Chapter 178

Judging by Hong Bo’s condition, the suspect must have held a deep grudge against him. The fact that his genitals were severed was a crucial clue.

Typically, such revenge methods are used against men who have committed crimes against women.

However, after questioning Hong Bo’s wife and family, they claimed to be unaware of him having any other women. On the day of the murder, Hong Bo’s wife had taken the children to her mother’s house and was not home, causing the lead to go cold.

Their captain suggested investigating cases Hong Bo had handled to see if any women had been victimized by his abuse of power.

As a minor leader of the Red Committee, Hong Bo was involved in many affairs. Just in the past year, there were over ten significant events. Therefore, the police station assigned officers to follow up on these cases sequentially.

In the spring and summer of last year, Hong Bo had been responsible for the relocation of Shi Tingyu’s parents.

Thus, two officers were sent to investigate this matter.

When they learned about the relocation of Shi Tingyu’s highly skilled parents, who had returned from overseas, the police officers were taken aback. Such valuable talents had been demoted and sent away.

The officers found out that the Shi family had a very beautiful daughter who matched the initial screening criteria for the case, so they decided to visit.

However, they were reluctant, knowing the people in the camp were protective. Shi Tingyu, being a military officer’s wife, could complicate matters.

The sentry routinely asked the two officers about their purpose.

Just as Officer Bai was about to speak, Officer Li interrupted him, smiling at the sentry, “There was a homicide a few days ago, and we’re here to conduct a neighborhood visit.”

Officer Bai had a more straightforward nature and might have bluntly stated they were looking for someone related to the homicide, which would undoubtedly offend people.

The sentry frowned. Even though they claimed to be conducting a neighborhood visit, it was suspicious to come to the camp. They might suspect someone in the camp was involved.

With this thought, the sentry’s expression grew more serious.

“Please register, and I need to report to my superiors.”

The two officers were kept outside the camp.

About twenty minutes later, the political commissar of the 723rd regiment, Guo Ping, arrived.

Guo Ping looked at the two officers without greeting them immediately. He stared at them for a while, making them sweat a little before finally smiling and extending his hand.

“I’m Political Commissar Guo Ping. I understand why you’re here. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Relieved to see a friendly face, Officers Li and Bai finally relaxed.

They thought to themselves, the leaders of the camp were indeed different. Just being stared at by Guo Ping made them feel pressured.

Guo Ping first led them to his office.

After pouring them water, he said, “Please wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

With that, Guo Ping left.

Officers Li and Bai exchanged glances, wondering if this was the legendary “show of strength.”

Meanwhile, Guo Ping hurried to the office of Captain Han.

They were partners, and a visit from the police could be a serious matter. He needed someone else to discuss the situation with.

In his view, if the police were coming to the camp, it must be a significant case.

Soon after, Guo Ping and Captain Han arrived together.

Seeing the bear-like Captain Han, Officers Li and Bai immediately tensed up.

The two officers stood up involuntarily.

Guo Ping smiled and said, “This is Captain Han. You can ask your questions now.”

Captain Han’s expression was stern, contrasting sharply with Guo Ping’s friendlier demeanor.

Officer Li spoke first.

“The situation is like this: in our jurisdiction, Comrade Hong Bo from the Red Committee was murdered. We came to talk to Captain Lu Weiguo and his wife to gather some information.”

At the mention of Lu Weiguo’s name, Han Anbang became furious.

His brother Weiguo was about to get promoted, and if he got entangled in a murder case now, the promotion would be jeopardized.

Seeing this, Guo Ping quickly restrained the hot-tempered Han.

After nearly a year together, Guo Ping had gotten to know Han’s temperament well. Before Han could explode, Guo Ping interjected, “How is this related to Captain Lu and his wife? As far as I know, Captain Lu has been defending the country on the battlefield and training diligently in the camp. His wife is a respected elementary school teacher who has been recognized for her contributions multiple times. Is there some misunderstanding?”

The two police officers sighed inwardly. This was why they didn’t want to come to the camp.

They hadn’t even said much yet, but these two leaders were already on the defensive.

It was a clear warning to them.

Officer Li wiped his sweat and smiled, “We don’t mean anything by it. We just want to conduct a visit, gather some information, and do some screening.”

Officer Bai, who was less tactful, added, “The victim died a gruesome death, with his genitals cut off. We suspect it might be related to a woman’s revenge. When we looked into the matter involving Comrade Shi’s parents’ relocation, we heard that Comrade Shi is very beautiful, so we came to ask about it.”

Captain Han slammed the table, “What nonsense! If that scumbag dared to have designs on Lu’s wife, I’d shoot him myself!”

The two police officers were startled by the outburst.

Guo Ping calmed the situation, “The man is dead now, and we can’t bully Lu’s wife. Calm down.”

His words made it seem like Hong Bo had indeed targeted Lu’s wife and was killed for it.

The two officers couldn’t help but wonder if soldiers had such tempers, the suspect might actually be one of them.

Of course, they only dared to grumble inwardly.

Seeing Han Anbang on the verge of exploding, Guo Ping dismissed him, “Old Han, go get Weiguo and bring his wife too.”

Han Anbang was reluctant to move.

Guo Ping gave him a meaningful look.

Lu Weiguo was part of their regiment, and as long as he did nothing wrong, Guo Ping would ensure no false accusations would tarnish his reputation.

Finally, Captain Han left.

The two officers also breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, they felt a lot of pressure with Captain Han there.

Now alone with Guo Ping, the two quickly explained the situation in detail, emphasizing that they had no prejudice or suspicion against Captain Lu and his wife. This was just a routine visit.

Guo Ping, however, thought to himself that if this routine visit was known by those with ill intentions, Lu Weiguo’s promotion could be jeopardized.

He was somewhat relieved that the sentry who reported this was from their 723rd regiment, which led to them finding him.

Soon, Lu Weiguo, Shi Tingyu, and Captain Han arrived.

On the way, the couple had already heard the details from Captain Han.

They hadn’t expected the matter they discussed a few days ago to come back to them so quickly.

Captain Han had been nagging the whole way, telling Lu Weiguo to be careful and not let this issue affect his promotion.