“The miracle adventure for today has been completed. The completion rate is eighty five percent. Congratulations! You received an invisible device. Please accept it!”
Just when Zhao Yu was like a cat on a hot tin roof, the system had decided to join in the fun! To his surprise, the miracle adventure had ended quite early. But, Zhao Yu knew that, besides entering the tomb to look for clues and eavesdropping in the female toilet, he hadn’t had any significant encounters.
So, he was glad to be able to get any device! But, when he tapped on his awarded device, he still pouted a bit.
“Invisible Perfume? It could get rid of any weird smell on the body after activation. There are forty-five different fragrances to choose from, too! And, it will last for ten hours…”
Zhao Yu shook his head, This system is getting funnier and funnier. How did this invisible perfume thing come about? The next time, would there be an invisible shaver, invisible gel, or even an invisible condom?!
But, he was at a crucial moment in the case investigation, so Zhao Yu dared not divert his attention to such silly matters. He told the female driver to take him to the housing estate where the victim’s residence was located. That female driver most likely understood something from the phone call he just had with Miao Ying, as she didn’t speak any further, but drove to the destination directly.
From Yunyang County to Qinshan was a two-hour drive. Add to that the rainy weather conditions, it was already ten at night when Zhao Yu arrived. As expected, the house was surrounded with police cars.
The siren lights were flashing and the rain was getting heavier. But, at the same time, Zhao Yu also found that there were police officers that were on duty at the door, prohibiting everyone else from entering.
Beep beep…
There was someone honking by the side. Zhao Yu then saw Miao Ying’s blue Phaeton.
He kept his umbrella and got into the car. Just when Zhao Yu wanted to ask a question, Miao Ying brought her finger to her lips and beckoned to him to stay quiet.
Then, Miao Ying took off her earphones and lay her phone flat before Zhao Yu, enabling the handsfree function on her handphone. Zhao Yu then realized that Miao Ying’s handphone was currently on a call. The phone was a little noisy, but they could here a female sobbing, while another male spoke.
“The situation was out of control, so the municipal bureau has to do this themselves!” Miao Ying explained softly into Zhao Yu’s ear. “They never expected the case to be so complicated. The purpose of having a joint investigation was to uplift everyone! But now they have already drawn fire against themselves, as Qinshan sent almost half of their forces to keep this case under watch, as though they were injected with chicken blood (meaning they were energized)! Actually, the more people are added to the mix, the more difficult the case investigation gets!”
Miao Ying continued. “So, Captain Feng Xiao has to step in to resolve it! Their people are in there interrogating the family members now, and he said that they would send the voice recording to each branch, prohibiting us from bothering the victim’s family!”
“Then, you…” Zhao Yu pointed at the handphone and looked confused.
“I happen to have a friend on the municipal bureau police team. He was transferred from the Ruyang Branch. They are talking to the victim’s family, so I got him on handsfree! He secretly put his phone in his pocket, so we have to listen carefully and quietly!” Miao Ying moved the handphone nearer to Zhao Yu.
Amazing!
Zhao Yu gave Miao Ying a thumbs up and paid full attention to the call. Unfortunately, Miao Ying’s friend must have received an order and left the questioning scene temporarily, as they could only hear noises over the phone currently.
Zhao Yu and Miao Ying exchanged a glance and shrugged at the same time. They could only wait in patience. Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Yu told Miao Ying about what happened with Lan Bo, when he went to retrieve the surveillance videos.
“It seems that the people from the municipal bureau got themselves into trouble! With such chaos, I wonder if they would dare to play the fools in the future?!” Miao Ying said.
“Yeah. That’s just a group without a leader, with everyone trying to cheat each other. So, how can we be expected to investigate properly?” Zhao Yu sighed.
Then, Zhao Yu’s phone rang. It was from Zhang Jingfeng. He seemed to have found something important and it sounded like he was in a hurry. His voice was so loud, even Miao Ying could hear him.
“Xiao Zhao, I feel like the joint investigation for this case is getting out of control! When I looked for the victim Dong Peizhuo’s missing person report from the missing persons department, I found that he was not the only one who went missing!”
“What?!”
Zhao Yu and Miao Ying were stunned at the same time. Miao Ying quickly covered the handphone that had the call for eavesdropping on it.
“Tian Dongmin and Wang Taiming were both lost too!” Zhang Jingfeng said excitedly. “They are Dong Peizhuo’s colleagues and were both experts in cultural artifacts. Also, they are around the same age! According to the report, the three of them were all lost at the same time!”
“It can’t be?!” Then… Zhao Yu was confused. Why were there two more experts, out of nowhere?
“Grave robber?!” Miao Ying had her eyes wide open. “The grave robbers wanted to excavate and rob the prefect’s tomb, but they couldn’t find it, so they needed the assistance from the three experts! Hence, they kidnapped them and killed them after they found the ancient tomb?!”
Zhao Yu nodded. It seemed to be the only reasonable explanation! But… To kidnap and kill, just to rob a trifling ancient tomb? That didn’t sound like a grave robber’s conventional practice….
“But…” Miao Ying couldn’t convince herself either. She mumbled, “Why just kill one of them? If they’d reached their goal, then all three of them should have been killed, right?”
“Zhao Yu, Captain Miao!” Zhang Jingfeng recognized Miao Ying’s voice and quickly said, “You two got it wrong! On the missing person report, it stated clearly. I’ll send you a copy later! Before they went missing, the three old experts lied to their families, saying that the unit wanted them to go for an inspection! But the Cultural Relic Bureau certified that there was no inspection order. So, these three persons lied to their families!”
“Can that be right?” Zhao Yu was perplexed. This… What is going on? The three old experts all lied and then went missing together? Then, one of them died in the coffin in the ancient tomb?!
Miao Ying creased her eyebrows, also finding this unbelievable. When Zhang Jingfeng put down the phone, Miao Ying’s friend returned to Dong Peizhuo’s house and they all continued to listen to police force’s interrogation of the victim’s family.
As it turned out, Dong Peizhuo’s partner and son confirmed what Zhang Jingfeng had found out. The three old experts did fib together. When they got the update, Zhao Yu and Miao Ying suddenly saw that some of the police cars that had been waiting at the door had left quietly.
Zhao Yu and Miao Ying shared a glance and realized something. Miao Ying immediately started her engine.
They had both suddenly thought of an important question. They had to quickly get the surveillance videos from the residential area of the three old experts, then somehow retrace their tracks on the day they went missing! If they could discover the reason that the three old men went missing, the case might then be able to progress greatly!
But, just when Miao Ying started her engine, Bureau Chief Luan called to pass on an order from the higher ups. They requested the Key Case Investigation Unit in the Rongyang Branch to immediately stop all investigations related to the Tomb Murder Case. Moreover, anyone who took any actions in secret would receive heavy disciplinary action!