Special District 9 Chapter 175: A Bizarre Murder Case

Five-thirty at night.

In an internet broadcast station, the Reporter Department.

Lin Nianlei was dressed in a tight, black suit. Her hair was combed neatly to the back, giving her a professional look. She knocked on the door to her superior’s office.

“Come in,” a shout sounded from within.

Lin Nianlei pushed the door open and walked in. With a smile, she greeted the person standing before her, “Manager Zhao, you were looking for me?”

“Aiyo, Nianlei!” Manager Zhao was a middle-aged man in his fifties. He had a plump figure and a standard uncle face. However, on the whole, he still gave off an amicable impression. “Come come, have a seat.”

Lin Nianlei took a seat by the office desk before asking, “Manager Zhao, are you calling me over the column I prepared previously?”

“No. It’s because I have a new job for you,” Manager Zhao said. “Around an hour ago, a murder case happened over at Songjiang’s North Station. I want you to follow the case and dig out the details behind it. Make sure to record down the full procedure. It should be as detailed as possible. I’m intending to make four episodes out of this case.”

Lin Nianlei blinked her eyes in surprise as she asked, “Manager Zhao, I remember that… you forbade me from handling any murder cases in the past?”

“That case was dangerous, and there’s no personal merit you could have earned from it. There’s no point in you taking on that case,” Manager Zhao replied frankly. “Your second aunt and I are old classmates. If something happens to you, I won’t be able to explain it to her.”

“Manager Zhao, I think it’s best for us to separate work from private affairs, or else our colleagues are going to hold a grudge against me,” Lin Nianlei replied awkwardly.

“Hahaha, I can see that you’re still young and ambitious!” Manager Zhao remarked with a smile. “It’s settled then, I’ll be entrusting this case to you. Make sure to handle it well!”

“Understood! I’ll do it to the best of my ability!” Lin Nianlei was interested in handling such cases, so she accepted it without hesitation.

Manager Zhao took a sip of water before suddenly asking, “Nianlei, do you have time this weekend?”

“Ah?” Lin Nianlei was caught off-guard by the sudden question. “Y-yeah, I’m free this Sunday. What’s wrong?”

“My son is coming back this weekend,” Manager Zhao said with a smile. “Why don’t you come by and have a seat? He heard that you have spent a year studying at Special District 3 and is very interested in meeting you.”

Lin Nianlei swiftly understood what this was all about. She awkwardly brushed her fringe to the side as she replied. “Ah… Alright, I’ll visit on this Sunday then.”

“Haha, my son will be joining our station in the future too,” Manager Zhao remarked meaningfully. “It’s best for talented youths like you all to interact more with one another and forge strong connections!”

Lin Nianlei rose to her feet as she replied, “Of course! If that’s all, I’ll be heading out to handle the case then.”

“Yes, go ahead,” Manager Zhao replied with a nod.

… 

Residence 88.

Qin Yu had just paid his monthly rent when he received Zhu Wei’s phone call.

“Hello?”

“Something happened over at the North Station. One of the close partners of Wu Yao’s company, Yan Kang, and his driver have been killed in a newly bought flat,” Zhu Wei replied anxiously. “I’m already at the crime scene right now.”

Qin Yu’s mind quickly whirred into action as he asked, “Why would another one die all of a sudden?”

“I don’t understand either.”

“This doesn’t make sense. The more I think about this case, the more amiss it is.” Qin Yu shook his head doubtfully. “Who’s the first one to catch onto the case?”

“Platoon 1 is handling the case at the moment. They were the ones who informed us about it,” Zhu Wei replied.

“What about Liu Baochen?” Qin Yu asked.

“He was just informed about it. He’s heading there right now.”

“Who’s the one who confirmed Yan Kang’s identity?”

“It was verified by someone amongst Platoon 1. I’m not too sure about the details either, but when I arrived, they were already saying that the victim was a partner of Wu Yao’s company,” Zhu Wei replied quickly. “I don’t think that they would make a mistake with that.”

Qin Yu quickly put together everything he knew about the case before instructing hurriedly, “Zhu Wei, lead our brothers to search around first.”

“The others are already doing that. The forensics and the others are here collecting evidence right now.”

“No, I’m not talking about that,” Qin Yu immediately refuted Zhu Wei’s words. He reminded the latter with a stern face, “Think about it. What else is important about Yan Kang’s place of residence?”

Zhu Wei widened his eyes upon hearing those words.

“Hurry up and handle it. I’ll be rushing over right now.”

“Alright, I got it.”

“I’ll be hanging up then.”

After hanging up his phone, Qin Yu quickly rushed out before he could even put down his name on the new rental contract.

… 

On the way.

Liu Baochen sat in his car as he spoke to Yuan Ke through the phone, “Yes, I’ve just been informed about the matter. I’m heading to the crime scene right now.”

“Have they figured out the reason behind the murder?” Yuan Ke asked anxiously. “Is it an accident, or was it a planned incident?”

“Platoon 1 is filled with Old Li’s men. They didn’t give me any information through the call,” Liu Baochen replied in frustration. “If not for my men informing me, I wouldn’t have known about this.”

“Get there as soon as possible. Make sure to inform me as soon as you get any detail.”

“Got it.”

With that, the two of them ended the call.

… 

In the two-storey flat, the police had already cordoned off the area to keep at bay the crowd who had gathered around to watch the commotion.

The left of the street had already been sealed off by cars that were parked haphazardly. Lin Nianlei, dressed in a thick down feather jacket, roared at the policemen on duty furiously, “After all that we have said, what’s with your attitude! We are from the internet broadcast station! We have the rights to know what’s going on. Why aren’t you letting us in?”

“We’re in the midst of investigating the crime scene, so how can we let you in?”

“Like I said, we’ll only take photos from the entrance. We won’t disturb your work!”

“That won’t do either.”

“… Fine, we’ll wait then. How long does it take for you to collect your evidence?” Lin Nianlei asked grumpily.

“That’s hard to say. Just continue waiting,” a policeman replied impatiently.

“Hey, what’s with your attitude?!” Lin Nianlei looked almost as if she would leap forward and bite that policeman.

Jiya!

It was then that a police car came to a halt near the cordoned off area. Qin Yu, together with Ding Guozhen, Fu Xiaohao, and a few other people, walked toward the crime scene.

“Vice Platoon Commander Qin!”

“Vice Platoon Commander Qin!”

The policemen gathered within the cordoned area greeted Qin Yu.

Qin Yu responded with a nod before he belatedly noticed Lin Nianlei. Surprised by her presence, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Aiya, you sure came at a timely moment!” Lin Nianlei stared at Qin Yu in surprise before a smile crept onto her lips. She rushed forward and grabbed his arm, saying, “Help me this once. Let us enter to take some photos so that we can do a report on this.”

“Don’t ask for the impossible. We’re investigating right now, so how can we let you in?”

“We won’t disturb your work. We’ll just snap a few photos at the doorway,” Lin Nianlei asked coyly. “Bro, help us this once… I’ll treat you to a meal, alright?”

“Why don’t you treat me to a night together instead?”

“Scram!” Lin Nianlei’s face reddened.

“Wait a while longer. After the forensics and the other specialists leave, I’ll call you in,” Qin Yu leaned in and whispered into Lin Nianlei’s ear.

“Alright,” Lin Nianlei replied with a nod.

“I’ll be getting to work then.” Qin Yu bade Lin Nianlei farewell before heading in.

… 

Several minutes later, on the first floor of the building.

Zhu Wei carried a huge bunch of evidence over as he looked at Qin Yu in delight. “Why is your intuition so sharp?! Shortly after we ended our call, I really managed to find some vital evidence!”

“What is it?” Qin Yu asked anxiously.

“I found his hidden accounting book with Wu Yao’s company in the drawers of his bedroom. There are another seven more with other companies,” Zhu Wei said excitedly. “Hehe, there is plenty of information on here.”

Qin Yu fell into deep thoughts.

“Vice Platoon Commander Qin.”

It was then that Wun Sen walked over and called him too. “This flat is very close to North Station, so there are CCTV cameras in the surroundings. I just took a look at the cameras. There are five culprits in total. They are all wearing masks, but the leader shares a physique that’s very similar to the culprit who killed Wu Yao.”

Qin Yu was stunned for a long while before he muttered contemplatively, “It seems like the report Liu Baochen received the other night came from the fixers themselves. They’re putting on an act over here.”