Even though the person who fired the shot wasn’t found, the ballistic analysis results came out. Through analyzing the bullet that entered Chu Jian’s heart, they discovered a jaw-dropping clue—the shooter used a police gun.

Further analysis revealed that this gun was very likely the issued gun of a police officer from Longchuan City.

As soon as this result came out, the entire police team was thrown into panic. All the officers who were on duty that day were questioned, but in the end, no clear conclusion was reached.

“Could there be a corrupt cop among us? Otherwise, how did someone act before us?”

“The matter is still under investigation! Don’t say things carelessly!”

…

On his way home from work, Di Ye kept thinking about one thing.

Why shoot a dead person?

His fingers tapped on the steering wheel as he recalled the testimony of the waiter.

“The guest rang the bell for a bottle of Rémy Martin. When I brought the wine in, the guest was still awake. The last time I went in was just now, I helped the guest tidy up the wine bottles and found the guest asleep. I didn’t pay much attention and left. Not long after I left, you guys came in.”

The police entered the private room at 11:28 PM. From the discovery of the body to the lockdown of the entire KTV, it took just two minutes.

In just a few minutes, to enter the room, fire a shot, pick up the shell casing, leave the room, and avoid the police’s sight and all surveillance, it was almost impossible to accomplish.

Could there really be a corrupt cop?

Suddenly, a possibility flashed in his mind.

He immediately turned the car around and went to Hao Ge KTV.

In the private room, Yan Jun was still conducting a thorough evidence collection at the crime scene. Unrelated personnel had already left the room. He Le was in another room reviewing surveillance footage, with seven surveillance screens playing simultaneously.

Previously, Yan Jun had analyzed the trajectory of the bullet; it entered from a low position on the right side.

Di Ye checked the right wall, “Hand me the flashlight.”

Di Ye took the flashlight and walked to the right corner, spotting a rectangular mark on the carpet. “What’s this about?”

“Oh,” the waiter explained, “There used to be a standing air conditioner here. It had some issues, so it was moved away.”

“What about the hole for the cooling unit connection?”

“It’s below. To prevent mice from crawling in, it’s been blocked.” The waiter lifted the folded carpet at the wall corner, revealing a recessed area at the base of the wall.

Di Ye squatted down and poked at the recessed area with a pen. Something inside was pushed out, and then a beam of light shone through.

“Whoa!” Yan Jun immediately reacted, “So that’s how it is!”

*

The police conducted a thorough search and evidence collection in the alley behind the KTV where the air conditioning unit was hung. They found a few size 43 footprints near the air conditioning unit on the second floor of the KTV, initially speculating they belonged to a male between 175 to 185 cm tall.

Additionally, a shell casing was found at the wall corner. Analysis showed that the casing and the bullet matched, supporting the deduction.

“He fired from outside, so he couldn’t determine if the person was dead or alive. Firing that shot isn’t contradictory.” Yan Jun glanced at the bare walls on both sides, “There’s no surveillance here, tough to handle!”

With no surveillance behind the KTV, the investigation hit a bottleneck, and since more than 24 hours had passed since the incident, the shooter had likely already fled.

The field team could only try to find eyewitnesses around the KTV.

Just as the case seemed at a standstill, Director Tang called Di Ye into the office.

“Speaking of the lost issued gun, I do recall something.”

Seven years ago, Tang Xiaodong was the deputy team leader. At that time, he was assisting Team Leader Zheng Jiang in capturing drug dealers. Zheng Jiang accidentally fell into the water, and in the end, even his body wasn’t recovered, let alone his issued gun.

“We’ve checked all the registered issued guns, and no problems were found. If there is an issue, it would be with Zheng Jiang’s gun. His gun likely fell into the hands of the drug dealers back then.”

Di Ye: “Old Tang, the drug dealers you mentioned, are they Poison Spider?”

Poison Spider is a drug trafficking gang. This gang made its name by producing “Widowmaker,” and since Widowmaker is reminiscent of Black Widow, over time, it earned the nickname Poison Spider.

Director Tang nodded, “What I fear most is the return of Poison Spider. If they come back, it won’t just be about a police gun!”

*

Through the relentless efforts of the technical investigation team, they finally found a car that passed through the alley behind the KTV at the time of the incident. The car’s dashcam captured a suspicious-looking man.

After identification, this man was recognized as a familiar face at the KTV—Mao Si.

Mao Si lived in a shabby little house. Looking in through the window, the inside was a mess.

Di Ye kicked open the shaky lock with one swift move.

Inside the room, there wasn’t a single person.

“What’s Mao Si’s background?” Di Ye asked the informant.

The informant was a bald man in his forties with a face full of black moles, known to everyone as Zhi Ge.

Zhi Ge said, “No one knows, everyone just calls him Boss Mao. I found this place because one time he got drunk and brought a girl over, and I happened to know that girl.”

Di Ye: “How do you know her?”

Zhi Ge immediately stood at attention, “All past foolishness! I swear I’ve reformed!”

“You better have!”

Di Ye navigated around the scattered items in the room, guessing that a struggle had occurred here. The scattered items on the ground had a certain pattern, as if caused by a collision, but there were no visible bloodstains.

He got up and walked towards the backyard, staring at a recessed area on the wall.

Upon closer inspection, it was actually a bullet hole!

His gaze shifted downward, and he found a not-so-obvious tree root on the ground.

He walked over, picked up the tree root, and rubbed it repeatedly between his fingers.

The root was still wet, and the cut was directly severed. He glanced at the shovel leaning against the wall corner, with loose soil on it. Judging by the soil, it was from the yard.

Di Ye looked at the ground he was standing on, then suddenly jumped twice in place. Immediately, the soil beneath his feet sank a bit, and he frowned, “Something’s not right, this soil has been dug up.”

Zhi Ge came over with a shovel, and after a few digs, the shovel hit something hard.

Di Ye cleared the soil away, revealing an iron box tied with a transparent plastic bag.

The box wasn’t very large, with the words “Double Yolk Mooncake” written on it.

Opening the iron box, he found a few copper-colored bullets inside.

Di Ye frowned, because these bullets were clearly not the kind used with the Type 92 police gun.

Could Mao Si have another gun?

Di Ye drove back to the team and immediately took the bullets for analysis. The results were just as he suspected.

“These bullets are completely different from the ones taken out of Chu Jian’s chest. Additionally, fingerprints were collected from the mooncake box.”

The police quickly pulled up the identity information based on the fingerprints.

“Zhou Mao, he’s a wanted criminal!”

Upon hearing this, Di Ye leaned in. His gaze fell on the photo on the computer screen, and his expression became serious.

He had seen this person before; he was a member of Poison Spider.

Five years ago, during the hostage rescue at the seaside villa, he had fought with this person. He had broken this person’s arm, and later there was an explosion. He thought the person had died.

He Le stared at the photo for a long time, “This Mao Si is very likely Zhou Mao. Although his appearance has changed, fingerprints don’t lie! What if he had plastic surgery?”

Di Ye compared Zhou Mao’s ID photo with the person captured in the surveillance, unable to see them as the same person. As for plastic surgery…

Mao Si’s facial features did look a bit strange, but the surveillance footage was somewhat blurry, making it hard to judge.

“Let’s catch the person first and then talk.”

*

The technical investigation team soon brought good news.

“After Mao Si exited the north alley of Hao Ge KTV, he passed through a street full of foot massage parlors and entered Xiao Qiao Bathhouse. He hasn’t come out since.

We now have surveillance covering all around the bathhouse. Once we spot this person, we’ll lock onto him immediately.”

“What is he doing at the bathhouse at this time?” Di Ye leaned back in the leather chair, pondering.

Shouldn’t he be in a hurry to escape?

How does he have the mood to take a bath?

Di Ye held a laser pointer in hand, drawing a circle on the map, “The bathhouse has a large flow of people, and the suspect might be carrying firearms. It’s not wise to rush in for an arrest. I suggest luring him to this place.”

Di Ye pointed the laser pen at the location of Baohuang Temple, where there were buildings waiting to be demolished and fewer people.”

“How do we lure him? Mao Si isn’t an idiot. What if he finds out?”

Di Ye: “By blocking the road to the north due to a traffic accident, leaving him with only two options.

Either go home and hide, or make a run for it. We’ll have our people ambushed on these two necessary routes.”

“This method is feasible.” Director Tang said, “The suspect may be carrying firearms, so everyone should be prepared.”

*

Before setting off, Di Ye suddenly remembered that Leng Ning lived around the bathhouse, so he asked, “Any movement from Leng Ning’s side?”

“No, he’s been staying at Jinmai and hasn’t gone back.” Shu Shu said while checking her issued gun, “Boss, are you being too sensitive? Maybe he’s just naturally aloof.”

“Am I being too sensitive?” Di Ye squinted his eyes, thinking, “He’s clearly suspicious.”

“I heard that smart people can sense each other in a crowd. Is it possible that he’s so smart that you sensed him?”

Shu Shu’s words were skillfully spoken, both comforting Di Ye and subtly flattering him.

Di Ye stroked his chin, thinking, “He is indeed smart, but he’s definitely suspicious too.”

*

Leng Ning had just finished washing his hands when his phone suddenly received a text message.

Di Ye: [There’s an arrest tonight, keep your doors and windows closed, and don’t turn on the lights.]

He might not be able to go back tonight. Dozens of bodies were retrieved from the Longchuan River, keeping him extremely busy.

As he was about to reply, his phone ran out of battery and turned off.

Unable to find a charger nearby, he simply locked his phone in the cabinet, recalling the body with bruises he saw by the river that day, he returned to the autopsy room.

“Has anyone claimed body number 7?”

“Not yet, most of the other bodies have been claimed, but no one recognizes this one. We’ve checked fingerprint information, and she’s not a local. We’ve already notified the police in her registered area to help find her family.”

Leng Ning unzipped the body bag, revealing a youthful face. Despite being waterlogged, it couldn’t hide her beauty and youth.

Such a beautiful woman shouldn’t be unrecognizable. If she traveled alone, what was her original purpose?

The zipper continued to slide down, revealing the skin on the girl’s waist. There were varying shades of pinch marks on both sides of her waist. Judging by the state of the marks, they were formed within three days before her death.

“How old is she?”

“Oh, 16 years old.” Forensic assistant Tu Fangfang said.

“Get me a speculum.”

“Huh?” Tu Fangfang looked surprised, “You don’t think she was…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, directly handing over a speculum, then assisted Leng Ning with the autopsy.

In fact, before the speculum was even used, Leng Ning noticed something amiss, “Hand me the forceps.”

Taking the forceps from Tu Fangfang, Leng Ning extracted a knotted condom from the girl’s vagina.

Tu Fangfang was so shocked she fell silent, only reacting after a while, “This, this is, this is meth?”