50: Chapter 50: After the Disaster 50: Chapter 50: After the Disaster The vertical shaft was about four meters deep.
Below the chiseled cement floor lay the rough earth layer.
The vertical shaft only allowed one person to climb up and down, and at its narrowest point, just one person could pass through.
Once at the bottom, the area widened slightly, presumably for construction convenience.
The horizontal shaft had a greater volume of earth removed, sloping down more than two meters.
The main part of the basement was two meters high, covering an area of about ten square meters.
It even had a ventilation system retrofitted from a chimney.
Although the air was still foul, it was capable of supporting long-term survival.
What was even more surprising was that there was a computer in the dungeon.
It couldn’t connect to the internet, but it appeared to be used for entertainment.
Jiang Yuan recalled the three disheveled and unsettled women who had just climbed out, their expressions not quite their own, and he felt every inch of his skin and blood vessels tighten.
Jiang Yuan merely glanced inside from the doorway before sensibly stopping in his tracks.
He was certainly curious, very curious indeed.
But as of now, the less than ten-square-meter dungeon was brimming with evidence; and in his hands, apart from a flashlight and a cellphone, he had virtually no proper investigation equipment, not even a single evidence-collection board for the crime scene.
Stepping inside now would mean that the room would be filled with his footprints.
In the case of a minor offense, lacking specialized equipment, there were countless ways to gather evidence.
For example, for bedsheets smeared with strange substances, some officers would roll them up with their hands or tear them off and stuff them into a plastic bag – and that was considered evidence.
However, today’s case had no connection to minor offenses; hence, even a single footprint on the ground could be critically important.
Wen Ming might have been in a rush to save people earlier, possibly not paying attention, and as a result, he had walked around the scene.
However, as long as it was limited to his footprints, it wouldn’t cause too much trouble.
Still, it must be limited to Wen Ming’s footprints.
Otherwise, if three to five people entered the ten-square-meter dungeon, the footprints and fingerprints, even other traces inside, would become a mess.
That would amount to the complete destruction of the crime scene.
Therefore, even though Jiang Yuan wanted to conduct the scene investigation himself, he had to stop at the door.
After taking some photos, he used warning tape to seal off the entrance.
He then began to collect fingerprints and footprints from the door lock and other locations on the spot.
To Wen Yong or Wei Zhenguo, today’s case might have already sealed Tan Yong’s fate, but in Jiang Yuan’s view, it wasn’t necessarily so.
Indeed, if it were a trivial case, Tan Yong would more likely be condemned, but once the case escalated to the possibility of the death penalty, the rigorous demands for evidence would be of an epic scale.
Although the end result might still be favorable, the questioning process in the middle would surely leave an indelible mark on the conscience of every police officer involved in the case.
The police and criminals often exist within an information gap.
Many issues with cases also arise due to this layer of discrepancy.
For instance, at the moment, everyone would assume Tan Yong’s DNA could be scattered throughout the dungeon, but this assumption is utterly unsound—if Tan Yong wore protective clothing every time he entered the dungeon.
Some might say, what about when he has sex?
First off, he might not engage in sex at all.
What if he couldn’t get aroused?
And even if he did have sex, what if he liked doing it while wearing a protective suit?
Others might argue, what kind of pervert does that!
They should look back at this dungeon.
After collecting a few fingerprints and footprints as a basic precaution, Jiang Yuan carefully exited the dungeon and climbed back up to the surface.
At this time, four officers from the Changyang Municipal Criminal Police Team also arrived at the scene.
The police officers who entered, upon seeing the deep underground shaft and the three terrified women, were completely overwhelmed.
It’s said that police have seen much of society’s darkness and are quite resilient.
But ordinary officers haven’t been specifically trained to witness such darkness; their “experience” with it develops step by step.
And today, the scene they encountered undoubtedly refreshed their understanding of society’s dark underbelly.
“Do such people really exist?”
The four officers stood in the four-room apartment, looking here and there, their every cell cursing silently.
Jiang Yuan felt even worse.
Compared to the detectives, he had experienced less but knew more, and the scene in the basement made it easy for him to imagine an abundance of disturbing details.
“How’s the situation with Mu Zhiyang?” Jiang Yuan asked, looking past Wei Zhenguo yet unable to muster any comforting words as he watched the trembling Ding Lan.
Wei Zhenguo also quickly snapped out of his distress, saying, “I’ll make a call and check.”
With that, Wei Zhenguo took out his cell phone and intended to go to the bedroom to make the call.
The three women naturally followed him, moving in unison.
Wei Zhenguo paused, then with a smile reassured, “It’s okay, I’m just making a call.”
Ding Lan looked up at him with a pitiful gaze, tears welling up and falling one by one.
“Come on, have some water first.
When the car arrives, we’ll head back,” Wei Zhenguo hurried to comfort them.
“We want to call our families…we want to use the phone,” Ding Lan took the opportunity to ask.
“We’re already contacting your families.
With such a big incident, I think it’s better to speak in person.
What do you think?” Wei Zhenguo’s years of experience as a veteran detective were kicking in.
The three of them looked at each other and hesitated.
Indeed, after being kidnapped for so long, suddenly calling home out of the blue could yield unpredictable results, and none of them had any idea what that could entail.
This uncertainty immediately dampened their urge to call.
Wei Zhenguo breathed a sigh of relief.
Today’s case was too big, and the situation at the scene too complex.
The best course of action would be to take their statements and then give them access to phones.
Taking advantage of this moment, Wei Zhenguo sent a message to Mu Zhiyang and waited for a response.
Soon, Mu Zhiyang called back, breathless, “Master, we’ve captured the ugly one.”
Were there any complications?
Did you encounter any danger?” Wei Zhenguo fired questions one after the other.
“No, everything went smoothly.
The four of us pounced on him and cuffed him right away,” Mu Zhiyang said.
Pay attention to the procedures.
The prosecutors’ office might get directly involved in this case…” Wei Zhenguo whispered a few words of caution before hanging up, his body feeling lighter.
With that, the main component of the whole case could be considered successfully resolved.
Wei Zhenguo turned back to look at Ding Lan and the others who were still not at ease and couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief from having survived a catastrophe.