Criminal Investigation Notes

After the first three live broadcasts, everyone was on high alert.

This time, the police officers took immediate action.

All information was quickly fed back.

“Based on the elevation of the images, this should be an abandoned building that is not a residential property. Considering their pace of movement, we should be able to narrow down the area faster this time.”

“The girl in the footage has been identified as Li Xiaonan, who was adopted by the Qin couple two years ago. Her mother passed away, and her father, Li Pingfan, died in an accident at a construction site due to falling debris. Li Xiaonan is currently a freshman at Wanhuzhong High School.”

“Mu Zhenyuan, this person used to be a trusted subordinate of Qin Chengsheng. After Qin Chengsheng’s company gradually declined, Mu zZhenyuan started his own business and took away some business partners. It can be said that his departure was the final straw that broke Dingshengwanjia’s back. Currently, he is in Zhongshan International, a large construction company, and they are preparing for an IPO.”

“After Dingshengwanjia International collapsed, Mu Zhenyuan shamelessly devoured the remains of the former company to quickly climb to his current position.”

Now, in the late night silence, as time passed, several unmanned drones requested by Lu Junchi were in position. They were equipped with thermal imaging detectors, which greatly saved police resources in searching the desolate area.

Lu Junchi and Su Hui had already arrived at the Wanhuzhong Police Station. In the temporary command center, Lu Junchi quickly made a decision: “Qiao Ze, use the drones to scan the area and find the location of their live broadcast this time. We can confirm that the perpetrator is Qin Ange. Xia Mingxi, prepare the wanted notice.”

Qiao Ze replied, “I have further determined their possible location based on Tao Yingxu’s cellphone signal.”

Su Hui sat aside, continuing to analyze the case and recapitulate the events: “Initially, this case was likely planned by Tao Yingxu and Qin Ange together, but due to their disagreements, it resulted in two different methods of committing the crime. From Mo Xiuxiu’s confession, we learned that Tao Yingxu’s original plan may not have been to kill these teenagers. All these changes occurred after Qin Ange took control.”

Since Tao Yingxu only planned the first half of the live broadcast, after his death, there were some variables and loopholes in the execution, which allowed the police to gain more understanding of the truth and solve the case.

Qiao Ze asked, “There’s still something I don’t understand. Why did Qin Ange have to kill Tao Yingxu?”

Su Hui replied, “The two of them were possibly vying for control of the plan. Qin Ange believed that Tao Yingxu was hindering the implementation of the entire plan, so he took the opportunity to eliminate Tao Yingxu.”

Qiao Ze said, “The last target being Li Xiaonan, that’s a bit unexpected.”

Killing a stranger and killing someone you know are two completely different mindsets. Li Xiaonan had just helped him complete the previous live broadcast.

Lu Junchi spoke in a deep voice, “If he can kill Tao Yingxu, it’s not surprising that he would want to kill Li Xiaonan.”

Su Hui frowned slightly as he listened to their conversation. The fact that Li Xiaonan was the last target also surprised him. Perhaps there were some unknown deviations in between.

Regardless, the fact that Li Xiaonan, an accomplice, was being targeted meant that the killer had crossed the last line.

Capturing a person with no conscience and no boundaries would require the police to pay a higher price.

Meanwhile, busy investigating Mu Zhenyuan, Qu Ming furrowed his brow and said, “We haven’t found any criminal activities involving Mu Zhenyuan yet.”

Unlike the others, there doesn’t seem to be any obvious illegal behavior associated with Muzhen Yuan.

Zheng Bai said in the group chat, “I have contacted Mu Zhenyuan and I’m currently confirming with him. He is preparing for a press conference.”

Su Hui lifted his head and whispered, “I know what Qin Ange’s final plan will be…”

All the arrangements had reached the final stage.

Tonight, everything would be broadcasted live, and even if some couldn’t immediately find evidence of Mu Zhenyuan’s crimes, someone would eventually discover them.

Thinking about how tonight’s actions could disrupt Zhongshan International’s IPO plan, Qin Ange felt a sense of joy. Betrayers needed to pay a price.

It was quiet there, and Qin Ange could hear the sound of blood dripping and smell the strong scent of blood.

He sat behind the camera, coldly watching Li Xiaonan. The blood was flowing quickly, and in a little while, she would cease to breathe.

Qin Ange silently sat across from Li Xiaonan, watching her struggle and cry. From the initial confidence in executing the plan to his current state of unease.

He had never wanted to acknowledge this sister, but now she was the person closest to him in this world.

His father was gone, and his mother was gone. He couldn’t remember who had said it, but they said that the deceased turned into stars.

Qin Ange turned his head and looked at the night sky through the edges of the abandoned building.

Tonight, there would be a few more stars, he suddenly remembered Li Xiaonan saying that she had seen shooting stars before. Perhaps what she said was true.

Qin Ange blinked and looked down at the comments from the online viewers. His identity had been discovered by the police…

“The police have released a wanted notice. So, this streamer is actually a student.”

“At this age, it’s easier to do such things.”

“There’s a reward for reporting. Does anyone know where he is?”

“To be so young and so cruel, what will he be like when he grows up?”

“Why did he investigate Mu Zhenyuan’s company? Wasn’t Mu Zhenyuan involved in a lot of charity work?”

“The previous targets weren’t good people either. Mu Zhenyuan must have done something evil, otherwise, why would the streamer mention his name?”

“Do you expect a murderer to be logical?”

Through the screen, there were individuals, one by one, and mouths, one by one.

Kind ones, evil ones, saying all sorts of things.

Qin Ange leaned against the cold limestone pillar, deciding not to read the comments on the live stream. He took out Tao Yingxu’s phone from his pocket and removed the SIM card. Now that everyone had been contacted, this SIM card was no longer of any use.

He feared being traced through the signal, so destroying it was the safest option. It could accompany its owner and fade away together.

Looking at that phone card, Qin Ange hesitated for a moment.

Tao Yingxu was the first person he killed tonight, and now, when he thought of that person, he felt somewhat uncomfortable inside, for some reason.

Was it sadness? Probably not. He should only harbor resentment towards him.

Yes, he hated him.

Tao Yingxu’s mother, Wang Yaxiu, had been helping in their house for a long time.

One day, when she came to work, she brought along a boy. He was slightly taller than Qin Ange and had a somewhat handsome appearance, but he seemed naive and inexperienced.

At that time, Aunt Wang had a shy and flattering smile on her face as she pushed the boy forward. “Yingxu, quickly address him as Young Master.”

Qin Ange pursed his lips. What era was this? Still addressing someone as Young Master? It was really outdated. He expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, “He can call me by my name. I’m Qin Ange.”

That boy didn’t understand and simply stared at him, then timidly addressed him, “Hello, Young Master.”

He remembered that moment. That boy was a poor, dimwitted bumpkin.

But his parents had always been good to Aunt Wang. They even gave her things they didn’t need anymore, so he watched Tao Yingxu wear the clothes he didn’t like and use the discarded tablet.

Although the dimwitted bumpkin didn’t seem to have a bright mind, his grades were quite good.

They were of similar ages, and his parents would often compare them.

Tao Yingxu’s family was much poorer than theirs, but he performed better academically, looked better, and even had a more pleasant voice.

His parents weren’t satisfied with him playing with kids from wealthy families and would always educate him, saying, “Learn from Tao Yingxu.”

His mother would even envy and say, “If you could have a brother like him, who could support each other. Just like your father and Uncle Mu.”

At that time, his father and Mu Zhenyuan were best friends, almost inseparable. They would even go fishing together on weekends.

That Tao Yingxu became a child from another family, like a shadow accompanying him.

Even if he didn’t want to listen, he always knew what he had been doing recently and what achievements he had made.

Back then, he would respond with a casual “hehe.” He thought, even if someone like Tao Yingxu worked hard in his studies, he would never be able to live a life like his. The best outcome for him would be to graduate and beg for a job at his family’s company, just to have a meal to eat.

They were people from two different worlds, with little overlap.

Occasionally, after school, Tao Yingxu would come over to do his homework and help Aunt Wang with some household chores.

He deliberately gathered a few neighbor’s kids to play a prank on him. He had already planned the outcome in advance. He wanted to threaten this bumpkin to score last in the exams so that his parents would never use his grades to compare them again.

But in the end, those kids were all defeated by Tao Yingxu instead.

Tao Yingxu asked him, “Qin Ange, did you ask them to do this?”

“Not me.” He was afraid of Tao Yingxu hitting him, so he innocently shook his head. “I don’t know why they wanted to bully you.”

Tao Yingxu looked at him and said, “It better not be you…” Then he whispered to him, “You know, when you lie, your ears turn red…”

At that moment, feeling guilty, he touched his ear. It was a bit warm.

Tao Yingxu didn’t investigate the matter further or tell the adults because of this incident. Instead, their relationship became more harmonious.

Later, he discovered that the bumpkin could serve as a shield.

Every time he said he was going out with Tao Yingxu, his parents would give their full approval and even give him some pocket money to buy tasty snacks and toys.

To enjoy this convenience, he started bringing that bumpkin along with him.

However, Tao Yingxu had many concerns and worries. He would constantly fret over this and that and even try to control him.

When they went up the mountain together with a few other kids to catch birds, he caught a wild rabbit, but Tao Yingxu insisted on letting it go.

“Let’s just kill it. We can roast the rabbit meat,” he eagerly suggested.

“That’s too cruel.” Tao Yingxu’s expression turned unpleasant when he saw his intention to kill the rabbit.

In the end, he released the rabbit and felt that his whole day had been ruined.

Since then, he began to mock Tao Yingxu for being cowardly and a hypocrite.

Even when they were together, they had so many differences in their personalities.

There was one time when he couldn’t help but argue with Tao Yingxu, saying, “If you’re worried, then don’t follow me. Just go back by yourself.”

He ran off in a fit of anger, but after a while, he turned around and saw Tao Yingxu still following him from a distance.

He gradually grew up and was forced to accept this friend. After all, he had many other friends, and one more didn’t make much difference.

Later, Aunt Wang’s health deteriorated, and she found a new employer, no longer coming to their house as a maid.

Later on, there was a change in his family, as his parents brought a girl into the house and asked him to call her sister.

During his senior year of high school, his family went completely bankrupt. Overnight, they suddenly had no money.

The following days became increasingly difficult. They sold everything they could, and his father died of a heart attack. His mother brought them to this place that resembled a slum.

It felt as though he had fallen into an abyss from a great height.

Growing up, it seemed to happen in just a moment.

With the decline in their family’s fortunes and the loss of that money, his life became drastically different.

Even his friends, one by one, distanced themselves from him. The way they looked at him seemed to be avoiding a plague, keeping their distance.

During this time, he once again encountered Aunt Wang and Tao Yingxu.

Tao Yingxu reached out his hand towards him and smiled.

His whole world had collapsed, and only Tao Yingxu remained unchanged. He still stuck by his side tirelessly, not only bringing them food but also voluntarily offering to tutor him.

He accepted his goodwill but didn’t feel happy. He didn’t want to see people who knew about his past, and Tao Yingxu happened to be one of them.

He had witnessed his moments of pride as well as his most desolate times.

Every time that person spoke to him, he felt a sting. When he remembered that he used to address him as “young master,” it felt ironic.

Yet, that person was still the same as when they were kids, like a piece of adhesive plaster that couldn’t be driven away, no matter how much he shooed or shook.

He really wanted to ask him, “I don’t have that money anymore, so why are you still following me?”

Misfortune never comes alone, and his mother soon passed away.

There weren’t many people at her funeral, but Tao Yingxu came and hugged him, saying, “We’re still here. I will help you.”

On that day, Mu Zhenyuan also came. He was towering above, accompanied by many subordinates, and he offered a bouquet of flowers before his mother’s photo.

He stared at that man, clenching his fist, wishing he had a knife to plunge into his body.

He loudly questioned Mu Zhenyuan, “Are you here to see how destitute my family has become?”

At that moment, Mu Zhenyuan looked at him and said, “I was your father’s best friend.”

Friend? Is a friend someone who adds insult to injury?

After Mu Zhenyuan left his job, he often saw his father sighing in the late night, saying, “If your Uncle Mu were still here…” But when his father needed him the most, he turned his back and left.

If he were still here, how could that building be abandoned?

How could their family’s company have plummeted?

Before his father passed away, he had gone to him, hoping to borrow money, but his father returned disappointed.

That night, his father cried as he told him about his support for Mu Zhenyuan. They used to be *extremely close, and it was he who brought Mu Zhenyuan out of this vast city of thousands of households. Without his help, he wouldn’t have achieved such success. But that ungrateful person now enjoyed immense wealth and turned a blind eye to his father’s plight.

*亲密无间(qīn mì wú jiàn): Close relationship, no gap – intimate and nothing can come in between.

A few days later, his father suddenly died of a heart attack.

Even after his father’s death, Mu Zhenyuan quickly took over the business partners that his father had worked with.

Is this what a good friend would do?

He had the audacity to attend his mother’s funeral!

After his mother’s death, he quickly dropped out of school because he felt that going to school was meaningless, and his life had no meaning.

Sometimes he would lie in bed from morning till night, while Li Xiaonan continued to persevere in going to school and would bring him some food. Tao Yingxu would also come to visit him frequently.

Their lives were just watching the dwindling numbers in their bank account.

He was extremely unwilling. At that time, he began to reach out to his father’s former subordinates and started looking into his father’s records. He began to investigate what happened back then, which his father had forbidden him to touch. But the more he asked, the more he discovered that the events back then were not as simple as they seemed.

Many things that others believed his father had done had other reasons behind them.

His father was kind and easy to bully, but he wasn’t that kind of person himself.

Nobody is perfect, and Mu Zhenyuan’s hands were surely not clean either. An old employee said that at that time, he was in charge of media relations. After he left, intentionally negative news about Ding Sheng Wan Jia was spread, causing the downfall of the company.

He wanted to tear off Mu Zhenyuan’s hypocritical mask.

On his birthday, only Tao Yingxu remembered it, and they drank beer together on the rooftop.

Not far away was the vast expanse of abandoned buildings resembling ghostly shadows.

He was a bit drunk and started talking about this matter with Tao Yingxu. He spoke of those people and felt that he had seen the ugliest side of humanity. The real criminals hadn’t received any punishment.

Tao Yingxu proposed a plan and clapped his hands, saying, “This plan is great. If someone were to die, those people would definitely pay more attention to this place.”

Tao Yingxu looked at him and said, “We can use a fake death to carry out this plan. No one needs to actually die.”

At that moment, he lowered his head and listened silently. That wasn’t the plan he wanted, it wasn’t the justice he sought, and it wasn’t the revenge he desired.

Tao Yingxu was always like this. Every time, he would enter his life with a warm demeanor, but in the end, he had the ability to change everything, making him follow his lead and execute according to his plans.

It was the same when they played hide-and-seek as children, and it continued when they played together as they grew up.

This time, he pretended to agree because he still needed Tao Yingxu’s abilities.

Tao Yingxu was completely oblivious to his dissatisfaction. He copied material from the latest documentaries at school, and they repeatedly watched the interviews, selecting the people they wanted.

They meticulously planned the entire operation, including the execution methods for each person, how to livestream it on the internet, and how to attract enough attention without being traced by the police.

Tao Yingxu went to find those people one by one, probing for their weaknesses and making them agree to his demands.

He cooperated fully, selling off his collection of jerseys and buying a new pair of basketball shoes, exchanging them for ten thousand yuan.

In the end, they realized that they were missing one person.

“I’ll do it,” he said insincerely at that moment.

As expected, Tao Yingxu immediately refused, saying, “Never mind, I’ll do it.”

As the plan approached, he grew increasingly nervous. Tao Yingxu even rehearsed the entire process with everyone cautiously.

Just before they were about to execute the plan, he secretly replaced the flammable material that would ignite the fire and kept it at home.

When Tao Yingxu discovered it, he became furious and told him that if he went through with it, he would inform those people and cancel the plan.

“I won’t do anything else. I’ll do everything according to your wishes,” he said, frightened. It was the first time he had seen Tao Yingxu, who was usually calm, explode with such anger.

Tao Yingxu grabbed his shoulders and questioned him, “Are you out of your mind? Do you want to kill someone?”

His lips trembled as he argued for himself, “I feel that if everything is fake, we might not be able to deceive the people before the live broadcast, and our purpose won’t be achieved.”

That’s simply self-deception, playing house. They will soon be discovered and wiped out completely.

Upon hearing his words, Tao Yingxu suddenly fell silent and slowly released his hand.

After a moment, he lowered his head, wiped the corners of his eyes, and said, “Maybe… you’re right.”

After that, they never discussed the matter again.

But he firmly believed that he was right! He had made up his mind and perfected the entire plan.

This wasn’t a child’s game that could easily deceive so many people. This matter required lives to be sacrificed.

During their final rehearsal today, he cut the safety rope around Tao Yingxu’s waist from behind.

He no longer needed his cheap pity. He made arrangements with those people, finalized the whole plan, and Tao Yingxu had become a stumbling block to this plan, with no remaining value.

Tao Yingxu took the rope without any suspicion, put it around his own neck, and waited for him to slowly pull it up.

At that moment, Tao Yingxu lowered his head and glanced at him.

He would never forget the expression on Tao Yingxu’s face as he looked down at him—a look that was calm yet filled with sadness.

The rope slowly ascended, and Tao Yingxu made almost no struggle. He just kept looking at him like that, and his gaze momentarily touched his heart, making him want to rush forward, cut the rope, and let him down.

But in the end, he held himself back.

He resented him.

Finally, the person he disliked was gone. He should have felt relieved.

He would continue tonight’s live broadcast in his own way. He would definitely achieve the final victory.

He looked cold and resolute as he watched Tao Yingxu hanging in front of him.

But why did tears appear in the corners of his eyes now?

Qin Ange wiped his face. He cried.

At this point, he no longer knew whether what he had done was right or wrong. There was no one left beside him to consult with.

He couldn’t explain whether Tao Yingxu, who was so clever, could guess that he had murderous intent towards him at that time.

If Tao Yingxu did guess, why didn’t he resist at all? If Tao Yingxu didn’t guess, why did he have that kind of gaze when he looked at him?

Now was not the time to ponder over these questions.

He stood up. The final step of the plan was beginning now.