"Thank you, call Ke Ying again immediately!"
After giving the order, I drove towards the gas plant first, but on the way, Xiao Yuande called and said a male corpse had been found at Qiaoyuan Apartments.
The deceased was none other than the parachute instructor, Kuang Junxiong. Seeing that the address was very close to me, I drove directly over.
Two minutes later, I arrived downstairs at the apartment. This guy had actually returned, probably because the trip had been canceled.
I went upstairs to unit 404. Xiao Yuande and his team were investigating nearby. I went to Kuang Junxiong's body and found Xie Chuchu examining it. The deceased had already been taken down.
I saw a rope hanging from the ceiling with a chair underneath, which looked like a suicide at first glance.
Could the killer be Kuang Junxiong? Did he commit suicide out of guilt?
I had considered this initially, but upon finding rope marks on the collar of the deceased, I immediately declared, "This is murder!"
"Senior, did you discover the condition of the collar? That's right, I thought of it too, but the most important thing is that there are no rope fibers in his fingers!"
"Have you analyzed it?"
"No mistake! No fibers means Kuang Junxiong was hung up by someone, because someone who wants to commit suicide generally checks if the rope is secure, and would touch it with their hands, naturally leaving fibers on their fingers."
Xie Chuchu proudly shook the invisible reflection tube I had used. I gave him a thumbs-up. This guy was getting smarter.
"Alright, go back and do another analysis. With this report, it can be proven that he didn't commit suicide."
"Got it!"
While we were busy, more good news came from the hotel. Captain Guo called me and said, "A pair of footprints were found at the hotel. We had already compared everyone's footprints. In the area where Zhao Xiaoxin passed, there was a unique footprint, which actually belonged to Kuang Junxiong. It seems this case is very clear!"
Looking at the photo of the footprints, I felt something was amiss. The footprints seemed to suggest the shoes worn were not the correct size, and the marks were fresh. I sneered inwardly. The killer outsmarted himself; framing someone isn't that simple...
No time to think about it for now. I still have to go to another place.
Fortunately, I made it in time. I left the apartment and arrived at the gas plant less than 10 minutes later. After getting out of the car, I quickly approached the back of the factory but found no warehouses. The place was filled with densely packed iron barrels, and many workshops were neatly arranged. The doors were all locked. I walked past rows of poplar trees, stepped on the muddy road, and after crossing a parking lot, I noticed a building with a blue iron plate inlaid not far away. That should be the warehouse.
When I reached it, I found the door sealed from the outside, with a huge chain completely wrapping it. I noticed the door seemed a bit deformed. I thought she should be here soon, but it wasn't time yet. I pulled the trigger and shattered the chain, successfully opening the door. Instantly, a cloud of poisonous gas billowed out. I saw a girl collapse weakly on the ground. I recognized her immediately as Zhao Xiaoxin!
Fortunately, I opened the door and the carbon monoxide was being expelled. But Xiao Xin's condition didn't look good. I went to her side, patted her head, fumbled in my pocket, took out a Purity Pill, and put it into her mouth.
Moments later, she regained her spirit and looked at me with wide, curious eyes: "Officer He? What is this?"
"Xiao Xin, Liu Yuning?"
"You mean that female police officer? We were trapped here earlier. To save me, she used some kind of fist technique and pounded on the iron door with all her might, but it wouldn't open. Later, she was in so much pain that she was trembling all over and collapsed on the ground. A woman then came and took her away. The woman was wearing a pink mask and looked a bit like someone, but I couldn't quite remember."
"I understand. You rest for a while, I'll call an ambulance!"
"Thank you!"
"Hahaha, none of you will get out of here alive!" I helped Zhao Xiaoxin up and was about to turn when I saw a woman holding Liu Yuning hostage appear behind us!
Liu Yuning was covered in a string of TNT bombs. The woman was wearing a black trench coat, her face covered by a pink mask, silver-rimmed glasses, and short, dark hair. I recognized her immediately. It was Teacher Huang, even if she was disguised, I could see through it.
"Huang Peiming, I knew it was you!"
"Haha, your eyesight is quite good. With your abilities, you should have guessed some things, but it's too late! I'll make you all die here!"
"Don't think you can succeed. Reinforcements will arrive soon!" I threatened her with my gun.
"Ahaha, you think I don't have a gun!" At this moment, Teacher Huang also raised her weapon. I saw it was Liu Yuning's gun!
I didn't know how Yu Ning was taken hostage, and she was loaded with so many bombs. Judging by the quantity, if they were detonated, not only this warehouse, but the entire factory would be leveled. We would surely be blown to smithereens.
We stood there pointing guns at each other, but neither of us could do anything. With my marksmanship, I could have killed Huang Peiming instantly, but the resulting spark might have detonated the bombs, which would have been troublesome.
Seeing me deep in thought, Huang Peiming said coldly, "Don't think you have a chance to change the situation. It's impossible. It's useless even if you're a sharpshooter. Look, that's the timer. We don't have much time left. Let's go together. Anyway, once I send you off, my mission will be complete."
"I really want to know, why are you doing this? Do you have a grudge against Zhao Xiaoxin? Or Liu Yuning?" As I spoke, I noticed there was indeed a timer on the bomb, and less than 20 minutes remained. The bombs probably had half an hour initially.
After we exchanged a few words, 10 minutes had passed. Time flies too fast. People always miss a lot of time inadvertently. To my questions, Huang Peiming seemed unwilling to reveal anything: "Why should I tell you? Since you're all going to die anyway, knowing or not knowing won't make any difference to you!"
At this moment, Liu Yuning spoke, "Since we're all going to die, can't we die with some understanding? This is our last chance."
Huang Peiming seemed to hesitate, but her grip on the gun remained tight. She flicked the barrel of her gun, forcing me to say, "Make Zhao Xiaoxin come over!"