Chapter 3 "Suicide": Contradictions, helplessness, and the inability to speak the truth...
If it were any other executive officer, they might have been intimidated by Fu Ze's shrewd move of turning the tables and attacking the victim.
Unfortunately, Fu Ze's opponent was Yuan Jianxing.
"Don't remember? Then let me help you recall step by step." Yuan Jianxing was not bothered by Fu Ze at all, and quickly took back control of the conversation. "The answers you find yourself are often more profound than those given by others."
Without giving Fu Ze any chance to interrupt, Yuan Jianxing went straight to the first question: "Why did you go to the red-light district in the city center last night?"
Fu Ze took a deep breath without making a sound.
At any other time, facing any other person, given his abilities, he could easily come up with a hundred logically consistent and flawless reasons in a second.
But according to the previous rumor, no one could lie to Harami Hoshi.
With the prison break imminent, Fu Ze didn't want to gamble on becoming the destined exception in that literary work.
Otherwise, once Yuan Jianxing finds a flaw, given his domineering way of doing things and extremely high level of authority, not to mention the upcoming prison break, he might even have his personal freedom taken away on the spot.
Not to mention that he had racked his brains and searched high and low but still couldn't find the little internet celebrity's motive for murder from her phone, even if he had, there was no way he could explain the relevant facts to Yuan Jianxing.
If you don't know the truth, can't tell the truth, and can't lie or fabricate, then all that's left is...
All that's left is to distort the facts by using the truth!
Fu Ze blinked, and said meaningfully, "What other reason could there be for going to a place like that? To work."
Was there anything wrong with him going to work at that time last night, as the person in charge of the brothel?
As for how these words are interpreted after being spoken by a minor internet celebrity and reaching other people's ears, what does it matter to him?
Sure enough, after hearing Fu Ze's answer, Mu Wangzhuo's expression became subtle.
However, Yuan Jianxing, who was in charge of the questioning, didn't even frown. He immediately presented the opposite fact: "But your name is not on the staff list of the red-light district."
Fu Ze remained calm and answered fluently: "My situation is special, so of course you can't find me on a regular personnel list."
Although brothels are not very formal in their business operations, their internal structure is not much simpler than that of large corporations.
At least for managers like those in charge who receive year-end bonuses, a different system is used for everything from taking leave to accounting.
"How special? So special that you need to disguise yourself and hide from cameras to get to the top-level manager's office?" Yuan Jianxing pressed on relentlessly, giving Fu Ze no chance to think or catch his breath.
If it were anyone else, they would probably panic upon hearing that their every move had been recorded by a camera.
Unfortunately, Fu Ze was not one of "others".
Although he had only been in charge for a short period of time, Fu Ze had already become thoroughly familiar with all the rules and regulations and operating procedures of the brothel.
The top two floors of the pleasure quarters are reserved for SVIP guests in exclusive private rooms and for high-ranking leaders in private offices.
To eliminate any possibility of information leakage at the hardware level, no monitoring equipment was installed on these two floors.
In other words, even if the surveillance footage is reviewed, the executive officer will most likely only know the exact times when the minor internet celebrity entered and exited the top floor, but will not know what that person actually did inside.
However, the only death scene that could be used as evidence of the minor internet celebrity's behavior was staged by Fu Ze to appear as a "suicide."
That leaves room for interpretation; it's a matter of debate.
Just when Yuan Jianxing thought the person opposite him would be flustered by such a mistake, the other party said frankly: "So in the eyes of the executive, this behavior is called changing one's appearance? I think it is just basic workplace etiquette."
Mu Wangzhuo, who was listening in: ...
Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, the heavily made-up woman, comparable to a top courtesan, left a very deep impression on him in the surveillance footage.
Regarding this kind of workplace etiquette, he could only express his attempt to understand and respect it, but he did not offer his blessings.
"As for hiding from cameras, ha, you're really overthinking it. That's just the fastest route I take to get to work."
As a senior executive, it's only natural to have one or two secret passages for getting to work or escaping.
Fu Ze's performance was somewhat unexpected by Yuan Jianxing.
He could indeed tell that the person opposite him had spoken the truth in every word, but he could also clearly sense that the other person was intentionally leading him in the wrong direction.
Something's strange.
Despite having many doubts, Yuan Jianxing didn't reveal a single one, but instead continued his questioning plan step by step: "What did you do during that time in the person in charge's office?"
“I go to places of entertainment to work, so going to the person in charge’s office is naturally to discuss work.” Fu Ze put on a matter-of-fact attitude. “As for the work itself, I have nothing to say. If you two are interested in the details, you can come to me with an investigation warrant, and I will certainly tell you everything I know.”
However, his knowledge was very limited.
*
In Fu Ze's memory, someone did indeed deliver a message to him that morning, saying that a special guest would be visiting him later that evening.
At the time, Fu Ze was busy mediating a dispute between two important guests, so he just gave a perfunctory reply.
By the time he managed to extricate himself, the messenger had vanished without a trace, so he couldn't learn much more. He could only keep the matter in mind and treat it as a minor side issue in his work.
With that reminder in mind, he welcomed the person in without any hesitation when the doorbell rang in his office, and even made them a cup of tea according to standard hospitality.
The so-called "exchange" was nothing more than Fu Ze asking the minor internet celebrity's name while pouring her tea.
Although Fu Ze couldn't quite remember the little internet celebrity's name at this point, he still had a vague impression of it; the name sounded antique and quite pleasant.
Fu Ze originally planned to take the opportunity to compliment the other party to build rapport before formally inquiring about the purpose of their visit.
But in the blink of an eye, he felt a sharp pain in his side.
Looking down, he saw a short knife deeply embedded in his body, with drops of red blood flowing down its gleaming blade.
Well, how can it not be considered that I answered his question first?
When Fu Ze looked up again, the little internet celebrity had already disappeared.
Although he was somewhat confused, having died many times, he was already used to being entangled in the messes of various bodies.
Since things have come to this, let's deal with the crime scene first.
*
After quickly recalling the events, Fu Ze immediately refocused his attention on dealing with Yuan Jianxing's next move.
Unexpectedly, Hara Kensei did not immediately ask him any follow-up questions.
Oh dear, is there really no other way? Even the former chief is nothing special.
Yuan Jianxing was indeed slightly surprised at this moment.
However, he was not surprised by the content of the answer he heard, but by the behavior of the person in front of him.
On the way to arrest the person, Yuan Jianxing, as usual, retrieved the other party's relevant resume from the adjudication bureau's system in advance.
Although this may sound somewhat harsh, after reading the whole thing, Yuan Jianxing's assessment of this minor internet celebrity is that she is all show and no substance.
It goes without saying that she is beautiful on the outside, and even Yuan Jianxing had to admit that this little internet celebrity was indeed quite pretty.
As for the fact that it's rotten inside... there are too many specific examples to list, so let's not go into them.
However, this is where the contradiction lies.
The person standing before Yuan Jianxing now, engaging in verbal sparring with him with audacity bordering on recklessness, is completely different from the "all show and no substance" Yuan Jianxing knew from the documents.
Is this... reasonable?
It's clearly unreasonable.
Throughout his career as an executive officer, Yuan Jianxing had dealt with countless cunning and treacherous suspects and heinous criminals.
Among them are also those who are good at disguising and hiding their emotions.
Even so, their life trajectories remain self-consistent, containing the books they've read, the roads they've traveled, and the people they've loved and hated.
Unless someone has experienced a life-or-death or other major upheaval, Yuan Jianxing would find it hard to believe that a person could undergo such a dramatic change.
Despite his many doubts, Yuan Jianxing showed no sign of abnormality on his face, and continued to ask, "Since it was just an exchange job, why did you act so strangely when you left?"
His wording here is quite exquisite.
"Abnormal" is a completely neutral term, unlike "weird" or "guilty," which may indirectly reveal a person's attitude.
"Because we had some disagreements." Fu Ze answered quite frankly, even with a hint of heartfelt sincerity, seemingly unaware of the potential dangers that the word "disagreement" might pose in this situation.
As expected, Mu Wangzhuo immediately stepped in to ask Yuan Jianxing, "What is the disagreement?"
“As I said before, this involves confidential work information. Please ask me again after you have obtained the investigation warrant.” Fu Ze put a finger to his lips, making a helpless expression. Then he added, “But I can say for sure that the reason I went to so much trouble to be here is related to this disagreement.”
As if he had anticipated the direction of Yuan Jianxing's next question, he took the initiative to answer: "Although the situations are not exactly the same, I believe that you two should be able to understand my 'abnormal' behavior of avoiding trouble after having a disagreement with someone in the industry who has the final say and can even determine your career."
At this point, Fu Ze used one truthful statement after another to surround Yuan Jianxing with a fact that he had completely fabricated and was completely contrary to the truth.
Now is the time to close the net and strike back!
"Let's return to the initial question." Fu Ze crossed his arms in front of him, speaking in the most eccentric manner with an extremely respectful posture. "Just now, the former chief asked me why I killed someone, and even said that the answers I uncovered were the most profound. But now that the memory is over, I still don't know who I killed. Does the former chief have any clues?"
“I am still asking you, not you asking me.” Yuan Jianxing once again suppressed Fu Ze’s resistance and planned to make a move that was somewhat illogical in his understanding, but absolutely enough to make him the general.
Watching Yuan Jianxing's slightly heaving chest and the collar chain swaying slightly with his movements, Fu Ze pressed the tip of his tongue against his palate and licked it repeatedly.
He suddenly became a little nervous.
What did Yuan Jianxing want to ask?
Having asked so many questions, what else could he possibly ask?
What if he actually asks about this minor internet celebrity's personal information and recent activities? Wouldn't that expose me?
Damn it, why is this guy so difficult to deal with?!
Yuan Jianxing, of course, did not miss the fleeting anxiety that crossed Fu Ze's composed expression.
The corners of his mouth, which were almost pressed into a straight line, turned upwards in a curve that was not easily noticed by ordinary people.
Finally, they caught them.
However, just as the air between the two became heavy, as if a final battle was about to erupt, the third person in the room couldn't stand it any longer.
Mu Wangzhuo didn't know if Yuan Jianxing had any clues. He only knew that if he wanted to continue working in the adjudication bureau, he absolutely couldn't let Yuan Jianxing continue to get entangled in this insignificant case.
Although he couldn't stop Hara Kensei, surely there's someone in V City who can stop him.
Being able to call in the right help at the right time and in the right way is the ultimate skill for professionals.
Just a second before Yuan Jianxing asked Fu Ze his final, crucial question, "Who are you now?", Mu Wangzhuo's phone rang urgently in his pocket, forcefully interrupting Yuan Jianxing's interrogation.
Pretending that something had happened suddenly, Mu Wangzhuo hurriedly took out his phone, and after seeing the caller's name, he handed the phone to Yuan Jianxing.
"It's for you."
He shrugged helplessly and without a hint of remorse.
A note from the author:
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[Pity] I'm begging for comments and feedback from readers. This is really important to a struggling author like me.
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