Free Web NovelChapter 525: Chapter 495: Don’t Speak, Turn Up the Volume_1
In the midst of joyful commotion, the nickname became settled. After being called out a few times, everyone felt it rolled off the tongue easily.
Peng Shinian adapted very quickly: first, he chatted with Mrs. Cui in the examination department, and then he familiarized himself with the environment, beginning to analyze the moss on the bricks from a previous Xinghua case, as well as the mineral residues at the gripping positions.
Mr. Zhao placed the boxed meal in front of Zhou Ning, giving him an extra look or two.
"What’s that supposed to mean, spacing out every now and then? Are you worried about Mr. Xia?"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"Director Xu and the others originally said they would be back last night, but something held them up. They should be heading back this afternoon and I could see them by tonight, so there’s nothing much to worry about."
Mr. Zhao supported himself on the table with both hands, his plump face moving closer, ready to press for an answer till the end. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"Talk, what’s it about then?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, but Mr. Zhao’s look of determination signaled that Zhou Ning knew he wouldn’t get past today without spilling something.
Out of options, Zhou Ning sighed and openly shared his dream and the previous encounters with the person running at night. Hearing that Mr. Qu had already arranged for construction, Mr. Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"This worry isn’t unfounded; we’re dealing with more and more cases now, and it’s quite possible that a family member of one of the perpetrators might be seeking revenge. Remember Qin Hui and his three friends.
But we can’t be on guard day and night. Didn’t they check the neighborhood surveillance? The night runner couldn’t have just dropped from the sky. He’d have left traces coming in and out!"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"Too much time has passed, there’s no surveillance footage left. Within the time frame we can check, we didn’t see that person’s shadow. I’m just hoping I’m overthinking it now. Alright, let’s drop the subject so as not to dampen the mood."
Mr. Zhao nodded, glancing toward the door. Seeing as they were the only two in the office, Mr. Zhao was obviously about to discuss something he didn’t want others to hear.
"What’s with all the secrecy?"
Mr. Zhao leaned close in front of Zhou Ning, his expression grave as he spoke:
"Did you get a clear look at the face? Any feeling of familiarity?"
Zhou Ning thought carefully for a moment, then gently shook his head.
"I encountered him two or three times, one of which he bumped into me. I didn’t pay attention at the time, but thinking back, it seemed to be the same person each time. I didn’t see his face; it was night, and he was wearing all black with a cap."
Mr. Zhao waved his hand.
"Don’t rush, think back carefully. The bump means he was very close to you. Was he taller or shorter compared to you?"
Seeing Mr. Zhao so concerned, Zhou Ning didn’t reject his kindness and closed his eyes to recall carefully. That time, while walking Xia Momo home, he bumped into the person. It seemed the hoodie’s drawstring even hit his neck, feeling cool and metallic against his skin. As for the height...
"About my height, or slightly shorter, just by a little bit. When he bumped into me, the drawstring of his hoodie flapped onto my neck. He didn’t flinch. I stepped back, and he just walked away without a word. But..."
Interested, Mr. Zhao widened his eyes, leaning into Zhou Ning’s face, and eagerly pressed on:
"But what? Was he bulky? Or did he have any distinctive smell?"
When Mr. Zhao mentioned smell, Zhou Ning slightly furrowed his brow and thought back carefully. Indeed, that person had a scent, a memorable one, perhaps it was that particular odor.
"I can’t pinpoint the smell, it’s indescribable."
"A mix of body odor and perfume?"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"Can’t describe it, it’s not an odor. I’m quite sensitive to smells; I can tell apart even the faintest scent of decay or the smell scattered around a highly decomposed body. If it was an odor, I would recognize it."
Mr. Zhao sighed.
"Then let’s not think about it anymore, let nature take its course. If you smell it again, maybe it’ll jog your memory. My only worry is that this person isn’t related to that scar-eyed man, Wang Guanli. If it’s just the family of those we’ve convicted seeking revenge, at least we have traces to follow."
Zhou Ning nodded, patting Mr. Zhao’s shoulder, touched by his genuine concern.
"Alright, let’s not talk about my problems anymore. Hopefully, I’m just being overly anxious. Check your email; it seems all the reports for Zhu Xingxing’s case haven’t been sorted. Get Mr. Sun and the others to organize them."
Mr. Zhao stood up and finally went downstairs.
Zhou Ning, holding a teacup, stood at the window looking out into the courtyard where Mr. Wang, the driver, was washing the car. Not sure how long he had been standing there, Zhou Ning’s mobile phone rang, the caller ID giving him pause.
Editor Guan Jian!
Zhou Ning didn’t hesitate and quickly hit the button to answer.
"Hello, Editor Guan!"
"Doctor Zhou, hello, oh no, look at my memory, I should be calling you Director Zhou, right?"
"Doctor Zhou is fine. What’s the matter, is there something you need?"
Skipping the pleasantries, the editor on the other end was somewhat uncomfortable and quickly said with a smile:
"I guess your first day back at work after the holiday is very busy, so I’ll keep it short. I’m here to urge you for an update. When will you hand in the second part of your manuscript? The phones in the editorial department are being blown up by readers asking when the second part will be published. I don’t even know how to respond to them. Don’t tell me you haven’t written it yet?"
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose, somewhat embarrassed, and then said:
"I did write, not just the second part. I’ve pretty much finished all six parts, nearly two million words in total. It’s just that I haven’t proofread them yet. After all, there are many professional terms, and I think it’s better to include annotations. Let me organize it, how about I give it to you over the weekend?"
Hearing Zhou Ning say this, Guan Jian became anxious.
"Leave the proofreading to me. I have editors here who can help you with proofreading, as we have to do it before publishing anyway. You saw last time any changes made were screenshot and shown to you.
As for the explanations of terms you mentioned, just organize them a bit. How about you take the trouble to send it to me now? After I get the professional terms organized, I can search for them myself and then add them in, okay?"
Zhou Ning thought about it and didn’t put up a struggle. It seemed he really had dragged it out a bit too long. If he were to organize and proofread the remaining parts of the book himself, it would probably take a month to finish. Handing over professional tasks to professionals, that wasn’t a problem at all.
Seeing Zhou Ning silent, Editor Guan Jian became anxious again.
"Oh, by the way, the first part has been reprinted three times. Finance will transfer your royalty payments shortly."
Zhou Ning couldn’t help but laugh. He quite liked this method of urging him to update.
"Alright, then I’ll send it to you shortly."
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Ning opened his computer, quickly compressed the files, and sent them off. Of course, he had organized a whole bunch of professional terms related to cases he had been involved in, like postmortem hyperemia, rigor mortis, putrefactive blisters, body temperature estimation, and so on.
Shortly after sending the files, a message arrived on WeChat.
"Director Zhou, I’ve received the manuscript. I will have the editors proofread it. Any areas that need to be changed will be screenshot and sent to you for confirmation. Once confirmed, we will proceed with the final draft. Please make sure to respond promptly when you see the message."
Zhou Ning replied with an "Okay," stood up, stretched his neck, and took a walk around the lab, where he found Mr. Zhao enthusiastically chatting with someone. He joined in as well.
"What’s going on?"
Mr. Zhao, with an excited face, raised his eyebrows towards Zhou Ning, his grin positively wicked.
"Come here, bro, I’ve got something to share with you. Don’t get on a high horse; I’m just showing you. But first, promise me you won’t get angry. We really need your help to authenticate something."
Zhou Ning nodded, and Mr. Qu looked rather embarrassed, poking Mr. Zhao to suggest he shouldn’t talk about it. But Mr. Zhao pushed Mr. Qu away and turned the laptop towards Zhou Ning.
"It’s a long story. Remember Liang Honggang? Used to be from Qidong but transferred to the city bureau last year, now serving as the captain of the Public Security Brigade. They raided a porn site yesterday; it’s full of videos posted by users who registered on the site. The content is even more thrilling than many AV films."
Zhou Ning glanced at the screen and indeed saw a salacious website with animations in the corners, the kind that could make one’s blood surge with a single look. He averted his gaze and coughed before turning to Mr. Zhao.
"This is what you’re sharing with me?"
Mr. Zhao waved his hands. Seeing Zhou Ning’s face about to darken, he quickly explained:
"What are you thinking? Our city bureau’s Public Security Brigade doesn’t have that kind of position. What’s it called again, Mr. Qu?"
"Pornography Identifier!"
Mr. Zhao nodded vigorously.
"Right, that’s it. It’s been sent to the technical department and Mr. Qu to help us identify and sort things out. After all, the uploader needs to be identified through facial recognition so we can investigate each person. The number is massive, and we didn’t really have other things to do, so Mr. Qu pulled us in to lend a hand.
As for the content, half of it is from stolen shots, from hotels, homes, you name it, probably mostly staged. Some are first-person perspectives, just like those photos of He Jiahong that were taken before, shot by themselves, and these kinds of videos without visible faces are hard to search. Mr. Qu is looking for faces.
But we were looking at one particularly odd video; the tech department flagged it, saying it didn’t look normal. The woman wasn’t moving at all, different from those violent assault videos. Plus, it was uploaded early this morning. Could you take a look?"
Zhou Ning nodded, and Mr. Qu, looking very awkward, quickly found the video and clicked play.
In the video, a woman lay on a white bed, her long hair partially covering her face. The shaky camera showed her eyes closed, her body naked without a trace of clothing, as if she were asleep. A man positioned her legs in an M shape, likely holding the phone with one hand to record, causing the frame to shake violently.
Moans, the sound of the mattress moving, the headboard hitting the wall, all were incessant, but the woman showed no reaction, not struggling or screaming, as if she were asleep, just being jostled by the man’s thrusts.
After a few minutes, Zhou Ning stared at the screen without saying a word. Mr. Qu coughed awkwardly, wanting to ask if they could stop, but Mr. Zhao slapped him.
"Don’t talk. Turn up the volume!"
