Case Files
Listening to the busy signal after the call disconnected.
Su Han put down the phone and looked at Zhang Qu, who lay sprawled on the floor.
His jaw was dislocated, leaving him able to make only muffled whimpers. The flesh between his legs was a bloody mess, and blood was still seeping out.
Now that the lead had gone cold, Su Han could only continue questioning him.
He crouched, gripped Zhang Qu's lower jaw, and pushed and twisted.
Crack.
The bone popped back into place.
"Ah, cough, cough..." Zhang Qu gasped for breath, saliva mixed with bloody froth running from the corner of his mouth.
"Talk," Su Han said calmly.
"Who exactly was that woman on the phone just now?"
"Tell me how to contact her and where she lives."
But even now, Zhang Qu continued shaking his head desperately.
"I don't know. I can't tell you. I really can't..."
Su Han stared at him, his eyes as deep as a pool.
"What about your family?" Su Han asked slowly.
"You must know where your wife and child live."
Zhang Qu's entire body shuddered.
"What are you going to do?"
"What do you think?" Su Han asked in return.
His face deathly pale, Zhang Qu opened his mouth, but in the end, he suddenly let out a bitter laugh.
"I sent them all away long ago. You'll never find them."
"You think I'll believe that?"
"Believe it or not." Zhang Qu coughed twice more, bloody froth streaming from his mouth.
"Su Han, I admit you're strong now."
"Though I don't know why you suddenly gained such fighting prowess."
"But you're dead meat."
He raised his head and stared fixedly at Su Han.
"No matter how strong you are, in front of those people..."
"You're just an ant they can crush underfoot whenever they please!"
Su Han frowned slightly and asked,
"Who are those people?"
Zhang Qu kept laughing bitterly, his laughter growing more and more desperate.
"I can't say. No matter what, I can't say, or my whole family will die deaths ten thousand times more miserable than whatever way you're planning to kill me now."
Hearing that,
Su Han completely lost patience.
Realizing he wouldn't get anything out of him, he stomped down hard on Zhang Qu's chest.
Crack-crack-
The sound of his breastbone shattering was clear.
Zhang Qu's body convulsed violently twice. His eyes bulged wide, and his pupils slowly dilated, losing all their light.
Su Han withdrew his leg, and the office fell deathly silent again.
He stood there for ten seconds, then began searching the office, hoping to find some useful information.
The desk had been smashed, and its drawers were scattered across the floor.
Su Han rummaged through everything.
After skipping over a pile of useless administrative documents and ordinary case records,
he finally found three special case files in a concealed spot beneath the desk.
The cases in the first two special files had already been closed.
Su Han took out the first one.
A date had been written on the file cover in black marker.
[2028.5.11].
He glanced at the clock on the wall. Today was May 26.
The document was from half a month ago.
He opened the file envelope. Inside was a complete case file.
[Name: Chen Zhi.]
[Age: 23.]
[Identity: Jinghai University graduate, only son of Chen Dafu, owner of the Prosperity Supermarket in Yunfu District.]
[Case details: At 21:37 on the evening of May 9, 2028, Chen Zhi killed his parents at home with a knife and set their bodies on fire in an attempt to destroy the evidence...]
[List of evidence: XXXX...]
The document contained a thorough account of the entire case involving the man named Chen Zhi, along with his statements, video recordings, and other materials.
Whether it was the scene photographs, fingerprint analysis reports, or witness interview transcripts, every document bore the required stamps, and there was no fault to be found with the procedures.
The evidence of guilt was utterly perfect, without a single flaw.
At the end were his own signature and fingerprint, indicating his admission of guilt.
Su Han took out another file.
This document was dated a week ago.
Its contents were much the same: the criminal file of a student named Li Wanting.
It likewise contained a complete chain of evidence.
It likewise contained a neatly written confession.
Su Han picked up the third file envelope. This one had not yet been dated, but he was familiar with its contents.
It was his own file.
His identity information, case details, list of evidence, and so on were all complete now.
The contents that followed also largely matched what Zhang Ping had said earlier.
Only two things were missing.
One was the signature and fingerprint on the confession.
The other was a video recording of the entire interrogation.
Su Han's gaze turned icy.
In all three cases, the evidence was conclusive.
They had taken place within a short span of time, all in this little Yunfu District.
But Su Han knew these people were all miserable souls like him, framed, falsely accused, and tortured into confessing.
He was full of questions.
What exactly were these people doing?
Who exactly were the people on the other end of the phone?
Why were they doing this?
Su Han stood there, the file crumpling in his grip.
He stood there thinking, the only sound in the office his own breathing.
Until a moment later.
"Buff ① · Divine Body triggered. Your constitution +10 points, comprehension +10."
The system notification sounded in his mind once more.
Only then did Su Han abruptly come back to his senses.
He took a deep breath, his gaze finally growing calm again.
Since he couldn't make sense of it, he would investigate step by step.
He now had a system, and he was growing stronger every moment.
He believed that sooner or later, he would get to the bottom of it and uncover the whole truth.
Find the culprit behind it all...
Night.
Taian East Road.
At eleven thirty at night, the streets were empty of pedestrians, with only a few scattered shops still lit.
One convenience store was still open.
Its owner, Zhao Mu, had just finished cleaning.
He was fifty-seven years old, not very tall, and somewhat bald, and he wore work clothes.
After sweeping the floor, he carried the trash bag to the bin outside. As he turned around, he caught sight of the sealed noodle shop across the street.
Then he glanced at the hardware store, barbershop, fruit stand, and other businesses next door, all of which had long since closed for the night.
A look of disdain appeared on his face.
"A bunch of cowards. Could they really be afraid the Su couple will come looking for revenge?"
Muttering to himself, he returned to the store.
He was an atheist and didn't believe in ghosts or vengeful spirits at all.
So what if people had died across the street?
Business still had to go on.
After pulling down and locking the shutter, Zhao Mu whistled.
That afternoon, he had just received a considerable sum of hush money.
It was payment from those people for giving false testimony.
Although they had told him to move away as soon as possible, he couldn't bear to give up this location. He had run his convenience store here for more than ten years, and he had plenty of regulars and steady business.
Besides, he firmly believed that kid Su Han had already been arrested.
The evidence was conclusive; he could forget about ever getting out in this lifetime.
He had nothing to worry about at all.
In high spirits, he switched off the lights in the store and prepared to go to the partitioned room on the second floor to sleep.
But just as Zhao Mu's hand touched the stair railing,
his whole body suddenly shuddered, and he froze in place.
There, in the shadows by the doorway of the partitioned room in the distance,
someone was standing.
The person was not very tall and was somewhat thin, with dried bloodstains on his body.
But his eyes were unusually bright in the darkness.
They were fixed on Zhao Mu.
It was none other than Su Han, who had returned.