National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 735 - 678: Temperament

Chapter 735: Chapter 678: Temperament

A cigarette that had been smoked more than halfway was stubbed out by Tao Lu in a flowerpot.

The person-sized flowerpot shook from the force of Tao Lu’s action, and the begonia trembles tremblingly on top of it, like the delicate human tissue described in accordance with the law for adults.

Jiang Yuan silently passed over a box of Zhonghua cigarettes, and Tao Lu still took only one, lighting it himself and exhaled, saying, "My daughter won’t even let me smoke, but today I’m truly anxious."

"If you’re really worried, then pull the net in," Cui Qishan was also anxious.

Han Xu had already recognized all six bodies that were found, and although the details are yet to be filled in, from an investigative point of view, it’s basically a satisfactory conclusion.

As for Han Xu’s master, Mei Gangzou, he could be investigated and prosecuted in a separate case.

But Tao Lu was not satisfied and shook his head, "We can’t pull in yet, and there’s no need to rush, Mei Gangzou is more scared than us, even if he has a strong mental fortitude, can he withstand the accusations of a serial murder case? Plus, we have so many people to discuss with, but he has to bear it all alone. Under these circumstances, he should be the first one to break."

"We’re also falling apart one by one, ordinary workers might not be more resilient than a serial killer," said the police officer puffing on a Huanghelou cigarette deeply.

Tao Lu took the Zhonghua out of his mouth and turned to look, sure enough, it was Comrade Xiao Si.

Cui Qishan’s eyebrows drooped heavily, he took a deep drag from his cigarette, then quickly exhaled it, hoping to hide his head.

The public smoking area, which was the balcony for growing flowers, wasn’t a place where only leaders could smoke. Although Cui Qishan was the head of the special task force, he couldn’t control that much.

Tao Lu let out a heavy sigh, "You’re right, sometimes two ropes are harder to hold taut than one."

The smoking area fell into a silence that everyone understood.

Jiang Yuan put down a pack of cigarettes to help everyone blow thick rings of smoke that concealed themselves.

"Hello?"

Tao Lu picked up the phone, holding the cigarette in his mouth as he spoke, looking like someone undercover.

"Mm?"

After responding twice, Tao Lu’s expression changed slightly as he hung up the phone and said, "Liu Cheng has lost him!"

Tsss tsss tsss tsss tsss...

A group of people twisted their cigarette butts into the flowerpot with the begonias.

The delicate branches and leaves of the begonia thrashed wildly, as if the bright red flowers would be shaken off at any second.

But even after the last cigarette butt was extinguished, the begonia stood firm. It had seen a lot.

"Dispatch the police first and inform the defense locations on the way," Tao Lu made a quick decision and started to make calls to mobilize people, then reported up the chain.

Mei Gangzou must not be let go, and the method to ensure he doesn’t disappear isn’t to look for him blindly like a headless fly, but to draw a big circle on the map immediately and arrange as dense a defense as possible.

Given the density of surveillance cameras in the city center and the road conditions, Mei Gangzou would really need wings to escape.

Tao Lu had not only made similar contingency plans before, but he had also organized and implemented them several times, so there was no hesitation in task allocation and arrangement.

Jiang Yuan was still not very familiar with the Beijing system; Liu Jinghui, who had been around Changyang City in the province for years, had seen quite a lot.

When Tao Lu’s phone call spree had temporarily paused, Liu Jinghui reminded him, "I’m just worried that Mei Gangzou isn’t trying to run away."

"Hmm? You mean, he wants to go destroy evidence?" Tao Lu thought for a moment and immediately picked up the phone again.

Liu Jinghui spoke quickly, "He might have gone to handle evidence. What I’m most afraid of is that there’s still a living witness. So we need to pinpoint his location as soon as possible."

Tao Lu’s brow furrowed, and without saying much, his tone carried a more urgent command.

As criminal police officers, they’ve seen many horrendous cases; there was no need to always assume the worst at this time.

"We’ll go help too." Jiang Yuan still had a team of criminal police under him, who could still be quite effective if dispatched at this time.

However, the situation was urgent, and everyone, including Mu Zhiyang, had no time to draw their weapons. So Mu Zhiyang tucked a clear, small shield into his clothes, and they all got into the car and drove towards the small restaurant where Mei Gangzou worked.

Liu Jinghui shared a car with Jiang Yuan, and while watching Mu Zhiyang practice with his shield, he said, "If we encounter Mei Gangzou, don’t worry about anything else. First, make sure to neutralize his ability to fight. Got it?"

Mu Zhiyang was taken aback for a moment and said, "Is that appropriate?"

"If he surrenders without a fuss, then handle him with care. But if he dares to resist, then don’t hold back," Liu Jinghui emphasized. "He’s 47 years old, definitely not as physically strong as he used to be. But having taught that Han Xu to kill, leading to six deaths, he’s definitely not soft-hearted. To escape from a group of youngsters like you, he’d have to fight for his life. Don’t hold back, or else both Jiang Yuan and I could be in trouble."

"Understood," Mu Zhiyang said with a resolute expression and checked his equipment again.

Among those in the car, Lu Tongda, who was driving, had a background in traffic police. He’d encountered Jiang Yuan during the Yuan Family case and was significantly involved in a major case, but his combat ability was clearly inadequate—after barely three bullets, he couldn’t help but fall.

The only one with some combat ability was Mu Zhiyang—both Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui were more brain than brawn. Even against a 47-year-old chef, they were highly likely to get diced up like vegetables.

Mu Zhiyang was psyching himself up, tapping on his shield periodically.

They exited the ring road.

Mu Zhiyang readied himself again.

An address popped up in Jiang Yuan’s phone group chat.

"This..."

Before Jiang Yuan could understand, Tao Lu’s call came in.

Tao Lu said, "Did you see the message? I had it sent to you directly."

"I saw it. What is that place?" Jiang Yuan asked, somewhat guessing but still wanting confirmation.

"It’s the address of a house bought by Mei Gangzou’s mistress. Surveillance captured a photo of him passing by," Tao Lu exhaled.

In today’s big cities, there are more cameras than people. Mei Gangzou can run all he wants, but the moment one camera catches him, all his efforts are in vain, just like now.

Mu Zhiyang spoke with some confusion, "Mei Gangzou is 47, right? And he still has a mistress? Is he really just a chef? Did he buy the house with illicit gains?"

Jiang Yuan had the speakerphone on, and Tao Lu replied from the other end, "The mistress bought the house herself and has a job with decent income. Regarding Mei Gangzou, he hasn’t really spent much on his mistress. We found him through his mistress’s social media account."

Only then did Mu Zhiyang realize and said, "Right, they used social media to kill. Mei Gangzou is so old, can he still meet people through it? How old is this mistress?"

"The mistress is younger than you," Tao Lu responded from the other side of the call, "Some people don’t need material conditions for love."

"Serial killer charm?" Mu Zhiyang wasn’t convinced.

"Well, Mei Gangzou really does have that sort of vibe," Liu Jinghui muttered.

Taking the cue, Mu Zhiyang looked ahead and saw Mei Gangzou standing on a balcony not far away, hands in pockets, standing straight, his sharp gaze like that of a vulture searching for prey.