"It’s the Black-faced God, such bad luck!"
"He lives nearby, so it’s certain that he’ll be in charge of this case..."
The locals familiar with his style of work immediately kept their distance when they saw him.
Zhou Yongnian furrowed his brow as he looked towards the young officer who couldn’t stop vomiting at the entrance.
"First day in the Major Crime unit? Never seen a dead body before? Big Head Cong, are you a little girl or what?"
Seeing the young officer lower his head without daring to speak, Zhou Yongnian then softened his tone and asked:
"What’s the situation inside?"
The young officer known as "Big Head Cong" immediately straightened up and responded:
"The medical examiner is checking the bodies, Ah Bang is taking statements."
Hearing this, Zhou Yongnian nodded then continued to ask as he walked inside:
"Has the murder weapon been found?"
Big Head Cong looked at him hesitantly, seeming to find it difficult to speak.
"Spill it. I’m not green, there’s nothing I haven’t come across," Zhou Yongnian said, growing impatient.
"It was probably done with hands and teeth..."
Big Head Cong stuttered out his response.
Zhou Yongnian paused upon hearing this, not looking particularly shocked or disbelieving.
"Quickly wipe your mouth clean, keep up some police dignity."
He glared at the young detective sternly.
Then, under the somewhat admiring gaze of his subordinates, he strode up the stairs towards the second-floor room.
Less than half a minute later, there seemed to be another bout of vomiting from above.
Followed by the sound of hurried footsteps descending.
Facing the puzzled looks of the people at the door, Zhou Yongnian touched the corner of his mouth, coughed, and sighed:
"My wife made me too much black chicken soup last night; over-nourished, my stomach isn’t feeling great."
Saying this, he paused, then waved his hand towards the stairs: "Ah Bang, bring people down to talk!"
At the hall on the first floor.
A woman, draped in a fur coat and heavily made up, impatiently flicked ash from her cigarette between her fingers.
Beside her stood a poorly-dressed, timid little girl.
"Is she your daughter?"
"How could I have such an encumbrance? Her mother’s lying inside."
"Overdosed on drugs."
Ah Bang held a notebook and a pen, continuously taking down statements.
Zhou Yongnian stood aside, listening, his brows slightly furrowed.
In the face of homicide, drug use seemed somewhat trivial.
According to the crime scene investigation, four people had died last night in this unremarkable lodging house.
One of the bodies was so mutilated that when found, it was unrecognizable as human.
So far, it’s only through statements that the identity of the deceased could be confirmed as a woman who had been a long-term tenant here.
The other three male victims were also tenants.
Their condition of death was somewhat more dignified; only missing their heads or limbs torn apart.
The gruesome scenes were as if a ferocious beast had broken in, releasing its savage bloodlust at will.
The final survivors of the lodge were only three.
There must have been other guests who fled into the rain overnight.
Thinking this, Zhou Yongnian flipped through the registration ledger in his hand, his thick eyebrows furrowing even tighter.
Despite the city’s strict orders, all accommodation services must register with a real identity card.
But there were still some irregular businesses that turned a blind eye, filling in any name perfunctorily. As long as they got paid, they would hand out a room card.
Judging by the names registered on the ledger, it was clear that other witnesses were missed.
The innkeeper now stood before a group of police officers, rambling her statement but deliberately avoiding some key questions.
"Recently it’s been raining all the time, not many customers coming by, and last night was a stormy weather, I only left Xiao Zheng to watch the store, who would have thought that he would... alas..."
She sighed, then mysteriously said:
"Officer, I’m telling you, this mother and daughter are very suspicious. They’ve only stayed at my place for a few days and dared to steal from other guests. I’m sure this case must be related to them..."
Zhou Yongnian heard this, nodded thoughtfully, and instructed several subordinates beside him.
"Wake that woman up, and the little girl and the guy who got scared out of his wits, take them all back to the police station."
Then he pointed at the innkeeper, who was dressed gaudily.
"Take her too, as the prime suspect, and interrogate her rigorously."
"Ah yo, Brother Zhou!"
The innkeeper was startled, hastily waving her hands in explanation:
"We run a legitimate business, we would never dare to do anything against the law..."
Zhou Yongnian’s eyes suddenly sharpened, glaring at her:
"You think I don’t know? Your husband is a gang leader, and you’re just a madam, do you want me to say more?"
"I... I want to speak to your superiors, accuse you of defamation, abuse of power!"
"The line of people who want to sue me would stretch from Jiangbei to West Gate, it won’t get to your turn."
Zhou Yongnian dropped a comment and then led the way out, urging the other officers:
"Hurry up and secure the scene, don’t miss any spider webs or horse tracks, and question all the residents around, there must have been others who heard or saw something last night..."
"If any reporters come, keep tight-lipped, otherwise we’ll get another scolding!"
"Yes, sir!" "Yes, team leader."
Among the saluting responses of the police officers, Zhou Yongnian strode out of the inn’s entrance.
He glanced at the vehicles parked on the street side, preparing to cover his head with his clothing and run over.
Suddenly he caught sight of his daughter holding a flowered umbrella, walking out of the crowd.
Beside her, there was also a very familiar young figure.
Zhou Xiumei quickly approached, with another umbrella tucked under her arm.
Fang Cheng also held an umbrella, following behind, greeting Zhou Yongnian.
He had just come downstairs, intending to inspect the scene.
By chance, he ran into Zhou Xiumei delivering an umbrella to her father.
The two then walked together.
"Xiumei, stay at home and be good these days, don’t run around everywhere, and don’t open the door to strangers."
Zhou Yongnian took the umbrella and cautioned his daughter.
Then he turned his head and looked at Fang Cheng, adding:
"Ah Cheng, you need to be careful as well."
Fang Cheng nodded in response, hesitated slightly, and couldn’t help asking:
"Uncle Zhou, is the murderer a serial killer?"
Zhou Yongnian’s gaze flickered slightly as he shook his head in denial:
"This case is different from before, don’t overthink it."
But Fang Cheng still said:
"Uncle Zhou, last night I might have seen what the murderer looks like."
At his words, Zhou Yongnian paused, then patted Fang Cheng on the shoulder:
"Then you come with me to the car, let’s go back to the station and record a statement."
He turned and dived into the car, started the engine.
There was no time to even go home, and he prepared to rush to the station to handle the case urgently.
Two other detectives took the three eyewitnesses and the innkeeper and rode back in another patrol car.
Under the drizzling rain, among a group of adults, there was a figure that looked particularly thin and fragile.
The little girl, lifting her leg to get into the car, suddenly turned her head to look at Fang Cheng standing aside.
Her eyes were like bright amber, deep in color but clear and flawless.
Fang Cheng also noticed her sneaking glances at him.
He didn’t pay much attention to it, just felt that the little girl seemed somewhat familiar.