National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 747 - 690: Old Nine

Chapter 747: Chapter 690: Old Nine

"Everyone says Beijing is a place where the elites gather, but I didn’t believe it. After these two cases, though, I really have to say that Beijing’s talents don’t match up to Beijing’s cuisine..."

Listening to He Wei’s confession in the surveillance room, Liu Jinghui was so excited that his mind felt as if it had been hit by a storm.

He had seen plenty of murderers, extortionists were a dime a dozen, and he had come into contact with many witnesses. But Liu Jinghui really never thought that these three roles could one day converge into one.

It was like hot and numbing soup with roast duck. Did someone think of this by accidentally dropping the duck into the spicy broth?

Elsewhere, witnesses who see a murder would be too panicked to even call the police, let alone anything else. But this guy was good. He took photos as evidence and then started to play the extortion game.

"You know, if you had a serial killer at your disposal, someone you could order to kill anyone without having to take responsibility, that would be really convenient," Li Haochen said, swallowing hard, his mind also beginning to storm, "like when meeting a rival, some love enemy, an annoying nemesis, a bullying boss at work, a nosy neighbor... one order and poof, the world becomes a quiet place!"

Seeing that Li Haochen was clearly projecting himself into the scenario, Liu Jinghui couldn’t help asking, "Is that how it’s used?"

Li Haochen nodded, "If you could kill without being responsible, you wouldn’t be able to help but to keep using it, right? This mastermind, how did he restrain himself?"

"Maybe he just doesn’t have that many love rivals, nemesis, or annoying neighbors around him. As for his boss, I don’t know. Maybe he just hasn’t had the chance for a promotion yet?" Liu Jinghui joked.

Li Haochen coughed twice and said, "We’re talking about criminals."

"I am talking about criminals," Liu Jinghui responded with a smile.

"This Old Nine, if he exists, would be tough to profile," Li Haochen said, not minding Liu Jinghui’s teasing and continuing to think along his own familiar lines, "If I were him, the first person I’d ask to be killed would probably be a complete stranger, just to test He Wei’s compliance. If he complied, that would mean he’s usable and more evidence can be collected to bring him completely under control."

"What if he didn’t comply?" Liu Jinghui was just purely curious about Li Haochen’s thought process.

Li Haochen said, "If he didn’t comply, either he’d be forced with other methods, like threatening his son or something. But if it were me, I’d probably give up right away. After all, it was just a chance encounter. If He Wei didn’t comply, I’d just report him, send the photos and videos to the police myself, and let him go to his death."

"That’s true, but..." Liu Jinghui looked at Li Haochen and said, "Was it really just a chance encounter?"

Li Haochen was taken aback, "You think it wasn’t?"

"Ordinary people who witness a murder or disposal of a body would normally call the police, or at worst, run home and pretend they didn’t see anything. The one who knows how to use this situation, and controls a serial killer to commit murder through sending a phone, pre-installing foreign apps, and the like, do you think he’s a normal person?" Liu Jinghui continued, asking, "He Wei still chooses to dispose of bodies on rainy days, and yet he was caught on camera. The person taking the pictures is such a ruthless character. What are the odds of that?"

Li Haochen listened and slowly nodded, "But if someone is purposefully collecting evidence on He Wei, how did they first find out? Maybe it was a she?"

Both of them looked up at the same time, "Ex-wife?"

Liu Jinghui immediately shook his head, "No, watching He Wei squander tens of millions in three years, there aren’t many women who could tolerate that. She would be better off sending He Wei to prison, leaving the property and everything for her and her son."

Li Haochen also said, "Indeed, a killer is not necessarily more valuable than a dead ex-husband."

"If we consider it from this angle, then we still have to look for Old Nine in He Wei’s social connections," Liu Jinghui concluded.

"As for the fifth body, if we could have just a bit more information, we might be able to crack the case through this lead," said Li Haochen, who was generally very optimistic.

The reason serial killers are difficult to catch is an important one, they vent emotions instead of pursuing profit.

Most criminals, after all, commit crimes for profit. By following the trail of profit, the scope of suspects is often defined.

Just like He Wei’s confession about the fifth body, if it was indeed the real target of the so-called Old Nine, then the body could provide a wealth of information.

The discussion between the two came to a pause at this point; their reasoning had become too divergent. To continue deducing, they still needed some evidence for support.

In the interrogation room, He Wei had decided to confess, and the information he revealed became more and more extensive, including the murder weapons used in three other cases, which he had also kept close to him, stashed in the gym of his residential community.

And the vehicle he used for committing the crimes was also borrowed—a friend’s off-road vehicle specifically for fishing. No matter how rough the seas, a fisherman never retreats. Borrowing a car every few months only made his friends praise him for having a hobby. Even if the car got dirty or stained with blood, he’d just say it happened during a picnic, and that would be that.

While He Wei was confessing, the police were already striking out in all directions, gathering evidence and looking for people.

Including He Wei’s ex-wife and son, who were summoned to the police station under the guise of protection and had their statements recorded, regardless of whether they were suspects or not.

By the time Jiang Yuan emerged from the interrogation room and headed to the scene of the fifth body, the task force was abuzz with discussion.

Although the case hadn’t been completely solved yet, if one didn’t set the bar too high, the case could be considered 60 to 70 percent solved. Some even speculated that there might not be an actual mastermind behind the scenes after all, and it might just be a fabrication by He Wei.

Liu Jinghui cut off such speculation with a simple sentence, "To seek a lighter sentence, insisting that he imitated the crimes would be most beneficial for him."

In fact, He Wei had originally been caught because of his imitation crimes. If he hadn’t confessed, linking the remaining cases to him would have only been possible after further investigation into those three cases.

"Would it be too late now to use He Wei’s phone to contact this Old Nine?" someone from Cui Qishan’s team asked. They had connections to the big shots in the security field, maybe they could get some information.

After much hesitation, Tao Lu said, "We can’t make contact. Old Nine might not be sure yet if He Wei has exposed him. It’s too early to stir the snake in the grass. We need to be at least a little prepared, to define a range first. Hm... let’s wait for Jiang Yuan’s news."

"Jiang Yuan is really skilled at investigating crime scenes," Liu Jinghui casually described some of the cases he had worked on with Jiang Yuan, as if he was telling stories, which also helped alleviate the pressure on the detectives.

Tao Lu could only nod, "If we calculate the time, they should have dug it out by now."

While he was speaking, his phone rang.

Tao Lu immediately answered the call and asked, "Captain Jiang, how is it going?"

"Thirty meters away from where the body was buried, near a small path, there are traces of worship. I found an old footprint with incense ash in the middle of it. The worshipper is about 30 years old, 1.7 meters tall, male, weighing around 120 pounds..." Jiang Yuan rapidly went over the results of the scene’s investigation.

Tao Lu was momentarily confused, then quickly perked up. Old Nine’s plan was bold, but his execution scored far too low.