Qin Feng sat in the hospital room until seven in the morning when Liu Yi called. Qin Feng got up, stepped out, closed the door, and answered the call, "How did the interrogation go?"
"Refusing to confess," Liu Yi sounded tired. "Can you come over?"
Qin Feng looked back in the direction of the hospital room, worried about Lin Fan, and fell silent.
Liu Yi said, "Don't worry, we have our people at the hospital. Your child will be fine."
"Alright, I'll come over."
After hanging up the phone, Qin Feng briefed the two policemen on duty before leaving.
Half an hour later, at a sub-bureau criminal police team, Liu Yi took out a pack of cigarettes and handed it to Qin Feng, "What do you think?"
Qin Feng, tired to the point of a headache, took out a cigarette, lit it, and returned the pack and lighter. "The evidence is right there. If they confess, they can get leniency. If they don't, it's the death penalty."
Liu Yi laughed, "That's a threat."
"It's giving them a chance. Money can buy many things, but not life. They'll confess."
"You suspect someone hired a killer?"
Qin Feng nodded, "Chen Lei probably had something important, so he was silenced." The two went into Liu Yi's office. Qin Feng flipped through the case files, "What about the person who killed Chen Lei's wife? Any leads?"
"A wanted notice has been issued," Liu Yi sat on the desk. "No DNA records, this person has no prior offenses, or the crime was committed long ago, before DNA records were kept."
"What about the gutter oil boss?"
"They've all been detained, but we haven't gotten anything from the interrogation," Liu Yi leaned over and took a stack of documents from the drawer, handing them to Qin Feng. "These are the profiles of those arrested."
Gutter oil hasn't killed anyone, so these people won't get heavy sentences. They’re keeping quiet now, but once released, they'll resume their activities. Qin Feng flipped through the files. Nine people were arrested in total.
"What about the factory's account books?"
"Couldn't find them."
"Company's financial transactions?" Qin Feng continued to ask.
"That's not our department's responsibility."
"The sales channels for gutter oil, the real key players behind this operation, that's the crux of the case," Qin Feng said. "Chen Lei was just a small reporter. How could he provoke such a deadly retaliation?"
"You still think it's related to exposing the gutter oil?"
Qin Feng nodded, "It's related, but there's no direct evidence yet."
---
Lin Fan opened her eyes to a bright room, empty without Qin Feng. She got up to use the bathroom, came back, and still didn’t see Qin Feng. She wondered where he had gone.
Her shoulder had been slashed, but the rest of her body was fine. The doctor came to change her dressing. After washing up, she had just sat down when the door opened. Lin Fan looked up to see Chen Lei's wife, her face still haggard, her voice weak, "Are you alright?"
Lin Fan quickly stood up, "Why are you here? Please, sit down."
"My name is Qian Fang." Qian Fang sat down.
"Sister Qian Fang," Lin Fan sat on the hospital bed, "How's your child?"
"Doing well," Qian Fang said. "Thank you for yesterday."
"It’s nothing, as long as the child is fine," Lin Fan, embarrassed by the praise, felt her face heat up. She scratched her ear, "Shouldn’t you stay in bed? Is it okay for you to be out?"
"Are you a police officer?" she looked into Lin Fan's eyes.
Lin Fan shook her head, "No."
"Then who exactly are you?"
The warmth on Lin Fan's face dissipated. She looked at Qian Fang, "Do you believe in souls after death?"
Qian Fang remained silent, her large, empty eyes fixed on Lin Fan.
"Do you believe?" Lin Fan asked her again.
She stayed silent, staring intently at Lin Fan.
"I've seen your husband's soul," Lin Fan released her tightly clenched hands. "Souls of the unjustly dead cannot reincarnate. He was murdered. He shouldn't have died." Qian Fang lowered her head, her hands trembling. Lin Fan sighed, "I don't understand why those who uphold justice die, while those who disregard the law live well."
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Qian Fang slid off the chair to the floor. Lin Fan quickly went to help her. Qian Fang’s lips were purple, her whole body trembling. She clutched Lin Fan's arm tightly. Just as Lin Fan was about to call for a doctor, she suddenly let out a heart-wrenching cry. She sat on the floor, hugging Lin Fan, wailing loudly. Lin Fan suddenly stopped moving.
"Why didn't he come to find me? Why didn't he see me?"
If she hadn't asked Chen Lei to go back and get something that night, he wouldn't have died. If she had managed to stop Chen Lei from investigating the gutter oil case, he wouldn't have died either. He died so tragically, Qian Fang didn't dare to look at his body; she was terrified. They still had a young child. What was going to happen to the child? Qian Fang couldn’t sleep. She stood by the window, looking out, and found herself losing the will to live. When the baby cried, Qian Fang held her, too afraid to cry or think.
She lived like a walking corpse, for the sake of the child and their parents.
She cried for a long time, her voice hoarse and exhausted. Lin Fan hugged her, unsure of what to say. Any comfort seemed meaningless; her husband was dead, and her child had never even met his father.
"I don't trust anyone else. I'll give it to you." She pressed something into Lin Fan's hand, her emotions agitated, her fingers trembling. "You're different from them. You will help him. I don't want anything, I just want him to rest in peace. He—" Qian Fang choked up, unable to speak, "I'll take the child back to my hometown. I'm scared—"
"What is this?"
Qian Fang's lips were dry and cracked, already bleeding. She said, "This is what Chen Lei gave his life for."
The door was pushed open, and Lin Fan looked up to see Qin Feng striding in. Qian Fang saw him too. She stood up, wiped her face, and with her head down, said, "I'll be going now."
Her frail body wavered, and Lin Fan was about to help her, but she had already walked out briskly. Qin Feng glanced at the door, closed it, and walked over to help Lin Fan up. Lin Fan winced as her leg cramped.
"What did she want?"
Lin Fan's palm ached from the hard object, and she gritted her teeth, opened her hand, and showed Qin Feng, "She left this."
Qin Feng took the USB drive, helped Lin Fan sit on the bed, and checked her shoulder, "Did it touch your wound?"
Lin Fan shook her head, looking at Qin Feng, "Chen Lei won't have died in vain, right?"
Qin Feng put the USB drive in his pocket, ruffled Lin Fan's hair, "He won't have died in vain." He poured her some water, "Have you had breakfast?"
Lin Fan shook her head.
"Let's go eat first. I'll handle this later."
"Are you leaving today?"
"We can't leave now." Qin Feng said, "After breakfast, stay in the hospital and don't go anywhere."
Lin Fan nodded, "I understand."
They ate breakfast outside. Qin Feng sent Lin Fan back to the ward before taking a taxi to meet Liu Yi at the sub-bureau. Qin Feng found a computer and inserted the USB drive. Liu Yi was swearing on the other side, "The other three confessed, but Ding Hao is still holding out. He won't cry until he sees the coffin."
There were three video files and an account book.
Qin Feng opened the account book, his expression serious. Liu Yi, seeing his silence, walked over quickly, "What are you looking at?"
"Wow, what is this? Where did you get it?"
Qin Feng opened the videos. The first one showed the CEO of Zhongyou, Cai Yingfei, and the arrested gutter oil head, Zhao Wei, having dinner together, laughing and chatting. This must have been before the gutter oil scandal broke. The second video showed the production process of gutter oil, and the third showed gutter oil being mixed into Zhongyou’s cooking oil at their processing plant.
Zhongyou's cooking oil has a 60% market share domestically, known in every household. The revelation that it was being mixed with gutter oil was shocking.
Neither Liu Yi nor Qin Feng spoke as they watched the videos repeatedly. After a long time, Qin Feng spoke, "Chen Lei died for this."
Liu Yi took a deep breath, his hair standing on end, "Terrifying."
"Report it."
Qin Feng's phone rang. He saw the caller ID and answered immediately.
"Lin Fan?"
On the other end, amid the sound of wind, Lin Fan's urgent voice came through, "They’re trying to kill Qian Fang. I’m at the high-speed rail station—"
The call was abruptly cut off. Qin Feng stood up, yanked out the USB drive, and rushed out. Liu Yi chased after him, "Old Qin?"
"Lin Fan's at the high-speed rail station, probably encountering people from Zhongyou."
---
After completing a full body check-up, Lin Fan was heading back to her ward when she saw Qian Fang, holding her child and dragging a suitcase, walking out. Lin Fan was startled and quickly caught up, "Sister Qian Fang, where are you going?"
"I'm going back to my hometown."
She was struggling with the child and the large suitcase. Lin Fan, seeing her difficulty, said, "Wait for me a moment, I'll change my clothes and give you a lift."
"No need."
Lin Fan dashed into the inpatient department to change clothes, wincing in pain as she touched her shoulder wound. She put on her backpack and ran out. Qian Fang hadn’t managed to hail a taxi yet, her frail figure swaying in the wind.
Yesterday's incident had left her anxious; she had to take the child to a safe place. She kissed the child's face, who was sleeping soundly, unaware of what was happening.
Finally, a car stopped. Qian Fang was about to lift her suitcase when a hand reached from behind, placed the suitcase in the trunk, and closed it. Lin Fan opened the car door, "Get in."
Qian Fang looked at her, biting her lip, her nose tingling, and got in. Lin Fan sat in the front passenger seat and asked Qian Fang, "Which station?"
"The high-speed rail station."
Lin Fan turned back to speak to Qian Fang, "Is someone meeting you there?"
Qian Fang nodded. Lin Fan wanted to say she had handed the evidence to the police but felt it was too private to discuss in public, so she sat quietly in her seat. Half an hour later, they arrived at the station. Lin Fan tried to pay the fare, but Qian Fang quickly handed the driver a hundred yuan note.
"I'll get the luggage."
Lin Fan got out and retrieved the suitcase. There was still some distance to the entrance. Taxis couldn’t go any further. Lin Fan dragged the suitcase to the roadside, where Qian Fang got out, holding her child, and walked to the roadside.
The summer sun was scorching, beating down on the ground. Qian Fang stopped, "This is far enough. Take care, young lady."
Lin Fan said, "I'll walk you to the security check before I leave."
Just as she finished speaking, a man came from the side, raising a knife to stab Qian Fang. The blade glinted in the sunlight. Lin Fan quickly pulled Qian Fang aside, pushing her against the railing, and kicked the man in the neck. He stumbled back. Lin Fan swiftly pulled out her phone to call Qin Feng. With her other hand, she took off her backpack and held it, protecting Qian Fang behind her.
Qian Fang screamed, "Help! Murder!" Her voice was desperate, attracting attention from around.
A van without a license plate stopped, and three men jumped out.
"Where's the stuff?"
Lin Fan knew things were bad. There was no way to retreat now. She had just shouted into the phone when one of the men lunged at Qian Fang. In desperation, Lin Fan swung her backpack at him, sending her phone flying.