I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 233: Chapter 231: The Leader is Driving...

After speaking with them, Su Miaoyi walked toward the elevators and called Zhuang Yanzheng. "Zhuang Yanzheng, I have a major discovery. Head to the Municipal Bureau."

Professional habit.

Because others were present—even family, the people she trusted most—she hadn’t gone into detail.

Shen Shilan and Shen Yanzhou both looked at Qin Chengyuan.

Qin Chengyuan looked back at them and said to Shen Shilan, "Have Yan Zhou take you home in a bit."

"Okay," Shen Yanzhou agreed.

"Don’t worry about me," Shen Shilan said. "You two just be careful."

Qin Chengyuan nodded and immediately went after Su Miaoyi.

Su Miaoyi was waiting for the elevator and looked at Qin Chengyuan, who was standing beside her.

Qin Chengyuan looked back at her.

It suddenly dawned on Su Miaoyi. Her eyes widened, and she grew visibly agitated.

"Is my authority... not as great as Zhuang Yanzheng’s?" Qin Chengyuan asked pointedly.

’Su Miaoyi really wanted to kick herself. Qin Chengyuan was right here. She could have just told him directly; he could have arranged everything.’

"It’s in Jinghai. I saw it."

Qin Chengyuan knew at once what she was talking about. His expression turned serious in an instant. "Is it near Wanxiang Village?"

"Not close."

"Now that we have a specific location..." A sharp glint appeared in Qin Chengyuan’s eyes. "We’ll deploy and wipe them out in one fell swoop."

The elevator arrived, and they both stepped inside.

They went from the elevator to the parking garage and quickly walked to the car. "Let me drive," Su Miaoyi said.

"I’ll drive," Qin Chengyuan said, getting into the car. "Yan Zheng can’t drive because of his eye. It’ll be faster to take Shangbai Road after we pick him up. Give him a call and tell him to wait for us."

"Okay." Su Miaoyi settled into the passenger seat and called Zhuang Yanzheng.

’She had only ever taken one route from Weiyang Palace to the Municipal Bureau and had never been on Shangbai Road. While it felt a bit improper to have her superior drive, he knew the roads better, so it was best to let him take the wheel.’

Zhuang Yanzheng’s home was only a five-minute drive from Weiyang Palace.

Zhuang Yanzheng couldn’t drive, and the family driver happened to be off today. After telling the others to head back to the bureau, he went and woke up his dad.

Worried about delaying his son’s case, Zhuang Yihao dressed with lightning speed, all the while grumbling about how his son goes to work and his old man still has to play chauffeur.

But just as they got downstairs, Zhuang Yanzheng said he didn’t need a ride anymore.

In a huff, Zhuang Yihao went to the kitchen to make himself a midnight snack.

Zhuang Yanzheng waited by the door and soon saw a car approaching.

With his eye in its current state, he could only make out the car’s silhouette in the dark.

Only after the car stopped could he faintly make out the license plate number.

’It was Shen Shilan’s car.’

But the headlights were too bright and made his eyes uncomfortable, so he didn’t look at the driver.

He opened the back door and got in. Just as he was about to call out "Aunt Shen," he saw Qin Chengyuan’s face.

He swallowed the name "Aunt Shen" so abruptly it made his throat ache.

’For a moment, he wondered if his eye had developed a new problem—the kind that made him mix up a husband and wife.’

"Minister Qin."

Qin Chengyuan acknowledged him and drove on.

Zhuang Yanzheng instantly felt as if the seat beneath him had sprouted thorns.

’Not only was he a superior, but he was also an elder—an elder he’d admired since he was a child.’

’And here he was, sitting in the back. If he’d known, he would’ve just had Old Zhuang drive him.’

’The last time Minister Qin was driving while he sat in the back was probably back in high school.’

Su Miaoyi turned her head to look at him.

Their eyes met for a moment.

Then Su Miaoyi turned back to face the front.

’She had deliberately not told him who would be picking him up.’

"Where in Jinghai is the drug factory?" Qin Chengyuan had waited until after they picked up Zhuang Yanzheng to ask, saving Su Miaoyi from having to repeat herself.

"The... the garbage disposal plant." Su Miaoyi was looking at the map on her phone; on the way over, she had searched for what she’d seen in her vision. "The garbage disposal plant in the southwest part of Jinghai."

The moment Zhuang Yanzheng heard them talking business, his unease vanished. The thorns on his seat disappeared, and even his vision seemed to clear a little. "In Jinghai? You saw it?"

"Yes," Su Miaoyi said. "We were looking in the wrong direction. Kang Hong never knew the exact location. He has a poor sense of direction to begin with—can’t even tell the difference between mountain roads and flat roads. And since they always took detours, the travel time varied, making it useless as a reference. He only thought it was in Qin City, probably because Qin City is close to Wanxiang Village, which we know has a drug den. Plus... he sometimes felt like they were driving on mountain roads."

"That was all based on Kang Hong’s assessment," Su Miaoyi said. "Of course, with no other leads, we had no choice but to investigate based on his assumptions. We expanded our search radius around those locations based on what he told us."

"I know the garbage plant in the southwest. It’s really far from Wanxiang Village," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "It’s a shorter drive from Changyue Garden to Qin City than it is to that garbage plant."

"Exactly," Su Miaoyi said. "Zhang Bai rented a place for Kang Hong in Changyue Garden, and since Changyue Garden is fairly close to Wanxiang Village, we used Wanxiang Village as the center of our search radius. But this new location is far outside that circle."

"Lin Yue investigated that garbage disposal plant three years ago for a case," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "He didn’t find anything, though."

"It’s too well hidden," Su Miaoyi said, recalling the vision. "What I saw was him entering through a side door of the main building at night. There was a very long corridor. After walking for a while, Zhang Bai went into a staff break room. Behind a locker in that room, there’s a hidden chamber. Zhang Bai did an iris scan, and inside was a downward-bound elevator. After exiting the elevator, there was another short walk. Then Zhang Bai waved his hand over the lock, and the door opened."

"A palm-print lock?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"It felt more like palm vein recognition," Su Miaoyi said. "If we don’t bring Zhang Bai with us, we’ll need a technician. And you’ll have to bring me, too. Right now, I’m the only one who knows the exact location."

Qin Chengyuan glanced sideways at her.

Su Miaoyi looked back at him.

Given her identity and her ability, the Municipal Bureau generally advised against her participation in such field operations.

Qin Chengyuan said, "We need to keep investigating things on the Qin City side as well. Wanxiang Village is on the border between the two cities, separated only by a mountain. With a den in Wanxiang Village, it’s very convenient for them to transport goods to Qin City, and they can avoid a lot of checkpoints, which makes it safe for them. The question is, once the goods are transported over, is there another den on the Qin City side?"

"Besides, for Kang Hong to think it was in Qin City, aside from Lele..." Qin Chengyuan let the name slip and paused for a second before continuing, "Aside from the reasons she just mentioned, it’s highly likely he has actually been to Qin City at some point. That’s why he would think so."

Su Miaoyi and Zhuang Yanzheng listened quietly, both thinking he had a point.

"With our investigation underway, they won’t dare make any rash moves," Qin Chengyuan said. "They’re probably watching us from the shadows. Now that we know the location of the drug factory, it’s more important than ever to stay steady. No impulsive actions. We need to discuss this in detail and formulate a solid plan."

"Yes, sir," Su Miaoyi and Zhuang Yanzheng replied in unison.

Qin Chengyuan looked at them both.

Once they were done discussing the drug factory’s location, Zhuang Yanzheng asked, "Whose perspective were you seeing Zhang Bai from?"

"Ding Ruoyan."

Aside from inferring it was Ding Ruoyan from how Zhang Bai and Zhang Yan Yu addressed her, there was another detail that confirmed her identity.

It was the house Ding Ruoyan lived in.

The vision she’d seen had started inside Ding Ruoyan’s house.

She and Lu Zhishen had been to that house before, though it was empty now.

"Ding Ruoyan is dead?" Zhuang Yanzheng frowned, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"It’s very likely."

’And she had likely died a horrible death, with not even her bones left behind.’