"Can't see his face, but I can estimate that the person is about 1.76 meters tall and weighs around 110 pounds."
"Yeah, he is pretty thin."
We all suspected it was Hong Xingchen, but we still needed evidence. However, now that the old house has been cleaned up, there should be no further issues. The rumors about it being haunted were just lies.
When we returned to the Shuiyu Town Police Station, Huang Ju found us immediately and said, "He Sheng, you did a great job. I heard you've gathered some clues about the suspect."
"Yes, but there's still something missing. Hong Xingchen has already returned, but if we go to confront him now, he definitely won't admit anything."
"So, what should we do?" Huang Ju asked.
"He seems to really like European bullet ants, treating them like children. He probably bred them, intending to use them to harm more people. I think the Qing Dynasty house isn't his only breeding ground."
"Is Hong Xingchen breeding European bullet ants elsewhere?"
"Yes..." Before I could finish, an officer hurriedly came to us and said, "Bad news, Huang Ju, we just received a report that a body suspected of being attacked by European bullet ants was found at the Tianda Express warehouse in Shuiyu Town!"
"Again, those ants!" Huang Ju was shocked. I said, "It looks like he wasn't just focused on the old house. It seems there's going to be more trouble in Shuiyu Town. Let's go!"
After receiving the report, I quickly took Zhao Simeng and Gao Qiang to the Tianda Express warehouse. When we arrived at the crime scene, the area was already surrounded by officers, and the site had been sealed off.
When we entered the warehouse, we didn't see any European bullet ants, but there was a dark body. Strangely, the body wasn't lying down but was kneeling on the ground, seemingly in a position as if begging. Even though the person was dead, they maintained the kneeling posture!
It was eerie. Zhao Simeng immediately approached the body, ready to begin her inspection, but suddenly, someone appeared and said, "Hey! What are you doing? I've already taken over this case."
We turned around, and to our surprise, it was the old and stubborn forensic expert, Huang!
Wasn't he supposed to be in Fuming City? He must have just returned. What was he doing in Shuiyu Town?
Before I could ask him, Huang immediately spoke, "Director Liu has said that this case is no longer under your jurisdiction. Your investigation privileges have been revoked. You can't just test the body like this, it's damaging the corpse! Don't you know that?"
What? How could Director Liu...?
I didn't believe Huang for a second and was about to argue, but my phone rang. I picked it up, and it was Director Liu's voice: "He Sheng, Zhao Simeng, and Gao Qiang, return immediately. Stop the investigation."
"Why, Director Liu? We're about to catch the killer!"
"Don't ask, just come back now. The higher-ups want you to return. I don't have a choice..."
Damn, is this Huang's doing? I glared at Huang, and he smugly sneered, "Ha! Do you know why I'm here? Haha, it's to drive you guys out!"
"You despicable person!" I grabbed Zhao Simeng, who was about to lash out, but I restrained her. Gao Qiang also shouted, "Huang, don't think that just because you know people in high places, you can control everything. In our field, what matters most is criminal investigation skills."
I angrily pulled Gao Qiang and Zhao Simeng toward the police car, heading back to Fuming City.
At the city police station, we stormed into Director Liu's office, and we were furious. We had expected to be scolded by him, but to our surprise, he immediately said, "He Sheng, I'm sorry, I had no choice. I've heard you've been handling things very well in Shuiyu Town. You should have continued investigating, but due to pressure from Director Huang, I had to bring you back."
"What happened?" I asked.
"Director Huang is Huang's older brother, and the head of Shuiyu Town's police, Huang Ju, is his younger brother. Huang is here looking for Director Huang."
"Now I understand. With all these connections, they could easily force us out. But we can't just sit back and let Shuiyu Town go to waste!" I said angrily.
Director Liu sighed and said, "But for now, we have to pause the investigation. We have to put our hopes on Huang Ju."
With those people, if it were up to them, the case would have been solved already. They wouldn't have needed us in Shuiyu Town. But Director Liu knew, even with them and that old forensic expert, it wouldn't work. Now he was stuck, too.
When we spoke up, Director Liu scolded us not to interfere any longer, or we would all lose our jobs.
"Don't let your own courage blind you. If you offend the higher-ups, we might lose everything!"
"Director Liu, but Huang is being unreasonable!" Zhao Simeng said.
Director Liu gritted his teeth and said, "I know that old guy is hard to deal with. But right now, there's really no choice. Don't bring up the case again. Otherwise, I won't be so nice!"
"Director Liu, but we still have a way!" I said.
"Leave! Do you want to drag me down with you? Do you know how many battles I've fought to get to this position? If I get dragged down because of you, can you take responsibility for that?" Director Liu exploded in anger, and we left his office, feeling humiliated.
Though we were angry, we couldn't just leave Shuiyu Town to its fate. As soon as we left Director Liu's office, we regretted it. What should we do now?
"Why don't we investigate on our own?" Zhao Simeng suggested.
"If we get caught, we'll be finished."
"I know, but can we really ignore it?"
She knew I wouldn't just let it go. At that moment, Gao Qiang also patted his chest and said, "Since you're all so determined, I'll follow you to the end."
I chuckled, "Don't make it sound so dramatic. I'll be grateful for your help."
"What should we do?" Gao Qiang asked.
"Let's go back to Shuiyu Town," I said.
A few minutes later, we got into Zhao Simeng's car and headed to Shuiyu Town. Since Zhao Simeng was the only one with a private car, and we had two cars, we wouldn't be easily noticed.
Zhao Simeng's Buick was rarely used, and she said it had been parked at home for a year. Luckily, it was still usable.
As I watched her drive, I couldn't help but admire her. She was wearing high heels, and my God.
Gao Qiang had no idea, but I was worried. When women drive, it always makes me nervous, especially when she's wearing high heels. I didn't pay attention to her sexy stockings but kept worrying that her heel might get stuck on the gas pedal...