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墨書 Inktalez
I used to think that people were punished because they were guilty, which is why they were executed or imprisoned. Now I realize that many times, it is because they are deemed "despicable" by others that they eventually commit crimes.
These are not my words; they are the words of Mr. Lu Xun. I didn't understand this before, but after working in this field for a while, I finally grasped the profound truth behind it.
Sometimes, what we perceive as the cause of a situation is actually its effect, and what you think is the effect is actually its cause. For instance, we often believe that Zhao Kaifang was rejected by her parents because she got pregnant from a relationship, which led her deeper into this path. However, we never consider the possibility that it might be her parents' disdain that pushed Zhao Kaifang to give up and walk down a road she never wanted to take.
Zhao Kaiyuan resembled a sparrow caught in a storm, appearing flustered and frightened. He continued, "I've wanted to talk about this for a long time, but I had no way to express it. Whenever others mention my sister and me, they say I'm sensible and destined for greatness. But when they talk about my sister, they call her a worthless person, a bitch."
"They think this is praise for me, but in reality, it's torment!" Zhao Kaiyuan clenched his fists and said, "I study hard; I want to get into Lanzhong University. I just hope to protect my sister while in college! But now I've lost all hope..."
At this point, Zhao Kaiyuan was sobbing uncontrollably. My eyes also welled up with tears—not due to the atmosphere but from a deep-seated sorrow that surged from within. A fifteen-year-old girl had already faced the world's greatest malice, yet when she returned to what should have been her sanctuary, the world still offered her cruelty.
I particularly love a line from "Melting Pot": We fight not to change the world but to prevent the world from changing us.
But how many people can truly achieve this? Those who have lived half their lives often resign themselves to fate; how much more so for a fifteen-year-old girl? As Zhao Kaiyuan said, both Zhao Yuanjiang and his wife and Zhao Kaifang herself had become the very people they despised. They had grown numb and unafraid of pain.
"Do you know who that official's second-generation child is?" I asked Zhao Kaiyuan.
He shook his head and replied, "I don't know; I only know others call him Boge. I was only ten at the time and didn't understand such matters well. If I had understood back then, perhaps my sister wouldn't have turned out like this. At a time when she should have received love, there wasn't anyone at home to comfort her..."
We fell silent for a long while before I said, "Don't worry; we will definitely catch the killer."
"By the way," Zhao Kaiyuan said, "I found one of my sister's old diaries. What's your address? I'd like to send it over. This diary spans from her junior high school years to high school; I've been too afraid to open it. I'm scared that reading it will make me angrier and more self-loathing. But someone has to read it; if possible, I'd prefer it if only you could see it—don't tell anyone else. After you've read it, just burn it."
I nodded and sent him an address.
Zhao Kaiyuan sighed deeply; I knew well the feeling of holding onto something heavy inside—it was difficult to bear. Humans are social creatures by nature; we inevitably need to share with others. Not everyone can endure solitude, especially those with unspeakable secrets. This is why bad people tend to talk so much; once their adversaries are gone, there’s no one left to share their secrets with.
Zhao Kaiyuan said, "Okay, I'll send the diary over. Just please don’t tell my parents what I've said. Honestly, I'm conflicted; my parents treat me well..."
"You don't need to say more," I interrupted him with a wave of my hand. "Once we catch the killer, I'll message you on QQ."
"Thank you." Zhao Kaiyuan's gratitude was sincere.
After hanging up the video call, Dezi slammed his fist on the table, clearly furious. "I just can't understand how parents can be like this! For their own power, to climb higher, they cover up the truth and let their daughter become a victim! If it were up to me, they should all be arrested and sentenced!"
Hearing Dezi's words, I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. After a long pause, I could only respond, "It's useless! The incident happened five years ago, and the victim didn't report it. We have no evidence. Just having a confession won't help, and even if we did have evidence, we could only arrest that Boge. We have no authority to act against Zhao Kaifang's parents."
"The law punishes criminals, but it can't punish bastards," I sighed. "Mary, contact the hotline and let the department know to investigate who that leader was transferred to Kaiyang City five years ago and find out who this so-called Boge is. If we can find evidence from this angle, we might be able to bring down this important leader along with Zhao Yuanjiang and his wife. This is the most we can do for Zhao Kaifang in this matter."
Mary tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Brother Shao, you haven't forgotten what happened this morning, right? You just rejected the Vice Minister's order to return. Now you want me to call back? I'm afraid I'll get scolded badly for it. I'm not making that call; if anyone's going to do it, it should be you."
Indeed, there was still that matter unresolved. Realizing this, I thought it best to handle my own mess. I took out my phone and turned it on. There was only one missed call from the department; it seemed the Vice Minister had stopped calling after realizing I had turned off my phone.
Sighing, I dialed the number. Before the Vice Minister could say anything, I jumped straight in: "Vice Minister, I need to report something. A leader transferred to Kaiyang City five years ago has a son whose name contains the character 'Bo.' This 'Bo' raped a girl, and her parents are using this as leverage to blackmail the leader into climbing higher. Please notify the relevant departments; that's all I have to report!"
I could clearly hear the Vice Minister sigh on the other end. "The flight for the Second Unit left this morning; by now, they should be almost there. Once the handover is complete, come back immediately. I'm telling you this for your own good! If you don't believe me, just go out onto the street; within minutes you'll be surrounded by media! Criminal police need to keep a low profile! Don't forget you have a special mission!"
I knew he was referring to Zhao Mingkun and the organization behind him. I sighed again and said, "Deputy Minister, let me give you some insight too. This case is really nearing its conclusion; I already have a rough outline in my mind. As long as all the clues connect, we can crack this case! Can you give me two more days? Just two days!"
"One day!" the Deputy Minister replied firmly. "Today doesn't count; I'll give you tomorrow as a deadline. If you still can't figure it out by then, you're coming back the day after—understood?"
With the clues still tangled like a mess of threads, having only one day would make it incredibly difficult to sort through everything. But I understood that this was the Deputy Minister's final bottom line; he was already being quite lenient with me. Realizing this, I couldn't drag things out any longer and stated firmly, "One day it is! No matter whether we solve the case or not! Mary, book a flight back to the capital for noon tomorrow! It's settled!"
"Alright, it's settled!" the Deputy Minister said. "You better remember what you agreed to; if you dare backtrack on this, you'll need to face the consequences!"
"I won't regret it!" I shouted.
After hanging up the phone, everyone looked at me expectantly. Mary opened a webpage and said, "Are we really booking that flight? With only one day left, can we actually figure anything out? From what we currently know, these clues are still all jumbled up; there's no clear lead."
I shook my head and replied, "I can't say for sure; without substantial evidence, reasoning is just reasoning. But honestly speaking, I do have a vague concept in mind now—the threads are no longer tangled but have separated into strands; it's just that some of those strands are still broken."
Mary nodded thoughtfully and said, "There's no rush until dawn; an hour won't make much difference—let's go with that."
I nodded in agreement.
"Captain Shao! Captain Li is back!" someone shouted from outside. As soon as those words were spoken, Captain Li burst through the door like a whirlwind. Upon seeing me, he clapped both hands on my shoulders with considerable force and exclaimed, "Captain Shao! You were right; it really is a regional issue."
I saw Captain Li drenched in sweat and quickly filled a cup of water from the dispenser for him. After he took it, he gulped it down in two swigs. I asked, "There's no rush; have you found any clues?"
Captain Li set the cup down on the table and said, "That's right. Ma Youshan actually went to Kaiyang a few years ago. He worked in transportation for two years, moving goods around the area, running routes between Kaiyang and the Blue Capital Line. But transportation is tough work; he often had to drive late into the night. After two years, Ma Youshan felt it was too hard and decided to quit."
"Coincidentally, when the New Town area was undergoing demolition, Ma Youshan became completely unemployed. He thought that once he became part of the Demolition Second Generation, he could use the compensation money to start a business," Captain Li continued. "While on long hauls, Ma Youshan met someone who connected all of them."
"You mean they all know the same person?" I asked.
Captain Li nodded and said, "Exactly. This person is none other than Zhao Huanghe. Ma Youshan once repaired his car at Zhao Huanghe's factory. While this might seem like a coincidence, Kaiyang City is not small; this coincidence is quite remarkable."
"Zhao Huanghe!" I rubbed my temples with my fingers. I had always thought of Zhao Huanghe as just a boss with no connection to the Brutal Murder Case, so I hadn't investigated him further. But now there was evidence linking Zhao Huanghe to Ma Youshan—could this really be a coincidence?
I asked, "Does Zhao Huanghe have any relatives?"
Captain Li shook his head and replied, "No, he's a lone wolf."
An unsolved mystery: a mysterious 21st-century Airborne Troops unit appears in North America, rescuing an Indian Red-Haired Beauty, enjoying adventures with a Blue-Eyed Busty Blonde, dominating Wall Street, amassing wealth across America, and initiating a Han Ethnic Colonial Global Model.
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