Chapter 600: Chapter 570: The Significance of Power Outage_1
Before Zhou Ning could speak, Xu Dayuan quickly said:
"Mr. Liu is right, all of you pull out. I think this Shi Yun, the person is in Qindao, but it’s also possible he’s in Huining, after all, Zhang Fangfang is still alive, and she’s the only survivor left from that year."
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"Not just one, there’s another, the person who took the photos that year, we still don’t know who it is. We’ve overlooked this, all of this actually started because of that photo. If it weren’t for those few ulterior-motive photos, things wouldn’t have gone awry.
"However, there aren’t many survivors left among the families of Li Li, Liu Meiling, and Zhang Fangfang. We could ask them if they remember how they got the photos. As for Zhang Fangfang, I suggest we bring her back to Qindao; otherwise, it’ll be troublesome for us to keep control."
Xu Dayuan hummed in agreement.
"I’ve thought of this as well and have been investigating. There are no records found from the newspaper side; they said it might have been an intern, after all, when the incident was reported, the TV station’s photos were used. The family of Li Li’s uncle knows nothing about this. Zhang Fangfang’s parents are not in the country, only Liu Meiling’s parents are alive. I’ll ask them later."
Zhou Ning’s mind flashed with inspiration, suddenly thinking of Xu Qingquan, who suffered from amnesia due to poisoning.
Kong Wanshan, Xu Qingshu, Xu Qingquan, these three seem to be implicated because of Li Li’s death, but if you think about it, if linked to Shi Yun, it seems very targeted. After pondering for a moment, he slowly said:
"Director Xu, you’ve finished speaking officially, now let me share my personal thoughts. These are baseless ideas. I’ll just say them and you just listen. Starting with the murder of Li Li, Xu Qingquan suffered poisoning and memory loss and almost died. It was the same method used on Li Li.
Although Xu Qingshu seems fine, her brother had an affair with her husband’s mistress, which is definitely disgusting, and her husband’s instability, because of this accident, has also shattered her seemingly peaceful life.
We previously thought these were all because of Li Li, but I always felt something was off. Could any of them be related to the photographer from that year, or to put it another way, is one of them the photographer from back then?"
Xu Dayuan inhaled sharply and exchanged a glance with Liu Yongxin, who spoke first:
"Xiao Ning, are you suspecting that one of these three could be the so-called newspaper reporter? Then it certainly can’t be Xu Qingquan. In 1988, Xu Qingquan was only 14 years old. You have to understand, this is not only about taking photos but also about providing the photos to the three parties involved, and even giving them the negatives. A 14-year-old kid can’t do all that."
After a moment of contemplation, Xu Dayuan hurriedly rummaged through the documents on the table, flipping to the files of Kong Wanshan and Xu Qingshu.
Both Kong Wanshan and Xu Qingshu are 39 years old. According to their birthdays, Xu Qingshu is five months older. Kong Wanshan graduated from Ludong University of Architecture with a degree in architecture, and since graduating at 22 in 1996, he’s always been on construction sites. Xu Qingshu, who went to the same school as Kong Wanshan, was actually studying landscape architecture.
These two seemed to have no connection to the newspaper’s intern reporter, but Zhou Ning’s question had indeed opened up a new line of thought for Xu Dayuan.
"Alright, you all hurry up and rest. Of course, you can also drive back overnight and then rest. As for the body and that freezer, find a truck to transport them back together."
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Ning paced back and forth, and soon there was a knock at the door. Thinking Mr. Zhao had returned, Zhou Ning quickly went to open it, only to find Mr. Wang standing at the door, with Mr. Zhao grinning behind him.
"Come in and talk, what’s the matter?"
Mr. Wang, falling half a step behind, Mr. Zhao grinned and said:
"First thing’s first, I don’t mean to complain about the conditions here, but since the autopsy is done and the scene examined, we’ve collected everything we can for testing, and all that’s left is to wait for the results. I was thinking, why don’t we take Liu Meiling’s body and that freezer and head back overnight?"
Zhou Ning looked at Mr. Wang, who eagerly stated his position.
"Director Zhou, rest assured, I don’t have problems with stamina. While you were performing the autopsy this afternoon, I got a few hours of sleep. If we move fast, we can arrive in seven to eight hours. Even if we take it slow, it’ll be eight and a half hours at most. This way, we don’t delay. As for the body and freezer Mr. Zhao mentioned, we just need to follow a refrigerated truck."
Zhou Ning laughed. In truth, he wanted to fly back immediately, but these two were looking for a graceful exit.
"Have you contacted the truck?"
Driver Mr. Wang chuckled honestly, nodding casually.
"All set, price negotiated, and the stuff’s already loaded. Not sure if setting the temperature to -18 degrees Celsius is okay?"
Zhou Ning punched Mr. Wang playfully, laughing along with him.
"If everything’s arranged, then let’s go. Mr. Zhao, go call the others. I’ll clue in Mr. Dui. They can handle the wrap-up here. Later, have the advance team that came here also withdraw. As for those staying, Zhu Xingxing and Mr. Wang will remain, the rest can pull out."
Mr. Zhao grinned.
"I’ll go tell Zhu Xingxing."
Saying so, he darted out first. Mr. Wang gestured towards the opposite side of the corridor, clearly going to inform the others. Zhou Ning nodded and dialed Fang Mu’s phone.
"Mr. Dui, I just communicated with Director Xu, and he instructed us to withdraw first and head back to Qindao overnight. I’m leaving Zhu Xingxing and Mr. Wang with you, take good care of them. As for the test results, Zhu Xingxing knows the email, just send them to Mrs. Cui right after they’re out."
Fang Mu hesitated.
"Did they find anything in Qindao?"
"Hmm, we found several unclaimed graves, suspected to belong to the couple Shi Mingchen, considering the dates seem quite right. Everything is waiting for Peng Shinian’s analysis. When we get back, it’s going to be nonstop. Also, we’ll be taking Liu Meiling’s body and the icebox with us. You’ll need to explain this to the Blue Sea Hotel afterwards."
"Okay, then I’ll go down to see you off."
"No need, you guys rest well. We’re pulling out directly. After all, you will be evacuating in a day or two as well."
"Alright then, but this is too exhausting. Director Zhou, can your body handle it?"
"Don’t worry, we’ll see you back at the station!"
...
September 7, 10:22
After freshening up, Zhou Ning returned to the office and changed into a new set of clothes, seemingly revitalized.
Before he had a chance to sit down, Xia Momo walked in.
"You must be exhausted from traveling all night?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, reaching out to wrap his arms around Xia Momo’s waist. He wasn’t feeling tired but was longing for some tenderness. Just as he was about to draw her closer, Xia Momo pushed him away with a blush on her face and quickly gestured behind her.
Then, Zhou Ning placed his arm around Xia Momo’s waist and turned to look over her shoulder. Liu Yongxin, a few steps behind, coughed as he walked in, deliberately lagging to give them some space. He glanced at Zhou Ning as if he hadn’t seen anything and looked away.
"It seems to me you’re not tired at all."
Zhou Ning laughed and helped Liu Yongxin to sit on the couch.
"We’ve been sleeping on the road. The one who’s really tired is Mr. Wang, our driver. He drove both steadily and swiftly, woke us up just in time at our regular breakfast place. So, I am not tired; I just felt utterly filthy. I took a shower as soon as I got back, and now I feel alive again."
Liu Yongxin took a sip of water, looked at the dark circles under Zhou Ning’s eyes, and recognized that these younger individuals had the energy due to their youth. He knew that at his age, he couldn’t endure staying up all night like this.
"Director Xu has taken people to Quanshan and Tiger Mountain personally. Peng Shinian went along, fussing over some pollen he discovered at two of the grave markers. He wanted to go to the site to check the surrounding vegetation, claiming he could determine the exact time of burial—it sounded quite miraculous."
"They went early?"
"Yep, they left first thing in the morning. They also contacted people from several local village committees to identify the graves. One of them knew a bit about the Yun family’s business; however, the specific location of the burial and who arranged it, he wasn’t aware. Apparently, the graveyard is not in their village."
Zhou Ning nodded thoughtfully, calculating that all the villages in the area might have been tenants and laborers for the Yun family generations ago. It was because the Yun family were scholars and not too concerned with such things that they were proactive in surrendering these lands, thus avoiding humiliation during those years.
As for whether this village head truly knew or not, that was hard to say.
"Did Zhu Zuozhang take people with him?"
Liu Yongxin nodded.
"I said I would go along, considering that digging up ancestral graves is something I, being older, wouldn’t mind being scolded for. He said he’d have to take responsibility with you gone. I think Doctor Zhu has grown more accountable over the past year, a remarkable change."
Zhou Ning nodded again. The people who remained had no significant issues in terms of competence. It was just a matter of limited case experience. Zhu Xingxing got more practice because he followed Zhou Ning, while Zhu Zuozhang had also been trained over the past year since experience wasn’t something accumulated solely by age.
Zhou Ning was relieved to hear that Zhu Zuozhang was capable of taking charge in his absence.
"Let them investigate then. With Peng Shinian there, I figure they can discern the details. I’ve always believed that the killer went to pay homage to his parents before the Ghost Festival. The gloves and those tools were left in the car, and the cake box and Diablo subwoofers got pollen on them. Even Xu Qingquan’s shoes and clothes were contaminated.
After paying homage, the killer’s first stop might have been Qifeng City in Yunan Province. Judging by the timeline, the first victim should be Liu Meiling, who was reported missing at 7:14 in the morning on August 20. She was frozen immediately after death without any signs of movement.
So, I firmly believe her time of death was between 7:14 and 9:44 in the morning of August 20, because at 9:44, the hotel’s power system went down, and someone restored it. This was done to erase any traces the killer might have left behind..."
Zhou Ning paused here, while Liu Yongxin and Xia Momo watched him intently, knowing that he must have thought of something vital, perhaps an important clue in the case.
After a moment of silence, Zhou Ning took out his phone and dialed Mr. Qu’s number.
"The time you checked for vehicles around Blue Sea Hotel before, it was between which hours?"
"Between 7:14 and 9:00 on August 20. The earliest staff came to the kitchen at 9:00. Surely, the killer wouldn’t have stayed hidden inside once people started arriving, not having left, right?"
"Now check for any vehicles and pedestrians passing by the east and west sides of the Blue Sea Hotel after 9:44. The perpetrator could have been wearing work clothes, and his car might not have been parked in the northern parking lot of the hotel, to avoid surveillance. Therefore, check the two junctions that lead to the main road, search for both local and non-local license plates, and try to get a photo of the driver."
