Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 373 (Bonus Chapter) Major Discovery
"Officer Zhou, is that all?" Qian Hongxing asked.

Zhou Yi nodded. "I won't get involved. Thank you for your help. As for the money..."

Qian Hongxing immediately said generously, "Between us, mentioning the word 'money' is vulgar. Money is nothing to me."

Zhou Yi patted his arm gratefully and said, "Thanks, I'll remember that, I won't mention it again."

Not long ago, Qian Hongxing had just arrived at the company and asked his secretary to notify the heads of each department to hold a meeting.

Everyone's here, we're just waiting for him.

He had just entered the conference room and hadn't even sat down when his phone rang.

Upon seeing that it was Zhou Yi calling, he immediately went outside to answer the phone.

The people in the room heard him say "okay" several times into the phone before turning around and leaving.

The people in the room looked at each other, then asked, "So, will this meeting still proceed?"

Zhou Yi told Qian Hongxing to come to Daguan Street right now and bring some cash.

Qian Hongxing didn't know what was going on, but when he heard Zhou Yi say he needed to bring cash, he went straight back to his office, took 30,000 yuan from the safe, put it in his pocket, and then drove the Audi away from the company.

When he arrived at Daguan Street, Zhou Yi was already waiting for him by the roadside.

Just as Qian Hongxing was about to get out of the car, Zhou Yi opened the passenger door and got in.

Qian Hongxing took out the 30,000 yuan and asked, "Officer Zhou, is this enough? If not, I'll go to the nearby bank to withdraw more."

Zhou Yi told him to put the money away first, and then said, "Mr. Qian, you don't need to give me this money, and I don't need that much anyway. I called you here because I need your help with something, since it's inconvenient for me to show up in person."

"Okay, you say."

"Go to the commercial management office on this street, it's number sixteen up ahead. Find the administrator and tell him that last night your wife tripped over a manhole cover and when she got home, she found that an heirloom ring was missing, probably fallen into the sewer. Then ask the administrator to find a plumber to help retrieve the ring. Emphasize that the ring is very valuable and precious, so you can pay for the plumbers. Pay for as many plumbers as he hires."

Qian Hongxing listened very carefully, afraid of missing any details.

"And you should also emphasize that you are willing to offer a large reward if the ring is found."

Qian Hongxing gave an OK sign; he understood Zhou Yi's meaning perfectly.

A generous reward will surely attract brave men; people will only work hard when the money is right.

This is why Zhou Yi asked him to bring some money, but then said he didn't need that much.

Bring money to hire a plumber, and the more the better.

The reason we don't need so many is because there's no such thing as an ancestral ring; offering a large reward would just be a waste of time.

After confirming with Zhou Yi, Qian Hongxing immediately got out of the car and walked towards the management office without even asking why.

Zhou Yi was somewhat moved. Right now, the only person who could do things for him and was capable of doing things for him was Qian Hongxing.

The key point is that when you approach him, you don't need to explain why, and he tacitly doesn't ask a single question.

Now all we have to do is wait. Jiang Biao's main force is conducting a thorough search, and they should find the other body parts soon.

Meanwhile, as soon as the administrator brings the workers, Qian Hongxing can take the opportunity to slip away.

Zhou Yi wanted the act of salvaging the body and its outcome. If a head was indeed found, the focus would be on the head. Even during a routine investigation, the police wouldn't pay much attention to the "person who lost the ring."

And since I happened to be nearby, it was only natural that I arrived at the scene immediately.

So Qian Hongxing quickly got things done; with his business acumen, this was a piece of cake for him.

The administrator found all the plumbers he knew, and soon two plumbers appeared in front of every manhole cover on Daguan Street, constantly cleaning with tools.

For a time, the street reeked, and shops and passersby complained bitterly.

But the administrator ignored these people completely because Qian Hongxing told Zhou Yi that he pretended not to know anything about the business and directly paid the administrator almost 1.5 times the wages.

Zhou Yi knew that Qian Hongxing was deliberately giving the other party a kickback. Compared to promising a large reward, a direct kickback would make the administrator more willing to do things for him, since there would be a conflict of interest.

Qian Hongxing may not know what Zhou Yi is looking for in the sewers, but he understands what human nature cares about.

Unclogging sewers, especially in places where large amounts of kitchen waste are dumped every day, is not something that can be done in a short time.

Zhou Yi was just thinking about how to bring up the topic with Qian Hongxing when the latter spoke up first. "Officer Zhou, since we're not really going to find a ring anyway, if there's nothing else, should I head out? Don't worry, I wasn't even here today!"

Dealing with smart people is so refreshing. After thanking him, Zhou Yi got out of the car.

As Zhou Yi watched Qian Hongxing's Audi drive away, he suddenly wondered what Qian Hongxing would think if they actually found the head later.

The commotion was quite loud, and the smell was truly unpleasant, attracting a large crowd of onlookers.

The shop owners on the street, in particular, have expressed their opinions.

However, the manager completely ignored them, after all, he had taken plenty of kickbacks from the workers.

He would occasionally glance around, seemingly searching for the boss who had provided the money.

Zhou Yi deliberately went to the spot where the human head was found in his previous life to take a look, but judging from the garbage the workers had taken out, there was nothing unusual.

Suddenly, Zhou Yi heard someone shout from not far away: "What is that thing?"

Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly walked in that direction.

Suddenly, a figure ran past him; it was the market administrator in his forties, who was even more anxious than him.

A worker pulled a black waterproof plastic bag out of the sewer. It was tightly tied, round and bulging, and its size was almost the same as a human head.

Although the human head found in the sewer in the previous life was not in a plastic bag, since some things have changed, anything is possible.

Zhou Yi's heart was in his throat, but the plumber and the manager showed no intention of opening the bag. This was understandable, since they were looking for the ring, not a human head.

The manager glanced at the black bag and cursed, "Which son of a bitch threw his trash like that? What if he clogs the sewers? He's ruining everyone's business. What a scoundrel!" With that, he kicked the bag, sending it flying and cracking against the wall.

Something fell out of it—not human heads, but several huge dead rats, startling everyone around.

Only Zhou Yi breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the dead rat.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed a strange person in the crowd around him.

Today is May Day, and the temperature is already quite high. Many people on the street are already wearing summer clothes such as shirts and short sleeves.

This person was completely covered up, wearing long pants and long sleeves, a hat and a mask, and most strangely, he was wearing sunglasses early in the morning.

He seemed completely out of place with everyone around him.

Another point is that he was positioned very close to the side of the street, keeping his distance from the people around him, giving people a sense of cautious seclusion.

Zhou Yi was some distance away from the other person; he was on one side of the crowd, while the other person was on the other. But after only one glance at the other person, the person suddenly turned and walked away.

This unusual behavior immediately alerted him.

Because some perpetrators return to the scene after committing the crime and blend into the crowd. From a criminal psychology perspective, those who engage in such behavior are highly likely to be perpetrators with abnormal and extreme psychology, also known as psychopaths.

Zhou Yi immediately pushed through the crowd and chased after him, but the other person turned into a side alley.

Shangguan Street is located in a large old town area with a complex network of alleys. The other person was running fast and was clearly very familiar with the area. Soon, Zhou Yi lost track of the person while trying to avoid an old lady who suddenly appeared at a side intersection.

He stood in the alley, looking left and right, filled with regret.

I should have run faster; there's definitely something wrong with this person.

Suddenly, his gaze fell on the ground at the intersection ahead.

Most of the roads in the alley are pebbly roads, which are just a layer of pebbles laid on the dirt ground, but over the years they have become covered with moss.

There was a faint half-footprint at the intersection. Judging from the direction of the half-footprint, it was most likely left by making too much force when making a sharp turn.

Zhou Yi followed the direction of the footprints, but did not find any new footprints.

As I crossed another intersection, I almost bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry." Zhou Yi was stunned as soon as he finished speaking.

He exclaimed, "Teacher Xiao?"

The person he almost bumped into was none other than Teacher Hong, Xiao Bing, whom he had met a few times before.

"Officer Zhou?" Xiao Bing was also surprised and laughed, "What a coincidence! We really are destined to meet."

After a moment of surprise, a question suddenly popped into Zhou Yi's mind: Why is it such a coincidence?
While he was chasing the suspicious fleeing target, Xiao Bing suddenly appeared.

This is too much of a coincidence!

He suddenly had a suspicion: could the person who ran away just now be Teacher Xiao in front of him?

He glanced at Xiao Bing's clothes: a white shirt and black trousers, which seemed completely unrelated to the clothes worn by the person who had just fled.

However, they do share some similarities in height and build.

"Teacher Xiao, what are you doing here?" Zhou Yi asked tentatively.

Xiao Bing smiled and said, "I live here. My house is just up ahead."

Zhou Yi saw that he had a smile on his face and a calm expression, and he did not seem to be lying.

"Officer Zhou, what are you doing here? Are you here on a case?"

"No, I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd take a shortcut, but I got more and more lost."

“This area is like this, after all, it’s the old town, and I sometimes get confused myself,” Xiao Bing said with a smile. “Come with me, I’ll take you out.”

Zhou Yi was about to refuse because he wanted to look further ahead to see if there were any clothes, masks, or hats lying around.

If Xiao Bing is the suspect, it's impossible for him to change his clothes from head to toe in such a short time.

But then his phone rang. Zhou Yi picked it up and saw that it was Chen Yan calling.

If they call at this time, there must be some special circumstances.

"Hey, Brother Yan." Zhou Yi took a few steps forward to answer the phone, making sure Xiao Bing wouldn't hear what was going on.

"Zhou Yi, we've made a major discovery! The deceased may have been a woman," Chen Yan said excitedly over the phone.

Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat: "Why...why?"

"We just found a bag of deep-fried meat slices in a trash can near a bus stop on Hongqi Road."

"Besides the slices of meat, there was also a bloodstained hair tie in that bag!"

Zhou Yi was startled, and asked in a trembling voice, "What...what does it look like?"

Chen Yan, holding the evidence bag in his hand, said, "It's a hair tie that girls use to tie their hair, with a pink bow that's about five or six centimeters long on it."

　Go ahead and curse me if you want.
　　Regarding the questions raised by some people about why he didn't go home to visit or visit the Lu family.

　　1. His request for leave to go find someone at this time was illogical and inexplicable to the other members of the Third Brigade.

　　2. The school and the Lu family both searched last night. Lu Xiaoshuang clearly told her roommate that she was going back to see her grandmother and had no classes in the afternoon, which means she had been missing for over nine hours. Given Xiaoshuang's personality and Zhou Yi's repeated reminders, Zhou Yi knew she was definitely missing. It's impossible that she went somewhere no one knew about and then came back. That behavior itself is illogical.

　　3. In the previous life, it was Lu Xiaoshuang who died. The most important thing in this life is to confirm whether it was Lu Xiaoshuang who died. Therefore, finding someone's head is the most important, direct and effective method.

　　4. Don't overestimate your individual strength and underestimate the power of the collective. Where are you going to find it on your own?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)