AD | Chapter 12

Hanging up the phone, Lin Shuyao looked at Lu Qingfeng and asked, “New leads?”

“Mm. Xiao Tao said they found the taxi taken by the man in black from the surveillance footage. The driver remembers the destination and can lead the way.” As he spoke, Lu Qingfeng started the engine. It wasn’t until the car was stopped by a red light at the intersection ahead that he spoke again, “Just now in the conference room, did you feel anything was off?”

Before Lin Shuyao could answer, he continued, “Ever since we left Rongguang Group, I’ve been pondering one question. Why did Manager Wu appear at the door? Judging by Bai Mengyu’s actions after she entered, there was indeed surveillance in the conference room specially arranged for us. But if he had already seen and heard our questioning from the monitoring room, why would he specifically go to the conference room to check?”

Lin Shuyao pondered for a moment before saying, “That Manager Wu seemed to think we spent too much time chatting privately with Bai Mengyu. If the murderer is really connected to them, they should have instructed Bai Mengyu beforehand on what to say and what not to say. The fact that it took so long indicates we asked Bai Mengyu other questions, which made Manager Wu suspicious.”

“Because she didn’t. Because she didn’t answer according to their instructions, that’s why they felt Bai Mengyu was taking so long.” Lu Qingfeng immediately responded. But after speaking, he fell into deep thought again, “But why would she choose to seek help from us? Plus the content written on this note… Could it be…”

“One of the three victims was her close friend. This friend foresaw that she might be in danger, so she left evidence with Bai Mengyu in advance. Manager Wu had already become suspicious of Bai Mengyu. This explains why they were monitoring her, and why she used a note to seek our help.” Lin Shuyao replied calmly.

As they spoke, the two drove to Yu’an Road. Just as they entered the fork in the road, they saw Tao Yu and Jiang Huainan waving to them from afar. After parking by the roadside, Lu Qingfeng told Lin Shuyao to stay in the car first. He then opened the door and walked toward the two of them.

“Captain Lu!” Tao Yu shouted as soon as he saw Lu Qingfeng.

He nodded and got straight to the point, “What’s the situation? What have you found out?”

Tao Yu looked at Jiang Huainan beside him. The latter understood the cue and said, “Captain Lu, here’s the situation. Xiao Tao and I confirmed with the drivers of the four cars with license plates starting with Rong A·61 today. The drivers of the first three cars said that although they were parked near Taining Mountain, they hadn’t picked up the man in black. Only the driver of the last car said he remembered, because that passenger’s behavior was very strange.”

Lu Qingfeng asked in confusion, “Strange? How so?”

“The driver said the passenger didn’t get out of the car upon reaching the destination. He sat in the car for about five minutes and wouldn’t get out no matter how much he was urged. But before getting out, he gave the driver one hundred yuan and left without waiting for change. That’s why the impression was so deep,” Jiang Huainan answered.

“The driver said he remembers the route and can drive us there, but we have to wait for him to drop off his current passenger.”

Lu Qingfeng frowned and thought for a moment before instructing, “In that case, let’s split up. These three victims were all managed by an operations team leader named Bai Mengyu at Rongguang Group when they were alive. When we went to investigate today, she secretly slipped me a note, explicitly stating that all three victims were murdered and that she has evidence. The evidence is currently at her home.”

After speaking, he handed the note to Jiang Huainan. “Go investigate this address. Be careful, and don’t alert the snake.”

Jiang Huainan immediately understood, “Understood. We’ll go right away.”

After speaking, he patted Jiang Huainan’s shoulder and softened his tone, “Everyone has worked hard these past few days. Once this case is closed, I’ll definitely treat everyone to a good meal!”

Hearing this, Tao Yu’s eyes lit up. He immediately leaned in and asked, “After it’s over, Boss, can you treat us to barbecue for the police team dinner?”

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Tao Yu received a smack on the head. He let out an “Ouch,” covering his head and complaining, “Boss, why did you hit me?”

“You kid, the case isn’t even solved yet, and you’re already thinking about food,” Lu Qingfeng scolded with a laugh.

As they were chatting, a taxi honked its horn and pulled up in front of the three. A middle-aged driver stuck his head out of the window and asked, “Are you the people who called me?”

Seeing this, Lu Qingfeng put away his smile, walked up to the driver, and took out his identification. “Hello, I am Lu Qingfeng, Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Rongzhou City. I understand the general situation now. Since you remember the destination of that passenger, would it be convenient for you to lead us there? We can drive and follow behind you.”

“Oh, convenient, of course it’s convenient!” The driver was about thirty years old and seemed quite talkative. Seeing Lu Qingfeng speak, he opened his mouth again, “Let me tell you, that young guy I picked up last time was really weird…”

Lu Qingfeng nodded. “Thank you, Master. Please wait here for a moment. I’ll go get my car.”

He had just finished speaking and was about to turn around when the driver called out to Jiang Huainan and Tao Yu, “Comrades, are you with that Captain Lu? Perfect, just hop in my car and come along. It’ll save you the trouble.”

Hearing this, Jiang Huainan quickly waved his hands. “No need, Master. We have other tasks.”

“Yes, Master, no need to trouble yourself. Just take our leader there,” Tao Yu echoed. After speaking, he greeted Lu Qingfeng and hurriedly pulled Jiang Huainan away.

Instantly, only Lu Qingfeng remained at the fork in the road. But the driver’s enthusiasm didn’t diminish in the slightest. After the other two left, the driver turned his head and called out again, “Hey, Captain Lu!”

Lu Qingfeng paused in his steps, turned around, and asked in confusion, “What is it, Master?”

“Oh, Captain Lu, why don’t you just sit in my car and go? It’ll save you the trouble. That place is very close, just a few kilometers away,” the driver invited enthusiastically again.

Lu Qingfeng waved his hand at him. “That’s a bit inconvenient. We’ll just follow your car.”

Seeing his persistent refusal, the driver no longer insisted and started the car.

The taxi finally stopped in an area that clashed with the city’s prosperity. As soon as the car stopped, the driver stuck his head out and said, “This is the place. If you need anything else, you can call me.”

Lu Qingfeng nodded and thanked him politely, “Thank you for your help. Sorry for the trouble, Master.”

“No problem, no problem. It’s what I should do.” After speaking, the driver drove away.

Getting out of the car, the two realized that the place the driver had brought them to was an old urban village. Walking a few steps inward, the foul stench of garbage permeated the air.

Only a few dim yellow streetlights were lit. The walls of the old houses on both sides were already mottled and covered with various small advertisements. Rats occasionally crawled out of the nearby sewers, and the ground was full of potholes.

Looking at the environment before them, Lin Shuyao frowned slightly and said, “This place…”

“Like a small maze,” Lu Qingfeng finished the sentence. But after speaking, he fell into silence.

He began to frown and think.

Why would the man in black take a taxi here?

Who was he coming here to find?

Just as he was pondering, the phone in his pocket rang. He paused for a moment, then answered it.

As soon as it connected, Tao Yu’s anxious voice came through, “Captain Lu, we just received an email as soon as we returned to the Municipal Bureau. It was sent from a newly registered QQ email account. We couldn’t find anything on the QQ number, but the email contained a name and a sentence. The name is Shen Chen. We ran a check. Among everyone in the city named Shen Chen, we discovered that Song Wenbo, the boss of Rongguang Group, has an older half-brother from the same father. This person takes his mother’s surname and is named Shen Chen. He dropped out of university before finishing.”

“Shen Chen…” Lu Qingfeng subconsciously repeated.

“Yes. Moreover, while Rongguang Group appears to be in the live-streaming business on the surface, in reality, they use their roster of streamers to secretly engage in illicit sexual transactions overseas.”

“In addition, we found Bai Mengyu’s current address. However, her original name was not Bai Mengyu. Her original name was Bai Pandi. She changed her name in 2017. I’ve sent you her specific location on WeChat,” Tao Yu said.

“Let me see.” As he spoke, he opened the location pin and then frowned, saying softly, “It’s really too coincidental…”

Tao Yu paused, confused. “Captain Lu, what did you just say? What’s too coincidental?”

“The location you just sent me is this urban village. It’s also the destination where the man in black took the taxi.”

Tao Yu instinctively let out an “Ah,” and then asked, “So Boss, what do you plan to do now?”

“Since we’re already here, of course we’ll take a look first. Alright, let’s leave it at that for now.”

Hanging up the phone again, he turned to look at Lin Shuyao beside him. “Doctor Lin… why don’t you stay in the car and wait for me to come back?”

“Why?” Lin Shuyao asked in confusion.

“With your slight frame, if you really get into a fight with criminals, you’d probably count as half a casualty. Besides, the situation inside is complex and very dangerous…” Lu Qingfeng explained.

Hearing this, Lin Shuyao chuckled lightly. “Want to show concern for me? Save it for next time. Furthermore, police officers don’t conduct field operations alone, especially when investigating a single woman’s home. Besides, do you really think it’s safe to leave me here alone?”