Qingmu thought about it for a long time before deciding to contact Yu Jianguo first.
When he went to the criminal investigation team to inquire about Zhao Pengcheng and Yu Jianguo, Shi Dazhuang couldn't help but find it strange. While asking Hu Xing to fetch the case files, he asked, "These two cases were closed a long time ago. Why are you asking them?"
Qingmu asked, "How many years was he ultimately sentenced to?"
Shi Dazhuang said, " Yu Jianguo seems to have been sentenced to seventeen years, while Zhao Pengcheng was more severe; he was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for suspected intentional homicide."
Hu Xing brought the case file to Qingmu to look at.
"Wasn't Yu Jianguo the mastermind? Why was he only sentenced to seventeen years?" Qingmu asked while looking at the case file.
Shi Dazhuang said, " Yu Jianguo mainly had connections with several criminal gangs, but he wasn't a key member. The reason he committed crimes with Zhao Pengcheng was to avenge Zhao's sister. Zhao Pengcheng was the main perpetrator, Yu Jianguo was just an accomplice. Moreover, he later performed meritorious service, helping us arrest several organ trafficking gangs and human traffickers."
Qingmu found the section about vegetative state patients in the case file, read it for a while, and asked, "Did Zhao Pengcheng later explain why the brain of this vegetative state patient was taken away?"
Hu Xing replied, "I remember that very clearly because during your hypnotic interrogation, you were interrupted by my phone call right here. Later, when I interrogated Zhao Pengcheng, I specifically asked him about this. According to his confession, it was to practice surgical techniques, because he is a general surgeon and doesn't have the opportunity to perform brain surgery. And since the organs of that vegetative patient had already been removed, he simply practiced brain removal surgery."
"Isn't that a stretch?"
"We also think this motive is invalid. During the commission of a crime, a person must be in a state of high tension. How could they have the mind to spend time and energy practicing brain removal surgery and risk being discovered if the surgery fails?" Hu Xing said.
"Then why was this claim accepted?"
"Because we can't find any motive for him to lie, this explanation not only won't reduce his sentence, but might also lead the judge to believe he's lost his humanity, thus increasing his sentence," Shi Dazhuang said. "You helped us open the floodgates, getting Zhao Pengcheng to implicate Yu Jianguo. After that, Zhao's psychological defenses have been broken down, and he confessed to all his crimes, including two other cases we didn't know about. Logically speaking, he has no reason to lie about this detail. And regardless of whether he lies or not, this confession has no impact on our criminal investigation work. We're just recording it truthfully for the prosecution and judge's reference."
Qingmu nodded, understanding more or less. He had initially suspected Yu Jianguo was an alien because he hadn't noticed anything unusual about the consciousness itself when he hypnotized Zhao Pengcheng last time. Now it seemed that Zhao Pengcheng was more likely.
Whether the person in the vegetative state was infected with the Gray Brain Virus is impossible to verify, but based on Zhao Pengcheng's modus operandi and his subsequent confession, it can be basically confirmed that it was him.
"Do you still have the identity information of that dead, vegetative patient?" Qingmu asked.
Hu Xing helped him turn to the back of the case file, pointed to a page, and said, "Look, it's right here. The deceased was an overseas Chinese who had returned to China. He had many properties both at home and abroad. Apart from his daughter in the United States, his family all lived with him in Wuzhong."
Qingmu carefully read the man's introduction, wrote down his name, and asked Hu Xing, "Your family has dealings with these wealthy businessmen. Did you know this man before?"
Hu Xing shook her head and said, "I don't know many people in the business world. If you want to ask about this, you'll have to ask my two uncles."
Qingmu carefully recalled the process of interrogating Zhao Pengcheng at the Criminal Investigation Division. He did not recall any special difference between Zhao Pengcheng's consciousness and that of a human. Of course, he did not know about Parasitic Consciousness at that time, nor did he encounter "shadow," so he naturally did not think in that direction.
Although Parasitic Consciousness can completely inherit a person's memories after successful parasitism, they will never simply become the parasitized Earthling; otherwise, there would be no question of invasion. They must have their own special methods of communication and interaction. Even if this is based on conscious instinct and is not in the brain's memory, and cannot be reflected in the content of the dream space, it will still manifest in the essence of consciousness.
Qingmu believed he could always find some clues, but to be on the safe side, he decided to meet Yu Jianguo first. Yu Jianguo was also a suspect; if he was also an alien, it would be good to find a breakthrough through him first. If he wasn't, then at least he could get some information related to Zhao Pengcheng from him.
Yu Jianguo fifties, which is not considered old in today's society, but his hair is already gray, making him look like he is in his sixties.
He sat down at the family dinner table, looking at the unfamiliar young man across the table.
The dishes on the table were steaming hot, and the aroma of shredded pork with garlic sauce and stir-fried pork with green peppers kept wafting into his nose. Yu Jianguo's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and saliva unknowingly filled his entire mouth from the tip of his tongue to between his teeth.
The food in prison is much better than before. Yu Jianguo remembers that when he was in prison more than ten years ago, almost every meal consisted of pickled vegetables and steamed buns. If he didn't do his work well, he would go hungry. Now, at least he can eat his fill, and he can even see meat at noon. But a whole plate of stir-fried meat is out of the question, let alone a whole table of dishes like this.
What Yu Jianguo found most unbearable wasn't the food, but the bottle of Erguotou that had already been opened. Drinking was forbidden in prison, and he was an alcoholic. When he worked at the hospital, he often went to the morgue, sometimes relying on a few sips of alcohol to bolster his courage.
"Who are you...?" Yu Jianguo swallowed hard and asked.
"My name is Qingmu," Qingmu said.
"I don't know you," Yu Jianguo said cautiously.
"Now that we know each other, right?" Qingmu poured a glass of Erguotou for Yu Jianguo and himself, then took a sip.
There were four dishes and a soup on the table: a plate of shredded pork with garlic sauce, a plate of stir-fried pork with green peppers, a plate of braised fish, a plate of pickled mustard greens, mushrooms, and sliced pork, and a tomato and egg drop soup. This amount of food would not cost more than 100 yuan outside, but it cost more than double here. However, the most expensive item was this bottle of Red Star Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor). This was only allowed because I had to pull some strings with the higher-ups.
Knowing that Yu Jianguo liked to drink, Qingmu said, "Let's drink and eat first. We can talk about things after we've eaten. Don't worry, there's no time limit for today's visit. Just drink as much as you want, and it's okay if you get drunk."
Yu Jianguo shook his head and said, "I can't eat properly unless you tell me what's wrong."
Seeing that he really wasn't eating, Qingmu smiled and said, "Actually, it's nothing. I just wanted to talk to you about Zhao Pengcheng."
Upon Yu Jianguo suddenly covered his face with his hands and burst into tears, sobbing, "It's all my fault! He was a good child! He was the only promising kid in our village!"