At 11:59 PM on December 31st, as all residents of Qindao City awaited the chime of the New Year bell, Meng Chao, captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade at the Yongxia District Public Security Bureau, tore open his third pack of cigarettes for the day.
The third-floor meeting room had its curtains tightly drawn, thick with swirling smoke.
Only one of the eight takeout meals on the conference table had been touched, while two ashtrays overflowed with cigarette butts.
Just as Meng Chao pulled out another cigarette, Deputy Captain Ma Chihua stopped him.
"Enough already. There are women in the room—show some self-awareness."
Meng Chao glanced at Chu Xiao and He Yuan, silently stubbed out his cigarette, pushed back his chair, and walked to the window. He cracked it open slightly, letting in the crisp, cold midnight air.
Chu Xiao, sitting beside him, exhaled in relief and discreetly moved the meeting materials away from her nose, gently fanning the air in front of her.
"We fell for his trick," Meng Chao sighed. "He slipped right through our fingers."
Chen Gengsheng, bleary-eyed, glanced at the captain’s back and added another stroke to the two haphazardly drawn tally marks in the meeting notes—this was the eleventh time Meng Chao had blamed himself since the meeting began.
"Captain Meng, it’s not your fault. Who could’ve guessed Ni Xiangdong was so cunning, disguising himself as a victim?" He Yuan, who had come to assist in the investigation, sighed. "I was an idiot too—I helped him all the way and still didn’t spot anything off."
"Honestly, the guy’s ruthless. To hide his identity, he smashed a brick right into his face. At night, with all that blood, no one would’ve realized at first glance."
Tong Hao wiped his mouth after finishing his meal and closed the empty takeout box in front of him.
"You guys should eat something. Empty stomachs mean slow brains. Captain, have a bite."
"Xiao Ba— ahem —Xiao Tong’s right," Ma Chihua rapped the table. "Starting today, we’re back on the grind. Those of you who haven’t eaten, dig in while it’s hot. Solving cases is physical labor."
He waved at Meng Chao.
"Xiao Meng, come on, set an example. Everyone’s starving along with you. We’ve already alerted the airport, docks, train stations, and bus terminals. The traffic police have also agreed to cooperate. The moment Ni Xiangdong shows up, we’ll move. So don’t worry about him slipping away—he won’t get out of Qindao."
Meng Chao shut the window and leaned back lazily in his chair, unwrapping the plastic bag containing wild wontons.
"Lao Chen, run through the situation one more time. Let’s go over it from the top."
"At 7:46 PM on December 31st, our station received a report. Around 6:30 PM, an elderly man near Floating Peak Mountain saw a suspicious person carrying a box up the mountain. According to the old man’s description, this person had a twisted face with a large scar on the left side—‘clearly not a good person.’"
Lao Chen cleared his throat. "Mind you, that ‘clearly not a good person’ bit isn’t my words—it’s the old man’s exact phrasing. After noticing the suspicious behavior, the old man asked the security guard at the foot of the mountain to check it out.
"At first, he was worried someone might be setting the mountain on fire—it’s winter, after all, dry and prone to fires. So the guard went up with a flashlight, while the old man stayed in the duty room with his dog, waiting for news."
"And then the guard was ambushed by Ni Xiangdong?"
"No, the truth is the old man didn’t know what happened in the mountain hut. According to him, after the guard went up, he didn’t come back down for a long time. Worried, the old man called the police, and He Yuan and I drove straight to the scene after receiving the call.""We initially thought it was just a minor public order case at worst—some brawling," Xiao He said, rubbing his tired eyes. "It's the end of the year, after all, peak season for such incidents. So we didn’t prepare much. When we got there, we just saw a man covered in blood walking down the mountain."
"Right. Since there was no electricity on the mountain, we had to use flashlights. We vaguely saw the man wearing a security team uniform. He claimed he’d been ambushed as soon as he entered the house and hadn’t seen the attacker’s face," Lao Chen said, shaking his head self-deprecatingly. "Who’d have thought it was the thief crying 'stop thief'?"
"Was the scene preserved?"
"Ah, well—" Lao Chen scratched his head. "That’s on me. I didn’t consider it a criminal case. The scene was probably trampled all over by me. Wait till daylight and have the forensics team take another look. There might still be some evidence left in the spots I didn’t step on."
Meng Chao nodded and pulled out his phone from his pocket, passing it around.
"Here are some photos I took at the scene. If you didn’t move anything, Lao Chen—"
"No, no, I still had that much sense. I definitely didn’t touch anything at the scene," Lao Chen recalled. "According to the old man, the guy was shielding a box behind him like it was some treasure. Now it seems likely that it contained Cao Xiaojun’s body."
"Did the search team find the security guard?"
Chu Xiao shook his head.
"Send more people. The longer this drags on, the slimmer the chances of survival."
"First Cao Xiaojun, now a security guard," Chen Gengsheng muttered. "Two lives in a single day. This Ni Xiangdong is really a dangerous man."
"The biggest problem is we can’t find the bodies. No matter how much we suspect him, we can’t file a criminal case without solid evidence. If nothing else turns up, this will probably end up as an unsolved case."
Meng Chao irritably bit down on a cigarette, glanced at Chu Xiao and He Yuan, then forced himself to put it away.
"So we can’t do anything about Ni Xiangdong?" Tong Hao muttered, arms crossed. "My gut says he’s definitely involved."
Meng Chao slurped a few bites of wonton. "The key is finding direct evidence of murder, forming a chain of proof. Then he won’t be able to deny it."
"Qindao is huge. With just the few of us, it’s probably not enough."
"So, Lao Ma, later you should call Chief Sun to wish him a happy New Year—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know your routine. First, New Year’s greetings to Chief Sun, then casually bring up the situation, use my old face to ask for backup."
"Exactly."
"Same old drill."
"No problem. I owe you two packs of cigarettes."
"Fine, I’ll call now."
"Xiao Chu, notify the forensics team to go back again. Ask them to work overtime and confirm whether the scalp in the drainpipe is Cao Xiaojun’s." Meng Chao smacked his forehead. "Oh, right—also test those cigarette butts I brought back from the mountain. See if they’re Ni Xiangdong’s."
"Got it."
"Xiao Chen, you and Lao Chen take a few officers from the local station and search the mountain with police dogs. I suspect Ni Xiangdong didn’t get far with his injuries. Also, Cao Xiaojun and that security guard are still missing. Work as fast as you can."
"No problem."
"Xiao He, tomorrow contact the old man who reported the case—Mr. Liu. Show him some photos to confirm whether the person he saw in the evening was Ni Xiangdong."
"Will do.""Captain, what about me?" Tong Hao stood up with an eager expression.
"You—"
Meng Chao leaned back in his chair, tapping his temple with his index finger.
"You'll come with me tomorrow to see Wu Ximei again and take a detailed statement. Then we’ll visit some local residents to see if we can dig up any useful leads."
"Got it."
"If everyone’s clear on their tasks, let’s wrap this up. Take a short break, then get moving. Let’s aim to crack this case before Lunar New Year."
The team members filed out of the meeting room in small groups. Meng Chao stood by the window smoking, then turned to find Tong Hao still lingering by the door, clutching his small notebook.
"Why aren’t you heading back to rest?"
"Captain Meng, there’s something else—I’m not sure if I should mention it."
"Go ahead."
"I think Wu Ximei lied. She’s giving false testimony—deliberately covering for Ni Xiangdong."
Meng Chao paused in gathering his materials and looked up at the rookie.
"Why do you say that?"
"During the statement, she claimed she wasn’t close to Ni Xiangdong. But earlier at the scene, I overheard some rumors by chance—"
Tong Hao hesitated.
"If those rumors are true, Wu Ximei might be Ni Xiangdong’s accomplice."
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