"That's terrifying. Don't tell me there's a shapeshifter among us right now?" Dao Zhi Yong's comment only made things worse, causing everyone to eye each other with suspicion, wondering if one of them was a disguised shapeshifter.
I cleared my throat. "Monkey, don't talk nonsense. If I get impersonated next, this entire provincial department will descend into chaos."
Dao Zhi Yong stuck out his tongue. "Or maybe I'm the shapeshifter..."
"You really are stirring up trouble," I chided. I looked around at everyone again. Shapeshifters could only alter their appearance; their behavior and mannerisms were difficult to replicate. If we noticed anyone acting drastically different lately, they would surely be suspicious. I kept my thoughts to myself, not wanting to alert the shapeshifter. Besides, they might not even be from within our ranks. Everyone seemed to be acting normal recently.
Gao Ming Qiang said, "Everyone, be vigilant. If you notice anyone acting strangely, just apprehend them and lock them up!"
"I think you're the one acting strangely, Ming Qiang! You've been completely different since you came back last time!" Dao Zhi Yong teased.
Gao Ming Qiang shook his head vehemently. "That was months ago. The shapeshifter situation has only been going on for less than a week. Besides, my changes were due to past experiences. A shapeshifter changes their appearance on the fly; it's a different matter."
"I'm just kidding, ha ha. Don't be nervous. Alright, everyone, stay alert. Let's hope nothing happens."
The meeting adjourned, and everyone dispersed. I returned to my office, intending to continue my investigation into the hospital case. However, looking at some of the documents, I felt incredibly tired and ended up falling asleep at my desk.
I don't know how long I slept before there was a knock on my office door. I jolted awake and quickly opened it to find He Xin standing outside, looking anxious. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"Dao Zhi Yong has killed someone!"
"What? Are you sure?"
"The surveillance cameras just captured him coming upstairs and shooting Director Ma directly!"
"How is that possible?" At first, I thought He Xin was joking. But as I left my office, the tense expressions on Gao Ming Qiang's and Xiao Yuan De's faces made me realize that something like that had indeed happened.
"Where's Monkey?"
"He's been detained," Xiao Yuan De replied.
"Damn it, how could this happen? Could it be a shapeshifter?"
"I think it must be. How could Dao Zhi Yong kill someone, and so foolishly, right here in the provincial department? There are cameras everywhere. Given Dao Zhi Yong's personality and intelligence, he wouldn't be this stupid even if he wanted to kill someone," Xiao Yuan De reasoned.
I thought the same. I requested to see the surveillance footage immediately. Gao Ming Qiang, as if prepared, accompanied me to the duty room. When I saw Dao Zhi Yong enter Director Ma's office with a gun, I was utterly shocked. The footage clearly showed him entering Director Ma's office, followed by a gunshot. Then, Dao Zhi Yong was seen hastily fleeing from Director Ma's office.
At that moment, something occurred to me. "Could it be like that mirror reflection incident last time? A hallucination?"
"No, the forensics department confirmed the bullet came from Dao Zhi Yong's gun. Dao Zhi Yong claimed his gun was missing at the time. When he was apprehended, his gun was found in his desk drawer," Xiao Yuan De explained.
"This looks like a frame-up. But other officers will only believe the surveillance footage and physical evidence. We only discussed the shapeshifter issue in a meeting earlier and haven't confirmed anything. Dao Zhi Yong is in trouble now!" I exclaimed.
Dao Zhi Yong was He Xin's subordinate. Realizing he was in grave danger, He Xin said fearfully, "What should we do? We all know Dao Zhi Yong didn't do this. Are we just going to stand by and watch him be treated like a murderer?"
I didn't answer. After a moment of calm, I said, "Have you investigated Dao Zhi Yong's relationship with Director Ma? Did they have any conflicts?"
Xia Hou replied, "We checked. They had no interaction whatsoever, let alone any friction. There's no motive for murder."
"That's right. But it's hard to refute the video and physical evidence. I need to stall this case and prevent it from being judged too quickly. Otherwise, Dao Zhi Yong will be in grave danger!" I reassured He Xin, telling her not to be too anxious. But how could she relax? After all, they were expecting their first child.
Liu Yu Ning sighed from the side. "Perhaps we should go and see Dao Zhi Yong, hear what he has to say."
Xia Xiao Ling nodded. "Indeed. But it's not appropriate for too many people to go this time."
Zhang Ke Ying also nodded. "Brother He Sheng, it would be best for you and Captain Liu to go."
As leaders of the Crime Punishment Team, these two choices were indeed suitable. We made arrangements, urging everyone to relax and carry on with their work. Then, we proceeded to the detention room where Dao Zhi Yong was being held.
The case was now handled by Captain Huang of the provincial department. However, given my identity, it wasn't difficult for me to see Dao Zhi Yong. Through the iron bars, Dao Zhi Yong looked at us anxiously and said, "Team Leader He, that person really wasn't me. Someone must have impersonated me!"
"I know. But what were you doing at the time of the incident? Don't you know?" I asked.
"I was slacking off all night. But when I woke up, someone was already arresting me, accusing me of murder. I'm curious, if I had actually killed someone, why would I have acted as if nothing happened, returned to my desk, and then slept? However, when I saw the video, I was truly startled. There was someone in the screen who looked exactly like me, killing Deputy Director Ma... Ma Biao must hate me now!"
"No, he's abstained. He should understand. After all, we discussed shapeshifters in the meeting today and know you've been framed," Liu Yu Ning said.
"Could it be the addicts, trying to sow discord among us?" Dao Zhi Yong speculated.
"We don't know if it's the addicts yet. In fact, whether this so-called addict group even exists is uncertain. After all, it was only mentioned by Xi Jing Fan. Perhaps she fabricated it to reduce her own sentence..."
"But we really saw someone who looked like they were in disguise at the hospital before. I feel like that guy can impersonate anyone. So, impersonating me would be perfectly logical."