His tone was hurried, as if he didn't need to pause for breath. I thought he was a robot. I pounded on the door, trying to get him to come out, but no matter how hard I knocked, he didn't react. He just kept muttering there. I wondered if he was under some kind of spell or had fallen in with a criminal group. Yet, the next day, he would go to work as if nothing had happened. I often asked him what had happened the night before, but he would always reply, "Don't worry about it, I'll be on my way soon." That was always his answer.
I didn't know why he told me these things. Later, when something actually happened to him, I realized the meaning of that sentence. It was as if he had known his death was near and had explained it to me in advance. But at the time, I just thought he was under too much work stress. After all, he worked at a funeral home. Although I knew about his job, it paid well, so I didn't pay much attention. Besides, nowadays, people in that profession needed a high level of education. As someone from the countryside, I felt I was doing alright by him, but I never expected him to die, let alone in a plane crash.
I asked, "Ni Xuelei, at that time, did your husband say what he was going to Beijing for?"
"He said he was a bit tired and that the parlor had arranged a trip..."
I didn't answer, thinking to myself that this must be a lie. He probably just said it to avoid worrying Ni Xuelei. He already knew he was going to crash, yet he still left, which proved he was prepared to die. But why would he do that? And how did the plane crash? I didn't believe it was a coincidence. If we compared it to other victims, we would find they were all connected. Once or twice might be a coincidence, but a third time, or more, was definitely not a coincidence, but deliberate action by someone.
Causing a plane to crash showed strong vengeful intent. This was no longer a simple matter of murdering one or two people, but an entire plane full of passengers, including some crew members. Fortunately, the crash sites were in remote areas, otherwise, it might have caused even more casualties. The mastermind behind this must have a severe antisocial personality. Could it be Zhuge Tianyu's people?
As I was thinking, I suddenly heard Liu Yuning's voice, "So, Ni Xuelei, what have you been doing all these years since then? How have you been surviving?"
"Since my husband died, I've had some mental issues, first amnesia, then anxiety. But I've recovered quite a bit over the years, and that's why I left the hospital. I never thought I would relapse. Yesterday was February 8th, the same day my husband had his accident? How could I have gotten on the plane? Was someone pulling strings behind the scenes?"
Ni Xuelei actually brought up these questions with us. We were the ones trying to find the answers! Instead, she was asking us.
However, looking at her expression and her eyes, she truly seemed to know nothing. Perhaps this was the effect of her mental illness. We asked a few more questions, but found no breakthroughs, so we had to temporarily halt the interrogation.
Coming out into the corridor, we went to other interrogation rooms to understand the situation. We found that the statements of the other two women were largely the same as Ni Xuelei's. They all claimed they didn't know how they got on the plane and said they had never flown before. Another point was that Ni Xuelei and the others were all from Rongxi Village, Yongle Town, Guangming City. I initially thought the husbands of the three women were also from there, but after investigation, it turned out all three husbands were from different places.
Criminal Case Discussion Meeting.
Gao Mingqiang was the first to voice his opinion: "It's possible that this person behind the scenes was targeting the three women. First, they are all from Rongxi Village, have no work skills, and depend on their husbands for survival. They are also similar in age, and outwardly they seem thin and like to wear braids."
"That's a very accurate analysis. I had already observed that. But how do you explain that he managed to make three men become mentally unstable before their accidents?" Xia Xiaoling said.
This was what we had analyzed after the investigators' visits and verification, along with the testimonies of the three women. The three men had acted as if they were crazy at home before getting on the plane and had shut themselves away.
Furthermore, when we visited their homes, we found that the studies had environments similar to what Ni Xuelei's husband had set up. However, we had investigated and found that the three men did not know each other. If we were to investigate their whereabouts before their deaths, it would be impossible now because too much time had passed.
I said, "10 years ago, the Polaris was still around. At that time, they must have been recruited separately by those organizations. Don't forget the floors we found in their homes, they were all marked with Polaris symbols!"
"Yes, 10 years ago, the Polaris organization was very large, and there were countless hypnotists. Perhaps these three men were hypnotized?" Liu Yuning speculated.
"It's very possible. Didn't we encounter a case involving a human puppet before? If that kind of method could be used on these three men, it should be possible."
"So, this time it was the mastermind organization behind Polaris, the Punisher, who caused this? They are retaliating because we eliminated Polaris?" Gao Mingqiang looked at me doubtfully.
I shook my head. "The timeline is wrong. 10 years ago, before Polaris was eliminated, plane crash incidents had already started happening. This proves they are not retaliating because Polaris was eliminated. They must have made multiple plans. If the first plan failed, they would use the second, the third, and so on. That way, no matter which plan failed, they would have backup strategies. In any case, they would surely get revenge on us and society."
"Damn it, this Punisher's scheme seems much deeper than Polaris'. If Polaris was a fierce tiger, then the Punisher must be a tyrannical dragon, and behind him is the entire criminal alliance..." Gao Mingqiang made a vivid comparison but felt he had spoken too rashly. He opened a bottle of mineral water and took a drink, as if he hadn't said anything.
Zhang Keying almost burst out laughing at his frustrated look, while Xie Chuchu coughed and said, "Anyway, when we eliminated Polaris, we poked a huge hole in the criminal alliance, so they must be targeting us now. No! It should be said that criminals all over the world are targeting us!"
"This is quite chilling to think about. The Punishment Squad has likely been put on the list of targets to be eliminated by the criminal alliance. But it's good this way. After eliminating Polaris, we have the opportunity to uncover even more powerful criminal organizations behind it... "