"We haven't had a moment's peace since we started confronting them, especially after returning from Zhenshui Island last time. The situation has become even more severe; they've even resorted to using drone technology," Liu Yuning said with a sigh. We were already in a case discussion meeting, everyone airing their views, but the more we discussed, the more pressure we felt.
I offered words of encouragement, "No matter how many countries support them, we will persevere until the very end. I believe our forensic technology is the most powerful, and we will surely destroy all these societal tumors!"
"Yes, although current criminal technology is very important, we are the task force!" He Xin was spurred on by me, clenching her fist in a gesture of encouragement. Dao Zhiyong was the first to respond, and others seemed to awaken as well. We couldn't afford to stagnate. After a moment's pause, under my direction, everyone resumed their tasks. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any clues from Gong Erqing, so we could only investigate her whereabouts. She must have had contact with people within the organization before. If we followed this lead, we were sure to find something. During this period, as drone technology had to take the lead, the technical and information departments had to work overtime through the night.
Yuan Hezhe, Xia Xiaoling, and I were on duty here, investigating all the people Gong Erqing had recently contacted using methods like Sky Eye, driving recorders, identity information, and mobile phone signals.
Through our efforts, we surprisingly found a man who frequently visited Gong Erqing's dormitory at her last known residence. This man would stay for several hours whenever he visited her. Given the saying "men and women should not touch hands," the nature of their cohabitation was obvious to everyone. We dispatched units first because He Xin had found his mobile phone signal location a few minutes prior.
Near a company called Jinhua Biotechnology, as we surrounded him in our vehicles, the man got out of a Porsche. Seeing the police all around, he immediately raised his hands and asked, "What are you doing?"
"You and Gong Erqing are quite close, aren't you? You've been in frequent contact recently. You know very well what she's been up to behind the scenes! Zhu Yingchao!" I approached him, gun in hand. Zhu Yingchao was this man's name.
The others cooperated with me and subdued Zhu Yingchao, then tossed him into a nearby police car.
This arrest was relatively smooth. Simultaneously, we were already investigating the nearby Jinhua Biotechnology Company. It was astonishing; upon investigation, we discovered that Zhu Yingchao worked there as a technician.
"Your company is already under investigation. I believe your backing will disappear soon. If you provide us with information about Jinhua Bio's internal operations now, we might be able to secure a lenient sentence for you!" I didn't waste time in the interrogation room, guiding him from his most advantageous angle to cooperate with us.
Zhu Yingchao shrugged helplessly, "I know Gong Erqing, but have you thoroughly investigated my relationship with her? Don't jump to conclusions based on flimsy clues. We were just in that kind of relationship; I had no idea about any crimes she was involved in."
"You were her lover?" I asked.
"Yes, if you've investigated my usual lifestyle carefully, you'll find that besides Gong Erqing, I have quite a few other women. To me, she was just a plaything, so why would I care about what she was doing behind the scenes? I just left after we were done."
Liu Yuning questioned, "Then, didn't you find it strange when you saw so many drones at her place?"
"She said she was in this line of work and brought them home for repairs. Oh, right, we actually met through an app. On the surface, it was for blind dates, but everyone understood what it really was. Who would actually use such an app for blind dates? It's mostly for hookups. Gong Erqing and I were merely a fleeting encounter, nothing significant. What happened to her now? Was she arrested for breaking the law?"
I revealed some information about Gong Erqing. Upon learning that she was crippled, Zhu Yingchao said with a hint of disappointment, "Oh, what a shame. She was quite good in that regard. Alas, I guess I'll have to find a new girl soon!"
"Zhu Yingchao, be serious! Maintain a proper attitude. Do you think we're here to listen to your boring experiences?" Liu Yuning, who was most annoyed by such people, couldn't help but lash out.
Zhu Yingchao swallowed and said, "I'm just an ordinary office worker. I enjoy chatting online and finding women. Nothing else is unusual. You won't think I'm her accomplice just because I had frequent contact with her, right? Seriously, what is this? I was just playing with her. That woman has a strong need... I mean, she's very desperate. Every time I went, ah... she'd leave me so weak-kneed."
"So you went often. We saw you almost weekly at her dormitory. Even when she moved a few times, according to our investigation, you've known each other for about three months!" I analyzed.
Zhu Yingchao chuckled, "Although my body can hardly take it, I still like that feeling. Our interaction is limited to that; there's nothing else. If you don't believe me, you can investigate my home. In fact, I'm already a married man."
Liu Yuning was about to scold him, but I held her back. We shouldn't care about what kind of person Zhu Yingchao is; our priority is the investigation. We asked more questions, even warning him against lying and using incentives, but he gave the same answers. I immediately had someone verify his whereabouts and his communication methods with Gong Erqing. Subsequently, we found a large volume of chat records, and the situation matched Zhu Yingchao's description – mostly discussions about intimate topics. Based on these records, we found that Gong Erqing indeed had a strong desire. At that moment, Liu Yuning quipped, "Zhao Feiyan would be outdone by her."
"Haha, but we can rule out Zhu Yingchao. The investigators at the biotechnology company also responded earlier; the company has no issues. He Xin also double-checked; this company is legitimate, and they are not conducting any illegal drone research under the guise of biological development."
"Then we can only continue to investigate everyone who had recent contact with Gong Erqing. We need to find out everyone, no matter how insignificant!" Liu Yuning said as we went to the provincial department's dining hall. We had no immediate tasks and planned to have dinner before discussing further.