Card Room

Chapter 539 - Unknown Caller Number

Yu Hanjiang’s words made Xiao Wu’s eyes widen. In his opinion, this was obviously an accidental case of a female university student drinking too much and falling into the lake to drown. However, Yu Hanjiang analyzed that it was a well-planned murder based on the footprints!

A campus murder was a big deal.

Xiao Wu held the pen in his hand and took an attitude of being thirsty for information as he asked, “Group Leader Yu, who do you think is the most suspicious if it is a murder? Her roommates and counselor said that she usually has a good personality and popularity. She never had a grudge with anyone.”

Yu Hanjiang took out his mobile phone and opened the photo he had taken at the scene. He handed it to Xiao Wu. “Look at the words on the tree. Do you notice anything wrong?”

Xiao Wu took a closer look. “Zhang Hengyu and Ning Xue will be together forever… Wait, why is the word ‘forever’ dyed red? This color, it seems like… blood?”

The female forensic doctor next to him said, “I have tested the samples brought back by Group Leader Yu. It is red ink, not blood.”

Xiao Wu was stunned and pulled his hair. “What does this mean? Is the biggest suspect her boyfriend Zhang Hengyu? There was a conflict with the couple over something, so Zhang Hengyu killed her in the place where the two of them carved their words of love?”

The female forensic doctor took off her gloves. “There was hair in the nails of the deceased and we sent them for DNA testing. The results will soon come out and we will see if it is related to Zhang Hengyu or not.”

Yu Hanjiang said, “I have sent a field team to search for the belongings of the deceased. They are also visiting the deceased’s teachers and fellow students.” Yu Hanjiang paused and turned to the two people. “It isn’t that simple. The killer is very professional. Go back and rest. We’ll meet at 8 o’clock sharp tomorrow morning. There should be more clues from the field side.”

The three of them walked out of the autopsy room and Yu Hanjiang went to the office alone. Then Xiao Wu took a taxi home.

There definitely wasn’t much information from the intern. Xiao Lou jumped out of his pocket the moment the intern entered the taxi. Liu Qiao had been hiding nearby. She found Xiao Lou and walked over, gently holding the thumb-sized Professor Xiao. She found a corner where no one was present and asked in a low voice, “Professor Xiao, how was it?”

Xiao Lou said, “It is certain that it is murder but there are too few clues. I have to continue to track Yu Hanjiang.”

Liu Qiao looked worried. “The thumb-sized transformation can last for a long time but Group Leader Yu is very alert. If you want to hide in his pocket, it will be easy for him to find out, right? How do you track a professional police officer?”

Xiao Lou thought about it seriously before having an idea. “It really isn’t safe for me to follow him. It is better for me to wait for him to leave and then I’ll hide in the drawer of the meeting room. I’ll be able to sit in tomorrow when they have a meeting.”

Liu Qiao looked at Xiao Lou helplessly. “Then do you want to sleep in the drawer for one night?”

Xiao Lou told her, “There is no alternative. We have to keep up with the progress of the police officers to solve the case. All the evidence, clues and bodies of the dead are with the criminal investigation team. It is impossible for the two of us alone to find the real murderer.”

Liu Qiao was still a bit worried. She took out her card pack and pulled out three cards. One was the Witch with the antidote to save a life at the critical moment. The others were Light as a Swallow and the invisibility cloak, which could be used to escape.

Liu Qiao handed the card to Xiao Lou and said, “Professor Xiao, these three cards are for you.”

Xiao Lou looked up at her. “When did you find out that I didn’t have my card pack?”

Liu Qiao explained, “Just now when the witnesses at the lake were screaming, you ran very slowly to the lake. I remember you have the acceleration shoes. If this card was in your hand, your movement wouldn’t be so slow. You have also never mentioned the invisibility cloak.”

He hadn’t expected Liu Qiao to be so careful so Xiao Lou said honestly, “I really don’t have my card pack on me. The specific reason isn’t clear to me and I didn’t know how to explain it to you. You didn’t suspect that I’m a hunter in disguise?”

Liu Qiao shook her head. “Expressions and movements can be mimicked but the temperament is difficult to imitate. I listened to you in the afternoon class. The lecture was very smooth and professional. The knowledge points were particularly clear. I might not know enough about you but I’ve known you for so long. I believe I won’t be mistaken.” She paused and added, “In addition, if you are fake and Ye Qi and Group Leader Yu don’t know me, I won’t be able to get through this world by myself.”

Liu Qiao was only 18 years old but she could always remain calm at key moments. Xiao Lou was very pleased. He took the cards from her hands and said, “Tonight, I will hide in the police meeting room and look for the case information. You have another mission. Yu Hanjiang said he sent a field team to investigate information at the school. You should secretly follow the plainclothes detectives and record all the information they find.”

Liu Qiao nodded. “Understood.”

Xiao Lou instructed, “Be careful and protect yourself.”

Liu Qiao said, “Professor Xiao as well. I’ll write down your mobile phone number. I’ll send you a text message to contact you if something happens.”

The two of them exchanged phone numbers. Xiao Lou sneaked into the criminal investigation’s meeting room. As he walked to the door of the meeting room, he saw Yu Hanjiang coming out of the office next to him. The man was holding a black coat and car keys in his hands. He turned around and locked the door to leave.

Xiao Lou hid in the shadows and waited for Yu Hanjiang to disappear at the end of the corridor. Then he sneaked into the meeting room through the crack in the door and jumped onto the table to rummage through the relevant information of the case…

Xiao Lou was unable to sleep during this night. He was very worried about which world the real Yu Hanjiang was in as well as Chief Shao, Ye Qi and the others. Were they safe? He didn’t have the card pack so he couldn’t check the team contract book. Apart from Liu Qiao, he couldn’t judge if there were any other teammates in this world.

Xiao Lou tossed and turned anxiously through the night and didn’t get any sleep until around 5 o’clock in the morning.

At 7:30 in the morning, he was awakened by the sound of the door opening. Xiao Lou immediately found a corner in the drawer to hide in. One after another, people entered the meeting room to pour water or turn on the projector and connect the laptop…

Xiao Lou didn’t dare to move until a familiar voice was heard. “Have you all arrived?”

Yu Hanjiang’s voice was low and cold. He went to the front of the meeting table and sat down. His eyes swept over the entire room and said, “Okay, now the meeting will start. On the evening of December 31st, a female student of Jiangzhou Conservatory of Music drowned in the lake. Xiao Wu, come and briefly summarize it.”

Xiao Wu quickly opened his notes. “At 21:20 on the evening of December 31st, we received an alarm that a body was found at the lake at Jiangzhou Conservatory of Music. Group Leader Yu and I were nearby at the time so we drove over. The first person to discover the body was a girl called Xu Mingyue, who happened to be the roommate of the deceased. At the same time, Professor Xiao from the medical university next door and Liu Qiao, a student of the Department of Chinese Medicine, witnessed the appearance of the body.”

“We conducted a careful investigation of the scene and found a series of messy footprints in the soft and moist mud by the lake. The size and pattern of the footprints was consistent with the shoes worn by the deceased. The words ‘Zhang Hengyu and Ning Xue will be together forever’ were engraved on the tree next to it. The word ‘forever’ was stained red with ink. In addition, some nails were found on the side of the road…”

Yu Hanjiang looked to the side. “Is the result of the identification department out?”

The young man looked at him and nodded. “This type of nail is very common. It is around 5 centimeters long and is the same as the nail that appears on the construction site near the school. It might be that someone maliciously put the nails on the side of the road to puncture the tire of the student’s bicycle.”

Yu Hanjiang asked, “What about the forensic doctor?”

The female forensic doctor added, “The body has no obvious trauma or internal injuries. The cause of death is suffocation due to drowning. The deceased had excessive blood alcohol levels and the stomach residue proves that she had eaten a large amount of beef during the hour before her death. In addition, the hair and skin debris left in her fingernails have been genetically tested and have been confirmed to come from Zhang Hengyu.”

Yu Hanjiang frowned slightly. He flexed his fingers and tapped rhythmically on the tabletop as if he was thinking about something. After a few seconds, he asked, “What is the result of the field team’s investigation?”

The plainclothes criminal police officer in charge of the field team immediately reported, “Last night, our group visited Ning Xue’s classmates. All of them said that Ning Xue had a lively and cheerful personality and they had never seen her quarrel with anyone. Her family conditions are very good and she never had a dispute with anyone about money. Her roommate Chen Mengmeng revealed she has had two boyfriends. The first was a senior at the conservatory of music called Chen Zekai. The second was Zhang Hengyu, a senior of the Department of Forensic Medicine at the medical university next door.”

A policewoman added, “It was unpleasant when Ning Xue broke up with her first boyfriend. The senior was paranoid and waited for her downstairs every night, frightening Ning Xue into living at home for a month and not daring to go back to her school dormitory.”

Yu Hanjiang raised an eyebrow. “Have you contacted this ex?”

The policewoman shook her head. “Chen Zekai has graduated and signed a contract with a record company to become a singer. We have checked his information. He signed up for the recent singing competition held by Jiangzhou TV and entered the final round.”

Xiao Lou heard this and his heart was troubled. Ye Qi was also a contestant in this singing competition and might’ve seen him.

Yu Hanjiang turned the ballpoint pen and asked, “The second group, do you have any clues from Ning Xue’s belongings?”

A male police officer said, “According to the words of her roommate, we went to the square where fireworks were set off on New Year’s Eve and found Ning Xue’s missing backpack. It was a small red bag that contained only these things.”

He took out the backpack, put it on the table and poured out the belongings inside.

There was a mobile phone, a delicate, small card pack with the ID card and student ID card and things like powder, lipstick, a small mirror etc. for girls. Yu Hanjiang checked the ID card and student ID card before handing the mobile phone to his colleague in the identification department next to him. “Open the phone and take a look.”

The person from the identification department quickly unlocked the phone’s password and handed it to Yu Hanjiang. “Group Leader Yu, the phone still has battery.”

Yu Hanjiang opened his phone and looked through the call records and WeChat chat records. “She received a total of five calls yesterday. Around 6 p.m., there were three consecutive calls from Zhang Hengyu. It should be about them going out to dinner. The WeChat record has the restaurant’s location information.” He handed the location information to the field team and said, “Field team two will visit this restaurant as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Group Leader Yu.”

Yu Hanjiang continued. “There are two other phone calls. One from her roommate Xu Mingyue…”

The police officer in charge of the statements said, “Xu Mingyue did call Ning Xue and this was mentioned in the record. She said she wanted to ask Ning Xue what time she would be back tonight. It was because she returned to her dormitory after eating and found out that Ning Xue had gone out without a key.”

Ning Xue’s backpack didn’t have the key so Xu Mingyue’s explanation made sense.

Yu Hanjiang opened his mouth. “As for the fifth call, the time of the call was around 9 p.m. and it lasted for 5 minutes. This is closest to the time of death but this number doesn’t have a name. It is just a string of numbers.”

“If it was an advertisement or sales call, Ning Xue wouldn’t have the patience to chat with them for five minutes.” Yu Hanjiang handed the number to the information department. “Check it.”

His colleague from the information department entered the number into the computer and the blue characters on the screen jumped rapidly. The colleague of the information department quickly had a result. “The owner of this number…”

Yu Hanjiang glanced over and he frowned sharply. He suddenly stood up and ordered in a low voice, “Go to Jiangzhou Medical University and look for Zhang Hengyu.”

The people on the second field team sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly followed him. “Group Leader Yu, we failed to get through to Zhang Hengyu’s phone and couldn’t contact him last night. His roommate wasn’t there either. His classmates in the next dormitory said that Zhang Hengyu’s roommate went to the bar to play all night to celebrate the new year but they didn’t know which bar he went to.”

Yu Hanjiang’s expression was extremely gloomy. He turned and started walking silently.

Xiao Lou hid in a drawer. He saw Yu Hanjiang’s ugly expression from the gap and had a bad feeling in his heart. Was Zhang Hengyu also dead? Who did this string of numbers belong to?

The people in the meeting room disappeared in the blink of an eye and Xiao Lou sneaked out of the drawer.

The projector had been turned off and the data taken away. Xiao Lou couldn’t see the information of the deceased’s mobile phone and naturally didn’t know the new clues that Yu Hanjiang had found. He frowned and used the light footwork card to sneak out of the police station along the shadows of the wall. He joined Liu Qiao, who had come to pick him up.

Liu Qiao changed Xiao Lou back to his original size and asked softly, “Professor Xiao, is there something wrong with Zhang Hengyu? The police officer who visited him last night failed to contact him and his phone calls were never answered.”

Xiao Lou solemnly told her, “He is probably already dead. Let’s hurry back to the medical university.”