Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“That’s impossible!” Just when the news about the tunnel incident arose one after another, Miao Ying was stunned. “It’s such an obvious similarity, why didn’t we realize this earlier? If we could’ve related the victims to the tunnel incident, we could’ve solve the case!”
“Team Leader Miao,” Li Beini explained, “I’ve checked. As the tunnel incident was big, there were too many victims. Most of the related departments only recorded the deceased victims. Those who survived were not filed in the records! If no one brought up the tunnel incident, it would be quite difficult for us to connect them!”
“Oh, right!” Zhao Yu said, “These survivors were killed, and they didn’t have many relatives. Even if someone brought it up, we wouldn’t have linked it with the case!”
“Mm…” Miao Ying nodded. The similarity seemed obvious, but it was not easy to look for the information. No wonder the special task force and themselves had yet to look into it!
“Amazing! Amazing!” Zhang Jingfeng was thrilled with excitement. “I feel, Rongyang Key Case Investigation Unit is going to do extraordinary things! Everyone, cheer up and let’s arrest the murderer!”
“If we want to know who the murderer is, we have to get the accurate information from the incident!” Miao Ying commanded, “Xiao Liu, you go get the files from the Traffic Department. Get the information as fast as possible!”
“Yes!” Xiao Liu left at once.
“Zhang,” Zhao Yu did not stand by idly, but told Zhang Jingfeng, “Look into the medical records back then! It was such a severe accident, so even if there were survivors, they’d need some treatment at the hospital! Try to get the list of the wounded!”
“Okay!” Zhang Jingfeng followed suit.
“And, Zhang Hongran was the driver. Get a background check on him to find out about the bus. See if these victims were on the same bus!” Miao Ying continued, “Beini, please get your hands on this!”
“Okay!” Li Beini started typing on her keyboard that instant.
“And,” Zhao Yu told the colleagues from Team A, “go talk to the family members again. But this time, ask about the tunnel incident. Be as detailed as possible. We need to find out what happened in that tunnel.”
“Okay!” Most of the members from Team A left to fulfil their tasks.
“Here, this is the information from the internet!” Liang Huan pointed at his computer screen. “It was an accident, so the government dealt with it with full transparency. There shouldn’t be any hidden report!”
Zhao Yu and Miao Ying read and got to know the ins and outs of the disaster of the millennium. The incident took place on the New Year Eves of the millennium. A gas truck fell over in the tunnel, then exploded. The explosion destroyed the supporting frame of the tunnel, and most parts of the tunnel collapsed. There were many cars that were passing through at the time that couldn’t escape, and were trapped under the tunnel. After the disaster, emergency responders came to rescue people immediately, but the collapsed tunnel caused a landslide and blocked off quite a number of roads! It was just after a big snow at the time. It was so cold and the rescue mission was extremely difficult to execute! It took a total of fifteen days to finally get the people out from the tunnel.
According to the official information, there were seventeen people that were stuck in the tunnel for fifteen days, but they were all rescued in the end!
“Look!” Liang Huan pointed at the screen and said, “If the information is correct, the victims from the Bank Hidden Corpse Case should be among these seventeen survivors! That’s unfortunate! They survived such a tragic disaster but got into another accident!”
“Millennium!” Miao Ying was thinking. “It’s been seventeen years! The first victim Duan Dacheng was killed seven years ago! The murderer only started killing ten years after the tunnel incident. He took down one each year, and with such extreme methods… This…”
Miao Ying cringed while Zhao Yu said, “That year, they were trapped in the tunnel for fifteen days. In those fifteen days, they must have endured inhuman conditions! Now that the murderer decided to take revenge by starving them to death, is it that…maybe there was some conflict among the survivors?”
“Which means,” Miao Ying chimed in and guessed, “the murderer is among the survivors. He starved the other survivors to death. Did the survivors do something to him? Who would this person be?”
“Regardless!” Zhao Yu looked at the screen and said, “I feel that we are getting closer and closer to the answer!”
“I…” Peng Xin thought of something and said, “Then, I’ll give it to Bureau Chief Tang Zhao Long and ask about this! He was an officer in Tongyang for many years. He might know more about this than the others.”
“Okay!” Zhao Yu and Miao Ying nodded at the same time. That very moment, the two of them felt as if victory was within their reach, but in actuality, it was not.
“Zhao, Team Leader Miao!” Zhang Jingfeng fixed his eyes on the computer and shook his head. “No wonder we couldn’t relate the victims together! The information showed that the survivors of the tunnel incident were rushed to Cao Yang Hospital for treatment.
“But Cao Yang Hospital is now shut down. The information for wasn’t recorded then, and it is nowhere to be found now! We can try to find the physician in charge, to see whether they have any information on hand, but I’m doubtful!”
“Same here!” Li Beini said. “There was no registration needed then, so we can’t check if the victims were on the same bus! According to the information, including the gas truck, there were eleven cars trapped under the tunnel. But it wasn’t stated whether or not there was any travel bus!”
“Then we have to wait for Liu’s information from the Traffic Department!” Zhang Jingfeng shrugged. “But it is uncertain whether or not they have the information on the survivors!”
“Maybe…there’s another way,” Miao Ying said. “Media and TV programs! Such a big event, and the survivors were trapped for fifteen days. The media wouldn’t miss such information!”
“That’s right! The TV station should have some live recordings!” Li Beini said, “I was only a few years old, but I still remember watching the live rescue scene on TV! I…I will get in touch with the TV station!”
“Let me make a trip to the newspaper…” Zhang Jingfeng stood up and said, “There’s no use in calling them. I’ll go and visit them!”
“Thank you!” Miao Ying said politely.
“Hurry up, Zhang!” Zhao Yu reminded, “But be extremely careful about the other team! Don’t let them know!”
“Don’t worry!” Zhang Jingfeng left the office.
After Zhang Jingfeng left, the office resumed to silence. Miao Ying took a look at Zhao Yu while he was still looking at the whiteboard, thinking about something. Just like when they were working on Jian Wenli’s case back then, Miao Ying was confused by the Zhao Yu before her eyes.
He looked like a hooligan that acted like gangster, but during every crucial moment in solving a case, he seized victory through surprise. He would definitely be able to find important clues in such a complicated case!
“Maybe… he really did have some sort of friends from above?” she thought. “F*ck f*ck f*ck…” Miao Ying blamed herself for being bewitched by Zhao Yu’s nonsense. “This b*stard, what magic powers does he have…”