Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhao Yu did as he was told. At the press conference that was held by the police station, he reported on the progress of the Devil Case, including details such as the possible identity of the murderer, how the murderer found his targets, what kind of victims the murderer might be interested, and even the truth about the devil!
Of course, the real reason why Zhao Yu announced these details was to appeal to the local people to actively cooperate with the police. The police promised to give generous rewards to anyone who could provide them with clues.
Naturally, once this news spread, it immediately caused a huge sensation! All of the media outlets were covering this announcement, and the people who heard it were greatly encouraged. All of these things ignited a trending craze for devil hunting!
Zhao Yu had also set a new precedent for criminal investigation. In the past, when the police held such a press conference, it was either because the case had been solved or because there was a new case that required the cooperation of the public.
However, for the first time in the history of the whole country, Zhao Yu had held a press conference for help with investigating an unsolved case that was from 15 years ago! Of course, Zhao Yu was not impulsive about doing this.
Before the conference, he had thought it over for a while, so he had a clear purpose now. He had also made a detailed report, which he gave to the Criminal Division when he submitted his application according to the standard procedure.
Although the division knew that such a high-profile conference would be risky, the leaders were touched by Zhao Yu’s determination and grit. They agreed that the effort of investigating the truth was far more important than the final result! Therefore, Zhao Yu’s request was finally approved and highly supported.
Of course, in addition to admiring Zhao Yu’s determination, the leaders also attached great importance to the clues and information that he had obtained. With all of that in mind, they also believed that this was the best opportunity to solve this outstanding case! Therefore, they had every confidence in working with Zhao Yu to give it their best shot!
This was the first time that Zhao Yu had made such a huge move since he had entered the special investigation group. So, when the press conference was over, he was very nervous. He was worried that if he didn’t get any results with this, it wouldn’t bode well for his future within the team!
Fortunately, the Beiqian Police Station were very experienced in these matters, and they knew that after the press conference, there would be an overwhelming response from the public. So, they mobilized the relevant police forces early in advance, setting up a special reception center to receive and deal with all of the people’s information.
Once they found any really important information from their feedback, they would then report it to the special investigation group immediately. Therefore, Zhao Yu and the others just needed to wait patiently in the office and didn’t need to handle everything personally.
The power of the media was amazing. Because the Devil Case was well-known around the world, when Zhao Yu and the others turned on their TVs and used their mobile phones, news about the case dominated the headlines and soon spread all over the country!
About two hours after the conference, the telephones at the reception center started ringing madly, and all of the receptionists listened patiently to the callers and recorded everything that they said carefully. That night, the special investigation group office received five new clues from these receptionists. However, after an attempt at verification, all of the information was either false or insignificant.
But, they figured that it was better to at least have some new information rather than not having received any feedback from the public after the conference. Zhao Yu gathered the team together and stayed up the whole night with his team members.
For Zhao Yu, the night passed in the blink of an eye,and soon, the sun of a new day was rising. When the first warm ray of sunlight came through the window and shone on Zhao Yu’s face, he woke up from his previous state of exhaustion.
However, before his eyes completely opened, Zhao Yu opened a hexagram. Suddenly, he sat straight up in surprise! This was because in the center of the system interface, there were two big characters… Gen and Kun!
Zhao Yu took a heavy breath and thought… Gen and Kun! This hexagram… Is it about the Devil Case? Did I receive it because of my efforts these few days?
Today was the last day before Han Kuan was set to be released. His release had been scheduled for 6 p.m. from the Golden City Detention Center. From that moment onward, he would be deemed an innocent person.
Suddenly, Zhao Yu thought of the side adventure. It showed that the location was actually his office, which was exactly where he was now! Moreover, the time was scheduled for less than an hour from now!
When Zhao Yu was started to feel the pressure regarding the time, the door of the office was suddenly pushed open and Ran Tao came in with two middle-aged men.
“Group leader…” Ran Tao came up to Zhao Yu in a hurry, then pointed at the two men and said, “Look… This is…”
Zhao Yu looked up and saw that he knew one of the men. He was Lang Xiangyang’s cousin, Lang Xiangqian. However, the man behind Lang Xiangqian was a stranger to Zhao Yu.
“Hello officer!” Lang Xiangqian politely shook hands with Zhao Yu, then pointed to the stranger and said, “This is Gao Shiwei. He used to work with us. After seeing the news yesterday, he found my contact information and called me. After some exchanges, we feel that it is necessary to tell you something about that year. It might be useful to the case.”
“Oh?” Zhao Yu pointed to two chairs and stretched out his hand. “Sit down, please!”
When the three men were seated, the man named Gao Shiwei said quickly, “Officer, I used to work in the same group with Han Kuan, and I often went out with him. I heard that he is your suspect on the news, so I wanted to come here and tell you something.”
“Oh…” Zhao Yu nodded, then said politely, “Please do.”
Gao Shiwei then said, “Every business trip, we would all stay in the same room. Among the many employees, I was the most familiar with him. You see… Han Kuan was not very talkative. He often wrote and drew in a small notebook in a corner by himself. This man seemed dull, but was actually really smart.”
Gao Shiwei then added, “Also, he enjoyed online activities very much. Any chance he got, he would go to an Internet cafe for entertainment. Sometimes, he would stay up all night in the cafe. I got used to that later on.”
He then added, “And, he seemed to have no emotions at all. No matter what he did, he was always so relaxed and expressionless. Not a strong feeling ever showed on his face!”
Gao Shiwei thought for a moment, then said, “So, what I wanted to tell you today is… I think that when Han Kuan told Mr. Lang that he was leaving Beiqian, there was something not right about him…”
Zhao Yu was listening attentively this whole time, and when he heard this last statement, he suddenly reacted strongly and asked in a hurry, “What?”
“Gao Shiwei took out a small notebook, looked at it, and said, “Sorry, I don’t have a good memory. These things are what I’d written down as I was trying to recall last night. Oh… The day Han Kuan left was December 26th. According to his original plan, he wanted to leave on December 27th. But, because we were busy and needed his help on the 27th, he left one day earlier.
“The most important thing is that when he left, he looked very panicked! For the first time, I saw him do things in a hurry. We all thought that something serious had happened to his family.
“At that time, Mr. Lang was sick and in a lot of pain. So, he wanted Han Kuan to stay one more day and help him finish the last batch of work. But, Han Kuan insisted on leaving that day. At last, Mr. Lang couldn’t change Han Kuan’s mind, so he let the accountant settle his salary!”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu noticed something and asked, “Do you remember where Han Kuan went before he left?”
“I remember it clearly… Guang’an!” Gao Shiwei said with a confident tone. “Han Kuan went alone on that trip. He left on the 23rd and came back in the morning on the 26th! From what I knew, the work in Guang’an was not very difficult. Otherwise, I would have gone with him!”
When Zhao Yu heard the word “Guang’an,” his heart started thumping wildly. After all, Guang’an was the place where the last victim of the Devil Case had died. Since Han Kuan returned from Guang’an before he left Beiqian, it was clearly suspicious!
“So…” Miao Ying also realized the importance of this information and asked quickly, “Han Kuan went to Guang’an alone?”
Gao Shiwei nodded.
“How about Mr. Lang?” Miao Ying then asked.
“No…” Gao Shiwei answered firmly. “We were so busy after the Spring Festival, that Mr. Lang has never left ever since the New Year! But, nobody expected that he would… Alas…”
Lang Xiangqian then said, “I went to the provincial capital at that time to meet some important business partners. So, I left my cousin to be responsible for managing the company at that time!”
“Officer, that’s all I want to tell you about!” Gao Shiwei said. “At the beginning, I didn’t feel that it was important, but after reading your description of the murderer yesterday, I felt that it was really possible that it could be Han Kuan! I hope that you can find out the truth soon.”
“Mr. Gao, thank you for this information!” Zhao Yu was very excited, but he maintained his calm demeanor as he shook hands with Gao Shiwei and said, “Mr. Gao, thank you for this information!” Zhao Yu was very excited, but he maintained his calm demeanor as he shook hands with Gao Shiwei and said, “Please do me a favor and help us make a detailed written record of all of this.”
When he saw Zhao Yu waving his hand, Zeng Ke immediately went forward and took Gao Shiwei and Lang Xiangqian away to make a written record of their confessions.
As soon as they left, Miao Ying immediately pointed to the white board and said to Zhao Yu, “Zhao Yu, the last Devil Case victim died in Guang’an on the same day that Lang Xiangyang went to the clinic to see a doctor. That day was December 25th! But, regarding Han Kuan… It was on December 26the that he returned to Beiqian and submitted his resignation to Lang Xiangyang!”
Zhao Yu found the problem with this immediately and said, “The last murder happened at about 3 a.m., and Guang’an is only 40 kilometers from Beiqian. Han Kuan killed people. Why didn’t he return the same day?What did he do after the murder?”
Miao Ying was also very confused as she wondered aloud, “And, why was Han Kuan so panicked?”
