Chapter 649: The Bizarre Video
After Xu Fa’s death, Long’an enjoyed a rare period of peace. As January arrived and the first snow of the year fell, the quiet was shattered by a video sent to the police through an anonymous email.
In the video, a large man in a suit with slicked-back hair repeatedly struck something with a blunt object. Red liquid splattered onto his face as he worked, his expression grim and eyes filled with malice, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
He continued for a while before standing up, adjusting his collar, and saying something. The video was silent, but from the movement of his lips, it seemed he said, “Find a place to bury it.”
“Who is this guy?” Xu Xiaodong asked.
“I think we should first figure out if this is real or staged. The camera angle doesn’t look like surveillance footage, and we’ve received prank videos before,” Old Zhang said.
“Can we trace the IP address?” Lin Qiupu asked.
An officer from the information department replied, “The IP address is foreign and clearly uses a proxy. The email registration details are all fake too.”
“I think someone wants to report a crime but is afraid to reveal their identity. This guy looks wealthy, and there’s someone else watching as he ‘kills,’ so he might be a powerful figure,” Lin Dongxue speculated.
Nobody recognized the man in the video, so they sent the footage to the forensics team for facial recognition and searched the household registry database. After several hours, they had over a dozen potential matches. One face closely resembled the man in the video: Dong Xiao, the renowned CEO of Zhuoyuan Communications. This company specialized in communications and electronics, with its headquarters in the northwest and a newly established subsidiary in Long’an. Dong Xiao, rumored to be a 300-pound man who rarely appeared in public, was currently stationed at this new branch. Interestingly, no photos of him could be found online.
“Captain Lin, should we go see him in person?” Old Zhang asked.
Lin Qiupu hesitated. Investigating based on an anonymous video would likely be met with resistance. Meeting Dong Xiao directly wouldn’t be effective. “Let’s first check if anyone from Zhuoyuan Communications has gone missing. Finding a body would allow us to open a case.”
“Should I get Old Chen?” Lin Dongxue asked.
“Sure, he’s been idle for too long,” Lin Qiupu agreed.
Chen Shi was called in and watched the video with excitement. Lin Dongxue noted his eager expression, “You look like you’re enjoying this.”
“I smell a big case. So, this guy is named Dong…”
“Dong Xiao. I did some digging. His company suddenly rose to power, swallowing local competitors like Hanying Communications. They’re rumored to have some core technology.”
“I remember when there were smartphone wars, and you could get one for 200 yuan. That must have been vicious competition. Hanying eventually went bankrupt… Should we check it out now?”
“Where to?”
“Zhuoyuan Communications, of course.”
“My brother said not to go just yet, to avoid alerting them.”
“Then what am I here for? Is there something I can do?”
“We’re looking through surveillance footage around their office to see if anyone’s missing.”
“Let’s join them!”
They drove to Zhuoyuan Communications, now housed in a towering building that used to belong to Hanying Communications. After Hanying was acquired, even their real estate was taken over by Zhuoyuan. The statue of a horse wielding a sword out front was said to be made from the melted-down Global Communications statue that once stood there, symbolizing conquest.
As they exited the car and looked up at the skyscraper, Chen Shi thought, a company is like a mini-kingdom cloaked in civility. Much like ancient tribes, people are bound by interests, forming a closed power structure. Behind the layers of regulations and gleaming glass facades, who knows what secrets lie hidden?
Other officers were already busy searching nearby surveillance footage. Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue joined in, a monotonous task akin to telemarketing, repeating the same request at every store, “Hello, we’re from the police department. Could we check your surveillance footage?”
Chen Shi suggested, “Why not start with the email?”
“Do you think we didn’t try? The IP address was untraceable.”
“I mean, since it’s an email, and the sender wants to report a crime, why not reply and ask them directly? They must know something.”
Lin Dongxue was momentarily stunned. They hadn’t thought of that simple step. “Of course, we can reply to the email.”
Just then, a long black sedan pulled up, followed by a Rolls-Royce. A tall, muscular man with bulging muscles in a suit got out of the Rolls-Royce, ran over to open the door for the sedan. Chen Shi noticed a tattoo of a naked woman on his right hand.
A woman elegantly stepped out of the sedan, wearing a tight cheongsam and a fur stole. Her seductive figure turned heads. She nodded to the muscular man and sashayed into the building.
“Who’s that guy?” and “Who’s that woman?” Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi asked simultaneously, then laughed at each other for being equally curious.
The shop owner, also staring after the woman, came back to reality. “The man is Lü Qi, Zhuoyuan’s vice president. The woman, well, she’s something else…” The owner lowered his voice, “She’s rumored to be Dong Xiao’s new lover. Dong Xiao is nearly sixty and snagged a beauty like her. The lives of the rich are beyond our imagination.”
“She probably looks like a temptress,” Chen Shi said, trying to show his integrity to Lin Dongxue.
“Haha, she’s not just a back view killer. I once saw her face. Wow, couldn’t sleep that night. Then I saw Dong Xiao. Made me cry. How can a guy who looks like that get a woman like her? Life’s unfair… Well, back to work.”
Leaving the shop, the cars had already driven off. Lin Dongxue commented, “She really has a great figure!”
“Are you talking about the man or the woman?”
“The woman, of course. That tiny waist… makes me feel so inferior.”
“You’re not bad yourself!”
Lin Dongxue pinched her waist, “No, I’ve gained weight recently. Stop taking me out to eat so often.”
“So it’s my fault now?”