Chapter 163: The Viral Video

2022-05-20

Cheng Yimin noticed we looked unconvinced, so he spoke up again. “He really was acting sneaky those days. We’d usually sleep in till noon, but he started heading out early. One time I asked where he was going, and he just laughed, saying, ‘Fang Xiaoqi and Du Zigui are done for. Now, it’s just Wang An and Zhao Xiaoli left.'”

Zheng Shuai’s face was lined with worry. “We all thought it wasn’t necessary. He’d never acted like this before, not even when he was inside. We can’t figure out what got into him this time.”

The two fell silent for a moment before Cheng Yimin continued, “That’s all we really know.”

I frowned. Earlier, Zhang Bin had told us Zheng Shuai and Cheng Yimin could clear his name, but right now their statements weren’t doing him any favors. So, who was lying? Was it Zhang Bin, or were these two making things up?

To get to the bottom of it, I had Gu Chen contact the restaurant owner again to see who was telling the truth. The owner remembered them well—they were just too loud to forget.

The place was packed that day, but this guy carried on like he was the only one there. The owner had to step in and try to quiet them down. Still, he said the young man was pretty drunk. Whether he was just talking nonsense or had an actual plan, the owner couldn’t tell.

So, what was the real story?

I shrugged, then said to the two of them, “Either way, head back for now. Just hope you both stay out of trouble from here on out. Look at you, dressed up like you have it together, but you don’t even have a TV at home. Where’s all your money going?”

Zheng Shuai spat on the ground and replied, “What money do we have? Most of it went straight into Zhang Bin’s pocket. We scrape by with a few dozen bucks a day. What’s that good for? He always told us he spent it on clothes, rent, food, but who knows how much he actually tucked away for himself.”

I shook my head. Judging by how Zhang Bin looked, you wouldn’t peg him as someone rolling in cash.

We were just about to leave when Mary suddenly called. “You’d better come back—there’s a video blowing up everywhere. We’ve locked down the source for now, but who knows how many people already saved it.”

“What’s going on?” I caught the tension in Mary’s voice. Something big must’ve happened.

“A video,” Mary said, her tone low.

We rushed back as fast as we could. Both Team Leader Shao and Mary were there, something we’d never seen since arriving in Yumu City. That meant things had gotten serious. We hadn’t even figured out if this was related to our case yet.

Team Leader Shao glanced at us and said, “We need to solve this fast. Mary, play the video.”

The next moment, a video flickered onto the screen.

The image was dark. Someone sat in front of the camera, their features blurred by the lack of light, but it was obvious to all of us—it was Du Zigui. His face compared to his photo was shockingly gaunt. Deep shadows hollowed his eyes, like he hadn’t slept in days.

He spoke quietly, so we had to listen hard just to catch what he was saying.

“I’ve set up auto-upload,” he began. “If you’re watching this, it means I’m already dead. And the one who killed me is Zhang Bin. I’m certain because I discovered his secret. He was controlling a woman, though I don’t know who she is.”

There was a noise outside. He glanced off to the side.

Then he kept going. “I’ve decided to fight him, so it ends with either me dead or him dead. The reason I want to kill him is simple—he did something unforgivable to me.”

“I know I’m partly to blame for all this, but I just can’t accept it.” Du Zigui was furious but tears rolled down his face. “My sister killed herself because of this. I hate how useless I was, how out of control. But I hate Zhang Bin even more. I wish I could tear him apart with my own hands.”

“I can’t go home. Can’t face my dad, my family. I don’t know how Zhao Xiaoli, my little sister, or Wang An, my little brother, are doing. As long as people like Zhang Bin exist, no one will ever have peace. I’ve got to kill him, or he’ll kill me.”

With that, Du Zigui picked up the camera. “I’ve thought this through. I can’t let him hurt anyone else. If I’m not back in five days, it means I’m dead. Tell my brother and sister that I’m sorry, and that I love them.”

There was a date and time at the bottom of the video—it was recorded four mornings ago.

That was the day Zhang Bin was scheduled to change his bandages.

So here’s the problem. Zhang Bin had a fixed routine—changing his bandages every four days. He’d brought Du Zigui along before, so there was no point in hiding. Du Zigui could always find him. Zhang Bin should’ve known that, so who was he really trying to avoid?

“Du Zigui is really dead,” Guan Zengbin said after watching the video.

I frowned. “But that’s a huge difference. According to your theory, Zhang Bin hunted down Du Zigui. But from the look of it, Du Zigui went after Zhang Bin.”

Gu Chen chimed in, “With this video out, what we know is that Zhang Bin survived and Du Zigui died. But during the interrogation, Zhang Bin never said a word about it. Which means he must’ve hidden the body somewhere we’d never think to look.”

I shrugged and said nothing.

Team Leader Shao spoke up. “Yumu City is small. Once this spreads around, everyone with a phone will have seen it in no time. If we can’t crack this case, it’ll go all the way up. We’ve already been pulled off the case in Dongxing City—if we can’t even handle a small-town case, we can forget about going back anytime soon.”

Then Mary said suddenly, “Wait, there’s more.”

She opened WeChat and showed us her phone.

The message had been forwarded by Aunt Li, our local neighborhood committee member, known for her warmth and just nature. Nothing delighted her more than sitting on the curb, swapping gossip with neighbors. Now she’d forwarded a post claiming to reveal the real truth behind the video.

That post twisted every detail, filling it with wild stories that made our brows furrow.

It was written in first person, telling the story of Zhang Bin’s entire life—though he’d only lived twenty years so far. The author claimed to be his classmate and painted him as a born trouble-maker.

And now, grown up, he’d supposedly turned into a monster capable of every crime.

There were all sorts of ‘latest updates’ and ‘exclusive scoops’ mixed in, as if this really was the hottest story around!

After reading, it felt less like Zhang Bin and more like some ruthless landlord from the old days. The post described him committing every possible crime, with so much detail you’d think the author had stuck to him every step of the way. There were even old photos from Yumu City and random childhood pictures of someone nobody could identify, making the whole thing look legit.

“If even half of this garbage were true, Zhang Bin would’ve been beaten to death before finishing elementary school,” I said, shaking my head.

Mary sighed. “That’s the internet for you. Anything with a bit of drama will get blown up with rumors and wild guesses. Whether it’s true or not, as long as it gets clicks and stirs up gossip, people will believe it. This post is probably just made up anyway. I’ll look into the IP address later, but it’s already been shared over five hundred times.”

I nodded.

Team Leader Shao said, “But that’s not our top priority right now. Hold off on that for a bit. Focus on finding out who posted the video, where they are, and whether this person’s dead or alive. If they’re alive, bring them in. If not, bring the body.”

We all agreed.

Just then, a call came in. Someone reported finding a body in an ice hole, and it matched the person from the video exactly.

“Found the body already?” I frowned. “The video’s barely out and the corpse turns up?”

An officer from the sub-bureau said, “You’d better hurry. Word’s out a body was found, and now the riverbank’s packed. People are waiting for the body to be pulled out, and the reporters aren’t missing this for the world. Not to mention, that video went viral like wildfire.”

After hanging up, I glanced around at everyone. “Let’s go. They’ve found the body.”

Gu Chen muttered, “That’s a little too much of a coincidence.”

I shook my head. “A little? It’s way too much. There’s got to be someone pulling the strings behind this. Mary, see if you can figure out how that video spread so fast. Besides, nothing in it shows anyone being killed—it’s just one guy’s confession before going after someone else.”

Mary nodded. “Probably some paid bots fanning the fire. But who paid them? That’s still up in the air.”