Chapter 106
It's one thing to think about, but how to bring it up is a big problem.
Luo Jingyao followed the two of them out of the elevator with her head hung, wondering in her heart what the chances would be of being rejected by Lin Jiafan if she expressed her intentions directly.
At this moment, Pang Guang, who was still fiddling with his mobile phone in front, just walked out of the building door when he suddenly stumbled and fell uncontrollably.
Although there were only three steps, the young man's knees gave way and he turned into a reptile. After crawling a few meters on the ground using his hands and feet, he finally fell straight onto the grass by the roadside.
The pain was not that much. Pang Guangyang lay there blinking, looking at the deep night sky above his head, feeling a little dazed.
The whole thing happened so quickly that Lin Jiafan and Luo Jingyao didn't have time to react. They watched helplessly as the tall and slender figure completely accepted his fate after a struggle.
His upper body fell into the bushes, but his long legs were lying across the path.
"Hello?! Is anyone there? Please help me!" After a few seconds, seeing that the two did not seem to have any intention of coming forward to help, the young man helplessly shouted twice.
Soon, two faces with different expressions appeared above, looking down at him condescendingly.
Luo Jingyao seemed to be trying to suppress her laughter, but she also wanted to show some sympathy, so her expression was somewhat complicated.
Lin Jiafan, on the other hand, looked somewhat meaningful.
"Officer Pang." In the end, Luo Jingyao was the first to bend down, grab the young man's arm forcefully, and use a little effort to lift him up.
"It's better not to use your phone while walking next time. I fell in the grass this time. What if I get disfigured when I get stuck?"
"..." Pang Guang smiled awkwardly when he heard that, but his eyes looked around suspiciously on the steps in front of the unit door twice, unable to figure out how he fell.
He had clearly caught a glimpse of the stairs ahead from the corner of his eye. This didn't make sense...
"How are you?"
Luo Jingyao's concerned greeting came to my ears.
The young man came to his senses and stood up tentatively, but leaned back on her the next second: "I was scared... I was scared. I feel a little weak now."
My hands and feet are cold and my back is covered in sweat. It is normal for people to have such reactions after being extremely frightened.
Barely suppressing the smug joy that rose in her heart, Luo Jingyao raised her eyes and suggested seriously, "Officer Lin's left arm probably still has little strength left. Can I take you back?"
"Wow! Thank you, Coach Luo." Pang Guang agreed without hesitation.
In response, Lin Jiafan just curled the corners of his lips slightly, then turned around and walked in front.
In just a few minutes, Luo Jingyao helped the young man out of the community and back to the police car parked on the side of the road.
Lin Jiafan sat in the driver's seat without saying a word. Pang Guang was about to say goodbye when he was thrown into the back seat without any preparation.
"No..." The young man's brain short-circuited. He turned his head to look at Luo Jingyao who was sitting next to him with a nonchalant look on her face, and he couldn't help but start to doubt his life.
But just as he was about to open his mouth to ask something, Lin Jiafan in front of him suddenly spoke up: "How's the list of staff at Jiangcheng Spicy Stir-fry Restaurant that I just asked you to check going?"
"We have results. According to the information registered on the intranet system, the owner of the spicy stir-fry restaurant is surnamed Hou, Hou Anguo, and is 41 years old."
Pang Guang's already sluggish attention was immediately drawn to the scene. He continued scrolling through his phone while reporting, "There are a total of 23 employees on record at Jiangcheng Spicy Stir-fry Restaurant, but some of them may have left long ago. The exact employee list still needs further verification."
"Hou Anguo is currently single, and his parents and relatives are not in Jinshi. We found out he has an ex-wife in this city, and we've already contacted her. She has also agreed to come and cooperate with the identification of the body."
"Brother Guo said that three bodies were found at the scene: one male and two females. Aside from the male victim, who was initially identified as the shop owner based on the body's characteristics, the identities of the remaining two victims can only be confirmed after DNA comparison results are released."
"Of course, the three people I just mentioned do not include that hand of unknown origin."
He mumbled something incoherent, and when he looked up he was surprised to find that the police car had returned to the vicinity of the stir-fry restaurant without him noticing.
In response to the young man's long speech, Lin Jiafan just said "hmm" and reached out to turn off the police car, then opened the door and walked out.
Pang Guang naturally got out of the car as well.
In a corner where no one was paying attention, Luo Jingyao quietly closed the car door and walked lightly to the ruined street.
Only by being there can one fully appreciate how cruel natural and man-made disasters are. At this moment, it is no exaggeration to say that everything in front of her is devastated.
The Jiangcheng Spicy Stir-fry Restaurant was located in a commercial area outside a residential complex. It was a three-story building, but now it was completely destroyed on all sides, with only the load-bearing walls and a few steel bars left holding it up.
Occasionally, a few wisps of black smoke came out of the dark store, and from time to time, there was a flash of light at the scene, which was the night vision light worn on the firefighter's hat.
Not to mention the businesses right next to it. Although they were only affected, the situation was not much better than the stir-fry restaurant. Fortunately, the explosion occurred relatively early, and some stores did not open at all.
Even though the door was open, the people inside reacted quickly and ran out when the first explosion occurred, so they were only injured and their lives were not in danger.
The residents around here also suffered. The best case scenario was that their windows were shattered, and the worst...
Luo Jingyao's sight fell on the residential building directly behind the spicy stir-fry restaurant. The side of the building had been partially damaged and looked very serious.
As for the glass fragments and cement blocks all over the ground nearby, it is impossible to tell which building they came from. It is simply you in me and me in you.
Only later did Luo Jingyao realize that there was a second cordon near the crime scene.
Probably to prevent nearby residents from entering and leaving at will and destroying the scene, it was already late at night and there were still many people craning their necks outside the cordon to watch the excitement. She felt that the police's decision was very wise.
At this time, a man in a fireproof suit lifted the cordon and walked straight to Lin Jiafan: "Captain Lin, after analyzing the scene, we have a preliminary conclusion on the cause of the explosion."
Lin Jiafan pretended to listen attentively.
"By tracing the point of fire, we found that the kitchen staff failed to close the valve of one of the gas tanks before leaving the night before. In addition, the gas tank was too old and had long exceeded its legal use period, so it caused a gas leak." The man held up the tablet computer in his hand and explained with the simulation animation they had just made.
"Perhaps after the store opened, the people inside failed to discover and ventilate the store in time, and unknowingly ignited the open flame, which caused the damaged gas tank to explode for the first time."
"A few seconds later, several gas tanks closest to the first explosion exploded a second time, and then a third time."
After pondering for a while, Lin Jiafan withdrew his gaze from the animation demonstration: "So for now, we still can't rule out the possibility that someone deliberately caused the fire."
The man raised an eyebrow but did not deny it.
The aging of the gas tank is indeed a good fig leaf that can cover up a lot of calculations, such as whether the unclosed valve was unintentional or intentional.
"So Captain Lin, I'll have to take care of the follow-up investigation. After all, when it comes to understanding people's hearts, who can be more professional than your special case investigation team?" The other party bumped Lin Jiafan's shoulder with a smile.
Lin Jiafan glanced at his right shoulder, which was immediately covered with dust, with a bit of disgust, but he didn't reach out to brush it off. In this environment, everyone was covered in dust from head to toe, and he really didn't have the energy to care about so many things.
Therefore, he just lazily replied: "Section Chief Fang is too modest. When it comes to the professional level of bombing cases, you are the best."
After saying that, Lin Jiafan noticed the petite figure of the dog that had been sneaking around since he got off the car, and subconsciously asked, "Coach Luo?"
Luo Jingyao, who had wanted to take the opportunity to blend into the crowd to find out some gossip, suddenly froze. She turned reluctantly to face the two of them, and politely raised a fake smile.
"Let me introduce you. This is Section Chief Fang from the Fire Department of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. He's primarily responsible for the comprehensive investigation of this explosion." Lin Jiafan paused briefly, but quickly resumed, "This is Coach Luo, our team's special advisor."
Section Chief Fang extended his hand enthusiastically, his face full of understanding. "I've heard of it, I've heard of it. Captain Lin even argued with the bureau's Party committee meeting to get you special consultant funding!"
"Hello, Section Chief Fang." Luo Jingyao shook the other person's hand through a layer of fire-resistant clothing, and glanced at the expressionless man beside her with some surprise.
"Coach Luo, please don't be polite with me. Although the explosion case belongs to our department and the hand belongs to Captain Lin and his team, if you find any clues or something amiss during this process, you must tell me!"
As he spoke, Section Chief Fang also put his other hand up and shook it up and down vigorously a few times, his tone full of anticipation.
Faced with this enthusiasm, Luo Jingyao was a little embarrassed at first, but as her thoughts turned, other calculations arose in her mind.
The fake smile on her face became more genuine. After retracting her right hand, she casually asked, "I just happened to have a professional question for you, Section Chief Fang. Why is the wall of the building directly behind the spicy stir-fry restaurant so badly damaged?"
"You're talking about that building! When the first explosion occurred, the kitchen glass of the household at the very end of the second floor of that building was shattered. As a result, the remaining fire from the second explosion rushed into the house and triggered a gas explosion in that household. The serious damage to the building was purely caused by secondary damage." Section Chief Fang said with a relieved expression.
"Luckily it was during working hours and there were hardly any people at home in the building, otherwise the consequences would have been disastrous."
No wonder we have to check gas safety door to door now, it turns out there is such a secret behind it.
Luo Jingyao thought about it, and quietly moved closer to Lin Jiafan. She asked softly with her lips moving slightly, "Have you checked everything in that building?"
Lin Jiafan lowered his eyes and stared at her smooth forehead, then squeezed out a "hmm" in response. He then added, "The fire department went in immediately to check and brought out several injured residents. No one was found dead."
"So we only checked the obvious ones." Luo Jingyao had something to say.
After frowning for a while, Lin Jiafan seemed to understand the hidden meaning. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the residential building behind the stir-fry restaurant, his black eyes narrowed, as if thinking about something.
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