Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 631 - Chapter 631 Chapter 17 Inquiry

Chapter 631: Chapter 17 Inquiry Chapter 631: Chapter 17 Inquiry The neon lights flickered at the end of the highway, where Jin Ye on his red motorcycle came to a stop in front of a building. He pulled out the key and walked into the office entrance with his helmet tucked under one arm.

“Mr. Jin, hello.”

Ren Yi at the reception nodded gently to Jin Ye.

“Hello.”

Replied Jin Ye, who was dressed like a member of a biker gang.

“Mr. Li and Ren Ni are upstairs waiting for you to take over the shift.”

“Got it.”

Jin Ye didn’t waste any words and headed straight up the stairs. Before he even pushed the door open, he could hear a multitude of game sound effects coming from behind it.

He opened the door and took in the two men who were busily maneuvering Mario to jump and dodge.

“You’re early. You still have eight hours before your shift starts.”

Li Yan said. He got distracted and the Mario he was controlling was killed by a rotating flame pole.

In contrast, Ren Ni was unaffected. He greeted Jin Ye while his fingers moved swiftly, navigating Luigi (Mario’s brother, the 2P character) through the dazzling flames to swiftly reach the flagpole at the end of the level.

“It’s surely better to be early than late.”

Jin Ye replied, as he glanced at the peanut shells and drink bottles littering the ground, and the game console on the table. He looked at Li Yan as if he had something to say but hesitated.

Before he could speak, Li Yan frowned, held his forehead, and cursed, “You really know when to pick your moments.”

——————————–

“Hello, we are from the New Territories Police Station, could you please help us, have you seen this person?”

Li Yaoguang, accompanied by two of his deputies, approached the reception without noticing the watchful eyes of the Sudu bird on the chandelier.

Ren Yi put down the idol magazine, carefully studying the photo of Li Yan, but took a while to respond.

“Looking for me?”

Li Yan came downstairs just in time.

Li Yaoguang looked up, saw Li Yan’s face, and immediately stepped forward to block the stairwell: “We suspect you are involved in a deliberate murder case, please come with us to assist in the investigation.”

“…Alright.”

Li Yan turned his head and gave Jin Ye and Ren Ni a reassuring look.

“Need to make a phone call?”

Li Yaoguang stared at Li Yan’s face.

“No need. Have we met somewhere before?”

As Li Yan asked, he stretched out his hands.

“You can think about it on the way.”

As he spoke, Li Yaoguang took out the handcuffs and cuffed Li Yan.

“Take him away.”

Ren Ni watched Li Yan being led to the police car and quietly asked Jin Ye, “Should we help out?”

Jin Ye shook his head: “He doesn’t need us to worry.”

“That’s true,” Ren Ni scratched his head: “So, shall we continue?”

Jin Ye looked Ren Ni up and down and said, “I’ve heard of you, Ren Ni from Third Eye Global, Si Wenji’s man, and you’ve even been praised by Zhan Yuejin. Normally I wouldn’t pry, but we’re going to be working together for at least twelve days, so I have to say something unpleasant. This is an official deployment, we’re not here to play, and if anything goes wrong, none of us can escape the consequences. Playing the game console is one thing, but I’m going to watch over the warehouse, you do as you wish.”

“Oh, you’ve got it wrong, actually…”

Ren Ni hadn’t finished speaking when Jin Ye had already gone downstairs. Ren Ni blinked, sighed, and followed Jin Ye toward the warehouse.

Two hours later, deep into the night, at the New Territories Police Station.

“I don’t know them, didn’t do it, have no idea what you’re talking about, I was at a friend’s place having soup. Even stopped at a convenience store nearby to buy cigarettes, but the owner might not remember me; he was totally engrossed in watching the Miss Hong Kong pageant. In short, the Chen Zhengcong you’re talking about, I didn’t kill him.”

Li Yan’s attitude was very forthright, even to the point of seeming arrogant.

In the whole interrogation room, there were just Li Yaoguang and himself.

“Alright, we’ll look into what you’ve said.” Li Yaoguang put away the interrogation record book and asked, “By the way, do you remember who I am now?”

“I remember, Li Sir, you look better in a bulletproof vest than in a police uniform. Also, you’ve put on weight since we last met three years ago.”

“Really? Hahahaha~” Li Yaoguang laughed heartily: “My daughter says the same thing.”

He stretched, stood up with his thermos in hand, sat down on the table close to Li Yan, “Speaking of which, you’re really something. I’ve been here just five hours since I applied for the arrest warrant, and you’ve been here for only an hour, but the phone at the station is about to blow up from all the calls by those influential people. Seems like you have a pretty good relationship not only with Judy but also with the Boqing Foundation?”

“From what Li Sir is saying, can I hope to be out soon?”

Li Yaoguang shook his head, he held up a finger and lowered his voice, “We all have to follow judicial procedures, but I’ve got your number. If you don’t tell the truth, no one can bail you out, I’ll be after you to the end.”

“Based on what you just said, that Qian Wu was at the crime scene with Chen Zhengcong’s blood on his clothes, and he only stayed for forty-eight hours. Yet, I’m not allowed bail, Li Sir, are you targeting me?”

Li Yaoguang leaned in close to Li Yan, “Yes, I’m targeting you, what about it?”

Li Yan stared at him with a half-smile, and the temperature in the interrogation room dropped sharply.

Li Yaoguang felt that the air conditioning was turned up too high. He took the remote control to turn down the AC, then sipped from his thermos, gazing ahead as he spoke to himself, “Investigating a case is all about judicial procedures, evidence, motives, logic. And logic is the most far-fetched thing; at least seventy percent of crimes are illogical, whether it’s due to debt collection or a twisted psyche. If you ask me, being a cop is a hundred percent job, but investigating cases might not even count for thirty percent. I don’t have any evidence in my hands, but I’m certain, you killed Chen Zhengcong.”

Li Yan shook his head, “With all due respect, you pushing Qian Wu as the murderer is far more probable than me. Li Sir, picking a fight with me is pointless.”

“Let’s try and see. I’ve met plenty of criminals like you who are full of confidence.”

Li Yan exhaled and stopped speaking.

“Or, we could make a deal.”

“Oh?”

Li Yan was intrigued.

“I’ll release Qian Wu because he told me the truth, even though it sounded as preposterous as a Ni Kuang detective novel. If you can provide me with a clue about Hanlin Cold Storage, I might at least consider asking Judy to bail you out first.”

From the beginning to the end, Li Yaoguang’s focus of investigation had been the case of hidden corpses at Hanlin Cold Chain. But compared to the death of Chen Zhengcong, the hidden corpse case involved many aspects and was as unshakable as the roots of an old tree.

Liu Shiqing was still nowhere to be found, Li Anchao had committed suicide out of fear of his crimes, and if Li Yaoguang didn’t want this earth-shattering case to end hastily, he had to find a breakthrough starting with Li Yan and Qian Wu.

“To be honest, I’m quite tempted, but sorry, Li Sir, I really don’t know anything about Hanlin Cold Chain.”

Li Yaoguang’s brows furrowed into a “Chuan ” shape, his presence from decades of fighting on the police front lines as immovable as a rock: “Are you telling me that you’ve never been to Hanlin Cold Chain? Never seen those corpses? You have nothing to do with this at all?”

“Li Sir, you just concluded that I was the murderer who killed Chen Zhengcong, but what if, just hypothetically, I went that night to kill Chen Zhengcong, and it just so happened he was at the cold storage with Qian Wu, with over a hundred bodies there. After I killed Chen Zhengcong, I just left. It’s that simple. So I know nothing about the Hanlin Cold Chain.”

“All those bodies, such a bizarre incident, and you’re not at all curious? Just killed someone and left?”

Li Yaoguang couldn’t even clarify whether his tone conveyed belief or skepticism.

“There was some curiosity, but I was eager to have my soup.”

“Are you playing me?”

Li Yan shrugged his shoulders, “Also, Li Sir, have you offended anyone lately?”

“What?” Li Yaoguang frowned, “What are you talking about?”

“You’re so diligent with your work, you must have. Just no good deed goes unpunished.”

Suddenly, the fire alarm sounded loudly. Li Yaoguang hadn’t reacted yet when an intense explosion blew the security door apart and rushed at both of them!