Chapter 204 - 204 196 Armor

Words : 1715 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

204: 196 Chapter Armor 204: 196 Chapter Armor Zhangshan Town. This is Qinghe City’s traditional town, with just two cross streets, the same as 40 years ago, and the same today. Even to say, compared to 20 years ago, today’s Zhangshan Town is a bit more desolate. Half of the shop fronts on the streets are closed. The ones that are open look just like they did two or three decades ago. Jiang Yuan and the others walked up to a small supermarket and went inside to investigate. The door curtain felt like it hadn’t changed in 20 years. It was as if time had solidified here and aged it, yet no one treasured it, giving the impression that it couldn’t be sold. “Boss, do you have a backyard?” Mu Zhiyang’s face was expressionless as he asked seriously. There would be time to crack smiles later. The owner of the small town’s supermarket wasn’t easy to talk to either. Looking at the policemen walking up and down the street, he asked, “What are you all looking for?” “If you really want to ask, we’ll take a statement,” Mu Zhiyang snapped, pulling out a notebook for statements. “There’s a backyard. Go have a look,” the owner quickly waved his hand. “Do you have three-phase electricity?” Mu Zhiyang went in and followed the electrical wires. What they were actually looking for was not the murderer but the place where the murderer had dismembered the body. The saying goes, ‘The monk may run away, but the temple can’t.’ The place of dismemberment must be closely related to the murderer. Especially with cases of meticulous dismemberment, the murderer would only do so in a place where they felt very safe and had strong control over the environment. Because dismembering a body takes time and physical strength. If someone were to see them halfway through, they’d be unable to explain themselves. It certainly wouldn’t be like that one suspect who claimed, “I did dismember the person, but I didn’t kill them... Woke up in the morning and found my husband dead, must’ve overdosed on sleeping pills last night...” So, dismemberment usually happens in a private setting. If it’s a rented room shared with others, even with a private bathroom, the place wouldn’t be used for dismemberment, at least not for meticulous dismemberment. If there were experts here, they could argue that the higher the house price to income ratio and the higher the average quality of people, the lower the incidence rate of dismemberment. Jiang Yuan followed into the supermarket’s backyard but didn’t see any equipment or location suitable for dismemberment. Nonetheless, Mu Zhiyang still asked a couple of questions, “Do you have a chainsaw... What about an ax... Let me take a look...” Once they finished checking one place, they moved on to the next, progressing slowly and rather tediously. Jiang Yuan silently followed along. Fundamentally, Jiang Yuan was quite opposed to this kind of exhaustive search. It was like the method of exhaustion in mathematics, utterly devoid of any aesthetic. You just look at each one, count each one, and that’s it. The biggest risk of the whole affair is having the wrong scope, and the biggest mistake is omission! And the most difficult part is that you can almost never carry out a perfect inspection. Now, the decision seemed to have been left to fate. And everyone knows it’s the most unreliable thing. Adjacent to the small supermarket was a dingy eatery, and next to that, a store that sold fly and rat poison. After that came several empty shop fronts. The weather, dry enough to evaporate a reservoir, quickly made the searching policemen feel hot and bothered. Another detective couldn’t help but grumble, “With so many shops, not a single one has the air conditioning turned on. How can they expect to have customers without air conditioning? Who can sit and eat in this heat?” “They’re reluctant to spend the money,” said an auxiliary police officer from the local precinct. “Here, people might not even earn back their air conditioning costs from selling a bowl of noodles.” “Sigh, they’re still better off than us... I’m going to get some water.” Talking felt like a waste of saliva in the heat, but thankfully, Qinghe City Bureau had provided plenty of bottled water, setting up water collection points on both sides of the road. Jiang Yuan, Mu Zhiyang, and the precinct’s auxiliary police officer continued their walk, discussing, “Age is a good starting point. The perpetrator of this case must have the ability to kill and move the bodies, as none of the victims were small in size or weight.” “But weren’t they cut open?” “They couldn’t just dismember the bodies on the spot,” Jiang Yuan said as they reached the front of the Agricultural Machinery Cooperative. The door was locked with a phone number posted on it. The auxiliary police officer banged on the door and shouted, “Old Wang! Old Wang!” After several shouts, a response came from inside, “Coming, I was asleep...” When the door opened, there was a distinct smell of motor oil, accompanied by the scent of pesticides. A few machines were stored in the shop, all looking well-maintained despite their age. “What’s all this about today?” The owner, who looked to be in his late forties or early fifties, was considered young by Zhangshan Town’s standards. He seemed quite sturdy, wearing multi-pocketed work clothes with a screwdriver in his reach, more threatening than an average fruit knife. “What are you doing?” the auxiliary police officer asked in return. The owner replied, “I’m getting ready to send out the machinery. Just tidying up.” The auxiliary police turned to Jiang Yuan and Mu Zhiyang and said, “This place rents out agricultural machinery. They’ve got vehicles, water pumps, threshing machines, and the like...” Mu Zhiyang became slightly more vigilant, resting his hand on his holster, and said, “We’re from Qinghe City Bureau... What’s your name?” He asked, while sizing up the other party with a policeman’s eye. Out of the several stores he had run to today, this one matched the suspect’s description the most. “Wangguoshan. It’s my store,” the shop owner smiled, his skin weathered by the sun telling stories of hard life. “How many people are in the shop?” “Just me.” “You’re running such a big shop alone?” “I rent out farm equipment. If someone needs it, I drive over and work for them. Can’t afford to hire these days.” Seeing that the shop owner was quick to answer and didn’t seem too nervous, Mu Zhiyang relaxed a bit and said, “Labor costs are indeed outrageous nowadays... Can we take a look at the backyard?” Wangguoshan said, “The back is a bit of a mess...” “We need to check it out,” the auxiliary police persuaded, “We’ll be out of your way as soon as we’re done.” The shops on this street were mostly the same setup: the store in the front and a courtyard and living quarters in the back. Wangguoshan didn’t hesitate too long before leading the three into the backyard. The backyard was paved with concrete. There were three bungalows facing them, and to the right, a color steel house with a large- wheeled tractor parked inside. The courtyard was fairly clean, not the chaos described by the shop owner, and it didn’t show signs of being a living space like the other shops they had visited. Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but ask, “You don’t usually live here, right? Where’s your home?” “I live with my wife.” “And where is that?” “You wouldn’t know it, a small place.” Wangguoshan chuckled. The auxiliary police had an impression of him and said, “Old Wang is a son-in-law from Jianjiang; they have quite a few customs there.” Mu Zhiyang shivered and turned around, his hand once again touching his holster, and asked, “Where in Jianjiang?” Wangguoshan’s eyes glanced at Mu Zhiyang’s gun and replied, “Lichang Town of Jianjiang.” The local auxiliary police were from the police station and didn’t know the specifics of the case; Mu Zhiyang was almost ready to draw his weapon. That’s when the auxiliary police, following previous protocol, asked, “Do you have a cutting machine here?” “Don’t have a cutting machine.” “How about a chainsaw?” “Chainsaw... There’s a chainsaw. Sometimes people need it to split mountains. I’ll show you,” said Wangguoshan as he turned and headed towards the shed. Mu Zhiyang froze for a moment, then quickly catching on, he shouted, “Stop right there!” Wangguoshan didn’t listen and instead sped up into the shed, climbing onto the tractor. Mu Zhiyang yanked his gun out quickly, pointed it at Wangguoshan, and yelled, “Stop, or I’ll shoot, stop!” Wangguoshan started the tractor with swift, practiced movements. After hesitating, just as Wangguoshan’s tractor roared to life, Mu Zhiyang fired a shot into the air. Crack. The crisp sound surely captured the attention of many police officers. Woo... Wangguoshan drove the tractor straight at Mu Zhiyang. Mu Zhiyang braced his legs slightly apart, gun in both hands, aiming at Wangguoshan. “Don’t kill him,” Jiang Yuan urgently reminded. Mu Zhiyang knew as well that in this situation, if he shot and killed Wangguoshan, it would only make things worse. So, he fired another shot into the air, aiming the muzzle towards the tractor’s cabin to try and stop the other man. Without even looking, Wangguoshan floored the gas pedal and rushed forward. In that instant, Mu Zhiyang was like an infantryman facing an armored vehicle with nothing but his flesh and blood. Jiang Yuan quickly pulled him back. However, Wangguoshan ruthlessly swerved, letting the tractor’s wheels graze Mu Zhiyang’s shins. Then, the tractor smashed through the backyard’s iron gate and headed towards the outskirts of the town. Mu Zhiyang cried out belatedly with an “Ah.” The detective who had gone to get water and had lost at least a third-class merit calculated the timing to catch up, only to find the place in disarray and himself somewhat dazed.

Chapter 204 - 204 196 Armor

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