In previous cases, Yu Hanjiang's first priority when discovering a body was to identify the deceased. Only by finding out who the dead person was could he investigate the deceased's social relationships to find the most likely suspect who killed him.
But this case is completely different from the previous ones.
Of the nine victims found so far, the identities of four are unknown due to fragmented body parts, and it is unclear whether the remains of two victims are related to the organ transplant case. The only confirmed cases with known identities are Cheng Shaoyu (who was dismembered), Liu Renyuan (who lost a kidney ), and Wang Wei (a food delivery driver ). The only person who can be contacted regarding these three victims is Wang Wei's ex-girlfriend, Xu Fangfang.
Liu Qiao was in charge of keeping an eye on Xu Fangfang, and only she knew the exact address of Xu Fangfang's grandmother's house.
Yu Hanjiang instructed, "Xiao Liu, secretly search Xu Fangfang's house first, and see if you can find any clues. Also, please keep watch on Xu Fangfang tonight and protect her as well. If she really is the lover, she may be in danger of being silenced."
This organ transplant organization is cold-blooded and cruel, treating human life as worthless; they are absolutely capable of silencing witnesses.
Liu Qiao nodded seriously: "I understand. If anyone tries to harm Xu Fangfang, I will immediately use [ Thumbelina ]'s card to shrink her and take her away."
Xiao Lou instructed, "If you encounter danger, protect yourself. Contact me immediately if you need help."
The group parted ways at Peach Blossom Spring. Based on her memory of following Xu Fangfang during the day, Liu Qiao used the Lightness Skill Card to return to Xu Fangfang's home.
Xu Fangfang's home isn't far from the hospital. Her grandfather passed away, and his body is currently in the mourning hall. It won't be taken to the crematorium until dawn. Xu Fangfang cried herself unconscious this afternoon and slept for a long time. Tonight, she'll be keeping vigil.
The girl kneeling in the mourning hall was filled with grief, her eyes bloodshot. She stared at her grandfather's portrait, sobbing incessantly. Liu Qiao didn't dare approach her to comfort her. Taking advantage of her distraction, Liu Qiao put on his invisibility cloak and quietly slipped into the bedroom.
Xu Fangfang's bedroom was simply furnished with a bed, wardrobe, and dressing table. There were no storage compartments under the bed, and the wardrobe drawers were filled with socks and underwear. After a quick search, Liu Qiao found nothing suspicious and turned to search the dressing table drawers.
The dressing table had three drawers. In the top drawer, there was a long, red jewelry box, next to which was a greeting card with the words "Dear Fangfang, Happy Birthday, I will always love you — Wang Wei, October 8th" written in neat handwriting. The jewelry box was empty. Xu Fangfang was wearing a heart-shaped necklace, which must have been a birthday gift from Wang Wei.
In the bottom drawer, a men's belt was found. The box was exquisitely packaged, and inside was a greeting card—a birthday gift from Xu Fangfang to Wang Wei, dated November of last year. Unfortunately, the belt was never given to him before they broke up.
Liu Qiao continued searching the bottom drawer with her doubts. The drawer wouldn't open, clearly locked. After a moment's thought, Liu Qiao took out the [Master Key] card from her card holder —this card was something she'd gotten a long time ago from the secret room at Fenglin High School in Heart 3. It had a limited number of uses, and her card only had one more use left; after that, the card would be invalid.
But Liu Qiao had a gut feeling that there was an important clue in this drawer, so she didn't hold back on the card and opened the drawer directly with the card.
In the empty drawer, there was a velvet box and a letter.
Inside the box was a sparkling diamond ring. The diamond was quite large and obviously very valuable. The inner band of the ring was engraved with the words "WW&XFF" in small print—this should be the engagement ring that Wang Wei gave to Xu Fangfang.
Liu Qiao opened the envelope and, sure enough, it was Wang Wei's handwriting. In the letter, he wrote: "Fangfang, I've finally saved enough money to buy the diamond ring you've been eyeing. I've already contacted the wedding planning company, and let's officially get married at the end of this year. I will give you the happiest and most romantic wedding, and we'll invite your grandparents, parents, and my family to attend. For the rest of my life, I will protect you."
Looking at these pieces of evidence, Liu Qiao felt quite conflicted.
On the surface, Xu Fangfang and Wang Wei's relationship seemed to be going well; Wang Wei even bought them an engagement ring, so why would he suddenly break up with her? And after the breakup, Xu Fangfang not only didn't throw away the gifts and cards her ex-boyfriend gave her, but she also pinned his WeChat chat to the top of her chat list. Did she suddenly find out something and regret it? For almost half a year, from November until now, why hasn't she contacted Wang Wei?
This diamond ring looks quite big; it must have cost a lot of money, right?
Diamonds usually come with a certificate of authenticity. Liu Qiao searched the inside of the envelope again and found a diamond ring certificate at the very back—a nearly one-carat diamond ring worth 10 million gold coins, or 100,000 RMB.
A diamond ring costing 100,000 yuan is a bit too extravagant for salaried workers. Wang Wei is a food delivery worker with a low salary; why would he buy such an expensive diamond ring? It seems necessary to check Wang Wei's bank statements.
Liu Qiao frowned slightly, quickly took photos of the evidence collected at Xu Fangfang's house with her phone, and reported the evidence to Yu Hanjiang immediately.
Yu Hanjiang replied, "Xiao Liu, thank you for your hard work. I will interrogate Xu Fangfang directly tomorrow. Also, Wang Wei's residence has been located, and I will arrange for someone to search for evidence there tomorrow. I will also check his bank statements as soon as possible. You will continue to stay with Xu Fangfang."
Liu Qiao replied, "Understood."
Because Xu Fangfang kept vigil all night, Liu Qiao hid in her house without her noticing.
After leaving the hospital, Ye Qi, Long Sen, and others stayed at a hotel.
Hanjiang told everyone to rest as soon as possible to conserve their energy for tomorrow's extensive door-to-door visits and investigations. Shao Qingge went to sleep in the hospital, and to be on the safe side, Xiao Lou slept on the sofa in his ward.
Yu Hanjiang didn't sleep a wink all night. He compiled information on all the deceased, including their family members and workplaces, for future investigations. He also organized all the kidney transplant patient information given to him by Professor Qin Changming, planning to use telephone interviews to confirm the source of these transplanted kidneys.
At 7 a.m., as dawn was breaking, Yu Hanjiang washed his face with cold water and called to wake up his four teammates at the hotel.
The farmers' market in Chengxi District was the focus of the investigation for the four teammates this morning.
At 7:30 a.m., the morning market had already started. The large farmers' market, covering several acres, was bustling with activity. Many restaurant trucks came to deliver fresh vegetables, and some citizens also came to buy vegetables because the vegetables at the morning market are the cheapest.
Long Sen and Qu Wanyue were a married couple, so their act was very natural. They took a taxi and went hand in hand to the vicinity of the farmers' market to look for the two shops that Yu Hanjiang had mentioned: "Good Taste Congee Shop" and "Spicy Rice Noodles".
Old Mo and Ye Qi dressed up as grandfather and granddaughter. Ye Qi took Old Mo's hand and said, "Grandpa, I want to eat fruit." Old Mo smiled and said, "Okay, okay, Grandpa will buy it for you." Little Ye Qi's acting was superb, and Old Mo cooperated perfectly. The two entered the farmers' market and slowly browsed each stall, buying fruit while checking for any suspicious people.
The four split up and soon, Long Sen and Qu Wanyue had their results.
Xiao Lou received a message in the WeChat group he had just created. It was from Long Sen: " Captain Yu, I found a 'Good Taste Congee Shop'. It's in an alley diagonally opposite the farmers' market. Wanyue and I are going in for a bowl of congee."
At breakfast time, the porridge shop was packed. Long Sen and Qu Wanyue were sitting at a table for four. An elderly woman next to them had nowhere to sit, so Qu Wanyue moved over to make room for her and politely invited her to sit down.
The old lady smiled and thanked her, then sat down to drink her preserved egg congee.
Qu Wanyue feigned curiosity and asked, "Auntie, why is this porridge shop so popular? It's packed with people inside, and I see there are even people queuing outside."
The old lady said, "This porridge shop has been open here for five years, and its porridge is very famous. People from several nearby neighborhoods come here every morning to drink porridge. I like their preserved egg porridge the most."
Qu Wanyue asked, "Doesn't their restaurant offer delivery? Why are there so many people queuing up to buy from them?"
The old lady said, "We don't deliver breakfast; too many people come for porridge and we can't keep up with the demand! We can deliver lunch and dinner."
Qu Wanyue glanced around and noticed a large number of takeout boxes on the counter, matching the photos Yu Hanjiang had sent them. She took out her phone, pulled up the information Captain Yu had found for the delivery driver, Wang Wei, and asked, "Auntie, do you know this delivery guy?"
The old woman was taken aback: "What do you want with him?"
Qu Wanyue said softly, "This is my brother. He delivers food nearby."
The old lady suddenly realized: "No wonder. Of course I know this young man, but I haven't seen him in a long time."
Long Sen asked, "Do you remember when you last saw him?"
The old lady thought carefully for a moment and said, "I have a deep impression of him. This young man was the most handsome among the deliverymen, and he was also very polite. He would always say 'Enjoy your meal.' Our neighbors are a young couple who can't cook, so they order takeout every day, and he usually delivers it. However, he hasn't come since last November. I remember that day my neighbor asked, 'Why is there a different deliveryman? Where is the old one?' The new deliveryman said, 'He quit and went home.'"
Long Sen and Qu Wanyue exchanged a glance.
It seems that Wang Wei likely ran into trouble last November and was forced to stop working as a food delivery driver.
After finishing their investigation of "Good Taste Congee Shop", the two went to look for "Spicy Rice Noodles" shop.
After walking through several streets, they found a tiny shop at the very end of a small alley. The "spicy" character on the sign "Spicy Rice Noodles" was peeling off, and they almost missed it if Long Sen hadn't been so observant.
The two went inside and ordered a bowl of "minced meat rice noodles" before sitting down to eat. The rice noodles tasted pretty good, but the shop was quite small, with only four tables and a capacity of only 16 customers at a time. However, there were several QR codes for food delivery platforms on the counter. While paying, Qu Wanyue casually asked the cashier, "Your rice noodles are delicious, can you deliver?"
The cashier smiled and said, "Of course. We get several hundred takeout orders every day. If you'd like, you can follow us and order takeout."
Qu Wanyue scanned the QR code to follow the account and casually asked, "What's the maximum distance you can deliver food to?"
The girl said, "Delivery within 5 kilometers is available. If it's more than 5 kilometers, the rice noodles will be stuck together and inedible by the time the rider delivers them."
Long Sen took out his phone and opened Wang Wei's photo: "Have you seen this delivery guy? He's my brother."
The girl paused for a moment, then quickly laughed: "I've seen him before. He used to come to our house to pick up takeout all the time. He's handsome and has a good temper. But I haven't seen him since last November."
After leaving the store, Long Sen and Qu Wanyue went to a quiet corner.
Qu Wanyue analyzed: "The locations of the two stores, Mala Rice Noodles and Haoweidao Congee Shop, have been locked in. Both stores offer delivery services, so all residents within a 5-kilometer radius may have ordered delivery from them and disposed of their trash in the trash cans, which would then be collected by garbage trucks and sent to the city's garbage station."
Long Sen simply took
He drew a diagram on the ground with a twig: "The spicy rice noodle shop is at location A, and the delicious porridge shop is at location B. The two shops are five streets apart, nearly three kilometers away. Across the street is the West City Farmers Market. These three places form a triangle. Captain Yu can further narrow down the area he needs to investigate. I think that illegal clinic is very likely located in this triangle."
Qu Wanyue said, "Last November was a crucial time. CEO Shao's surgery and Liu Renyuan's surgery were both done around that time. Wang Wei stopped delivering food in November. Could it be that he also had a transplant? Or did he know something and was silenced?"
The two exchanged a glance and immediately sent the results of their search and analysis to the WeChat group.
Xiao Lou praised, "Impressive! Locating the triangle area will make the subsequent investigation much easier."
Yu Hanjiang also gave a few thumbs up and said, "You guys continue to visit the nearby food delivery workers, chat with them casually and ask around to see if they are familiar with Wang Wei. Remember, don't be too deliberate, so as not to alert him."
Long Sen and Qu Wanyue replied simultaneously, "Understood."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "How's the progress, Lao Mo and Xiao Ye?"
Neither Lao Mo nor Ye Qi responded.
At this moment, the "grandparents and grandchildren" were picking out fruit everywhere in the farmers' market. Ye Qi played the role of a mischievous child, wandering around various fruit stalls, while Lao Mo followed behind. The two walked all the way and bought a lot of fresh fruit.
After turning a corner, Ye Qi suddenly said, "Grandpa, I want to eat corn!"
Old Mo reluctantly led him to the corn stall ahead. The middle-aged woman saw that Ye Qi was cute and couldn't help but smile, saying, "Little boy, would you like an ear of corn?"
Ye Qi picked out a smaller ear of corn. Old Mo paid for it, and Ye Qi stood beside him, munching on it as he asked crisply, "Auntie, was the corn you cooked already peeled? Where did the husks go?"
The woman said, "They're all in the trash can."
Ye Qi had actually noticed the corn leaves in the trash can at her feet a while ago, and asked with feigned curiosity, "Won't this trash smell if it's left for a long time? Doesn't anyone collect it? There are cleaning ladies downstairs in our community every day."
Seeing his serious expression, the middle-aged woman smiled and said, "Of course, we also have people cleaning up here. After the morning market closes, garbage trucks will collect all the trash from the stalls and throw it into the trash cans behind us."
Ye Qi said "Oh," and looked at Old Mo: "Grandpa, I want to eat scallion pancakes again."
Old Mo looked helpless: "Okay, Grandpa will buy it for you."
The two continued walking deeper into the farmers' market. Soon, Ye Qi spotted a garbage truck. Sanitation workers wearing masks were collecting garbage from different stalls. Ye Qi and Lao Mo followed the truck discreetly. After turning a few corners, they finally found the "garbage can" the woman had mentioned.
This is a large trash can, about 3 meters long and 2 meters wide, which can hold a lot of garbage. It is obviously for use in farmers' markets and is full of various rotten vegetable leaves and fruits.
Ye Qi carefully surveyed the area. With sharp eyes, he noticed a small amount of scattered black ash in a hidden corner next to the trash can. Ye Qi immediately became alert: "Could it be left over from burning a corpse?"
Old Mo's expression was serious: "It's possible. We'll take some samples back and have Captain Yu do the testing."
Ye Qi nodded, took a plastic bag out of his pocket, and squatted down to collect some black and gray samples. Just then, footsteps suddenly came from outside. Ye Qi hurriedly put the plastic bag back into his pocket, and Old Mo pretended to be angry and shouted, "Hey, you naughty kid, I told you not to run around, what are you doing here with the trash can? You'll get your clothes dirty and you'll definitely get scolded when you get home, come out here!"
Ye Qi said, "Grandpa, I think I just saw a stray cat."
Old Mo interrupted him: "Come out quickly, what stray cat? I don't see any!"
Ye Qi was grabbed by the arm by Lao Mo and lifted out like a chick.
The two bumped into a tall man who was wearing large sunglasses, obscuring his face. He was dressed in a black trench coat and exuded a cold, menacing aura. He turned his head, and his eyes behind the sunglasses seemed to be coldly watching them.
Old Mo and Ye Qi were terrified and quickly left the scene.
Ye Qi said in a clear, childlike voice, "Grandpa, my clothes aren't dirty, I want to eat a sesame ball..."
Old Mo pulled him aside and scolded, "Your parents don't let you eat snacks, sweetie, I'll take you to have breakfast!"
The two walked further and further apart, but Ye Qi always felt a sharp gaze watching her from behind.
Only after leaving the farmers' market did Ye Qi let out a soft sigh of relief and whisper in Lao Mo's ear, "Why did I feel a chill down my spine when he looked at that person? Could he be related to the organ transplant case? Or was he just there by chance?"
Old Mo quickly calmed down: "Report to Captain Yu right away!"
******