Han Xiao said gravely, "We just received word from the navy! The head of the Transport Section in the North Sea Fleet's Logistics Department committed suicide this morning!"
Song Ning froze for only a moment before she understood.
"Was he the one who issued the inspection exemption for Buddha Lord's ship?"
"Yes!"
"He was in his forties. He married when he was young, but his wife died of illness at an early age, and he never remarried. Both his parents were dead! He had no children! With his death, the trail has gone cold again!"
"Are they certain it was... suicide?"
"Yes! He took cyanide and died in his dormitory! There was a suicide note beside him! It contained just one sentence: 'The crimes I committed are beyond forgiveness!'"
Song Ning thought for a moment, then asked, "What about the Ocean Administration?"
In 1979, the branches of the State Ocean Administration were under the administrative jurisdiction of their respective local governments. The head of the North Sea Fleet's Transport Section could issue an inspection exemption.
But someone else must have arranged the ship's movements.
Chen Liang continued, "The deputy director of the Shipping Scheduling Office at the North Sea Branch of the Ocean Administration... disappeared two nights ago! Later, during the pursuit, he tried to jump out of a vehicle to escape! He was critically injured in the fall! Before he died, he confessed to his crimes! He had sole responsibility for dispatching the ship that picked up Buddha Lord, under the guise of a hydrological survey of the Bohai Sea!"
"Both men are dead, and neither revealed who gave them their orders! According to the investigation, both were competent at their regular jobs and had no prior record of misconduct!"
Song Ning said, "They were sleeper pawns, only brought