Chapter 382 He Xin is Invited

Entering the vicinity, we discovered rugged cement roads all around. It was difficult to navigate, but with Gao Mingqiang’s driving skills, it was no problem. We soon arrived at the village entrance at breakneck speed. After getting out of the car, our group heard a commotion nearby, as if the film crew and villagers were arguing.

We hurried over, flashing our police IDs, and declared, “What are you doing, trying to incite trouble?”

“We’re not, officer, it’s just these people. They keep saying our villagers killed the writer Prince’s rabbit and demanding we hand over the killer. This rabbit is the writer’s pet and very precious. They don’t want money, just the killer,” an old man from the village explained.

I observed the two groups. Those on the left were neatly dressed, many in designer brands, while those on the right were covered in dust, likely farmers.

I walked between them and said, “To find the killer, we need to investigate slowly. What’s the use of all this shouting? Will the killer just appear? Also, a police officer has gone missing here, and he’s a police captain. Do you know what that means?” I said sternly to the assembled crowd.

“Officer, I don’t know, we didn’t do it!” the editor who had reported the case earlier said.

“We didn’t do it either!” the villagers echoed.

I looked at both groups, pondered for a moment, and then said, “We need to find the person first, alright? Lives are at stake. The matter of the rabbit might be connected to this police captain. After all, he came here to investigate. He was very dedicated, a captain coming to investigate…” I left the last few words unspoken, fearing the editor might get angry again.

At that moment, I noticed a man looking over from a car. He had a shifty look, a pale face, lips like a split banana, and was wearing a casual cartoon shirt. I recognized him immediately from a press conference; he was also a suspense novelist. Yes, it was Prince!

He glanced at me, then turned away woodenly, as if unwilling to face me.

A woman then alighted from the passenger seat. She greeted us generously, “Stop arguing, Prince needs to rest. Everyone disperse. As this officer said, they will handle it!”

“Alright, Director Fang, you’re right. We won’t leave until then!”

The villagers dispersed. I looked towards Director Fang and asked, “Are you the head of the film crew?”

“Yes, I really didn’t expect trouble to arise when we came here. It’s so troublesome. Fortunately, it hasn’t affected the mood of our Prince and He Xin!”

Mentioning He Xin, I realized she had gotten out of the car. She had been sitting next to Prince all along. It seemed her role this time was not a minor one.

She was likely playing the heroine. Even though it was a 20-minute micro-film, for He Xin, this was already very satisfying.

Coming over to me, He Xin said worriedly, “You understand the situation, don’t you? I wonder how that police captain is doing. Shall we go and check?”

“Don’t you have filming to do?”

“Not at the moment, I have time.”

I agreed and split the members of the Punishment Squad into two groups. One group would question the film crew, and the other would accompany me to investigate the villagers.

There were no surveillance cameras here, and it was quite remote. To understand the situation, we needed to find eyewitnesses; otherwise, it would all be in vain.

An even more serious problem was that we didn’t even know when Captain Wang (the police captain) had gone missing.

Gao Mingqiang learned from the police station that Captain Wang had left the station after 6 PM yesterday and came here to investigate. However, by 6 PM today, he had not returned. When they couldn’t reach him by phone, the police station became concerned and asked He Xin to notify us.

The Taiping Police Station, due to this case, had dispatched several officers to assist us in the investigation. However, these officers didn't seem eager to work with us. They had their own methods, which were quite foolish. They interrogated anyone they saw in the village, not even sparing cats and dogs. It was too amateurish.

I suspected that perhaps nothing more serious than a disappearance had ever happened here. If a murder occurred, I didn’t know how these people would handle it.

I went to the village committee office and found a village committee member named Wu Jingshuo. He told me that Captain Wang had eaten at his house before he went missing. Captain Wang had looked very tired and kept dozing off while eating.

I asked curiously, “Then why didn’t you let him rest?”

“Of course, I did. I’m a kind person, after all. But he wouldn’t listen, insisting on leaving to handle the case!”

I looked around the village committee office. There was a courtyard behind it with tables, suggesting this was where they had eaten.

“When did you and Captain Wang have dinner?”

“Around 9 PM last night, I suppose it was a late supper, as villagers sleep early. By 10 PM, most were asleep.”

I figured if Captain Wang was still with Wu Jingshuo at 9 PM last night, then he must have disappeared after 9 PM.

I then asked, “When did he leave?”

“We ate for about 30 minutes. He sat on a chair to rest for a bit, around 9:45 PM. It’s strange, how can a living person just disappear like that!”

Wu Jingshuo’s reaction seemed normal, not like someone faking it after doing something wrong. However, I remained uneasy and continued to ask, “Did you see him walking in any particular direction?”

“He left the office and headed towards the main street of the village. But it’s very dark here at night with no streetlights. After watching for a while, he disappeared into the night.”

Wu Jingshuo still didn't seem to be lying. I left my contact information and temporarily withdrew. Afterwards, Gao Mingqiang, who had been interviewing several households, approached me. The moment he saw me, he said, “When I was questioning some people, I found that someone had seen traces of Captain Wang at around 9:50 PM. But they saw him still walking on the road then and didn’t see where he went last.”

“Go and interview more places. We need to get a general idea of which part of the village Captain Wang disappeared from.”

I instructed him. Xiahou then walked over, “Team Leader He, I’ve investigated that area too…”

His report was similar to Gao Mingqiang’s. I became impatient. “Are there no other useful clues at all?”