Chapter 142: Surveillance? Reinvestigation

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Fat Lu suggested we go eat first and then come back to continue discussing. As soon as we left the police station, Wang Yazhuo immediately asked me why I wanted to investigate the cases of Qiu Xiao and Hu Yufang. I smiled and replied, “Since Fat Lu asked me about it, he probably wants me to look into Hu Yufang’s death; otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked.”

Wang Yazhuo pondered for a moment and scoffed, “Right, those cases involving the bodies. The killer hasn’t been caught yet, and even with you, it’s not easy. Fat Lu must recognize your skills. So he’s sending you to investigate Hu Yufang’s death, which seems easier to solve. Maybe before any clues come up in the body cases, you’ll have figured this one out.”

On the way, Wang Yazhuo kept saying that Fat Lu was playing a clever game—once I uncovered the cause of Hu Yufang’s death, Fat Lu could take credit. And even if the body cases yielded no clues, after solving Hu Yufang’s case, Fat Lu could still use me to catch the person who desecrated the corpses. That way, two cases could be handled at once.

I didn’t respond to Wang Yazhuo’s remarks. Regardless of Fat Lu’s schemes, I was more eager to investigate Hu Yufang’s death because she was connected to Duan Kun. I hoped that by probing into Hu Yufang’s case, I might expose Duan Kun or at least find more leads about him.

As we approached the restaurant, I suddenly turned my head, sensing someone might be following me. But the crowd behind us was dense, and I saw no suspicious figure. Just then, Little Ghost pointed in a direction, saying she saw someone glance at me when I turned and then quickly run away.

Little Ghost indicated a street corner. I told Wang Yazhuo to take Little Ghost into the restaurant and not to wander off. Then I rushed toward that corner. The street was crowded; after searching for a while, I couldn’t find the person Little Ghost described and had to return to the restaurant.

When I came back, Wang Yazhuo and Little Ghost were already eating. Wang Yazhuo asked if I had found anyone. I shook my head.

I questioned Little Ghost if the person was Xuan Yi. She shook her head firmly, saying it definitely wasn’t him, but she hadn’t seen the person clearly. With so many people and only a quick glance, it was impressive that Little Ghost even caught sight of someone.

I frowned, not having eaten a bite, wondering who else besides Xuan Yi might be following me. Soon, I came up with a few possibilities: since Wang Yazhuo was with me, the follower might be someone sent by Wang Jianming; or perhaps the person was the one from the hotel who almost harmed Wang Yazhuo.

I wasn’t worried about Wang Jianming’s people. His cooperation with Luo Feng in the harbor district was unfinished; he wouldn’t dare harm me. At most, he might try to take Wang Yazhuo back. In fact, I secretly hoped Wang Jianming would take her away—a woman by my side made moving freely somewhat inconvenient.

What concerned me was if the one following us was the person from the hotel who nearly killed Wang Yazhuo. If so, their boldness was growing—stalking us near the police station in broad daylight meant their moves would only become bolder.

While I was lost in thought, Wang Yazhuo and Little Ghost were almost done eating, unaware that danger was creeping closer, laughing and playing as if nothing was wrong.

On the way back to the police station, we were even more cautious, yet neither Little Ghost nor I noticed anyone following us again. When we returned, Fat Lu was still napping. We called him a few times, but he didn’t wake.

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Listening to Fat Lu’s snoring, Wang Yazhuo shook her head and said she couldn’t understand how Fat Lu, so nonchalant despite such major cases, had earned the title of “King of Solving Cases.” She was about to go wake him when someone came in with documents and stopped us, telling us not to disturb Fat Lu’s nap.

This person explained that Fat Lu took a nap every day and hated being disturbed during it. Anyone who did was met with his furious wrath. Many newcomers, unaware of this, had been scolded severely. Even when his superiors called during his nap, Fat Lu would barely open his eyes, recognize the caller, but refuse to answer, continuing to sleep before calling back after resting.

Fat Lu had been reprimanded multiple times by his superiors for this behavior but remained stubborn. However, his high case-solving rate and volume meant his superiors rarely punished him and often refrained from calling him during lunch unless urgent.

After placing the files on the table, the man left.

Before Fat Lu’s official shift started, I asked Wang Yazhuo and Little Ghost to quietly sit aside and wait for Fat Lu to wake. Wang Yazhuo seemed tired and, holding Little Ghost, soon dozed off. I was the only one awake in the office.

I quietly approached Fat Lu’s desk. It was cluttered, and his gun lay openly on the surface. I gently picked it up, removed the magazine, which was fully loaded. Rumor had it Fat Lu was a coward who had never fired a shot since becoming a police officer.

I reassembled the pistol carefully and placed it back, then stared at Fat Lu, still snoring, for a few seconds.

If anyone had tried to harm him, Fat Lu might have died countless times by now. His careless demeanor hardly fit the image of the northern district’s “King of Solving Cases.” Beneath him lay a hand-drawn map, mostly covered by his body, so I couldn’t discern its details.

After waiting a while longer, Fat Lu remained asleep. My gaze shifted to the file folder just delivered, marked as documents from recent cases. I didn’t wait further and opened it without permission.

The autopsy reports on several bodies were already out. Semen from the same man was found on the lower bodies of all the victims. Other clues the police had gathered were similar to previous findings. I focused on the toxicology reports of vomit from the last two crime scenes.

Sure enough, no common stomach contents were found in the vomit, which confirmed my theory: the killer was gradually adapting, no longer feeling disgusted. The vomit was deliberately expelled, a warning signal to the police about his next move.

If my deduction was correct, the warning was simple: he would soon target a living person.

Besides that, linking all the crime scene evidence revealed no other apparent clues or warnings.

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Yet I didn’t believe the killer’s message was so simple.

This case showed the killer’s blatant defiance of judicial authority, with brutal and arrogant methods and no effort to clean the crime scenes. Usually, such defiance and confidence indicate the killer intends to send multiple messages to the police.

However, after reviewing many documents and examining every corner of each scene, I found no additional clues.

I packed the files away and sat for a moment before Fat Lu finally stirred groggily. He gathered a few men and told us to follow them to investigate Hu Yufang’s death. When they asked who I was, Fat Lu grinned and said I was his special operative who could greatly assist them.

Leaving Wang Yazhuo and Little Ghost at the station, I went out with those officers.

For the first time, I could openly meet with representatives from the Medical University.

We requested to see several of Hu Yufang and Qiu Xiao’s former instructors. They spoke of them with regret, recalling both as excellent students—polite to teachers and academically outstanding.

Most of the instructors were aware of the relationship between Qiu Xiao and Hu Yufang.

The university neither encouraged nor forbade romantic relationships among students, but it tolerated these two due to their exceptional performance.

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