The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 56

Mind Control – 12

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When Gu Yanta arrested Li Qing, he was preparing dinner for his two sons in a rented apartment.

Li Qing's elder son had undergone a transplant surgery at the beginning of the year and was recovering well. He could already live a normal life and had returned to school in September when the new academic term began. His younger son had also undergone surgery in June. Though still experiencing organ rejection, he had been discharged from the hospital and was in the recovery phase.

Out of respect for Li Qing, Gu Yanta did not use force to arrest him. He simply called him aside, explained the situation, and informed him that he needed to go to the police station immediately for an investigation.

Upon hearing the reason for their visit, Li Qing said he was willing to cooperate. He had no time to say goodbye to his elder son, who had not yet returned from school, and could only hurriedly comfort his younger son with a few words.

"Dad has to go out with these police officers to take care of something. If I don't make it back today, there's food in the pot. When your brother gets home, you two can eat together. Dad will be back by tomorrow at the latest." Li Qing spoke gently to his younger son.

Li Qing's youngest son, who looked much thinner and frailer than children his age, lay on the only double bed in the room, covered with a worn-out, blackened quilt. His vacant eyes fixed on his father before he gave an understanding nod.

Gu Yanta took in the sight of the bare home and couldn't help but sigh. If not for the disaster that had befallen them, Li Qing's family of four might have lived a poor but content life. But now...

Li Qing stepped out of his home and held out his hands. With a crisp snap, the gleaming handcuffs locked around his wrists. Without a word, he got into the car.

City bureau, interrogation room

Li Qing sat quietly in his chair, his head hanging low.

"Do you know what crime you've committed?" Gu Yanta loomed over him, his tone severe.

"I do." Li Qing didn't lift his head, and his voice was calm. "Illegal trafficking of human organs."

"That's all?"

"Yes." Li Qing nodded with a helpless expression. "Officer, I really had no other choice. You've seen my family's situation, both of my sons needed life-saving treatment, I couldn't afford to wait, and I couldn't afford the cost through legal channels, this was my only option."

"So that's your excuse for killing four people?" Gu Yanta slammed the table. "You wanted to save your son's life, so you thought you could take someone else's?"

Li Qing's head jerked up abruptly. His eyes bulged in shock, his face twisting into an almost grotesque expression, and he shouted, "What did you just say? Officer? Say that again!"

"I said that in order to save your son, you coerced Zheng Yandong into helping you illegally obtain human organs and murder people!" Gu Yanta snapped. "Tell me! The victim at the beginning of the year, Zheng Yandong has already confessed that he acted under your coercion, how did you kill the other three recent victims?"

"Me??? What the hell are you talking about? I don't understand a word of this!" Li Qing suddenly sprang up from his chair, only to be yanked back forcefully by the handcuffs. Panting heavily, he asked, "What did Zheng Yandong say about me??? I didn't kill anyone! I don't even know the details! I just paid money to buy something from Zheng Yandong that could save my son's life. I have no idea about the rest of what you're saying!!!"

"?!" Gu Yanta was stunned, he hadn't expected Li Qing to deny everything outright. "Zheng Yandong has already confessed that you coerced him into illegally harvesting kidneys from members of an online suicide group and guided them toward taking their own lives! Even after he fled back to his hometown, you continued using the same method to murder three more group members, you won't admit to any of this?"

"What am I supposed to admit to?" Li Qing wailed. "Officer! You can't wrong an innocent person! Zheng Yandong is slandering me! I have two sons waiting for me to provide for them! How could I do such a thing?"

"Then how did both of your sons get their transplants so quickly?" Gu Yanta pressed.

Li Qing gave a full account of what happened. According to him, he had indeed met Zheng Yandong while seeking medical treatment. After learning about his situation, Zheng Yandong offered to help, for a price. He had demanded a total of one million yuan. Li Qing felt that as long as he could save his son's life, he would go to any lengths, even if it meant spending all his money, so he agreed to Zheng Yandong's terms.

Li Qing knew that this was certainly not legal, but in order to save his son, he no longer cared! He paid Zheng Yandong a deposit of five hundred thousand first.

At the start of the year, Zheng Yandong had indeed arranged for a kidney for his elder son. Li Qing had begun to trust Zheng Yandong. It wasn't until June that his younger son finally got his chance at survival. Li Qing had thought that as his sons gradually recovered, the storm had passed. However, just yesterday, he had seen news of Zheng Yandong's arrest and learned about the illegal organ harvesting and coerced suicides.

That night, Li Qing had tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He knew the matter had completely unravelled. He wanted to turn himself in at the police station but hesitated when he saw his sons' peaceful sleeping faces and the bare, empty home around him. When the police finally arrived at his door, Li Qing actually felt relieved, after all, he had only paid for the organs, he hadn't killed anyone. Surely, they wouldn't make him pay with his life! But he hadn't expected Zheng Yandong to frame him so severely.

"You can check my bank records, I lost everything I had, and borrowed from every relative and friend back home, just to scrape together that one million yuan, and I gave every last cent to Zheng Yandong! That doesn't even include the medical expenses afterwards, I had to rely on online fundraising to cover those costs, you can check all of this!" Li Qing howled like a caged beast.

"Be honest!" Gu Yanta slapped the table violently.

Li Qing jolted in fright and collapsed weakly onto the chair, his voice trembling with sobs. "Officer, it really wasn't me. I run a small convenience store, do you really think I'm that capable? Me, coercing Zheng Yandong? What did I coerce him with? I saw the news online about his arrest, I thought it was just because of his illegal trading being exposed, and you called me in to testify!"

"You said you gave Zheng Yandong one million yuan, do you have any evidence?" Lu Zheng, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked.

"I..." Li Qing was momentarily lost for words. "I got the money by selling my house in Yuchuan and the small convenience store I opened, and borrowing over two-hundred thousand yuan from relatives and friends..."

"We didn't ask where you got the money! We're asking how you gave it to Zheng Yandong! Where's the evidence?" Gu Yanta snapped.

"I... Zheng Yandong asked me to transfer it to him using some kind of cryptocurrency. I didn't understand any of that and didn't know how to do it. Later, he asked for cash instead. I packed two whole suitcases full, and he sent someone to collect them."

"So, in other words, you have no evidence to prove you gave the money to Zheng Yandong, am I right?" Lu Zheng asked coolly.

Li Qing nodded grimly. "But I can prove where the money came from. Ever since my son fell ill, every penny I spent had a traceable source, including donations and fundraising from kind-hearted people later on. You can verify all of it! I never obtained a single cent through illegal means!"

Lu Zheng winked at Gu Yanta, who then turned and left the interrogation room, heading back to the office.

"Chen Chen! What kind of work are you doing? Why didn't you say anything about Li Qing making a major transaction of one million yuan?!" Gu Yanta lashed out at Chen Chen.

"Huh?! I'll check right away!" Chen Chen was so scared that he didn't dare take a single breath. His fingers flew over the keyboard, and within a minute, Li Qing's bank transactions appeared clearly.

Gu Yanta glanced at the monitor. Sure enough, as Li Qing had said, between the end of last year and the start of this year, his account had received several large deposits, totalling more than eight hundred thousand yuan. This included six hundred fifty thousand from selling his house, over a hundred thousand from handing over his store, and the remaining amount likely borrowed from relatives back home, just as Li Qing had claimed. Then, the money disappeared without a trace.

Starting in February, Li Qing's account began receiving small, sporadic deposits from an online fundraising committee, allocating funds based on the donations from kind-hearted individuals.

"So is it Zheng Yandong or Li Qing who's lying?" Gu Yanta frowned.

"Zheng Yandong and Li Qing, they might both be lying to cover themselves!" At some point, Lu Zheng appeared in the office. His voice was cold as he said, "But the two of them might also have been used, taking the fall for someone else!"

"What do you think?"

"It's impossible for Zheng Yandong or Li Qing to pull this off alone," Lu Zheng replied. "There must be other people involved, this is a complete chain crime. Zheng Yandong had access to the goods, and Li Qing was the buyer, but there are too many missing links in between!"

"Exactly! I think so too!" Gu Yanta nodded, then knocked Chen Chen on the head. "Did you finish looking into those suicide cases similar to this one like I told you to?"

"Ouch!" Chen Chen clutched his head but didn't dare slack off. He quickly pulled up the files...

Over the past two years, there have been eighteen similar suicide cases. However, since all were ruled as suicides, none of the families had requested an autopsy. But after a thorough police investigation, the victims' relatives all reported that the deceased had received similar text messages before their deaths.

"So many?!" Gu Yanta stared at the dense rows of records. Even after more than ten years in the police force, he couldn't help but feel shocked.

"That's why I'm saying, whether it's Zheng Yandong or Li Qing, they're just parts of a larger system," Lu Zheng said steadily. "There could be a vast and highly organised group behind this! Zheng Yandong is just a pawn, that would explain why he fled back to his hometown and why someone helped him escape during his arrest. How could Li Qing alone have that kind of power?"

"Then what about Li Qing? Can we clear his suspicion?" Gu Yanta asked.

"Until we catch the real suspect, he remains the prime suspect. Right now, there's no evidence proving that the missing money actually went to Zheng Yandong. Li Qing himself said that Zheng Yandong 'sent someone' to collect the cash. It's very possible that the money never even ended up in Zheng Yandong's hands." Lu Zheng analysed.

"Then why is Zheng Yandong so adamant that Li Qing is the mastermind? Doesn't he realise we'd investigate Li Qing?" Gu Yanta asked doubtfully.

"That's exactly where Zheng Yandong is clever. He probably believes that even if he exposes the real mastermind, the police might not be able to catch them. And if he clears himself and gets released, he'd be targeted for revenge. So, he falsely accused Li Qing, leading us to start with him and gradually uncover the real culprit!" Lu Zheng spoke with certainty. The truth was likely just within reach!

"So that means there must be a crucial clue on Li Qing that we haven't discovered yet! Something that connects to the mastermind!"

‿︵‿︵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: February 10, 2025 by Angel

Edited: February 25, 2025 by Angel