Although he already knew there was probably no saving Lin Fei, Han Huaixiao still reached out to check for breathing at his nose. As expected, there was none.
“Officer Xu, call the coroner and forensics over.”
To avoid contaminating the scene, the three of them stepped back outside. Xu Haolin stayed at the entrance of the print shop, stopping the crowd that had gathered after hearing the commotion. Meanwhile, Han Huaixiao and Xia Hang found the young man who had run out of the shop earlier at a nearby barbershop.
The boy’s name was Li Zhi, an apprentice at the barbershop. Whenever he had free time, he would go chat with Lin Fei at the print shop. Earlier, the barbershop restroom had been occupied by a customer, so Li Zhi had gone to use the restroom at Lin Fei’s shop instead. The moment he entered, he was so frightened he nearly lost his soul.
When Han Huaixiao and Xia Hang found him, he had just finished vomiting, and his face was still pale. The second he learned they were police officers, he hurriedly said, “Officers, I didn’t kill him! I walked in and saw him lying on the floor already!”
Han Huaixiao asked, “What’s the deal with the surveillance cameras in his shop?”
“The cameras have been broken for a while,” Li Zhi replied, “I even asked him why he didn’t replace them, but he said there wasn’t anything valuable in the shop and he couldn’t be bothered.”
“You were close with him?”
“Kind of. Most of the shop owners around here are older people. He was one of the younger ones nearby, so I often went over to chat with him.”
“Did he open the shop regularly every day?”
“No. His opening hours were really inconsistent. Sometimes he wouldn’t open until the afternoon, sometimes he’d close before eight at night. Everyone told him he should keep regular hours; otherwise, customers would come a few times, see the shop closed every time, and stop coming. But he said he didn’t rely on the storefront to make a living anyway. The online orders alone were enough.”
At that, Han Huaixiao pretended not to understand, asking, “What online orders?”
“Photo albums. He printed albums for people.”
“But I didn’t see any binding machines in the shop.”
“He worked together with a printing factory.”
“Do you know where that factory is?”
“I don’t.”
“Did you notice anything unusual about him normally?”
Li Zhi thought for a moment. “Not really. Oh, right, he was always sleeping in the shop. I figured he probably stayed up all night gaming.”
“Anything else?”
“No. Officers, I’ve already told you everything I know. My boss and the customers at the barbershop can prove I was there the whole time. I only left for two minutes to use his restroom. I really didn’t kill anyone.”
Han Huaixiao said, “Relax. We’ll investigate thoroughly. We won’t wrongly accuse anyone. One last question, did any strange people ever come looking for him?”
Li Zhi shook his head. “No. He was kind of a shut-in who loved playing on his phone. Other than his parents, I never saw anyone come by looking for him.”
“Alright.”
After questioning Li Zhi, Guo Anping sent over the address of the printing factory, and Han Huaixiao and Xia Hang drove there immediately.
The factory owner, Guo Dakun, looked nervous the moment he saw them, asking, “Officers… what is this about?”
“Do you know Lin Fei?” Han Huaixiao quickly inquired.
“Yes. We’re business partners. What happened?”
“Did he send all his orders to you?”
“Yes. We signed a contract.”
“How did you split the profits?”
“He brought in the orders, and my side handled printing, binding, and shipping. Since there are production costs involved, I take seventy percent, and he takes thirty.”
“In the orders he sent you, did you ever notice anything unusual?”
“It was all photos of children. Nothing unusual.”
“About three hours before we arrived, what were you doing?”
Guo Dakun spread out his hands, showing the grease on them. “One of the machines broke down. I’ve been repairing it together with two older workers from the factory.”
“Mind taking us over to see?”
Guo Dakun led them over. The two older workers were still gathered around the broken machine when Han Huaixiao walked over. “You two have been repairing the machine?” he asked.
Seeing them arrive with Guo Dakun, the workers assumed they were new clients. “Yeah,” one of them answered. “We’ve been fixing it with the boss for half the day already, but it’s almost done. This machine’s usually very reliable. It rarely breaks.”
Han Huaixiao picked up some freshly printed photos nearby and ran his fingers over them. “The paper quality is pretty good.”
Guo Dakun nodded. “The reason Lin Fei was willing to settle for only thirty percent was that I agreed to use better paper than other places. He said parents are willing to spend money on their kids, but if the quality’s bad, they’ll only print once and never come back. If the paper quality is good, parents will return whenever they want more albums printed. He was right. A lot of parents praised our paper quality in the store reviews. New customers see those reviews and place orders too. Business has been getting better and better.”
“The idea of using better paper to attract customers was Lin Fei’s?”
“Yeah. He also liked running promotions from time to time to attract new customers.”
Only then did they leave. Once back in the car, Xia Hang said, “Trying to attract customers is normal, but I keep getting the feeling Lin Fei was casting a wide net looking for something.”
Han Huaixiao stared ahead. “More likely… he already had a target.”
By the time they returned to the Zhou City Public Security Bureau, the preliminary forensic report had already come out. Lin Fei had been stabbed to death with a dagger in one single strike.
Fatal.
There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, which meant Lin Fei had probably known the killer. The murderer had struck at close range and killed with a single, precise blow, suggesting either extensive familiarity with the human body or someone experienced in killing.
Other than a single shoeprint, no additional clues related to the killer had been recovered from the scene.
From that alone, the implications were obvious.
Guo Anping asked, “Captain Han, who knew you were coming to Zhou City?”
Han Huaixiao immediately understood what he meant. They had barely arrived in Zhou City before Lin Fei turned up dead, so it was hard not to suspect an insider leak.
“Only my team.”
Guo Anping nodded. “You understand what I’m getting at. Of course, people on my side also knew you were coming. I’ll investigate internally as well.”
“Sorry to trouble you, Captain Guo.”
“What are your plans now?”
Han Huaixiao had just opened his mouth to answer when he got a chilling call from Zhang Tianhua.
“Captain Han, there’s been another victim.”
Han Huaixiao gestured apologetically to Guo Anping and stepped somewhere private, asking, “What happened? Another case from the Children’s Hospital?”
“This time it wasn’t the Children’s Hospital. It was the Second Affiliated Hospital, and the victim was a boy named Wen Mingxu, eleven years old. His symptoms were exactly the same as the previous three girls: coughing and fever. He went to the hospital, took medicine after the consultation, showed no improvement, symptoms worsened, and eventually died after failed emergency treatment. Cause of death is also acute respiratory failure.”
Han Huaixiao’s expression darkened. “Where’s the body?”
“Don’t worry. The moment we got the news, I sent people to speak with the family. The body’s already been transferred to the forensic department, and Sister Xia is currently talking with the parents, trying to secure consent for an autopsy.”
“Good. Were the medications different this time?”
“Two of the drugs were different. But the one identical medication… was the one produced by Dong Zijin’s pharmaceutical company.”
“Report that result to Chief Yan,” Han Huaixiao said immediately. “Have him coordinate with higher authorities and suspend that drug at all major hospitals first. Keep digging into Dong Zijin’s pharmaceutical company.”
“Understood. How are things on your side?”
“I’ll explain when I get back.”
After hanging up, Han Huaixiao went back to Guo Anping.
“Captain Guo, something urgent came up. We need to return to Lang City immediately. I’ll leave Lin Fei’s case in your hands.”
“No need to be polite,” Guo Anping waved him off. “It’s our duty.”
Xu Haolin drove them back to the airport, but they still had an hour and a half before departure. While passing a specialty goods shop, Xia Hang suddenly stopped. His eyes landed on a box of pastries from his hometown.
“Can you wait a minute?”
Han Huaixiao nodded. “Mm.”
Xia Hang walked in with a clear target in mind, picked up a box, and headed straight for the register. He truly only made Han Huaixiao wait “a minute.”
After leaving the shop, they passed a menswear store, and Han Huaixiao abruptly changed direction and walked inside. Xia Hang assumed he wanted to buy clothes and followed him in.
Han Huaixiao had excellent taste, so after only a quick glance around, he had already selected a set of clothes. The store was normally expensive and rarely held promotions, but today they happened to catch a sale.
The sales clerk pointed at the sign near the entrance and smiled.
“Sir, we’re currently running a buy-two-get-one-free promotion. If you buy one more set, you’ll get another free.”
Han Huaixiao already had more clothes than he could wear, as every season, his mother sent piles of clothing to his apartment. Even he didn’t know why he had walked into the store in the first place.
Hearing the promotion, he casually pointed at Xia Hang, saying, “Buy two, get one free? Fine. Then pick out two sets for him.”
Xia Hang, who had been quietly standing off to the side, immediately waved his hands. “I already have clothes. No need to buy any.”
Han Huaixiao simply looked at the clerk with an expression that clearly said handle it. The clerk instantly caught on and turned to Xia Hang.
“Handsome, your friend buying just one set at full price is such a waste. We rarely do sales like this. Why not pick two sets? Our clothes are really high quality. Once you wear them, you’ll definitely come back next time you shop for clothes. I haven’t made a single sale today. Just help me out?”
The clerk looked at him with hopeful eyes, and Xia Hang genuinely didn’t know how to refuse. Han Huaixiao also showed absolutely no intention of rescuing him from the situation.
In the end, Xia Hang could only stiffly agree. “…Alright.”
The clerk had a good eye. Very quickly, two outfits were selected and handed over for Xia Hang to try on.
“No need to try them,” Xia Hang said awkwardly.
Han Huaixiao glanced at the two outfits, removed one, then picked another himself.
“If he doesn’t want to try them, then forget it. Take these two instead.”
The clerk turned to Xia Hang. “Sir, what size are you?”
Xia Hang rarely bought clothes for himself. Aside from the branded clothing his mother used to buy for him, he usually purchased whatever casually and never remembered sizes.
But before he could answer, Han Huaixiao calmly stated his size for him.
The clerk blinked, smiled knowingly, and went to get the clothes. At checkout, Xia Hang tried to pay, but the clerk smoothly dodged his card and took Han Huaixiao’s instead, efficiently processing the payment.
Then the clerk handed over the shopping bags containing their clothes, saying with a smile, “Take care, gentlemen!”
Xia Hang still didn’t understand how they had entered because Han Huaixiao wanted clothes, yet somehow he ended up leaving with one more outfit than Han Huaixiao himself.
………………….
After landing in Lang City, they retrieved Han Huaixiao’s car from the airport parking and drove straight to the bureau. The moment they arrived, Han Huaixiao announced, “Meeting in ten minutes.”
Xia Hang took out the specialty pastries he had bought in Zhou City and distributed them among the team.
Wen Yu said, “You guys went on such an exhausting business trip, and you still brought us snacks, Brother Hang?”
Ling Yue had already ripped open a box and stuffed a piece into his mouth, mumbling, “As expected of Jiangnan specialty pastries. This is good.”
As for Xia Hang, he handed two boxes to Zhang Tianhua, saying, “Brother Hua, one’s for you. Take the other home for Sister-in-law and Xixi.”
Zhang Tianhua accepted them with a grin. “Then I’ll thank you on behalf of my wife and daughter first.”
Ten minutes later, everyone gathered in the conference room, and Han Huaixiao looked at Xia Ling.
“Did Wen Mingxu’s parents agree to the autopsy?”
“They did. His father’s a doctor. He was actually the one who proposed it first. Brother He is already conducting the examination.”
At that, Kong Qinmao frowned, asking, “The previous three victims all died after treatment at the Children’s Hospital, but Wen Mingxu died at Second Affiliated Hospital? Right now, the public’s attention is entirely focused on the Children’s Hospital. Could this be the hospital deliberately trying to redirect suspicion?”
“But we still don’t have evidence that the Children’s Hospital is behind everything,” Zhang Tianhua shook his head. “Right now, our main lead is still the photo albums all the victims printed at the same shop.”
Ling Yue added, “We also found an online-printed photo album at Wen Mingxu’s house. Captain Han, guess which store printed it?”
Zhang Tianhua rolled his eyes. “With the way you’re asking, who wouldn’t guess? Stop dragging it out. It was also printed at Tongyan Tongyu.” Then, he turned serious again, continuing, “Captain Han, did you and Xia Hang find anything in Zhou City?”
Han Huaixiao answered flatly, “By the time we arrived, Lin Fei was already dead.”
“What?”
“He died?!”
Shock spread across everyone’s faces as Han Huaixiao’s gaze swept slowly across the room.
Except for Xia Hang and Wen Yu, every single member of the Major Crimes Unit had worked with him before he became captain. Zhang Tianhua, Ling Yue, Kong Qinmao, Xia Ling… he knew them all well, and they had survived life-and-death situations together. Emotionally, he did not believe any of them would collude with criminals.
But Lin Fei’s death was way too coincidental.
The moment they traced the lead to Lin Fei and arrived in Zhou City, he died.
Emotionally, Han Huaixiao trusted his team. Rationally, however, he knew he had a responsibility to the victims and their families, and he could not let emotions cloud his judgment.
So he had deliberately tested everyone’s reactions, but from what he saw, every response looked genuine. In the end, Han Huaixiao noticed Xia Hang glance at him, knowing that Xia Hang had realized what he was doing.
“Yes,” he continued evenly, “He was stabbed to death in the restroom of his print shop. One strike. Fatal.”
Kong Qinmao cursed softly. “Why does every key lead end like this?!”
“But from another angle,” Zhang Tianhua said thoughtfully, “this basically confirms the victims’ deaths really are connected to the albums.”
“I looked at Wen Mingxu’s photo,” Xia Ling nodded. “He was also the delicate, good-looking type. Could the person behind this have specifically selected children based on appearance?”
“Who was it that said there might be a pedophile involved?” Wen Yu muttered. “Don’t tell me they wanted to… do something to these kids?!”
“Then why kill them?”Xia Ling frowned.
They still needed to find the other victims’ bodies as soon as possible, as the answers were probably hidden there.
After the meeting ended, Han Huaixiao quietly pulled Wen Yu aside.
“Captain Han? What is it?”
“Has the Major Crimes Unit’s internal network been breached recently?”
Wen Yu immediately looked offended. “How is that possible?! Do I look useless to you?”
Han Huaixiao fell silent for a moment before saying, “I have a task for you.”
Wen Yu straightened instantly.
“Captain Han, just say the word.”
Han Huaixiao explained the assignment to her. Wen Yu listened with a bewildered expression. “The task itself isn’t difficult, but Captain Han, this is…”
Though Wen Yu was young, she had already worked in the Major Crimes Unit for two years. Surrounded by seasoned detectives every day, her instincts had sharpened quickly, so it didn’t take long for her to understand the implication behind Han Huaixiao’s request.
“Captain Han, I believe no one in our Major Crimes Unit would collude with criminals.”
Han Huaixiao met her gaze calmly. “I believe that too. But we’re police officers. We work with evidence. Since you also believe it, then find the evidence to prove it.”
Only after a moment did Wen Yu reply, “Understood.”
After speaking with Wen Yu, Yan Zheng called Han Huaixiao upstairs. When Han Huaixiao entered the office, Chief Yan was once again brewing tea with his beloved tea set. Han Huaixiao sat down across from him without ceremony and picked up a cup.
“This tea’s pretty good. Who gave it to you?”
Yan Zheng looked smug, boasting, “My wife bought it for me.”
“You called me up here just to show off your marriage?”
“Do I even need to show off?” Yan Zheng snorted. “Everyone in the bureau knows how good my wife is to me.”
Han Huaixiao nodded thoughtfully. “Mm… Xia Hang probably doesn’t know.”
Yan Zheng choked. “Xia Hang just joined recently, of course, he wouldn’t know. Stop interrupting. I called you up for business.”
“Go ahead.”
“How’s the case progressing?”
“Lin Fei is dead. Right now, we’re waiting on Wen Mingxu’s autopsy results. The higher-ups putting pressure on you?”
“Nothing gets past you,” Yan Zheng sighed.
Children were among the most vulnerable groups in society. With four children dead in succession, Han Huaixiao could easily imagine the public outrage outside and the attitude the higher authorities must be taking. Yet so far, none of the leaders above had contacted him directly. He knew Yan Zheng had been shielding him, shielding the entire Major Crimes Unit from the pressure above so they could focus entirely on the investigation.
“It’s fine,” Yan Zheng waved a hand. “I just wanted to understand the progress of the case. You all focus on investigating. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Alright, then I’ll head downstairs.”
“I’ve done all this for you, and you can’t even thank me properly?” Yan Zheng glared at him.
At that, Han Huaixiao raised a brow, asking, “Isn’t that part of your job?”
“Get out,” Yan Zheng pointed at the door dramatically. “Hurry up and get out.”
After leaving Yan Zheng’s office, Han Huaixiao went straight to He Zhengye’s lab. He arrived at just the right time, as He Zhengye was about to look for him.
“According to Wen Mingxu’s parents, aside from the medicine they gave him, I also detected another unknown drug component in his body.”
Han Huaixiao’s expression sharpened. “What is it?”
“Still don’t know yet. Ask the parents again whether he took anything else regularly. Calcium tablets, cod liver oil, vitamins, anything counts.”
“I’ll ask now.”
Han Huaixiao returned to the office and went directly to Ling Yue’s desk, ordering, “Get me Wen Mingxu’s parents’ contact information.”
Ling Yue immediately handed over Wen Mingxu’s father’s number, and Han Huaixiao dialed.
“Hello, Mr. Wen. This is Han Huaixiao from the Municipal Bureau Major Crimes Unit. Our forensic examiner found an unknown drug component in Mingxu’s body. During the days he was sick, or even before that, did he take any other medicine? Vitamins, supplements, fish oil, anything like that.”
Xia Hang was also in the office. The moment he heard the word “vitamins,” his mind exploded with a loud buzz.
He suddenly remembered the bottle Tang Qianyue had given him before she died, when she visited his home to see the turtles… the vitamins he’d thought tasted strange.
Han Huaixiao quickly got a clear answer from Wen Mingxu’s father.
“Yes. Because he doesn’t like vegetables, we’ve been giving him multivitamins.”
“Do you still have the bottle at home?”
“Yes.”
“Please keep it safe. I’ll send officers over immediately to collect it.”
After hanging up, Han Huaixiao turned sharply.
“Ling Yue, Qinmao, go to Wen Mingxu’s house right now and retrieve the vitamins. Bring them directly to He Zhengye.”
As he finished speaking, someone grabbed his forearm. He turned and found Xia Hang clutching him tightly.
“Wen Mingxu was taking vitamins, too?” Xia Hang’s voice trembled.
Han Huaixiao noticed the word too immediately. He frowned.
“Was Tang Qianyue taking them as well?”
Xia Hang nodded stiffly. “Drive me home. I still have a bottle she gave me.”
“Let’s go.”
Han Huaixiao drove like a storm all the way to Xia Hang’s apartment. By the time they arrived downstairs, Xia Hang had already regained his composure, but Han Huaixiao knew him well enough to see that it was only on the surface. Inside, Xia Hang had already fallen into spiraling self-blame.
“I’ll go get it.”
Xia Hang came back down quickly. The bottle of vitamins had been sealed inside an evidence bag, clenched tightly in his hand.
Han Huaixiao looked at him deeply. His lips moved slightly, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing and simply drove back to the bureau.
At the forensic lab, Xia Hang personally handed the evidence bag to He Zhengye.
He Zhengye had just received the vitamins Ling Yue brought back from Wen Mingxu’s house. Looking confused, he lifted the bag.
“And this one is?”
“These were Tang Qianyue’s vitamins.”
He Zhengye pushed up his glasses in surprise before accepting the bag. “Alright. I understand.”
After He Zhengye entered the testing room, Xia Hang remained standing alone outside. A long while later, a broad, powerful hand gripped his shoulder and squeezed firmly.
“Xia Hang. Not realizing the vitamins were suspicious isn’t your fault. If He Zhengye hadn’t found an unknown drug component in Wen Mingxu’s body, none of us would’ve connected it to the vitamins.”
Xia Hang lowered his eyes.
“When she gave them to me, I took one. I already noticed the taste was off back then. It felt like fate was warning me… but I didn’t suspect anything. If I’d just looked deeper into it, maybe Qianyue wouldn’t have died.”
Han Huaixiao replied steadily, “We’ve only detected an unknown substance so far. Whether it came from the vitamins, whether the vitamins caused their deaths, none of that’s confirmed yet. Isn’t it too early to blame yourself?”
Xia Hang was silent for a moment before nodding faintly.
“I know. Let’s go back and continue investigating.”
In the end, they never made it back to the office.
The moment they stepped into the stairwell leading upstairs, Han Huaixiao’s phone rang, and Zhang Tianhua’s voice came through immediately.
“Captain Han, officers from a substation under West District Precinct received a public report about a female corpse! When the West District Criminal Investigation Team arrived at the scene, they identified the victim as Meng Qingjun, a second-year student at Lang City No. 1 High School. There are signs she was sexually assaulted and abused. They also discovered that Meng Qingjun seemed to know Dong Zijin.”
Han Huaixiao’s expression turned cold.
“Send me the scene location! I’m heading there now.”
……………………
T.N: This whole arc is very sad 😭 I guess the moral of the story should be don’t put pictures of your underage children anywhere. Don’t post them on social media, don’t send them to random websites, just don’t. You don’t know what kind of creeps are out there.
……………………..
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