Chapter 55 There is indeed no Yingbin South Second Road in our city
The cyber police officer Xu Nian brought from the Xicheng Branch was a young man with very thick hair and clear eyes. He looked like he had just graduated. Fortunately, although he was young, his skills were not. It didn't take long for him to retrieve the usage records of this computer.
Not long after Xu Nian finished his questioning and walked behind the cyber police, he heard his slightly excited voice, "Alright, Captain Xu, come and take a look."
Several people leaned over to look, first glancing at the computer in the internet cafe that was displaying lines of incomprehensible characters, then looking down at the laptop computer that the cyber police was operating.
Very good, several people can understand what is on this screen. It is a forum with a very simple interface.
The cyber police continued to clack at their keyboards, their fingers whirring as they explained the situation. "Although this website's design is crude, with only basic forum functions, its firewall is state-of-the-art. Furthermore, it's an invitation-only membership system; strangers aren't allowed. Another point is that posts are divided into public and private. Public posts are visible to all forum members, while private posts can only be accessed with the password set by the poster."
Xu Nian immediately thought of something and asked the Internet police, "Does this forum have a private messaging function?"
The Internet police replied, "Yes, but I checked and Zhang Weiyan has never sent a private message to anyone on this forum from this computer."
Qi Bai also realized, "In other words, Zhang Weiyan used this private post to tell Lu Manqing the information he observed around the crime scene? So we've found their contact information, but we haven't found it completely."
Xu Nian also frowned, thought for a moment, and asked the Internet police, "Can the identity information of all the members of this forum be found?"
The Internet police paused, thought for a moment, and said, "It's a bit difficult, because this forum doesn't have real-name registration. We can only check by IP address, and it will take a lot of manpower and a lot of time. I'll go back and report to Zhuang Da."
It took three hours to reach Qi'an County, but the group only stayed in the Internet cafe for more than an hour before returning to Yongquan City with the computer host that Zhang Weiyan had used for several years at position B46.
On the way back, auxiliary police officer Li Fan was driving. Everyone slept all the way as usual, and only opened their eyes one after another when the car drove into the parking lot of the Xicheng Branch.
Qi Bai yawned and got out of the car, stretching vigorously. "Great, it's another happy and beautiful new day."
Xu Nian raised his wrist to check the time, then led the way towards the office building.
The Internet police did not go upstairs immediately. They first went to the temporary office with a few people and opened the forum on the computer used by Xu Nian so that they could browse it normally. Then they left with the host.
While the cyber police were operating, several people stood behind them curiously. As soon as they left, they couldn't wait to ask, "Captain Xu, what did you gain from this visit?"
Qi Bai curled his lips and pointed at the computer screen opened by the Internet police and said, "Here, this is what we have gained."
"A forum?" Wang Yu looked curiously. "Zhang Weiyan and Lu Manqing contacted through this forum?"
While pouring water, Qi Bai recounted everything that happened last night.
Wang Yu couldn't help but sigh. "This organization is truly cautious. They've even deployed a high-tech firewall for a small forum. I'm not sure how many members they have, but at least they're quite wealthy."
"What about you guys?" Xu Nian asked Jiang Yingyao, "Brother Jiang, did you find anything last night?"
Jiang Yingyao dumped the leftover tea leaves from last night's drinking into the trash can and added some red dates and goji berries to his thermos. "We've made a discovery. Last night, we reviewed all the surveillance footage from the old residential complex Zhang Weiyan had scouted, and we finally found Lu Manqing's whereabouts in the FAW residential compound. However, due to the low surveillance coverage, we haven't been able to find out how he entered the compound or how he took the murder weapon. However, he did appear near the compound at 7:29 PM on January 28, 2021."
"Have you found the surveillance video of Zhang Weiyan placing the murder weapon?" Xu Nian asked.
Jiang Yingyao shook his head. "That's what's strange. Zhang Weiyan doesn't have Lu Manqing's very strong anti-detection ability. We can see from the surveillance footage that although Zhang Weiyan tried his best to avoid the cameras, he was unsuccessful. Although there are no surveillance cameras near the express lockers in the FAW family compound, there are cameras on the main road. Those cameras can't capture the lockers, but they can capture if someone steps up the stairs to the lockers. We've reviewed all the surveillance footage for the month before January 29th, and we didn't see him approach the lockers."
Xu Nian said: "In other words, he was most likely just scouting the area, and the murder weapon was not prepared by him."
Jiang Yingyao also speculated this based on the existing clues. He looked at Xu Nian and nodded, "I think so too."
Qi Bai let out a loud "Ah!" "The murder weapon wasn't prepared by Zhang Weiyan, so where did Lu Manqing get it? Since he even checked the express locker, it definitely wasn't bought off the shelf. It couldn't have been purchased online, right?"
Qi Bai's first reaction was to shop online, but then he shook his head, "Lu Manqing is so cautious, it's unlikely he would leave such an obvious clue..."
There were new changes in the direction of the investigation, and several people frowned subconsciously.
The temporary office fell silent for a moment. After a moment, Xu Nian clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention. "Although the surveillance video has ruled out the possibility that Zhang Weiyan provided the murder weapon, this clue can still be investigated. Let's go and conduct a field visit."
Jiang Yingyao was the first to react. He glanced at the time and said, "It's already past 8 o'clock. By the time we get to the FAW staff housing complex, it will be almost time for work."
Everyone stood up from their stools. Xu Nian glanced at the dark circles under Jiang Yingyao and Wang Yu's eyes and said, "You guys stayed up all night last night. You've already watched all the surveillance footage you need to watch. Go back to the dorms and get some sleep. When you wake up, come back and study that forum. This new clue might bring us some surprises."
Qi Bai also said, "Yeah, Brother Jiang, we at least got a few hours of sleep on the road last night, but you guys didn't sleep all night. Go back and rest quickly. We might set off with Zhuang Da and the others to Jianyang City someday."
Jiang Yingyao and Wang Yu were both a little hesitant at first, but finally agreed after hearing what he said. "Okay, let's have breakfast and go back to sleep. We'll try to be back by noon. I'm also quite curious about that forum."
So the group split into two groups again. Xu Nian and Qi Bai stood there and watched them drive out of the Xicheng Branch before getting in the car and heading towards the FAW staff housing compound.
As soon as he got in the car, Qi Bai became chatty again and couldn't help but say, "Captain Xu, you said that this criminal suspect Lu Manqing, although he stayed in Yongquan City for less than 24 hours, he was really busy. He was so anxious about time and efficiency, just like a professional killer. I'm thinking, if there really is an organization, this Lu Manqing should be a special operation team. If there is an operation team, there must be a team providing information support. Could it be Zhang Weiyan?"
"No, it's impossible." Qi Bai denied this speculation after only a second. "Compared to Lu Manqing's professionalism, Zhang Weiyan seems too amateurish. And Feng Xingping, he's not under investigation by our squadron, and I'm not sure what role he played in this case. But just looking at the one thing they have in common about the Angel of Judgment, they must be from the same organization. So, based on the current clues, one specializes in killing people, and the other specializes in recruiting new recruits?"
Qi Bai felt both lucid and a bit confused as he investigated the case. "But they've already identified Zhang Weiyan. Even if they recruit him into the organization, what will they gain? Another thing I can't understand is that Zhang Hongda and his family of four were murdered three years ago. Even after they've been dead for three years, I haven't seen any changes in Zhang Weiyan's life. Did he fail some kind of probationary period? Otherwise, why hasn't Zhang Weiyan changed at all in three years?"
Xu Nian subconsciously thought of the forum. "It's not like there haven't been any changes. Have you forgotten what the internet cafe owner said last night? Zhang Weiyan's frequent internet use started 21 years after his wife's death. He even has his own dedicated account. The Xicheng Branch's internet police found that he's been online quite frequently in the past three years. His life hasn't changed much, but his thinking may not."
Qi Baijing had already thought of this after being reminded of this, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "Then we must act quickly and try to finish the investigation as soon as possible so that we can go back and study that forum."
With such a carrot hanging in front of him, although Qi Bai only slept for three hours last night, he was full of energy all day long. He often ran and managed to return to the Xicheng Branch before lunch.
After having a quick bite in the branch cafeteria, Qi Bai was worried that those who went back to catch up on their sleep would miss the meal, so he diligently found a few lunch boxes and packed them up.
Facts proved that Qi Bai's worries were very justified. As soon as a few people stepped into the temporary office and their butts hadn't even warmed up in the chairs, Jiang Yingyao and Wang Yu walked in yawning with two auxiliary police officers.
Rubbing his hungry stomach, Wang Yu yelled as he entered the office, "Qi Bai, is there anything to eat? I'm starving."
Qi Bai proudly pulled out four lunch boxes from his bag. "Ding ding ding, surprise? I guessed you guys might have been too busy sleeping to eat."
Wang Yu was indeed very surprised. He quickly snatched a lunch box from Qi Bai's hand, opened it, and shoveled rice into his mouth while trying to speak, "I set the alarm to eat, but I was too sleepy and finally couldn't get up."
Jiang Yingyao was also moved and patted Qi Bai on the shoulder. He handed two lunch boxes to the auxiliary police behind him, then sat down and ate while asking, "You've been running around all morning. Did you find anything over there?"
Qi Bai was frantically pouring water for the four people. Xu Nian leaned over and pushed the tissue on the table over. He said, "Through the express delivery station that contracted the express lockers, we found the exact time and locker number when Lu Manqing took the murder weapon. Unfortunately, three years have passed, and it's impossible to extract any useful physical evidence."
"That's a big haul," Wang Yu said, swallowing his full mouthful of food. "Then how did you find the murder weapon? Or was it someone other than Zhang Weiyan who placed it in the delivery locker?"
Xu Nian said: "According to the information provided by the courier company, the murder weapon looks like it was purchased online, but we checked the store that shipped it, and none of the shopping apps listed this store. The shipping address is also fake. The delivery address is real, but there is no exact building number. It only fills in the residential complex, and the phone number left is also an empty number."
Although Wang Yu had been mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but sigh. "Sure enough, I've hit a dead end after all," he said, turning his gaze to Xu Nian's computer. "It seems that the only place we can investigate now is this forum."
After checking everything that could be investigated, the only direction left for them to investigate was this forum.
Although everyone was a little disappointed, they were not in a heavy mood. After all, judging from the actions of the past two days, the results were still very gratifying. More importantly, they were only one of the investigative squadrons of the entire task force, and the real main force was in the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Xicheng Branch led by Zhuang Yinghua.
So that afternoon, the entire Second Squadron led by Xu Nian huddled in the temporary office. In order to prevent everyone from crowding in front of the same computer, Xu Nian went upstairs again and borrowed the Internet police who had been separated in the morning, and opened the forum on the remaining three computers.
Everyone initially watched it with the intention of finding clues, but as they watched they couldn't help but complain.
"What the hell is this?" Qi Bai was the first to speak up. "If I hadn't known this was a forum with criminals, I would have thought it was just an ordinary forum, with posts filled with gossip."
Wang Yu, however, was reading with great interest. "On the surface, it seems like just some family gossip, but if you look closely, you'll see resentment behind every word. The poster has fully expressed their disgust and hatred. If every member on the forum is like Zhang Weiyan, what does that mean? It means that every member represents at least one life."
After Wang Yu said this, the irritation on Qi Bai's face disappeared immediately, and his expression became a little solemn, but the next second it turned helpless. "What you said makes sense, but the problem is that this forum is not registered with real names, and we don't have the technology of the Internet police, so we can't check anything."
"Not necessarily," Jiang Yingyao suddenly said, "Come and take a look at this post."
The group immediately leaned over curiously. Jiang Yingyao tilted the screen outward, swiped the mouse, and said, "Take a look at this post. Is it describing the situation around a certain community?"
Several people were staring at the post, but Wang Yu reacted very quickly and took out his phone to take a picture. He also instructed Jiang Yingyao, "Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang, hurry up and slide the mouse. I'll take a picture and we'll look at it later."
Jiang Yingyao also understood and cooperated by sliding the mouse. Sure enough, a few seconds after Wang Yu took the photo, the post filled with text suddenly disappeared.
Wang Yu first checked the photos in the album, then quickly posted them to the squadron's small group chat. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sure enough, the person who posted this is a newbie. He must have forgotten to set a password."
Everyone was very impressed and gave thumbs up, then lowered their heads and clicked on the pictures in the group to take a closer look.
"Tianhua Residential Complex, Yingbin South Second Road," auxiliary police officer Xu Zian said in confusion. "We do have Yingbin North First Road and North Second Road in our city, but I've never heard of South Second Road."
Wang Yu quickly checked the map and said, "There is indeed no Yingbin South Second Road in our city."
"Yes," Qi Bai said, "We did find a clue, but we don't know which city it's from. Fortunately, we have two targets for investigation, which can greatly narrow the scope."
Because of this discovery, everyone's originally relaxed mood suddenly became tense again. The eight people were investigating in full swing when Zhuang Yinghua called at this time.
Xu Nian immediately had a premonition. Sure enough, as soon as the call was connected, he heard Zhuang Yinghua say, "Xu Nian, bring your squadron to the third floor now. We will set off to Jianyang City to arrest the criminal suspect Lu Manqing overnight."
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