Chapter 86 Mandala 06
The next morning, Luo Siwei slept until 8:30 before getting up. She changed into simple clothes, tied her hair into a ponytail, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and opened the white curtains.
Through the window, you can see the beautiful scenery outside.
They played until the early morning last night. In the last round of Werewolf, Luo Siwei drew the wolf. When she was about to kill someone, she opened her eyes and found Chi Li sitting opposite her looking at her.
The two of them were in perfect sync and made decisions quickly. They played the double-wolf police strategy and cooperated very well, so they were invincible in that round.
Recalling yesterday's events, Luo Siwei still felt a bit unsatisfied. To make it easier for her to finish her trip that afternoon, she packed her things in advance and sealed them in a suitcase.
Then, Luo Siwei walked down the spiral staircase.
Most of my colleagues hadn't gotten up yet, and the hall was a bit empty.
Luo Siwei saw Chi Li standing with his back to her in the restaurant, making breakfast.
He did not wear the black clothes he wore yesterday, but changed back into the white shirt he usually wore.
Before she came closer, he heard her footsteps and turned around and said, "Good morning."
Luo Siwei also said, "Good morning."
She walked over and took a look. Chi Li used some leftover ingredients from yesterday's dinner to make seafood porridge, heated milk, and toasted bread slices.
Finally, he fried bacon and eggs, and cut up some simple side dishes and fruit. The fried eggs and bacon in the pan were already golden brown, just at the right time, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sizzling in the pan.
This kind of breakfast is delicious and tasty.
Chi Li's voice was gentle: "It will be ready soon, you can wait a moment."
A double portion of fried eggs and bacon was made. Luo Siwei sat down and a plate of rich, steaming food was placed in front of her. Luo Siwei lowered her head and tasted the breakfast. Although it was simple, it tasted light and delicious.
The two were eating breakfast when Guo Zhengyao, his hair flying in the wind, rushed out of the audio-visual room and said as if he had discovered a new world: "Captain Chi, is there breakfast?!"
Chi Li pointed to the kitchen on the side and said, "There is seafood porridge, help yourself."
Guo Zhengyao looked at the almost finished food in front of Luo Siwei and said, "Captain Chi, you are treating me differently!"
Luo Siwei said: "It's because you got up too late."
Guo Zhengyao, hungover, lowered his head and seriously considered whether this was the reason why he missed breakfast. Otherwise, would he be the one sitting opposite Captain Chi and enjoying the delicious food?
Chi Li ruthlessly shattered his fantasy: "It's useless to get up early. You can make enough food and clothing by yourself. There are still some ingredients left. If you want to eat something, you can cook it yourself."
After breakfast, we started our team building schedule for the next day.
Although it was said to be a team-building activity, the arrangements were actually free activities. Several male police officers chose to continue staying in the villa and playing games, while others went to a karting venue not far from the resort.
Luo Siwei had already planned to go to Wangjianghu for fun, and Chi Li also chose this project.
Others who followed included Ni Xiang and Huo Cunsheng.
Wangjiang Lake is Donglan's largest inland freshwater lake. Its central island is a popular check-in spot, often visited by tourists. Several restaurants in the center of the lake are also excellent, offering a wide variety of fish and shrimp delicacies. The freshwater fish, freshly caught and cooked directly in the pot, is incredibly delicious.
A few people drove a car and after about twenty minutes, they arrived at a small pier called Xikou.
After getting off the bus, Luo Siwei's first feeling was that the air here was fresh and the scenery was beautiful. The lush woods and the scenery of lakes and mountains made it a good place to cultivate one's body and mind.
Lake water and sea water give people completely different feelings. The sea water is vast, with waves, while the lake water is very calm, sparkling when the wind blows.
The lake is so large that you can't see the end of it. From a distance you can see the shape of a small island in the middle of the lake.
Because the lake view here is beautiful, most of the fishermen in Xikou have a side job, which is to come here to drive boats and solicit passengers during holidays.
There are medium-sized electric boats that can accommodate about ten people, and there are also small hand-rowed boats that can only accommodate three or four people.
Seeing them approach, someone immediately waved to attract customers: "The big boat takes 51 people, and the small boat takes 30 people. If the bosses want to take a stroll on the lake, each person can go around the lake for 200 yuan."
Luo Siwei was a little hesitant. She felt that the small boat had a better view and a more touristy atmosphere, but the big boat seemed sturdier. Thinking of this, Luo Siwei turned around and asked everyone, "Big or small, everyone, vote."
Chi Li said: "I can do anything."
Huo Cunsheng was anxious to eat the fresh lake food: "We don't have enough people to choose a big boat. We have to wait for others to come before we can set sail, right?"
"I want to take a boat, but I can't swim..." Ni Xiang said, and walked to the shore to ask the master, "Master, do you have a lifebuoy on your boat?"
The fishermen laughed at her: "Why use a lifebuoy? It's only a few minutes away."
"Yeah, what could happen so close?"
"I've been sailing here for so long, and I've never heard of life jackets or lifebuoys."
One uncle even said with a smile: "What are you afraid of, little girl? You are so thin, I can pull you out if you fall."
Ni Xiang blushed at what they said. This boat was different from what she had imagined. She said, "But it's safer to wear a life jacket."
A boatwoman in her forties, sitting nearby, put it bluntly: "That's true, but we're just here to make a little money. It takes about ten minutes to paddle across, and life jackets are expensive, need regular inspections and replacements, and are so troublesome to put on and take off. Besides, even if we had them, tourists wouldn't necessarily wear them."
The uncle continued with a smile, "Yes, no one is checking. If you are afraid, just take my big boat. It is fast and safe."
Luo Siwei turned around and discussed with the three people: "How about we bargain with the captain?"
As they were talking about this, they heard someone shouting on a small boat on the lake not far away, pointing forward, mixed in with some faint shouts.
The distance was a bit far, and everyone couldn't hear clearly what the master was saying.
Luo Siwei had better hearing than most people. She listened carefully and heard the words "rescue". She immediately said, "It seems there's a boat accident ahead!"
Before she could finish, Chi Li also reacted quickly. He stepped onto a medium-sized electric boat and took out his police officer ID and waved it: "Officer, please drive the boat, the faster the better."
Luo Siwei also jumped onto the boat, and Ni Xiang and Huo Cunsheng followed without bothering to discuss.
Saving lives is the most important thing. The boatman was the one who had just said that he wanted to rescue Ni Xiang if something happened. When he saw this situation, he was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly turned around and started the boat. Seeing this, the other fishermen also started their boats and headed towards the lake.
The slap in the face came too quickly and the incident happened suddenly.
Wangjiang Lake is considered large in Donglan, but its actual area does not rank among freshwater lakes.
But this time something really happened, and everyone felt that they were too far away.
Their boat had a lot of power and quickly left the other boats behind. The master followed the cries for help and headed towards the center of the lake. Everyone was extremely anxious, but the lake was different from land. It took them two full minutes to see a small boat in the distance.
The boat took on water and slowly sank in front of everyone's eyes. Several people on the boat sank into the water together.
Not only were there no life jackets on the boat, there wasn't even the most basic rescue equipment. The lake was very deep, and there were all kinds of aquatic plants under the lake. Even if others wanted to rescue, they were powerless.
"Help!" A desperate cry came from a distance, "Help..."
There was a ripple on the lake, and several creatures were struggling on the surface of the lake, waving their hands, causing ripples on the water.
But that was only a brief moment. Several tourists seemed to have no idea how to swim. They struggled a few times and then sank before rescue arrived.
Ni Xiang watched this scene from afar and was trembling with fear.
Luo Siwei's hand fell on her shoulder. "Remember, if you can't swim and fall into the water, don't raise your hands to call for help. There's a swimming motto that goes, 'When your hands are raised, your head sinks.' Don't move your hands. Only by holding your breath and tilting your head back can you float to the surface." She paused, "But you'd better learn to swim. In our line of work, you might need it."
Although swimming is not a necessary skill for police officers, knowing it can help them be prepared for emergencies.
As their boat approached, the water had returned to calm, but this calmness tormented everyone's heart.
The water was silent and boundless, and the police officers were silent.
People say that fire and water are merciless. Fire is hot and can burn people, making people more wary of it. But water, invisible, colorless, silent, and indispensable in daily life, can quickly kill people.
"There! There's a person!"
Luo Siwei was sharp-eyed and pointed in a direction.
Others also saw a red color floating on the water. It was a woman, her body heaving up and down, as if she was struggling to swim towards the boat they were on.
The master hurriedly moved the boat over. He was afraid that the engine would drag people in, so he used the boat to get closer carefully.
When they got closer, everyone could see clearly that it was a young woman swimming in the water. Huo Cunsheng and Chi Li hurriedly reached out to pull the woman up.
The side of the boat was a bit high, and the woman's hands and feet seemed to be weak, so she couldn't climb up.
Chi Li was about to go down to help him, but Huo Cunsheng took the lead, took off his coat, put down his cell phone and jumped in. He was a good swimmer and supported the woman from below. Chi Li and Huo Cunsheng worked together and finally rescued her.
After getting on the boat, the woman shivered and turned pale. Seeing them, she said, "Thank you...thank you."
Luo Siwei asked hurriedly: "How many people are there on the boat?"
The woman covered her face and said, "Including me, there are four tourists in total. I... I don't know them. The boat has sunk for a few minutes. Those people may not be saved..." She seemed to have drunk some water, and began to choke and cough when she said this.
Chi Li asked, "Where is the captain?" The boat drivers here have all lived here since childhood, so it is impossible for them not to know how to sail.
The woman choked up and said, "I don't know. The water came in suddenly. I think he jumped in too."
Hearing this, Chi Li turned to the uncle driving the boat and said, "Let's look around to see if there are any other survivors."
Luo Si turned his head slightly and looked at the woman who was rescued onto the boat. She coughed for a while and then recovered immediately.
The woman was short, about twenty years old, with long hair. She wore a red blouse and denim shorts. She had already swum for a distance, and her hair and clothes were wet. Ni Xiang borrowed a blanket from the boat driver and gave it to her.
The woman sat there in a daze for more than ten seconds, then covered her face and started crying.
Ni Xiang squatted down and asked, "If you know anything else, tell us as soon as possible."
The woman looked up and asked, "Are you police officers?"
Ni Xiang hummed and admitted: "We are police officers from the Municipal Bureau, you will be fine."
The woman said, "Thanks to you for saving me. You arrived so quickly, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to hold on for much longer."
Ni Xiang said: "We happened to be nearby today."
The woman cried even harder. After a while, she said, "I watched the boat sink. My mind went blank. I...my husband was on the boat too. It was all chaos just now. I don't know where he went."
Ni Xiang patted her to comfort her: "We will search. We will do our best to find the others."
Their boat arrived at the site of the shipwreck. The accident had only happened a few minutes ago, so they arrived in time. The calm lake was still endless and there was silence all around.
Those lives were swallowed up by the lake before them.
The boat searched around but didn't see any other survivors. It seemed that those tourists were really killed.
Luo Siwei hadn't given up yet. She looked for a while and pointed in a direction: "Over there, someone was rescued."
When the woman heard this, she looked up.
Chi Li also looked into the distance and saw that the boat captain who had swam for a while was pulled up by another boat.
Several boats circled the lake for about half an hour, but found nothing new. Chi Li sighed silently: "Ni Xiang, contact the nearby salvage team." He paused, looking at the woman who was still trembling beside him, "Also, notify the forensic doctor to come and take a look."
Luo Siwei followed his gaze and looked at the woman in red. The woman lowered her head and shivered as if she was cold.
It had been years since such a serious accident had occurred in the Donglan scenic area. Chi Li handled the emergency, contacted the relevant departments, and then rushed back to the Municipal Bureau to report the situation to the leaders. He handed the scene over to Luo Siwei.
Luo Siwei asked Ni Xiang to register the two survivors on the boat first. The captain of the boat was 42 years old and his name was Liu Yillong.
The woman in red is 23 years old and her name is Chao Si. Her husband’s name is Yan Xiuming and they have been married for just half a year.
As the salvage team began to salvage the bodies, it wasn't long before the first body was pulled up. The deceased was the woman's husband. The woman in red took one look and then fell beside the body and burst into tears.
Ni Xiang saw this scene. She walked over to Luo Siwei and asked quietly, "Captain Luo? Captain Chi suspects there's something wrong with this?"
Luo Siwei hummed in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "This woman is very suspicious."
Ni Xiang didn't understand, frowned and asked her, "What's wrong?"
Luo Siwei explained: "First, when she saw us, she didn't cry for help or explain the situation. She just said thank you. This is the first time I've seen such politeness from a drowning person. Also, before the search, she directly said that those people were dead."
Ni Xiang thought for a moment and said, "But she said...when she started to fall into the water, her mind went blank."
Luo Siwei shook her head. "I've seen people whose minds go blank after a serious accident. They become incoherent, but that's not her reaction. She responded to the questions asked, and her reaction was normal."
Luo Siwei then explained, "And this woman said there were four people on the boat when she first came up, and I didn't know them. Later, she changed her story and said she was out with her husband. I think she probably thought we were just tourists passing by and they had just saved her, so she didn't tell us she was traveling with her husband. Then, after guessing our identities and realizing she couldn't hide it, she said her husband was on the boat too. She was just pretending to be nervous after falling into the water."
"Also, it's a bit cold to wear such shorts in this weather, and that conspicuous red coat..." Luo Siwei even thought that the woman chose this outfit because she was worried about falling into the water.
At this point, she glanced at Zhao Si and added, "The makeup on her face is even waterproof."
There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. After Luo Siwei's analysis, Ni Xiang also began to feel that the woman who fell into the water was too strange.
Luo Siwei saw all this, and Chi Li naturally saw it too, so he wanted to detain the famous woman and the captain, and also called the forensic doctor over.
Then Luo Siwei asked the captain for details and the time and place for tourists to board the ship.
These people did not board the boat from the larger ferry where they were just at, but from a small ferry not far away. The boat set off with four passengers, but the cabin took on water halfway and it soon sank. In the end, three people died.
The boat captain kept saying, "This has nothing to do with me. I don't know how the boat leaked. I couldn't possibly kill anyone. I don't know who these three people are or where they came from. I just happened to stop there today and they came over and said they wanted to take a boat to the island in the middle of the lake, so I let them on board..."
After hearing what he said, Luo Siwei narrowed her eyes slightly.
Ni Xiang also tried to analyze the situation: "There seems to be something wrong with this ship's captain. How can a captain not be afraid, panic, or rush to deal with an accident after his own ship has just happened? He doesn't care about compensation, and he keeps insisting that he didn't commit murder intentionally?"
Such a reaction is too irresponsible.
Since the location of the sinking in the lake was relatively fixed and the salvage work was carried out in a timely manner, soon the other two bodies were also salvaged and displayed side by side by the lake.
The three bodies were two men and one woman.
Huo Cunsheng had just gone down to rescue someone and his clothes were all wet. He found a deserted place, wrung out his shirt and put it on again, then walked to the forensic doctor.
As a result of this, the original travel plans of several people were ruined, but the criminal police had no complaints.
Chu Shisui hurriedly began to examine the body.
Since they all died of drowning, the bodies were still fresh and there was not much unpleasant smell. Each body was wet and full of water stains.
The corpse's face was pale and its abdomen was slightly swollen, because it had drowned and drank a lot of water.
Lan Anan looked at the corpse's hands: "There's mud and sand on the fingertips, and some are grasping water plants." Then she looked at the corpse's mouth and nose: "There's mud and sand in the mouth and nose. He must have drowned."
Suddenly, Lao Huo made a hissing sound, reminding them: "There's blood coming out of the eyes."
As he pointed at the body of the young female victim, tears of sweat and blood slid down his cheeks and into his temples.
Chu Shisui remained calm. He squatted down and took a look. "Not only are the eyes bleeding, but there's also blood at the base of the nose. This is very common in drowning deaths and is caused by pressure changes. This just shows that the deceased must have drowned. But this one..." He examined it carefully. "It looks like a ruptured wound. She had plastic surgery before she died, and the water pressure caused some bleeding."
Luo Siwei looked at the three bodies on the ground, then looked at the woman and the captain standing beside them.
The woman cried a few times on their boat and then didn't cry again. She sat there very quietly.
The captain of the boat seemed to be fine, standing by the lake and gazing at the water.
Luo Siwei thought that if he had not happened to meet them today, this incident would most likely be classified as an accidental drowning.
However, while they are here, they must investigate the situation thoroughly.
Thinking of this, Luo Siwei turned around and said to the police officers, "Take these two people back to the city police station and temporarily place them there pending interrogation. Confirm the identity of the deceased as soon as possible."
The accident in Donglan City was quickly reported by the media.
Luo Siwei returned to the city bureau with the team. The detectives still on vacation were also notified that their team-building activities were ending early. They packed up their belongings and prepared to return to work that afternoon to investigate the case.
Feeling that everyone in the group was in a low mood, Luo Siwei decided to give everyone a boost.
She announced a new piece of news: "Due to the sudden incident, our team building has ended early. However, Captain Chi and I have reported the situation to Director Chen. Once the case is solved, the leadership will grant us an additional three days of leave and additional bonuses."
After hearing this, the detectives finally turned their depression into motivation to investigate the case.
After Chi Li finished communicating with his leader, he walked out of the meeting room and saw Luo Siwei carrying a takeaway that had just been brought in. Chi Li felt a little apologetic.
He said to Luo Siwei, "When the case is solved, I will treat you to a meal."
Luo Siwei paused: "Captain Chi, why are you so polite?"
Chi Li said: "I was pulled here to investigate a case during my trip, so I'll treat you to something delicious as compensation."
"That's what being a police officer is supposed to do. Besides, solving a case gives me a sense of accomplishment that can't be replaced by going out for fun," Luo Siwei said. "Also, I think that as long as I'm with colleagues I like, playing and working are the same."
Chi Li's expression seemed slightly disappointed. He looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he asked her, "Just a colleague?"
Luo Siwei raised his eyes and looked at him: "Captain Chi, what do you think?"
Luo Siwei suddenly wanted to tease him, so she took a step forward and approached Chi Li.
She came closer, but Chi Li politely took half a step back. Then Luo Siwei saw with satisfaction that Chi Li's face turned slightly red.
She smiled and said righteously, "I think we are at least a compatible pair."
Chi Li's eyes moved slightly. He coughed lightly and brought the topic back to the case: "Regarding this case, what do you think might have happened to the people on that boat who fell into the water?"
Luo Siwei said: "It has been confirmed that there are some problems with the woman and the captain, but the identities and information of the other deceased have not yet been ascertained."
Chi Li paused and said, "Maybe they are innocent victims who were implicated, maybe..."
Luo Siwei nodded, understanding: "Perhaps there are other motives and reasons for this matter."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
