Chapter 106 He Has Ulterior Motives (Second Update)
Zong Ruoan recalled that morning when he went to Xia Chujian's house to have her sign an agreement.
As he was leaving, he ran into Zhu Yingying's parents, who were looking for her.
He even personally took them to Li's Hospital, only to find that there was no record of Zhu Yingying being admitted.
Later, he received information from the Mulan City Punishment Department that Zhu Yingying was one of the seven missing people, believed to have died in the fire in the private room of the third box.
And before she was burned to death, someone took these photos and sent them to Zhu Yingying's homeroom teacher, Wang Yixiao?
Then Wang Yixiao modified these photos with Xia Chujian's avatar to threaten Xia Chujian?
Did Xia Chujian desecrate Wang Yixiao's ancestral grave, or kill her parents?
Why would Wang Yixiao use such methods against her underage student?! Wang Yixiao should be grateful she's already dead. If she were still alive, he would make her life worse than death!
Zong Ruoan was furious. He clenched his fingers and slammed his fist hard on the computer desk.
His punch was so forceful that it triggered the office alarm.
But he quickly said to the office's mechanical intelligence, "Alarm canceled, it was a misunderstanding."
Huo Yushen's temporary office happened to be next to his.
Hearing the alarm from Zong Ruoan's office, Huo Yushen rushed over immediately.
But then he heard Zong Ruoan saying, "Alarm canceled, it was a misunderstanding."
Huo Yushen thought for a moment and decided not to go in.
He returned to his office, opened the internal communication system, and asked his secretary, Kang Shanxing, "Shanxing, has Zong Ruoan compiled the list of local dignitaries I asked him to investigate?"
Kang Shanxing said, "Marshal Huo, Colonel Zong has been assisting in the investigation of the Da Fu Prefecture Disciplinary Department system case recently. As for the list, he said he has some leads and will submit the list of dignitaries this weekend."
Huo Yushen said calmly, "The Disciplinary Department of Guiyuan Star has problems?"
"Yes, the Fan family, as the only nobles of Guiyuan Star, have extended their reach too far. The entire Disciplinary Department is almost surnamed Fan."
"If necessary, Zong Ruoan can mobilize the Audit and Discipline Department."
"Marshal Huo, if the Audit and Discipline Department is mobilized, the governor of Guiyuan Star will probably be replaced..." Kang Shanxing reminded tactfully.
Huo Yushen said dismissively, "If the governor of Guiyuan Star can't even suppress a noble family surnamed Fan, then he should be replaced."
...
Lu Jianpeng hurried to Empire 892 Hospital with his men.
It just so happened that Wang Yixiao's family had not yet completed all the procedures.
Lu Jianpeng presented his Special Security Bureau credentials and took away Wang Yixiao's body and all her belongings.
The Special Security Bureau's Information Department has a dedicated forensic testing department, but Zong Ruoan also called in a technician from the research and development department to take several samples from under Wang Yixiao's fingernails.
After a day and a night of analysis and research, an investigation report was placed on Zong Ruoan's desk.
After reading the report, Zong Ruoan found that although Wang Yixiao's Quantum Optical Brain data could not be recovered, they had analyzed important components from the powder residue under Wang Yixiao's fingernails.
The results made him realize that this was not something he could decide on his own.
Zong Ruoan immediately contacted Huo Yushen through the internal system.
"Inspector Huo, I have some important findings to report to you."
Huo Yushen thought that Zong Ruoan had found out about the relevant dignitaries of Guiyuan Star, and immediately pushed back all the meetings he had, saying, "Go to Conference Room One immediately."
Conference Room One at the Special Security Bureau branch has the strictest security measures and the most powerful magnetic field interference to ensure that conversations here cannot be electronically eavesdropped or monitored.
Although the Special Security Bureau headquarters on Beichen Star has even more secure locations than Conference Room One.
But currently, on this backward Guiyuan Star, such advanced equipment is not needed.
Zong Ruoan brought all the information to Conference Room One.
After entering, the network connection to the outside world was cut off.
The only connection to the outside world was an old-fashioned landline phone.
Huo Yushen sat at the head of the conference table, asking coldly, "What have you found?"
Zong Ruoan clicked on the Quantum Optical Brain's virtual display screen, playing the findings related to Wang Yixiao.
"Inspector Huo, today the Special Security Bureau's Information Department received a report from mechanical intelligence that a genetically abnormal object appeared in an office at Mulan City No. 1 High School."
"After I took people there, we discovered this genetically abnormal goldfish."
On the three-dimensional holographic virtual display screen, the goldfish with its white belly up and horns on its head was displayed.
Huo Yushen stared at the screen expressionlessly, without saying a word.
Zong Ruoan continued, "This office belongs to Wang Yixiao, the head teacher of the senior year's intermediate class at Mulan City No. 1 High School. She has a student named Xia Chujian."
Hearing the name Xia Chujian, Huo Yushen's face didn't change in the slightest, as if he had no idea who Xia Chujian was, and he just continued to stare coldly at Zong Ruoan.
Zong Ruoan continued, "We were collecting evidence at the scene and were about to leave when we happened to encounter Xia Chujian and her two elders, who also came to Wang Yixiao's office."
"After talking, we learned that Wang Yixiao had physically punished Xia Chujian today, and Xia Chujian's aunt had come to the school specifically to complain about Wang Yixiao."
He said to this point, Huo Yushen calmly interrupted his narrative, "Colonel Zong, what does all this have to do with your findings?"
Zong Ruoan said seriously, "This matter is somewhat related to Xia Chujian. If it weren't for her being physically punished, we might not have found the reason for the change in this genetically abnormal goldfish so quickly."
"Continue."
"At the time, half of Xia Chujian's face was very swollen. I suggested that she treat her injury first, but she was worried that after the injury healed, she would have no evidence to complain to the school about Wang Yixiao."
"I said we could check the surveillance."
"But Xia Chujian said that Wang Yixiao had turned off the surveillance before hitting her in that office. Therefore, I told her that the ultimate switch for the surveillance in Beichen Empire schools is in the hands of the Special Security Bureau."
Hearing this, Huo Yushen's voice became even colder, "Zong Ruoan, you have violated discipline."
"Yes, Inspector Huo, I will write a self-criticism and hand it to you."
"Don't let it happen again."
"Thank you, Inspector Huo." Zong Ruoan saluted, then continued, "So I asked my subordinates in the Information Department at headquarters to retrieve the surveillance footage from Wang Yixiao's office at Mulan City No. 1 High School, based on the time Xia Chujian mentioned. According to convention, in addition to that time, the ten minutes before and after would also be retrieved."
"As a result, we found some content..."
In the following three-dimensional holographic projection, Huo Yushen saw the process of Wang Yixiao taking medicine with her fingernails and feeding it to the goldfish, and also saw the process of Wang Yixiao taking the medicine herself.
Then, he saw Xia Chujian walk into Wang Yixiao's office, saw Wang Yixiao slap Xia Chujian, and saw Xia Chujian's face swell up rapidly.
He also saw Wang Yixiao suddenly pull up some photos.
Those photos were projected on the virtual display screen in the surveillance footage, and now they were re-extracted from the surveillance footage, so the resolution was not very high.
Huo Yushen casually pointed to those photos, "...Have these images been restored using mechanical intelligence?"
He could tell at a glance that these images had been modified.
Zong Ruoan nodded quickly, "...Restored. The original image was not Xia Chujian's head, but another girl. That girl was the one who died in the Private Club arson case."
As he spoke, he pulled up the photos he had restored using mechanical intelligence, and the several modified photos of Wang Yixiao, placing them side by side.
Looking at them this way, the difference was obvious.
Although the girl's body was the same in the photos, the head images were completely different.
In the photos with Xia Chujian, her expression was indifferent and empty, as if no matter what you said, she was aloof, seemingly out of place with the scene in the photos.
And in the photos of Zhu Yingying, her shame and timidity, anger and panic, were very consistent with the scene at the time.
Huo Yushen still had no expression on his face, frowning slightly, with a hint of impatience, "Why did Wang Yixiao modify Zhu Yingying's image and replace it with Xia Chujian?"
Zong Ruoan was slightly stunned, "...Inspector Huo also knows that the girl is called Zhu Yingying?"
Huo Yushen's expression became even colder, "Isn't that the 'Feather' case? It is said that seven people died. The wastes at the Mulan City Punishment Department can't even investigate how the fire started."
That case was not Zong Ruoan's responsibility, and he didn't know much about it, so he didn't ask any more questions, but just said, "This Zhu Yingying is Xia Chujian's classmate and also a neighbor in the same building."
After thinking about it, he still told about his visit to Xia Chujian's house that day, "I went to Xia Chujian's classmate's house because of the Mulan City checkpoint Punishment Department's case. That day was exactly the day after the Private Club arson case, and Zhu Yingying's parents were looking for her everywhere because she hadn't returned all night."
Huo Yushen finally looked at Zong Ruoan's face, which was even more handsome than a woman's, his gaze slightly cold, "What did you go to Xia Chujian's house for?"
"...Because there was a document for her to sign."
"Xia Chujian is a minor; she cannot sign any legally binding documents." Huo Yushen's voice was as cold and indifferent as ever, devoid of any emotion.
Zong Ruoan raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Inspector Huo, are you very familiar with Xia Chujian?"
How did he even know she was a minor?
Most senior high school students in the Beichen Empire were already eighteen and of age.
Huo Yushen said calmly, "Not familiar, but she is an important witness in a case."
"You've met her?"
Huo Yushen didn't answer directly, only looked at Zong Ruoan.
His gaze was extremely calm, but his unapproachable attitude was all too obvious.
Zong Ruoan wanted to ask what case it was, but seeing Huo Yushen's aloof demeanor, he swallowed the question.
Huo Yushen was the highest-ranking Inspector of the Special Security Bureau, only responsible to Emperor Tantai Hongyuan of Beichen.
Huo Yushen could inquire about anything related to the Special Security Bureau, but Zong Ruoan could not.
Zong Ruoan could only inquire about people or matters within his jurisdiction.
Zong Ruoan had no choice but to say, "It was my oversight. Fortunately, Xia Chujian's aunt was present at the time. She is Xia Chujian's sole guardian and could therefore sign the documents on Xia Chujian's behalf."
"What documents?"
"...At the checkpoint between Mulan City and the Exotic Beast Forest, their Dark Night Hunter team had a slight conflict with Fan Chengcai, the Deputy Director of the Disciplinary Department of Da Fu Prefecture."
"What conflict? Is that why you're pursuing the Disciplinary Department of Guiyuan Star so relentlessly?"
Huo Yushen's questions were increasingly direct, hitting the core of the matter, and cold sweat broke out on Zong Ruoan's forehead.
He couldn't deny that he did have some personal motives.
This is the second update. There will be a new update at 00:05 tonight.
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