160 Cause and Effect

That same day, Zheng Kaixuan and the other two escorted Sun Shaoqiang back to Qingdao City.

Yuhua Precinct, Interrogation Room.

Han Bin and Li Hui were in charge of the interrogation. Sun Shaoqiang sat in the interrogation chair, traced a cross over his chest, closed his eyes, and muttered something under his breath.

"Are you religious?" Han Bin asked.

"Yes."

"Religions all teach people to be good. Having committed such a heinous crime, don't your conscience hurt?"

"Not at all. Why else would I believe in religion?" Sun Shaoqiang retorted.

"You certainly know how to argue sophistry."

"There is a great saying in Buddhism: drop the butcher knife and instantly become a Buddha. Bad people might still have a chance to become a Buddha. On the contrary, many people spend their entire lives doing good deeds, performing charity, and helping others, only to end up with nothing in the end." Sun Shaoqiang pressed his palms together.

"One moment you draw a cross, the next you press your palms together. Which one do you actually believe in?" Li Hui asked curiously.

"Whichever one works and can protect me, that's the one I believe in." Sun Shaoqiang said.

"You have committed the crime of murder and corpse disposal. No one can protect you." Han Bin said sternly.

Sun Shaoqiang lowered his head and remained silent.

"We have already confirmed that the car you drove was the one used to dispose of the body. The victim's blood was found in the trunk, and we have also tracked down the identity of the suspect vehicle's owner, Chen Jianfei. He is currently out of contact, and his family has already rushed over to identify the body." Han Bin said.

Sun Shaoqiang still said nothing.

"What is your relationship with Chen Jianfei?" Han Bin asked.

Sun Shaoqiang continued to ignore him.

"Bang!"

Li Hui slammed his hand hard on the table. "Sun Shaoqiang, don't toast to declining drinks only to be forced to drink a forfeit. We now have enough evidence to prove that you are the murderer in this homicide and corpse disposal case."

Sun Shaoqiang raised his head, glanced at Han Bin, then at Li Hui, still remaining silent, his gaze carrying a hint of provocation.

Han Bin felt that the other person no longer cared about life or death, or rather, he had already prepared himself mentally when he was arrested.

In a situation like this, once someone has no lingering hope for survival, it poses a huge challenge to the interrogation work.

Han Bin changed his approach, stood up, walked over to the table, lit a cigarette, and handed it to him. "Don't you want to know how you got caught? Let's chat."

"You're just trying to trick me into confessing." Sun Shaoqiang took the cigarette and took a drag.

"You aren't even afraid of death, yet you're afraid of me extracting information from you?" Han Bin smiled.

"That's true." Sun Shaoqiang exhaled a ring of smoke.

"We figured out your identity from Li Tao's cell phone." Han Bin said.

"Damn it, I always felt that guy wasn't straightforward. I should have just taken care of him together back then." Sun Shaoqiang snorted.

"How did you meet Li Tao?" Han Bin pressed further.

"Met online."

"What is your relationship?"

"Although I've been to Qingdao once before, the last time was for business and I didn't get to experience anything. What kind of good food do you have around here?" Sun Shaoqiang answered the question with a completely unrelated remark.

"All kinds of seafood, mackerel dumplings, Jiuzhuan Dachang—they are all quite authentic local delicacies. If you have time, I can help you order takeout so you can properly taste them."

"Mackerel dumplings, I really haven't tried those." Sun Shaoqiang swallowed hard, stubbed out the remaining cigarette butt, and said, "Give me another one."

Han Bin lit another cigarette for him.

Sun Shaoqiang took a drag, leaned back in his chair, and said, "It was Li Tao who called me to come to Qingdao."

"What did he ask you to come to Qingdao for?"

"To kill someone."

"Kill whom?"

"Li Tao has a lover who runs a small grocery store in Beizhai Village. Li Tao asked me to kill that lover's husband."

"What is the name of that lover?"

"Cao Yang."

"Why didn't you kill Cao Yang, and instead killed Chen Jianfei?" Han Bin asked, puzzled.

"Chen Jianfei was someone I brought in as a partner. The two of us were preparing to kill Cao Yang and even tampered with his van. Unfortunately, that kid was lucky and didn't die; the car only got a slight scratch. We stayed here for another two days and couldn't find a suitable opportunity to strike." Sun Shaoqiang took a puff of his cigarette and continued:

"Chen Jianfei, that coward, dropped the ball at the crucial moment and told me he didn't want to do it anymore. It made me somewhat disgusted too. I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen, and I was afraid the kid would call the police, so I got ready to wash my hands of it."

"Just because of this, you killed him?" Li Hui asked incredulously.

"I'm not a lunatic; how could I kill someone for no reason?" Sun Shaoqiang snorted and explained:

"Cao Yang didn't die, so Li Tao was only willing to pay half the money. Chen Jianfei was brought in by me, so I was also prepared to give him half the money. Chen Jianfei disagreed and insisted that I pay him the exact amount according to our agreement—not a single penny less."

"I was already resentful that he was useless and ruined things, and now he wanted to take a larger share of my money. So I simply went all the way and killed him outright." Sun Shaoqiang made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Why did you cut off his head?" Li Hui asked.

"A job like disposing of a corpse sounds simple, but it's hard when you actually do it. A whole body is too big and hard to fit into a bag, so I thought about cutting off the head, putting it in a bag along with some stones to sink it to the bottom. Without finding the head, you guys wouldn't be able to identify the person." Sun Shaoqiang explained.

"Do you know where Li Tao is?" Han Bin pressed.

"That bastard probably went off to kill Cao Yang. Back when we decided to quit, he was still cursing under his breath, saying we were cowards for not wanting to make easy money, and that even without us, he would still finish off Cao Yang. He also said something about Yan being his woman and that only he was allowed to have her." Sun Shaoqiang laughed mockingly.

"What an idiot, is it really worth all that for a woman?"

"What about you? Do you think doing this was worth it?" Han Bin sighed with emotion.

"Me? I've just got a worthless life. If I had been reborn into a good family, who would want to live in constant fear doing this?" Sun Shaoqiang laughed, though the laughter sounded somewhat desolate.

...

Han Bin and Li Hui walked out of the interrogation room and happened to run into Dai Minghan, Zheng Kaixuan, and Li Zhankun coming out of the observation room.

Dai Minghan wore a smile and patted Han Bin on the shoulder. "You two did a good job. Later on, as the head of the special investigation team, I'll put you in for a commendation."

"Thank you, Director Dai." Han Bin and Li Hui replied.

The group returned to the Major Crimes Unit office, where the other team members wore expectant expressions, though they dared not ask directly out of respect for Dai Minghan's presence.

"Han Bin, how did the interrogation go? Did the suspect confess?" Sun Xing walked up and asked Han Bin privately.

"He confessed. Sun Shaoqiang is the murderer in the homicide and corpse disposal case." Han Bin said.

"Who on earth was the victim?" A member of the First Team couldn't help asking.

"Chen Jianfei."

"Who is Chen Jianfei?" The First Team members looked puzzled.

"Don't rush, everyone sit down, and let Han Bin explain everything from start to finish, walking everyone through the entire course of the case," Dai Minghan instructed.

At Dai Minghan's word, everyone immediately complied.

From the team leader down to the members, they all sat down neatly.

With such a prime opportunity to shine, Han Bin naturally wouldn't let it slip away.

He recounted the case from beginning to end.

Han Bin analyzed that the origin of the case stemmed from a romantic entanglements among Zhang Haiyan, Cao Yang, and Li Tao. While Cao Yang frequently traveled away for work, Zhang Haiyan and Li Tao hooked up. Driven by the desire to monopolize Zhang Haiyan, Li Tao conceived the idea of hiring a hitman.

Sun Shaoqiang was the killer hired by Li Tao, while the deceased Chen Jianfei was an accomplice recruited by Sun Shaoqiang. Later, due to an uneven split of the spoils among themselves, Sun Shaoqiang killed Chen Jianfei in a fit of rage, which led to the homicide and corpse disposal case.

Han Bin also detailed the finer points, and everyone listened with rapt attention—especially the members of the First Team, who had been tirelessly tracking the suspect vehicle only for the Third Team to claim all the credit; words could not express how frustrated they felt inside.

Li Zhankun was also somewhat vexed, slapping his thigh and saying, "No wonder we couldn't track down the suspect vehicle. That bastard not only changed the license plates but also applied a different colored car wrap. Truly craftier than a fox!"

"Director Dai, does this count as solving the case within the time limit now?" Li Hui asked with a smile.

"The homicide and corpse disposal case has been solved." Dai Minghan smiled, then abruptly changed his tone. "However, the only imperfection is that Li Tao has not yet been brought to justice."

Hiring a hitman constitutes a joint crime; both the employer and the hired party are principal offenders, and the social danger posed by both is identical.

Han Bin frowned; Dai Minghan's words reminded him that, according to Sun Shaoqiang's testimony, Li Tao likely would not give up his intention to kill Cao Yang...