A police officer raised his hand and asked, "You said it was the cursed mysterious sculpture that caused the trouble, but why wasn't it discovered in the previous case? The whole room was in a locked room state at that time. The police arrived immediately after the murder happened, and it was impossible for outsiders to break in during that time."
The answer was obviously only one - someone in the police force was helping the murderer - but I didn't want to startle the snake in the grass at this point, so I just said, "I don't know!"
As soon as I said this, the uproar became even greater. I waited for them to quiet down before saying, "I didn't handle the previous case myself, and there are still many details I haven't fully figured out, but I'm sure Yu Jun took away the sculpture from the scene by some means."
I emphasized the words "from the scene," and observed Bai Yidao's expression at the same time.
Another policeman said worriedly, "If the suspect has such an unconventional way of murdering, will we be sending ourselves to our deaths by investigating this case?"
Everyone agreed, and the police were human too - they didn't want to sacrifice for no reason.
I reassured them, "You don't have to worry about this. The case is already clear for now. Leave the rest to our team of four to investigate. The rest of you stand by."
By telling them to 'stand by,' I was basically telling them to take time off. Everyone felt relieved.
Then I announced the dismissal. Huang Xiaotao applauded and said, "Well done, very methodical. I find you completely different when you're serious."
"Especially handsome, right?" I laughed.
"Conceited!" Huang Xiaotao also laughed.
I said, "Oh right, go and find Team Leader Liao for me, and get something from him."
"He just went out. Should I go find him now?" Huang Xiaotao asked.
"No, no. Wait a bit, best to see him alone. I want the list of all personnel from the task force on the previous case."
"Okay!" Huang Xiaotao nodded.
Then I said to Wang Yuanchao, "Uncle Wang, how good are your tracking skills?"
He calmly replied, "I once staked out in Myanmar for thirty days just to catch a big drug lord. Tracking people is nothing, I can even track a dog without being noticed."
"That's great. I have a special task for you - follow Bai Yidao today and record where he goes and who he meets." I instructed.
Wang Yuanchao nodded. Huang Xiaotao asked, "What is it, Song Yang? You suspect there is a mole in the task force?"
"There's a possibility." I whispered.
Wang Dali exclaimed in shock: "Holy crap, Infernal Affairs..."
I glared at him, because some of the police were still around at this point, and I was afraid he would carelessly leak important information. Wang Dali quickly changed his words, "Infernal ramen, have you guys tried it?"
"What on earth is that?" I asked.
"An extremely spicy and exciting Japanese ramen, so spicy it makes you question life." Wang Dali rambled.
"Is that so? I love spicy food, let's give it a try later." Huang Xiaotao said.
After all the police had left, Huang Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao went their separate ways. Wang Dali and I waited outside. Soon Huang Xiaotao came out with two pieces of paper in her hand, "Here are the lists of personnel from the two cases."
I took them and glanced through. Three people were involved in both cases - Liao, the team leader, Bai Yidao and Luo Weiwei.
I already had an idea in mind. I folded the two pieces of paper and put them in my pocket, "Let's go meet this Yu Jun!"
We arrived at the tech company where Yu Jun worked. Huang Xiaotao showed her badge to the security guard and said we were here to find Manager Yu. The guard awkwardly said, "Manager Yu is working. You may have to wait a while."
Huang Xiaotao and I exchanged glances. She said, "We'll go in directly!"
The guard couldn't stop us and we went straight into the factory. I looked back and saw him picking up the phone to report, probably as Yu Jun had instructed beforehand.
We asked around until we arrived at a workshop, where workers in uniforms were assembling electronic products on an assembly line. Wang Dali saw the casings of the latest iPhones and exclaimed, "Good heavens! Phones that sell for six, seven thousand outside are everywhere here like cabbages. It'd be so awesome if we could sneak a few out!"
Huang Xiaotao impatiently said, "What are you dreaming about? Security here is very tight. Employees are searched when they enter and leave."
A supervisor came over to stop us, "The workshop is restricted area, no outsiders allowed!"
Huang Xiaotao flashed her badge, "Please ask Manager Yu to come out and speak with us."
The supervisor's tone softened, "Manager Yu is busy. Just tell me what this is about."
Huang Xiaotao said, "No, we must see him personally."
Just then a man with glasses, dressed in a workshop uniform, looking gentle and refined, came over and smiled, "I'm Yu Jun. What can I do for you?"
Huang Xiaotao nodded, "We are investigating a murder case and hope to ask you some questions."
Yu Jun frowned, "The two officers who came yesterday asked the same thing. I've told them everything I know. Why come and investigate again? This case has nothing to do with me. I just had some business dealings with Huang Youcai. We met a few times for meals, not much of a relationship."
Huang Xiaotao asked, "Could we speak in private?"
Yu Jun hesitated for a moment, gave some instructions to the supervisor, then led us to a break room. He took plastic cups from a cabinet and poured water for us. I noticed bandages wrapped around several of his fingers.
Huang Xiaotao routinely asked, "How long have you known Huang Youcai?"
Yu Jun sat down in an executive chair, "Less than half a year."
"What was the nature of your business dealings?"
Yu Jun impatiently clicked his tongue, "Officer, I've been asked all this yesterday. Is it necessary to go over it again?"
"Just answer the question."
Yu Jun said he met Huang Youcai at a banquet. Huang said he had a friend selling children's toys and wanted to place a large order with Yu Jun for toy cars for kids.
Yu Jun's company didn't accept private orders. Huang pleaded and found an intermediary to guarantee, and after a long time of pestering, Yu Jun agreed, first taking a deposit of 1 million, and quickly produced the goods.
Unexpectedly, this unfortunate thing happened in Huang's family, and the deal went wrong. Afterwards, Yu Jun consulted the intermediary and withdrew the money from Huang's account. In fact, that money belonged to the company, for employee salaries and raw materials, and had nothing to do with him personally.
As he was saying this, I kept observing his demeanor and actions. When he finished, Huang Xiaotao glanced at me, and I coldly laughed, "He's lying!"
Yu Jun stood up agitatedly, "Every word I said is true!"
I slowly shook my head, "No. The blood vessels in a person's nose are the densest. When someone lies, their brain needs to operate at high speed to organize language, so blood gathers heavily in the head, and the nose feels hot and itchy. You unconsciously touched your nose a few times just now. You must be lying!"
Yu Jun looked at me in astonishment. Huang Xiaotao cleared her throat, "Manager Yu, human life is invaluable. Please tell the truth!"
"Alright!" Yu Jun reflexively wanted to touch his nose again but restrained himself, "I was making fake iPhones with Huang Youcai."
He said his company had long been assembling phones for Apple, taking chips, circuit boards, cameras and other parts shipped from overseas, assembling them into phones, then sticking on Apple labels. Sold in the market they could fetch six, seven thousand, claimed as imported when they were actually entirely produced domestically, costing just over two thousand.
Huang Youcai saw the huge profits in this, and said he had channels to smuggle in chips and circuit boards. Of course they were all contraband. Then through Yu Jun's company they would be assembled into phones and sold. Although they were fakes, the quality was not too far off, and they worked just like real ones when used.
The first batch of pirated phones was quickly produced, and Huang Youcai quickly sold them through his connections. They had agreed to a 70-30 split. Unexpectedly Huang died, and Yu Jun went through a great deal of trouble to get his share of the money back.
After Yu Jun finished, I shook my head and pointed at him, "You're still lying!"