Fan Jia wore an expression of extreme distress, shaking her head desperately. "No... I really can't... Absolutely not..."
Chen Zhaoci probably hadn't expected her to be so resolute, refusing to bite this even more poisonous bait. Once they obtained the nude loan video, this woman would be completely at their mercy. His expression gradually darkened as he pushed her hand away, saying, "You chose this path yourself, Lingling. I've done all I can. I genuinely hoped you could overcome this difficulty, but your hesitation makes me wonder if you're still suspicious, doubting our company has ulterior motives? To be honest, we have hundreds of thousands of clients nationwide—we simply don't have the energy to scheme against you specifically. Think carefully."
Hearing his tone grow colder, Fan Jia immediately grabbed his arm again. When he pretended to struggle free, she clung tightly with tear-filled eyes, steeling herself to rest her head on his shoulder. "Brother Zhaoci, I really can't... I... I have feelings for you... Is there any other way? Can I do something else to repay the loan? Besides this, I'll do anything you ask. I... would be willing."
Chen Zhaoci looked at her with surprise, his lips pressed tightly together, his handsome face actually showing embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Fan Jia mentally chanted: Show your true colors, take the bait, take the bait! See how perfectly packaged I am!
To her surprise, he stood up hastily, pushing her away. "What are you thinking, you silly girl! Even if I have feelings for you... the video is company policy. I would never take advantage of your difficulties to do anything to you! I'm leaving! You... think it over! If your debt grows larger, even the video won't be useful anymore!"
As Fan Jia tried to lunge and grab him again, Chen Zhaoci practically scrambled away in a panic. Standing tearfully in the wind, watching his car disappear into the distance, she cursed under her breath and spoke into her communicator: "Report: Seduction attempt failed. Could they really only want money? No interest in people? And no connection to Liu Yisha's death either?"
——
The current task force found itself in an awkward position.
Two weeks had passed, yet the killer who drove the Jinbei Van and left a fingerprint behind had vanished like a drop of water in the ocean—completely untraceable. Beyond similarities in identity, age, and residential location, the two victims shared only one unusual commonality: both had owed massive debts to Gold Splitting Treasure Company before their deaths. However, from a motivational standpoint, the company had every reason to want both victims alive. Unless, hidden within the company, there was actually a sexual offender and serial killer.
Using Fan Jia as bait—whose figure and appearance closely resembled both victims, even surpassing them—they had managed to borrow over 30,000 yuan so far. Yet they had only made contact with the peripheral figure of Apple Bro. Although their debt collection efforts seemed unusually accelerated, as if they had particular designs on Fan Jia, they still behaved like a proper, by-the-book loan shark operation: persistently pressing for repayment, hurling insults, making threats, and demanding the nude loan video. Even when Fan Jia attempted to seduce Apple Bro, he remained unmoved.
When facing complex cases, detectives choosing investigative directions always carried risks. If it turned out that both victims having debts was merely coincidental, and the company was completely unrelated to the serial killer, it would mean wasted police resources, lost time, and increased difficulty in finding the real perpetrator.
Therefore, the atmosphere in the Huai City Police Department conference room felt particularly heavy at this moment.Han Feng leaned towards the belief that the Gold Splitting Treasure Company was unrelated to the murder case. He had secretly investigated them last year, and most importantly, during the period from the first victim Zhao Feier's disappearance to her death, the company had been abroad for an annual conference, providing a solid alibi.
"We are currently checking all Jinbei Van owners one by one," Han Feng said. "The workload is substantial, but as long as there's hope, we won't give up. I suggest we can reassign all personnel to this task."
You Mingxu glanced to the side and noticed Yin Feng playing with his fingers, seemingly not paying attention at all.
She said, "No, we can't abandon such an obvious suspicious lead midway. Yin Feng has already pointed out that the premature debt collection might indicate ulterior motives towards Fan Jia. Moreover, if nude loans are their usual tactic, it wouldn't be surprising for someone to escalate to sexual crimes when dealing with female students stripped of both clothing and dignity. If we reach a deadlock, I suggest we discreetly bring Chen Zhaoci to the police station for investigation."
Lao Tan and the deputy chief of Huaicheng, as the case leaders, briefly discussed and made the decision: "It's been two weeks already, and the pressure from above is intense. We can't wait any longer. We'll follow Han Feng's suggestion as the primary approach, reassigning all remaining police resources to support the vehicle and fingerprint checks. You Mingxu will take charge and immediately bring Chen Zhaoci to the station for investigation. If no clear suspicion arises, release him, temporarily set aside this lead, and hand over the Gold Splitting Treasure Company's illegal activities to the economic crime division."
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