Chapter 285: The Killer’s Hideout

“Captain Lin, please give us a way out! We’ve spent millions to open sales channels throughout the city. After your Weibo post, hundreds of agents called to cancel contracts, and countless retailers want to return their stock. We’ve already lost millions!”

In the police station’s reception room, the company’s legal representative and sales manager were in tears.

Lin Qiupu said, “There’s nothing we can do. A criminal is using your company’s drinks to commit crimes. In an emergency, we must prioritize public safety.”

The legal representative argued, “But what about the thousands of employees at our company? Production is halted indefinitely, and we can’t even explain why to our workers. Four people have died, and you want to starve thousands?”

The sales manager added, “You’re playing right into the criminal’s hands. They’re trying to destroy our company and drive us to bankruptcy!”

Lin Qiupu looked helpless. Seeing this, the representatives nearly kneeled before him. “I’m sorry, but in this situation, this is the only course of action. I promise, once this is over, I’ll restore your company’s reputation on Weibo.”

“It will be too late by then.”

“It’s already too late,” the representatives said, their faces etched with despair.

After finally sending the representatives away, Lin Qiupu felt overwhelmed. He returned to the meeting room where officers were coming back, having spent the morning out. Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi also arrived, with Lin Dongxue shaking her wrist and joking, “My hand’s sore from opening bottle caps all morning.”

Lin Qiupu sighed, thinking he’d rather be opening bottle caps too.

“Let’s summarize our findings,” Lin Qiupu said.

“Three bottles found at New Department Store and Full Mart Supermarket… Here are the receipts.”

“One bottle found at Carrefour on Zhonglian Road… Here’s the receipt.”

Lin Qiupu marked the locations on the map. “It seems the suspect didn’t plant ‘bombs’ all over the city, only in these two districts.”

Chen Shi remarked, “The police station is in this district too. Bold move!”

Lin Qiupu shot him a look. “Any constructive suggestions?”

Chen Shi walked to the map, pointing out, “Here and here… These areas have highways close by but far to drive around. The suspect likely didn’t drive but moved on foot. Based on geographic profiling, his hideout might be here…” Chen Shi used his hand to draw a circle and marked the center with a thumbtack.

“Good. Let’s search this area!” Lin Qiupu ordered.

The officers set out immediately, going door to door, focusing on private rentals. After three hours of searching, as dusk approached, Xu Xiaodong’s voice crackled over the radio, “Hey, I found something!”

“Maintain radio protocol!” Lin Qiupu shouted.

“This is Xu Xiaodong. I found a suspicious apartment at 31 Chunhua Street. There are a lot of bottles… Oh shit!” His voice was suddenly drowned out by an explosion. A second later, a blast echoed in the distance, smoke billowing from a building.

Officers hurried to the scene, with Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi arriving first. The building was surrounded by confused onlookers.

Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi rushed into the building, repeatedly pressing the elevator button, but it wasn’t coming down. They sprinted up the stairs instead.

Reaching the 20th floor, Lin Dongxue shouted, “Xiaodong! Xiaodong!”

“Over here…” Xu Xiaodong coughed.

The corridor was filled with smoke and ash. Chen Shi handed Lin Dongxue a handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth. They found Xu Xiaodong sitting outside an apartment, his face covered in soot. The security door was deformed and hot to the touch.

“What happened?” Chen Shi asked.

“I walked in and saw a cardboard box. When I touched it, I heard a ‘beep’. I ran out and shut the door before it exploded.”

Lin Dongxue sighed in relief, “Quick reflexes.”

Xu Xiaodong patted his ears, “Almost went deaf. Help me up.”

Other officers arrived and, once the door cooled down, they pushed it open. The apartment was charred, with small fires still burning. The smell of burning plastic filled the air. Chen Shi saw several identical soda bottles.

He picked up an intact bottle, opened it, and found a “winning” cap inside.

Using his thumb to cover the bottle’s mouth, he shook it, intending to use it as a makeshift fire extinguisher. Lin Qiupu warned, “Hey, stop that!”

“It’s already like this.”

Chen Shi slightly uncovered the bottle, and the liquid extinguished nearby flames. Lin Qiupu sniffed and said, “That’s gasoline. The bomb was homemade to destroy evidence.”

“And maybe take a cop with it,” Chen Shi said, looking at Xu Xiaodong. “Was the door locked when you arrived?”

“It was. But I found a key under the doormat.”

Lin Qiupu admonished, “You should have notified us.”

“How was I supposed to know something was wrong?”

Xu Xiaodong had a point. If they had to call in the bomb squad for every locked door, the search would take days.

This unexpected event, luckily, had no casualties thanks to Xu Xiaodong’s quick thinking.

Officers cleared the scene, finding acrylic ink used for drawing on plastic, numerous soda bottles, maps, and basic living supplies. A burned book’s cover bore a message for “visitors”: “Your justice is fragile.”

“Quite the arrogance!” Lin Qiupu said.

An officer reported, “The landlord said the apartment was rented a couple of days ago. The rent was paid, but no contract signed, so no ID number. The landlord confirmed from the photo that it’s Wang Sunxu.”

Chen Shi found a paper in the trash, unfolded it, and said, “This is a notice from property management, posted today. Wang Sunxu was here today.”

Lin Qiupu said, “He might have just left when we started searching. Lock down all nearby exits!”