Chapter 676: A Shortcut

On February 13, Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue went to Ma Xiang’s residence to investigate. A single middle-aged man’s home was predictably unkempt.

His fridge was stuffed with frozen food, the ashtray on his desk was full of cigarette butts, and there were piles of garbage bags by the door, indicating Ma Xiang rarely went out.

Despite being a recluse, Ma Xiang had a notable hobby—collecting antiques. His shelves were filled with various artifacts, and it was the only clean spot in the entire living room.

Lin Dongxue remarked, “This guy has hundreds of thousands in his bank account, plus various funds and bonds, but he’s never worked a day in his life since high school. What kind of life is that?”

“Are you envious?” Chen Shi chuckled. “Ma Xiang’s occupation is probably something we can’t easily trace, likely very risky.”

“A professional hitman?” Lin Dongxue looked around the ordinary apartment, feeling surreal that its owner could be an assassin.

Chen Shi opened a cabinet, rubbing the dust on the shelves thoughtfully. Lin Dongxue asked what was up. Chen Shi said, “I think someone’s tampered with the contents of this cabinet.”

“Hey, look at this album.” Lin Dongxue picked it up, noticing some photos were missing. The remaining ones showed Ma Xiang with his ex-wife, his parents, and alone. “You’re right. Someone has definitely taken something.”

“That’s fast. Someone cleaned up right after he died. Who would do that?” Chen Shi looked around. Could the killer have been here? Maybe they could catch them on the apartment complex’s surveillance footage.

“Could Ma Xiang and the killer be part of an organization? They might have been punished for ‘failing’ their mission years ago, indicating a bigger force behind them,” Lin Dongxue speculated.

“It’s getting more complicated,” Chen Shi sighed.

Chen Shi found a hospital receipt in the trash can, dated recently, but the text was unreadable.

The highlight was Ma Xiang’s computer. The desktop was a solo travel photo of him, looking goofy with sunglasses and a briefcase. Using a selfie as his wallpaper was very middle-aged.

Aside from some card games and audio files of storytelling, there was a chat software shortcut. Clicking it revealed the software had been deleted.

When they opened a certain folder, Lin Dongxue gasped and looked away. The folder was full of photos of male genitalia. Chen Shi glanced at the watermark on one photo and said, “These are from the internet.”

“Why would Ma Xiang collect these?” Lin Dongxue blushed. “Humans look so ugly compared to flowers.”

“That’s why bodybuilders cover that part,” Chen Shi joked.

Chen Shi recalled that Ma Xiang was anatomically intact. Why would he spend his precious time on card games and chatting to look at these? Did he have a special interest? It seemed unlikely.

Chen Shi decided to have the information technology team at the precinct check the computer. They also copied recent surveillance footage from the apartment complex’s entrance.

The case now had a dedicated task force, split into two teams: one investigating the November 18th rape-murder, the other Ma Xiang’s death. The police were busy shuttling between Long’an and Shiqiao Town.

Back at the station, Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue took a break for a meal. Lin Dongxue said, “You’ve been so busy with cases during the holidays that you haven’t spent any time with Yue Yue.”

“There’s nothing I can do. These cases aren’t local. The little girl can manage on her own.”

“That sounds like an excuse. How about I go with you to see her tonight?”

“Okay, let’s finish our work today. Actually, I just thought of a shortcut. Finding out what happened that night could be straightforward.”

“Chang Juan?”

“Yes. If all the remaining shareholders collectively decide that she must tell the truth, she wouldn’t be able to refuse.”

“Good idea, but we don’t know who these shareholders are.”

“Let’s have Ai Ying contact them.” Chen Shi chose Ai Ying over Shu Shifang because he didn’t fully trust Shu Shifang yet.

He felt she was hiding something from him, though it was just a vague feeling.

After their meal, they returned to Shiqiao Town. Chang Juan was still in custody. When they arrived, Ai Ying and three other men waved at them. Chen Shi asked, “Who are they?”

“Let me introduce them. This is Brother Eleven, this is Little Four, and Sister Twenty-two is busy and will come tonight.”

Brother Eleven was a rosy-cheeked chubby guy in a red down jacket, looking like a ball. Little Four was a tall, skinny student with glasses, who later mentioned he became a shareholder for his thesis research.

There was also a buck-toothed middle-aged man. Ai Ying said, “This is Brother X. Since the major shareholder, Thirty-nine, is dead, Brother X plans to buy shares and join us. Once he’s in, ‘X’ will become a number.”

“Welcome! Welcome!” Brother Eleven and Little Four clapped. Brother X nodded with a smile, “Nice to meet you. I heard being a life shareholder is interesting, so I wanted to experience it.”

“You still want to play this boring game?” Lin Dongxue frowned.

“Boring game!?” Brother Eleven raised his voice. “Miss, it’s very rude to belittle others’ hobbies. We invest a lot of time and effort in the shareholders’ meetings. We vote on another person’s life. How can you casually dismiss it as a boring game? I demand an apology!”

“Eleven, calm down. She’s a police officer,” Ai Ying whispered.

Brother Eleven was taken aback. Lin Dongxue said, “Alright, I apologize… I just think it’s absurd to continue this life-shareholder thing after what happened to Chang Juan. No offense.”

“Officer Lin, this is our hobby and her lifestyle. It won’t change because of this incident.”

“But I think…” Chen Shi glanced at Brother X. “You should have a shareholder vetting process. Ma Xiang was a dangerous person. He once controlled Chang Juan completely. I’d like to know, Eleven, were you bribed by Ma Xiang?”

“No… no…” Brother Eleven stammered, shaking his hands. “I just thought it was fun, so I went along with it.”

“On the night Thirty-nine sent Chang Juan to lure the killer, you voted in favor without a word!” Ai Ying said angrily. “I wanted to kill you then!”

“Yeah, why did you always side with Thirty-nine unconditionally? What if something happened to Chang Juan?” Little Four shouted.

Brother Eleven looked aggrieved, twisting his hands. “I just thought it was fun!”

“Ahem!” Chen Shi interrupted their argument. “Let’s get to the point. I need you all to make a collective decision to help us solve the case.”