"I know!"
Watching her retreating figure, I instructed Yuan Hezhi and the others to continue checking surveillance footage, then to investigate Police Officer Guo's relationships to see if he had any enemies, and his recent whereabouts. kanδん
As soon as I sat down in my office, Xie Chuchu sent me a message: "Senior, I've analyzed the bullet. It should have come from our police-issued handgun, a Type 54. These have been our standard issue since they were replaced 12 years ago."
"No way? Could the killer be a police officer? But how..."
"That I don't know. Oh, and the DNA from the hair doesn't belong to Officer Guo. It should be the killer's. While we haven't found a suspect yet, at least with the DNA, we have a way to identify the killer."
"Right."
As I replied, I sent out some information in the Punishing Sin group chat, basically asking everyone to proceed with the investigation based on the current findings.
Liu Yuning quickly responded: "I'm at Officer Yang's house. He and Officer Li are still with the police force and haven't resigned. They've been thinking about what happened 12 years ago all these years."
I wondered if I should go to Officer Yang's house. Since I was at the provincial department, I wouldn't be of much use anyway. So, I sent a message to Liu Yuning.
I drove to Officer Yang's house and saw that it was quite a decent place. Yang Guanghao was an old detective in his fifties. He was the officer who handled my case before. His wife had been missing for years.
Seeing me arrive, Officer Yang politely said, "Director He, this time we really need to be vigilant. Those people, the Guilt Creators, are twisted scientists. It's been 12 years. We thought they would have gone into hiding, but they dared to commit crimes again, and this time, they've killed someone!"
"Yes, but this could also be our opportunity to completely eliminate them. The Cicada Gate." As I was speaking with Yang Guanghao, I felt his reaction was a bit off. Even the experienced Liu Yuning hadn't noticed this.
But this slight unnatural reaction didn't escape my notice. When the topic of eliminating the Guilt Creators was brought up, Yang Guanghao said, "It's a good opportunity, but even your grandfather couldn't do anything back then. Is it possible in your generation?"
"Don't worry, I will definitely find my grandfather and make those who did wrong pay."
I deliberately emphasized the words "did wrong." Liu Yuning seemed to have noticed the strange tone in my voice and quickly pulled me aside: "He Sheng, what's wrong? Do you suspect Officer Yang?"
"Before I came, I asked Yuan Hezhi to investigate his whereabouts. He met with Guo Tianyu recently, and he was seen around the time of the incident. Plus, that bullet was fired from a police handgun!"
I whispered to Liu Yuning. Her face turned pale, but she quickly said, "But, how could Officer Yang...?"
"Anything is possible. After all, he's also involved in the case from 12 years ago. If I'm not mistaken, he's being coerced by the Guilt Creators!"
"Then what should we do? Confront him directly?"
"It's useless!"
As we were talking, Officer Yang seemed to be on the balcony, taking a phone call. He probably didn't hear us. We quickly returned to the living room and sat on the sofa. Soon, Dao Zhiyong and some other police officers arrived. They must have found us here because of the video and Yang Guanghao's recent movements.
Seeing more police officers, Yang Guanghao thought they were there to protect him. However, Dao Zhiyong said, "Officer Yang, this is the result of our investigation. How do you explain it?"
Looking at the video and some photos, Yang Guanghao seemed surprised. "I met him, because there were some things to discuss recently. What's wrong?"
"But that was around the time of the incident. And Officer Guo resigned so many years ago. Why would you still meet him?"
"Although he left the police force, we had a good relationship before, and we still keep in touch!"
"Don't lie. We've examined the bullet, and it came from a police handgun!" Dao Zhiyong said sternly. I noticed that when he mentioned the word "bullet," Yang Guanghao instinctively wiped his hands. Several officers had already surrounded him.
Yang Guanghao had been a police officer for a long time. Given his current situation, he surely understood what it meant. He stopped resisting: "I was forced. Although my wife is gone, my child is still here. They took my child. It's just like what happened to He Xin and the Punishment Judge. They must have used the same method to deal with my child. They kept sending me messages, hinting at what I should do. When you were investigating Officer Guo, you must have found that in addition to the gunshot wound, there were those strange marks on his body, right? Actually, they forced me to do that. If I really wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't have opened fire from the opposite building and then gone to mutilate the corpse. So..." kΑnshu伍.ξà
"We found your footprints at the scene where you opened fire, Officer Yang. You can't deny it. Even if your son was threatened, you should have asked us for help. Didn't you know that?" Dao Zhiyong said.
"I understood, of course, but they are the Guilt Creators. 12 years ago, some of us resisted, and in the end, we were killed. Regardless, you must find my son. He just turned eighteen this year. I don't want anything to happen to him!"
"Don't worry, Officer Yang. Since you're cooperating with us, we won't neglect you. Please come back with us first! We will handle your son's case as part of this ongoing investigation, as more and more people are going missing." Dao Zhiyong said as he handcuffed Yang Guanghao. We followed them out. In truth, I had already guessed this would be the outcome, but witnessing Yang Guanghao being taken away still left me feeling incredibly dejected.
Back in the interrogation room, our team began questioning Officer Yang. The results were very similar to what I had predicted. He told us: "I was ordered to mutilate the corpse afterwards. Based on my experience, I knew I would be easily exposed, but I had no choice. If I hadn't done it, my son would have been killed immediately. Although I still don't know if he's safe, he's my son. As parents, we would do anything to ensure their survival. Officer He, one day, if He Xin were also threatened, you would also lose your mind."
"Yang Guanghao, what if I said I wouldn't? Even if it were He Xin, at that point, she would have come to a realization. She would know she could sacrifice herself for the police force and would provide us with the final clues. And I would not kill anyone for her, as it would only make matters worse," I replied.