Chapter 57 Interrogation (1)
The interrogation room's lights were blindingly pale, like cold scalpels hanging overhead, slicing Sun Yong's face into a crisscross of light and dark. He tilted his head, his chin resting on his stubbled neck, his gaze fixed on the seams of the floor tiles, as if some profound secret lay hidden there. For four hours, since his arrest, he had remained in this position, a silent stone statue, only the occasional clatter of the handcuffs around his wrists, breaking the stifling silence. Yu Hao sat across from him, his fingertips tapping softly on the tabletop. The interrogation table was made of a cold, hard synthetic material, its edges polished to a shine, reflecting the bloodshot bloodshot in his eyes. Lu Chao sat beside him, his dark blue notebook open, the tip of his pen hovering above the page, his sharp gaze capturing every nuance of Sun Yong's expression. "Sun Yong." Yu Hao's voice finally broke the silence. It wasn't loud, but it stirred ripples like a stone dropped into a deep pool. "Why did you kill Liu Bing on the night of the Lantern Festival?" Sun Yong's shoulders trembled slightly, like a dry leaf blown by the wind, but soon returned to their rigidity. He didn't look up, but his Adam's apple rolled silently. "Do you think that killing him can cover up the fact that you killed Wang Shun and Guo Zhong?" Yu Hao said, his tone as calm as a pool of deep water, yet carrying an unquestionable power. These words were like a key tempered by ice, instantly piercing Sun Yong's tense nerves. He suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot like spiderwebs, staring at Yu Hao, his mouth twisted into a twisted arc: "I don't know what you're talking about." Yu Hao looked at him, his eyes as calm as water. After a moment, he stood up and walked around to Sun Yong, looking down at the man huddled in his chair. He said slowly, "Don't worry, let's talk slowly. Let's start with the story of you stabbing Liu Bing. We arrested you at the scene, so you wouldn't deny even that, would you?" Sun Yong's Adam's apple moved again, his cracked lips trembling. He suddenly raised his handcuffed hands and said, "Can I have a cigarette?" His voice was hoarse and a hint of fatigue. "Give it to him." Yu Hao gestured toward the door. The young officer standing by pulled a Hongtashan cigarette from his pocket, walked over to Sun Yong, carefully placed it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter. The flames shot up, illuminating the complex emotions that flashed across Sun Yong's eyes—relief, despair, and a subtle sense of relief. Keeping cigarettes handy in the interrogation room is almost an unwritten tradition. Whenever the interrogation reached a stalemate, or the suspect's psychological defenses were strained...
The lights in the interrogation room were pale and dazzling, like cold scalpels hanging overhead, cutting Sun Yong's face into fragments of light and dark.
He tilted his head, his chin resting on his stubbled neck, his eyes fixed on the seams between the floor tiles, as if some huge secret was hidden there.
It has been four hours, from the time he was arrested until now, he has always maintained this posture, like a silent stone statue. Only the handcuffs on his wrists occasionally make a "clattering" sound due to slight movements, breaking the suffocating silence.
Yu Hao sat across from him, his fingertips tapping gently on the tabletop. The interrogation table was made of a cold, hard synthetic material, its edges polished to a shine, reflecting the bloodshot under his eyes.
Lu Chao sat next to him, his dark blue notebook spread out, the tip of his pen hovering above the paper, his sharp eyes locked onto every subtle expression of Sun Yong.
"Sun Yong." Yu Hao's voice finally broke the silence. It wasn't loud, but it stirred up ripples like a stone thrown into a deep pool. "Why did you kill Liu Bing on the night of the Lantern Festival?"
Sun Yong's shoulders trembled slightly, like dry leaves blown by the wind, but soon returned to their normal state. He didn't look up, but his Adam's apple rolled silently.
"Do you think that by killing him, you can cover up the fact that you killed Wang Shun and Guo Zhong?" Yu Hao said, his tone as calm as a pool of deep water, but with unquestionable power.
This sentence was like an icy key, instantly piercing Sun Yong's tense nerves.
He suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot like spider webs, staring at Yu Hao, and a twisted arc appeared at the corner of his mouth: "I don't know what you are talking about."
Yu Hao looked at him, his gaze as calm as water. After a moment, he stood up and walked around to Sun Yong, looking down at the man curled up in the chair. He said slowly, "Don't worry, we'll talk slowly. Let's start with you killing Liu Bing with a knife. We arrested you at the scene, so you can't deny even that, right?"
Sun Yong's Adam's apple moved again, his cracked lips trembled, and he suddenly raised his handcuffed hands: "Can I have a cigarette?" His voice was hoarse and a little tired.
"Give it to him." Yu Hao gestured towards the door.
The young police officer standing at the door took out a Hongtashan cigarette from his pocket, walked up to Sun Yong, carefully put it into his mouth, and lit it with a lighter.
The flames shot up, illuminating the complex emotions that flashed across Sun Yong's eyes - relief, despair, and a barely perceptible sense of relief.
It is almost an unwritten tradition to have cigarettes in the interrogation room. Whenever the interrogation reaches a stalemate or the suspect's psychological defenses are about to collapse, a cigarette can often play an unexpected role.
The brief numbness brought on by nicotine can sometimes pry open a tightly closed mouth better than any interrogation technique.
Sun Yong took a deep breath, and the smoke instantly filled his lungs, then slowly escaped from his nose and the corners of his mouth, weaving a hazy net around him. He closed his eyes, and the muscles on his face relaxed a little, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Can you tell me now?" Yu Hao leaned on the interrogation table, his eyes falling on Sun Yong's calloused hands - those were a pair of hands that had been holding spatulas and lifting heavy objects for years, with thick knuckles and a dark scar at the base of the thumb.
Sun Yong's lips trembled, and suddenly he let out a low laugh, like the sound of an old bellows: "Liu Bing deserves to die."
"Why?" Yu Hao asked, his tone calm.
"No reason," Sun Yong blew out a smoke ring, and the smoke dispersed in front of his eyes, "I just don't like him. He gossips about other people all day long, like a buzzing fly."
His expression seemed to relax in an instant, but there was a hint of determination in his eyes, as if he had finally made a difficult decision in his heart.
Yu Hao smiled, a smile that carried the all-knowing understanding in his eyes. "It doesn't matter if you don't tell us. We'll get to the bottom of it. Since we've set up surveillance in advance, we naturally have some idea of what you did." He then glanced at Lu Chao. Lu Chao understood and immediately flipped open the attachments at the back of the notebook, pushing a stack of photos and documents towards Sun Yong. "This is the footprint comparison report from the Guo Zhong crime scene. The stride, depth, and point of impact all perfectly match your features. This is a surveillance screenshot of you entering and leaving Guo Zhong's residential complex, just half an hour before he was murdered. And this—" He pulled out a fingerprint comparison chart. "The blurred fingerprints found at Guo Zhong's home, after technical processing, have a 78% overlap rate with yours."
Sun Yong's eyes quickly swept over the documents. Yu Hao noticed that his cheek twitched unconsciously, and the fingers holding the cigarette began to tremble slightly, and the ashes fell on the iron chain.
"How is it? Can you tell me now?" Yu Hao's voice carried just the right amount of pressure.
"Actually," Sun Yong flicked the ash off his cigarette. The butt had burned the filter, and the heat made him suddenly let go of his hand. "Except for the attempted murder of Liu Bing, you can sue me. As for the Wang Shun and Guo Zhong cases, you have no direct evidence." He shook his head, with a hint of resistance in his tone.
"Another one?" Yu Hao asked without any hurry, his tone as calm as if he was asking "Have you eaten?"
"No need." Sun Yong closed his eyes.
"Since you still don't want to talk about it, let me show you some more pictures." Yu Hao took out his cell phone, opened a folder, and turned the screen to face Sun Yong.
The pictures flipped through, showing screenshots of Sun Yong and Luo Xin appearing in various locations—Luo Xin on her way home from work, at the neighborhood market, even outside a karaoke bar. In each shot, Sun Yong remained at a distance, like a silent guardian.
Yu Hao flipped through a few pages seemingly at random, his gaze finally landing on Sun Yong's calloused hands. He asked softly, "Does Luo Xin know what you've done for her?"
When Luo Xin's name was mentioned, Sun Yong's eyes suddenly softened, and his originally tense jawline also became soft.
But just for a second, he raised his head again, a trace of vigilance flashing in his eyes: "What does it have to do with her?"
"I know more about Luo Xin's affairs than you do." Yu Hao looked at him, his eyes filled with complex emotions, melancholy and heartache. "But I want to know what kind of mentality you have to do such a thing."
"What's going on?" Sun Yong suddenly laughed, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Captain Yu, I suddenly feel like something's missing from you."
"What do you mean?" Yu Hao looked at him with no expression on his face, but the tapping of his fingertips stopped.
"Do you love Luo Xin?" Sun Yong met Yu Hao's gaze without any retreat. His eyes were like two sharp swords, piercing the other's heart.
"This has nothing to do with you." Yu Hao's voice turned cold.
"It doesn't matter," Sun Yong nodded, his tone full of the certainty of someone who knows everything. "It's precisely because it doesn't matter that you don't understand what one person can do for another."
"Is this your reason for killing people?" Yu Hao's voice finally carried a barely perceptible hint of anger.
"I know, at this point, there's no point in denying it any further." Sun Yong took a deep breath, as if finally dropping all his disguise. "That's right, I killed Wang Shun and Guo Zhong."
Yu Hao's brows were tightly furrowed. He did not feel the joy of solving the case. Instead, he felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on his heart.
However, Lu Chao couldn't help but clench his fists. The sound of the pen tip scratching on the paper was particularly clear, almost tearing the paper.
Outside the interrogation room, Zhang Min and several police officers who were observing the interrogation process through the one-way glass had expressions of relief on their faces.
The two murders that have weighed on everyone's mind for many days are finally coming to light.
"That night, I was playing cards in the chess and card room. I went to the bathroom halfway through, but actually I was going home." Sun Yong's voice was very soft, as if he was telling someone else's story, his eyes drifting into the distance, as if he had returned to that chaotic night.
"There's a passage in the wall between my room 201 and Wang Shun's room 202. It was built by the previous tenant and is now blocked by a wardrobe. No one knows about it."
He paused, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the scratches on the handcuffs. "I've discovered that passage a long time ago. It's usually used to store miscellaneous items. I went through it that day to see if Wang Shun was home. I know he's always harassing Luo Xin. I saw him blocking her at the KTV door a few days ago, and I've been looking for a chance to warn him."
"What did you see in the end?" Yu Hao asked in a low voice.
Sun Yong's breathing suddenly became rapid, his chest heaving violently, and a trace of suppressed anger flashed in his eyes: "I saw him pinning Luo Xin to the bed... That beast!"
His voice suddenly rose, filled with endless hatred, and the handcuffs slammed against the table, making a sharp "clang" sound. "Luo Xin has been struggling, her underwear has been torn, he..."
Sun Yong couldn't continue speaking, his lips were trembling, his eyes were bloodshot, as if he was back to that night when he was so angry that he lost control.
Yu Hao's heart was in a frantic struggle, as if being gripped tightly by an invisible hand. He could imagine the scene, and every detail pierced his heart like a needle, bringing waves of sharp pain.
"So you killed him?" Lu Chao asked, his pen pausing on the notebook.
"No," Sun Yong shook his head, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. "I didn't dare go in at the time, for fear of scaring Luo Xin. I hid in the corridor, listening to the movements inside, my heart almost jumping out of my chest. I waited until Luo Xin ran out crying, and then I went in through the corridor. Wang Shun was drunk, lying on the bed snoring, his chest still heaving..." His voice deepened, with a fatalistic determination, "I had only one thought at the time: I couldn't let him hurt Luo Xin again."
According to Sun Yong's confession, he then took out a knife from under the bed - he had prepared it long ago and hid it there for several days. He originally wanted to use it to scare Wang Shun.
But that night, looking at Wang Shun's defenseless sleeping face and the glaring marks on the bed sheet, all his rationality was swallowed by anger. He walked over, raised his knife and slashed it down, his movements so fast that he didn't even react.
"He didn't even make a sound." Sun Yong stared blankly ahead, as if he could still see the scene at that time. "My mind was blank, but killing him was killing him. Killing him would solve many problems."
Having said that, a slightly evil smile appeared on Sun Yong's face.
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