Zhang Qiang's words sent a chill down my spine.
With the recent increase in these kinds of incidents, could it be related to the activities of the former richest man?
"Let's not talk about that now."
I snapped out of my thoughts: "Zhang Qiang, could you help us investigate the details of the botanical garden, especially the businesses under the name of the former richest man, or whether he has had any recent dealings with the management of the botanical garden?"
"OK, I'll investigate right away. You guys need to be careful too. If the richest man Zeng didn't succeed this time, he'll definitely have other tricks up his sleeve!"
Zhang Qiang responded and gave us a few more instructions.
After hanging up the phone, the three of us stood in the hallway, lost in thought.
"Let's go back to my place first."
Luo Tianhe rubbed his arms: "Let's take it one step at a time."
When we got back to Luo Tianhe's place, it was already dawn, but we were wide awake.
To be honest, the three of us were furious, not just because we were framed by Zeng, the richest man, but because it wasn't the first time he had done it.
And because of this, three kind people died tragically.
If Su Xiaoxiao's family had said a few words to us, we wouldn't have felt so bad.
The three of us sat around in the living room, going through the known clues again and again.
"The man in the gray shirt and hat is a key figure."
Li Huai drew a heavy circle on the paper with his pen.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes: "Isn't that obvious?"
Li Huai chuckled awkwardly: "The richest man in the past kept such a person under his wing. I don't know how many dirty things he did for him."
Luo Tianhe gritted his teeth in hatred.
He had been harmed by Zeng, the richest man, several times before, and once he almost lost his life. His hatred for Zeng was far greater than that of Li Huai.
“We have to find this guy first. I have a feeling he might be hiding somewhere in the botanical garden, a secluded place suitable for doing these crooked things.”
I nodded: "But the botanical garden is quite large, and we definitely can't just force our way in. We need to find a way to sneak out or lure him out."
Just then, my phone rang again; it was an unfamiliar number.
I've been getting phone calls every day lately, and I'm starting to have a phobia of them, especially after what happened with Su Xiaoxiao.
Luo Tianhe, Li Huai, and I exchanged a glance before cautiously answering the phone.
It's only five or six in the morning. Who would call us with nothing better to do? Don't they want to sleep?
"Mr. Chen Yan?"
The voice on the other end of the phone was a slightly hoarse middle-aged man, his tone filled with anxiety and earnestness.
“I am the head of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Municipal Police Bureau. Zhang Qiang should have mentioned me to you. My name is Zheng Shengli. I am in charge of the case of Su Xiaoxiao’s family jumping off the building. He told me in detail about the situation you encountered. I think we need to meet and talk.”
Zheng Shengli?
Is that the section chief Zhang Qiang mentioned who was in a terrible predicament?
"Section Chief Zheng, hello. Zhang Qiang should have told you that this is not an ordinary criminal case."
I said in a deep voice.
“I understand, I understand. To be honest, the bureau is under a lot of pressure with this case. The family is making a fuss every day, and the media is watching closely. But we have checked all the surveillance footage and investigated all the suspicious persons.”
Even the forensic experts had inexplicable details. It wasn't until Zhang Qiang told us about your experiences last night that I realized we might have really gone down the wrong path!
He paused, as if he had made a great decision, and continued, "Mr. Chen, I know you are not ordinary people. Zhang Qiang said you plan to deal with the mastermind behind this. If there is anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask. It's not for the sake of merit, but because this family of three is in such a terrible situation."
Those who shouldn't have died without a clear explanation, and the murderer must not escape justice!
I could hear the sincerity in his words and a sense of desperation in them. Perhaps he had been cornered by this difficult case, and our appearance gave him a glimmer of hope. After thinking about it, I decided to believe him.
After all, the fact that Zhang Qiang was willing to tell him so much meant that Zhang Qiang thought he was trustworthy.
"Section Chief Zheng, to be honest, we do need help."
"Please, speak freely!"
Section Chief Zheng even used honorifics when he spoke, which shows how eager he was for this case.
I was a little confused. Section Chief Zheng was a section chief in the city police department. Why was he so respectful to me, a Taoist priest?
Is it because the pressure from the case is too great?
It seems that being a police officer is really not an easy job. Zhang Qiang and Section Chief Zheng are both leaders, and now they are both having a lot of headaches because of two unsolved cases.
I thought for a moment and said, "The primary goal is to find the person who performed the evil magic. He is likely hiding in the Beishan Botanical Garden, or at least has close ties to it!"
Could you find a way to let us into the botanical garden to conduct our investigation? Preferably in a discreet manner.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Zheng Shengli's voice came through: "Beishan Botanical Garden is the largest investor in the Zeng Group's botanical garden renovation project. They have constructed several newly built pavilions and areas within the garden."
There are also many people crammed into management positions, making it very difficult to get in for investigations through normal channels. It's easy to alert the suspects, but..."
He seemed to be thinking quickly: "There's a small-scale ecological salon at the botanical garden next Wednesday, with some scholars, journalists, and partners invited. The theme is plants and mental health. I can use my connections to get a few invitations."
You can disguise yourselves as students in related fields or freelance writers to infiltrate; that's the most natural way I can think of right now.
Ecological Salon: Plants and Mental Health?
It sounds respectable, but considering the methods of Zhou's men, this kind of occasion might just be the stage they like.
However, the three of us—Luo Tianhe, Li Huai, and I—can't even scrap together a high school diploma. So, what kind of students in related majors and freelance writers are we? Can we really pull it off convincingly?
But if you think about it carefully, even among those experts, there are many who are just pretending. Isn't it normal to have a few freelance writers who don't know anything?
Thinking of this, I immediately agreed: "Okay, this will do. I'll leave the invitation to you. Also, do you police have any leads on that person under Zeng Shoufu who knows evil magic?"
To be honest, there's no evidence that a ghost committed murder, but he's a living, breathing person. In this city full of surveillance cameras, it's impossible for him not to leave any trace.
"By the way, you can also look into those old cases, especially those involving the mysterious deaths and disappearances of former richest men's rivals."
I added that the former richest man must have used many underhanded methods to amass wealth in such a short time! And if he used such methods, he would inevitably leave some loopholes!
Zheng Shengli pondered for a moment and said, "Now that you mention it, I need to go back and look through the files. It seems that something similar did happen."
I recall several such cases, the most notable being that of a developer who had competed with him for land years ago; his entire family was in a car accident and fell off a cliff while on vacation, and none survived!
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