The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 6

Malice – 06

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"Boss, I'm just a tech guy, you've got me doing both desk work and fieldwork every day, are you planning to pay me multiple salaries or what?" Chen Chen grumbled reluctantly.

"Stop whining and get in the car! We're heading to Yuchuan University!"

In the middle of a massive traffic jam on the Chengbei Highway...

Gu Yanta rolled down the car window and lit a cigarette, clearly irritated.

"Boss, can you cut back on smoking? Every time you open the door to this junky Jeep, it reeks of smoke. At this rate, I reckon you'll keel over before you even get a chance to find a partner," Chen Chen complained as he waved the smoke away from his face.

"Watch your mouth, do you still want your bonus this month?" Gu Yanta shot him a glare. "You don't need to worry my love life!"

"How could I not worry about it? Boss, look at you, you're always clumsy, bumping into things here, knocking over stuff there, you can't even cook, you eat takeout every day, and you also smoke every day. If this goes on... right? You really need a decent husband and father to look after you, don't you think?" Chen Chen adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and continued, "Everyone in the department can see it plain as day. Look, Deputy Jiang, he's so worried about your love life, he's even on the verge of setting you up for blind dates! The problem is your niche preferences, they make it tricky to arrange..."

"What qualifications does Jiang Ziyu have to criticise about me? Isn't he just another single dog constantly getting nagged about marriage?" Gu Yanta chuckled at the thought of his motherly classmate-turned-colleague.

"Deputy Jiang just hasn't met the right person yet, but at least he's proactive!" Chen Chen shrugged helplessly. "Whenever he has free time, he's out on blind dates. Sure, none of the girls like him, but someday he'll meet someone who's blind, right? You are different, watching you become more celibate and totally disinterested in everything day by day, I even suspect that you are in menopause. The last time you went on a date was probably two or three years ago..."

"Fuck off, you brat! You've never been this invested in actual work, only in prying into your boss's private life!" Gu Yanta gave Chen Chen a light punch on the shoulder. "Why don't you worry about yourself instead?"

"What's there to worry about? I'm a firm believer in not getting married... Eh? What's this?" Chen Chen picked up a black, toothpaste-like tube from the central storage box.

"Give me that!" Gu Yanta snatched it back and stuffed it into his pocket. "Don't go poking around in your boss's personal stuff!"

"What's with all the secrecy, tch, I don't even want to see it!" Chen Chen huffed indignantly. "Oh, right, Boss, that young hunk yesterday, are you into him or something? Though I can't blame you, he does look like your type!"

"Get lost, do I come across as someone that shallow, only caring about looks? Besides, he's not some 'young hunk,' he's a year older than you!" The convoy crept forward slightly, and Gu Yanta struggled to inch the car another ten metres before stopping again.

"Aiyou, I really couldn't tell, I thought he was a university student," Chen Chen remarked. "A year older than me and still in school? A PhD? What, is it trendy now for rich kids to also be academic masters? Didn't that Lu Yu who died also have a doctorate?"

"Yeah, and what a pity," Gu Yanta said seriously. "Which is exactly why we need to dig up the truth about this case and bring justice to the deceased."

The convoy began moving sluggishly again. Twenty minutes later, Gu Yanta and Chen Chen finally arrived at the Haibei campus of Yuchuan University.

The Haibei campus had relocated just a year ago, housing research facilities for Yuchuan's master's and doctoral programs. It lacked the vibrant campus life of undergraduates rushing to class or queueing for meals, giving it a more subdued atmosphere.

"Boss, when we investigated the victim's social circle yesterday, we didn't find anything suspicious," Chen Chen said as he reviewed the case file. "The victim mainly interacted with his advisor and a few classmates from the same year."

"Don't you think this whole thing feels a bit too coincidental?" Gu Yanta frowned, lighting yet another cigarette. "Looking at this alongside the previous theft cases, Zhang Bin was clearly a habitual thief. He used his identity as a repairman to scope out the homes of his targets, stealing when the owners weren't around. While Lu Yu happened to be home the night of the incident, I doubt Zhang Bin had the guts to commit murder. A timid thief like Zhang Bin, stealing to fund a drug habit, would've bolted if caught, especially since he was using a fake identity. Whatever the reason, he must've faked his death to avoid detection. On the night of the crime, Lu Yu never left his bedroom. It's unlikely Zhang Bin would've entered the bedroom to kill him without being discovered. Plus, the signs of tampering at the crime scene were far too deliberate, it doesn't look like the work of a habitual thief."

"It's definitely unusual, not consistent with normal psychological behaviour," Chen Chen nodded in agreement. "And yesterday, when we were restoring the deceased's computer, there were some anomalies. The hard drive wasn't the original, it seemed like someone had replaced it. There was nothing of value on it."

"Moreover, Zhang Bin died at such a critical moment. Think about it, if you were a drug-using thief who faked your own death, would you carry around a fake ID?" Gu Yanta asked rhetorically.

"Right, Boss, could it be that Zhang Bin knew he might be in danger? But since he'd already 'died' once, he didn't want to become a nameless corps, so he deliberately carried Wei Liang's ID so the police could identify him after his death?" Chen Chen exclaimed as realisation dawned on him.

"Finally, bingo for once!" Gu Yanta flicked his finger against Chen Chen's forehead. "This Zhang Bin, he's actually quite clever. If it weren't for his drug addiction, he probably wouldn't have ended up like this! The person who managed to avoid the cameras, sneak into the deceased's house late at night, gain the deceased's trust to enter the bedroom, commit the murder, and swap the hard drive must have been someone he knew well!"

"But Lu Yu didn't have any grudges against anyone, on the contrary, he was very kind to those around him. Besides, we verified the alibis of his close acquaintances yesterday, and they all checked out!" Chen Chen replied.

"The killer is very cunning, and judging by the situation, this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment crime. There might even be some force operating behind the scenes. The field team members are still inexperienced, I'm afraid we'll have to handle this ourselves!" Gu Yanta stepped out of the car. "Chen Chen, who are the key individuals we need to investigate?"

"Those closest to Lu Yu, the ones who could freely enter his home, are just a few. Han Yu and Zhang Yanfei, those two are a couple and were Lu Yu's classmates from undergrad. Zhou Jing, the youngest son of the Kangzhou Department Store family and Lu Yu's childhood friend. The Zhou and Lu families are old friends. There's also Huang Chufeng, it's said that his family isn't well off, and he was 'sponsored' by Lu Yu. He's always been deeply grateful and loyal to Lu Yu. These are all decent people, with no apparent grudges, how could any of them kill him?"

"What about their alibis?" Gu Yanta asked.

"Lu Yu's time of death was around one a.m. On the night of the crime, Han Yu and Zhang Yanfei had just returned from a holiday in the Maldives. Their plane landed at twelve-thirty a.m., and they cleared customs around one-thirty a.m. Airport surveillance cameras captured them at multiple points, and the customs records confirm it," Chen Chen answered.

"Mhmm, they're ruled out, what about the others?" Gu Yanta pressed.

"Zhou Jing attended a banquet that evening, which ended at midnight. His driver then took him home. Zhou Jing lives in Haitian Garden in the Xiazhou District, about an hour and a half's drive from Haibei Villa, it would have been impossible for him to reach Haibei Villa by one a.m. to commit the crime. As for Huang Chufeng, his family's financial situation isn't great, so he's been living in the university's doctoral dormitory. His roommate and the dorm supervisor both confirmed he was asleep in the dormitory that night," Chen Chen explained.

"So that leaves us with Huang Chufeng as the only one with the opportunity to commit the crime," Gu Yanta stubbed out his cigarette and said to Chen Chen.

"Boss, is this why you brought me to Yuchuan University? You've suspected Huang Chufeng all along?" Chen Chen looked at his captain with admiration. "But Lu Yu had no grudges with him, and even helped him out. Although his family's conditions aren't great, he's working on projects with his advisor now, so he's not exactly struggling to get by. Why would he kill Lu Yu? What's the motive?"

"People's hearts are unpredictable," Gu Yanta said with a shake of his head. "Let's go meet this Huang Chufeng."

———

Author's Note:

The first part is just a test, so Gu Gu will appear more often. The second part will be where things get exciting, and Zheng'er will gradually take the stage. Dear readers, please stay tuned!

‿︵‿︵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: November 15, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 1, 2024 by Angel