Chapter 163 - 163 158 Crossroads

Words : 1870 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

163: Chapter 158 Crossroads 163: Chapter 158 Crossroads The mop handles on the 28th floor of Wanghe Building were all confiscated. To be on the safe side, the mops from the restrooms and storage rooms on the 27th and 29th floors were also collected. To be extra cautious, the mops from the first and second floors, including the two used by the security room, were likewise gathered. The murder weapon is given high priority during the trial of a homicide case, as it is an indispensable part of the evidence chain. Investigative agencies will obtain it whenever possible. Soon, the mop handle from the restroom on the 28th floor, which was very close to the incident scene, unsurprisingly stood out from the pile of mop handles. For a foreseeably long period, it would be properly preserved. With some luck, it might last for several decades. Meanwhile, the discovery of new evidence allowed the case to take a significant step forward. The special case group was formally established at last. The group also submitted their request for filing the case report. This report had to be reviewed by the Legal Affairs Office, then signed by the deputy director in charge, before a case could officially be filed. Ideally, this would happen after sufficient clues were found. At this moment, Huang Qiangmin felt a slight sense of relief. No matter who bungled the case to its current state, at least he deserved to be praised for recognizing talent, right? If there was someone more clear-headed, they had to admit that Comrade Huang Qiangmin had foresight. The colleagues from the travel agency where the victim had worked, who were initially just casually questioned, were reexamined. Like going through a drill, they were interrogated one by one. The possibility that the victim had climbed onto the glass, whether for money, feeling wronged, being threatened, or some other potential reason, could only occur in two contexts. Either in his living environment or work environment. With sufficient manpower, a team headed to the victim’s hometown for investigation in a Skoda without air conditioning. More people were set up to interrogate the employees of the travel agency. The employees from a small branch of a travel company located in a county town, who had never seen such a scene, quickly gave in and spilled their entire life stories through sobs and tears. Liu Wenkai, the squad leader from the second squad responsible for the questioning, came out with a clouded mind. “How did it go on your side?” Wei Zhenguo had just come out from the adjacent interrogation room and asked casually. “Toads wooing swans, ugly in looks, promiscuous in actions,” Liu Wenkai shook his head and said, “But there’s nothing significant. How about you?” After a moment of thought, Wei Zhenguo said, “Peacocks pursuing wild hens, flashy in looks, trashy in deeds.” Liu Wenkai hadn’t expected that Wei Zhenguo was actually pondering how to concoct idiom-like phrases. Liu Wenkai shook his head helplessly, and then quickly realized, “You seem quite relaxed, did you get something out of the interrogation?” “Yes, half an hour before the incident, the victim withdrew 3,300 yuan in cash. It was an unauthorized operation, so the finance staff didn’t dare to mention it in front of others when we questioned them last time,” Wei Zhenguo explained, and together with Liu Wenkai, they went to the small conference room to report to Huang Qiangmin, who was overseeing there. Hearing Wei Zhenguo’s report, Huang Qiangmin immediately asked, “No money was found at the scene?” “No, the victim had no money on him, and there was no money found at the falling site either.” Huang Qiangmin said, “Then it’s very likely that the money was given to the murderer. Moreover, if the victim withdrew the money himself, it indicates that there was a financial transaction between the victim and the murderer...” “Usury!” “Debt collection!” When considering the direction of money and adding in the factor of threats, the term “violent debt collection” immediately came into view. In fact, the issue of the victim’s family being in debt and the victim owing money on online loans was constantly under scrutiny, but it was not considered the main focus. The reason was simple: it wasn’t worth it. Those working as criminal police have a deeper understanding of online loans and usury. Though violent debt collection does exist and happens frequently, the amount owed by the victim in online loans was just a few tens of thousands, most of which comprised interest and late fees. This sum, though it suffocated the victim, was nowhere near the level requiring violent collection methods. Especially since the victim, despite being in debt, managed to juggle loans between different online platforms, constantly borrowing new loans to pay off old ones. At most, he would have been subjected to phone debt collection, not at the stage for violent methods. As for the money owed by the victim’s family, although the amount was not small, amounting to over 300,000 yuan and used for the victim’s brother’s wedding, house construction, and bride price, it was primarily borrowed from relatives and likewise did not escalate to violent collection methods. However, now it had to be taken into consideration. Thinking over it, Huang Qiangmin ordered, “Check which websites or such places the victim borrowed money from, compile a list, and see if there are small sites where the debt may have been intentionally overlooked or forgotten to be repaid.” Certain very small lending institutions can create a substantial amount of debt in a very short time through extremely high late payment fees, penalties, and upfront interest cuts. Given enough time, it was indeed possible to accumulate an amount sufficient to justify violent debt collection methods. Additionally, some debtors who had borrowed money for a long time gradually discovered some “loopholes” in the loan apps. They often intentionally defaulted, waiting for the loan apps to go out of business and hoping their debts would be canceled by default. Huang Qiangmin felt that the latter possibility was more likely. Otherwise, it should not escalate to the extent of murder. Jiang Yuan, along with several other technicians, checked the deceased’s phone and took the opportunity to review his credit history and bank transactions. There were only three common loan apps on the victim’s smartphone, which although at high interest rates, still fell within the realm of unscrupulous but legal methods. The credit report was naturally a mess, but the bank statements on the phone did not reveal any income of suspicious origin. Checking bank statements was, in fact, for the purpose of investigating the loan apps. Nowadays, there are too many loan apps. Some show up on credit reports, but most do not. If the apps had been deleted from the victim’s phone, then the most direct approach would be to check the bank statements. After all, when loan apps issue a loan, it inevitably gets deposited into a specific bank account. However, searching through more banks was not going to be easy. Feasible, but difficult. Especially with small banks, they often require the officers to physically visit a bank branch to make inquiries. Some smaller banks even require visits to the account-opening branch or the handling branch before disclosing any information. The sheer number of banks from the four biggest ones to common commercial banks, local city banks, and even those only present in the province was immense. For this reason, Huang Qiangmin dispatched another team to run around for a whole day, yet they returned empty-handed. “We’ve been backtracking two to three years, and those small apps that send out collection agencies can’t sustain for that long,” Liu Wenkai said disheveled at the case analysis meeting. Wu Junhao was an expert at this sort of thing. “If he didn’t borrow money, then there wouldn’t have been any violent collections,” Wei Zhenguo said, spreading his hands. Huang Qiangmin frowned; this lead was the most promising so far, and if it were lost, all leads would be cut off, and they would have to start over. Liu Wenkai cleared his throat and proposed, “I have an idea. Could it be that some minor app that Hu Lei had borrowed money from, a long time ago, sold the debt to another company before or after going bankrupt?” Huang Qiangmin had actually considered this possibility before and responded with a simple “Hmm,” then asked, “How do we investigate?” This lead was not untraceable. If handed over to the economic crimes team, with tight scrutiny, results could emerge in one or two months, and with luck, even one or two weeks. But for a murder case, one or two weeks meant entering a different phase. From the perspective of solving the case, the probability of success would drastically decrease. Liu Wenkai didn’t have the means to expedite the economic crimes team, furrowed his brow, and then suggested through gritted teeth, “What about asking the technical investigation team?” The Technical Investigation Brigade was akin to royalty within the police system. For most cases, no one bothered to enlist their assistance. The bureaucracy was complex, and there were many demands for confidentiality. Moreover, despite its name being the “Technical Investigation Brigade,” it primarily dealt with radio and telecommunications technologies. And for this case, perhaps they could list all the phone numbers at the scene... Huang Qiangmin was noncommittal. If they were really out of leads, that might be a method worth trying. “Otherwise, should we follow the money?” Jiang Yuan, who had been assisting in checking the smartphone apps, had given this considerable thought over the past few days. Huang Qiangmin looked at his capable detective, asking, “How so?” “The 3,300 yuan in cash was probably taken by the murderer,” Jiang Yuan said softly. “If it was a violent collector, carrying cash back wouldn’t be convenient. He might deposit it, or spend some locally, like on booking a hotel room...” “It could also be used to pay for prostitution,” Liu Wenkai quickly added to Jiang Yuan’s point, realizing everyone was looking at him, he hurriedly explained, “I’m just putting forward everyone’s guesses. After all, there are big data systems for catching people engaging in prostitution...” “Then let’s go to the banks and ask for the surveillance videos from deposit-capable ATMs,” Huang Qiangmin quickly decided. “And get the hotel surveillance footage too. Wen Kai, you go look for the prostitutes.” Everyone agreed. Having some leads was better than none. And this was likely to be their last chance to follow the recent leads, for in two or three days, once this angle had been investigated without finding anyone, the chances of the case becoming a cold case would rise significantly. By then, cracking the case would become much, much harder. This was the first time Jiang Yuan had been involved in a case from start to finish. He felt a lot of pressure, but he had done his best in all aspects. Whether or not there were results, at least his conscience was clear.

Chapter 163 - 163 158 Crossroads

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