Chapter 838: Hidden Connections

In the conference room, everyone was stunned after hearing Chen Shi’s discovery.

“That rice is actually marijuana?”

“The audacity! They’ve been blatantly growing drugs for ten years! Who knows how many people they’ve harmed?”

“This must have formed a complete black market network long ago. It’s not the work of just a few criminals; it’s an entire criminal organization.”

Lin Qiupu asked, “Do you have concrete evidence? Did the professor provide any test reports or anything?”

Chen Shi shook his head. “Not yet, but this lead is credible. I had suspected all along that it wasn’t just rice. With the police disappearing and villagers getting killed, the truth is even more shocking than I imagined.”

After a moment of silence, Xu Xiaodong muttered, “So genetically modified stuff is dangerous.”

“What are you talking about?” Lin Qiupu glared at him.

“Uh, I mean, if they were going to grow drugs, why not just grow opium? Wouldn’t that make more money? Marijuana isn’t exactly a high-profit drug, is it?”

Chen Shi explained, “I think this was an accidental discovery in the lab. Plus, marijuana has advantages over opium. It doesn’t need processing; you just cut it and smoke it. Processing opium is complicated; you need a workshop, specialized equipment, and there are climate factors to consider.”

“I don’t understand one thing. This drug marijuana and the industrial hemp aren’t the same thing, right?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“They are the same plant. The ancient Chinese used it for textiles, while foreigners used it for smoking. Hua Tuo’s anesthetic was derived from marijuana. Since it was declared a controlled substance by the UN, domestic cultivation has been banned,” Lao Zhang explained. “A few years ago, a guy in Long’an was growing marijuana at home and got in the news. It’s actually easy to grow, often called the ‘poor man’s drug’ abroad.”

“No matter how ‘poor man’s’ it is, this gang is making several times the profit. I’ll inform the Third Squad tonight, and they will assist us. But we need concrete evidence, not just words. Xu Xiaodong, find some experts tomorrow to investigate Wangchenggang. We have seeds and should still find some roots in the field as evidence,” Lin Qiupu said.

“That might alert them. When we visited the agricultural professor this morning, the gang found out. If we send a bunch of police to dig up fields, they’ll definitely notice. We should be discreet. Tomorrow, you can collect some roots under the guise of investigating the case,” Chen Shi suggested.

“Alright,” Lin Qiupu nodded. “Let’s get some rest tonight. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

After the meeting, Chen Shi didn’t leave. He said to Lin Dongxue, “Let’s go to the archives.”

In the archives, they retrieved some files. Chen Shi said, “I’m going to review some old cases. You can go home if you’re hungry; this might take a while.”

“I’ll stay with you.”

“Because we’re close, I’m telling you to go home… What did your brother say when he called you back? Was it about the case?”

“Uh, no, it was personal,” Lin Dongxue said evasively.

Chen Shi started reviewing the files. Lin Dongxue wandered through the shelves, deep in thought. She finally decided to find an old case file. She located the non-criminal cases by date and pulled out an old file.

The file detailed a traffic accident on April 29th. A couple was driving home late at night when a modified truck hit their car. It was a minor accident, but the truck was carrying several tons of cement pipes. During the collision, the truck’s tailgate latch failed, and the pipes rolled off, crushing the couple’s car. The driver fled in panic. The file’s photos showed the couple’s mangled bodies. They were Lin Dongxue’s parents. She touched the photos, feeling shocked but not sad, as their images were too faint in her memory.

April 29th was their death anniversary. As a child, Lin Qiupu would take her to visit their graves. One year, it rained, and she sprained her ankle, crying and refusing to go. Since then, she hadn’t gone, but Lin Qiupu always disappeared for the day.

Reflecting on this, Lin Dongxue realized that she didn’t feel sad because Lin Qiupu had taken care of her so well after their parents’ death, giving her a normal childhood and shouldering the burden of their loss.

She returned the file and went to see what Chen Shi was doing. He was surrounded by files and forensic records, writing on a blank sheet.

“These are cases related to Zhou Xiao. Why are you looking at these?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Victims: Qiu, nightclub waiter; Zhang, pharmacist; Lou, bar singer; Song, greenhouse contractor; Chang Guoqing, biological researcher; and Tao Yueyue’s mother, a prostitute with a drug history. The police didn’t pay much attention to her because she was a prostitute. I have a bold hypothesis: these victims might be connected in a drug production and distribution chain. The serial murders were actually contract killings, but the connection was too hidden, leading the police to think they were random.”

“You think the mastermind behind this case is the one who hired Zhou Tian’nan’s gang back then? But if he was selling drugs, why eliminate people in his supply chain?”

“I think it was for transformation!” Chen Shi’s eyes were clear.

“Transformation?”

“Nothing forms overnight. During development, there are setbacks, backtracking, and sometimes complete overhauls. This case is a perfect setup. Farmers plant marijuana disguised as rice; they get paid but not too much, and they are strictly controlled. We’ve only seen the farmers so far. We don’t know who the masterminds are or how extensive their operations are. They made money quietly for ten years. If not for the mink eating the rice and the missing policemen, this wouldn’t have surfaced for another decade.

“Was all this planned from the start? I think at the beginning, the mastermind didn’t plan this far ahead. They just saw a huge opportunity with this new marijuana. If it was handed to a Mexican drug lord, he could build a drug empire. Initially, everyone in the chain made quick money. Eventually, it spiraled out of control. Fearing the consequences, the mastermind decided to completely overhaul the chain, hiring the best hitman to clean up, leaving no trace. Then he selected the most trustworthy people to continue the business discreetly. They’ve been operating silently for ten years.”