The weapon by the pillow

Chapter 26 Ex-boyfriend...Something's fishy

This is a civilized society, a modern metropolis full of vibrant life!

How could such a disgusting thing happen! Cheng Jing felt a chill run down her spine.

"Punishment...ritual" If this conjecture is true, then Li Wan's death was not a simple murder, but a premeditated act of collective violence.

Five people, five tools, one central source of damage.

This perfectly matches the behavioral patterns of certain deviant criminal gangs.

"Zhao Jianguo corresponds to the ice pick, Wang Bin corresponds to the electrical wire," Cheng Jing quickly summarized. "They're already dead. So what's the situation with the three people corresponding to the wrench, the box cutter, and the paperweight? And the pliers correspond to... the mastermind?"

"I think it must be related to the pliers!"

"Very likely," Zhou Zhigang said. "Moreover, judging from the order of Cheng Tan's nightmares—ice pick first, electrical wire second, wrench third, box cutter fourth, paperweight fifth… and finally pliers. Could this order be the same as the order in which the violence occurred back then?"

"If this order holds, the mastermind has now eliminated the ice pick (Zhao Jianguo) and the wire (Wang Bin), and the lipstick is guiding..." Cheng Jing looked at her watch—2:51 AM—"He's looking for the person corresponding to the wrench? That is... the fourth person?"

"That's why I said you have to find the fifth one before him!" Zhou Zhigang almost shouted. "If this ritual requires 'cleansing' or 'sacrificing' in sequence, then finding the fifth one might be able to interrupt the ritual! Or at least, to understand the complete logic of this ritual!"

"But who's the fifth one? The person corresponding to the paperweight?" Cheng Jing asked. "We have no clue!"

"There's a clue." Zhou Zhigang took a deep breath and analyzed carefully. "I remember... during the investigation back then, there was a detail that always bothered me. On Li Wan's desk, there was a very heavy granite paperweight. It was hers; she said she used it to weigh down blueprints. But that paperweight was moved at the crime scene, and there was blood on it. The question is—why would someone use something as heavy and not sharp as a paperweight to commit violence? Unless…"

"Unless the person using it isn't very strong, or it has some other symbolic meaning?" Cheng Jing interjected.

"Or," Zhou Zhigang's voice turned extremely low, "the person who uses it has some kind of...closer relationship with Li Wan. The paperweight is a common item on her desk, and the person who can easily access it..."

"It's probably someone who frequents her room!" Cheng Jing understood. "A colleague? A friend? Or...?"

She didn't continue, but both of them thought of the same possibility: Li Wan's ex-boyfriend, whom she had broken up with a month before the incident.

"Master, do you still have information on Li Wan's ex-boyfriend?"

"Yes, I kept a copy privately," Zhou Zhigang said. "His name was Chen Hao, he was 25 years old at the time, and he worked in the same textile factory as Li Wan as a mechanic. He had a clear alibi at the time of the incident—he was attending technical training in a neighboring city, and he had hotel records and attendance records from the training course. So he was ruled out back then."

"A mechanic..." Cheng Jing caught the idea of ​​the profession. "Then he should be very familiar with tools, including wrenches and pliers."

"Yes, but ice picks and utility knives aren't things he handles regularly," Zhou Zhigang said. "Besides, if he was in charge, why use so many tools? And why involve other people?"

This is also the point of contention.

"Regardless, let's find Chen Hao's current whereabouts first." Cheng Jing made a decision. "Master, please send his information to my encrypted email. Also, do you have any leads on the fourth person associated with the wrench?"

"A wrench..." Zhou Zhigang pondered, "Wang Bin's injury was caused by a wrench. If Wang Bin is the second perpetrator associated with the electrical wire, then the person who injured him is very likely the fourth person associated with the wrench. This person could be one of the perpetrators, or... a defender? Or perhaps, someone who later inflicted punishment due to internal strife?"

The clues are starting to branch out again.

Cheng Jing felt a surge of anxiety. Time was ticking away, and there were less than ten minutes left until 3 a.m. If the ritual were to "reenact" at the predetermined time of death, what would happen next?

"Master, I'll hang up now. Keep communication open," Cheng Jing said. "Send me the information as soon as possible. Also... take care of yourself."

"You too, Xiaojing." Zhou Zhigang's voice was full of worry. He had a premonition that this crime scene was no ordinary place. "Remember, don't rush in. Observe first, try to understand the logic of the ritual."

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Jing quickly walked out of the convenience store. Chen Ming was waiting anxiously by the police car.

"Captain Cheng! The SWAT team is in position. The three operators in Building 5 are still inside and haven't moved. As for Building 7, should we...?"

"Don't rush," Cheng Jing interrupted him. "Chen Ming, investigate two people immediately: First, Jin Dafu, the owner of Jincheng Demolition Company. I need to know his current whereabouts—whether he's alive or dead, and where he is. Second, a man named Chen Hao, a former textile factory mechanic and Li Wan's ex-boyfriend. I need all his current information, the sooner the better!"

Although Chen Ming was puzzled, he immediately obeyed: "Yes!"

Cheng Jing got into the police car, opened the tablet she was carrying, and re-entered the live broadcast room.

In the scene, eight people in the room are racking their brains over half a lipstick.

……

Room 403.

W? L?

"W could be the initial of the recipient's name, and L the initial of the giver's name," Lin Qian analyzed. "W...could it be 'Wan'? Li Wan?"

"Who is L?" Lynx asked.

no one knows.

But at that moment, Wu Wenbin, who had been silently flipping through his father's measurement drawings, suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" and pointed with trembling fingers to a previously overlooked corner on the back of the drawings.

There, written in pencil, was a line of very small, faint words, almost invisible unless you looked closely:

"Across from Ms. Li in apartment 403 lives a single woman surnamed Liu, named Li (L?). We occasionally greet each other, and our relationship seems casual. On the day of the measurement, I saw her briefly talking to a man (who appeared to be one of Manager Zhang's subordinates) at the stairwell, and she seemed uneasy. Thinking back, could there be any connection? I have my doubts."

Liu Li! L!

"Liu Li...the resident of 402!" Li Kai's eyes gleamed. "She might know something! She might even...have been involved? Or perhaps, be a witness?"

"If she was a witness, or knew something..." the shadow said slowly, "then her 'death' makes sense. To silence her."

Another potential insider has died.

Moreover, the cause of death and the time of death are unknown; all that remains is this half-lipstick and the provocative statement, "She died too, do you know why?"

"We have to get out!" Cheng Tan suddenly shouted, his voice trembling with anxiety.

"Everyone, think back to this, we have to break this deadlock! We must get out of here immediately! Then investigate Liu Li! Find out when and how she died! This might be the key!"