The weapon by the pillow

Chapter 62 Room 403 has disappeared!

"Last night, I was relieved of my command until you broadcast that video of Liu Li not being dead... I understand, that was a sword you stabbed at the mastermind behind the scenes!" Cheng Jing lit another cigarette.

She took a deep drag, then gave Cheng Tan a thumbs-up. "I know you're creating an opportunity, and giving us one too... to catch the person who came back to correct the ritual! To bring the truth to light! You did a great job!"

"Then why aren't you cooperating? Do you think your brains are even worthy of these uniforms?"

Cheng Tan was both annoyed and amused.

Since the police are all sensible people, yet they let the murderer escape, if they had taken even a little action last night, they wouldn't have made the eight of us suffer such a fate worse than death...

"Right after that...on the way I was being escorted back to my unit...the situation suddenly changed..."

Cheng Jing exhaled a puff of smoke, recalling...

Inside the car. The inspector in front received a long phone call, hung up, and turned to look at her.

"Captain Cheng, we have a new mission, so we won't be able to take you back!" he said.

"You! What mission?" Cheng Jing was startled. Wasn't she their top priority? She had just been thinking of shaking them off, but the two of them were sticking to her like glue, even when she went to the bathroom...

"Important mission... Captain Cheng, can you go back to the station to report yourself?" The other party did not answer, but said this strange question again.

"You want me... to go back by myself!" Cheng Jing could hardly believe her ears.

This sentence has many layers of meaning... but she didn't want to think about it that much.

She opened the car door and got out.

There were very few taxis on the road, so she quickly flagged down a private car and headed towards Anping without saying a word.

"Captain," Chen Ming's first words after she answered the phone immediately made her understand why she had been inexplicably released, "Director Yang has received reliable intelligence about a suspect, and he's leading a team to make the arrest!"

"And what about you? What about this building? Did you go inside?" Cheng Jing certainly didn't believe in any clues about suspects; this was simply a diversionary tactic by the other side!

"Director Yang told us to stand by...wait for her news? If it's true, then we'll take action!" Chen Ming said, feeling aggrieved. "All our men have been withdrawn; there are only seven of us left in this car!"

"Absurd! Ridiculous!" Cheng Jing almost wanted to curse. "Now, I order you to immediately organize an operation to enter the building, enter the rooms, rescue people, or... arrest people!"

This is the scene of the crime, the scene of the murder, the most important scene. Why is Yang Hong not going there? What does she want to do?

"Why aren't you coming in! We can't hold on any longer... If you had come sooner, we wouldn't have been knocked unconscious so easily!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Tan couldn't help but burst into tears. It was because so many people who cared about the people were competing with each other that the opportunity he had worked so hard to create had slipped away!

"This situation is huge... too big for us to control!" Cheng Jing sighed.

"I trust you, that's why I came to find you!" she said again, making no sense.

Then she locked the tablet, tossed it onto the chair next to her, and walked to Cheng Tan's desk, which was piled with clutter. Her gaze swept over the scattered books, empty cans, and the laptop that was in sleep mode.

"These are your questions, and they are also my questions." Cheng Jing's back was to Cheng Tan, her voice low. "Jin Xiaohao's confession was too 'perfect,' as perfect as a meticulously prepared script. The motives, the process, even some of the 'philosophical sublimation' were all airtight. He proactively revealed many details that we hadn't yet disclosed, such as Liu Li being a temporary accountant for Jincheng Demolition Company, and Zhao Jianguo and Wang Bin both receiving anonymous threatening letters before their deaths… These details increased the credibility of his confession. But—"

She turned around, her gaze sharp as lightning:

"As you said, there are too many loopholes. The biggest loophole is that a mastermind who planned such a complex 'ritualistic revenge' involving multiple people would so readily surrender and provide such a detailed account before the police had any substantial evidence against him. This doesn't make sense. Usually, these highly intelligent and performative criminals enjoy manipulating and fooling the police more than admitting defeat easily."

"His ceremony isn't over yet, how could he jump out so quickly!" Cheng Tan's heart skipped a beat: "You mean... Jin Xiaohao might be...?"

"A scapegoat," Cheng Jing uttered crisply. "Or perhaps, a pawn thrown out by the real mastermind to 'close the case.' Part of his testimony is likely true—for example, he did participate in some things, knew some inside information, and might even harbor resentment towards Jin Dafu. But the entire scheme spanning thirteen years, including your nightmare, the live stream, and the locked room… given his abilities, resources, and social connections, it would be difficult for him to accomplish this independently. Moreover, the timing is too coincidental."

"Time point?"

"After Yang Hong took over on-site command and ordered a halt to the assault, less than two hours later, Jin Xiaohao was reported by a 'concerned citizen' at a small hotel in the west of the city, and then 'coincidentally' arrested by Yang Hong's team. When he was arrested, he appeared dazed, and there were pictures of the chipped die and some 'tools of the crime' on the table. He remained silent at the beginning of the interrogation, but after Yang Hong personally interrogated him, he suddenly confessed everything like a floodgate had been opened."

Cheng Jing's lips curled into a cold smile. "All of this went so smoothly, as if it had been rehearsed."

Cheng Tan felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet: "Yang Hong...is there something wrong with her?"

"I don't know," Cheng Jing shook her head. "I have no evidence. But my master said that this case, starting thirteen years ago, has been like an invisible membrane, wrapping up, distorting, and leading all the key clues into a dead end. Now, this membrane has reappeared. Jin Xiaohao's appearance and confession are like someone rushing to draw the curtain on this play, telling everyone: the play is over, the murderer has been caught, the show's over."

She walked to the window and looked down at the bustling street below.

The sun was shining brightly, as if the storm and bloodshed of the previous night had never happened.

"But some people don't want the show to end," Cheng Jing said softly. "Like you. Like me. Like... the other seven people who might still be alive."

The other seven!

Cheng Tan suddenly woke up with a start: "Where are they? Li Kai, Yingzi, Lin Qian, Wu Wenbin, Shanmao, A Zhe, Xiao Fei! Where are they? How are they?"

"That's the second question." Cheng Jing turned around, her expression serious.

"Besides you, the other seven people, along with room 403 of building 7 in Anping Lane, have all disappeared."

"What?!" Cheng Tan was struck dumb.