Chapter 11: The Mystery of the Golden Coast
The corridor of the "Golden Coast" KTV was carpeted with thick, dark red carpet, and stepping on it felt like sinking into a sound-absorbing swamp. The muffled thud of the foreman's high heels blended with the faint sound of singing from a distant private room, creating the venue's unique rhythm. "Officers, please this way," the foreman turned and smiled professionally, his crimson lips glaring in the darkness. The doors of the private rooms on either side of the corridor occasionally opened, leaking out bursts of distorted singing and unbridled laughter. A drunken middle-aged man stumbled out, nearly colliding head-on with Yu Hao. His shirt collar was wide open, lipstick marks still etched on his neck, and the pungent smell of alcohol lingered in Yu Hao's face. "Sorry..." the drunk mumbled vaguely. The moment he looked up and saw the police badge, his drunkenness seemed to have mostly sobered up, and he hurriedly slipped away, clinging to the wall. Yu Hao's eyes scanned every crack in the open door, his heartbeat accelerating. He was terrified of catching sight of that familiar figure in one of the private rooms. This thought was like a fine needle, silently piercing his heart. "Captain Yu?" Zhang Min's voice brought him back to reality. "You don't look well, are you okay?" "It's okay." Yu Hao waved his hand, his Adam's apple rolling. "The air in here is too stuffy." The foreman stopped in front of a carved double door. The three numbers "888" on the doorplate were outlined in gold powder, shining in the light. Her fingers painted with bright red nail polish knocked lightly on the door, and a vague "Come in" came from inside. Pushing open the door, he was greeted by a choking cigar smoke, mixed with the pungent smell of whiskey and cheap perfume. The box was half the size of a basketball court. The crystal chandelier in the center illuminated the room as bright as day, but it could not dispel the shadows accumulated in the corners. Wang Kun sank into the leather sofa in the middle, like a limp hippopotamus. Three middle-aged men with flabby faces were hugging young women in sequined miniskirts. One of them was pouring wine into his companion's mouth, the liquid dripping down her chin onto the thin fabric of her clothing. In the center of the stage, a woman in a high-slit cheongsam was singing "Sweet Honey." Her voice was cloyingly sweet, forming an eerie contrast with the masculine atmosphere in the private room. "Is this the kind of environment Luo Xin sings in?" This thought flashed through Yu Hao's mind, but his expression remained stern. Lu Chao flashed his ID, his police badge gleaming coldly in the light. "Criminal Police Team." Wang Kun raised his eyelids lazily, his gaze lingering on Yu Hao's face for two seconds before gliding to Lu Chao, Zhang Min, and several other criminal police officers behind him.
The corridors of the "Golden Coast" KTV are covered with thick dark red carpets, which make stepping on them feel like sinking into a sound-absorbing swamp.
The dull thud of the foreman's high heels hitting the carpet, interwoven with the faint singing coming from a distant box, formed the unique rhythm of this place.
"Officers, please come this way." The foreman turned around and smiled professionally, his blood-red lips particularly glaring in the dark.
The doors of the boxes on both sides of the corridor occasionally opened, revealing bursts of distorted singing and wild laughter.
A drunken middle-aged man stumbled out and almost collided head-on with Yu Hao.
The man's shirt collar was wide open, with lipstick marks on his neck, and the turbid smell of alcohol sprayed on Yu Hao's face.
"Sorry..." the drunk mumbled vaguely. The moment he looked up and saw the police badge clearly, he seemed to sober up a lot and hurriedly slipped away along the wall.
Yu Hao's eyes swept across every open door, his heartbeat accelerating unconsciously. He was afraid of seeing that familiar figure in one of the private rooms.
This thought was like a thin needle, silently piercing his heart.
"Captain Yu?" Zhang Min's voice brought him back to reality. "You don't look well. Are you okay?"
"It's okay." Yu Hao waved his hands, his Adam's apple rolling, "The air here is too stuffy."
The foreman stopped in front of a pair of carved double doors. The three numbers "888" on the doorplate were outlined in gold powder and gleamed in the light.
She knocked lightly on the door with her fingers painted with bright red nail polish, and a vague "Come in" came from inside.
When I opened the door, I was hit by the choking smell of cigar smoke mixed with the pungent smell of whiskey and cheap perfume.
The box was as big as half a basketball court. The crystal chandelier in the center illuminated the room like daylight, but it could not dispel the shadows accumulated in the corners.
Wang Kun sank into the leather sofa in the middle, like a limp hippopotamus.
Three middle-aged men with fat faces were hugging young girls in sequined miniskirts. One of them was pouring wine into her mouth, and the wine dripped down the girl's chin onto her thin clothes.
In the center of the stage, a woman in a high-slit cheongsam was singing "Sweet Honey". Her voice was so sweet that it was sickening, forming a strange contrast with the male hormones that filled the box.
"Is this the kind of environment Luo Xin sings in?" This thought flashed through Yu Hao's mind, but his face remained stern.
Lu Chao showed his ID, his police badge gleaming coldly under the light. "Criminal Investigation Team."
Wang Kun raised his eyelids lazily, his gaze lingering on Yu Hao's face for two seconds, then slid to Lu Chao, Zhang Min and several criminal police officers behind him.
He slowly patted the girl's butt next to him, motioning her to go out first, and the girls filed out.
"What can I do for you, officers?" Wang Kun put out his cigar in the crystal ashtray. The ashtray was already filled with four or five cigar butts, like a miniature cemetery.
"About Wang Shun." Yu Hao looked straight into his eyes.
"Wang Shun?" Wang Kun's brows furrowed, and deep furrows formed on his face. "Isn't that guy dead?"
He picked up a piece of ice from the ice bucket on the coffee table and dropped it into the whiskey glass. The sound of the ice hitting the wall of the glass was crisp and harsh.
Lu Chao stepped forward and asked, "Did you know he was dead?"
"I saw it on the news." Wang Kun shrugged and took a sip of wine. "Why, his death has anything to do with me?" His tone was so relaxed, as if he was discussing today's weather, not a human life.
Yu Hao didn't answer immediately, but instead looked around the room. There were a few empty bottles piled in the corner, fruit plates and snacks scattered on the coffee table, and a few wads of cash peeking out of an open briefcase.
His gaze finally fell back on Wang Kun's face. "I heard that Wang Shun received a bonus of 50,000 yuan while working at your company?"
"Fifty thousand?" Wang Kun was stunned, then suddenly laughed out loud. "I'm giving him fifty thousand?" He turned to his younger brother, as if seeking approval. "Listen, I'm giving a migrant worker a fifty thousand bonus?"
The younger brothers laughed in unison, and the gold chain bounced on their fat necks.
Wang Kun picked up the wine glass and took a sip, the ice cubes crunching between his teeth: "That kid can't do anything except flattering, five hundred yuan is too much for me to give him." Facing Hao and the others, his eyes did not dodge at all, only naked disdain and ridicule.
Yu Hao carefully observed his micro-expressions—the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, the curve of his mouth, the tremor of his eyebrows. If this was a lie, this person's acting was perfect.
"He often accompanies you here to spend money?" Zhang Min suddenly interrupted, her voice particularly clear amidst the noisy background noise.
Wang Kun's gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds, and he suddenly grinned, revealing a row of smoke-yellow teeth: "Little girl, don't say that."
He swirled his glass. "I'm here to discuss business. Bringing employees? Wouldn't that count as spending public funds?"
"I heard from others that you are very familiar with him." Lu Chao took a step forward, looking straight at him, his leather shoes making crisp sounds as they stepped hard on the marble floor.
Wang Kun's expression froze for a moment, then he regained his composure. "Excuse me, who told you that?"
Lu Chao sneered: "Why? Your own employees can't guess?"
The air in the box suddenly froze. Wang Kun snorted softly, ignoring Lu Chao. He leaned back slightly, closed his eyes, and acted extremely arrogant.
"Turn off the music." Yu Hao's voice was quiet, but it cut through the noise like a knife. Someone moved in the corner, and the singing stopped abruptly.
Wang Kun suddenly opened his eyes and met Yu Hao's cold gaze. At that moment, the flesh on his face trembled unconsciously.
"What? Are you trying to show off to us taxpayers?" Wang Kun forced himself to remain calm and picked up a cigar from the table and put it in his mouth.
The younger brother next to him quickly lit a lighter and before the flame touched the cigar, Lu Chao pulled the cigar out of Wang Kun's mouth, threw it on the ground and crushed it with the toe of his shoe.
Dark brown tobacco shreds were scattered on the carpet like dried blood. The atmosphere in the private room was freezing cold. The younger brothers around Wang Kun were stunned by the scene and dared not move.
"We really are showing off our power." Lu Chao leaned over, his face almost touching the tip of Wang Kun's nose, with disdain in his eyes. His right hand reached inside his coat, as if holding something cold.
Yu Hao's eyes swept over each of them at the same time, finally landing on Wang Kun's face: "I don't mind inviting you to the Criminal Police Brigade to have a chat?"
After a long ten-second silence, Wang Kun raised his hands in a surrender gesture. "Alright, alright." His voice suddenly dropped, like a deflated ball. "The government is still powerful."
"I ask, you answer." Yu Hao's voice was eerily calm. "Did you hear that clearly?"
Wang Kun nodded unconvinced.
"Answer, yes or no?"
"Okay..." Wang Kun's shoulders slumped and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
The ensuing Q&A unfolded like a meticulously choreographed drama. Wang Kun emphatically denied the 50,000 yuan bonus; he denied knowing anything about Wang Shun's work situation; and he only remembered their last meeting, only after his younger brother reminded him, was it here the night before the murder.
"Did he say anything? Or does he have a grudge against anyone?" Lu Chao asked.
Wang Kun shook his head, the fat on his face swaying. "He's full of nonsense, there's no truth in his words." He paused, then suddenly lowered his voice, "But..."
Yu Hao raised an eyebrow: "But what?"
"That guy seemed to have made a fortune before he died." Wang Kun's eyes narrowed into slits. "He treated several of his friends to drinks and boasted that he was going to take his wife on a trip to Hainan."
Yu Hao asked calmly, "Where did he get the money?"
"No." Wang Kun spread his hands. "We just thought he was bragging again."
Yu Hao sneered inwardly. This was simply admitting guilt without being asked. It was a typical case of trying to cover up one's own guilt.
As the interrogation drew to a close, Wang Kun suddenly asked, "Officer, let me ask you something. Did Wang Shun say that he had paid 50,000 yuan himself?"
Yu Hao didn't answer and walked straight to the door. Lu Chao patted Wang Kun's shoulder provocatively, glared at him, and followed Yu Hao.
*
“It’s simply lawless.”
Watching the other party leave, Wang Kun shouted angrily, and his younger brothers stood on both sides without saying a word.
He stood up, drove everyone out, and immediately made a phone call, his voice very low:
"The police have been here. Regarding that fifty thousand... yes, that sum... find out who leaked the news..."
*
The air in the corridor seemed fresher.
Lu Chao muttered, "This guy deserves to be punished. He even dares to confront the police."
Yu Hao took a deep breath and was about to speak when he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure at the end of the corridor.
At first, Yu Hao just felt that the man looked familiar and did not remember his name, but when the man turned his head and scratched his head, he remembered.
Liu Feng, Zhang Li's husband.
At the wedding, Liu Feng scratched his head like this when he was nervous.
At this time, he was wearing a neat suit, and the "Lobby Manager" nameplate on his chest was shining.
"Know him?" Zhang Min keenly noticed his abnormality.
"I've met him before." Yu Hao answered briefly. Looking at Liu Feng, he suddenly remembered that when he arrived at the crime scene, the person standing next to Uncle Zhang was him.
Yes, that’s right. I remember Uncle Liu said that he was going to pick up his daughter and son-in-law at 5:40 on the day of the incident.
Lu Chao followed his gaze and asked, "What a coincidence? Should I go say hello?"
"Forget it." Yu Hao shook his head, "He may not know me."
Liu Feng was chatting with someone and didn't notice Yu Hao staring at him.
With a "ding" sound, the elevator door opened, "Let's go."
They walked into the elevator. Yu Hao felt relieved, as he didn't run into Luo Xin here.
When we walked out of the KTV, the evening was getting darker and snow was falling from the sky again.
"It's snowing for so long that the snow is almost up to our ankles." Lu Chao complained.
Yu Hao's eyes also showed a bit of fatigue. He raised his head, and a few snowflakes fell on his face and slowly melted away. "How are the other groups progressing?"
"Captain Yu, I was just about to report to you." Zhang Min took out his notes.
The three of them entered the same police car, while the others entered the rear one. Zhang Min reported, "There's no new progress regarding the missing evidence at the scene, but we've already found a result regarding the hair we found there."
"How about it?"
"That's a wig."
"A wig?" Lu Chao shouted. "A woman wearing a wig?"
"It should be." Zhang Min pursed her lips.
Yu Hao was also a little disappointed, as he had thought that he could identify a key suspect through DNA.
Just as the three of them were silent, Yu Hao's cell phone rang and the screen showed that it was a call from "Luo Xin".
He picked up the phone and heard a rapid, crying voice.
"Xiaoxue fainted! We're in the alley at the east entrance of the village and can't get a taxi..."
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