Chapter 346: The Hidden Fifth Person! Man or Ghost?

Shen Fei was suddenly dragged out, like a rat that had been living in the dark for too long. His expression grew even more agitated.

“Let me hide, let me hide!!!”

As he spoke, he tried to scramble under the table again.

Several young Police Officers around him used all their strength to pull him out, then forcibly dragged him toward the detention room.

Shen Fei, who was as thin as a skeleton, was powerless to resist.

But his frantic state still caused the Police Officers a great deal of trouble.

“Sigh, what a mess…”

Li Jianye sighed, feeling mentally exhausted, and quickly headed outside.

After glancing around, he spotted Xu Huo’s retreating figure in the distance and hurried to catch up.

“Is the interrogation over? Any leads?”

Li Jianye exhaled heavily and looked at Xu Huo beside him as he spoke.

The two of them talked as they walked.

“What about you? Any thoughts?”

Xu Huo looked at Li Jianye.

The other man pondered for a moment before speaking.

“I’m planning to conduct some interviews and investigations regarding the fifth person. If our deduction is correct and the killer really is this so-called ‘fifth person,’ they must have left some clues.”

“Maybe we can catch them that way!”

Xu Huo smiled. “We’re on the same page.”

Li Jianye smacked his lips thoughtfully.

The second half of ’03… that was truly a hellish experience…

Every day felt like a year. He’d open his eyes and get right to work, and when he closed them, all he could think about was the work that was still unfinished.

The worst part was that it felt endless. Before he could even finish one case, a second one would land on his desk…

Under such high-pressure circumstances, his skills had been significantly sharpened.

That’s just how it is for detectives. The difference between a veteran and a rookie isn’t age, but the number of cases they’ve handled.

The fastest way to forge a detective is to throw them into a high-pressure investigative environment.

Li Jianye was a prime example. By the same token, since he was participating in the investigation, there would naturally be some credit for Xu Huo.

If all went as expected.

By the New Year, Xu Huo would receive a hefty bonus.

Li Jianye would also earn considerable merit and might even be promoted directly to detachment commander.

Of course, having the same goal didn’t mean they had the same methods.

“Don’t you go telling me you’re thinking the same thing as me, kid.”

Li Jianye looked him up and down and clicked his tongue.

“How are you planning to investigate?”

“Pinpoint the time, then narrow down the location,” Xu Huo said casually.

Li Jianye paused, then understanding dawned on him.

The straightforward line of reasoning for this case was that Wang Wei and the others had done something to the fifth person, obtained a large sum of money, and left, only to be killed now in retaliation by some bizarre method.

From this, three key pieces of information could be extracted: ‘money,’ ‘six months ago,’ and ‘the fifth person.’

Therefore, they just needed to anchor on the timeframe of six months ago, and then, in the area where Wang Wei and his friends were at the time, look for someone who had a lot of money…

It was a simple line of thinking.

“What’s the status of the files from the records department?”

Xu Huo stopped walking. They were in the parking lot. He reached out, pulled open the door of a parked police car, and slid into the driver’s seat.

“Just a moment, Sun Jian…”

Li Jianye was about to say more, but in the next second, a mountain-like figure appeared before them.

“Here he comes.”

Sun Jian had been tasked with finding the files. His return meant the files had arrived.

“Found them. Because it was so long ago, the police haven’t conducted any interviews regarding this yet.”

Squeezing himself into the car, Sun Jian exhaled heavily and handed over several files.

These were the files for the deceased and Shen Fei.

Xu Huo glanced at them, extracted the name of the location, then put them down and fastened his seatbelt.

“Hold on tight.”

In the next second, the engine roared to life, and the car shot forward like an arrow from a bowstring!

…

…

Chengzhuang Town was a township that encompassed thirteen villages. According to the investigation by the records department, Wang Wei had been living in his birthplace, Shuangyue Village, six months ago.

There was no sign of anything unusual before he moved out of Shuangyue Village; his departure had been very sudden.

And now…

“Wang Wei? That bastard is back?”

“Qian Hao? He’s the worst of the worst!”

“Officer, did those sons of bitches get into trouble out there? Go ahead and pass judgment! Lock ’em up if they need locking up, execute ’em if they need executing! Don’t you worry about a thing!”

At 6:20 PM, Xu Huo drove to Shuangyue Village. He made his way through the streets and called on the local village chief for assistance.

The village chief was an old man with salt-and-pepper hair, dressed plainly. He was puffing on a long-stemmed pipe and cursing as he spoke.

As they walked toward the old homes of Wang Wei and the others, the village chief chattered on relentlessly.

Xu Huo turned to look at the village chief.

“Sounds like Wang Wei and his friends’ reputation… isn’t the best.”

“Not the best?”

The village chief’s face turned ashen as he spoke.

“Hmph! Is there anyone in this village who doesn’t grind their teeth in hatred at the mere mention of their names!?”

“They were a bunch of hoodlums, always up to no good. If they weren’t beating people up, they were stealing money or harassing women. Wang Wei’s and Shen Fei’s parents were literally angered to death by them.”

“And that son of a bitch Qian Hao is an even bigger bastard. His only living relative, his own mother, was on her deathbed, and he took her medical funds to go gambling. He lost every last cent, and his mother died just like that…”

Beside him, Sun Jian looked on in astonishment.

Indeed, hearing all this, it was no exaggeration to call them bastards.

No wonder the village chief still gritted his teeth in anger just talking about them now.

Xu Huo thought for a moment before asking another question:

“In the last two years, has any wealthy person from around here disappeared?”

“Or, maybe they just went bankrupt. In any case, someone who met with some kind of misfortune.”

Hearing this, the village chief fell into deep thought.

After a moment, he shook his head.