Chapter 82
That night, Chang Ting played the long video all night long, and only took a nap on the sofa in the office in the early morning. He had nightmares all the time. The girl in the dream had her bones exposed, frozen in the bottomless darkness.
I was woken up by my colleagues coming to work in the morning and washed up listlessly in the bathroom.
Zhou Zhengzheng passed by the bathroom and found him.
"Master! I've got a surveillance investigation analysis report for you to see."
Chang Ting turned around with his toothbrush in his mouth and looked at the stack of materials in her hand: "Did you work overtime last night too?"
"Yeah, until three or four in the morning!"
Chang Ting looked at his energetic apprentice with bloodshot eyes.
"You're really young..." Chang Ting sighed, "Is this a report on a long secretly filmed video?"
"No, it's the man in black. I watched the long video, and they didn't even capture 001's face, let alone his figure. They only captured two hands and one foot.
"I was thinking of starting from the perspective of the man in black. Since he was the one who exposed the video, he must know the true identity of 001. If we find him, we can find 001."
Chang Ting froze while brushing his teeth. "Why are you and Zhang You so enthusiastic about your work?"
"Master, please take a look..."
Zhou Zhengzheng held the report close to his face.
"Oh my, let me finish brushing my teeth!"
After washing up, Chang Ting took the report and flipped through it as he walked to his office. He commented, "Well, not bad. The format is standard and the layout is beautiful. It's obvious that it was done by an excellent student..."
He paused and asked in surprise, "You found the taxi driver the man in black took overnight?"
Zhou Zhengzheng nodded. "Yeah, that's not difficult." The man in black was filmed getting off a taxi near the Aegean Apartments. Using the license plate, they could get the driver's phone number by asking the taxi company.
"I contacted the driver last night and asked him to drive over. I copied the in-car surveillance footage from his car and took his car home. I wrote the report at home."
Chang Ting glanced at her with admiration: "Young people are truly formidable..."
He continued reading the report: "The taxi captured surveillance footage of the men in black and also recorded their voices, but..."
Zhou Zhengzheng sighed, the light in his eyes dimming. "But there's no useful information."
The driver remembered that the man in black got on the car on the side of the road. There were residential areas and shopping malls nearby, and there were several intersections, so he could not trace them any further.
There was a surveillance camera inside the taxi, but all it recorded was a black mass, with no face in the picture. Apparently, the man in black knew where the cameras were located and was deliberately avoiding them.
The man in black announced his destination by speaking, but he did so in a deliberately low voice, pretending to be someone with pharyngitis.
He paid for the ride in cash without even taking off his gloves.
When asked about his impression of him, the driver's statement was consistent with Xiao Qiang's: very fierce.
He also added: I feel like I'm going to hit someone.
The man in black got out of the car, entered the apartment, and took the elevator upstairs. Elevator surveillance footage also failed to reveal his face.
He is as skilled at avoiding cameras as a habitual criminal.
Zhou Zhengzheng said dejectedly, "It was all in vain."
As they were talking, the two of them entered the office. Chang Ting sat back on the sofa, covered his face with the report, sorted out his thoughts, and said:
"In the case of Xu Candong, it's generally assumed that 001, disguised as a maintenance worker, committed the crime. That night, surveillance cameras captured a man in black, who also visited the scene.
"Afterwards, 001 disguised himself as a cleaner and a hospital nurse and murdered Yu Ai Ai twice.
“Maintenance worker, cleaner, male caregiver… this man is really good at transforming.
"I once suspected the man in black and 001 were the same person, but now I'm certain they're two different people. Furthermore, they're not from the same group.
"It's a bit like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
Zhou Zhengzheng was puzzled and said, "I don't understand. Isn't exposing criminal behavior a good thing? Why doesn't he just report it directly? Why does he have to go through all this trouble to hide it? We should reward him for reporting it!"
Chang Ting was silent for a moment, then said something darkly from the bottom of the report: "It can't be seen in public."
After a pause, he continued, "Since he's involved, he must be inextricably linked to the other characters. I believe that with young forces like you around, he won't be able to hide for long."
He took off the report on his face and said, "Zhou Zhengzheng, if you find any clues about this person, don't tell anyone else, report it to me first."
Zhou Zhengzheng was a little confused, but still nodded in obedience to the order.
*
Chen He had a fever for two days, and Song Zhou took leave to stay at home to take care of her.
Song Zhou was very quiet, and did not try to persuade or enlighten her. He just stayed with her, hugged her, and cuddled with her.
Like two migratory birds that forgot to go south, they snuggled together for warmth on a cold night.
On the third day, Chen He got up in high spirits.
Song Zhou looked at her carefully: "Are you feeling better?"
"I'm fine now, my beloved, don't worry." Chen He patted his curly hair.
Song Zhou said nothing, but he couldn't hide his heartache in his eyes when he looked at her.
Chen He turned around to glance at him and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm a woman of steel with steel plates and nails in my bones."
Song Zhou knew that she was just letting the hatred sink into her heart, like putting a knife into its sheath.
Just like she had been doing for the past five years.
When we meet our enemies on a narrow road, we must draw our swords and pay back our blood with blood.
So does he.
*
The illness was healed, and his spirits were lifted, so he set out on his journey again.
The first thing Chen He did was to send the sketch of Qiu Yue to Chang Ting.
Before, she'd been hesitant, wondering if Male Idol 001 was Qiu Song and there might be some misunderstanding. She wanted to clarify before deciding whether to share this information with the police.
But the murderer's confession in the long video made her no longer hesitate.
No matter who he was, no matter if he was Qiu Song or not, no matter if he was struck by lightning or shot, she just wanted him dead.
Chang Ting called quickly.
"Thank you for the clue."
"Haha." Chen He felt alert. "It's not normal for Officer Chang to be so polite all of a sudden."
Sure enough, Chang Ting said, "Chen He, let's stop here."
Chen He laughed: "I knew it. Are you afraid that I will scribble again?"
On the other end of the phone, Chang Ting didn't laugh: "I'm not worried about your comics. I believe you've seen the video, and you have a better understanding of what criminals are like.
"I'm telling you the truth. This 001 shows the obvious characteristics of a serial killer and is extremely dangerous. If you don't evacuate now, your personal safety will be in jeopardy."
"I know you and Qiu Yue have a deep bond and want to avenge her. I also know that ever since you drew that comic three years ago, you've been providing clues to the police in your own way."
Chen He kept smiling: "Officer Chang, you're so weird when you're serious. I'm not used to it. Can you return to your normal self?"
Chang Ting's tone remained serious: "Chen He, you've done enough. I believe that if Qiu Yuequan knew about this, he wouldn't want you to continue taking risks.
"We have already gained some information. I promise you that we will bring the murderer to justice and punish them accordingly. Leave the rest to us, the police. Please do not interfere."
He paused, then quickly tried to remedy the situation: "Please."
I've never been so polite in my life.
There was no sound from the other side.
He said "Hello".
Chen He finally spoke: "It just so happens that I'm going on a long trip in a few days."
Chang Ting felt relieved, and politely asked directly, "Traveling far? Where to?"
Chen He said: "The comic platform organized a trip, and I went out to play for a few days."
"Very good, I'll be back later."
“…”
After hanging up the phone, Chen He smiled like a fox into the phone: "Officer Chang, I didn't agree to anything."
Two days ago, maybe she would have agreed.
But after hearing the murderer's words with her own ears, it was as if a bunch of thorns had grown in her heart, entangled in her flesh and blood, and could not be pulled out.
So hateful.
She hated it so much that she couldn't leave the battlefield.
But I still haven't figured out what to do next.
The next day, she received a call from editor Xiao Yuan.
"Chen hehe!" Xiao Yuan's voice sounded quite excited.
"Xiao Yuan!" Chen He was also a little excited, "You released him?"
"..." Xiao Yuan was silent for a moment, "What do you mean by released? I've never been in there."
"Then why don't you reply to my message?"
"Well, this comic has to be taken down. I'm sorry to reply to you."
Chen He breathed a sigh of relief: "It's nothing. I know you guys have no choice."
"But!" Xiao Yuan's voice rose proudly.
"What?"
"Our comics are back in stock, get ready to update!"
Xiao Yuan cheered over there, and there was a clanging sound. Judging from the sound, he must have jumped onto the table.
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