3:00 PM.
Criminal Investigation Division 3, Team 2 Office.
The team gathered in the office.
Zheng Kaixuan took a sip of tea from his thermos and cleared his throat. "Let's go over the current progress."
"Captain Zheng, we've identified a suspicious vehicle. The license plate number has been sent to the traffic monitoring center, and we're working on getting the suspect's info," Han Bin reported.
"What about Zhao Ming?" Zheng asked.
"He's at the traffic monitoring center now, checking road surveillance footage to track the suspect's vehicle," Han replied.
"Any updates?"
Han shook his head. "The suspect seems to have some counter-surveillance skills. He didn't appear on any main road cameras near Xing Jianbin's home. He used smaller side roads instead. We managed to catch a glimpse of the vehicle on a shop's street-facing camera, but we've lost track again. It'll take time to follow up through traffic cams."
"Well, he can't run forever," Zheng Kaixuan nodded. "The forensic report is in. Time of death was around 11 PM last night. The victim was strangled with a rope-like tool and then hung up to make it look like a suicide."
"I think we can rule out Li Yu as a suspect," Tian Li said. "It would've been difficult for a woman to hang up a dead body."
"It could've been a group effort," Han Bin speculated.
"The victim was quite small. A strong man could've lifted him up easily," Li Hui added, gesturing broadly.
"Tian Li, how's your side of the investigation?" Zheng asked.
"Xing Jianbin has two prior arrests for pyramid scheme involvement. The first time he was just a mid-level operator and wasn't jailed long. The second time, he was a core figure and served time."
"Did any of the other pyramid scheme members hold a grudge against him?"
"We haven't figured that out yet, but I did get a list of people involved. There are a lot, so it'll take time to go through them."
"At the moment, tracking the suspect through the car seems the most reliable," Zeng Ping said.
"I'll call the traffic monitoring center and speed things up," Zheng said, standing up.
Ten minutes later.
Zheng Kaixuan returned with a freshly printed document.
"Xiao Tian, put this up on the projector," he said, handing over the file.
Zeng Ping glanced at it and gave a thumbs-up. "Captain Zheng, your connections still work."
"Just lucky," Zheng replied modestly.
Vehicle owner: Sun Qifeng.
Ethnicity: Han
Age: 28
Height: 179 cm
Address: Room 4-201, Huilongguan Community, Qindao City
A photo ID of Sun Qifeng was also included.
"Sun Qifeng... that name sounds familiar," Tian Li murmured as she dug through her bag for a file.
"Here it is. Sun Qifeng was also involved in the pyramid scheme case. He was arrested with Xing Jianbin but was just a low-level member and was quickly released."
Bang! Zheng Kaixuan smacked the table. "There it is!"
"Captain Zheng, I suggest we don't wait for Zhao Ming's updates. Let's search Sun Qifeng's house. We might even catch him red-handed," Zeng Ping said.
"Good idea."
….
Huilongguan Community was originally a resettlement area.
It used to have property management, but after disputes, the residents formed their own homeowners' committee.
Team 2 first visited the committee office. Tian Li stayed behind to check the surveillance footage. The rest went to room 4-201, accompanied by the committee head to help knock on the door.
The committee leader, Auntie Zhou, was a middle-aged woman. She was enthusiastic about helping.
She said most of the residents were from the same village and wouldn't tolerate criminals living among them.
Sun Qifeng wasn't the owner, just a tenant.
Auntie Zhou led Han Bin's group to Sun Qifeng's rental unit and knocked, but there was no answer.
They called out several more times—still nothing.
Zheng Kaixuan decided to break in.
Li Hui used a battering ram.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After several blows, the lock gave way, and they entered.
The team searched cautiously but didn't find Sun Qifeng inside.
They relaxed a little—but were also disappointed.
"Search the place. See if the suspect left any clues," Zheng ordered.
"Captain Zeng, here's a bucket of leftover instant noodles. Might've been the suspect's," Li Hui said as he checked the container. "No warmth."
Zheng walked over and inspected the scene. He found a thermos next to it and opened it.
"The water's no longer warm. Probably eaten last night," he deduced.
"Meaning the suspect might not have come back after committing the crime," Zeng Ping added.
"Captain Zheng, I found a piece of rope," the forensic technician Lu Wen said.
Zheng examined it. "Bag it. We'll check if it matches the murder weapon."
"Captain, the photo in the bedroom matches Sun Qifeng's ID," Zeng Ping reported.
"Good."
While everyone else searched the apartment, Han Bin was crouched near the shoe rack, closely inspecting shoe soles.
Zheng was curious. "Han Bin, what've you got over there?"
"Based on the wear patterns on the shoes, the suspect's age and height match the ID info."
"So far, everything points to Sun Qifeng. We need to find him ASAP," Zeng Ping said.
"Let's check with Tian Li. See what she found on the cameras," Zheng said as they left the apartment.
Homeowners' Committee Surveillance Room.
Tian Li was watching the footage. Seeing Zheng and Zeng Ping enter, she stood up quickly.
"Captain Zheng, Captain Zeng."
"Any sign of Sun Qifeng on the footage?" Zheng got straight to the point.
"I checked last night's footage. Around 10 PM, Sun Qifeng drove his van out of the community." She zoomed in. "You can see the driver clearly—it matches his face."
"He left at 10 PM, the murder happened around 11. That fits the timeline," Zeng Ping noted.
"Did he come back?" Zheng asked.
"I've been watching the main gate footage. His van never returned."
"Previously, we were using the vehicle to trace the suspect. Now we can confirm it was Sun Qifeng himself driving. He was part of the same pyramid scheme, knew the victim, and left at the right time for the murder," Zeng Ping summarized.
Zheng Kaixuan nodded. "We can be fairly sure he's our guy."
"If he hasn't come back, he probably fled the city after robbing and killing. Should we issue a citywide manhunt?" Zeng Ping asked.
(End of Chapter)