He sent off the plump delivery man and quietly returned to his warehouse. He closed the rolling shutter, turned on the dim light, and ate his dinner by its glow.
"The fat guy shouted three times earlier, and I didn't notice any movement. It seems my location hasn't been exposed yet, and no one is tracking me," he mused while eating.
It turned out that Ping An, as cunning as a fox, had asked the fat delivery man to shout "Don't move, police!" three times to test if he was being followed. After all, Niu Jian had lost his life. If the killer of Niu Jian was somehow related to the tip-off, and if the other party also knew that Niu Jian had confided in him, then he could become the next person to be "eliminated." In fact, as soon as Ping An learned of Niu Jian's murder in his office, he had already considered this possibility. The entire day spent being detained by the police was also a way for him to stall them. Most importantly, with Niu Jian dead, although Ping An knew about the tip-off, he had no idea who Niu Jian intended to report. He couldn't take any precautions or target anyone.
The enemy is in the dark, and I am in the light! The enemy knows me, but I don't know the enemy! How could he fight this battle? After finishing his meal, Ping An lay on his bed, contemplating the problem seriously. Perhaps, perhaps he was overthinking things. Perhaps the other party knew that Niu Jian hadn't had a chance to reveal the information about the person he was going to report. Therefore, by killing Niu Jian, they had completely sealed off that source of information. He knew something, but in reality, he knew nothing. The other party wouldn't have a reason to kill him.
No, he had to pretend to return to normal life, and he couldn't get too close to the police. What if the other party was watching him and saw him associating with the police every day? Even if there was nothing, it could lead to trouble, and they might just finish him off to tie up loose ends.
"I still have many things unfinished. I can't just wait for death. I need to find out who killed Niu Jian. At this point, I can only face it head-on. If I falter even a little, I'm finished..." Ping An muttered to himself.
"However, I tested it with the fat guy just now and found nothing unusual. Logically, if those two police officers from Meiqian knew about my conversation with Niu Jian, they should have thought I might be the next victim. But they just left!"
"Damn it! My fate is mine to control, not heaven's. Since I've stumbled into this labyrinth by chance, let me break through it!"
"I need to go to the place where Niu Jian was killed first! It's not convenient with so many people around during the day. Yes, I'll go now!"
After a day of turmoil, Ping An, lying on the makeshift bed made of cabinets, was clearly very tired. However, due to the series of events, he was too excited to fall asleep. After some thought, he decided to go to the place where Niu Jian was killed.
No sooner said than done, decisive action is his forte! This was Ping An. He was efficient in his actions and only worried for three minutes when faced with a problem. Once he figured out a solution, he would become energetic again. Regarding this matter, the most correct approach would be to distance himself from it. But whether it was out of guilt for Niu Jian or curiosity, Ping An was determined to investigate this matter thoroughly.
He got up, opened the cabinet, took out a high-powered flashlight and a pair of leather gloves. To be safe, he thought for a moment and then took out a retractable baton, tucking it behind him. Of course, a slingshot and steel balls were essential and were kept in his jacket pocket for easy access. Due to his professional habits, Ping An's leather backpack always contained a mirrorless camera, a fully charged power bank, and a walkie-talkie. The mirrorless camera and power bank were for his work. As for the walkie-talkie, what was that for? It turned out that Ping An often ventured into the suburbs and wilderness for interviews, and sometimes when his phone had no signal, he relied on the walkie-talkie to communicate. He communicated with his good friend, who ran a shop selling outdoor survival gear. This friend's walkie-talkie was always on, specifically for his friends "surviving" in the wild. In critical moments, it could provide emergency assistance and relay messages.
With all the equipment ready, what about transportation? Ping An owned a car, but he had been away on a business trip for a week, and his car was still at the unit. He glanced at his phone and saw that it was already 10:30 PM. At this hour, it was almost impossible to get a taxi at the airport warehouse. How would he get there?
Ping An's eyes darted around, and he focused on the motorcycle in front of him. "I said I'd fix you last time, but I never had the time. Why not do it now?" Ping An muttered to himself.
This motorcycle was actually left by Ping An's father. It was once the most popular model in the late 20th century. Ping An's father was a motorcycle enthusiast and had saved up a lot of money for this motorcycle. Now, his father had been gone for nearly fifteen years, and this motorcycle had naturally become Ping An's ride.
Half a month ago, Ping An was riding this motorcycle for an interview in the suburbs when he discovered a problem with one of the wheels on his way back. Now, as long as the motorcycle was fixed, he would have transportation.
"Speaking of which, I still don't know the exact location where Niu Jian was killed," Ping An thought as he worked on the motorcycle. According to Meiqian, Niu Jian's murder scene was "in a cement pond at a construction site in the suburbs." This meant he could find it by elimination.
He stopped what he was doing, took out his phone, opened WeChat, and clicked on a WeChat public account called "Hekawa Key Projects." Then he clicked on each article to gather information.
"'A Glimpse from the Construction Frontline of Hekawa City's Sixth Wastewater Treatment Plant'?" Hmm, this article says the project is in its final stages, so there shouldn't be any cement work left. It can't be here. "'Hekawa City Safety Education and Training Base Construction Project Centralized Procurement Announcement'?" They're just starting to procure materials, meaning construction hasn't begun yet. It's not here. "'Provincial Quality Supervision Bureau Inspects Engineering Quality of Hekawa City River District Affordable Housing (Third Batch) Project'?" This news was from this noon. If Niu Jian died here, leaders would likely not come for an inspection, so it's not here either. "'Hekawa City Fourth Ring Road Gaizhuang Overpass Project Wins Another Award – Rated 'Green Project' by the Provincial Department of Transportation'?" Hmm? Gaizhuang? The geographical location is plausible. An overpass project would likely involve cement pouring. Yes, it's nine out of ten here." After some elimination, Ping An easily pinpointed Niu Jian's murder scene based on Meiqian's previous statement.
It was 11 PM. The airport warehouse was deserted, and no cars could be seen on the road for long stretches.
"Rrrrrip—" With a piercing sound, the rolling shutter of Ping An's warehouse was pulled open. Ping An, fully equipped, pushed his motorcycle out into the passage in front of the warehouse. He casually locked the warehouse door, put on his helmet, started the motorcycle, and gunned the throttle. The legendary motorcycle roared to life like a hunting lion and sped off.
Night fell, and the streetlights came on. On the main road connecting the airport to the city, a black motorcycle was speeding at 120 mph. Ping An, on the motorcycle, showed no signs of fatigue, his eyes wide open, staring intently ahead. His destination was Gaizhuang, an administrative village within the Hechuan City Riverside District. A large overpass construction project was underway there, but it had been temporarily shut down for the past couple of days due to a headless murder case.
In Gaizhuang Village under the night sky, only a few restaurants were still lit. Around the overpass construction site at the west end of the village, there wasn't a soul to be seen. The recent murder of a person with no head had terrified the villagers of Gaizhuang. Therefore, not to mention the dead of night, but even during the day, outsiders dared not approach this construction site.
Ping An rode his motorcycle to the construction site. He parked his bike, walked lightly to the site's iron gate, and gave it a gentle push. He found that it was locked.
"This is it. I need to find a way in." Putting away his flashlight, Ping An walked a few steps along the sheet metal fence on both sides of the iron gate. He saw a fence that had been deliberately pushed down and, with a flip, jumped into the construction site.
Turning on his flashlight, Ping An saw several caution tapes not far away. He quietly walked up to the caution tape and saw the lower part of a bridge under construction, about half completed. Inside the construction, there were clear signs of digging within the cement pouring column. This further confirmed that this was the cement pond where Niu Jian was killed.
Ping An examined it carefully and saw that it was a standardized cement pouring operation area. Four sheet metal panels enclosed an area of about four to five square meters. About a meter away from the sheet metal panels was a cement pouring surface that appeared to have a diameter of only two meters. Directly above the pouring surface, the pouring nozzle of a cement truck pointed straight at this work area.
On the work surface, there was a pit more than half a meter deep. Ping An shone his flashlight into the pit and gestured with his hand to gauge its size. He immediately concluded that Niu Jian had been placed headfirst into this work area. Perhaps the cement truck had just begun pouring some cement when the killer, before the cement hardened, threw Niu Jian in. The original plan was likely to keep pouring more cement to completely "seal" Niu Jian into the bridge pillar. However, for some reason, not much cement was poured, and Niu Jian, thrown in headfirst, was not completely "sealed" by the cement. Based on the depth of the hole in the cement surface, Niu Jian's buried position at the time should have reached his chest.
"Did the killer wait for the cement truck to pour cement specifically before seizing the opportunity to dump the body? Or was the body treated this way intentionally, as a warning or intimidation to someone else?" Ping An squatted on the cement surface, thinking seriously. This cement truck was electric and could not operate without a driver. Was this why the police didn't suspect the construction workers? If not construction workers, then who could have connected the cement truck to power and started the equipment? Who provided the cement in the truck? Or had the police already conducted a thorough investigation and ruled out the construction workers? However, on the night of the disposal, who let the killer in? And how did he make the scene look like this? On the cement surface, apart from the hole left after dumping the body, there wasn't even a footprint. If the killer didn't step on the cement surface, how could he have disposed of the body?
A string of questions arose, and Ping An, standing on the cement platform, fell into deep thought. Setting aside the investigation into who killed Niu Jian, he couldn't even figure out the method of Niu Jian's murder.
"I need to find a way to see the crime scene photos from that time!" Ping An muttered.
After circling the cement operation area a few times, Ping An suddenly discovered a serious problem: why was there no security guard at such a large construction site? He was sneaking around inside, openly using a flashlight, and no one noticed?
"There must be a duty room or security office in such a large construction site!" Ping An became curious about this and wanted to find the security guard.
Walking past the cement pouring operation area, Ping An headed deeper into the construction site. The site was not very large, and after a few steps, he found himself at the edge of the fence.
"This construction site can't be unstaffed, can it?" Ping An muttered to himself.
"Hello! Is anyone there?" Ping An shouted.
Indeed, no one was there! Ping An was a bit dumbfounded. There were many pieces of equipment on this site, not to mention the rebar. If a scrap dealer came by, they would strike it rich—
"No!" As he thought this, Ping An suddenly shivered! He turned and ran towards the large iron gate of the construction site. The construction site was not large, and after two or three minutes, when he reached the iron gate, panting, he didn't bother to catch his breath. Instead, with trembling hands, he raised his flashlight and shone it on the large iron gate—
"Holy crap! No way!" The large iron gate under the flashlight's beam looked no different from a regular factory gate. To prevent people from crawling under the fence, the surface of the iron gate, in addition to the iron bars, was covered with a layer of welded sheet metal. The gate itself was as high as 3 meters. Without the bars for leverage, it was impossible for an average person to climb over without assistance. Such a gate was not a problem in itself, but what surprised Ping An was that the lock on this gate was locked from the inside!
Ping An had noticed when he rode his motorcycle to the construction site's iron gate that there were no locks or handles on the outside. This meant the gate could only be locked from the inside. Now, Ping An had entered the construction site, only to find the iron gate locked from the inside. Could it be, could it be that this was a "locked room" scenario, a common trope in detective novels...
It didn't make any sense! Looking at the locked iron gate, he turned back to look at the empty construction site, and finally, the strong beam of Ping An's flashlight settled on the cement operation area not far away.
"It's only about ten meters from the large iron gate to the cement operation area, and it's a straight line. Standing outside the gate, you can directly see the cement operation area," Ping An thought. This construction site was full of strange occurrences. Moreover, since a case had occurred, why wasn't the iron gate sealed off? Meiqian had said that Niu Jian's body found here had no head. Where was the head? Was this construction site actually the primary crime scene?
After investigating the scene, Ping An summarized some questions. He urgently needed to see the firsthand information and photos from when the body was discovered. Just as he was thinking about leaving, the large iron gate blocked his path. Did he have to climb over it again? As he thought, he muttered to himself, "Now that I'm here, do you think you can leave?"
"You came all this way, and now you want to leave!" A voice suddenly came from a distance. This construction site was clearly empty, and yet there was a second person? Who was it? How come he hadn't noticed earlier? How did he get in? Was he the killer, coming to clean up the evidence...
"Hey kid, what's wrong with you? Coming to the construction site in the middle of the night to mess around?" Following the direction of the voice, a beam of strong light shone on the back of Ping An's head.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Ping An didn't dare to turn around and asked with his eyes closed.
"I'm the security guard of this construction site. I went to the latrine and came back to see you sneaking around here, mumbling to yourself. I saw you weren't stealing anything, so I figured you'd be done soon..." Footsteps approached, and an old man in camouflage uniform appeared before Ping An.
"Uncle, I'm a geomancer. Someone died here, right? The nearby villagers called me to drive away ghosts..." Glancing at the old man, Ping An didn't want to reveal his identity and began to make up a story.
"Not a bad lie, but I don't believe it," the old man said.
"How can you not believe it? This is a case of unjust death. Haven't you noticed that there are only traces of the body on the cement surface, but no person? If it wasn't a ghost, how did the body get there?" Ping An exclaimed.
"I think you're more like a ghost. In my life, I believe in no one but the Party. Ever since the incident a few days ago, I've been guarding here myself. There are patrolling police officers outside. What? Shall I ask the police to question you?" The old man puffed out his chest, and Ping An noticed that he was wearing a Party badge...
"There's no way out. I'll confess," Ping An thought, preparing to apologize and admit his mistake. But just as he was about to speak, a large camera bag suddenly flew over from the wall and landed heavily behind him.
"This..." Ping An and the old man's rhythmic conversation was interrupted by the camera bag. After staring at the bag on the ground for less than two seconds, a figure suddenly flipped over from the wall and landed heavily at Ping An's feet.
"It hurts, it hurts!" The figure spoke, and it was a woman.
"It's really lively tonight. I've guarded this construction site for two or three years, and tonight I've caught the most thieves," the old man said, shining his flashlight on the figure on the ground.
Through the flashlight beam, Ping An saw that it was a young girl. Whether it was because it was cold at night or for some other reason, she was wearing a down jacket, even though it wasn't winter yet.
Facing the glaring light, the girl shielded her eyes and said loudly, "Stop shining it! I knocked on the door earlier, and no one opened it, so I jumped in."
"Uh, I was just going to the restroom," the old man added. Feeling that the girl posed no threat, he shone his flashlight back on Ping An.
"Nonsense, I was here the whole time and didn't hear any knocking," Ping An said.
"Where did you come from?" the girl asked, standing up angrily.
"What's it to you? You tell me what you're doing here first!" Ping An quickly interjected.
"Yes, what are you here for? Do you have business with the construction site?" the old man also asked.
"I was invited by the Public Security Bureau to shoot some material here," the young girl said righteously. "I'm not a bad person, uncle. I'm a reporter!"
"Reporter?" Ping An and the old man exclaimed in unison.
"Yes, I'm a reporter. I came here to interview, naturally. I really knocked, and no one responded, so I climbed over," the girl said with more confidence. "Don't delay me. Where is the scene? I need to take some photos quickly."
"Which media outlet are you from?" Ping An stared at the girl for a long time, unable to recall having a colleague like her in this city. The profession of a reporter is quite special, especially for news workers like Ping An who have professional qualifications, titles, and reporter credentials issued by the press. They are almost all part of a small circle. No matter how large Hechuan City is, there are only a few local media outlets, and the reporters stationed in the city by provincial media are all people they know—he had never seen this girl before.
"I'm from Hechuan Daily!" the girl replied.
"You're from Hechuan Daily?" This time, Ping An was even more dumbfounded. How could someone from his own unit be someone he didn't know?
"What's your name?" Ping An continued to ask. The old man standing beside him also shone his flashlight on the girl again.
"My name is Ping An! Ever heard of me? Chief reporter of the Social News section of Hechuan Daily!" the girl said, her expression flustered.
"Nonsense!" Ping An said angrily, pointing at the girl.
"Okay, okay, my master is Ping An, and my name is Lin Dang. I am Chief Reporter Ping An's most senior disciple." The girl said with full confidence, her earlier rare fluster completely gone.
"Disciple? How come I didn't know!" Ping An was even more dumbfounded.
"Stop arguing! My head hurts!" The old man waved his hand impatiently and pointed at Ping An. "It's your turn. What are you here for?"
"I told you, I'm a geomancer. There's killing energy here, so I came to detect it and catch some ghosts," Ping An prepared to continue bluffing.
"Now, get out of here, old man! Otherwise, I'll call the police," the old man said angrily. "You young people, dating or not, pretending not to know each other is one thing. And one is a reporter, the other a geomancer. What, are you playing Conan at the murder scene and doing cosplay?"
"Uncle... you even know what cosplay is?" Ping An said in surprise.
"Uncle, I'm not his girlfriend. I'm really a reporter!" said the girl named Lin Dang.
"A reporter? Do reporters go out on interviews carrying a 'great sword'?" The old man shone his flashlight pointedly at Lin Dang's waist. Only then did Ping An see that the girl was carrying a wooden toy sword. At first glance, it really looked like the wooden sword that Taoist priests use to slay demons.
"This is a protective amulet given to me by our leader!" Lin Dang pulled off the "great sword" and threw it on the ground with a huff. "I didn't want to come so late at night. Our leader insisted. I said I was scared, so he gave me his family's ancestral 'protective sword'. I had no choice but to take it..."
As she spoke, Lin Dang noticed that the two people opposite her were silent. She couldn't see their expressions in the dark, and she didn't know if they believed her—Bah! This sword was forced on her by her leader, and she wasn't lying, so why should she feel guilty!
"Don't you believe me?" Lin Dang asked softly, with a hint of grievance.
In the darkness, although she couldn't see the expressions of the two people opposite her, she saw that they both nodded in unison.