Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
To the south of Beiqian City, there was a factory that had been abandoned for many years. Fifteen years ago, the fifth victim in the Devil Case fell from this factory building and died.
As time went by, many of the surrounding businesses closed down and went out of business. Hence, nowadays, only this building still stood here, as the other buildings the the victims had fallen from had been demolished or were replaced by new construction. None of them existed anymore.
This afternoon, Zhao Yu and several special investigation members had come here to inspect the old crime scene. At this moment, they were walking upstairs to the floor where the tragedy had happened.
Because the factory building was unoccupied and was in a bad state of disrepair for many years, Zhao Yu couldn’t go up the steep stairs with his wheelchair. However, the stubborn man insisted on climbing to the crime scene using crutches.
The stairs were steep, and most of the railings had already rusted out. Hence, it was dangerous for even a healthy person to climb the stairs. As they were worried about Zhao Yu, Ran Tao and Zeng Ke, one on each side, supported Zhao Yu to go up the stairs, step by step.
“The victim, Zhang Wu, was a male, who was a senior in the No. 1 Middle School of Jiebao. He was expelled from school for beating up several of his classmates.” Cui Lizhu, who was wearing a backpack and holding a mobile phone in her hand, read the information aloud as she followed behind Zhao Yu and the others.
She continued to read aloud, “The victim grew up in an unhappy family. His parents were divorced, and his stepfather left because he was owed a lot of debts to people in the area. His parents didn’t pay much attention to his schooling, and he made friends with numerous bad guys. He was even suspected of participating in a robbery.”
Cui Lizhu shook her head, then said, “Although Jiebao is a separate county, it is only two kilometers away from the factory. The victim fell from the fourth floor of the factory building. But, since the factory building is built 20 meters above the ground, the fourth floor is basically the equivalent to a seventh floor. As he landed on hard, cement ground, there was no chance of survival!”
Zhao Yu was very familiar with the victim’s information. At the moment, he was having a hard time climbing the stairs with his crutches, so he added breathlessly, “Although the victim was not big and did not weight that much, it would still have been a very laborious job to carry him up to the fourth floor! So, at that time, the investigator was convinced that the murderer either had an accomplice or was a very strong man!”
Zeng Ke then said, “I remember that the information we got about Han Kuan noted that he was a very strong man at that time. Someone said that Han Kuan could carry a music class’ blackboard up to the sixth floor all by himself! He was clearly a strong young man at that time.”
Cui Lizhu then asked with indignation, “Why can’t you just convict Han Kuan? You police detectives are fierce street fighters, so why don’t you just beat him up? Then, I am sure that he would tell you all everything.”
“Well… We’re police officers, not gangsters!” Ran Tao said. “We can’t just go around beating people up! Besides, beating him up isn’t a solution!”
“Well… Just put his fingerprints on the devil suit, or maybe plant a strand of his hair on it!” Cui Lizhu suggested.
She then asked, “Wouldn’t that be bulletproof evidence? If you are too proud to do that, I can help you!”
Zeng Ke shook his head. “That’s fabricating evidence, which is a federal offense! We could end up losing our jobs and staying in jail for the rest of our lives!”
While they were talking, Zhao Yu climbed up the stairs with the support of his crutches. As he thought about it, what Cui Lizhu had just suggested used to actually be one of his old tricks. As such, he had also considered using such a trick on Han Kuan.
However, after much deliberation, he finally gave up on this idea. This was because Han Kuan was different from other criminals. He wasn’t like Liu Pengfei, Ai Lili, and Captain Dou, who would easily give up because they were psychologically weak.
Moreover, Han Kuan had already hired a lawyer. So, if Zhao Yu took such a shady measure, if he failed, he would inevitably get himself into a whole heap of trouble. At that time, if he wanted to find out the truth, it would be almost impossible!
Therefore, he knew that he must find solid evidence in order to convict Han Kuan. However, the Devil Case had happened 15 years ago and Han Kuan was a cautious criminal, so even if he had left behind any clues, it would be very difficult for Zhao Yu to find them now.
While discussing the case, they had arrived at the fourth floor. They saw a huge workshop in front of them. The workshop was in a terrible state and the ground was covered with trash.
Zhao Yu immediately started giving orders, while leaning on his crutch, “Zeng Ke, find the photos of the crime scene and compare them with this workshop!”
“Okay…” Zeng Ke hastily took out his mobile phone, but before he found the photos, he saw that he had just received a message.
So, turned to Zhao Yu and said in a hurry, “Team Leader, Wu Xiumin just texted me that Han Kuan did not admit to having been in Beiqian after Lang Xiangyang died. He apparently said that he had never returned since he left that year. He even claimed that he missed Lang’s funeral!”
“He refused to admit it?” Zhao Yu asked.
He then sighed and said, “He seems to be lying to us, and he seems sure that we can’t find any evidence of his return to Beiqian! But, even if we can find any evidence, as long as he doesn’t admit it, we can’t prove that he put the devil suit in the basement!”
“Da*n! I really want to get this b*stard!” Cui Lizhu clenched her fists and shouted, “He’s far more sinister than most expert thieves!”
Zeng Ke finally found the photo of the crime scene and showed Zhao Yu the location where the victim jumped from the building. There were no railings on the building’s edge, so if it was dark that night, an accidental fall could have easily happened.
Zhao Yu came to the edge with the support of his crutches and looked down. He first saw only empty cement ground below him, right where the victim had from a fall. However, just beside the empty ground, Zhao Yu suddenly saw a rectangular pool!
Just as Zhao Yu was attracted by the pool, so were the other people…
“This swimming pool…” Cui Lizhu thought of something and asked, “Why does it look so similar to the one in the other serial murder case?”
Zeng Ke explained, “That’s not a swimming pool, but an industrial reservoir. In fact, it’s not like the pool where we caught the serial killer. Instead, it’s exactly like the illustration in 11 Kills!”
Suddenly, Cui Lizhu was scared stiff. She pointed to the pool below in surprise and asked, “When the Devil Case happened, Han Kuan was writing 11 Kills, wasn’t he? The illustration didn’t come from his imagination, but from reality! And… This reality may be right in front of us!”
Zhao Yu then said, “If the illustration in 11 Kills is based on this pool, Han Kuan must have been here, which means that he is the devil!”
Cui Lizhu said nervously, “Oh my god! I’m scared! So… The Devil Case is also related to 11 Kills? Why did Han Kuan choose these abandoned and dark places? And… Why would he even draw these things in his books?”
Zhao Yu frowned, then shook his head and sighed. “Regardless of the answers to these questions, simply finding a pool and an illustration can’t help us convict him!”
Zeng Ke looked around for a bit, then said, “Yeah… Since the victim died 15 years ago, I’m afraid that we won’t find anything here.”
“Han Kuan won’t admit it, and we can’t find any useful evidence. This case…” Ran Tao frowned and looked depressed as his voice trailed off.
At this time, although Zhao Yu’s face was full of disappointment, he snapped his fingers and said to Cui Lizhu, “Cui, bring me the devil suit and help me put it on!”
“What? You want to wear that thing?” Cui Lizhu was shocked.
She now understood why Zhao Yu had brought the devil suit with him. It turned out that he wanted to be the devil himself, or at least walk in his shoes for a while…
