Trembling At A High Altitude

"This is outrageous!" Yang Peishan appeared extremely angry after overhearing the phone call, as if it had triggered some memories.

"Let's go, let's talk to the department head!" Gao Feng stood up.

None of the others had any objections.

The four of them left the private room in the cafeteria and headed towards the academic building.

The department head was not there. When they called him, he said he was busy and couldn't come back to the school right now.

After a stern reminder from Gao Feng, the department head said he would try to return to the school by two-thirty in the afternoon.

The four of them had no choice but to wait for him at the school.

While waiting, they reviewed the current clues.

One clue was from the instructor Wang Wen.

Both the veteran detective Gao Feng and the thousand-year-old Li Teng were convinced that Wang Wen was hiding something, probably related to Yang Li.

The second clue was Yang Li's female dormitory mate.

Her current mental state might have been due to fright, but Gao Feng felt it was more about avoiding something she didn't want to face, and so she used her poor mental state as a disguise.

Having not seen the girl himself, Li Teng couldn't make any judgments.

Another clue was the department head, to see if they could find any breakthrough.

Additionally, Gao Feng had submitted the number and sound recordings of the anonymous calls to the station, requesting the respective department to analyze the number and recordings to identify the girl.

Although the girl didn't want to show up, in a criminal case, it wasn't up to her whether she wanted to appear or not.

As for Yang Li's death, there were three possibilities.

One was the ludicrous possibility of sleepwalking off a building.

Two was suicide.

Three was someone lifting her over the railing while she was fast asleep and throwing her down, while the footprint on the railing could have been deliberately fabricated.

The reason for suicide... could very likely be related to the department head.

It could also be related to the instructor.

It could also be that the instructor was helping the department head conceal something.

For now, they could only wait for the department head to return.

...

At half-past two, the department head still hadn't returned at the agreed time.

Gao Feng called him again, his tone very stern.

The department head said he would try to be back by three o'clock.

Then at three o'clock, it was postponed to quarter past three.

"Officer Gao," Yang Peishan asked, "how do you usually deal with someone who keeps delaying and refusing to cooperate with an investigation? If his answer is to come back but he doesn't, what is generally done?"

"If he doesn't come back by three-fifteen, we'll meet with his leader, and if his leader doesn't cooperate, we'll meet with an even higher-level leader," Gao Feng responded to Yang Peishan.

"Hmm, there has to be a way to deal with them, otherwise these people are too arrogant!" Yang Peishan said with a hateful expression.

Li Teng guessed that Yang Peishan must have experienced something similar before, considering she had not been overly emotional until she heard that the director was involved, at which point her emotions became intensely agitated.

It must have been Yang Li's experience that triggered her empathy.

At three-fifteen, the director finally returned to his office.

The four of them were already there waiting.

"I had agreed to discuss some academic matters with others this afternoon; they insisted I come back, completely disrupting my plans! Really, what do you want to ask me? I don't have much time, I can only spare you fifteen minutes," the director said, checking the time and speaking unhappily to the four.

"A person has died in your department! What's wrong with cooperating with the police investigation? If you are unwilling to cooperate, we will go to your superiors! Justice is extensive! We won't wrong a good person, but neither will we spare any wrongdoer!" Yang Peishan shouted at the director.

"What kind of attitude is that? Are you treating me as a criminal? I have a duty to cooperate with your investigation, but with this attitude, I can't cooperate! You want to find my superior, right? Go ahead! Go negotiate with my superiors!" the director said furiously, getting up to leave the office.

Li Teng stood by the office door, his tall frame completely blocking it with a smile on his face, but he wouldn't budge, not giving the director a chance to leave.

This isn't against the law, right?

"What? Trying to restrict my personal freedom? Your department has police inspectors and supervisors! I can get a lawyer to sue you!" the director, unable to push Li Teng aside, pointed at Li Teng's nose and threatened.

Li Teng really wanted to smash his face with a punch, but due to the rules, he could only endure.

So frustrating!

"Don't look at me like that! If you keep looking at me like this, I will keep complaining about you! Until you're fired!" the director, sensing the murderous intent in Li Teng's eyes, stepped back fearfully a few steps but took out his phone ready to make a call.

"Director Huang, let's discuss the matter of you calling Yang Li to your office before she died! What exactly happened that day? If we talk it over quickly, you can return to your work sooner, and everyone can be at ease!" Gao Feng grabbed the director's phone, preventing him from dialing, and forcefully pulled him to sit down by the sofa.

"What are you babbling about? I don't know Yang Li at all! I've never called her to my office!" Director Huang denied adamantly.

"Stop pretending! We have a witness!" Yang Peishan rushed over and yelled at Director Huang.

"A witness? Fine, call them here and we'll confront each other face to face! This is ridiculous! Before this, I didn't even know who Yang Li was! I've never even heard of her, how could I have called her to my office?" Director Huang said furiously.

"You just wait! They'll be here!" Yang Peishan glanced at Gao Feng.

Gao Feng's phone rang, and he walked to the window to answer it.

Director Huang also took the opportunity to pull out his phone and make a call.

"Director-General Dong, right? Are these a few of your junior policemen? They've barged into my office, treating me as a suspect! What kind of behavior is this? Did you authorize them to act so recklessly?"

Director Huang directly made a call to the immediate superior of Li Teng's group.

"Come on, someone take a call, it's from your Director Dong." Director Huang spoke a few words to the person on the other end of the phone, then passed his mobile phone to Yang Peishan, his face full of disdain and triumph.

Little policemen, don't you know how close I am to your Director Dong? His daughter even got into Heshan University through the backdoor thanks to me! Dare to storm into my office and act tough? Really ignorant of the way of the world!

Yang Peishan, unfamiliar with the departmental rules and regulations, hesitated to take the call when she heard it was Director Dong.

Gao Feng was still on the phone, so Yang Peishan had no choice but to look to Liu Yanni and Li Teng for help.

Liu Yanni quickly shook her head.

Having no other option, Li Teng went over and took the call from Director Dong.

"What are you doing? Director Huang is not a suspect, how can you restrict his freedom?" Director-General Dong rebuked Li Teng fiercely.

"Who are you?" Li Teng asked slowly and deliberately.

"I..." The person on the other end, Director-General Dong, was clearly choked by Li Teng's words, and it took a long while for him to recover.

"I am your director-general, Dong Fangzhou!" After a moment of silence, he introduced himself, suppressing his anger.

"You say you are, and that's it? Do you have any proof?" Li Teng continued to drawl his words, questioning... In fact, he didn't know how to handle the situation at that time; he was purposely stalling for time, waiting for Gao Feng to finish his call and take over.

"Fine, you just wait, Heshan University, right? I'll send someone over to verify my identity!" Director-General Dong said furiously and then hung up the phone.

Li Teng snorted coldly and returned the phone to Director Huang.

"Kid, you're done for! Speaking to your leadership like that, you're completely finished!" Director Huang pointed at Li Teng's nose, shaking his head continuously.

Gao Feng finally finished his call and came over to inquire about what had happened. After hearing the accounts of Yang Peishan and Li Teng, he couldn't help but frown.

What Li Teng did just now wasn't handled well! From what Director-General Dong implied, was he planning to have someone replace them? Even if not replacing them, it could be to have someone take Director Huang away to prevent further investigation.

That would mean the most important lead was about to be cut off.

At this point, assigning blame was meaningless; they could only try to deal with Director Huang and extract vital clues from him before Director-General Dong took him away.

"Today's incident won't just be overlooked, wait till I report you!" Director Huang continued to threaten intensely, seeming not at all shy about the matter with Yang Li.

Either he had nothing to do with Yang Li's death, hence his demeanor. Or... he knew they didn't have solid evidence linking him to Yang Li's death, which is why he was acting so arrogantly.

Considering his relationship with Director-General Dong, if Li Teng and his team couldn't produce concrete evidence, the complaint could indeed pose some trouble.

The call Gao Feng had just taken was from the station.

They had already clarified the details of the anonymous girl for him.

The girl's name was Xiao Lan, who studied in the same department as Yang Li, though in a different class.

The station had also found out details about Xiao Lan's parents, knowing where they lived and what jobs they held.

With time pressing, Gao Feng immediately called Xiao Lan's mobile.

Xiao Lan didn't answer and disconnected the call.

Gao Feng sent a stern message, informing her that her identity and her parents' identities had been determined, demanding her immediate cooperation with the investigation, or else they would take coercive measures and possibly inform her parents to cooperate.

Less than half a minute after the message was sent, Gao Feng's phone rang, with Xiao Lan calling back.

Gao Feng walked to the window to answer the call.

Upon connecting, Xiao Lan was crying on the other side.

"I'm sorry, officer, I lied! Director Huang did not call Yang Li over a few days ago! I didn't see Yang Li crying as she left his office! I'm sorry for lying to you!" Xiao Lan said, crying as she spoke to Gao Feng.

Hearing what Xiao Lan said on the phone, Gao Feng was stunned.

Xiao Lan was willing to provide them with anonymous tips, but when confronted in person, she chose to deny everything...

She must have been threatened.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have initially approached them with information willingly.

Gao Feng motioned for Li Teng to come over.

Li Teng walked over.

Gao Feng quietly shared the current situation with Li Teng.

"Where are you? I'd like to talk to you in person. Don't worry, I'll meet you in plain clothes and will keep the details of our meeting and the conversation confidential." Li Teng took the phone and asked Xiao Lan on the other end.

Xiao Lan hesitated for a while before she gave Li Teng a location.

The rooftop of a certain academic building.

"You only have ten minutes," Gao Feng quietly reminded Li Teng. "You must get the crucial evidence within ten minutes, or we won't be able to hold on to this Mr. Huang."

"I'll do it as fast as I can," Li Teng surely understood the seriousness of the situation.

After quickly leaving the office, Li Teng took off his uniform and threw it in the corridor, then he dashed down from the office building and ran towards the designated academic building.

He definitely wouldn't make it back within ten minutes...

Because the academic building had eight floors and no elevator.

Five minutes after leaving the office building, Li Teng finally reached the rooftop of the academic building.

The sun was very strong on the rooftop at that time, and the building was tall, so no other students were lingering there.

Only Xiao Lan and another male student were there.

Xiao Lan was crying, and the male student was comforting her.

When they saw Li Teng running up, both of them looked towards him.

Xiao Lan looked terrified.

The male student had an angry expression on his face and even clenched his fists.

"My last name is Li, I'm the detective handling the case of Yang Li," Li Teng showed his badge to the two.

"I'm sorry, I lied to you. Director Huang didn't ask Yang Li to his office, and I didn't see Yang Li crying when she came out…" Xiao Lan lowered her head, crying and speaking to Li Teng.

"Yes, Director Huang didn't ask Yang Li to his office, and you didn't see Yang Li crying as she came out. Because it was you he asked to his office, and you were the one crying as you came out, am I right?" As Li Teng spoke, he observed their expressions.

Upon hearing what Li Teng had said, Xiao Lan's body trembled violently, and she cried even louder, turning to lean on the male student's shoulder.

The expression on the male student's face grew even angrier, and his fists tightened even more.

"Why didn't you report it? If you had, we would have sought justice for you," Li Teng continued to inquire.

"He only molested me; there's no evidence if I reported it, and besides, he's well-acquainted with your director-general. He said if I dared to talk about it outside, he would have me arrested and make sure I couldn't graduate…" Xiao Lan replied to Li Teng with a trembling voice.

"So, he really has nothing to do with Yang Li's case?" Li Teng confirmed with Xiao Lan.

"Yes. I'm sorry…" Xiao Lan buried her head into the male student's chest.

"Are you her boyfriend?" Li Teng looked at the male student.

"Yes," the male student said, lips tightly pursed.

"Want to find evidence of Director Huang's crimes against her? Want to bring him to justice? Want to avenge her?" Li Teng asked the male student.

"Yes!" the male student said with gritted teeth.

"Alright, you two follow me. Do this and that when the time comes… I promise you will have your revenge," Li Teng imparted a plan to them.

"Can we really do it this way?" Both of them looked towards Li Teng in shock.

"Sometimes, for justice, we have to resort to extraordinary measures," Li Teng spread his hands.