Not just him, but his parents too, or perhaps it was from her parents that she would have today.
But these things no longer mattered. With the confession obtained, the final evidence was in hand.
Over the years, Cang Xuesong had been involved in kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, and other heinous crimes. She had directly harmed a total of 192 people, ranging from elderly men to infants not long born.
She was truly the legendary Satan, Baal, or Agares, hidden in the depths of the underworld.
The reason humans harbor evil thoughts stems from greed and insatiable desires.
From birth to growth, individuals are exposed to negative influences and information. Perhaps due to poor judgment or a lack of moral education, criminal thoughts gradually emerge.
Humans are selfish, or rational.
Good and evil are social constructs. Humans possess both good and evil intentions, making the assertion of possessing either meaningless.
More accurately, humans are inherently neither good nor evil; good and evil arise solely from benefit.
They are merely attitudes and behaviors displayed when interests clash, and they only manifest when faced with personal gain.
Without the prospect of benefit, there is no good or evil.
And I am He Sheng, the Forensic Investigator of Strange Cases. If evil cannot be eradicated from this world, then let me forever reside between the scales of good and evil.
Let me constantly weigh them, staying true to my original intention, to be the righteous one who balances the good and evil in the world.
I will persist until my life burns out, and then pass this legacy on to future generations.
Regardless of which police branch they join afterward…
On January 1, 2023, one of my police colleagues, He Fusheng, went missing.
I recalled the moment I saw him at school, as if it happened yesterday…
In reality, I knew he had left the Crime Suppression Unit to follow in his elder brother He Ruikang's footsteps and become a drug enforcement officer.
I had tried calling his phone, but it was disconnected.
May this hero have a peaceful life.
May all heroes be safe.
In our country, the average life expectancy is about seventy years, while for detectives, it's only 45 to 50 years, more than twenty years shorter than that of ordinary citizens. For drug enforcement officers, it's even lower, averaging only 41 years.
…
After He Fusheng's departure, the Crime Suppression Unit was left with only me, Liu Yuning, Dao Zhiyong, Su Yaxin, and others. Ma Biao had recently recovered from his father's death. I had initially considered appointing Yuning as deputy director, but it felt complicated. Ma Biao was too young, making it impossible. After much deliberation, we decided to have the veteran detective Xiao Yuande inherit the position of Deputy Director Ma.
Of course, this was all after review and based on merit. The Minister himself had visited our Crime Suppression Unit office recently to offer encouragement. We had successfully dismantled a key figure of Polaris, Cang Xuesong. A month later, her appeal was rejected, and the court upheld the original sentence. The following dawn, Cang Xuesong was executed.
This criminal, whose life was mired in sin, finally faced the hangman's noose, paying the price for all her actions.
Reportedly, the news immediately became a nationwide hot topic, with headlines consistently ranking in the top five trending. That night, the entire Guangming City was illuminated, adorned with festive decorations, and the public was jubilant, as if celebrating a new year.
However, our work to dismantle Polaris had only just begun. We were now formally infiltrating this international criminal organization, and this time, they would surely not be caught off guard. Cang Xuesong's death led to the exposure of as many as 10 problematic enterprises, along with numerous illegal factories that were all sealed. In addition, clubs, bars, wellness centers, and multiple hospitals, including psychiatric and cosmetic surgery clinics, were implicated. The scale of her behind-the-scenes operations was truly chilling. But the more extensive the involvement, the greater our achievement. Cang Xuesong had been a ticking time bomb for Guangming City, and we had successfully defused it.
One day, I was busy with case files in my office, drinking coffee. My eyes were starting to ache. For some reason, I now had to wear glasses year-round, and I noticed an increase in my gray hair.
I consulted a doctor, who told me it was a condition caused by psychological factors: excessive life stress, extreme tension, chronic sleep deprivation, overwork, alcoholism, anxiety, and so on, could all lead to such symptoms. He advised me to eat more black sesame, walnuts, and Polygonum multiflorum. I agreed, looking at the diagnosis report in the hospital, but I never imagined that this condition would worsen…
I returned home, took my medication, had some soup, and rested for a while. I felt my energy restored. Just then, Liu Yuning called: "Team Leader He, we just received a report. An inexplicable male corpse has been discovered in Wangyue Lake, Fuming City…"
One day prior, the female CEO, Chi Tianyun, anxiously arranged to meet several young men from a university, whom she had found on an app, planning a trip near Wangyue Lake. The young men arrived punctually. Seeing that the handsome men before her were more symmetrically built than their photos on the app, Chi Tianyun was thrilled: "It seems that 200,000 for three days is worth it."
"Hello, Ms. Chi. We are male models dispatched by Xinwei Company. We heard you were planning a mountain trip?"
"Yes, after we pass this Wangyue Lake, we can reach Yuyashan."
"Don't worry, we guarantee Ms. Chi an unforgettable experience."
The young men were open-minded, having accepted payment. They were accustomed to servicing wealthy women.
The four of them thus proceeded past Wangyue Lake and into the mountains. After some time enjoying themselves on the mountain, Chi Tianyun began to request the young men accompany her in intimate activities. As night fell, the woman surprisingly proposed that the young men descend to Wangyue Lake to engage in their carnal activities there.
In the past, many old men used to fish here, but after the police visited years ago, no one came to fish anymore.
Everyone felt the place was filled with bad luck.
Chi Tianyun, however, preferred the solitude. In the pitch darkness, the young men were initially reluctant to engage in intercourse, but for the money, they had no choice. After all, Chi Tianyun was a woman weighing 140 jin.
The young men, enduring waves of nausea, took turns penetrating Chi Tianyun from behind. The female CEO favored this method. After a period of intense activity, the men, exhausted, lay down by the lake to rest. This would have been fine, as no one would be there late at night. Their clothes were placed by the lake. However, at that moment, Chi Tianyun suddenly felt her feet touch something. Curious, she prodded the water…