Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Prison and the Leader of the Parade
The prosecutor from Upward City was assassinated in a hotel on the first day he arrived in Keya District, less than 24 hours later. If this matter were to be spread, it would definitely cause a huge public opinion storm.
I stood in a corner of the room observing the murder scene.
"Are you sure you hit the killer?" I asked.
Cassina half-knelt down, took the sterile gloves handed to her by the hotel manager and began to examine the body.
"I'm sure." Cassina answered my question.
She checked the prosecutor's temples, frowning slightly at the muzzle of a gun. "Where's the murder weapon?"
I raised my head and motioned to the soldier standing nearby to hand the weapon to her.
Kasena had been working in the military zone for many years and was proficient in handling various types of firearms. But this time, as she felt the various details and patterns on the gun, her brow furrowed even more.
After checking it, she came to me with the gun and said, "I've never seen a gun like this before."
I straightened up when I heard that. "A new type of pistol? Haven't you seen the parts?"
"No." Kasena shook her head. "The military zone handles a huge number of firearms every day, and they're all serially numbered. Even modified pistols, I can come across over a dozen types in a single day."
"This pistol doesn't look like it was produced on an assembly line; it looks like it was hand-polished."
As she spoke, she began to disassemble the pistol right in front of me, laying each part out on the table and explaining it to me. "Look, there are obvious marks of polishing on it. With machine-polished parts, you can't see those marks with the naked eye."
"Because the various parts are crudely processed, the probability of the pistol successfully firing a bullet is less than 30%, and the range is only less than one meter."
"With such a crude pistol, there's only one way to kill someone in such a short time."
I raised my eyes and met Catherine's gaze directly. "It was committed by an acquaintance."
Only those who are familiar enough with it can allow it to approach without any vigilance, and then be shot to death at the temple.
"So the prosecutor and the murderer knew each other before today." My breathing slowed down. "Who could it be?"
Friends? Lovers? Family? Or political allies?
In either case, killing someone at such a critical juncture would have a huge impact, thus hindering my and Cassina's actions to capture the rebels.
"The rebels." said Cassina.
I just remembered that Cassina's lines today were completely off the charts. Seeing her so confident, I curiously tilted my head towards her. "So confident? What if it's a vendetta? Or the organizers of the march? At this critical moment, anyone could be the murderer."
Cassina closed her lips, and her expressionless face showed an indescribable displeasure, as if she was holding back a little bit of anger that she wanted to vent but couldn't at this time.
He is indeed an honest man, and it’s fun to tease him.
But I knew my limits. If Cassina got really angry, she'd pull out a gun and shoot me. For my own safety, I decided to stop and change the subject. "Everyone should be gathered. Let's go to the lobby first."
"If you really hit him, he won't be able to treat the wound in a short period of time, and he will definitely be exposed."
"Um."
Cassina and I walked side by side to the hotel lobby. The hotel manager followed us timidly the whole time, not daring to speak, and from time to time he took out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
When we got to the first floor, it was packed with people.
Yesterday, the hotel cleared all guests out and focused on receiving distinguished guests from Shangxing City.
It’s a good thing that this is the case, otherwise the scope of the investigation would have to be expanded several times.
The hotel manager rubbed his hands together and said nervously, "These are the people."
"Has everything that could communicate with the outside world been turned in?" I asked. "Has a signal transmitter been used to search for anything missing? Did everyone follow immediately, even those who were using the restroom, get pulled out of the toilet?"
"The situation is special now. You know what the consequences will be if the news gets out, right?"
The hotel manager nodded repeatedly and handed over the roll call roster with both hands. "All the employees who worked today and yesterday are here. Even those who just got off work have been called back."
The roll call list was very thick, and it made my hand press down a little when I held it in my hand.
After handing the roll call to the soldiers for inspection, I put on my friendly persona again, patted the hotel manager on the shoulder with a friendly smile, and said with a hint of apology, "Sorry to bother you. If possible, we wouldn't want to be so strict, but the situation forces us to do so."
"Don't worry, once we confirm that the assassination case has no connection with the hotel, we will provide adequate compensation."
The hotel manager breathed a sigh of relief.
Cassina listened with her back straight, and said nothing about the speed at which I changed my expression, which was like turning the pages of a book.
I called Xiaolin over and asked, "What's the first thing on the agenda tomorrow morning?"
Xiaolin quickly checked his schedule, "Meeting with officials from various locations in the Keya District."
"What's the most important job?" I said.
Xiao Lin was stunned. After a quick glance down, he said, "At three o'clock, we will go to the Central Prison to visit the leader of this violent demonstration and participate in the interrogation."
Although it is called participation, in fact it is just sitting in the observation room and watching.
I twirled my fingers and turned back to whisper to Cassena, "Do you think I'll be assassinated tomorrow too?"
Catherine: "...maybe."
"I think so," I said with a smile, and then said to Xiaolin, "Inform all officials at all levels that the prosecutor is unwell and cannot attend, but General Cassena and I will be there as scheduled."
Xiaolin nodded, "Okay."
After Xiaolin left, Cassina and I stood in the lobby for a while.
There are so many staff members, and it takes a lot of time to carefully check each one to see if there are any wounds.
There was no way Cassina and I could really stay up all night, so we whispered a few words to each other and soon left the lobby to rest.
At eight o'clock in the morning on September 2, the hotel entrance was crowded with people. Reporters pointed their cameras at the door and handed over microphones like crazy.
At 8:30, they arrived at the door of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building and watched eagerly as the driver opened the car door.
It's empty inside.
From the reporters to the officials who came out to greet them, everyone was stunned and the scene fell into deathly silence.
On the other side, inside the central prison.
Cassina and I, dressed in plain clothes, waved our special credentials in front of the warden. It wasn't until he was sweating profusely that I softly asked with a standard friendly smile, "Can we go in now?"
Warden: "Yes, yes, of course."
So I walked into the prison with my head held high and took Cassina.
Cassina, who assisted me in escaping throughout the whole process, did not break a sweat, and her steps were steady without any sign of fatigue.
Obviously, it was easy for her to complete tasks such as "borrowing a car" across multiple locations within half an hour.
He is worthy of being the one who fights with Ali so hard, he is really amazing.
The warden quietly introduced her, "Her name is Jingzhao. She was a senior at the Military Academy and was almost ready to graduate. But for some reason, she suddenly organized such a large-scale demonstration and even had access to guns. We searched her home and found all sorts of guns, some with serial numbers."
"So you arrested her on suspicion of being an accomplice to the rebels?" I asked. "That's unfounded. If she were a rebel, she wouldn't have hidden such a large amount of ammunition in her home."
"And how big a house can you hide thousands of munitions and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ammunition?"
"Have you checked the cash flow? Have you checked the movements? Have you checked the comments on major social media platforms?"
As my questions popped up, more sweat oozed from the warden's forehead and his smile became more and more nervous.
"This is just suspicion, suspicion..."
I paused, then suddenly laughed, "I now suspect you're going to assassinate me. Can I shoot you in self-defense?"
The warden's eyes widened in disbelief. Before he could say anything, I called out to Catherine, "Catherine, draw your gun and kill him."
Cassina said nothing, but quickly pulled out the gun, put it to his forehead and pulled the trigger.
"Ahhhhhh!" The warden closed his eyes in horror and fell to the ground.
He raised his head and looked at the muzzle of the gun with lingering fear.
Cassina took back the gun, checked it, and nodded at me. "It can only be used once. It was completely scrapped after it successfully fired a bullet yesterday."
I examined the gun with interest. "I actually think a pistol like this is more likely to have been made by a student with his bare hands. No matter how poorly the rebels are, they wouldn't resort to such low-quality pistols, would they?"
"It might be a frame-up." Cassina still insisted.
I shrugged, "Alright, alright. We'll each keep our own opinions. We'll know once we meet the leader."
So we both put away our guns and continued walking inside.
The leader, Jing Zhao, was a native citizen of the Keya District. He received education in the Keya District from childhood to adulthood and was admitted to a military school after he became an adult.
Although his family background is ordinary, he has a very decisive character, so he has a certain appeal and influence in the university.
When the prison guard brought the man to the interrogation room, I also found that this guy was very arrogant.
It's not that she's arrogant, but rather that she carries herself with a certain air of authority. People who rise through the normal path are just different from gigolos like me.
"I know you." Jing Zhao sat down and spoke preemptively, "The senator we voted for personally shot the rebel leader and was successfully promoted to vice president. He will soon marry the adopted son of the jury foreman."
I was shocked by the long introduction, but accepted it smoothly. "Hello, Jingzhao."
Jing Zhao pulled the corners of his mouth with a forced smile and looked at Cassina again.
Towards Kasena, her expression was much more complicated, "You...you are different from many people in Ascend City."
Me: "Hey, hey, hey, what's going on with your complicated feelings? Tell me about it."
Jing Zhao: "What do you care, pretty boy?"
Me: "That's not what you said when you introduced me. Don't let yourself be hurt by being arrested and imprisoned."
Jing Zhao frowned, "Aren't you going to punish me?"
Seeing her puzzled face, I put on an innocent and friendly smile, "If we really intended to send you to the execution platform, Cassina and I would not have come here."
Down-to-earth arguments, joking banter, and similar youthful appearance are the easiest tools to bring people closer.
I knew how to get this high-spirited, idealistic young woman, who hadn't yet fully left school, to let down her guard. Even though she still had her limits, that was enough for me.
"Jingzhao, Kasena and I came here secretly without telling many high-ranking officials in the Keya District. We can only talk for three hours at most. They will find the prison in three hours, and it will be difficult to say anything then."
"Now you have two choices."
Meeting Jingzhao's eyes, I slowly raised a finger, "First, you still choose to conceal it."
"Casena and I can't do anything about you. We can only spend a lot of time and energy investigating the culprit of the violent demonstration. In the end, we may not be able to catch anyone, and we will have to use you as the scapegoat."
"Second, you must answer whatever we ask. Once we get the answers, we'll all be happy. You'll be cleared of suspicion and return to your normal life, while Cassina and I will return to Ascend City with our achievements and continue our promotions."
Jing Zhao listened for a while and sneered, "How can you be sure that I am not lying?"
I spread my hands, acting like a scoundrel who has triumphed. "We can detect lies, but the time it takes to detect lies is not ours to manage."
The young man fell silent, staring at me intently, his eyes seeming to suppress some emotion.
After a long while, she said, "Ask."
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The author has something to say: Happy National Day everyone~
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