The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, a perfect night for murder.
At 1 AM, at a large bridge construction site in the suburbs, a black van, its lights off, crept in like a black panther hunting at night.
In the small grove of trees not far from the construction site, a woman in a black raincoat and mask crawled forward stealthily. Seeing the van enter the site, she raised her phone and began recording in the moonlight. A gust of wind blew past, rustling the leaves, and messing up her waist-length hair. However, she seemed oblivious to the wind, as she was recording a terrifying scene through her phone—
After the van stopped, a man in camouflage emerged. He wore a mask, his features obscured. After getting out, he put on a pair of gloves, carefully surveyed the surroundings, then opened the rear trunk and dragged someone out!
Anyone witnessing this would have cried out in shock! For the person dragged out of the van had no head!
Another gust of wind blew, and a faint scent of blood lingered in the air. The leaves continued to rustle. The woman in the woods, whether from fear or sorrow, kept her phone raised, while the other hand covered her masked mouth. With a tremor that shook her body, she finally couldn't bear it, slowly crouching down, and then slowly sitting on the ground. A stream of cold tears silently fell from beneath her sunglasses.
Hechuan City, the capital of Shanhe Province, a large city with a population of 10 million. Compared to the developed economy of coastal cities, it once led the nation in economic development for a long time, relying on its abundant resources. In recent years, with the deepening of supply-side reforms, Shanhe Province has undergone a "bottleneck" structural adjustment in its resource economy, shifting its focus to high-tech research and development, distinctive cultural tourism, and transportation services. However, despite the government's bold "severing the wrist" spirit, it couldn't withstand the "growing pains" brought by the reform of traditional industries. Resource enterprises have continuously transformed, and industries that relied on resource-based enterprises have suffered immensely, such as the catering industry, and the newspaper industry…
Hechuan City has only one newspaper, the local party newspaper and the official mainstream media, officially named Hechuan City New Media Development Co., Ltd. Ten years ago, the newspaper underwent institutional reform, transitioning from a public institution to a state-owned enterprise. Its employees also transitioned from institutional编制 to the current contract employment system.
Enough said, enough said. Actually, all the above is not related to our story. However, it is related to our protagonist, a reporter named Ping An. And here he is, being reprimanded in the director's office—
"Twelve departments in the platform, except for your social news department, have almost completed their annual business of 1.8 million. But what about your department? You've only completed 800,000 for the whole year! And that was with my help. Tell me, what are we going to do?" In a large office labeled "Director," a man wearing an old woolen vest sat in a boss's chair. In front of him was the most fashionable integrated electronic desk, but in the center of the desk was a canned glass bottle with a knitted cover. Without a doubt, the director was this man, Zhang Gaige, 55 years old, who had dedicated his life to the news industry.
And the other person stood quietly beside him. He was quite tall, about 180 centimeters, with neatly parted hair. His arms were quite long. Anyone meeting him for the first time would mistake him for an athlete.
At this moment, he listened to Director Zhang's scolding, his eyes constantly drooping, occasionally picking his nose with his finger, and then immediately returning to the standard posture of being lectured.
Enough of the preamble. Let's properly introduce this seemingly insignificant reporter, Ping An.
Ping An, 32 years old, Virgo, single, chief editor (chief reporter), with a postgraduate degree and a master's in psychology. He is currently the director of the Social News Department of the Hechuan City New Media Co., Ltd. News Platform, and the only investigative reporter in Hechuan City. You might ask, what is an investigative reporter? Yes, yes, yes, it's exactly what you're thinking now, someone who specializes in exposing negative news.
Speaking of the social news department, it used to be the most popular department in the newspaper a long, long time ago. At its peak, there were more than 12 reporters in the department. Why was it so popular? Ten years ago, before the advent of integrated media, newspapers, as local mainstream media, held a dominant position in the media landscape. And what attracted readers the most in newspapers were the "negative reports," also known as "exposés." In that era, investigative news featuring "negative reports" was the newspaper's weapon, and even more so, its tool for generating revenue. Don't misunderstand! They never earned revenue illegally, but their reputation, their influence, and their readership were such that no one dared to underestimate them, thus naturally becoming the preferred choice for various industries to place advertisements. Especially resource-based enterprises, who would pay millions of yuan to continuously book various pages. That period was called the "golden decade" by media professionals.
Today, the "golden decade" is long gone. The influence of the market environment and integrated media has made social news less popular. Since Ping An joined the newspaper seven years ago, the number of reporters in the department has slowly dwindled from the initial eight to two. Last year, after Ping An's old director retired, he gloriously took over the position of director, but he became a "lonely commander." Compared to other departments with more than a dozen people, his department was the smallest.
However, even the smallest department was not to be underestimated within the entire newspaper platform. Ping An was renowned. After all, having worked in social news for over seven years, he was familiar with both the "underworld" and the "official circles." Most importantly, while responsible for the social news department's column "Ping An 'Talks' Cases," he had repeatedly assisted the police in solving cases through his unique investigations, making him a well-known "reporter detective" in the area.
Alright, our story officially begins.
After leaving the director's office, Ping An lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and stretched with satisfaction! Well, even though he had listened to scolding all morning, Comrade Old Zhang was still a good comrade! Look, he hadn't met last year's business target, but Old Man Zhang had managed to fill it for him by pulling strings. This was great; the target was met, the department was saved, and he could "do as he pleased" for another year, avoiding being sent to the countryside to be a poverty alleviation team leader and help farmers raise chickens.
"Ping An! You're amazing, you got away with another year!" In the corridor, a graceful and fashionable beauty holding a cup of coffee slowly emerged from the adjacent office.
"......" After staring at the beauty for a long time, Ping An quietly turned his head and continued to smoke.
"Do you know that the business you covered this time came from our department?" the beauty said angrily, seeing Ping An's indifference.
"......" Ping An still said nothing, continuing to deeply inhale the cigarette in his hand.
"You dead man, can't you say something?" the beauty grew even more annoyed.
"The coffee is good, it smells nice!" Ping An finally made a normal human gesture.
"Of course, only someone like me, whose annual bonus is 600,000, can afford this high-end coffee. Someone like you, with an annual bonus of only tens of thousands, will never get to touch it." The beauty seemed to have gained an advantage, proudly holding up her coffee.
"Do you know why your mother named you Duo Duo?" Ping An finished his cigarette, flicking the butt away as he spoke, "At least 90 out of every 100 words you say are superfluous!"
"My name is Fei Keqing, not Duo Duo!" The beauty, named Fei Keqing, finally erupted.
"Yes, Duo Duo, isn't that Fei! Hahahaha!" Having won the verbal spar, Ping An left with satisfaction, completely ignoring the furious and terrifying face of the director of the fashion features department.
"Alas! I forgot to tell you, two policemen registered at the front desk downstairs saying they were looking for you. I wonder what bad thing you've done now. Be careful not to get arrested!" Looking at Ping An as he gradually walked away, Fei Keqing, who had been full of anger moments before, instantly regained her sharp and bright look.
"I told you you're a Duo Duo, why can't you talk about important things first!" Ping An's voice receded into the distance.
"Keep causing trouble, and someone will deal with you sooner or later!" she whispered softly, turning to leave, a charming smile playing on Fei Keqing's lips.
Ping An's office was located in the most inconspicuous place in this 20-story office building—the top-floor attic.
According to the staffing, the social news department was allocated a large office of approximately 90 square meters, with two smaller rooms. However, due to its perennial failure to meet revenue targets, the old director had "borrowed" the offices in batches and stages under the guise of "promoting spirit" to other constantly expanding departments. Finally, a year ago, after Ping An took over as the new director, the exasperated company president banished him to the attic office. The stated reason was: to primarily manage the building's power and water systems, and incidentally, to handle the department's news. Ping An, unusually, protested this decision and resisted. He blocked the company president's car in the underground parking lot, but the president, preparing to drive home, gave him a few rolls of his eyes and pointed to a small room in the underground garage, saying, "Or, you can go down there and primarily look after your colleagues' vehicles, and incidentally, handle the department's news."
Enraged, Ping An immediately declared that the rooftop was more suitable for his journalistic career and expressed his great satisfaction with the leader's arrangement. Then, he cheerfully moved to the top floor.
Entering this office, three walls were made of floor-to-ceiling glass, and the only solid wall was adorned with various pennants. A news clipping, folded and framed, had long since yellowed but had never been replaced. Inside the office, six old-fashioned desks were arranged in a "口" shape, leaving only a passage of less than half a meter for entry and exit. The six desks were covered with various documents and books. A dual-screen computer was displaying its screensaver, asleep, while a laptop was showing "Empresses in the Palace."
Nothing could be placed in front of the glass walls. The only two bookshelves in the room were placed "lying down" beneath the glass walls. Next to the bookshelves was a military folding bed. The towel and blanket on the bed were clean, but the pillow was missing.
A 110-square-meter suite, which outsiders might consider a director-level treatment, was, in Ping An's opinion, a "cold in winter and hot in summer" "good place." In winter, there was no heating. When desperate, Ping An would light a brazier of charcoal on the rooftop outside the attic. In summer, there was no air conditioning, and the room's temperature could reach levels that were not just hot, but scorching.
It was in such an environment that Ping An upheld his promise, completing his weekly social news section on time, without delay, and without interruption.
Sitting in his office, Ping An was extremely bored. After watching "Empresses in the Palace" for about ten minutes while dozing off, he finally heard a knock on the door.
"Come in, the door's unlocked!" Ping An called out lazily.
The door creaked open, and a police officer in uniform cautiously peeked his head in. "Excuse me, are you Reporter Ping An?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm Ping An! Come in, there's a folding stool under the bed, make do with it!" Ping An said.
"No need. Your unit has too many departments, and your office is quite... unique. We've been looking for half an hour," the door creaked open further, and two policemen entered.
"Hello, I am Mei Qian, captain of the Serious Cases Brigade, Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. This is my colleague, Investigator Liu Keduo." The policeman who spoke first showed Ping An his police ID and then began to speak while standing, not taking a stool.
"Is it about Niu Jian's matter?" Ping An suddenly asked, looking at the policemen before him.
"You really know Niu Jian," Liu Keduo said with surprise. "Why would this reporter directly mention Niu Jian's name?"
"I don't know him. He should know me. I've been doing social news for several years, so many people know me, but I don't necessarily know them," Ping An continued.
"Then how do you know Niu Jian's name? Do you really not know what happened to him?" Mei Qian, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"He's been murdered!" Ping An exclaimed again, startling Liu Keduo.
"How do you know he was murdered? What's your relationship?" Liu Keduo asked loudly.
"When was he killed?" Looking at the furious Liu Keduo, Ping An finally became serious.
"His body was discovered yesterday morning at 7 AM inside the concrete pour at a suburban construction site. When found, his hands and feet were tied. The forensic doctor preliminarily determined it was homicide," Mei Qian said.
"Too hasty. What if he had some peculiar hobbies..." Ping An said slowly, rubbing his chin.
"His head was cleanly severed, and it still hasn't been found..." Mei Qian added.
"......" As Mei Qian finished speaking, the temperature in the hot room seemed to drop instantly.
"I'm going to make a phone call to see if I can take you somewhere," Ping An walked out from behind his desk, picked up his backpack, and said to the two policemen.
"Sorry, please come with us first," Liu Keduo said, unable to contain himself any longer, and stepped forward to grab Ping An's shoulder.
"Hmm, is there air conditioning? Do they provide lunch? Alright, let's go!" Ping An said with a chuckle to Liu Keduo. "Please, gentlemen!"
Hechuan City Public Security Bureau Criminal Investigation Detachment, interrogation room.
"By the way, am I a suspect now? Why am I in an interrogation room?" Sitting face-to-face with the police, Ping An felt an inexplicable discomfort.
"Please explain in detail your relationship with the deceased Niu Jian. Why did you know we would be looking for you because of Niu Jian?" Mei Qian asked sternly and seriously from the other side of the interrogation room.
"If you can list me as a suspect based solely on the call records from Niu Jian's phone, that's a bit much," Ping An said. "In fact, I have ample evidence to prove that I have not been in this city for the past week."
"Please answer my question first," Mei Qian said.
"Please check the video reports from the past week in the Hechuan News integrated media reports. For the past week, I have been accompanying Vice Mayor Wang on an inspection tour of public security 'three basic' construction work in another city. I filmed during the day, and at night during rest, well, I happened to share a room with Director Qiao of your Municipal Bureau's Political Department," Ping An said. "I only returned this morning. Well, I returned by car with Director Qiao. Speaking of which, do you subordinates at your level know that Director Qiao has a habit of sleep-talking?"
"I will ask you again to answer my question," Mei Qian said, pressing his hand on the table, struggling to control his emotions.
"Alright, alright, if we continue like this, it will be my fault. Cooperating with the police is our duty as citizens, but..." Ping An leaned on the table and said with a wicked grin, "It's been 24 hours since the body was discovered. Besides constantly harping on the fact that I had a phone call with Niu Jian, have you taken any other action? Have you found the murder weapon? Is there a citywide lockdown? Shouldn't the construction workers be thoroughly investigated one by one? Who gave you so much time to waste on me? If you pay a little attention to my public itinerary, it's obvious I'm the least likely suspect, isn't it?"
Just then, someone knocked on the door outside the interrogation room. Mei Qian controlled his emotions and walked out.
The person knocking was Yan Qing, the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau in charge of criminal investigations.
"Him!" Yan Qing pointed inside through the interrogation room door. "He's not a murderer. What he said is correct. For the past week and more, he has been with a leader inspecting in a place 600 kilometers away from this city, so he had no time or space to commit the crime."
"600 kilometers away, he could have easily driven back, committed the crime, and then left while Director Qiao was asleep!" Mei Qian argued.
"It's impossible!" Yan Qing said with a strange expression, shaking his head. "As you know, the forensic report indicates that Niu Jian's time of death was between the night of the 9th and the morning of the 10th of this month, specifically between 10 PM the night before yesterday and 1 AM yesterday. During this period, Ping An would not have had the time to commit the crime."
"Why?" Mei Qian asked curiously.
"I, and another friend, were playing video poker together. During that time period, we were happily gaming..." Yan Qing said somewhat sheepishly.
"......" Mei Qian was speechless.
"Let him go, Xiao Mei. This Ping An is not simple. You've just arrived in Hechuan and don't know much about him yet," Yan Qing said. "Reporter Ping An, you know, is a well-known figure in our city and is very close to our public security system. He is an old friend. In recent years, he has contributed greatly to our case-solving efforts. Do you remember the case you said you were most fascinated by, the masked murder case that occurred in this city not long ago? That case was cracked with the help of Ping An, who, through his interview channels, gathered intelligence bit by bit, and finally obtained crucial information to help the police break the case. In that case, the investigators from the Municipal Bureau received a collective third-class merit award, and everyone was recognized. But Ping An, despite his contributions, received nothing."
"This Ping An is so capable!" Mei Qian stared blankly at Yan Qing.
"Ghosts have their ways, gods have their paths! Everyone has their methods. Privately, I and several other leaders in the Municipal Bureau are very good friends with Ping An," Yan Qing said. "Of course, I will not influence your judgment. As long as there is evidence, whoever breaks the law will be arrested. This is a principle that cannot be changed."
"Yes, Director Yan, I understand," Mei Qian replied.
Yan Qing patted Mei Qian on the shoulder and nodded with satisfaction—after all, he was an excellent talent promoted from below, and he understood at once. To be a police officer, you have to use all sorts of connections to solve cases. Without connections, how can you solve cases? In fact, when Mei Qian reported for duty a month ago, Yan Qing had intended to introduce Ping An to him. Now—perhaps it's a case of "no fight, no friendship." That impudent little rascal Ping An, though somewhat useful, still needed someone to keep him in check.
Returning to the interrogation room, Mei Qian looked at Ping An, who was slumping on the table, almost asleep, and still felt hesitant—he was convinced of one thing: Ping An, this seemingly absurd young reporter, must have some special connection to this case.
"That must be Old Yan outside, I guess it's time for me to leave too," Ping An stretched his body and slowly stood up. "Oh dear, some things are best discussed when your team leader, Gao Xiaofei, returns!"
"Don't play coy. I must warn you that all citizens have the responsibility and obligation to cooperate with the police!" Mei Qian had an indescribable feeling about this person in front of him; overall, it was not a good one.
"You're not from around here, are you? Just transferred?" Ping An stared at Mei Qian for a good while before saying, "I can cooperate with you, and I apologize for my behavior just now. However, what I have requires your superior's approval before I can hand it over to you."
This reporter changes his tune quickly.
Mei Qian thought of Director Yan's instructions and looked at Ping An. He wondered, could this guy really have some hidden talent?
"Officer Mei Qian here was transferred from out of town just a month ago," the recorder in the corner, who had been quietly observing, couldn't help but chime in. He naturally knew Ping An and was now emphasizing the newcomer's background to him.
"Oh, alright then, I'll wait for you here. You go prepare, and we'll leave now," Ping An calmly sat down and even winked at the recorder.
"You! Just you wait!" Mei Qian finally got angry.
[Author's Aside]: I promise, with 700,000 words of drafts, you can start reading with peace of mind.
This is my first attempt at writing online novels, and I'm a bit unaccustomed to it. I kindly ask the editor for guidance.