Film and Television: My Cheat Code is AI

[Thanks to Bingwei Chenxi and Phantom Artist for their monthly ticket support, thank you very much.]

In the interrogation room.

Tengu sat on the iron chair, the handcuffs on his wrists reflecting the light. He looked at Zhang Yang sitting opposite him, then suddenly smiled. There was no hostility in that smile, but rather a hint of unspoken admiration. He said, "I admit defeat today. What's your name?"

Zhang Yang leaned back in his chair and said in a nonchalant tone, "My name is unimportant. Where's the rest of the explosives?"

Tengu snorted and glanced at him sideways, saying, "You really want to know? What about the bottle of wine you promised me?"

Zhang Yang bent down and pulled a bottle of baijiu from under the table, placed it on the table with a thud as the bottom of the bottle hit the table, and said, "I prepared it for you."

Tengu's eyes lit up, and he reached for it. Zhang Yang unscrewed the bottle cap and pushed the liquor towards him. Tengu grabbed it, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp. He grinned and exhaled, saying, "That was refreshing." He slammed the bottle on the table, wiped his mouth, and his face returned to its usual unyielding expression. "But the explosives, I don't know."

Yang Zhen stepped forward from the side, ready to make a move, but Zhang Yang blocked him with his arm. Zhang Yang pushed Yang Zhen back half a step and whispered, "Brother Yang, don't be impulsive." He turned to face Tian Gou again, his tone a few degrees deeper than before, neither hurried nor angry, "Tian Gou, I respect you as a man. Consider this bottle of wine your farewell gift. Seventy kilograms of explosives would be enough to execute you ten times over."

Tengu paused for a moment while holding the wine bottle.

At that moment, the interrogation room door opened, and Ji Jie walked in, holding a folder in her hand. Standing by the table, she looked down at Tian Gou and said, "Tian Gou, your subordinate Zhang Yuan knows about that batch of explosives, right?"

Tian Gou's expression froze. Ji Jie opened the folder, slowly turned a page, and said, "He was already bribed by Zhou Si'er. Now we know the whereabouts of the explosives, so you don't need to say anything more."

Yang Zhen grabbed the car keys from the table, nodded to Zhang Yang, and said, "Let's go."

Ji Jie closed the folder and said, "Jianhua Village."

Zhang Yang drove, with Yang Zhen in the passenger seat and Chang Baole and Ding Jian squeezed into the back. Two SWAT vehicles followed behind, and they headed towards Jianhua Village. Upon arrival, they crept to the location Zhang Yuan had instructed them to. Before a lookout at the village entrance could react, Ding Jian tackled him from behind.

"Tell me, where is the explosive?" Yang Zhen squatted down and stared at him.

The man was so frightened that he could barely speak. He said, "No, no, no, brother, don't do it, I'll talk." He raised his handcuffed hands and pointed to the depths of the village, indicating a secluded courtyard.

Yang Zhen kicked open the courtyard gate. Inside, there were piles of old farm tools and several large water vats. A stray dog ​​was tied to the corner of the wall; it barked twice before Ding Jian chased it away with a stick. Yang Zhen stopped, looked around, and said, "Everyone, search thoroughly."

Zhang Yang led his men to spread out and search. He checked the water jars in the corner one by one. He lifted the lid of the first one, which was half full of smelly rainwater. He lifted the lid of the second one, which was covered with a plastic sheet. He tore off the plastic sheet and looked inside. He saw bundles of explosives wrapped in waterproof tarpaulins, neatly stacked, at the bottom of the water.

"The explosives have been found!" Zhang Yang shouted.

Yang Zhen rushed over from the other end of the courtyard, shoved Zhang Yang aside, and personally peered into the urn. Only when he saw the explosive tubes soaking in water did his shoulders slowly relax from beside his ears.

Ji Jie walked over, glanced into the urn, and turned to Yang Zhen, saying, "You should take a rest too."

Yang Zhen put the safety back on the gun and holstered it without saying a word, only letting out a heavy breath.

The next day, Zhang Yang sat at his desk organizing the case files, the stack of files covering most of the surface. Old Zheng came out of his office, carrying his signature enamel mug, stood in the large office of Group Six, clapped his hands, and said, "Comrades, come on, everyone come here."

Everyone put down what they were doing and gathered around. Old Zheng, holding a teacup, said with a rare smile, "Because our sixth group has been working overtime these past few days, we've found all 100 kilograms of explosives. The bureau has agreed to give our sixth group a day off."

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Yang put his pen down on the table, leaned back in his chair, and finally felt comfortable.

Zhang Yang had a comfortable rest on the second day and slept like a log.

I went out for a walk with Wang Ye in the evening and had some hot pot to treat my stomach, which had been suffering for a while. I really couldn't stand eating instant noodles every day.

Silent all night.

……

A man ran while shouting, "Murder! Murder!"

Ding Jian, accompanied by two police officers, gave chase, shouting, "Stop!"

They chased him all the way to the vicinity of the vegetable market, surrounding and blocking him from all sides. The man was running so hard that his lungs were about to burst. He was bent over with his hands on his knees, panting heavily. Ding Jian took out handcuffs and was about to handcuff him when the man reached out. Just as the handcuffs were about to close, he suddenly grabbed Ding Jian's wrist, twisted and flipped it, and threw Ding Jian to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw. Then he turned and ran again.

Ding Jian slammed his back against the concrete, wincing in pain, and cursed, "You bastard, still running!"

He scrambled to his feet and gave chase, taking a few running steps before leaping into the air and kicking the man in the back. The man fell forward, and Ding Jian followed him to the ground. The man rolled over, grabbed a knife that had fallen to the side, and brandished the tip at Ding Jian. Ding Jian took a half-step back and shouted, "Put the knife down!"

The man ignored him completely and continued to swing his knife wildly, slashing Ding Jian's arm and tearing a gash in his sleeve, from which blood seeped out.

Ding Jian glanced down at his wound, his anger flaring. He rushed forward and delivered a knee strike to the man's abdomen, causing the man to double over in pain. Ding Jian followed up with a right hook, knocking him to the ground. Two police officers pounced on him, pinning him down, and finally handcuffed him.

The man, his face pressed against the ground, was still shouting, "Innocent! Innocent!"

Ding Jian clutched his arm, wincing in pain, and said, "You still dare to say you're innocent? We just found blood-stained clothes in your house. So many people saw you covered in blood and ran home to be taken away!"

The man continued to cry out his innocence. Zhang Yang arrived in his car, jumped out, and saw Ding Jian clutching his arm, blood seeping from between his fingers.

"Brother Ding, let's go to the hospital to get it bandaged up first."

Ding Jian shook the blood off his hands and said, "We'll interrogate this bastard properly when we get back."

Zhang Yang nodded and said, "Don't worry, murder plus assaulting a police officer, he'll be in big trouble."

Inside the deceased's home, the moment the door opened, a stench of blood assaulted the senses. The deceased lay face up on the living room floor, a pool of dark red blood beneath him, already half-dried, with splattered blood around his head. The forensic doctor, kneeling beside the body, his gloves stained with blood, looked up and said, "The deceased was killed by blunt force trauma, struck more than a dozen times. Even an iron head would have been broken through."

Zhang Yang searched each room in the house. He pushed open the bathroom door and saw a plastic gasoline can in the corner. He bent down, picked it up, and shook it; it was still half full of liquid, making a gurgling sound. He unscrewed the cap, smelled it, and shouted outside, "Brother Yang, Brother Ding, come quick!"

Yang Zhen strode over and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Gasoline." Zhang Yang held up the gas can. "I asked their neighbors; the deceased didn't own a car. Why would he buy gasoline?"

Ding Jian leaned against the doorframe and said, "What if it was the murderer who killed and disposed of the body?"

Zhang Yang shook his head and said, "Let the forensic team extract fingerprints and check. I don't think the murderer is that bold; otherwise, he wouldn't have killed someone and then run back to his own home."

Ding Jian said, "He's already killed someone, what else wouldn't he dare to do?"

Yang Zhen interrupted them, saying, "Alright, let the technical investigation team extract fingerprints first."

Ji Jie took a bag containing an ID card. Yang Zhen looked at it and said, "Liu Dong, from Northeast China."

After examining the scene, the group had just stepped out of the building when Tian Rui approached with an elderly man and said, "Sister Ji, this is the person who reported the crime, the victim's neighbor. He has seen the murderer."

The old man looked to be in his early sixties, with gray hair, but he seemed to be in good spirits. He said, "I was strolling around near the entrance of the building when I heard a noise coming from inside. I thought someone was breaking something, so I didn't think much of it. But after a short while, I heard the sound of someone banging on the security door, so I went inside to check. As soon as I entered, I saw a man covered in blood running frantically out, bumping into me. When I went in, I saw Liu Dong lying face down in the living room, covered in blood. I quickly chased after him, but he was long gone, so I went home and called 110."

Yang Zhen asked, "Was the man holding something in his hand?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "He was holding a hammer, and it was covered in blood."

Ji Jie asked, "Do you know this person?"

The old man shook his head and said, "I don't know him."

Just then, Chang Baole ran back from outside carrying an evidence bag. Inside the plastic bag was a bloodstained hammer, the blood already dried to a dark black. He said, "Brother Yang, I found it in the trash can outside."

Ding Jian stared at the hammer and gritted his teeth, saying, "This kid's ruthless."

Zhang Yang frowned and said, "Was he too flustered, just throwing the weapon away like that?"

Yang Zhen said, "We'll know once we get back and investigate."

Interrogation room. Ding Jian rolled up his sleeves, revealing a white edge of the bandage on his arm. He looked at Chen Feng sitting opposite him and said, "Chen Feng, not bad kung fu. Quick reflexes too. My arm still hurts."

Chen Feng was almost in tears, and said in a hurried and hoarse voice, "Big brother, I didn't mean to, I was just too scared."

"Scared?" Ding Jian slammed the statement on the table. "You dare say you're scared after murdering and assaulting a police officer? Tell me, how do you know Liu Dong?"

Chen Feng asked blankly, "Liu Dong? Who's that?"

"They are the victims."

"Brother, I'm innocent! We didn't even know each other before!" Chen Feng's Northeastern accent came through in his anxiety.

"Chen Feng, we've got you firmly in our grasp. What's the use of resisting?" Ding Jian leaned forward. "You don't know him? Then how did you end up at his house? You're not going to tell me he kidnapped you, are you?"

Chen Feng's face flushed red with anxiety. He said, "It's not, brother." He lowered his head as if he didn't know how to explain.

Yang Zhen leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "Alright, stop wasting time talking to him and give him the things."

Ding Jian took an evidence bag from the drawer and placed it on the table. Inside was the bloodstained shirt. He said, "Chen Feng, take a look for yourself. This was found in your house."

Yang Zhen said, "Tell me, what happened?"

Chen Feng raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed, and said, "It was Liu Dong who wanted to kill me."

The air in the interrogation room suddenly froze. Yang Zhen and Ding Jian exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.

In Lao Zheng's office, several people sat in a circle. Yang Zhen briefly reported the interrogation results, saying, "The deceased, Liu Dong, met Chen Feng at the labor market, gave him 100 yuan, and asked him to move some things from his house. According to Chen Feng's confession, after Liu Dong brought Chen Feng home, he took him to the bedroom and asked him to move a box from under the bed. While Chen Feng was bending over, Liu Dong hit him with a hammer. During the struggle, Chen Feng grabbed the hammer and killed Liu Dong before running away."

After listening, Old Zheng glanced around at the people present and said, "Everyone, what other insightful opinions do you have?"

Zhang Yang flipped through the transcript in his hand, looked up and said, "I think the first part of what Chen Feng said is consistent with what the complainant heard, so we can assume that Chen Feng did not lie in the first part."

Ji Jie nodded and said, "Judging from Chen Feng's reaction, he does seem to be in a panic."

Yang Zhen said, "This case is a bit strange. Chen Feng doesn't seem to be lying."

Ding Jian grew anxious, raising his voice as he asked, "So you really believe Chen Feng acted in self-defense?"

Old Zheng looked at him and said, "So, what's the situation, according to you?"

Ding Jian said, "This kid must have tried to break into a house but failed, and then killed the owner to cover it up after being discovered."

Zhang Yang put down the pen and said in a calm tone, "Brother Ding, can you calm down? There are Chen Feng's fingerprints on the hammer, and also Liu Dong's fingerprints. And the gasoline can I found in the bathroom only has Liu Dong's fingerprints on it, not Chen Feng's. If Chen Feng committed burglary, why would he carry gasoline?"

Yang Zhen frowned and turned to Ding Jian, saying, "Ding Jian, don't get emotional."

Ding Jian took a deep breath, his chest puffing out and then deflating, and said, "Brother Yang, I'm a straightforward person. Are you saying I'm settling a personal score? There's so much evidence to prove Chen Feng's crimes; we've practically caught him red-handed."

Yang Zhen's voice hardened as he said, "Let me tell you, whenever a bad person cries out for justice, we must produce irrefutable evidence."

Ding Jian stood up, the chair leg scraping against the cement floor with a sharp sound, and said, "I know, the team in Jiang Minghai's case has always had a problem with me."

Yang Zhen slammed his hand on the table and stood up, saying, "Those are two different things!"

There was a moment of silence in the office before Zhang Yang took over, speaking calmly but clearly: "There's still one more point of doubt. Chen Feng's ID card is real, but Liu Dong's ID card is fake."

Ding Jian took the report from his hand, frowned, and said, "Fake? How could that be?"

Tian Rui pushed the door open and entered, glancing at the faces of everyone in the room before whispering, "I'm sorry." She walked over to Ji Jie, about to whisper something, when Old Zheng tapped the table and said, "Don't hold a secret meeting. Speak louder if you have something to say."

Tian Rui straightened up and said, "Jiang Minghai has recanted his testimony again."

Ji Jie led her men to interrogate Jiang Minghai. Zhang Yang sat in his seat for a while, then walked to Yang Zhen's desk and said, "Brother Yang, I also want to search Liu Dong's house. His identity is fake, so he must have some dirty secrets, which is why he's using a fake identity."

Yang Zhen nodded and said, "You go ahead, I'll go find Ding Jian."

Zhang Yang drove back to Liu Dong's place. The police officers at the door were on guard duty and saluted him as he approached. Zhang Yang went inside, closed the door, and began to search through everything again. Several ordinary clothes hung in the closet; he felt the pockets of each one. His hand paused when he touched a suit jacket. The fabric was wrong; this suit's material felt very fine, completely out of place in this rented room.

He opened the inside pocket of his suit jacket and felt a hard glasses case. He opened it and found no glasses, only a folded piece of paper inside. He unfolded it; it was a bearer check for 600,000. Zhang Yang took a deep breath and continued flipping through the case. There was a hidden pocket on the back of his tie; he pulled out another check for 400,000.

He carefully put away the two checks, took out his phone, and called Yang Zhen. The call connected, and Yang Zhen spoke first: "I was just about to call you. Come back quickly, we've found out Liu Dong's real identity." Then he hung up.

Zhang Yang rushed back to his team with the evidence in hand.

Upon entering the office, Ding Jian spoke first, saying, "We've found out. Liu Dong's real name is Li Dong. He's a fugitive suspect from Northeast China, and he looks similar to Chen Feng. The fingerprints match too. This Li Dong embezzled one million yuan from his former workplace and fled with the money."

Zhang Yang placed the two checks on the table and said, "That matches up. I found two bearer checks worth one million at the deceased's house. Also, I found a flight ticket date in his diary. I had the airport staff check it, and the deceased didn't board the plane."

Ding Jian frowned and said, "Did Chen Feng find out Li Dong's true identity and kill him for a million?"

Zhang Yang shook his head and said with certainty, "I don't think so. Think about it, who would make such a commotion after committing murder? Even if they did, there were no signs of the victim's house being ransacked. Chen Feng has no motive for murder."

Ding Jian was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Zhang Yang, do you have a problem with me?"

Zhang Yang paused for a moment, then looked earnestly into Ding Jian's eyes and said, "Brother Ding, you've been taking care of me ever since I joined the team. How could I possibly have a problem with you? We can't wrong an innocent person, nor can we let a guilty person go free. There are indeed suspicious points in this case. We just need to find out those suspicious points and identify the real culprit."

Ding Jian lowered his head and said after a few seconds, "I understand. But I have to say, this Li Dong really looks like Chen Feng."

Zhang Yang slapped Ding Jian's thigh, his eyes lighting up as he said, "I understand!"

Yang Zhen and Ding Jian looked at him simultaneously and said, "What do you know?"

Zhang Yang stood up and spoke quickly but clearly: "I finally know what happened with the can of gasoline in the bathroom. Li Dong is an embezzler, and he needed a body double to go abroad. He knew we could do skull reconstruction, so he chose Chen Feng. We can all tell from the photos that Li Dong and Chen Feng look alike. He exchanged all his money for two bearer checks and carried them with him, and bought a can of gasoline to destroy the evidence. But he didn't expect that Chen Feng, whom he had chosen, was skilled in martial arts. He couldn't subdue Chen Feng, and instead became the victim. Chen Feng became a murderer for no reason, and he didn't even know why Li Dong killed him—the reason being that he looked like Li Dong."

After listening, Yang Zhen slowly said, "Your explanation is a bit too far-fetched."

Ding Jian, however, said thoughtfully, "But I think your analysis might be correct. Chen Feng's actions now seem somewhat like self-defense."

Zhang Yang smiled and looked at Ding Jian, saying, "That depends on whether you pursue the matter of him assaulting a police officer, Brother Ding. If you don't, he might actually be released without charge."

Ding Jian smiled, touched the bandage on his arm, and said, "As long as this murder case is thoroughly investigated, I can let him off the hook."

Zhang Yang asked, "What do we do now?"

Yang Zhen looked at Zhang Yang with a slight smile and said, "You're the one who analyzed this, so tell me."

Zhang Yang thought for a moment and said, "We need to interrogate Chen Feng several more times, asking him those detailed questions over and over again, and find similarities and corroborations in his statements so that we can find out the truth."

Ding Jian nodded and said, "I'll go."

Yang Zhen said, "Okay." Then he turned to look at Zhang Yang, "You're getting more and more capable. I can find you a case to handle on your own in a while."

Zhang Yang hesitated for a moment before asking, "Can I do it?"

Yang Zhen said, "Everyone goes through this, what are you afraid of? Ding Jian and Tian Rui will help you when the time comes."

Zhang Yang stood up, straightened his back, and said, "Yes, definitely no problem."

Ding Jian began interrogating Chen Feng relentlessly, repeatedly asking the same questions: what clothes Liu Dong was wearing at the labor market, what color were the boxes he was asked to move, and from which direction did the hammer come at him? He asked these questions again and again, and Chen Feng's answers remained consistent, matching every single detail perfectly.

That day, Yang Zhen asked Chang Baole, "How many times has it been?"

Bao Le glanced at the interrogation record and said, "This is the tenth time already, and the details match up perfectly."

Yang Zhen said, "It seems Zhang Yang was right. Have the case files from the Northeast been sent over yet?"

Bao Le checked the time and said, "It should be about time."

Yang Zhen said, "Let's go take a look at the case files."

Back in his office, Zhang Yang was sitting at his desk, flipping through case files faxed from Northeast China. He looked up and saw Yang Zhen enter, smiling as he said, "Master, wasn't my analysis correct this time?"

Yang Zhen took the case file, flipped through it, and nodded, saying, "Your analysis is indeed correct. The case file from the Northeast has also been sent over, and it's the same as your analysis."

Zhang Yang looked at Ding Jian beside him and asked with a smile, "Brother Ding, are you still going to pursue that matter about your arm?"

Ding Jian smiled shyly, cracked his knuckles, and said, "It's alright, I don't plan to pursue it further. The case file has been submitted to the procuratorate, let's see what they do then."

Zhang Yang closed the case file and pushed it on the table. He stood up, stretched his shoulders, and said, "Come on, didn't you say you wanted to practice? We're free today, how about we do some boxing?"

Ding Jian's eyes lit up, and he took off his coat, draped it over the back of the chair, and said, "Let's go!"