Murder Call

Suddenly, a thunderous ringtone echoed through the police station’s lobby. The sound was so loud and abrupt that it startled everyone. Wang Yue’s entire desk vibrated, causing ripples in the water inside his cup.

The source of the vibration was a phone they had picked up at the crime scene. Although it was a smartphone, Wang Yue preferred to call it an “old people’s phone.”

He glanced at the unfamiliar number on the screen, answered it, and hung up three seconds later.

Li Meng, who was nearby, craned his neck and asked, “Another spam call?”

“A real estate agent,” Wang Yue said, fiddling with the phone inside the evidence bag. “I think I should change the ringtone. It’s so loud, who can stand it?”

“Don’t!” Li Meng said. “Maybe the ringtone has some significance!”

“Isn’t it just a banging DJ track?” Wang Yue didn’t change the ringtone; he just turned down the volume and vibration. Then he asked Meng Lan, “How’s the phone number check going?”

Meng Lan replied, “The number is registered under Hengmu Company, but the registrant left a long time ago. This SIM card has been maintained with company funds, and there have been no call records for the past year. The spam calls only started recently, so it’s hard to trace who used it unless they linked the number to a personal account online. Otherwise, it’s impossible to track.”

Gu Yuan, who was listening nearby, chimed in, “The killer probably browsed real estate listings, which is why so many agents contacted him.”

This comment reminded Wang Yue, “Could the killer be planning to buy a house?”

“Not necessarily. They could be selling or renting,” Gu Yuan analyzed.

“Speaking of houses, I remembered something,” Meng Lan said. “Recently, there was news about the Zhong Cun Yuan project in Yanhai City. It was abandoned halfway, and a group of homeowners blocked the person in charge. The news also mentioned someone who finally bought a house after three generations of his family emptied their savings, only to end up in debt. His wife couldn’t take it and jumped off a building. He was diagnosed with late-stage kidney cancer and urgently needed money. Now, he struggles to make money each month just to repay the bank, with no money left for treatment. It’s really pitiful!”

Li Meng said, “Are you talking about the guy raising money for medical expenses on the platform recently? I think his name is Zhu Jin?”

Meng Lan confirmed, “Yes, that’s him!”

Gu Yuan took a sip of plain water and suddenly asked, “Did Zhu Jin join the protest?”

Meng Lan was puzzled, “What?”

Gu Yuan clarified, “Did Zhu Jin join the protest?”

Meng Lan replied, “I don’t know!”

“Hengmu Group is the investor in the Zhong Cun Yuan project in Yanhai City,” Gu Yuan said calmly.

“What?” Wang Yue, Li Meng, and Meng Lan all turned around simultaneously. “How do you know that?”

Gu Yuan explained, “In the protest video, the two people being blocked are Liu Quan’s subordinates.”

“You can recognize that?” Meng Lan was quite surprised.

“Do you have a photo of Zhu Jin?” Gu Yuan asked again.

Meng Lan replied, “Yes!”

When Zhu Jin was raising funds, he publicly shared his ID, so Meng Lan quickly pulled up Zhu Jin’s identity information and photo.

Gu Yuan glanced at Zhu Jin’s photo and said, “Play the protest video.”

Meng Lan quickly found the video and hit play.

Gu Yuan stared at the computer for two minutes before speaking calmly, “Left side, second row, third person.”

Meng Lan widened her eyes, “You don’t say, this person really does look like Zhu Jin!”

“It’s not just a resemblance,” Gu Yuan said. “That is him.”

Wang Yue also leaned in, “So, these people were all screwed over by Liu Quan?”

“There’s a type of person who is very dangerous,” Gu Yuan suddenly remarked.

“What kind of person?” Li Meng asked.

Gu Yuan replied, “A dying person.”

This comment reminded Wang Yue, “Check on Zhu Jin and see who he’s been in contact with recently.”

Fifteen minutes later, Meng Lan was completely shocked, “Captain… Zhu Jin actually called the landline of Hengmu Group’s Market Development Department! Isn’t Zhou Ziming the director of the Market Development Department?”

Wang Yue asked, “Did he talk to Zhou Ziming?”

Meng Lan replied, “We can’t be sure if it was Zhou Ziming who answered the call. The call was answered and lasted for three minutes.”

“Then go investigate! Pull up the surveillance footage during the call and eliminate suspects one by one!” Wang Yue thought for a moment. “Li Meng, notify the first team to go on field duty with me. We’re going to meet this Zhu Jin!”

A group of people hurriedly walked out the door, and soon after, the sound of police sirens echoed outside.

Gu Yuan poured himself another cup of plain water, standing outside the interrogation room, exhaling white mist with a calm expression. He glanced at his watch; it was already 10:30 PM.

Mo Lin had two cups of coffee tonight, seemingly planning to make a move on Zhou Ziming.

Gu Yuan suddenly felt a bit of pity for Zhou Ziming. He had a feeling that tonight, Zhou Ziming would be driven insane by Mo Lin.

This wasn’t intuition; it was the norm. Mo Lin was very skilled at breaking down people’s psychological defenses, always able to strike at the deepest part of their minds.

So the calmer a person was, the more completely they would break down in the end.

Inside the interrogation room, Mo Lin’s expression appeared relaxed, not at all like he was interrogating a suspect. But his words were piercing:

“Whether at school or in the company, there’s always someone gossiping behind your back. They say you’re the son of a murderer, and no matter how you explain, it’s useless. Human joys and sorrows are not connected; they only believe what they want to believe. They trample on your dignity at will, even going so far as to humiliate you. That’s not enough; they blame you for all sorts of imaginary things just because you’re the son of a murderer.

Destroying a person’s belief is simple: first, place them in heaven, then throw them into hell. The more dazzling you were before, the more miserable you become afterward. Frankly, not many people can climb out of such torture. Even if they do, they’re no longer who they used to be.”

Mo Lin’s tone was slow, his voice following his breath, drifting into Zhou Ziming’s mind:

“A man will develop feelings for a woman who helped him through adversity. Wan Shu must be a very special person to you. She accompanied you through the most difficult times in your life. Did you ever think about marrying her?”

Zhou Ziming’s eyebrows twitched.

“She was always around you, affectionately calling you brother. You grew up together. When she struggled with her studies, you helped her. If that incident hadn’t happened two years ago, you might have been together by now. The more you liked her, the less you could tolerate your current situation. You wanted to change but were powerless, unable to reconcile with yourself. Nightmares tormented you daily. You fell deeper and deeper, struggling in vain. Anger and hatred pushed you toward darkness…”

Mo Lin noticed Zhou Ziming’s fingers clenching slightly, so he quickened his pace:

“The former campus heartthrob fell to become the despised son of a murderer. This gap was unbearable for you. The only thing sustaining you through your studies was hatred. To find out what really happened on the day Xia Yin died, you sacrificed your love and got involved with the spoiled and willful Liu Yun. You saw Wan Shu looking at you with disappointment, and it pained you, but you knew you couldn’t go back. If you didn’t uncover the truth from back then, you would always live in the shadows!”

At this point, Mo Lin sensed that Zhou Ziming was entering a state of recollection:

“You reconstructed the scene from back then through Liu Yun. You finally learned the truth. You resented Liu Quan, so you started to sow discord among them. Your way of getting back at Liu Quan was to destroy his precious daughter!

But all this still couldn’t resolve your hatred. You wanted to destroy Liu Quan too! So you’ve been waiting for Ding Gao to be released!”

Hearing this, Zhou Ziming suddenly looked up, staring at Mo Lin in shock.

“You must hate Ding Gao, right?” Mo Lin finished with a smirk and said to the people outside the interrogation room, “Bring Ding Gao in!”

When Ding Gao stepped into the interrogation room, Zhou Ziming’s breathing suddenly quickened, his eyes burning with angry hatred.

Mo Lin said, “He’s the one who framed Zhou Wen. He made you the son of a murderer. He betrayed you and ruined your happy life. Now he’s standing right in front of you. Aren’t you going to do something about it?”

Ding Gao stood at the door, handcuffed, head lowered. The atmosphere here made it hard for him to breathe.

“Ding Gao, why don’t you tell him what you did to Wan Shu back then?” Mo Lin suddenly asked.

Ding Gao’s heart tightened, “What?”

“Who told you to delete Zhou Ziming’s photos?” Mo Lin circled around to Ding Gao’s side. “You tampered with the photos in the camera before handing it over to Liu Quan, didn’t you?”

“How do you know?” Ding Gao looked at Mo Lin in surprise.

Mo Lin smirked, “You used the camera to threaten Wan Shu. If she didn’t agree to your demands, you’d hand the camera over to the police. Wan Shu was scared and had no choice but to comply with your demands… Two years have passed, and when Wan Shu saw you again, her eyes were still filled with fear… What exactly did you do to her?”

Ding Gao nervously rubbed his nose, “No… nothing happened. I didn’t delete any photos, and I didn’t bully Wan Shu!”

Mo Lin laughed and looked at Zhou Ziming, “He says he didn’t bully Wan Shu. Do you believe him?”

Zhou Ziming clenched his fists, his eyes filled with reluctance, regret, and anger. The last shred of reason was consumed by rage.

He went mad, grabbing Ding Gao by the collar, “What did you do?!”

It was as if he had already guessed the answer, but his heart was desperately denying it. He wanted to know the answer, but he feared that once the real answer came out of Ding Gao’s mouth, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Driven by various emotions, he punched Ding Gao hard.

Ding Gao was caught off guard by the punch, slamming into the wall, feeling pain in his flesh and bones.

“Damn it!”

The punch wasn’t light, leaving Ding Gao a bit dazed. He cursed under his breath, “I can’t believe this is coming back to bite me! This is so messed up!”

Ding Gao wiped the blood-mixed saliva from his mouth with the back of his hand, “I was really driven by lust back then. I was too poor and hadn’t had any action for too long. The person in the camera looked so tempting, how could I resist?”

Ding Gao spat out some blood and continued, “I asked Wan Shu out just to try my luck. I didn’t expect her to agree, and I certainly didn’t expect her to be a virgin!”

Ding Gao’s expression was complex, a mix of pain and smugness, “You missed out! Such a pure girl was right by your side, and you didn’t know how to enjoy it! I, a scumbag, got lucky!”

“Shut up!” Zhou Ziming gritted his teeth, his eyes red, “I’ll kill you!”

Ding Gao retreated several steps along the wall, pointing at Zhou Ziming’s nose, “Did you hear that? He said he wants to kill me! He’s a murderer!”

Zhou Ziming despised the term “murderer” to the core. He glared at the person in front of him, clenching his fists, struggling to suppress his inner impulse.

Mo Lin saw this and approached Zhou Ziming, speaking slowly, “There’s no point in holding on any longer. Wan Shu’s side is already full of loopholes, and she’s confessed. Once you leave here, you’ll return to a normal life, while she… will bear everything for you.”

Zhou Ziming lowered his head, a tear spreading across his glasses.

[Author’s Note]

The updates are getting later and later~