"Alright, sir, the contract is in duplicate. This copy is yours; please keep it safe."
The man who had come to the police station left these words and a contract behind before departing.
Xu Mo took the contract and returned to his desk.
As soon as he sat down, several officers gathered around him.
"Captain, what was that guy here for? I heard you talking about contracts and shares. What's going on?"
"He's transferring shares to me—one percent of a company's dry shares," Xu Mo replied truthfully.
Upon hearing it was only one percent, the officer let out an "Oh."
He had thought it was some major deal when he overheard the conversation about share transfer.
But only one percent? That wasn't much to worry about.
One percent probably wasn't worth much anyway!
As for why Xu Mo had suddenly been awarded the First-Class Hero Model Medal and promoted to Deputy Chief of the Criminal Investigation Division, the officer didn't ask much about it.
The other officers had already discussed this matter earlier, and everyone in the station agreed that Xu Mo deserved it. After all, he had solved numerous major cases. It was only fair to reward him accordingly.
Han Fei, who was in the office, walked out and directly headed to the workspace of Team Seven.
First, he looked at Xu Mo.
"There's an empty office next to mine. You can move in there after tidying it up."
Then, he turned to Chen Ke.
"Since Xu Mo is now the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Investigation Division, the position of Team Seven's captain is vacant. You'll take over for now."
As the Deputy Chief, Xu Mo was entitled to a private office, just like Han Fei, the Chief.
The position of Team Seven's captain was also vacant, and after considering it, Chen Ke seemed the most suitable candidate.
He was an experienced officer and had the qualifications to lead Team Seven.
"Also... Li Chen, you'll take over as the deputy captain of Team Seven." Han Fei paused and added, "Does anyone have any objections?"
"No!" everyone responded in unison.
Chen Ke as the captain and Li Chen as the deputy captain were acceptable to everyone.
The only thing that made them feel a bit uneasy was Xu Mo's promotion.
Of course, it wasn't out of jealousy, but because Xu Mo could no longer lead Team Seven. The team had lost an excellent leader.
...
Just as Xu Mo finished setting up his office and moved his belongings in, the police station received a report.
The caller was a middle-aged woman who reported that her son had committed suicide.
Suicide cases didn't require both Han Fei and Xu Mo, the chief and deputy chief, to investigate. It was enough to send a small team to check if the death was indeed a suicide.
So, after receiving the report, Han Fei assigned Team Seven, which was currently free, to handle the case.
Chen Ke immediately led the team to the reported location:
Taying Community.
Building 3, Room 202.
A young man, about twenty years old, was slumped in a single armchair, both hands dangling at his sides. One hand held a blood-stained fruit knife, while the other was covered in blood, which dripped continuously onto the floor.
Next to the armchair, a pool of blood had already formed on the ground.
The young man was the deceased, and the middle-aged woman, who was crying uncontrollably, was the one who reported the case—the deceased's mother.
Li Chen glanced around the scene and then looked at the reporter. "When did you discover the body?"
"Just now, when I came back... I stayed at my mother's place last night, and when I returned today, I saw..." Her words trailed off as she started crying again.
Seeing this, Li Chen softly consoled her, "Please accept our condolences."
"May I ask you a few questions?"
The woman wiped her tears. "Yes, officer, please go ahead."
"Do you and your son usually live in this apartment alone?"
"Yes, his father left us a long time ago. It's just the two of us."
"So, it's just the two of you... You were away last night, and you found the body as soon as you returned today, right?"
"Yes."
"Besides you, does anyone else have a key to this apartment?"
"Only my son and I have the keys."
Suicides, though not common, are not rare either. In China, about two hundred thousand people die by suicide each year.
As an experienced officer, Li Chen had seen enough of such cases to not find them unusual.
After briefly examining the scene and asking a few questions, he concluded that this was an open-and-shut case of suicide, with no room for doubt.
However, Wang Dachuan and Chen Ke were frowning.
Clearly, they didn't think it was a suicide.
Chen Ke signaled to the other officers and moved to a corner of the room.
"What do you think?"
"What else can it be? Suicide, obviously," Li Chen shrugged.
Xiao Zhang and Old Zhou chimed in, "We think it's suicide too." Their views aligned with Li Chen's.
Seeing that three of them agreed, Chen Ke's frown deepened.
"You all think it's suicide? But I feel like something's off..."
"Off? I don't see it. Are you overthinking it? To me, it's clearly suicide," Li Chen patted Chen Ke on the shoulder.
At that moment, Wang Dachuan, who had remained silent, joined the discussion.
"Actually, I also feel something's not right."
Hearing this, Chen Ke's eyes lit up, as if he had found a kindred spirit. He immediately turned to Wang Dachuan.
"You think there's something off too? Tell us your thoughts!"
Although Chen Ke felt there was something suspicious, he couldn't pinpoint what it was. He couldn't convince Li Chen, Xiao Zhang, or Old Zhou.
Now, he could only rely on Wang Dachuan.
All eyes were on Wang Dachuan.
Feeling the attention, Wang Dachuan scratched his head. He spoke with some hesitation.
"But I'm not sure if my thoughts are correct..."
"Don't worry about that. Just say it," Chen Ke urged.
"Alright!" Wang Dachuan nodded. "I've been reading some books on forensic autopsies recently. I think the color of the deceased's blood is a bit off. It doesn't look like the blood of a normal young person... I feel the cause of death might not be just a wrist cut."
Although he had read some books on autopsies, he wasn't very knowledgeable. He couldn't explain much.
However, even just this observation was enough to challenge the notion that the deceased had died from a wrist cut suicide.
"Not just a wrist cut... You mean the deceased didn't commit suicide by cutting his wrist? The wrist cut was just a cover-up?" Li Chen glanced at the pool of blood on the ground. "Are you sure?"
Wang Dachuan shook his head, his tone uncertain. "Not entirely sure..."
He remembered the last time he had publicly examined a corpse and made a fool of himself. He was only half-baked in this field, so he didn't dare say his opinion was definitely correct.
After a pause, Wang Dachuan added, "Maybe... we should ask Xu Mo?"