I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 249: Chapter 247: Tracked Down a Person

Blood-sealing Throat grows in tropical rainforests at altitudes below 1,500 meters.

’Could the location where it grows be related to the murderer? Could the murderer be from this area?’

’After all, whoever thought to use Blood-sealing Throat for murder must be quite familiar with the plant.’

Although there was a great deal of uncertainty, it was indeed a valid direction for the investigation.

"I also think we can investigate in this direction," Yan Cheng said.

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded. "We questioned Xing Chang’s and Chang Yong’s parents at the hospital. Both sets of parents work at a food factory and rent apartments in the same residential complex in Jinghai. Chang Yong and Xing Chang met in middle school. Chang Yong started school late, so they were in the same grade."

Su Miaoyi remembered that their files stated they were high school graduates.

"Xing Chang and Chang Yong graduated from high school. After graduation, they went to an auto repair shop to learn a trade, but they eventually dropped out."

"So we didn’t get any valuable information from their parents?" Su Miaoyi asked.

’Zhuang Yanzheng’s expression didn’t look like he’d gotten anything useful.’

"Right," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "When they were younger, they both lived in their hometowns, and their parents were rarely around. They were brought to Jinghai for middle school, which is when they met. But even after coming here, they boarded at school. After high school, they went off to learn a trade. After that, they pretty much lived on their own and hardly ever came home. Their parents have no idea what the two of them are doing now. Every time they asked, the boys would just say they had jobs and not to worry."

"The parents know their sons aren’t close to them. If they asked too many questions, the boys would get annoyed. So, as long as they knew they had jobs, they didn’t pry any further. All they knew was that they weren’t short on money."

Su Miaoyi stretched her neck. There was still no news from the tech department.

’This case...’

Just as she was thinking, someone from the tech department came over. "Captain Zhuang, we’ve got something."

Without a word, everyone who was standing headed for the door, and those who were seated immediately got up and followed.

They moved quickly toward the tech department.

They were all moving with incredible speed. The tech department staffer handed a few sheets of paper to Zhuang Yanzheng. "Captain Zhuang, we found the IP addresses for some accounts. And this person—a nineteen-year-old male in Jinghai."

Zhuang Yanzheng understood immediately. They needed to find these people fast. He took the papers and told the others to go on to the tech department while he took Qi Feng to dispatch officers.

The young man in Jinghai had to be brought in immediately.

The other account IP addresses were in various cities, which required contacting the local police forces.

After arranging the necessary communications, Zhuang Yanzheng returned to the tech department.

"Captain Zhuang, we checked Xing Chang’s and Chang Yong’s accounts. Between the two of them, they loaded over three million into this game," the tech officer said. "It’s a niche, offshore game, so not many people play it. We spent today focusing on the game’s top-up accounts."

Su Miaoyi stared at the dense rows and pages of numbers on the computer screen until her eyes started to blur.

It was a niche game, but it still had a million players.

There were a lot of top-up accounts, too.

"After getting the data, we started filtering it. We began with Jinghai, looking for large top-up amounts. And we actually found one. In a single year, he loaded over 1.7 million into the game. Liang Ran, male, nineteen, from Jinghai. His home address is the same as the IP address used for the top-ups."

"I’ve already sent people over," Zhuang Yanzheng said.

The tech officer continued, "On the surface, the game looks normal. When regular players log in, it starts as a competitive game. But it guides players to spend money and top up their accounts. Different game modes are unlocked based on the amount topped up. For those who deposit small amounts, it remains a competitive game. But if the deposit amount reaches their threshold, the game turns into something akin to gambling, which is illegal."

"The people on those sheets I just gave you, Captain Zhuang, all have accounts with large domestic top-up amounts."

"We’re already contacting the local police forces."

If the other party discovered that the game’s top-up accounts were being investigated, people involved in it, like Xing Chang and Chang Yong had been, would likely vanish.

That’s why they had to act quickly.

...

Liang Ran was in Jinghai, and his home address wasn’t far from police headquarters.

In less than an hour, he was brought in.

According to the officers who brought him in, when they knocked on his door, he was on his phone playing that very game.

He was taken into an interrogation room.

Zhuang Yanzheng conducted the interrogation.

A few others listened from outside.

After going over the basic information, Zhuang Yanzheng held up a phone to show him the game on the screen. "How did you find out about this game?"

"I just stumbled across it on a webpage and clicked on it," Liang Ran said.

"Tell the truth," Zhuang Yanzheng said, watching him.

"I am telling the truth," Liang Ran said, raising his voice.

"If you’re telling the truth, then why do you look so guilty?" Zhuang Yanzheng stared at him. It was like looking at a blank piece of paper; every flicker of emotion on the boy’s face was as obvious as a heavy, dark brushstroke.

"Who looks guilty?"

"Loading over 1.7 million into a game in one year... you’re pretty rich," Zhuang Yanzheng commented.

Liang Ran smirked. "I’ve got more money than I can spend. You want some? I can give you some."

’Zhuang Yanzheng had just reviewed his detailed file.’

’His parents had been abroad since he was very young, only returning two or three times a year.’

’But they wired him 200,000 every month.’

’He had a lot of money in his account.’

’More than he could possibly spend, really.’

"You must have met a lot of people through this game, right?" Zhuang Yanzheng said.

"None of your business."

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at him, and a single glare was enough to extinguish most of his arrogant bluster. "The fact that you’re sitting here makes it my business. Answer what I ask. Spit it out."

Liang Ran was silent for a moment, then said, "I don’t know anything."

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced up at him, then raised the tablet in his hand. "Do you recognize these two game IDs?"

Liang Ran glanced at it, his eyes flickering for a second. "Don’t recognize them."

"I’ll ask again. Do you recognize them?"

"I don’t."

"Do you know Xing Chang and Chang Yong?"

"I don’t," Liang Ran answered quickly.

’Zhuang Yanzheng had his answer.’

’He knew them. Not only did he recognize Xing Chang’s and Chang Yong’s IDs, but he knew them in person, too.’

"Do you contact them often?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked directly.

"I already said I don’t know them, so how could I contact them?"

"Couldn’t get in touch with them at all yesterday, could you?"

Liang Ran’s pupils trembled again.

’He wore all his emotions on his face.’

’Zhuang Yanzheng wasn’t sure if they had actually been in contact yesterday. Liang Ran’s phone had arrived at the headquarters along with him.’

’The phone was currently being examined.’

’He had asked the question deliberately, not expecting that the kid had actually tried to contact them yesterday...’