Chapter 263: Shattered Deceptions
by xennovelChapter 263: I was just trying to mess with you!
Provincial Department, Serious Cases Department.
“Found it!”
Gao Shengli and Wu Jia pushed the door open and returned to the office. They glanced at Xiao Yu and the other colleagues. “It’s the same person!”
Ha… Xiao Yu chuckled.
What do you mean, ‘the same person’?
Following Xiao Yu’s instructions.
The two split up—one went to check if the Stash Room had recently serviced and cleaned its air-conditioning ducts.
The other headed to the Road Maintenance Unit to see if anyone had recently examined the sewage network map near the crime scene.
In the end, both leads pointed to the same individual.
He had visited both the Stash Room and the Road Maintenance Unit before the incident.
Yet he wasn’t a technician, nor was he affiliated with the Road Maintenance Unit.
How was he discovered?
Surveillance!
Today, most institutions, companies, and factories have installed surveillance.
Typically, such recordings are kept for a month or two.
The internal footage from the Stash Room showed that
nine days ago, the facility had indeed serviced the central air-conditioning and cleaned its internal ducts.
A review of the footage revealed that among the maintenance personnel entering the Stash Room, one man wasn’t even a technician.
Isn’t that odd?
If he wasn’t a technician, how did he blend in with them?
After further investigation,
on the day the Stash Room’s air conditioner was serviced, a man approached one of the technicians.
He slipped the technician 5,000 yuan!
Here’s the twist.
If this man is the suspect, how could he have known the air conditioner was malfunctioning?
Because the Stash Room’s air conditioner was deliberately sabotaged!
The central air-conditioner was damaged when a civilian remote-controlled drone crashed into its fan.
The impact sent debris flying, causing internal mechanical damage and a short circuit…
Maybe that drone was even loaded with some kind of noxious chemical.
After shattering, a foul stench wafted along the ducts into the building.
It made you wonder if dead rats were lurking inside the pipes.
That’s why the Stash Room called for the technician to also clean the ducts…
“A remote-controlled drone loaded with a repugnant agent crashed into the air conditioner’s fan causing damage. The odor infiltrated the building through the ducts. The Stash Room then called in a technician—and the suspect used money to slip one in… quite the trick,”
Quickly piecing the clues together, Xiao Yu mocked, “The Road Maintenance Unit’s footage also caught this suspect? Using the same money lure while checking out the city’s sewage network blueprints near the scene?”
“Exactly,” Wu Jia nodded.
Two surveillance cameras, with their footage compared against the police’s vast facial database,
soon identified the suspect.
Luo Tingyu, male, 31, from Capital City S, unemployed and sporting a criminal record…
……
Outside a residential house in a Residential Community.
Xiao Yu raised his hand and knocked on the door.
After a brief pause,
“Who is it?”
The door opened to reveal a young woman eyeing Xiao Yu.
“Is Luo Tingyu here?”
Wangdie’s Nose caught the scent of a man in the room and Wax Moth’s Ear picked up another’s breathing. With a smile, Xiao Yu announced, “Police!”
“……”
The woman’s expression shifted suddenly. Straining to appear composed, she shook her head, “My boyfriend isn’t here!”
“Ha!”
Xiao Yu reached out, grabbed the woman by the neck, and yanked her outside with a toss.
Before she could even scream, her mouth was covered.
Glaring coldly at the terrified woman, Wu Jia warned in a low, menacing tone, “Don’t scream, or you’ll face the consequences!”
Xiao Yu strode into the house, passed through the hall, and headed straight for the bedroom.
With the bedroom door ajar, he pushed it open and entered.
On the bed, a man lounged with his head resting against the headboard, absorbed in his phone.
His exposed upper body bore a tattoo of an over-shoulder dragon—a real tough guy look.
It was none other than the suspect, Luo Tingyu!
“Hm?”
Seeing Xiao Yu, Luo Tingyu looked confused, suddenly sitting up and cursing, “Who the hell are you…?”
Thud… Xiao Yu’s foot landed squarely on his face.
“I lost two colleagues because of you.”
Staring down at the flailing Luo Tingyu under his foot, Xiao Yu asked deliberately, “You know who killed them, don’t you?”
……
Provincial Department, Criminal Investigation Headquarters, interrogation room.
“That’s all I know!”
Bleeding from his nose and looking pale, Luo Tingyu stared at Xiao Yu.
He recounted everything he knew—the details of every misdeed, every action he had taken…
Ten days ago,
a ‘street’ acquaintance approached him.
He handed over 100,000 yuan and asked him to do a job.
First, investigate the Stash Room’s air-conditioning ducts.
Second, check the sewage blueprints outside the Stash Room.
This friend claimed that by then the Stash Room’s air conditioner would break down.
Surely, someone would come for repairs, giving him a chance to slip in.
Success would net him another 500,000 yuan.
Failure would cost him a finger.
Money and the threat of a severed digit left Luo Tingyu no choice!
Nineteen days ago,
he bribed an air-conditioning technician to infiltrate the Stash Room.
He examined the internal ducts.
Eighteen days ago,
he visited the Road Maintenance Unit and bribed insiders to obtain the blueprints.
Seventeen days ago,
he handed over two rough sketches he had drawn to that ‘street’ friend and received another 500,000 yuan.
That was everything Luo Tingyu knew and did…
……
Outside the interrogation room.
“Ma Biao, male, 37, from Capital City S. Previously, he was sentenced to five years for his involvement in Heisehui gang activities. After serving his time, he worked as a debt collector—known for his brutal methods, with multiple records of threats and six detentions…”
Wu Jia stated, “He’s the ‘street’ friend Luo Tingyu mentioned!”
“Arrest him!”
Xiao Yu wasted no time.
Forty-five minutes later,
Xiao Yu faced Ma Biao in the interrogation room.
A burly middle-aged man with a scarred face, bald, and covered in tattoos…
“Who the hell do you think you are to arrest me?”
Ma Biao, shackled to the interrogation chair, snarled like a piece of tender meat.
“I have a friend working in National Security.”
Standing before Ma Biao, Xiao Yu calmly stated, “If I get his men, you’ll wish you’d never been born.”
“……”
Ma Biao’s expression changed instantly.
National Security?
“Damn, isn’t that the notorious department?!”
“Don’t waste my time.”
Xiao Yu fixed his gaze on Ma Biao and said, “Tell me who contacted you, who handed you the money, and who ordered you to investigate the Stash Room. And by the way, you were the one remotely operating that drone, weren’t you?”
Ma Biao’s face turned instantly pale, but he refused to speak.
Without further delay, Xiao Yu pulled out his phone and dialed Wang Dong. “Brother Wang, send over two expert interrogators.”
“No problem,” came Wang Dong’s voice over the phone.
Five hours later,
two National Security officers entered the interrogation room.
Outside, Xiao Yu smoked a cigarette.
You really thought I was threatening you?
No, I was just trying to mess with you!
……