Qiming Chapter 23

Chapter 23

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Gu Yunfeng sat in the passenger seat, his heart was exploding with emotions that were hard to describe.

He had received a message asking for help and had rushed to save the person, sparing no effort and using considerable manpower and financial resources. In the end, the rescued person did not even say thank you but told him to take responsibility instead? A grown man asking him to take responsibility?

Was there any justice left in the world?

He turned sideways, looking at Xu Chengyue with an even more complex expression. The latter was currently driving with the car's video system on, holding his phone in his left hand and adjusting the video sound with his right hand, attentively listening to their lab's project report.

"Professor Xu, don't you like driving yourself?" he finally couldn't help but ask.

"Why drive when there's autopilot?" Freeing his hands and feet, he could do whatever he wanted.

"It's not safe," Gu Yunfeng said with a calm expression, but inside, his heart was in turmoil, and cold sweat ran down his back.

He had always thought that autopilot was extremely, extremely unsafe. At this moment, Xu Chengyue was using the navigation system and confidently letting the new model, which had launched last year with autopilot functions, drive itself on the elevated road. Every moment, Gu Yunfeng felt that the car was about to crash into the vehicles and guardrails around them, ending in a fiery wreck.

The thought of becoming a pile of bones and ashes sent chills down his spine.

"A few years ago, it wasn't feasible, but now it's quite safe," Xu Chengyue replied without lifting his head. "Although there have been a few traffic accidents, the probability is still lower than with manual driving."

"After all, humans get tired, but machines and programs don't feel fatigued as long as their performance is sufficient," he said, putting down his phone and glancing at the swiftly rolling clouds outside the window. He started playing an album by AIR and said to Gu Yunfeng, "If you're scared, do something else to distract yourself."

Yuan Man's singing in the music only made him more uneasy. "You know I'm scared, can't you drive yourself, just for show?" He felt a bit ashamed of his reaction, clenching his fists and preparing to grab the steering wheel at the slightest sign of trouble. He couldn't accept that his life and death were controlled by a pre-written program.

"Don't be so hypocritical, Captain Gu," Professor Xu ignored his protest. "You're just not used to it. Try it a few more times and learn to accept new things."

After finally enduring the ride to their destination, Gu Yunfeng wiped the sweat from his forehead, got out of the car, and felt his legs go weak.

—————

The cases of Guan Jianhua's murder and Cao Yan's drowning were officially consolidated. Cao Yan's case was transferred from Shangnan District to the Jinping District criminal investigation team. Both individuals, along with the long-term debt-ridden scoundrel Liu Yan, were highly suspected of being involved in extorting Yuan Man and her management company. Currently, Cao and Guan were both deceased, and Liu Yan was the prime suspect.

"Teacher Xu, could you present the autopsy results?" Gu Yunfeng sat directly opposite the screen, with Xu Chengyue seated to his right, his gaze turning towards Xu Yuanqiao diagonally opposite him.

Xu Yuanqiao nodded, moving the laser pointer to the photos on the screen. "In these two cases, the victims' necks had marks left by the same type of weapon. I'll enlarge this photo for you to see. Based on the patterns, it's clear that it's the most common hemp rope on the market." He pursed his lips. "The difference is that in Guan Jianhua's case, the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation, while Cao Yan, although showing signs of asphyxiation, died from drowning."

"In both cases, the perpetrator tried to cover up the original crime scene," Gu Yunfeng added. "In the first case, he used a car rented by Cao Yan to move the body. At that time, Cao Yan was still alive, and the killer knew her."

"Shu Pan, have you found any information in Liu Yan's spending records?" He tapped the table a few times with his left hand and turned to Shu Pan, who had just changed his hairstyle and applied a shiny hair gel.

"According to feedback from our colleagues in the economic investigation team, Liu Yan's spending in the past month was mainly concentrated in three areas. One was near the Hongqi neighbourhood on Hongqi Street in Jinping District. This guy used a credit card at a convenience store near this neighbourhood in the past ten days. The second was the Huijin Department Store in Hongwan District. Liu Yan visited there three times within a week and also bought groceries at a nearby market. This area is primarily high-end residential, with only one old public housing complex called Tiantong Yicun, where the population is mixed. It is highly suspected that Liu Yan lived there."

"The third location?"

"The third location is near Yuan Man's company. It's mostly office buildings there. He often dined at a Lanzhou noodle shop nearby, usually in the evenings."

"There aren't many residential buildings around there, so focus on the first two neighbourhoods."

"You and Wen Xin should deploy some officers tonight, and stake out to arrest him tomorrow." He told Shu Pan, "You go to Tiantong Yicun, and I'll take people to guard the Hongqi neighbourhood."

"And Old Qin, you head over to Tianyi and keep an eye on Yuan Man and her agent Chen Yu." With his fingers interlaced under his chin, Gu Yunfeng added, "This girl might know more than we thought."

"Got it." The man he addressed was Qin Wei, who wore a police uniform and had a slow, drawling speech. He was over a decade older than Gu Yunfeng. A few years ago, he should have been promoted to the captain of the Jinping District criminal investigation team, but during a joint operation to capture gang-related criminals, an error in his command led to the operation's failure. Not only did the criminals escape for two years before being caught, but several police officers involved in the operation were also implicated, ultimately resulting in two deaths and five injuries.

Qin Wei himself was seriously injured in the operation, taking a bullet to the leg that damaged a nerve, leaving him with a permanent limp. For years, he couldn't return to the criminal investigation team, spending his time in rehabilitation. It was only last year that he was mostly recovered. Over the years, Qin Wei had become a middle-aged, overweight man nearing retirement, and the position of team captain remained vacant.

"Can I go to the Hongqi neighbourhood with you?" Xu Chengyue asked. He had never experienced an arrest operation. Despite the potential danger, he was quite interested. The moment he asked, everyone turned to look at him, and he glanced around, feeling a bit bewildered.

"No," came the firm and righteous reply.

"Can I watch from a distance?"

Everyone: "......"

"Your health isn't good."

"I'm already fine."

"......" Gu Yunfeng could no longer find any reason to refuse him and reluctantly nodded, "Fine, you can come with us."

He raised his wrist to check his rose gold mechanical watch. It was five in the afternoon.

Outside, the wind picked up, and dark clouds loomed over the city. The sunlight from a moment ago vanished, leaving only a grey vortex, like the prelude to an approaching storm.

"That's all for today. Everyone, go home and rest well for tomorrow's operation." Gu Yunfeng closed his laptop and stood up to leave.

After the meeting, he printed a few documents and strode back to his office, bending down to lock the newly arrived materials in his drawer.

Looking up, he saw the prominent slogan "Alarm Bells Ringing" on the wall. Xu Chengyue was sitting opposite him, spinning in his chair.

"Professor Xu, aren't you going home?" he asked, and in the next moment, he realised he had forgotten something important, his mind occupied entirely by the case.

"The door's been dismantled, where would I go?" Xu Chengyue stopped, and his usually expressionless, delicate face showed a hint of grievance.

"This... look at my memory." Gu Yunfeng slapped his forehead, suddenly realising, "I mentioned at noon that you'd stay at my place for the night, which is convenient, we'll head to the Hongqi neighbourhood together tomorrow morning to arrest Liu Yan."

After saying this, he forced a smile and quickly pulled out his phone to search for door repair services. By tomorrow at the latest, he had to resolve the door issue at Xu Chengyue's place and send this deity away.

"I'll find a way to fix it myself," Xu Chengyue said. "That door lock includes special fingerprint and iris recognition technology that ordinary people can't repair or purchase."

"And if it can't be fixed..."

"Then I'll install a regular door for now." Hearing this response, Gu Yunfeng breathed a sigh of relief. He was used to living alone, and having another man regularly stay over was unbearable.

—————

The author has something to say:

This novel is set a few years in the future, so the level of technology is a little bit higher than reality...

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: July 3, 2024 by Angel

Edited: July 18, 2024 by Angel