34 Connection

Captain Feng swallowed hard, cast a glance at the calm profile reflected in the rearview mirror, and tried to negotiate: "Comrade, could you please not be so shocking with your remarks next time?"

Fang Qingzhou’s eyes shifted slightly. After a brief self-reflection, she didn't feel there was anything particularly "shocking" about her words. She tilted her slender neck slightly, gazing at the ceiling of the car, and putting herself in Yan Jianyuan’s shoes, she concluded: "He is not satisfied with you."

"He’s not satisfied with us? Who does he think he is?" Captain Feng thought he was hallucinating. His fingers tapped impatiently on the steering wheel, and he said with a sour tone, "What? Did we send him a satisfaction survey? Has the public security department turned into a service industry?"

Fang Qingzhou replied: "Who he is doesn't matter to you right now. Wasting energy on him will likely yield nothing."

Captain Feng’s chest heaved; he was furious. His arms moved involuntarily as he erupted like a volcano: "He’s a high-risk individual, practically riding on the heads of the police, and you expect me to leave him out there causing chaos? That memory-editing technology of yours is a hotbed of crime in his hands. Every extra day he stays at large, who knows how many more troubles will breed!"

Fang Qingzhou ignored him and continued to elaborate: "He has provided hints multiple times, constantly reminding the police to investigate Liang Yizheng. The matter of the invitation card was not given enough attention. The unidentified corpse outside the villa, because I accidentally identified it, also disrupted the police's investigative process."

Captain Feng simply pulled the car over to the side of the road, bent down to reach for the cigarette he had dropped earlier, and listened to her with full attention.

Fang Qingzhou rolled down the window, leaned to the side, rested her elbows on the ledge, and found a comfortable position before continuing: "The police's priority is to catch the murderer. Since it’s impossible to deduce the motive, it’s not impossible to rely entirely on modern technical investigation methods. However, letting the police solve the case through Jiang Ping’s trajectory was not in his plan, so he changed his strategy, using the fermenting public opinion to push you back to investigate Liang Yizheng."

Her steady pace of speech and her lack of emotional fluctuation gave Captain Feng the illusion that he was in a conference room listening to a superior, and he reflexively nodded in agreement.

"I suggest you follow his train of thought and focus the investigation on Liang Yizheng. There is no need to check who he is, what his purpose is, or where he comes from. Otherwise, other critical situations might arise."

Captain Feng held the cigarette in his right hand, sniffing it lightly. He agreed with her point of view, but emotionally, there was a sense of humiliation at being controlled. He said sullenly: "So the police are to be held hostage by the criminal's intentions?"

Fang Qingzhou ignored his grievance. She tilted her head to look forward through the gaps in the seats, meeting Captain Feng's eyes through the reflection on the windshield, and asked: "Wang Da can't control his mouth, and Xu Youxiang himself holds prejudices and resentment toward the past. As long as a spark appears in the social climate, they will jump out to fan the flames. You think the rumor about a policeman driving someone to their death is a ridiculous fairy tale, but surely many people believe it. Do you know why?"

Hearing this cliché question, a tangled mess of irritability rose in Captain Feng’s heart. He bit the cigarette filter, grinding his teeth, and replied distractedly: "Because the public likes bizarre and twisted stories, but how can reality have so many plot twists?"

Unexpectedly, Fang Qingzhou delivered a firm and decisive answer: "No, that's not it."

Captain Feng unexpectedly loosened his jaw.

Fang Qingzhou rested her chin in her hand and said coldly: "You are a police officer; your stance is law enforcement, and your logical thinking is based on evidence, motive, and feasibility. Your standard for judgment is efficiency, accuracy, and the elimination of unstable factors. Therefore, you don't care about things you deem unimportant. But for the general public, the 'useless' information you exclude is the answer they most desperately want to know. So, Captain Feng, I have only one question: where are the people?"

Captain Feng was stunned, feeling a sense of confusion as he looked at his own blurred face on the glass.

Fang Qingzhou said: "I don't want to hear the police analyze how low the probability of such things happening is, or scold the netizens for how absurd their speculations are. This only makes the public feel the arrogance of the police. I don't care about the causes, motives, or the process; I only know the final result—why did that father and son disappear?"

"A boy under twelve years old and an uneducated, violent middle-aged man—if they could completely erase their traces in this society without any preparation, then all the criminals in the world should learn from them."

The sweat on her body had already dried, and the cool night breeze blowing on her skin brought a sense of unbearable stickiness.

Captain Feng took the cigarette out of his mouth: "We asked the local police station. Of the two officers who helped mediate back then, one has retired, and the other passed away from cancer a couple of years ago. We haven't been able to reach either of them for the time being."

Fang Qingzhou said: "Make contact."

Captain Feng ignored the commanding tone of her voice and asked hesitantly: "Do you suspect that the father and son are really dead?"

Fang Qingzhou said conservatively: "It's hard to say."

She intuitively guessed that Yan Jianyuan was the child from back then, but there was currently no evidence to support it, so she simply chose not to point it out and influence their judgment.

Fang Qingzhou sent Yan Jianyuan's photo and brief information to Captain Feng. Captain Feng clicked to receive it, twisted his body to look back, and met Zhou Suirong's face, only then remembering that this person was still in the back seat. He recalled that Zhou was the first victim on the file and asked humbly: "Zhou Suirong, what do you think?"

Zhou Suirong withdrew his gaze from the screen and said, puzzled: "Think about what? Yan Jianyuan? I'm not familiar with him. We met a few years ago, and I didn't think there was anything abnormal about him then."

Fang Qingzhou leaned over and asked: "What are you looking at?"

"I'm searching for tonight's news; there are already quite a few videos uploaded." Zhou Suirong scrolled the video progress bar, held it up in front of Fang Qingzhou, and clicked play. "It caught me. How is it?"

A blogger had captured, from a tricky angle, the kick Zhou Suirong had landed while chasing the thug, as well as his flexible dodging under the blade's sweep. Several times, it looked like the blade was about to touch him, but Zhou Suirong neutralized it with calm composure. That elegant and natural demeanor, set against the backdrop of the surrounding screams and chaos, appeared exceptionally dazzling and extraordinary.

Fang Qingzhou watched it once and said, still feeling intrigued: "The dressing up wasn't in vain, Brother Zhou."

Zhou Suirong laughed and reached out to cover her mouth, saying softly: "Senior, can you just praise me directly?"

Seeing the two of them clinging to each other as if no one else were present, Captain Feng announced loudly: "Ahem! I'm here! I'm still here!"

Fang Qingzhou pulled the video back and turned the screen to show Captain Feng his own appearance in it.

He saw himself wearing rags that had been torn, with half his chest exposed, standing aggressively and looking down at his surroundings. His face still carried the fierce intensity from the fight.

Captain Feng's eyes went dark, and he protested unconvinced: "Why is it so ugly? Does this person even know how to film a video? He made me look like a bandit!"

"Go back to work now." Fang Qingzhou adjusted the video to watch it again and said casually, "I think the thug you caught tonight is the murderer of Jiang Ping. Yan Jianyuan handed him over to you so that you can focus your energy on investigating Liang Yizheng."

Captain Feng didn't take it to heart: "Then I'll thank you for your kind words."

Captain Feng dropped the two off at the hotel entrance and hurried back to the branch office.

His colleagues were still working overtime, and the lights in the Major Crimes Unit office were bright.

As soon as Captain Feng stepped out of the elevator, he ran into a colleague from the unit. The young officer had dark circles under his eyes, walking past him like a sleepwalker.

Captain Feng grabbed him and shook his shoulders firmly: "Wake up! Xiao Huang! Where is that guy we caught tonight? Is he being obedient?"

The young officer’s system seemed to lag; it took two seconds for him to function normally, and he replied: "He said his hand hurts, that you broke his bone, and he's been shouting non-stop, so Brother Gao sent him to the hospital first. He should still be undergoing examinations now."

As he spoke, he handed a few freshly printed pages to Captain Feng, and with a cheerful face, he claimed credit: "Captain Feng! We think he is the murderer who killed Jiang Ping!"

Captain Feng felt a wave of numbness crawl up his spine. He shivered all over and asked in a hoarse voice: "Did he confess?"

"No. But we found a wallet on him. After verifying with Jiang Ping's family, they confirmed it was Jiang Ping's item. The tech team has taken it for evidence, and we're just waiting for the results." The young officer grinned excitedly, "He threw away Jiang Ping's ID and phone, but kept this wallet, probably because it has a big luxury brand logo on it... even though it's a knockoff."

Captain Feng stood with his mouth agape, speechless for a moment.

While they were talking, a sharp-looking stranger walked out of the adjacent reception room, stopped at the door, and nodded to him.

The officer followed Captain Feng's gaze and slapped his forehead: "Oh right, I was so busy I lost my mind! This is Captain Ji He from the A City South District Branch."

Captain Feng hurried over, reached out both hands, and greeted: "Hello, Captain Ji, long time no see! Weren't you supposed to come tomorrow?"

Ji He said solemnly: "We obtained a relatively important clue, so we came early. It's about a key suspect not previously specified in the documents, and Shen Zhiyang..."

"Oh, I know!" Captain Feng didn't wait for her to finish, shouting in a loud voice, "Yan Jianyuan, right?"

Ji He: "??"

How do you know?

The shock on her face was too obvious. Captain Feng interpreted it perfectly and smiled: "Fang Qingzhou told me."

Ji He: "??"

How does Fang Qingzhou know?

Before the two could start discussing the case, another person emerged from the reception room.

Lu Shengxing rushed toward them like a gust of wind, grabbed Captain Feng's hand, and raised a face with an enthusiastic smile: "Hello! I'm a friend of Officer Ji He, my name is Lu Shengxing!"

Ji He looked straight ahead and said: "I don't know him."

"How can you be like that?" Lu Shengxing complained mournfully. Seeing Captain Feng eyeing the two with suspicion, he took out an ID badge from his pocket and marketed himself: "Okay, I'm a staff member at Sanyao. My leader is the Fang Qingzhou you mentioned just now. Although I haven't participated in the [Anomaly Determination] project, I know a little bit about the inside story, which will be very helpful to you. And I definitely have no suspicion of committing a crime; you can verify this with Officer Ji He. Most importantly—"

He rambled on for a long string of words, and just as everyone suspected he would run out of oxygen, he finally caught his breath: "I volunteer to help!"

Ji He’s eyes had never looked so vivid, hoping Captain Feng would remain rational and reject the proposal.

But Captain Feng had too little experience with her and didn't grasp the depth of her meaning. Having benefited from Fang Qingzhou's convenience, he ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of a "free expert" and nodded with pleasant surprise: "Really? Thank you for your hard work, little comrade!"

Ji He: "..."

She might as well leave.

"I do have a task to give you, and I really need someone like you... uh..." Captain Feng looked Lu Shengxing up and down, unable to find a high-end adjective for a moment, so he glossed over it, "someone with such a positive image and such an approachable temperament!"

Lu Shengxing was instantly full of fighting spirit. He raised an eyebrow at Ji He and said with a racing heart: "Tell me, Leader!"

Captain Feng added him as a friend, his smile standard as if it were welded on, looking exactly like an unscrupulous kidnapper.

He hooked his arm around Lu Shengxing’s shoulder, led him into the reception room, gave him Xu Youxiang's photo and number, lowered his voice by two octaves, and squeezed out a gentle tone: "Remember this person. He is a key target of our police. See if you can make friends with him. It's best not to let him think you have anything to do with us."

Lu Shengxing said regretfully: "Ah? Not a technical position? You want me to go make friends? I have a bit of social anxiety."

Captain Feng thought to himself, 'You lad have "naturally gregarious" written on every strand of your hair, what social anxiety?' He patted his back heavily and solemnly entrusted the mission: "Watching him 24 hours a day is the greatest technical difficulty. If he wants to see anyone or do anything, report to us immediately. Can you do it?!"

Ji He watched their retreating backs, scratched her eyebrow, and looked at the stunned officer nearby.

The young officer stammered, his voice sounding a bit hollow: "He, our Captain Feng really is a good person."

Ji He waved her hand, telling him to go back to his work. She walked to a corner and called Fang Qingzhou.

The signal rang for a while, but the other side didn't answer.

Two minutes later, Fang Qingzhou sent her a text message.

Fang Qingzhou: I want to sleep early. I'm going to see someone tomorrow morning.

Ji He: Who?

Fang Qingzhou: Liang Yizheng's homeroom teacher from the first year of junior high.