Free Web NovelChapter 432: Chapter 407 Countdown_1
Time ticked by, second by second.
Mr. Zhao tapped Zhou Ning’s arm and said with a sly grin, ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"You’ve picked up some bad habits, kid. I can probably guess the message you sent to Mr. Huang. It’s that psychological tactic which is easiest to learn from Director Xu. After all, it’s Zhang Hongwei who’s in a hurry, not us. Give him a sense of crisis, and no matter how cunning he is, he’s never encountered anything like this."
Cao Pingzhang watched with great interest, folding his arms and moving closer to Liu Yongxin.
"I say, Qindao deals with a lot of major cases, right? Haven’t you guys been following along and listening in plenty of times?"
Liu Yongxin laughed, casting a glance at his prized apprentice before saying leisurely,
"Our deputy director in charge of criminal investigation was originally the captain of the criminal police in Qidong. He cracked several major cases that shocked Hua Country with Zhou Ning. Zhou Ning completed his interrogation by listening in the observation room, so the deputy director is extremely superstitious, always treating my apprentice as his lucky charm. My apprentice followed along during trials and managed to catch quite a bit."
"No wonder, it’s truly eye-opening. I think our bureau should also organize internships or something. It wouldn’t hurt to go over to your place and learn a bit. Even though we have fewer migrants here and our economy isn’t as strong, a major case like this would really be a headache. It’s always better to have our own capabilities than to rely on others."
Liu Yongxin patted his shoulder.
"You hit the nail on the head with that. Having others is not as good as having your own, which is why we partnered with Qin University. The forensic doctors and trace examiners we’re training now, among others, are all being educated according to our requirements. This way our staffing issues are resolved, and we get the talent we need. It’s a win-win."
Cao Pingzhang’s eyes lit up.
"That’s great. Why didn’t you mention this earlier? I’m going to speak to Mr. Huang about it soon, and afterwards, we’ll also arrange to have a couple of people."
Liu Yongxin gave him a look.
"I’m already doing you a favor by telling you, and still you complain that it’s late. If it weren’t for you being an old classmate, I wouldn’t have told you at all. Besides, there are also elite talents from the computer science department, the types like Mr. Qu. But I fear the really capable ones won’t be going to Dayao City."
Cao Pingzhang waved his hand.
"With money, you can make even the devil turn the millstone. We need Mr. Huang and the city bureau to take care of this. We’ve also brought in expert consultants before, but couldn’t retain them. To keep people, we naturally need to embrace change. Sticking to the old ways is impossible. I hope that when I retire, at the very least the forensic department in Dayao City will remain. Otherwise, I’ll have this weight on my conscience..."
Liu Yongxin patted Cao Pingzhang’s shoulder, understanding what he left unsaid.
After all, this was the place where he had worked his whole life. They had persevered through their convictions, but it was unfair to hold the younger generation to the same standards. If they wanted to make progress, they had to be willing to change, much like the economic development of a city. Dayao City needed to find its own path.
"Let’s not talk about that. Let’s watch the interrogation first. If you guys decide to go to Qin University, give me a call in advance."
Cao Pingzhang smiled and nodded, turning with Liu Yongxin to watch the interrogation room.
Huang Youdao didn’t look at Zhang Hongwei again but after chatting with Mr. Qu and others for a bit, he turned his attention back to the countdown on his phone. An impatient expression seemed to form on his face just as the timer was about to switch to five minutes. Huang Youdao reached for the phone, and at the same moment, Zhang Hongwei extended his hand and pressed it down firmly.
Such an action revealed Zhang Hongwei’s trembling hands. His lips were cracked, and he stared at Huang Youdao with desperation.
"Wait, wait, please don’t rush, officer. I’ll tell you... not that I want to know... no, I didn’t mean to. I really didn’t mean to kill Fu Chunyu. You have to believe me!"
The phone rang inappropriately at that moment. Huang Youdao raised his eyebrows, looking indifferently at Zhang Hongwei, silenced the ringtone, and then sat down in his chair, lighting a cigarette.
"Say whatever you want to say. I don’t want to go over the evidence again; after all, it has been verified. There’s no point in explaining, even if the gloves found in the Passat are already on their way here and will be delivered soon. Do you think by telling me you didn’t mean it, you can change what’s going to happen? Start with how you chose to approach Fu Chunyu. Now’s the chance, inside the detective unit. You might not get the opportunity to speak up in court. Do you want one?"
Zhang Hongwei’s eyes flickered, and he exhaled a long breath before nodding slightly.
Huang Youdao gave him a cigarette, lit it and placed it in the ashtray on the small table of the interrogation chair. The two of them sat there smoking, Zhang Hongwei closed his eyes, resigned as if accepting his fate, and slowly began to speak:
"Yang Guochang’s death has nothing to do with me. I know what you’re thinking, that I seduced Fu Chunyu, had feelings for her and then plotted to kill Yang Guochang. In truth, I only met the couple at a class reunion and thought Fu Chunyu was quite different, with that gentle charm of a girl from the south.
After we met during the Spring Festival, we went out for meals a few times. It was look from Fu Chunyu, always wandering over my way, leaving hints unsaid. As a man, naturally, I couldn’t resist. At the beginning of April, I did meet with her alone once, where we did everything from dining to bedding—none was missed.
For me, it was just another boast to add to my list. At the end of April, when Yang Guochang died in a car accident, I was shocked to hear the news. Fu Chunyu, tearful and sad, begged me to help arrange things for her—how could I refuse, especially since we were classmates?
Although Yang Liang never liked me, people say that death is supreme, so I didn’t think about anything else and helped to arrange the funeral. During that period, Yang Liang didn’t say much, but I noticed a middle-aged woman getting quite close to him. After asking my mother about it, I found out this woman was no simple character.
After the funeral was over, Fu Chunyu had a heart-to-heart talk with me. She disclosed her previous profession and spoke about how her family forced her to drop out of school early and go out to earn money to support them. She moved to Dayao City to escape from those vampires back home.
She never expected her husband to die young, leaving behind a mess of things. There was only this shabby old house left and it was still in Yang Guochang’s name. She didn’t know how to deal with the remaining issues and heard she needed a notary certificate, a death certificate and such, but these would only be valid if Yang Liang gave up his inheritance rights.
On a whim, I agreed to help. After that, I helped contact people, but it was difficult to manage. I even hired a lawyer to accompany Fu Chunyu to discuss with Yang Liang, but maybe because he saw me, Yang Liang flatly refused.
After returning home I was somewhat aggravated and had people keep tabs on Yang Liang. As for comforting Fu Chunyu, I even created a fake notary certificate and property deed for her. You must know my family is in the contracting business, so a house, with or without property rights, I truly do not lack.
When I gave her the fake documents, Fu Chunyu was very pleased and treated me well. However, one night while I was asleep, I overheard her on the phone with a man. Although she didn’t put him on speaker, his voice was loud enough for me to hear clearly.
This man and Fu Chunyu also had an ambiguous relationship, probably married. She said she had been ensnared by me and wanted to escape but found no way out. She even claimed I constantly abused or berated her, coveting nothing but her house—essentially, she layered lie upon lie. I couldn’t believe these were words she could say.
I admit, I was enraged. I set an alarm, pretended to receive a call, and drove away from Fu Chunyu’s place. After thinking through the night, I decided that I couldn’t just let it be; the house wasn’t valuable, after all, new homes in Dayao City cost just over three thousand per square meter.
After much consideration, there was only the driver responsible for the accident left. I had already contacted him through the traffic police and a settlement agreement was made; I had handled everything myself without telling Fu Chunyu the details. I had only informed her that a compensation of twenty thousand was arranged, and that it would take some more days.
Fuming, I rounded up a few of the tough guys I knew well to confront the driver responsible for the accident, and we gave him a good thrashing. The previously agreed compensation was not a penny less than what was agreed upon, and in addition, we got a bit more—of course, the guys needed their share of expenses.
After the event, I gave those two guys twenty thousand each. Just when I finished dealing with these things, the person watching Yang Liang sent me a message, saying an old lady had visited Yang Liang’s house, all dolled up late at night.
I became intrigued and knew without guessing it was the Ms. Feng my mother had mentioned. I drove over to Qitai Village One. By the time I arrived, it was midnight, but seeing a light on, I approached.
I heard Yang Liang drinking inside the house, incessantly grumbling to himself, things like ’I didn’t intend to kill you’, ’you take the money without saying a word but still want to bleed me dry.’ Analyzing the situation, I could tell there was trouble. Peering through the courtyard gate, I saw blood drops continuing all the way to the cellar.
That guy told me Ms. Feng went in and never came out, so I guessed that Ms. Feng was probably in deep trouble. This was somewhat surprising to me, considering Yang Liang was such a straightforward and simple fellow. I then got out of the car with a box of gifts, fiddled with the gate and it opened.
Approaching the doghouse, I caught the stench of blood. The cellar had a light on and the mound of sand was not large, just about the size of a person, with one hand sticking out. I entered the room intending to chat with Yang Liang, perhaps to extort some money, but he was so drunk that he didn’t even notice me before falling back asleep.
I didn’t stay long. I found a set of keys on the ground, tried them, and sure enough, they opened Yang Liang’s house. I picked them up as if possessed and took them with me. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but the next day Fu Chunyu sought me out, asking to meet at her house.
Fu Chunyu suggested we break up, saying she couldn’t drag me down. She declared she and her child could endure any hardship, and it wasn’t proper for me to seek her, a first-time bride—doing so would subject me to ridicule and my family wouldn’t understand.
Indeed, my mother disapproved of my contact with Fu Chunyu, even berated her. She felt our family wasn’t lacking in money; although I hadn’t attended a university, I had spent years studying clinical courses at a medical school. In every aspect, she thought Fu Chunyu couldn’t compare, coming from a small family and, moreover, a widow with a child.
Upon hearing this, I actually already had a rough idea in my mind. She had settled the subsequent matters with another married man, I was in her way, and having dealt with the property deed, I was no longer useful, so she wanted to kick me to the curb. I was very angry at that time.
However, Fu Chunyu was very persuasive, leaving no room for me to vent. She took all the blame onto herself, our parting filled with regret, with every sentence considering my wellbeing. If I hadn’t overheard her midnight phone call that day, I could have been moved to death by her words, but at that moment I knew I couldn’t get over it if I didn’t kill her."
Zhang Hongwei stopped speaking at that point. Huang Youdao collected the ashtray, then asked: freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"So what happened next? How did you do it?"
