Moreover, not only is he a chatterbox, but he also deliberately says things that Zhang Qiang doesn't want to hear!
What does it mean for the family members to have a lot of complaints about the police station?
Hanging banners in front of the police station was simply to urge the officers to comply.
Seeing Zhang Qiang's ashen face, I had no choice but to step in and defuse the situation.
"Hehe, Deputy Director Li, this is confidential, so please don't ask any more questions."
When he heard me specifically address him as Deputy Curator Li, a hint of displeasure flashed across his face, but he didn't say anything more.
After all, he had seen Zhang Qiang's identification and asked him to cooperate, so he had no choice but to cooperate. Otherwise, if Zhang Qiang had arrested him on the spot, there would have been nothing to say.
So he suppressed his emotions and continued his story:
"The underground storage room you just mentioned mainly stores discarded old furniture, damaged books, and some old miscellaneous items. It's basically never cleaned, so few people go there. Only I and the logistics department have the key."
“We need to check the underground storage room, especially the cabinets that might contain old files or discarded stationery.”
Zhang Qiang was too lazy to say anything more, and ignoring Director Li's somewhat resistant attitude, he spoke forcefully.
Director Li was somewhat puzzled, but under pressure from his authority, he still took the key and led us downstairs.
After all, to be able to sit in this position at this age, even someone as stupid as him could guess that Zhang Qiang's background was not simple.
At this moment, he belatedly realized that his babbling had unintentionally offended the police officer.
Just as he said, the basement hadn't been cleaned in who knows how long. As soon as the basement door was opened, a choking smell of dust and mildew hit you.
The staircase was narrow and dark, and the motion-activated lights were slow to respond; we had to keep clapping our hands to keep them on.
After descending the stairs, we entered a spacious area filled with clutter, illuminated only by a few dim incandescent bulbs. When we turned them on, two of the four bulbs were already broken.
Director Li was somewhat embarrassed.
“As I said, very few people come to the basement, so there are no maintenance personnel to check it regularly. This is our oversight.”
Zhang Qiang glared at him, but didn't say anything more.
“Those metal cabinets over there, I think they used to store expired files and discarded public items, are they what you’re looking for?”
A few of us walked over, and there were several dark green old-fashioned tin cabinets. The paint was already peeling and covered in rust. They were obviously old objects, some of which had been around for a long time.
Director Li was honest and didn't lie to us.
The incandescent light couldn't reach this area; it was completely dark. Luckily, we brought flashlights.
We opened the cabinet door and shone a flashlight inside. It was mostly filled with yellowed waste paper, damaged folders, and some old pens, ink cartridges, and other miscellaneous items.
There were several cabinets, and it wasn't very convenient to look for anything when they were all crammed together, so we split up to search.
"What exactly are you looking for? Do you need me to help you look for it?"
Director Li said.
"Find a rusty paper cutter, an old-fashioned one, probably quite long."
Since he asked that question, I told him that more people mean more strength.
This basement is clearly strange; it's filled with a heavy yin energy. Staying here for a long time wouldn't be good for the living, so I want to find it as soon as possible and leave this place quickly.
We searched high and low, with a clear goal in mind, so our search was quite fast.
As I was rummaging through the third-to-last cabinet, a chilly aura rushed out as soon as I opened the door, and the temperature dropped several degrees instantly.
When I opened my third eye, I saw that the cabinet was filled with a frighteningly heavy yin energy, and it was full of old, worn-out cardboard boxes.
Upon opening the box, I saw numerous rusty thumbtacks, paperclips, a broken ruler, and an old-fashioned paper cutter about 20 centimeters long, covered in rust.
The blade is slender, and the wooden handle is rotten and blackened, covered with countless wormholes.
The blade was completely covered in red rust, and looked so dull that it could no longer hurt anything.
My lips twitched. Calling this thing a knife is no longer appropriate; it's clearly a tetanus blade.
Although it's frighteningly blunt, once you get a cut from it, the consequences will likely be dire.
"Here, found it."
I whispered, and Luo Tianhe and Zhang Qiang immediately gathered around.
Zhang Qiang put on gloves, carefully picked up the paper cutter, and placed it in the evidence bag he was carrying.
The instant Zhang Qiang picked up the knife, I seemed to hear an extremely faint, almost imperceptible sigh.
However, Zhang Qiang, Luo Tianhe, and Director Li, who were surrounding me, did not react at all.
A chill suddenly crept up my spine, the coldness rushing straight to my brain.
Director Li looked at the knife with some emotion:
"This thing seems to have been used in the reading room a long time ago to trim the edges of new books, but we switched to automatic paper cutters later. Times are changing, and these old things have been phased out. I didn't expect it to still be here."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes. This basement was supposed to be a storage room, but it was more like a junkyard. They still kept ink and fountain pens from years ago. Could those things still be used?
"By the way, Director Li, are there any special rumors in the library about this knife or this cabinet, or has any accident happened to it before?"
Luo Tianhe seemed to remember something and asked tentatively.
Upon hearing this, Director Li frowned, thought for a moment, and shook his head in reply:
"I've never heard of it. This library has been around for decades, but I've only been here for three or four years, and it's been quite peaceful."
"If I had to say what it is, there used to be an old administrator who was rather reclusive. It's said that he liked to collect old things, including old stationery. He passed away many years ago, and I've never seen him since I came here. These things are probably what he collected back then."
Zhang Qiang immediately shook his head. This guy probably wouldn't know even if there was a murder, since he'd only been here for three or four years.
He opened his phone and probably sent a message to someone in the bureau, asking them to help him investigate.
Then we took the paper cutter and went to Director Li's office.
Although he was reluctant, he was temporarily requisitioned by Zhang Qiang under the pretext of investigating a case, so he didn't dare to say anything.
I took the knife out of the evidence bag and examined it carefully.
I always felt there was something strange about these rust spots, even though some of them were indeed red.
But the red rust on the knife looks more like the color of blood, a darker red.
Just then, Zhang Qiang's phone rang. He answered the phone and listened to the person on the other end.
At first, he had an expression of "I knew it," but as the person on the other end of the phone narrated, his expression became increasingly serious, and eventually, an expression of disbelief and horror appeared!
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