I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 245: Chapter 243: Investigation Direction

"And he had the nerve to say that scamming us was to atone for our sins, that we were all sinners. He’s insane!"

Hearing Huang Chen’s words, Su Miaoyi’s expression tensed.

Zhuang Yanzheng also looked up at him. "What did Xing Chang and the others say?"

"Say about what?" Huang Chen tried to recall what he had just said.

Zhuang Yanzheng gave him a moment to think. Then Huang Chen said, "I forgot what I just said."

Zhuang Yanzheng: "...That scamming money was for atonement."

"Oh!" Huang Chen remembered. "Last night, Xing Chang and his buddies said our money was sinful. They said scamming us was to atone for our sins, to repent for us, to save us, and that we should thank him. He scammed me, and I’m supposed to thank him? Does he really think I’m an idiot?"

"Why didn’t you mention this when we questioned you yesterday and this morning?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked, looking at the information in his hand.

It wasn’t just Huang Chen. No one they had questioned yesterday had mentioned any of this.

"I didn’t? Then I probably just remembered it now," Huang Chen said.

Zhuang Yanzheng: "..."

"Who threw the first punch?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"I did," Huang Chen said. "They were infuriating. I’ve never seen such arrogant scammers. If I didn’t hit him, I’d be letting down all my ancestors!"

Zhuang Yanzheng watched him, hearing his sudden shout.

Su Miaoyi, wearing headphones, felt like a bomb had gone off in her ears.

"I just wanted to beat him up a bit, teach him a lesson, and get my money back. Who knew Xing Chang and Chang Yong would suddenly pull out knives?" Huang Chen said, growing angrier as he spoke. "They were the ones who scammed me! It’s not like I didn’t have a reason to hit him, but then they pulled knives. I’ve never met such shameless people in my life."

"He came at me with a knife, trying to kill me, so of course I had to fight back. I tried to grab it, and then..." Huang Chen’s voice trailed off. "And then, during the struggle for the knife, I accidentally stabbed Xing Chang. It was really an accident. I’m not used to seeing so much blood."

"I panicked right away. Then the other guys with Xing Chang started holding me down and beating me. You saw it. You were the one who pulled them off me, and I just collapsed onto the floor. I was terrified. Look at these bruises on my face; they’re all from the beating. In my whole life, no one’s ever beaten me like this except my parents."

"That whole crew with Xing Chang, they really fight to kill. I was just trying to teach them a lesson. But them? They weren’t even scared by the blood. It was like they were dead set on killing us."

"Who injured Chang Yong?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"I don’t know. It wasn’t me," Huang Chen said. "After I saw the blood, I just blanked out. My ears were ringing. I couldn’t pay attention to anything else."

"Do you know the other four guys who were with Xing Chang and Chang Yong?"

Huang Chen shook his head. "No, I’ve never seen them before. They seemed like the type of hoodlums who drop out of school early and have no one looking after them."

"Did Xing Chang and Chang Yong say anything else to you? Think carefully," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

"Anything else?" Huang Chen looked at him.

"Think. Anything like ’sin’ or ’atonement’?" Zhuang Yanzheng prompted.

Huang Chen frowned, thinking hard. "No, that’s it. I only heard him say it once."

"When you used to play games together, did you ever hear them say anything strange?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked again.

Huang Chen kept thinking, silent for over a minute. "No."

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded.

Next, they interrogated Ji Jiabao.

Ji Jiabao was terrified and pleaded ignorance to almost every question.

He met them playing games, got scammed, ran into them last night, a fight broke out, and he got beaten up.

Beyond that, it was as if he had amnesia about everything else.

He claimed he had no idea what anyone said before the fight.

He just kept repeating that he couldn’t remember.

It had been the same during the interrogations yesterday and this morning. Ji Jiabao knew very little.

He insisted over and over that he couldn’t remember, that he knew nothing, and that he hadn’t been the one to injure anyone.

His voice trembled, and he shivered as he spoke.

When pressed too hard, he just said he wanted to see his dad.

After questioning the two of them, everyone returned to the conference room to discuss their respective interrogation results.

"Captain Zhuang, after I got your message, I specifically asked the person I was questioning. They did hear Xing Chang say things about sin, evil, atonement, and so on."

"Same here," said Chu Xingrou.

"Mine too. They all heard it."

"Then why didn’t anyone mention it yesterday?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"The guy I was talking to said he didn’t remember."

"I was questioning the three guys who were with Xing Chang. They said they didn’t think it was important. Since they weren’t the ones who did the stabbing, they figured it wouldn’t affect them, so they didn’t pay much attention," Lu Zhishen said. "All three of them were very dismissive. They all have priors and have been brought in for brawling several times. They’re very familiar with the process."

"Nine people, and not a single one mentioned it," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "What a coincidence."

"Repeated questioning is definitely effective. We’ve made a new discovery," Lu Zhishen said.

"When words like ’sin,’ ’atonement,’ and ’repentance’ come up, our investigation should pivot toward a cult angle," Qi Feng said. "Cults usually use methods like mind control and brainwashing to manipulate people into committing illegal acts that harm society."

"Since money was exchanged, we can trace where the funds Xing Chang and the others scammed ended up," Chu Xingrou suggested.

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded. "However, if we are dealing with something like that, their accounts will be very difficult to trace. Start looking into it anyway."

"Xing Chang and Chang Yong’s methods are pure fraud, and a very low-level kind at that," Su Miaoyi commented. "So low-level they used their real names. If even one person had reported them, they would have been in police custody long ago."

"Some organizations do use fraudulent tactics, but others go straight to brainwashing their targets," Qi Feng explained. "For example, say Captain Zhuang is very wealthy. They would tell him his money is the root of all evil. Through continuous brainwashing, they’d make him believe, ’My money is sinful, I must atone,’ and he would then willingly hand over his fortune. Afterward, they’d find a way to launder that money. But using real names for the initial scam is indeed rare."

"Focus the investigation on Xing Chang and Chang Yong’s network," Zhuang Yanzheng ordered.

Lu Zhishen handed a piece of paper to Zhuang Yanzheng. "These are a few places Chang Yong and his crew frequent, according to the three I questioned."

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at the locations on the paper, then raised his wrist to check the time. "We’ve heard back from the hospital. The families of the two victims are not doing well, and the doctor advises against questioning them for now. It’s getting late. We’ll split up and check out these places."

「...」