Peach Wood dried his damp hair, his gaze sweeping imperceptibly over the surveillance camera in the hallway facing the room's door.
"Close the door behind you."
Chen Cong paused for a few seconds, resentfully using his foot to kick the door shut. He then followed behind the leisurely, vacationing Peach Wood, taking large strides into the inner room.

Peach Wood was staying in a large suite. Near the entrance was a reception room measuring over forty square meters.
After confirming the door was securely closed, the young man, who had just been acting casually, instantly restrained his lax demeanor and put on a serious expression.

Chen Cong pulled out his badge. Peach Wood took it, glanced at the badge number, and handed it back along with a bottle of mineral water, casually pointing to the soft sofa in the reception room. "Please, sit."

Chen Cong accepted the water and the badge, placed his briefcase full of documents on the table, and couldn't help but secretly evaluate Peach Wood's effortless expression management.
Going from scattered to meticulous, this guy only took one second. He was even more suited to be an actor than Wen Di; he really was cut out for undercover work.

"Chief Sun and I spoke on the phone. Moving forward, I'll have to trouble you to coordinate with the local cases in Jianghu."
"Not at all. Chief Sun specifically instructed us to cooperate with the Captain with all our might." Chen Cong enunciated the words "all our might" with deliberate, perfect clarity.
After the brief pleasantries, he cut straight to the chase: "The leadership attaches immense importance to this special operations squad. Those participating are all top-tier elites from the Municipal Bureau. Chief Sun also mentioned your special status, 'Captain,' and how it's inconvenient for you to return to the detachment for meetings. But I truly never imagined our 'Captain' would be so 'young and promising'! May I ask, 'Captain,' have you ever participated in the investigation of a similar case before?"

The deliberately emphasized "Captain" and "young and promising" sounded incredibly awkward and forced.

Judging by his face alone, Peach Wood definitely lacked seniority. Having read countless people, Chen Cong was deeply worried that this parachuted Captain lacked experience in handling vicious cases and would end up dragging them down instead.

Peach Wood didn't respond to the provocation. Lowering his bright, starkly black-and-white eyes, his gaze fell on the briefcase Chen Cong had just put down. He asked softly, "Are these the case files?"
Chen Cong nodded.
Peach Wood held a hand out toward him. "Give me a copy of the files. Let's talk directly about the case."

In his pitch-black eyes, there was a thin layer of a smile.

This faint smile hidden in the depths of his eyes was his answer. It was the arrogance of someone looking down from above, born out of absolute confidence.

Chen Cong was also somewhat arrogant due to his own talents, and heroes had always appreciated other heroes since ancient times. He appreciated this arrogance. Thus, he spread out the files and began detailing the case to Peach Wood.

Peach Wood listened extremely attentively. While listening, he used a pencil he found in the hotel desk drawer to meticulously circle and mark the case files.
Watching this young man holding a pen with a slight frown, Chen Cong inexplicably felt a sense of, This guy might actually be a formidable character.

...

"The key physical evidence found at the pedestrian street includes: partial dismembered body parts, a backpack, a note, and three fingerprints. You also found 'Zombie' at the victim's home, correct?"

Chen Cong nodded and added, "Regarding the fingerprints, aside from Li Guangqiang's, the other two have been verified. They belong to the express courier and the errand boy, Wang Jianan."

"Using an errand boy and an express courier to dump a body in a busy downtown area—the killer must be someone ruthless with extremely strong counter-reconnaissance skills. Li Guangqiang's fingerprint on that note was left there deliberately."

"Yes, such an obvious bloody handprint was definitely intentional. The killer is bold but meticulous. The victim, Chen Feng, was likely attacked in his home. We checked carefully; the windows of his house were taped over before being shattered. The technique was very professional. This was done to prevent the glass from making noise when it shattered and hit the floor, which would have alerted the victim. Furthermore, the victim's house was not the primary scene where the murder and dismemberment took place. Although there were slight signs of a struggle, no bloodstains were left behind. Yet, we still extracted a very obvious bloody fingerprint from the windowsill, which matches the one on the body-dumping note—both belong to Li Guangqiang. That note reading 'Hell is empty, and corrupt cops are on earth' was written using a ruler to ensure perfectly straight horizontal and vertical strokes. This proves the killer knows how to evade handwriting analysis and printer ink tracking. All the surveillance cameras around the victim's home that could have captured the killer during that timeframe were broken. At the scene, the killer left absolutely no other valuable clues. A meticulous veteran like this wouldn't make the rookie mistake of 'accidentally' leaving a bloody handprint. Moreover, Li Guangqiang died long ago. This fingerprint, just like the note, feels more like a provocation."

Peach Wood didn't follow his train of thought. Jumping topics, he asked, "That errand boy, did you release him?"

Chen Cong paused for a second and said, "There's no evidence proving he's the killer. After holding him for 12 hours, we had to let him go."

"Mm, the probability of him being the killer is low. Did you check the surveillance at the pickup location?"
The case files Chen Cong brought were mostly text-based, and some contents hadn't been updated and compiled yet. What Peach Wood was asking about were exactly the details not yet mentioned in the files.

Chen Cong answered patiently, "Yeah, we checked. Although the surveillance in the shantytown isn't clear, we could see that Wang Jianan indeed entered the neighborhood empty-handed, and only had the bag when he left. Also, the security guard at the gatehouse testified that he was indeed on the phone the entire time he was entering and leaving. These details all match his statement. We can basically rule him out as a suspect. But the shantytown surveillance is too blurry, and there are too many blind spots. The real commissioner used the deceased's SIM card to call Wang Jianan. Therefore, as of now, the entire trail following the body dumping has snapped..."

Chen Cong had been reviewing the files all night. Although this lead had snapped, it wasn't as if they had absolutely no new directions to investigate. Before leaving, he had specifically ordered the team to track down whether Li Guangqiang had any close friends or relatives before his death.

But Chen Cong intentionally wanted to test this newly arrived young Captain. Therefore, he did not lay all his current investigation plans out on the table.

With downcast eyes that revealed no emotion, Peach Wood flipped through the thick stack of files page by page.
Suddenly, he asked, "The police never publicly released the information about the killer's fingerprint. How did the media find out?"

This time, Chen Cong couldn't keep up with his leaping logic. He paused for a few seconds before answering: "It must be that some colleague lacked awareness and couldn't keep their mouth shut. Add that to the media chasing shadows and catching wind. Oh, right, I've already individually reprimanded the few suspects. Even though I haven't found out exactly who the big mouth is yet, I will definitely investigate this to the end. When I find out who it is, watch me skin them alive!"

Having a loose tongue wasn't something to be proud of. Without direct evidence, even if interrogated one by one, it was highly unlikely anyone would voluntarily confess their mistake.
Furthermore, this matter itself had little to do with the progress of the case. Even if they found out who the traitor was that leaked the news to the media, it would bring no practical benefit to the already understaffed CID. Conversely, they might lose combat power if the leaking member was disciplined and suspended.

Chen Cong had already thrown several fits of temper to beat the grass to scare the snake✦ translator's noteBeat the grass to scare the snake (打草惊蛇): A Chinese idiom meaning to take an action to alert or frighten the enemy, often to see how they react.. He didn't think anyone in the detachment would be bold enough to commit the same mistake again. Therefore, pursuing and penalizing the leaker could wait until after the case was solved; settling the score after autumn✦ translator's noteSettle the score after autumn (秋后算账): A Chinese idiom meaning to wait until a more appropriate or less busy time to punish someone for their wrongdoings. wouldn't be too late.

Peach Wood gave an "Mm" and asked again, "Have you read those popular case analysis posts online?"

"I've read them. They're all complete bullshit! The deductive logic is flawed, and the motives for murder don't hold up! The case from back then was closed ages ago. The killer hallucinated after doing drugs and rushed out onto the street to kill people at random. Besides, if Chu Zhentang really hired a hitman to kill his wife, the police handling the case back then weren't idiots! How could they possibly not find out!"

Peach Wood nodded. His reading speed was very fast; while talking, he had already finished flipping through all the written case materials. He fell silent for a moment, organizing his thoughts before speaking: "Although investigating the body-dumping route is a dead end, it's not like there are no other directions."

Chen Cong had spent an entire night just to find a few new leads. Seeing Peach Wood ponder for only a moment before stating he had other directions, Chen Cong's eyes instantly lit up. "So, you have new ideas?"
"Mm, there are roughly a few directions for investigation. First, where did those bizarre analysis posts spring from? Second, which media outlet was the first to release the fingerprint news, and where did they get that information? Third, did Li Guangqiang have any close relatives or friends before his death? Fourth..."
A fleeting, nearly imperceptible trace of something unusual flashed across Peach Wood's face, but he covered it up perfectly. Even Chen Cong, sitting closely across from him, didn't notice.
"...We can start screening the victim Chen Feng's social connections to see if there's any intersection between the victim and Li Guangqiang. Also, where exactly did those stamps containing 'Zombie' found in the victim's house come from? Is it connected to the victim's death? Furthermore, based on the clues we currently possess, we cannot determine the killer's motive. Although the highly inflammatory keyword 'corrupt cops' was left on the note at the scene, it's hard to say whether the killer is merely using the victim's profession to make an issue of it, in order to divert focus and conceal their true motive for murder."

Just as Chen Cong was about to express his opinion on Peach Wood's ideas, his phone suddenly rang.

The forty-eight hours following an incident are the golden window for the police to investigate and organize a case. As the primary person in charge of the investigation, the number of calls Chen Cong had taken since yesterday morning was countless.

For the few minutes he was on the phone, his brows remained tightly knitted.
It was evident that the news conveyed by this call was highly likely not good.

...

After finishing the call with his subordinate, Chen Cong—who was still concealing the true progress of the investigation—gave Peach Wood a fake grin: "Last night, we did another case review based on the existing evidence. This current case overlaps with the one from fifteen years ago in time, location, and the victim's profession. Coupled with the fact that the killer specifically left Li Guangqiang's fingerprint when dumping the body... we can basically deduce that the killer is connected to Li Guangqiang."

A murderer who had been dead for fifteen years leaving a bloody fingerprint in a recent case. This kind of plot, which usually only appeared in suspense thrillers, unsurprisingly sparked nationwide debate.

Amidst the diverse opinions, there was no shortage of absurd hypotheses claiming the killer never died or that a ghost committed the murder.

But as police officers, both Chen Cong and Peach Wood were certain that Li Guangqiang had died 15 years ago. A complete autopsy report from that year was still kept within the police's data retrieval system.
As for the hypothesis of a ghost committing the murder, that was even more of a complete absurdity.

When they first learned that rumors of a "vengeful ghost murder" were actually circulating online, the feudal remnants✦ translator's noteFeudal remnants (封建余孽): A humorous, sarcastic term used to describe people who still believe in old superstitions, ghosts, or traditional Chinese folklore (which were targeted for eradication during cultural revolutions as "feudal"). of the CID even took the opportunity to find some bitter amusement in the situation.

Wen Di, who was best at lightening a tense atmosphere, was the first to joke, "Oh man, if a ghost really committed the murder, what's the use of coming to us? That's purely a waste of national police resources! They might as well hire a Feng Shui master as soon as possible!"

Pan Xiaozhu, sitting nearby, lifted her head from the chaotic mess of case files. Wearing an expression that said I haven't read many books, so don't try to fool me✦ translator's noteI haven't read many books, so don't try to fool me (我读书少你别骗我): A famous internet meme/quote originally spoken by Bruce Lee's character in the movie Fist of Fury, used jokingly when someone thinks they are being fed bullshit., she scoffed, "Don't spout nonsense! Feng Shui masters are for fortune-telling; to catch a ghost, you need to hire a Maoshan Daoist priest✦ translator's noteMaoshan Daoist priest (茅山道士): A sect of Daoism famous in Chinese pop culture and folklore for practicing magic, exorcisms, and fighting zombies/ghosts.!"

But whether it was a Feng Shui master or a Maoshan Daoist priest, it was nothing more than a joke to steal a moment of leisure amidst their busy schedule.

Having been in and out of countless murder scenes, both Chen Cong and Peach Wood were staunch atheists.
Having witnessed countless wrongful deaths and heard thousands of different motives for murder, they knew better than anyone else that ghosts absolutely do not kill people.

In this world, what is often far more sinister than ghosts and demons... is the human heart.

See you at midnight for the next chapter~

Beat the grass to scare the snake (打草惊蛇): A Chinese idiom meaning to take an action to alert or frighten the enemy, often to see how they react.

Settle the score after autumn (秋后算账): A Chinese idiom meaning to wait until a more appropriate or less busy time to punish someone for their wrongdoings.

Feudal remnants (封建余孽): A humorous, sarcastic term used to describe people who still believe in old superstitions, ghosts, or traditional Chinese folklore (which were targeted for eradication during cultural revolutions as "feudal").

I haven't read many books, so don't try to fool me (我读书少你别骗我): A famous internet meme/quote originally spoken by Bruce Lee's character in the movie Fist of Fury, used jokingly when someone thinks they are being fed bullshit.

Maoshan Daoist priest (茅山道士): A sect of Daoism famous in Chinese pop culture and folklore for practicing magic, exorcisms, and fighting zombies/ghosts.