It is now late at night, with only a few stars shining in the sky. Lu Junchi walked quickly into an old residential area near Wanhu City.

Although this area was still within the boundaries of Wanhu City, the environment was better than the abandoned buildings and slums. The streets were narrow, the houses were old, and the lighting was average, but at least the air didn’t carry that decaying smell.

As soon as Lu Junchi entered the corridor, he saw Su Hui leaning against the wall.

The corridor was dimly lit, and Su Hui leaned against the wall, holding a cane. When he saw someone entering, he looked up.

Lu Junchi saw him and nodded gently.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other for only a few hours, they had been in constant communication and contact. However, it wasn’t until Lu Junchi saw Su Hui that his heart finally settled.

Several floors of the corridor had broken lights. The two hurriedly made their way upstairs. Lu Junchi took off a coat hanging over his arm and handed it to Su Hui. “It’s a bit cold tonight. I just got it from the car for you.”

In Wanhu City at night, the dew was particularly heavy. Even though Su Hui had spent most of the time in the car, his pants were still wet. His jacket was thin, and he had a slight fever. He had planned to endure it until the end, but he didn’t expect Lu Junchi to bring him a coat.

“Aren’t you… cold?” Su Hui looked at Lu Junchi. He wasn’t wearing much either, and he had been on the road all night.

Lu Junchi said, “I dressed lightly, so I won’t catch a cold. But you… don’t get sick.”

Only then did Su Hui accept the coat from him and put it on.

The coat was larger than what he usually wore, and he buried his face in the collar. He immediately felt warmer and asked Lu Junchi, “Which floor is it?”

Lu Junchi replied, “Room 302. The detectives from the local sub-bureau should already be up there.”

Now, Tao Yingxu’s body had been transported back to the central bureau. The detectives from the Wanhu Police Station had reached an agreement with the family, and the paperwork for the autopsy was ready.

They quickly made their way upstairs. When Lu Junchi and Su Hui entered the room, there were still two detectives inside, and only Tao Yingxu’s mother, Wang Yaxiu, was at home.

The two detectives saw them and gave up their seats for them to sit.

Su Hui sat across from Wang Yaxiu, and Lu Junchi leaned on the table and sat down. After running all night, his legs were sore and swollen.

Su Hui looked at the woman in front of him, a middle-aged woman in her forties, her hands full of calluses, giving the impression of being honest and kind.

She had just experienced the pain of losing her son, her eyes had tear stains, and she spoke incoherently, “The only new phone in our family was bought for the child. I still haven’t seen what kind of livestream it was… What is happening?”

Lu Junchi said, “Auntie, we are also in the process of investigating. Someone will explain the whole process to you later.”

Wang Yaxiu bowed her head and cried uncontrollably, mumbling, “My son’s father passed away early. I never thought something like this would happen… Comrade police, I… I don’t know why my son would propose such a thing. It couldn’t have been organized by my son… Is there some mistake?”

Due to his work, Lu Junchi had seen many people who had lost their loved ones. Compared to them, Wang Yaxiu seemed relatively emotionally stable, clear in her regulations, and very reasonable.

Lu Junchi felt some sympathy for her and hurriedly comforted her, saying, “Please accept my condolences. We are currently verifying the facts of tonight’s incident. We are also actively searching for the killer of your son. Time is of the essence. I’d like to ask, did Tao Yingxu exhibit any unusual behavior recently or mention anything to you?”

Wang Yaxiu shook her head and wiped her tears with a tissue. “He never mentioned anything to me. He always liked to participate in various social activities, helping friends or teachers. As for this… even if I knew a little bit, I wouldn’t let him do such a thing…”

Lu Junchi didn’t give up and continued asking, “Auntie, I want to ask if Tao Yingxu has any relatives or friends who are boys, under the age of twenty, and similar in height and build to him. They have a close relationship and often spend time together…”

If there was such a person in Tao Yingxu’s life, his mother might be aware of it.

Su Hui also looked at her silently, hoping she would provide some clues that could help with the investigation.

With a pensive expression, Wang Yaxiu lowered her head, contemplating. Then she looked up and said, “There is such a person. He… is named Qin Ange. He used to be my former employer’s son… They were very close since childhood… Later, Qin Ange moved here to live, and Yingxu would often go to his place. They would meet almost every day after school…”

Upon hearing this, Lu Junchi and Su Hui exchanged a brief glance. It seemed to fit their profile.

Lu Junchi continued, “Auntie, please tell me more about the situation.”

Wang Yaxiu’s emotions were still a bit agitated. “Qin Ange… He’s different from us native residents. He came here because his family’s fortunes declined. I used to work as a nanny in a wealthy family, and Qin Ange was their son. Their family used to own a construction company and was very wealthy.”

Lu Junchi furrowed his brow and asked, “Which family?”

“His father’s name is Qin Chengsheng, the one… Ding Sheng Wan Jia International. It used to belong to their family. Mr. Qin… He originally left this Wanhu City when he was young, worked as a laborer on construction sites, gradually became a contractor, and later started recruiting workers, establishing a construction company. He was busy with his career and only had a child in his thirties.”

Lu Junchi didn’t know much about construction companies, but he knew about this one. They had been running around the abandoned buildings earlier, and every door of those buildings had these words pasted on them…

Among so many buildings, from those signs, one could see the prosperity of the company during its heyday. But the sudden halt of all projects also heralded the downfall of that dynasty.

He knew that there was another reason for this developer’s downfall—this construction company had a bad reputation. The quality of their construction was poor, they delayed payments to workers, and there were many issues with their construction sites, causing delays in project completion…

In the end, the entire group’s funding chain collapsed, and all projects were forced to stop. The company’s owner was driven into a corner by debt collectors and suffered a sudden heart attack, leading to his death.

There were various versions of

 this story, and Lu Junchi never expected to meet someone who had experienced it firsthand.

Wang Yaxiu continued, now crying again. “But I still find it impossible for Qin Ange to do such a thing. He and Yingxu had a great relationship. Yingxu would often bring the dumplings I made for them to eat, and he would frequently give them fruits. Whenever something good happened, he would think of Qin Ange… When the school gave him an extra movie ticket, he wanted to take Qin Ange along. People are flesh and blood. Yingxu treated him so well, I… I can’t believe he would kill Yingxu.”

Su Hui listened quietly on the side. These were the displays of affection between children, but the intimacy between these two kids might not have been as close as it seemed.

Lu Junchi continued, “Does Qin Ange have a girl by his side?”

“Yes, there is. She’s the girl adopted by the Qin family. Her name is Li Xiaonan. There was an accident at a construction site, and her father was killed by falling objects from a height, leaving the girl an orphan. Mr. Qin felt sorry for her and adopted her. He placed her in this neighborhood and registered the house under her name, allowing her to attend Wanhu No. 1 Middle School. After the Qin family had trouble, Mr. Qin suffered a heart attack and passed away. Qin Ange and his mother moved here as well.”

It was because the property was registered under the girl’s name that it wasn’t seized by the bank. After the Qin family went bankrupt, they had a place to live.

Qin’s previous actions inadvertently left a way out for his family.

High-rise falling objects, killing construction workers, this incident matches the previous investigation results of Long Xiaochen.

Lu Junchi quickly sent these two names to the group for verification and asked Wang Yaxiu, “Do you have the contact information for Qin Ange and Li Xiaonan?”

Wang Yaxiu gave him their phone numbers.

Lu Junchi tried dialing both numbers, but they were both turned off.

Wang Yaxiu wanted to give them directions and said, “They used to live in Unit 2, Apartment 504.”

Lu Junchi asked Wang Yaxiu some more questions, but she couldn’t say anything else.

He checked the time and saw that it was already 10:50 PM, with only ten minutes left until the next live broadcast.

After instructing the two detectives to continue gathering information from Wang Yaxiu and calming her down, Lu Junchi pulled Su Hui out and headed towards Apartment 504 next door.

It was late at night, and Su Hui could barely see the road, so he walked a bit slowly. Suddenly, Lu Junchi turned around, grabbed his hand, and pulled him forward.

In the cold night, Lu Junchi’s hand was warm, and his steps were fast and steady.

Su Hui didn’t even have time to use his cane and was continuously pulled along by him, entering the neighboring Unit 2. He lowered his chin even further.

In the past, even when Su Hui used a cane to support himself, he would always worry about uneven roads. But now, being pulled by Lu Junchi, they moved quickly. Everything in front of him was blurry, but he felt at ease in his heart.

They quickly arrived on the fifth floor, and only then did Su Hui react. “Shouldn’t we call someone to unlock the door?”

Lu Junchi said, “No need. Special circumstances require special solutions.”

As he spoke, he examined the keyhole and realized it was an old-fashioned lock.

Lu Junchi took a small toolbox out of his pocket and picked out a wire. He inserted the wire into the lock, and within half a minute, there was a click, and the lock opened.

Su Hui looked at him with newfound respect. “I didn’t expect you to have this hidden skill…”

Lu Junchi said, “I learned it specifically. Calling someone to open locks every time is too inefficient.”

Time was tight tonight, and they didn’t even have time to apply for a search warrant or go through the proper search procedures. They had to handle things differently.

The room was pitch black, but Lu Junchi turned on the lights. It was a small two-bedroom apartment in an old layout, with hardly any living room space. There weren’t many pieces of furniture, just a large bed in one room and a small bed in another.

Lu Junchi carefully looked around and noticed some girl’s clothing in the larger room. It was likely where Qin Ange’s mother and Li Xiaonan lived together.

The smaller room seemed relatively independent and quiet. They entered that room, and there was a desk with a desktop computer and a laptop on the side.

Although the room was in a dilapidated state, there were some items that appeared to be expensive brand-name products.

There was a basketball on top of the wardrobe with some foreign signatures. Near the windowsill, there was an astronomical telescope covered in dust. The chair was piled with clothes, some of them being brand-name items.

Lu Junchi suddenly noticed that there were several photo frames on the desk, indicating a family photo.

One of the frames contained a picture of two boys. One was Tao Yingxu, and the other was a boy of similar age, presumably Qin Ange.

At that time, the children were still young, seemingly in elementary school.

It seemed that the two had indeed been close friends for many years.

The two children were similar in height and build. In the photo, Tao Yingxu had the red birthmark on his forehead, and his smile made his eyes crescent-shaped. The other boy next to him was also handsome and smiling happily.

Su Hui pondered, “Over the years, with the increase in their age and the change in their identities, their relationship may have changed… The biggest change should be the disparity in Qin Ange’s identity. He went from being a pampered rich second generation to a sudden bankruptcy, falling from a high position.”

He reached out and opened the laptop. The common interface didn’t require a password, so he was able to access it directly.

Su Hui searched through the recent open records and identified them as interview videos conducted for documentary filming. It seemed that they selected their victims based on the information gathered from those films.

After searching for a while, Lu Junchi’s gaze fell on a nearby notebook.

He flipped it open, revealing a collection of newspaper clippings inside. Lu Junchi frowned as he looked at them.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Su Hui asked, “What’s written there?”

In a solemn tone, Lu Junchi said, “It’s negative news about Dingsheng Wanjia International.”

The notebook was thick with clippings, clearly indicating the abundance of negative news. The clippings were neatly arranged, with newspapers from previous years now yellowed, suggesting that they had been accumulated over a long period of time.

Su Hui leaned back in his chair and asked, “Is it related to those three people?”

Lu Junchi quickly confirmed, “The news reports mention incidents such as deaths of workers due to irregularities at construction sites, injuries caused by forced demolitions, and non-compliance with building regulations.”

Su Hui carefully recalled, “That corresponds to the actions of Long Xiaochen, Lian Chengyan, and Xue Hai. They believed that these incidents shouldn’t be blamed on Long Xiaochen’s father.”

Suddenly, the three individuals intersected. They had all previously cooperated with Dingsheng Wanjia, but because the duration and timing of their collaborations were different, they hadn’t been connected before. Dingsheng Wanjia had numerous partners, covering almost half of Huadu’s construction industry. Now that they had acquired some information, it became easier to deduce the connections.

Lu Junchi continued flipping through the notebook, saying, “With so many media reports, the press releases are remarkably similar, which is abnormal.”

He believed that Dingsheng Wanjia might have made serious mistakes, and even ordinary media outlets would have slight variations in their wording and sentence structure when writing press releases.

When multiple media outlets publish near-identical press releases, extensively covering a single event, it was highly likely that when Dingsheng Wanjia made a mistake, rival media outlets had taken bribes to bring down the company.

Su Hui tightened his grip on his cane and said, “If the culprit is Qin Ange, his next target should be the person he believes to be the main cause of Dingsheng Wanjia’s collapse.”

Lu Junchi nodded in agreement and thought for a moment. “After Dingsheng Wanjia’s downfall, Zhongshan International became the most famous real estate company in Huadu.”

Although he didn’t pay much attention to gossip, he had heard some rumors. Zhongshan International was able to rise so quickly because they devoured the remains of Dingsheng Wanjia.

After the incident at Dingsheng Wanjia, many of their partners switched sides, and potential buyers who had intended to purchase properties from Dingsheng Wanjia had also chosen Zhongshan International instead.

Mu Zhenyuan, the owner of Zhongshan International, used to be a high-level executive at Dingsheng Wanjia. Both he and Qin Ange had

 started from scratch in Wanhucheng and worked together for many years. However, their ideologies clashed, leading them to part ways several years ago.

Compared to the notorious Dingsheng Wanjia, Zhongshan International was renowned as a conscientious developer. The quality and specifications of the houses they built were well-known, and in just a few years, they surpassed the momentum of Dingsheng Wanjia, becoming the number one developer in Huadu.

As Qin Chengsheng’s son, Qin Ange naturally believed that the decline of his family’s company was related to Mu Zhenyuan’s rise. He might have even discovered something that led him to believe that Mu Zhenyuan was the cause of their current situation.

It was indeed a revenge plot.

Those children were all used as innocent pawns.

Lu Junchi flipped through the notebook again and became more certain. “There are also collected news articles about Zhongshan International at the back of the notebook, and the last piece of news is about their upcoming collaborative listing.”

Su Hui calmly spoke, “If the culprit is Qin Ange, then his next target is likely to be Mu Zhenyuan.”

Su Hui could confirm one thing: the person placed at the end is undoubtedly the more important target in the suspect’s mind.

It’s like when eating a meal, some people save their favorite dish for the last taste.

At this point, more and more clues were finally coming together.

Lu Junchi quickly shared the information in the group. They needed to start preparing for various scenarios in advance.

Regardless of whether Mu Zhenyuan had done something or not, as the responsible person of a listed company, once his name was implicated, he had to come forward and face the media, providing a response.