The Municipal Forensic Identification Center.
"The deceased had no kidney disease during his lifetime, so there's no need for an autopsy. Look, his abdomen is smooth, not at all like someone who underwent dialysis," the forensic doctor said. "Even so, we did a toxicity test, and the deceased's potassium levels were normal."
"Could you please check again if the deceased, Zhang Si, suffered from any mental illness?" Ping An asked.
"Didn't you discover evidence during your investigation that Zhang Si had a mental illness?" the forensic doctor replied. "I was notified yesterday to perform a pathology, but you told me not to."
"It was me, it was me, but the situation has changed now. Could you please give us a more thorough scientific explanation?" Gao Xiaofei said apologetically.
"Hey, I say, Captain Gao, oh no, Director Gao, why don't you take the person to your district bureau? Wasn't it you who called me yesterday!" The forensic doctor was a bit displeased but still got to work.
By a little past two in the afternoon, the forensic doctor had sent the latest report: the deceased, Zhang Si, did indeed suffer from mental illness. At the same time, the fifty thousand yuan Wang Sanfa had received from Ma Delu also had a trace. It turned out that a year ago, Ma Delu had transferred fifty thousand yuan from his personal account to Wang Sanfa's personal account. This money had not been touched since it arrived, until half a month ago, when it was suddenly withdrawn in cash.
"To the bank!" Gao Xiaofei, holding the latest news, cracked a smile, patting Ping An's shoulder. "It's damn pleasant to cooperate with you! Look, the progress is rapid!"
The money was withdrawn from a bank in Fan County. They had already been there in the morning, and now they had to go again just before closing time.
"Xiaofei, why don't you go home? Isn't your wife due to give birth in these few days?" Ping An said with some worry on the way.
"No. She gets angry when she sees me and just curses, saying I only care about my own pleasure, while she's suffering. My mother quietly told me not to come home these few days, and to wait until we get to the hospital!" Gao Xiaofei said firmly.
As night fell, Mei Qian, who had been working at the Fan County Public Security Bureau all day, also arrived at the bank. After meeting up with Ping An and Gao Xiaofei, they began investigating the surveillance footage that night.
"Here, this is Wang Sanfa's call records for the past month," Mei Qian said. "You two are making rapid progress. Let me add some fuel to the fire!"
The three of them watched the video on the computer for a long time and finally saw Wang Sanfa withdrawing the money. Wang Sanfa, after taking out the money, walked out of the bank and then headed to the right of the bank, eventually disappearing from the surveillance.
"What's to the right of the bank? I remember it's an internet cafe?" Mei Qian asked.
"Yes, that's right," a bank staff member replied.
"Let's go to the next door!" The three of them moved their base and went to the internet cafe to check the surveillance.
In a blind spot in the surveillance video, Wang Sanfa handed a stack of money to someone. This person did not appear in the video, only half of them—a motorcycle!
"The photo!" Ping An reached out.
"Here!" Gao Xiaofei pulled up a photo of the motorcycle Shi Han had ridden on his phone and handed it over.
"Exactly the same!" Ping An said. "It's this bastard, Shi Han."
"That's right. Today I compared Shi Han's photo with the person Black Bean lost track of before, and it's the same person. It seems this Shi Han is a regular visitor to the nursing home," Mei Qian also provided an important piece of information.
With the whereabouts of the money revealed, the three of them, seeing that it was late, decided not to go back. They found a noodle shop and had a casual meal. "From the current situation, this Shi Han must have a relationship with Wang Sanfa, and a very close one at that," Ping An said in the noodle shop. "Now, we need to find this guy."
"Oh, I heard that tomorrow the town will hold a memorial service for Wang Sanfa. Oh, it's spontaneously organized by patients and medical staff. I wonder if this Shi Han will show up," Mei Qian said.
"If—" Ping An put down his chopsticks and said, "If I'm not mistaken, he has to come."
"I've always been very curious. We've been watching Shi Han from the beginning, especially the road from Hechuan to Fan County. Whether it's checkpoints or surveillance, we haven't found this guy. Is he flying around on a motorcycle?" Gao Xiaofei was already used to Ping An's sudden, inexplicable confidence and didn't ask why Shi Han had to come. Instead, he considered other issues. "Between Hechuan and Fan County, it's almost all flat land. It's not impossible for him to come from country roads, or even off-road," Ping An analyzed. "As long as he can avoid surveillance, a motorcycle, especially his high-horsepower off-road motorcycle, can cross mountains as if playing."
"If that's the case, I'll have to ask Fan County tomorrow if there are any motorcycle routes," Mei Qian said.
Wang Sanfa was a good person.
Even though he might have killed someone, the hundreds of citizens who came to mourn this good director didn't care. Our community is like this: if you are good to me, I will be good to you. This "gratitude" nature is a precious treasure instilled in us by our ancestors.
Police don't care about "gratitude." In their eyes, evidence is everything.
Therefore, Gao Xiaofei, Mei Qian, and Ping An watched waves of people coming to pay their respects, their eyes not daring to wander, fixated on whether a person named Shi Han would appear.
"We've mobilized over a hundred brothers, both openly and covertly. All the passages from Hechuan to Fan County, even the mountain trails where no one walks, have been put under surveillance. Unless that kid flies here," Gao Xiaofei said, lowering his phone with confidence. "During the surveillance, our men found motorcycle tracks on an old village road. According to villagers, a stone bridge on this road has collapsed, so no one has walked on it for many years. Because it's spring now, there's no water under the broken stone bridge. I guess that kid will most likely take this route."
"You mean we're going to block that road?" Ping An asked. "What if that kid comes in from somewhere else?"
Gao Xiaofei and Mei Qian looked at Ping An as if he were an idiot.
"He's an outsider, after all. No matter where he appears now, as soon as he shows his face, drones and trackers will lock onto him immediately. He can be found even if he flies out of Earth," Mei Qian said. "We haven't used these methods on him before. If he really comes to Fan County and reaches this nursing home, he won't be able to escape."
"So you mean you're actually hoping that kid crosses the blockade and comes here?" Ping An's mind was a bit stubborn and still didn't understand.
"Let's go, let's go. Trust us. This isn't a good place to arrest him either. There are so many people, what if that kid takes hostages?" Gao Xiaofei said. "Do you understand? It's best if we can catch him in the wilderness. I have to consider public safety."
Although he still didn't quite understand the police's actions, seeing the confident expressions of Gao Xiaofei and Mei Qian, Ping An obediently followed them.
Xiahe Village is an administrative village bordering Fan County and Hechuan City. The village road Gao Xiaofei mentioned is to the west of this village. According to the plan of Gao Xiaofei and Mei Qian, who had studied criminal investigation, they set the interception and arrest location below the stone bridge.
Xiahe Village has a river, but it only has water in the summer each year. In spring, there is only a small stream, barely covering people's feet. "Hey, look at this overturned stone. It's clearly from motorcycle tires, and these tracks in the dry river sand are definitely motorcycle tracks," Gao Xiaofei excitedly searched for evidence proving Shi Han had passed through here. "Hey, keep your voice down—the traffic police just reported that a black box truck has been parked at the Fan County border on Highway 8 for over ten minutes. There's suspicion of a situation." Mei Qian said, holding his walkie-talkie. "Ask our brothers if they want to go take a look?"
"Highway 8? Tsk tsk, there's a small road at the county border that goes around the mountain and down to Xiahe Village. I told you so!"
Gao Xiaofei said, "Can you connect to the surveillance remotely? Tell our brothers to hold on for now. It's hard to catch people on the highway."
Mei Qian operated a laptop as if showing off, and soon connected to the traffic police surveillance.
"Someone got out of the car. It's really that kid Shi Han," Mei Qian said, pointing at the figure on the screen. "Look, he's going to open the box."
In the surveillance, Shi Han got out of the car, opened the cargo door, and then pushed a motorcycle out from inside the cargo compartment.
Then, he locked the cargo door, put on his helmet, and drove off along the small road at the county border.
"Nailed it!" Gao Xiaofei excitedly commanded. "The prey has appeared and is heading this way. Notify the trailing team to follow up, keep a close eye on the drones, and set up the defense line at the stone bridge. We must catch that son of a bitch!"
Since the bombing incident, this young man named Shi Han had appeared in almost every case. Black Bean had lost track of him, Su Tang had been used by him, and Wang Sanfa, Ajiao, and others had close ties to him. Capturing him was of great importance, no wonder Gao Xiaofei was so excited.
A rumble of motorcycle engines gradually approached. Ping An, under the guise of "civilians stay away," was arranged at the very back of the interception team.
Gao Xiaofei, wearing a bulletproof vest for once, held his gun, waiting for the "prey" to fall into the net.
"Stop! Don't move! First checkpoint!" Black Bean, who had been dispatched early, was confident that this time he would absolutely not let this guy named Shi Han escape. Seeing the opponent enter the interception line, he was the first to step out and shout.
At the moment the shout rang out, more than a dozen heavily armed special police officers jumped out from behind the dark trees, surrounding the motorcycle.
There was no desperate struggle, nor any fierce resistance. The motorcycle rider immediately raised his hands and obediently got off.
Black Bean put away his gun, lunged forward, and threw the person to the ground. Taking off the helmet, he saw that it was indeed Shi Han.