be exploited."
In daily life, financial distribution, urban construction, official positions, as long as the variables are large enough, everything will change accordingly.
Every time death comes, it causes a series of changes.
Many changes are sudden and uncontrollable, such as accidents, natural disasters and man-made disasters, and human life is precisely the variable that is easiest to control.
In the eyes of those people, it can be a tool to make money, a driving force to change the situation, or a sharp arrow shot at political enemies.
Ye Ling stood in front of the curtained window, looking a bit older. "I didn't discover these things, Chi Li did. I helped him compile some information. We spent the entire afternoon deducing the current conclusions, and now these deductions need more evidence to prove them."
After finishing his speech, Ye Ling put down his pen and concluded, "Siwei, you know why I started with Donglan's criminal history. This thread runs from Zhou Jingwang's Feng Shui case, to the wax figure artist's murder house case, and then to the cases we're facing now. They're likely all related."
"This is evolution." Chi Li said, looking at the dense clues on the whiteboard, "Survival of the fittest. Technology has advanced, and the mode of investigation has improved. At the same time, crime has also evolved."
"Yeah, it's evolving," Ye Ling sighed. "What makes me feel even more horrified is that Zhou Jingwang initially needed someone to do the killings, like the wax figures had to choose the location of the haunted house and place the figures. But now, they don't even need to show up themselves. They just hide in the dark, arrange everything behind the scenes, and the crime will happen on its own. And it's extremely difficult to trace them."
Luo Siwei felt a chill starting from her fingertips.
She began to speak, "After listening to these analyses, I finally understood a lot of things. Why did the arsonist suddenly change the murderer? Why did we feel that the people behind the shipwreck were raising poison? Why did the media focus on the carjacking case turn around and start attacking Lanxing Dam..."
She lowered her head, questioning herself and answering, "Because those people... they don't care who lives or dies. All they care about is that the murder happens when and where they want. Human lives are just chips they hold in their hands..."
This is a disregard for human life, treating living people as symbols and numbers.
Today, several clues have finally been connected: Potential Workshop, Whisper APP, Haunted House Maker...
Somewhere in the dark, it seems as if an invisible hand is controlling the entire city.
Things have developed to this point, and it seems inevitable.
Donglan City has various municipal bureaus, and above them is the General Bureau. Different police officers handle different cases. Due to issues of ability and perspective, different cases will have different results, and the occurrence of errors and doubts is almost inevitable.
Who would have thought that many scattered cases were intricately connected and had the same person behind the scenes?
For so many years, those people were in the dark, while the police were in the light.
Ye Ling, Chi Li, Luo Siwei, they are definitely all good police officers, but even so, when the truth is not revealed to the public, when not enough cases are exposed, their handling of individual cases is like seeing a leopard through a tube, and there is no way to see the full picture of the enemy.
By the time they were chatting, it was already dark outside. Luo Siwei ordered takeout, and the three of them ate in the ward.
Chi Li had just been able to eat, and Luo Siwei fed him some porridge.
After dinner, Luo Siwei began to organize the information with Ye Ling, and studied it carefully, and found more clues.
"Your job now is to verify these inferences." Ye Ling looked at the two young men in front of him. "I want to remind you that if all this is true, then the person behind this is definitely not a simple person. This may be a tough battle."
Luo Siwei humbly asked Ye Ling, "Director Ye, where do you think we should start investigating these matters?" She thought for a moment and then spoke out, "I have a classmate who works at the Potential Workshop. I'm not sure if she's involved in these matters, or how much she knows."
Ye Ling asked: "Your classmate? What's her name?"
Luo Siwei said: "Mu Yuexin."
Ye Ling lowered her head and thought for a moment: "This name is very familiar, I think I have heard of it." She thought for a while and said with increasing certainty, "She seems to be one of the victims back then."
"Victim?" This was the first time Luo Siwei heard about this.
Ye Ling said, "Yes, it's your vice-president named Yan. He once had a relationship with this girl."
Luo Siwei suddenly got the news and was a little surprised: "I didn't find out about this matter. I didn't know she actually..."
Ye Ling said, "If your classmate has worked at Potential Workshop for many years, it's impossible for him to be completely ignorant of certain things. But I think... Potential Workshop is a big tree that attracts wind. This organization can't escape. Don't alert them. You can investigate other aspects first."
Chi Li said, "These things are related to what happened back then. It's not accidental... If Zhou Jingwang is really a fortune teller, maybe Zhang Angu knows something."
When Zhang Angu's case was investigated, it was linked to a reporting case, so this person is still being held in the detention center.
Luo Siwei said: "Okay, I will go through the process tomorrow and bring the person out to ask again."
Seeing that it was getting late, the three of them began to discuss the issue of tonight's care.
The hospital had a rule that only one person could stay with the patient after 10 a.m. Ye Ling had some business at the provincial government office and might have to rush back early the next morning. She was old, after all, and hadn't slept well the previous night. She'd taken the bus back today and spent a long day studying the case, finally feeling a bit sleepy that evening.
Staying by the bedside at night is a tiring job. Chi Li is not well yet. Even going to the bathroom requires help. Luo Siwei needs someone to help him.
She saw Ye Ling off and followed the previous steps to go to the nurses' station to rent a simple bed.
Luo Siwei had just asked when the nurse said regretfully, "You're late today. The hospital is currently full, and the cots were rented out around 3:00 p.m."
The nurse said she would be notified if a bed became available. Seeing this, Luo Siwei could only leave her contact information.
She walked back to the ward. Before she could say anything, Chi Li seemed to know the result. He said, "You should go back to sleep too. I can handle it alone."
Luo Siwei looked at Chi Li's hand still connected to the detector and shook his head: "No, I won't worry about you when I go back."
Chi Li said: "You didn't sleep much last night..."
Luo Siwei was unconvinced and said, "Two years ago, I was busy with a case at the police station. I didn't sleep for three days and three nights. Besides, there are tables and chairs here. If you get tired, you can lie down on my table for a while."
Only then did Chi Li stop persuading her to go back.
After putting everything away and wiping the whiteboard clean without leaving any marks, they returned it to the doctors.
After helping Chi Li wash up, Luo Siwei went to clean up.
Late at night, when everyone was asleep, she sat back down on the bed, watching Chi Li still looking at her with his eyes open.
"The doctor said you need to rest more." Luo Siwei gently covered Chi Li's eyes with her palms and hypnotized him like a child, "Close your eyes and sleep."
But Captain Chi was not obedient and was not easy to fool.
Luo Siwei felt his eyelashes blinking, like a butterfly flapping its wings, making her palms itchy.
She removed her palm and looked into his eyes.
Chi Li hesitated for a moment, pulled her hand, and then he moved slightly inside: "The bed in the special care ward is a bit big, do you mind coming up and sleeping with me?"
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