Chapter 22: A Spate of Murders, Zhang Wei's Investigation

The second murder case occurred near the Central Ring of Dongfang Capital.

The location was an apartment near a bar street.

When Wu Yong and Old Xing drove up, the apartment building had already been completely cordoned off by the Martial Association.

"Captain Wu!" As they got out of the car, the field agents around them greeted Wu Yong.

"Where are Ah Ni and Tamu?"

"They're already upstairs. The murder took place in Room 403; the victim is a female!"

"Then I'll head up!"

Wu Yong glanced at the fourth floor of the apartment and was about to set off.

"Wait, who are you, and how did you get in!"

"We came with Captain Wu, we're one of you!"

"What do you mean, one of us? If you have no proof, get out of the way! This is a crime scene and you can't come in!"

Hearing the conversation behind him, Wu Yong frowned.

"The two of them are witnesses to the first murder case and came with us. Let them in!"

He was somewhat helpless but still gave the order.

Reluctantly, the field agent could only lift the police tape to let Zhang Wei and Xia Qianyue enter the scene.

"Thanks, Captain Wu!" Zhang Wei quickly expressed his gratitude, and Xia Qianyue followed closely behind him.

"Remember your roles. Don't touch anything after entering the scene!" Wu Yong warned them and, together with Old Xing, guarded the two as they entered.

The four quickly made their way up the stairs to the fourth floor and entered Apartment 403.

"Hmm, so many small stone carvings, many of them are unfinished." As soon as he entered the room, Zhang Wei noticed small objects scattered over the table, windowsill, and the floor.

They were handcrafted stone carvings, almost identical in craftsmanship to those in the room of the deceased Lu Mei.

Zhang Wei was certain that the victim in this room was a carver, and the stone carvings in Lu Mei's apartment must have come from here.

"Ah Ni, what's the situation?" Wu Yong asked his colleague upon arriving at the scene.

Ah Ni was the black-skinned girl from squad 7, dressed in camo pants, with dreadlocks, and her tight T-shirt even revealed impressive abs and clear muscle lines.

This woman was definitely not weak in combat!

Zhang Wei made a judgment in his mind, but wondered how Xia Qianyue would fare against her in a fight.

"Captain, the victim's name is Li Ping, an amateur carver. According to the forensics estimate, the time of death should be last Saturday night. The fatal wounds were stab wounds to the chest and heart..."

Ah Ni began her briefing, and Zhang Wei also saw the victim's situation in the apartment's bedroom.

The victim was on her own bed, with several stab wounds on her chest, the blood had stained the bedding red, and there were signs of a struggle in the bedroom, with pillow stuffing nearly scattered across the room.

Unfortunately, the victim was just a carver without any martial support, and even her struggle was in vain; she still died in her apartment.

Zhang Wei turned back to look at the apartment's entrance.

There were still no signs of forced entry, indicating that the killer knew the victim, and the victim had even let them inside.

Thereafter, Zhang Wei's gaze fixed on the corner of the apartment's sculpting workstation.

"Did this woman also come into money recently?"

Because he saw some brand-new carving knives, while some old ones were carelessly thrown on the ground.

Zhang Wei, who had a hobby of handcrafting in his previous life, had tinkered with some trinkets and could tell the origin of the carving knives at a glance.

The old knives were made of stainless steel, common for general use, but the new ones were made of carborundum and tungsten steel, relatively more expensive.

Stone carving isn't the same as metal carving, and the requirements for knife material aren't that high, even the hardness of stainless steel knives is enough for sculpting.

And judging by the wear marks on the new knives, they must have been purchased within the last week.

"One a middle school chemistry teacher, and the other a carver; why did they both come into money?"

Zhang Wei carefully walked to the bedroom door, glanced at the victim, and saw that beneath the blood-stained skin, there was also a tattoo.

But this is the well-known bar street of Dongfang Capital; it's normal for the victim, without a full-time job, to have tattoos.

"Hey, who are you?" Suddenly, Zhang Wei was tapped on the shoulder.

It was the black-skinned girl Ah Ni who, after reporting to Wu Yong, happened to notice Zhang Wei, who was out of place with the surroundings.

"I was brought here by Captain Wu to assist in solving the case."

"Assist with the case, you?" Ah Ni expressed skepticism.

Although her face was dark, Zhang Wei could still see deep skepticism on it.

"Really, I am a good, law-abiding citizen," Zhang Wei hastily explained.

Unfortunately, Ah Ni did not understand the meaning of this sentence.

"Ah Ni, stop bothering with this kid and go ask the forensic team if they've found any clues!"

"Received, Captain!"

Since Wu Yong had intervened, Ah Ni no longer fixated on Zhang Wei and quickly left.

"Where's Tamu, where is he?" Soon after, Wu Yong realized that another one of his capable subordinates was missing.

Ah Ni popped her head in from the doorway: "Captain Wu, I forgot to tell you, another murder has been discovered on the Outer Ring, and the victim seems to have also died from stab wounds, Tamu went there first!"

"What, there's another one!" Captain Wu was stunned upon hearing this.

Normally they would hardly get a single case, what was happening today?

How could they be getting cases back to back, either there's no trouble, or it suddenly results in three dead people?

"Old Xing, you go too, meet up with Tamu!"

He hastily gestured to his deputy beside him who, though somewhat reluctant, still went down.

Only then did Captain Wu's attention return to the scene.

"How was the victim discovered, and who is the first eyewitness?"

"Captain Wu, this is Bar Street, there are little punks everywhere outside, and the murderer didn't lock the door properly when leaving, so the body was just found like that."

"Does the eyewitness know anything?"

"We've questioned them, but no one is clear. This building also lacks surveillance, so it's hard to say for now. However, the forensic team is already trying to retrieve surveillance from nearby bars, seeing if they can find something."

Wu Yong's brow furrowed tightly; this case was getting tricky.

If he wasn't mistaken, the murderer must have also worn gloves, meaning the scene was even less likely to have fingerprints.

If the outside surveillance doesn't pick up on any clues about the murderer, then this case is in jeopardy!

Meanwhile.

Xia Qianyue, who was at the scene, had already met up with Zhang Wei.

"Zhang Wei, what do you think?"

"Of course, I look with my eyes, what else?"

"What are you talking about? I'm asking you what should we do about this case?"

"Do nothing!"

"What?"

Hearing Zhang Wei's response, Xia Qianyue was bewildered.

Weren't you the one who said you'd lead me to solve the case? Why aren't you taking this seriously?

"It's simple, I suspect that Lu Mei and Li Ping recently came into some money, but we don't have the authority to check the financial reports, so how can we investigate?"

Zhang Wei spread his hands, helpless.

Such matters requiring authority were only accessible to the Martial Association, and he and Xia Qianyue were just interns.

"Are you serious that they've recently come into money?"

All of a sudden, Wu Yong popped up, looking at Zhang Wei with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, just look at the knives on the table, it's like changing from muskets to cannons!"

Zhang Wei pointed to the discarded knives in the corner, "These are all cheap goods, 2 yuan apiece, 3 yuan apiece, you could buy a bunch for 10 yuan wholesale price."

He then pointed to the shiny new knives on the table: "These are different, at least 30 yuan each, tungsten steel refined carving knives, there are even some worth 50 yuan."

"Captain Wu, think about it, how could a carver who's used to low-end goods suddenly afford such expensive knives?"

After pondering for a moment, Wu Yong felt that this youngster in front of him made some sense.

He meditated for a moment then shouted out the door: "Ah Ni, remember to check the financial records of the two deceased after we get back to headquarters!"

"Received, Captain!"

After issuing his orders, Wu Yong looked at Zhang Wei: "Anything else?"

"Captain Wu, solving the case is the job of the serious crime unit, what more do you expect from me?" Zhang Wei quickly shook his head, indicating he had nothing more to add.

"Next time you think of something, come directly to me!" Wu Yong reminded him before heading back to the bedroom to examine the body.

Zhang Wei then took another loop around the scene before taking Xia Qianyue downstairs.

One hour later, Wu Yong called it a day.

Zhang Wei and Xia Qianyue hitched another ride and followed the others back to headquarters.

...

Martial Association Headquarters.

Major Crimes Unit 7 Office Area.

When Wu Yong and his group returned, they found that Old Xing, accompanied by the member with a fierce look in his eyes, Tamu, was already waiting for them.

"Old Xing, what's the situation with the case over there?"

Pointing at the new photo on the evidence board, Old Xing introduced, "The victim was a worker repairing vending machines, but it was a part-time job, and he registered with the union under a fake identity. We checked his information carefully and after comparing fingerprints, we discovered he had a criminal record including provoking fights, theft, and armed brawls, a real troublemaker. This record probably prevented him from finding full-time work, so he used a false identity to find part-time work."

"As for the cause of death, it was also a knife wound, but this time the killer finished the job with one strike, ruthless and skilled, clearly someone with training!"

Wu Yong glanced at the photo; the victim was lying in the corner of a dark alley, his neck slashed open and traces of blood spattered on the ground.

"Killed with one strike, huh, seems like we have a second killer!" Zhang Wei said, looking at the photo with some surprise.

This indicated that the killer who took out the thug in the photo and the one who killed Lu Mei and Li Ping were not the same person.

The third victim clearly had a wealth of street fighting experience, yet he was taken out by the killer with one hit.

Lu Mei and Li Ping were just two weak women, even less able to withstand an attacker, so why were they stabbed over a dozen times?

There had to be at least two killers; the one who killed Lu Mei and Li Ping was a weakling, while the one who killed the thug was a master with a knife.

Wu Yong also realized this and wondered, "Could these be two different cases? Is the third victim just a coincidence, or is there a connection to the first two cases?"

"I don't think so!" Zhang Wei, however, dismissed Wu Yong's speculation.

He walked over to the evidence board, pointing to the mobile phone beside the third victim's hand, and analyzed, "I changed to a new phone recently, so I specifically searched for the latest models on the market. The one the victim was using is the latest from Fruit, priced at around 11,000 in stores. It's hard to imagine that a worker fixing vending machines could afford such an expensive phone."

"Wow, an 11,000 phone, that's like two months' salary for me!" Old Xing exclaimed in surprise but was quickly glared at by Wu Yong.

"So what you're suggesting is..." Wu Yong continued to look at Zhang Wei.

"Captain Wu, didn't you say you wanted to investigate the financial records? Just look and you'll know," Zhang Wei reminded him.

Reminded by Zhang Wei, Wu Yong then remembered this matter.

"Ah Ni, check the financial reports of the three victims and compare them!"

"Received!"

Ah Ni started to work, using the Martial Association's database to search for the financial transaction records of the victims.

It didn't take her long to find something unusual.

"Huh, an incoming deposit of 9,500, and for three consecutive weeks!"

Immediately, everyone gathered around.

Zhang Wei looked at the financial records; for three consecutive weeks, all three victims deposited the same amount of 9,500 into their accounts at almost the same time.

"Ah Ni, can you trace the source of the funds?"

"I can't, it was a cash deposit. At most, I can retrieve the surveillance footage from the banks where the victims made their deposits."

"Alright, let's watch the footage to see if there's anyone suspicious around them during the deposits."

Wu Yong was somewhat disappointed; if they only had bank surveillance footage, it wouldn't be enough to crack the case.

"By the way, why 9,500? Is there something special about this amount, and why did it get deposited for three consecutive weeks? What kind of business has this kind of income?" A string of questions flickered through Wu Yong's mind.

"It's simple, to avoid taxes, no need to fill out income details!" But it was then that Zhang Wei spoke up.

"The bank's rules state that for cash deposits exceeding 10,000, you must report it to the tax authorities, and the banks may even review your income verification. So many people don't deposit more than 10,000 to avoid trouble, it's a common ruse in illegal activities."

"You mean, all three of them were involved in some kind of illegal transaction, which lasted about three weeks, and then they were silenced?"

"Clearly, that's the case."

Wu Yong looked at Zhang Wei, realizing for the first time that this youngster seemed to be quite capable, not only sharp in his on-site analysis but also knowledgeable.

"What kind of transaction do you think it was?"

"You're asking me? Who should I ask?"

Zhang Wei spread his hands, indicating he wasn't a prophet.

Disappointed, Wu Yong glanced at the sky outside and urged, "Since it's getting late, you two should head home too. If you find out anything, remember to contact us!"

With that, he took out two business cards and handed them to Zhang Wei and Xia Qianyue.

"Alright!"

Zhang Wei took the business cards, glanced at Xia Qianyue, who was reluctant to leave, and in the end still pulled her towards the exit.

"Zhang Wei, I still want to stay a little longer..."

"Staying just means you're getting in the way, right? The major case squad is so busy. By sticking around, aren't you just adding to their workload?"

Xia Qianyue lingered with a sense of unfinished business, but Zhang Wei promptly doused her enthusiasm with cold water.

"Zhang Wei, what are you talking about? I just want to help the major case squad share the burden!"

"Share the burden? You'd be lucky not to increase it. Solving cases isn't something a rookie like you can handle!"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei made a 'shush' gesture with his hand, "If you really want to solve cases, you might as well come with me. I've suddenly thought of some clues."

"Really?"

"Of course. But we'll have to investigate these clues ourselves. The Martial Association might not be able to find them!"

The two quickly left the Martial Association Headquarters and headed for the bar street near Li Ping's residence.

As night fell, the lights began to turn on.

The once quiet bar street was starting to buzz with activity.

Even though a murder had happened here, it didn't deter Dongfang Capital's young men and women from seeking pleasure in the area.

In the back alleys of the bar street, many thugs with colorful hairstyles gathered, smoking cigarettes, gesticulating wildly, and speaking vehemently, occasionally letting out words like "mmp" and "ctmd," the epitome of civil discourse.

"Bros, do you know where I can find a good tattoo artist around here?"

Suddenly, a young man who clearly didn't fit in with the local riffraff chimed in.

"Tattoos?" The thugs looked at the newcomer, "You, looking all prim and proper, want to get a tattoo?"

"No helping it. Got myself a girlfriend recently, and she insists that I show some commitment. I'm thinking, why not get her name tattooed across my chest? Next time I lift my shirt, I can say I've etched her in my heart forever!"

"Wow, you're smart, brother!"

Hearing the young man's words, all the little thugs gave him a thumbs up.

One of the thugs leaned in close to the young man and whispered an address in his ear.

The young man thanked him and hurriedly left.

...

In a small alley near the bar street.

Zhang Wei led Xia Qianyue to the tattoo artist recommended by the thug.

After all, tattooing wasn't exactly an above-board business; many artists set up shop in alleys, publicly calling it body art.

And in this line of work, it's all about skill; good artists were few and far between.

Zhang Wei was worried they wouldn't find a skilled artist, which is why he'd thought to ask around. If you sent the Martial Association, for all you know, the thugs might have scattered at the sight of Wu Yong's badge.

"Zhang Wei, you're not really here for a tattoo, right?"

"If it meant getting your name, I'd definitely be willing!"

"Go to hell, who wants you to tattoo my name!"

"Fine then, let's just ask around."

Zhang Wei walked into the shop and approached an older tattoo artist.

"Master, can you tell me who did these tattoos?"

Zhang Wei pulled out his cellphone and showed the artist a photo.

"This... This is a corpse?" The moment the artist saw the photo, he was frightened.

These pictures were ones Zhang Wei had secretly taken at the crime scene.

"Master, these are artistic photos, understand? They told the photographer they wanted to pose like a murder scene. I was frustrated too, but I never expected the photographer to be so professional that he could set that up."

"All that blood is just plasma, and the wounds are the makeup artist's handiwork. You don't need to worry. I just want to ask about the tattoo thing..."

Zhang Wei hurriedly explained, and the tattoo artist breathed a sigh of relief.

You should have said so earlier. I thought someone had actually died. It turns out to be artistic photography.

But honestly, the makeup artist and photographer are really talented. They splashed that blood plasma around like it was free, making the photos look like a real murder scene.

"Looking at the workmanship, it's probably not from our area. Around here, we're good at new traditions, but the tattoos in the photo are old-school. Nowadays, young people prefer a darker style, with demons, text, and such. They don't like the old-school approach anymore."

"I remember someone in Chengbei District does this kind of tattooing. Look at the first photo, the true dragon, and the second, the carp, with vivid colors and life-like detail. The person who tattooed these must have several years of experience!"

Listening to the master's explanation, Zhang Wei understood.

Indeed, starting from the tattoos proved fruitful.