Sun Qifeng
Three o’clock in the afternoon.
Second Group, Third Criminal Investigation Team Office.
Everyone was gathered around. Zheng Kaixuan took a sip of tea from his insulated cup to moisten his throat, then spoke. “Let’s summarize the progress so far.”
“Captain Zheng, we’ve already located the suspicious vehicle. I’ve sent the license plate number to the traffic police monitoring center so we can retrieve information on the suspect,” Han Bin reported.
“What about Zhao Ming?” Zeng Ping asked.
“He’s gone to the traffic police monitoring center to track the suspect vehicle’s route through road surveillance footage,” Han Bin replied.
“Any updates?” Zheng Kaixuan inquired.
Han Bin shook his head. “The suspect seems to have some counter-surveillance skills—he didn’t appear on the roads near Xing Jianbin’s home, but instead took side streets. We only caught sight of the vehicle in the surveillance footage of a street-front shop. At the moment, we’ve lost track of it. Road monitoring will need some time to sort through the data.”
“The monk may escape, but the temple remains.” Zheng Kaixuan nodded and continued, “The coroner has completed the report. The time of death was around eleven o’clock last night. The suspect used something like a rope to strangle the victim, then hung him up to make it look like a suicide.”
“I think we can rule out Li Yu as a suspect. It would be hard for a woman to hoist a corpse by herself,” Tian Li remarked.
“It’s possible it was a group effort,” Han Bin suggested.
“The victim was rather short. A robust man could easily lift him up,” Li Hui said, making a powerful gesture with his hands.
“Tian Li, how’s your background check coming along?” Zheng Kaixuan asked.
“Xing Jianbin has two prior convictions for pyramid schemes. The first time, he was a minor leader and served only a brief sentence. The second time, he was arrested as a core member and did time,” Tian Li explained.
“Any of those pyramid scheme members bear a particular grudge against him?” Zheng Kaixuan asked.
“I haven’t found that out yet, but I did obtain a list of the members involved. It’ll take some time to investigate further—there are quite a lot of names, and it won’t be easy to sort through them,” Tian Li answered.
“So far, the clues from the vehicle are our best lead,” Zeng Ping remarked.
“I’ll call the traffic police monitoring center to urge them to speed things up,” Zheng Kaixuan said, rising and leaving the room.
...
Ten minutes later.
Zheng Kaixuan returned to the office with a freshly printed document in hand.
“Xiao Tian, put this up on the projector,” Zheng Kaixuan instructed.
Zeng Ping glanced at the document and gave a thumbs up. “Captain Zheng, you’ve really got some pull.”
Zheng Kaixuan waved it off. “Just good timing.”
Vehicle owner: Sun Qifeng.
Ethnicity: Han
Age: 28
Height: 179 cm
Address: Room 201, Building 4, Huilongguan Community, Qindao City.
There was also an ID photo of Sun Qifeng.
“Sun Qifeng… That name sounds familiar,” Tian Li muttered, searching through a file from her bag.
“Here it is. Sun Qifeng was also involved in the pyramid scheme. He was arrested with Xing Jianbin last time, but he was just a regular member and was released quickly.”
Bang! Zheng Kaixuan slapped the table. “That fits.”
“Captain Zheng, I suggest we don’t wait for Zhao Ming’s update. Let’s search the suspect’s home right away—maybe we can catch him red-handed,” Zeng Ping proposed.
“Agreed.”
...
Huilongguan Community was a relocation housing project.
Originally, there was a property management company, but after some disputes with the residents, they were dismissed and a self-governing committee was formed.
The Third Investigation Team first went to the committee office, leaving Tian Li there to review the surveillance footage, while the others went to Building 4, Room 201, asking the committee head to help open the door.
The committee head, Ms. Zhou, was a middle-aged woman.
Ms. Zhou was very enthusiastic. Upon hearing they were there to catch a criminal, she readily agreed to help. In her words, most of the residents here were from her village—neighbors who wouldn’t tolerate wrongdoers in their midst.
Sun Qifeng wasn’t the owner of the apartment, but a tenant.
Ms. Zhou led Han Bin and the team to Sun Qifeng’s rented room and knocked several times, but there was no response.
She called out again, but still, there was no answer.
Zheng Kaixuan decided to force entry.
Li Hui grabbed the battering ram and struck the door.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
...
After several heavy blows, the lock broke and they entered.
The group searched the rooms cautiously but found no trace of Sun Qifeng.
Everyone relaxed a little, but there was also a sense of disappointment.
“Let’s search for any clues the suspect may have left behind,” Zheng Kaixuan instructed.
“Captain Zeng, here’s a bucket of leftover instant noodles—might have been the suspect’s,” Li Hui said, reaching out to feel the container. “It’s cold.”
Zheng Kaixuan came over for a look and noticed a thermal flask beside it. He opened it and tested the temperature. “The water’s not warm either. Looks like it’s been here for quite some time—probably left over from last night.”
“So, the suspect likely didn’t return after committing the crime,” Zeng Ping observed.
“Captain Zheng, I found a piece of rope,” Lu Wen from the technical team announced.
Zheng Kaixuan took it, examined it, and said, “Bag this for analysis. Let’s see if the rope’s material matches the one used to kill the victim.”
“Captain Zheng, there are photos in the bedroom, and they match Sun Qifeng’s ID photo,” Zeng Ping added.
“Good.”
Seeing that everyone had found something, Han Bin alone was crouched by the shoe cabinet, examining the soles of the shoes.
“Han Bin, did you find anything?” Zheng Kaixuan asked.
“Judging from the wear patterns on the shoes, the suspect’s age and height match the information in the file,” Han Bin replied.
“With the clues we have, Sun Qifeng is looking more and more like our man. We have to find him quickly,” Zeng Ping said.
“Let’s head to the committee office and see if Tian Li’s found anything on the surveillance,” Zheng Kaixuan decided, leading the group out.
...
Committee office, surveillance room.
Tian Li was reviewing the footage. Seeing Zheng Kaixuan and Zeng Ping enter, she immediately stood up. “Captain Zheng, Captain Zeng.”
“Any sign of Sun Qifeng in the surveillance?” Zheng Kaixuan asked.
“I checked last night’s footage. Around ten o’clock, Sun Qifeng drove his van out through the main gate,” Tian Li said, moving the footage forward as she spoke. “Zooming in on the camera, the driver’s appearance matches Sun Qifeng.”
“He left at ten, and the crime occurred around eleven. That fits the timeline,” Zeng Ping remarked.
“Did Sun Qifeng return to the community?” Zheng Kaixuan asked.
“I’ve been watching the entrance cameras. There’s no sign of Sun Qifeng’s van coming back,” Tian Li replied.
“Before, we were tracking the person through the vehicle. Now we can confirm that the driver was Sun Qifeng himself. That lines up with our suspicions. He was involved in the pyramid scheme, he knew the victim, and he was driving to the scene around the time of the crime,” Zeng Ping summarized.
“We can pretty much confirm him as the suspect,” Zheng Kaixuan said.
“If Sun Qifeng hasn’t returned home, he probably fled the city after committing the robbery and murder. Should we issue a city-wide search?” Zeng Ping asked.