The smell of pickled cabbage filled the elevator, clinging to Zhan Dou.
"I just... was at the company earlier... *cough*... I couldn't help but be rude to you!" Zhan Dou said, his breath catching. "I waited for you out of kindness, wanting to treat you to lunch as an apology!"
"Oh dear, what are you saying!" Ping An's features instantly relaxed. He enthusiastically clapped Zhan Dou on the shoulder. "The red soup at the restaurant on the top floor of this mall is excellent! Shall we go now?"
"Go... go!" Zhan Dou nodded reluctantly.
This mall's top floor housed a famous Russian restaurant. Ping An had originally intended to have a simple meal at a wonton shop next door, but seeing Zhan Dou insisted on treating him, he unhesitatingly opted for the bold "Russian flavor"!
"For the appetizer, a serving of caviar! For the soup, red soup! For the side dish, escargots, and for the main course, beef stew with black bread. For vegetables, a serving of cauliflower, and for dessert, red bean pudding. For drinks—I heard you recently received a shipment of Lafite? Teacher Zhan Dou is treating, so let's open a bottle!" Ping An said with a smile.
"Lafite?" Zhan Dou winced, pinching the glass in front of him, cursing inwardly. "That's ruthless!"
On a bright, sunny afternoon, two men with their own hidden agendas enjoyed a bottle of Lafite worth thousands in a top-tier restaurant!
"Teacher Zhan Dou, you said you were treating me to a meal, but you're drinking it glass by glass. Can you at least leave some for me!" Ping An said, holding his pudding and playfully looking at the somewhat tipsy Zhan Dou.
"Ping An, let's be direct! I know you're not interested in this mess with Feng Dian. Let's consider this meal a truce between brothers who met through conflict! Alright!" Zhan Dou said.
"I don't think so! I truly don't want to take over such a complicated matter, but for certain reasons, I already have!" Ping An said.
"What? You're not interested!" Zhan Dou suddenly sobered up.
"Not being interested doesn't mean I won't handle these matters!" Ping An said playfully. "Thank you for your generous hospitality today, Teacher Zhan Dou. I believe we will be meeting frequently soon!"
"What did Liao Yuan tell you?" Zhan Dou asked, wary.
"She didn't tell me anything!" Ping An said. "It was you, a suddenly appearing commentator, who abandoned the pen name 'Red Star' and used your real name to get involved in Feng Dian's affairs. You must be hiding some unspeakable secret!"
"So you knew about me long ago!" Zhan Dou looked at Ping An with surprise.
"Over a decade ago, when I was in college, our professor often introduced us to contemporary commentary. The most famous among them was a commentator with the pen name 'Red Star'," Ping An said. "Time can wash away everything, but it can't change a person's, especially a professional writer's, writing style. Your articles, in their argumentative presentation, use a 'stacking' method that appears flashy and unconventional, but it actually doesn't deviate from the underlying framework of thought-based writing. Yes, I also minored in writing, so I recognized your style at a glance and, with a little planning, easily deduced that you were Red Star!"
"Everyone in this circle knows that Red Star has always had a 'cleanliness complex.' Is that why you deliberately used the disgusting method of not washing your hands after using the restroom to test me?" Zhan Dou looked at Ping An with admiration.
"My apologies! Upon learning you were Mr. Red Star, I was overwhelmed with excitement for a while. Then I recalled your current situation. I heard that three years ago, after completing your 'Commentary Trilogy,' you officially announced your retirement from writing!" Ping An said. "An expert like yourself, once retired, rarely goes back on their word! This time, you've returned, and instead of viewing things objectively as an outsider, you're attacking them arbitrarily!"
"Uh..." Zhan Dou shook his head, seemingly conveying his attitude.
"Sir, it's my turn to ask. You are the most reputation-conscious person in this circle, so why are you wading into this muddy water?" Ping An said. "Unless?"
"Ping An, I underestimated you!" Zhan Dou interrupted. "Do you have to investigate this matter? I advise you not to meddle!"
"I write articles not for fame or fortune, not for personal gain, but only to discern right from wrong in worldly disputes and to clarify what is just and what is not. If I break this vow, Red Star shall fall..." Ping An recited word for word.
"These are lines from my article 'Confession' back then. I never expected you to know them," Zhan Dou said with emotion.
"Sir, why bother?" Ping An said. "Regarding this matter, can you honestly say you have no ulterior motives?"
"Don't say anything more!" Zhan Dou suddenly stood up, took out a bank card, and motioned for the waiter to come and settle the bill.
"Ping An, I truly underestimated you!" Zhan Dou said, looking at the silent Ping An. "If I'm not mistaken, we are both students of Professor Li. If so, my fellow disciples, we can go all out and bet our reputations for a lifetime!"
"Senior Brother, scholars have always been competitive, merely adding to the annals of history with our squabbles. Why must it come to this?" Ping An said calmly. "What exactly do you want to do? Honestly, I'll help you!"
"In three days, wait for my move!" Zhan Dou retrieved the bank card used for the bill, glanced at the ten-thousand-yuan tab, then looked at Ping An, who, despite his sincere expression, was surreptitiously packing up leftovers. With a fierce look, he turned and left.
Ping An, carrying the packed food, walked out of the mall with satisfaction. Passing by the Feng Dian building again, he paused to look for a long time before taking out his phone and calling Xiang Wanfeng.
"Tell Director Su that I'm taking on this case!" Ping An said directly, before Xiang Wanfeng could finish his pretense of pleasantries. "Have Xiao Fei pick me up at my place this afternoon; I need to re-examine the three crime scenes."
After hanging up, Ping An looked at the traffic flowing on the street and sighed deeply.
At that moment, a strong gust of wind blew, dark clouds obscured the sun, and a bright sunny day instantly turned into a downpour.
"The wind is filling the tower before the storm," Ping An sighed, looking up at the umbrella that had quietly covered him. He turned to Liao Yuan, who had appeared out of nowhere, and said, "If you trust me, then from now on, all external statements must have my approval. Furthermore, I have officially agreed to join the investigation into the Feng Dian residential complex series of cases. Are you satisfied now—Mr. Ke?"
"Indeed, Liao Yuan is Mr. Ke!"
Just before lunch, Liao Yuan had directly admitted to Ping An that she was Mr. Ke, codenamed 1401, and a new member who had joined in the past few years.
"I hope you're not deceiving me, and I hope you're not doing anything illegal," Ping An said, looking at the falling raindrops outside the umbrella, suppressing an urge. "You said you joined initially abroad out of a desperate need to survive, and after returning to China, you voluntarily surrendered and explained your situation. With Director Xiang vouching for you, I believe you!"
"..." Liao Yuan looked at Ping An with some apprehension.
"As for your suspicion that the current case and Zhan Dou's sudden appearance are due to another Mr. Ke acting under organizational orders, I need to make further judgments," Ping An said. "However, we've agreed: once this is resolved, you will fully cooperate with me to find this organization. I will personally send all of them to court!"
"Don't worry, to completely eliminate future troubles, I will do my best to help you!" Liao Yuan said.
The summer rain came as suddenly as it went. Xiang Wanfeng, having hung up Ping An's call, stood by the window, letting the rain beat down on him. Perhaps due to his age, he shivered after being rained on for a while. He closed the window and sat at his desk, picking up a stack of documents. Liao Yuan's photo was prominently displayed on the documents. The accompanying summary detailed how seven years ago, Liao Yuan was kidnapped by a group of mysterious people while negotiating business in Singapore. These people demanded the latest wind power technology from Liao Yuan. However, at that time, the wind power company was still in the research and development phase of new technology, so Liao Yuan, unable to provide the technology, was no longer of use. Nevertheless, these people forced Liao Yuan to join the Mr. Ke organization and, in the organization's name, demanded that she hand over the technology to the organization once it was developed...
After being held captive for a month, Liao Yuan suddenly appeared in a port city in Malaysia. After a series of twists and turns, she finally returned to China. Upon her return, she immediately informed the police about the Mr. Ke organization. Xiang Wanfeng, then working at the Ministry of State Security, worked with Liao Yuan to dismantle the Mr. Ke organization gathered in that country through Interpol. However, during the arrest, these individuals engaged in a fierce shootout with the police, resulting in no survivors, all killed. Liao Yuan identified three of the corpses as the Mr. Kes who had kidnapped her, one of whom was her contact person. However, she could provide no further information, and all leads went cold.
Following the murder cases in the Feng Dian residential complex, especially after strange items appeared in Liao Yuan's home, Liao Yuan approached Xiang Wanfeng, stating that the Feng Dian new technology had been completed and that the current series of incidents was likely the work of Mr. Ke. Xiang Wanfeng did not dare to delay and reopened the investigation into Mr. Ke. He also instructed Liao Yuan that, at a critical moment, she could seek help from Ping An with these matters.
And so, the scene unfolded as described earlier.
"Hei Dou, this is Xiang Wanfeng. The organization is now officially activating you. Ping An has officially taken over the Feng Dian case. I require you to maintain your dormant state, not only to protect Ping An from the shadows but also to accompany him in the investigation." Xiang Wanfeng called Hei Dou on an old mobile phone.
Hei Dou, who was at Ping An's house playing video games with Su Tang, had just finished the call when Ping An returned home.
"Boss, thanks to you, my long vacation is over!" Hei Dou said frankly. "Director Xiang called, saying you've officially taken on this case, and the organization has also officially activated me, requiring me to stay by your side."
"No way! Isn't it too early for the decisive battle?" Ping An said, taking off his wet clothes, addressing the serious Hei Dou. "But you've been chopping meat for half a year; you must be tired. Let's go investigate the case together!"
"I want to go too!" Su Tang pouted, pulling on her master's arm.
"No!" Ping An frowned. "I called your aunt. She's encountered some trouble and can't come back for now. I'll send you to travel with her by plane tomorrow. Children shouldn't cause trouble!"
"Master, I can be useful! And with Hei Dou around, there's absolutely no danger. When a great detective like you appears, shouldn't there be someone to carry your bag?" Su Tang was anxious. If she went with An Jing obediently, she'd be bored to death.
"Bring her along, Boss. She's already involved. If the people who broke into Yang's house mistook Su Tang for discovering something, they might secretly attack her. Although there won't be any problems with An Jing and Mei Qian, it's better to keep her where we can see her and ensure her safety," Hei Dou said.
Hei Dou's reasoning was sound. Ping An looked at Su Tang and nodded helplessly.
"We're going to the scene this afternoon. You'll stay with me and don't run around... Hey! Did you hear me! Ugh! Where are you going?" Ping An shouted, but Su Tang had already darted away cheerfully.
"Change clothes! Get the equipment!" Su Tang's excited voice came from the second-floor bedroom.
"Change into what? You're not allowed to wear those short shorts that show your legs! It's raining heavily outside, you'll freeze to death!" Ping An shouted from downstairs.
At three in the afternoon, Gao Xiaofei appeared at Ping An's doorstep, dripping with rain.
"Where's your car?" Seeing Gao Xiaofei appear alone, Ping An was annoyed.
"It's being repaired! I took a taxi. You're going to the residential complex this afternoon, right? I'll hitch a ride with you, and I'll go home after you're done!" Gao Xiaofei said.
"Shameless!" Ping An said helplessly.
"Hey, tell me, you weren't planning to take the case, were you?" Gao Xiaofei asked.
"What, is it not allowed for me to change my mind!" Ping An said.
"Yes, yes! It's great to be fighting alongside you again!" Gao Xiaofei said happily.
Half a year ago, Ping An was "forced" by Xiang Wanfeng to buy a recreational vehicle for "damaging public property." It was now parked in Ping An's garage. After everyone was ready, they got into the RV. Hei Dou unceremoniously took the steering wheel. Ping An, disgusted by Gao Xiaofei's smell, relegated him to the passenger seat, while he and Su Tang sat on the comfortable sofa inside the RV.
The Feng Dian residential complex had been under intense scrutiny since the murder. As Ping An entered the complex, he ran into Gao Da, wearing a "Security Guard" armband.
"You're here!" Gao Da greeted him with a smile.
"I say, you've been busy these past few days, so you're working a part-time job here?" Ping An said.
"Nonsense! My son roped me into this; I'm working but not getting paid!" Gao Da said indignantly.
"Alright, alright. You've been exchanging flirtatious glances with Aunt Wu every day. You're having a great time!" Ping An teased.
"Enough joking. It's good you're here. I have something to report to you!" Gao Da said seriously.
It turned out that Gao Da was moonlighting as a security guard to help his son. For the past few nights, while on patrol, he had been hearing a buzzing sound but couldn't see anything despite looking around.
"Stop being jumpy. I want to check out the scene first, and then I'll come find you!" Ping An reassured Gao Da and went to Wang Huan'an's home.
Upon opening Wang Huan'an's door, a smell of disinfectant filled the room. The living room's furnishings were unchanged. In the bedroom, a chalk outline on the floor represented the victim's position and appearance at the time of death.
Ping An took the autopsy report from Gao Xiaofei. According to the rectal temperature, Wang Huan'an's precise time of death was around 1:30 AM. During that time, he had been drinking himself into a stupor in the next room.
"Su Tang, do you remember what time you saw the infrared beam pointed at Gao Xiaofei's house?" Ping An asked, standing by the bed and looking at Building C opposite.
"The movie on CCTV-6 had just finished, around 1 AM!" Su Tang recalled.
Ping An nodded thoughtfully, then stood at the victim's spot, extended his right hand towards Building C opposite, and slowly turned from the far left to the far right of his vision.
"Tell me, hypothetically, when Wang Huan'an was murdered, someone was peeking from the opposite building... if the peeker was Zhang Ziteng, would they have been silenced?" Ping An spoke incoherently. "For this hypothesis to hold, the killer must have known someone was peeking, and known it was Zhang Ziteng. Did he kill Huan'an and then kill Zhang Ziteng?"
"There's something I need to clarify," Gao Xiaofei said. "According to the residential complex's surveillance video, no one left this building for several hours after Wang Huan'an was murdered!"
"Really?" Ping An opened the window and leaned out to look.
"Yes. I also considered your inference, but no one left Building B between Wang Huan'an's death and Zhang Ziteng's murder!" Gao Xiaofei said. "We've been trying to determine if the multiple homicides can be consolidated, but..."
"How is the investigation into people entering and leaving this complex and this building going?" Ping An asked.
"No suspicious individuals; they are all residents of this unit. As for outsiders, you people are the most suspicious!" Gao Xiaofei said.
Ping An poked his head in and began examining the room's furnishings.
At the dressing table, Ping An took out a lighter from his pocket, grabbed one end, and used the other to pry open a jewelry box on the dressing table. He found it contained two or three necklaces, a pair of bracelets, and several pairs of earrings.
After fiddling with the jewelry box, Ping An used the lighter to push the large mirror on the dressing table. He noticed the mirror was somewhat loose, so he put down the lighter, put on gloves, and pushed the mirror surface again with more force.
"Hmm?" Ping An seemed to have discovered something.
"What is it?" Gao Xiaofei quickly asked.
"Do you have your community liaison card with you?" Ping An pressed his face against the mirror, trying to look into the gap between the mirror and the counter.
"Here!" Gao Xiaofei took a card from his breast pocket and handed it to Ping An.
Ping An took the card and inserted one end into the gap connecting the right side of the mirror and the counter, then slid it down slowly from top to bottom.
"When you searched this room, didn't you notice this mirror embedded in the counter? The gap on the left is much larger than the one on the right. Pressing it with your finger, the left side wobbles, but the right side doesn't move at all, as if something was stuffed in and is jamming the mirror!" Ping An said, continuing his actions.
Indeed, to everyone's astonishment, Ping An found a slip of paper in the gap of the dressing table mirror. He opened it and saw six numbers.
"144015," Ping An murmured.
"Hey, a bank PIN, perhaps? Six digits?" Gao Xiaofei said excitedly upon seeing Ping An discover something new.
"Hard to say. Maybe Wang Huan'an just wrote down some random numbers and stuffed it in there," Ping An said.
"Hmm! I don't think so, Master!" Su Tang took the paper from Ping An's hand. "The numbers on this paper must have been written in a hasty environment. At the very least, it wouldn't have been written at this dressing table."
"Why?" Seeing his disciple speaking enthusiastically, Ping An looked at Su Tang encouragingly.
Seeing everyone staring at her, Su Tang's face flushed.
"Because the numbers on this paper were written with an eyebrow pencil. If you don't look closely, you can't tell," Su Tang said, sniffing the paper. "Smell it, it even has a fragrance!"
Ping An took the paper and looked closely at the numbers, finding that they were indeed not written with an ordinary pen.
"There's a pen holder on the dressing table, and the pens in it look like they've been there for a long time. If the deceased wanted to record something in this room, wouldn't she have used a pen?" Su Tang said.
A small discovery made everyone present look at Su Tang with disbelief. Did this fifteen-year-old girl truly have the potential to be a detective?
"Well discovered! Master doesn't understand eyebrow pencils, so I didn't notice. Observe further, is there anything that you and your godfather can't see?" Ping An continued to encourage her.
"Before she died, the victim was probably going out, and it was an important appointment requiring makeup!" Su Tang said, emboldened by her master's encouragement.
"Explain your reasoning!" Ping An said.
Su Tang didn't speak further but picked up an unopened small bottle from the dressing table. "Look, this is called makeup remover, used for removing makeup. But this bottle is unopened, meaning the deceased didn't have time to use it. And there's no other makeup remover around, not even in the trash can. So, this bottle of makeup remover is the only thing the deceased would need for makeup removal, but she didn't use it."
Su Tang took a close-up photo of the victim's face from her master and pointed at Wang Huan'an's face in the photo. "Actually, I noticed this when we found the victim. Her face had thick foundation. This makeup wouldn't come off in less than half an hour."
Su Tang looked at the photo carefully and continued, "This makeup was definitely applied recently. If it had been worn for a day, the color would have turned darker, but look how vibrant it is!"
"I understand. If the deceased had returned to remove makeup, it wouldn't be this vibrant, and the makeup remover would have been opened, right!" Gao Xiaofei said.
"Actually, Master, you already knew, didn't you!" Su Tang asked, looking at her master's knowing eyes.
"Heh heh, few women put on face masks in the afternoon..." Ping An said, stroking his disciple's head.
"That's right, that's right. The day we came down to knock on the door, Wang Huan'an, who opened it, was applying a face mask. That means she was preparing to go out!" Su Tang said.
Gao Xiaofei looked at the happy Su Tang, but a cold sweat almost broke out on his back—she was only fifteen years old! Amazing!
"Notify technical investigation. Check Wang Huan'an's phone, see who her last contacts were, and check her WeChat and other phone software. I need to know who she was going to meet at around 1 AM!" Gao Xiaofei made a phone call, issuing new instructions.
"Wait, Wang Huan'an wasn't going out for a date, but waiting for someone to come to her house!" Ping An interrupted Gao Xiaofei. He continued, "There's a set of pajamas on the bed, and another set on the chair. If she were going out, wouldn't she have put on a coat?"
Gao Xiaofei looked at the two sets of pajamas and nodded thoughtfully.
"Doesn't that bring us back to square one?" Gao Xiaofei said. "Everyone knows the door lock wasn't broken, and the killer was let in by Wang Huan'an."
"No, at least we know that the person she was waiting for was a lover, a romantic partner, or something similar. That narrows down the scope," Ping An said. "How about it, how is the investigation into Wang Huan'an's social circle going these past few days?"
"Not well! This lady was an academic prodigy. After graduation, she joined Feng Dian Company. According to her family back home, she was quite introverted. At thirty-eight, she still hadn't dated anyone. Her social circle is extremely small; her colleagues say she was an ethereal person, never even joking with male colleagues, let alone having a boyfriend. Oh, and during our investigation, we found she had an abortion four months ago. According to the memories of doctors and nurses, she went to the hospital for consultation, surgery, and post-operative recovery alone. Because her health wasn't good during that time, she voluntarily applied to transfer to logistics; she was an engineer before."
"Had an abortion? So dramatic! Do you know whose it was?" Ping An asked.
"We're investigating. I suspect the man who got her pregnant is likely involved in this case!" Gao Xiaofei said. "But after several days of interviews, we found her social circle to be extremely small. Her colleagues said she was an ethereal person, let alone a boyfriend, she never even joked with male colleagues."
"Keep investigating. With such a small social circle, and such an 'ethereal' person, think about what kind of person could capture her heart? Or, willingly capture it? Hmm?" Ping An hinted.
"You mean someone high up in the company? Could it be?" Gao Xiaofei said.
"Just my speculation. You can consider it!" Ping An looked at the crime scene and said to Su Tang, "Let's go, it's time to see your classmate's house!"