Suburb, late at night, beside the murder scene.
An elderly security guard, who was into cosplay, faced two unknown individuals, unsure of what to do. If he called them bad guys, he probably wouldn't. They seemed clumsy; if they were up to no good, they would be no match for him, a former special forces soldier in the Vietnam War. If he called them good guys, why would they climb into a construction site in the middle of the night, especially one where a murder had occurred? Was it for thrills? They didn't look like it, especially the young girl, who seemed like a decent person.
"You say you're a reporter, bringing a wooden sword?" the old man began to question, first asking Lin Dang.
"Yes, I'm really a reporter!" Lin Dang said, sounding wronged.
"And you say you're a Feng Shui master, here to catch ghosts?" the old man asked Ping An.
"Yes, yes!" Ping An continued to string him along.
"I'll give you two one more chance. Explain yourselves clearly. If you're just messing around, go home now, get a hotel room, I won't stop you. If you try to fool me again, I'll call for help. This is a murder scene, and there's a police car parked on the road outside the iron gate!" the old man threatened.
"Alright, alright, I won't play games with you anymore. I'm a reporter, here to do some investigating," Ping An said, waving his hand and confessing with a smile.
"I'll kick you, reporter! Do you think I'm easy to mess with?" Hearing Ping An's answer, the old man lifted his left leg and delivered a beautiful "butt-kick" to Ping An's backside.
"I'm telling the truth, I really am a reporter!" Ping An became anxious and quickly explained.
"Why do you both claim to be reporters? She says she's a reporter, and you do too. Is the next step for you to claim you're a Feng Shui master?" The old man, flustered, glanced at Lin Dang, saw she was a young girl, and couldn't bring himself to kick her again. He turned back and delivered another kick to Ping An's backside.
"Sir, I don't know him at all. He's probably the killer!" Lin Dang shouted.
"Don't kick! I have a reporter's ID! I have a reporter's ID!" Ping An was truly scared of the old man and quickly took out his reporter's ID from his backpack and handed it to him.
"Ping An! Reporter!" The old man, under the flashlight, looked closely and read the two words.
"I am Ping An, a reporter from the social news department of the Hechuan Daily. There were circumstances beyond my control, so I had no choice but to come here to investigate," Ping An said, clearing his throat.
After staring at the reporter's ID for a long time, the old man squinted at Ping An, then at Lin Dang, and said to Ping An, "Even if you are a real reporter, you can't do this. If you want to investigate, you should go through our company's leadership. Now that something has happened here, the police are in charge. What are you doing? You made me kick you twice, I didn't mean to, and I won't write about it in the news!" The old man's tone softened. After saying this, without waiting for Ping An to reply, he pointed at Lin Dang and said, "Is this girl your apprentice?"
Hearing the old man's question, Lin Dang, who had been in a daze, suddenly shivered and looked pleadingly at Ping An.
"I don't know her at all, and she's not a reporter. There's no one like her in our Hechuan news circle. Sir, I think she's the suspicious one!" Ping An said, pointing at Lin Dang, word by word.
"I'm not a bad person, I'm really here to take photos!" Lin Dang said with a tearful voice, taking out her camera from her backpack. "I'm indeed not a reporter, but like you, Mr. Ping An, I'm also someone who loves the news business."
"Stop trying to get chummy with me. I don't have a student like you!" Ping An said, waving his hand. "What exactly are you doing here?"
"I..." Lin Dang seemed embarrassed and stammered for a long time without being able to speak.
"Sir, do you want to call the police, or should I? Captain Mei of the serious crimes division is practically my best friend. I'll call," Ping An said, taking out his phone to make a call.
"Please, Mr. Ping An, I'm an employee of the WeChat public account 'Hechuan is a Group'..." Lin Dang finally revealed her affiliation.
"Your real name! Your full name!" Ping An continued his "interrogation." As a journalist, he understood that some online content creators used pen names to avoid trouble, so he didn't believe the woman in front of him was actually named Lin Dang.
"My birth name is Lin Zexu!" Lin Dang said coyly.
"Bah! Why not call yourself 'Smoke and Fire in the Tiger's Mouth'? Lin Zexu? What a grand name!" Ping An was getting worked up, thinking this girl was still making things up.
"My name on my ID card is indeed Lin Zexu, but I always go by Lin Dang! Believe it or not, here's my ID!" Lin Dang took out her ID card and handed it over.
Now that both their origins were clear, the old man, feeling accomplished, took out a cigarette, lit it, and gestured for them to follow him.
It was already past midnight, and the moon in the sky was beginning to descend. After all this commotion, both Ping An and Lin Dang were tired and weary. After looking at Lin Dang's ID card, Ping An found that the girl's name was indeed what she said. He didn't say anything further but put the ID card into his own pocket. Lin Dang was a bit displeased, but with her leverage gone, she didn't dare to ask for it back.
Following the old man around a large piece of equipment, by the fence, a seemingly unremarkable makeshift room appeared before the three of them. Pushing the door open and entering, the old man turned on a desk lamp, illuminating the room.
Ping An and Lin Dang, one after the other, followed into the makeshift room and sat on two stools, breathing heavily, neither of them speaking.
The old man looked at them, took out a stack of disposable cups, poured two cups of water from a thermos, and placed them on the low coffee table.
"Whether you're a real reporter or someone from self-media, you shouldn't have come here like this tonight. Regardless of whether a murder happened here, trespassing is wrong," the old man said. "Since you're here, don't think about leaving in one piece. When it gets light, the police will come to take you away, and they'll decide how to handle it."
"Please, sir, I just started working. If I get arrested by the police, I'll lose my job," Lin Dang quickly pleaded, gently nudging Ping An with her foot and signaling with her eyes for him to plead as well.
"I admit I was wrong tonight. Anything that happens is justified. Sir, could you answer a few questions for me? After I'm done, you can deal with me as you please," Ping An said, unfazed.
"Ask away," the old man replied.
"Were you the security guard on duty the night of the incident?" Taking out a cigarette case, Ping An offered one to the old man and lit one for himself, adjusting his breathing as he officially began his interview.
"I'm ashamed to say, I was in the army, fought in Vietnam, was a special forces soldier. After retiring, I went into business. I've been resting at home for the past few years. Seeing that they were hiring security guards here, I took the job," the old man said. He was indeed on duty the night of the incident and was the first to discover the body on the cement surface.
"The night of the incident, didn't you hear anything? How did the body get into the cement? That would require operating machinery," Ping An asked.
"This is also where I feel ashamed. My body is in good condition, but I have frequent urination, especially at night. I have to go every so often. This construction site is a sub-project of a larger bridge and road project. It's essentially a temporary setup, and there are no toilets on site. However, there's a small door on the fence facing the cement work area. It's usually locked from the inside, so no one can get in from the outside. Beyond this small door is a small grove of trees, and further ahead is a small river. When I'm on duty, I sometimes go to the riverbank to urinate when I take a walk," the old man explained.
"Couldn't you have gone in the woods? Why walk so far..." Lin Dang, who had been listening intently, couldn't help but interject.
"Heh, sometimes there are young couples in the woods, it's inconvenient for me," the old man said. On the night of the incident, as he passed through the woods, he happened to notice a young couple engaged in... well, you know.
"It was past 1:30 AM. I went to the riverbank to urinate. Midway through, I suddenly heard a woman scream..." the old man said, his face blushing slightly. He rubbed his hands and continued, "It wasn't a scream of danger, it was more like, you know, that kind of scream!"
"What kind? Was it 'Aaaahhhh' like this? Or 'Ooooohhh'? Or 'Eeeeee'?" The straightforward Lin Dang presented the old man with a multiple-choice question.
"Young lady, what are you doing? I'm almost sixty, why are you teasing me?" the old man said sternly.
"Shut up, don't interrupt. Sir, please continue," Ping An said, giving Lin Dang a look as if she were an idiot.
"I was so startled by the scream that I stepped into the river, soaking my pants. After I tidied myself up, some workers from the engineering department were transporting logs with river water and happened to pass by me. We chatted for a bit, and then I slowly walked back. On the way back, I was mindful not to disturb anyone, but I noticed there was no one in the woods anymore," the old man said.
"When did you discover the body?" Ping An thought for a moment and continued to ask.
"I lay down to sleep for a while around 4 AM. I got up at 6:30 AM to open the iron gate and let people in. When I passed the cement work area, I discovered the body," the old man said. Having fought in a war and seen dead people, his first action upon discovering the body was to call the police and the project manager. Then, before anyone else arrived, he went to examine the scene.
"I brought a stool and stood on the outside, looking closely inside. I saw that the deceased was a man, I don't know his age. Half of his body was embedded in the cement, his hands were tied behind his back, and his feet were also tied with ropes. I was a bit scared at the time. How could something like this happen overnight? The key thing is, I was almost awake all night, how did I not know about this?" the old man said sadly.
"Were there any unusual things at the scene compared to usual?" Ping An asked.
"There were tire tracks from two cars, that was quite obvious. Also, about two meters from the outer edge of the cement work area, there was a small hole. Nothing else," the old man recalled.
"How was the cement pouring machine operated? That machine must make quite a noise. Didn't you hear it?" Ping An asked.
"Son, I know what you're getting at. The machine wasn't turned on that night. The workers finished their night shift at 12:30 AM. After the cement pouring equipment was turned off, there would still be some cement left in the nozzle, just like after you take a shower, there's still some water in the pipes," the old man said after taking a puff of his cigarette. Every night after work, the construction workers would tap the cement nozzles with wooden rods to let out the remaining cement and then smooth it out before finishing. But for some reason, that night, someone also tapped the cement nozzles, and after confirming there was no cement, they left. But the cement used to pour the body...
Reaching this point, the old man seemed tired and said a bit sheepishly, "Son, I need to relieve myself. You two wait here, don't run around, and don't think about evading responsibility. The police won't do anything to you."
"Sir, I have some business too. Shall we go together?" Ping An seized the opportunity and stood up.
"Okay, okay, let's go together," the old man said, glancing at Lin Dang before leaving with his hands behind his back. Ping An smiled at Lin Dang and followed.
Around the large equipment, to the east of the cement work area, beside a seemingly ordinary sheet metal fence, the old man used a key to unlock a chain and open a simple door made of the same material as the fence, leading Ping An towards the woods.
"Son, are you really a reporter?" the old man asked.
"Yes, my name is Ping An. You can call my workplace to verify," Ping An replied. "Since I'm real, I'm not afraid of the police coming."
"Son, if that girl leaves later, just let her go," the old man suddenly turned to look at Ping An and said.
"She can't run away. I still have her ID!" Ping An said proudly.
"Really?" the old man asked.
Ping An suddenly had a bad feeling. He quickly reached into his pocket and found that the ID card was gone.
"Sir! Do you know she secretly took it?" Ping An asked angrily.
"Yes, I saw it. Listen carefully, she quietly took it back," the old man said nonchalantly.
"Sir, what if she's a bad person?" Ping An said anxiously.
"Can a young girl plant a dead body weighing over a hundred pounds into a cement pool like planting flowers?" the old man retorted. "Besides, it was a headless body."
Ping An was bewildered. Why would the seemingly upright old man help Lin Dang like this?
"I understand. This girl is just trying to make a living. Ever since the incident here, those self-media people have been camped outside the construction site all day, trying to get any information, even a single photo. I spent all day yesterday dealing with them," the old man said. "This girl is one of them. I'm not going to make things difficult for her. She's just trying to make a living, why bother? If she ran off, she ran off. Don't we know which self-media company she's from? Let the police deal with it."
Saying this, the old man looked at Ping An and saw that he was still unhappy. He said, "I suspect you're genuinely investigating the case. But, child, you need to be reasonable. When it gets light, admit your mistake to the police properly."
All the way, Ping An remained silent. More than the girl named Lin Dang who appeared tonight, he was more concerned about the investigation of the case. In fact, from the moment he and the old man entered the woods, he had started timing with his phone. After relieving himself by the river, he deliberately asked the old man to demonstrate the scene where he "stepped into the water." On the way back, he also asked the old man to point out the approximate location where he noticed the "young couple."
"27 minutes! It took a total of 27 minutes!" Back in the makeshift room, Ping An checked his phone and found that the period the security guard was absent on the night of the incident was about 27 minutes. Within this less than half an hour, it was not impossible, but still far-fetched, for the murderer to find a way to open the iron gate, drive in, pour cement, and dispose of the body.
"Sir! After you discovered the body, did you check the iron gate? Was the gate locked or open at the time?" Ping An asked.
"It was locked. After the incident, I checked it myself. There were no signs of climbing on the fence around the construction site. These sheet metal fences are quite soft. If someone had climbed up or down, they would have been deformed!" the old man said.
"But I..." Ping An said, a bit embarrassed.
"The place where you and that girl climbed in was created by some 'reporters' who secretly climbed in yesterday during the day!" the old man said angrily.
"I say, before the police come, can you indulge me and let me take a few photos..." Neither Ping An nor the old man noticed that Lin Dang, who they thought had run away, was still there.
"Why didn't you leave?" the old man asked, surprised.
"Besides wanting to take photos, I have no bad intentions and I'm not a bad person. Why should I run?" Lin Dang said.
"You're quite quick. Have you been a thief before?" Ping An said, looking at Lin Dang with displeasure.
"I was just taking back my own things..." Lin Dang muttered.
"If you want to take pictures, then take them. I can't work here anymore. I probably won't be hired as a security guard again," the old man said with some reluctance, sitting in his chair.
"Sir, what's your name? I'll see if I can help you!" Ping An said suddenly.
"Oh, my name is Gaoda. Stop calling me 'sir' all the time. I'm not sixty yet. Call me uncle!" Gaoda said with a chuckle.
Gaoda, with one eye open, let Ping An and Lin Dang leave the makeshift room. Lin Dang walked to the cement work area, took out her DSLR camera, and began to ponder how to shoot.
Ping An, with his hands behind his back, walked in circles around the cement work area, filtering the information gathered that night.
The biggest suspect is still the person Niu Jian reported. Ping An thought that murder could be passionate or premeditated. Passionate attacks might be indiscriminate, killing people they don't know or have no connection with. In such cases, unless the murderer leaves very obvious evidence or witnesses, the police would have no way of knowing who the murderer is. Relatively speaking, in such cases, the murderer wouldn't deliberately hide the body because there would be no need. If it was premeditated murder, then the killer would have planned how to deal with the body afterward, such as hiding it.
Niu Jian's head was cut off, which seemed like an act of venting, fitting for a murder to silence someone who was reported. But there was no need to bring the body here? Pouring cement over the body clearly indicated a desire not to be found. If the intention was to pour cement, why not pour it completely? Was the act of treating the body like planting flowers a warning or a hint? Ping An mused that based on the investigation last night and this morning, the primary crime scene of Niu Jian's murder was definitely not here. Secondly, the murderer must be very familiar with this construction site, perhaps even one of the workers. Third, many things must have happened during the time the old man went to urinate. During this period, the small door for temporary entry and exit was open, allowing outsiders to enter and exit. This would explain how the iron gate could be opened from the inside, how a car could drive in, and afterward, the car could drive out, an accomplice would lock the gate from the inside, and then slip away through the small door. Fourth, where did the cement in the cement work area come from? Was it truly from the pouring machine's residual cement?
"Big reporter, how do you think the murderer 'planted' the body into the cement like this?" While Ping An was deep in thought, Lin Dang, in a panic, had not yet started shooting because she realized she couldn't photograph the entire cement surface without being elevated.
Yes, when disposing of the body, they had to control the time. If it was too early, the cement wouldn't have set, and the body wouldn't stay in place. If it was too late, the cement would have set, and the body couldn't be inserted. Ping An suddenly realized that Lin Dang's question had become another point of doubt in the case.
The body was placed vertically, meaning an average person couldn't lift the body vertically. There were no footprints on the cement surface, indicating the murderer did not dispose of the body nearby. Ping An fell into deep thought again. Even with an accomplice, it would be impossible to position the body like planting flowers and throw it in, unless... unless!
"Big reporter, can you help me find a tool? I need to use a tool to stand higher so I can get a panoramic shot!" Lin Dang asked pitifully from the side.
"Right! Tools!" Ping An exclaimed excitedly! To dispose of the body in the cement within half an hour, tools would be needed. If the tools were brought from the car, there wouldn't be enough time. Therefore, this construction site, filled with various tools and equipment, could have provided the murderer with the most direct assistance! And if the killer took tools from the site, they would have left traces.
Thinking of this, Ping An stomped his foot and ran towards the makeshift room like a madman.
"Uncle Gaoda! Come on! Let's play a game of 'Whoever finds me a clue gets a hundred bucks'!" Ping An rubbed his hands, raised his eyebrows, and said to Gaoda with a flirtatious air.
"There's also a young lady here. I'm a principled man. Money or no money, this is not appropriate!" Despite saying this, Gaoda rubbed his hands, looking eager.
"You guys look disgusting!" Lin Dang, who had followed Ping An all the way in without understanding what was happening, said with disgust.
"Good girl! Come, come, come. Do you want a front-page headline to become famous?" Ping An continued to rub his hands, raise his eyebrows, and sway his head with a mischievous smile as he approached Lin Dang.