Several police officers lay on the ground, injured to varying degrees. The explosion must have occurred recently. I opened the detention room door and upon entering, the bloody scene was overwhelming. It was too bizarre. What kind of explosion could have such power? Even I felt my hands trembling with fear.
I took out my phone and signaled for Xie Chuchu and Xiao Dong to come over. Soon after, Liu Yuning, Gao Mingqiang, and others also arrived at the detention room.
Everyone who saw the bloody legs couldn't help but gasp. Many officers even turned and rushed to the restroom to vomit.
Xie Chuchu and Zhang Keying approached the mangled corpse. I stood beside it. The scene was littered with flesh and skin, and remnants of explosives could still be vaguely seen. Xiahou, who arrived on the scene, quickly deployed some reconnaissance robots to scan the area. After collecting evidence, he quickly reached some conclusions: "The bomb must have been installed inside Cao Leping's body. I saw pill-shaped fragments. This is a micro-bomb that can be made into very fine particles. Once swallowed, it detonates at a specific time. I can't be sure if Cao Leping knew about it himself."
"Yes, if Cao Leping himself didn't know, then it proves he was framed. Conversely, if he did know, he wouldn't have told us information about the mastermind."
"So he must not have known!" As I was discussing with Xiahou, Xie Chuchu had already finished examining the severed legs. However, investigating the time of death or cause of death here was meaningless, as the surveillance cameras had already captured the explosion.
I instructed the forensic team to handle the body and then went with Gao Mingqiang to the duty room. Several officers helped us access the footage from earlier. Not long after I left, Cao Leping was leaning casually on his bed. At that moment, he had no idea he would die so suddenly. A minute before the explosion, he suddenly leaned close to the computer screen, his eyes wide, his expression extremely panicked, as if he had seen something terrifying on it.
Then, less than a minute later, he sat upright, and the explosion occurred.
"The computer is in such a state, I don't know if it can be recovered," Gao Mingqiang said.
I took the shattered computer to He Xin. Seeing its dilapidated state, she said embarrassedly, "Dad, are you joking? The hard drive is like this, I doubt even professional developers could fix it!"
"Is there really no way?"
"I'll have the technical team help, but don't get your hopes up too high." He Xin took the pile of scrap metal and walked into the technical team's office.
She would definitely be busy after this. I didn't know if it could be restored. Although He Xin said the chances were slim, I hadn't given up hope. If nothing could be found, Cao Leping's death would remain a mystery.
The restoration work continued for several days. I had almost given up hope, but on the fourth day, He Xin found me and said, "Dad, it seems your persistence was worthwhile. In the final assembly stage, we found a usable platter in the hard drive. I had several computer experts install it onto another hard drive, so some data can be read. However, whether it's the data we need, I still need to check slowly."
Hearing her say "slowly" made me fall into distress again. But I couldn't help here.
I should go home.
I said to myself and turned to leave the provincial department. This time, I didn't return to the police dormitory but went directly to Fuming City, the Siheyuan.
I brought back some experimental equipment, planning to rest here for a few days and conduct some experiments in my "laboratory" at home. Unexpectedly, as soon as I returned, I found the front door of my house was ajar. I smelled a strange chemical odor emanating from a certain room. It smelled like sulfuric acid, or perhaps carbon monoxide. I put on a mask and cautiously walked towards the room.
At that moment, I didn't know who had come. My instincts told me to draw my gun. I pointed it forward. The former laboratory was filled with broken glass bottles and test tubes. The workbench was covered in some unknown green liquid, as if someone had conducted experiments here.
Entering the laboratory, I found no one. I put away my weapon and began to inspect the scene. It was a mess. Footprints were scattered on the floor, and there were fingerprints on the workbench. I compared them and found that the footprints likely belonged to a male around 1.72 meters tall and weighing about 60 kilograms. A shock of surprise flashed through my mind.
How could this be?
Isn't that my father's body type?
I was terrified. I remembered my father died in a drug bust. How could he suddenly...
I couldn't bear to imagine further. At that moment, I was startled by the urgent ringing of my phone.
With trembling hands, I reached into my pocket. I had an urge not to look at the screen.
It was another message from that mysterious WeChat account: "I just popped back for a bit and messed up your office, I'm a little embarrassed, sorry. But about the case you're investigating, I can give you a hint. At Cao Leping's residence, there's still a clue somewhere. Go and check!"
I quickly tried to reply, but I didn't know what to say, so I just typed a few words: "Who are you?"
The other party didn't reply, as if they were busy again. But even so, I could guess a little. Could that person really be my father?
Did he not die after all? Or am I...
I shook my head. Impossible. I am an atheist. How could I believe in such things?
It must be someone playing a prank. Because I saw my father buried with my own eyes. His body was indeed buried. If that person was just a substitute? A strange thought suddenly emerged.
I looked at the calendar on the wall and realized today was June 19th, Father's Day.
I went to the police cemetery and found my father's tombstone. I placed his favorite betel nuts and roast duck in front of it. There was also a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes, a police pistol, and a neatly cleaned police uniform. These were all used by my father during his lifetime.
Looking at the familiar, pale photograph, I knelt down with a thud. Tears then rolled down my cheeks like a broken string of pearls.
"Dad, I'm back!"
"Are you doing well over there? Are you still arguing with Mom like before?"
"Don't argue with Mom anymore. You're both police officers, what's there to argue about? Everyone has to be busy!"