Chapter 243: Chapter 240: The Person Who Died and Came Back to Life_1
Zhou Ning didn’t pause, but continued to speak:
"Although Zhang Yinan’s fall wasn’t perfectly staged, the follow-up work must have been very thorough. They compensated Huang Li Ming for his car, quickly diverted the police’s attention, steered the case towards a narrative of romance and suicide, and even had Cui Haibin forge the lab reports.
Such a multi-faceted cover-up couldn’t have been pulled off by the killer alone. And as I said, the killer’s counter-surveillance and trace removal skills are comparable to a professional’s—like someone who’s been specially trained in various areas, skilled in combat, capable of coercion, ruthless in action, and decisive."
Liu Yongxin crossed his arms and stared into Zhou Ning’s eyes.
"The more you talk, the more the murderer sounds like a SWAT member, hitman, mercenary, or someone with a similar background, doesn’t he?"
Mr. Zhao jerked his head upward, looking at Zhou Ning. It seemed he understood Zhou Ning’s implication. With slightly raised eyebrows, his eyes full of concern and confusion, Zhou Ning didn’t give him much of a look, but turned to Xu Dayuan and said directly,
"Do you remember the surveillance screenshot I showed you earlier? Beside Ren Guangzhi, there was a man with a scar on his eyelid. Mr. Qu has found out who this person is. Xu Da, you might want to hear this."
Mr. Qu cleared his throat, hastily stood up, and quickly found that screenshot.
"Through the customs’ website, I identified this man as a military attaché from the Sapporo Country Embassy in China, named Gaoqiao Xing. With my clearance level, I couldn’t access much information about him, just that he appeared at the embassy in 2005. Information on him prior to 2005 is untraceable."
Xu Dayuan got up, came closer, and looked at Zhou Ning. His expression was beyond shock, as Zhou Ning had suspected a link between Ren Guangzhi and this man from the start of the investigation.
After all, visiting the home of a soon-to-be deputy mayor—the kind who managed culture, education, and health matters—on Junior High 2 was no small matter, especially since the man had just been the university chancellor for several days.
These account records were just the amounts transferred out during 2009-2011. What about before 2009?
Moreover, the Beishan Group case was directly investigated by the Ministry of Public Security, which had little to do with Ludong Province. Even the province suffered casualties due to this case, with several officials removed from their positions and investigated.
After a long silence, Xu Dayuan straightened his police uniform and put on his cap.
"I’m going to report to the leadership. You all wait here, and Mr. Qu, don’t try to hack into any systems to gather information."
Mr. Qu shrank his neck—his recent attempt at hacking was exactly that, and he had almost been caught red-handed.
After Xu Dayuan left, the two economic investigation officers kept discussing something among themselves. Mr. Zhao pulled Zhou Ning to the window.
"In the memory fragments you recalled, that scar-eyed man spoke, right?"
"Yes."
"Was it Mandarin?"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"Ludong accent. This is why I was confused when I got Mr. Qu’s call. How does someone from Ludong, and one so bold as to confront the government, suddenly become a person from Sapporo Country, moreover, a military attaché at the embassy? I don’t think it’s a coincidence."
"What memory fragments? What Ludong accent? Did you know this scar-eyed man before?" Liu Yongxin suddenly spoke up, startling them both.
They hadn’t noticed Liu Yongxin’s approach; Mr. Zhao looked guiltily at Liu Yongxin, trying to grasp his arm but was shrugged off as Liu Yongxin fixed his gaze firmly on Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning knew he couldn’t sidestep the truth any longer.
"This is what happened... Last night, I recalled some things. My father was with me for New Year’s Day, and the day I was sent back home was January 1, 1995, which means my parents’ incident happened on the evening of January 1, 1995."
Zhou Ning spoke rapidly, detailing his psychological treatment, the recovery of childhood memories, the murder of his parents, and the old man’s story. Liu Yongxin’s eyes were filled with shock, and he held onto Zhou Ning’s hand for a long time without letting go.
"No wonder you’ve seemed so preoccupied lately and so proactive about this case. There’s so much background to it.
So it seems this man knew your father, and maybe the man, his associates, and their activities were once punished by your father, hence the revenge."
Liu Yongxin paused here, considering that since the incident occurred over a decade ago, without modern surveillance, it was possible for the scar-eyed man and his accomplices to flee after the crime. Furthermore, since they had been punished by Zhou Ning’s father, their identities might have been hidden.
But now, with Zhou Ning’s father’s exact identity unclear, the case was difficult to investigate.
As he pondered, Liu Yongxin suddenly paused and looked up at Zhou Ning and Mr. Zhao.
"Wait, if the scar-eyed man came secretly to seek revenge on your father, could it be possible that he was a convict or a detainee? He might have escaped, gathered a gang, and taken revenge on your father. Our previous searches were focused on household registration and foreign information.
I think we could have Mr. Qu alter his search tactics and check against records of prisoners, or criminals who have been killed or executed. We need to look for the scar-eyed man’s information among them."
Zhou Ning’s breath hitched, the idea sparking a realization. He nodded vigorously and rushed to Mr. Qu, whispering Liu Yongxin’s suggestion.
Mr. Qu began searching earnestly, but the process was slow; information on executed individuals wasn’t detailed in the computer databases, containing only names, photos, and basic data. He needed to look through electronic documents and compare them one by one.
Of course, the range began with Ludong Province.
Mr. Zhao and Liu Yongxin both gathered around, and upon seeing the two of them, Mr. Qu was somewhat puzzled. Realizing no one was stopping them, he grew a bit bolder.
"What a pity we don’t know the real name. If we did, searching would be twice as effective with half the effort."
Mr. Zhao slapped Mr. Qu’s arm and squinted his small eyes, the smile gone from his face.
"Get to work, why all the chatter? Now that we finally have a direction, oh, let you just wait, and you’d be comfortable, wouldn’t you? Get on with it, oh, and can your software help with the comparison?"
Mr. Qu sighed.
"I’ll discuss it with Doctor Lu later. We have developed eight information systems, but this aspect you mentioned is indeed a blind spot that was not considered at the time. It can be improved quickly, but for now, we need to find the photos one by one and input them for comparison."
Liu Yongxin cleared his throat. Mr. Qu shrank his neck, feeling a chill on the back of his neck. Even though Liu Yongxin was from the lab, he was Doctor Zhou’s master. This software project could not have been initiated without Liu Yongxin’s influence. Even Doctor Lu showed him a great deal of respect, let alone Mr. Qu.
He quickly clammed up and started rapidly inputting the searched photos into the search box. He didn’t know how many attempts it had taken, when suddenly, the comparison box’s blue light ring flashed brightly, accompanied by a beeping sound.
The comparison was successful!
All four were extremely excited, staring at the photo in the comparison box. The man in the photo had a side part, long hair partially obscuring his features, but there was no scar on the right brow bone or eyelid. It was a standard two-inch photo.
Zhou Ning’s fingers were ice cold. He surmised that this must be a photo from some identification document of Gaoqiao Xing that was included during the evidence collection, for the person in the photo looked very young.
At this time, Mr. Qu was not idle, continuing to search for this person’s information. He found another photo, in which the man’s hands were bound behind his back, head bowed, his expression obscured. He was being led by the arm, shackled at the feet, flanked by two armed police officers wearing masks. It was obvious this was a photo taken before an execution.
Suddenly, more information popped up behind it—a scanned document.
Information on Execution by Death Penalty:
Wang Guanli, male, 21 years old, one of the key members of the Huang Shenlei criminal group.
Since 1990, by getting involved in civil and economic disputes and using violent means, he has organized and executed 33 illegal and criminal activities, including provoking trouble, illegal possession of ammunition, and illegal mining, murdering four victims, and acquiring economic benefits of nearly fifty million yuan illegally.
Disrupting economic and social order, his actions had a significantly adverse impact on Hai’an County and the surrounding areas, forming a criminal group with a malignant influence. Among them, Huang Shenlei was the principal offender, with Wang Guanli and another five as key members, and eight others as organizational members.
The original judgment found the criminal facts clear, the evidence solid and sufficient, the application of the law was accurate, and the trial procedure legal, issuing an appropriate sentence considering the case facts and the criminal circumstances.
All appeals and related defense arguments were untenable, hence the final adjudication was made according to the law, rejecting the appeal, upholding the original judgment, and Huang Shenlei and Wang Guanli’s death penalties were to be carried out immediately.
Qindao City Intermediate People’s Court
November 20, 1994
Reading this, Mr. Qu was stunned. Hai’an County is now under the jurisdiction of Hai’an City, and back in 1994, it was still just a county and had not yet been upgraded to a city status. Blinking, he turned to look at Zhou Ning.
Liu Yongxin’s brows were tightly furrowed. The death penalty should have been carried out on the same day, and yet this man had somehow escaped death and went on to kill Zhou Ning’s parents. He even transformed into a military attaché at the Sapporo Country Embassy in China.
Although there wasn’t a step to confirm DNA before executions, it still required representatives from the public security bureau, procuratorate, and judiciary to finally confirm the identity of the deceased. Only after verification could the armed police escort the prisoner to the execution ground.
If someone were to say it was manipulated, could it have been during the transportation?
How could that be possible?
Seeing the three all looking serious, Mr. Qu coughed.
"Should I look up information on Wang Guanli before this event?"
Mr. Zhao nodded.
"Look it up. Find as much detail as you can. We want the most comprehensive information."
Mr. Qu responded affirmatively and quickly began the search. However, the information he found was very limited; after all, it was an old case. He only managed to find this person’s household registration and quite unexpectedly discovered that he was an orphan from Rudong City in Qindao, joining Huang Shenlei’s criminal group at the age of fifteen.
As for the several victims mentioned in the judgment, all were killed by Wang Guanli. Such a major case wasn’t investigated by Qindao City, but by the department at the provincial level, who sent people to conduct a secret investigation.
Mr. Qu had no authority to access further information. Seeing this, Liu Yongxin gestured to Mr. Qu, who understood this as a sign to excuse himself and quickly joined the two economic investigation officers.
Zhou Ning exhaled.
"Master, can Mr. Hu withstand the pressure to handle this case?"
