茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Wang De’an briefly explained the case, which was the series of murders that the Yangcheng Police had investigated previously, implicating Guo Tianxiang. Mijoe had been under close surveillance by the police because she traveled with Guo Tianxiang before he disappeared.

Later, the police found more issues with Mijoe’s identity and discovered that she might be related to several extortion cases. However, Mijoe then vanished as well.

Without any leads on Guo Tianxiang’s whereabouts, the police were naturally very interested in tracing Mijoe’s whereabouts, assuming that if they found her, they might be able to locate Guo Tianxiang. However, because the conditions weren’t met, Mijoe did not make it onto the online wanted list.

The task force from Yangcheng had also visited the city where Wang De’an resided during their investigation, as Mijoe had stayed in that city for half a year a few years ago. Wang De’an was involved in the joint investigation.

The case involving Mijoe wasn’t massive in its own right, but because her disappearance may be related to the whereabouts of Guo Tianxiang, the police put in quite a bit of effort in finding her.

“Are you sure it’s her?” After listening to Wang De’an, despite knowing his friend is reliable, Zhao Feng still couldn’t help but ask again.

Wang De’an paused to consider, then shook his head, “I can’t say with hundred percent certainty. But couldn’t we just know by checking it out?”

As a result, rather than heading to the cave where the body was found, they decided to seek out a cell signal.

After they found a signal, Zhao Feng placed a call to his colleague, instructing them to check the four ID numbers they had taken down, along with related information on the Taiyu Biological Laboratory.

His colleague got back to him quickly. There were no issues with the identities of the four individuals, but none of them worked for Taiyu Laboratory; they were associated with another organization. However, Taiyu Laboratory confirmed that the four were sent by the capital side and had just arrived in Citong a short while ago.

These outcomes broadly match the information gathered earlier.

But Wang De’an didn’t let go of his suspicion. He called a detective he had cooperated with in Yangcheng before, explained his findings, and reported both the name and ID number of “Chen Tianhua” for them to check.

They, too, quickly received a reply. By comparing the photo on the ID, they confirmed with certainty that it was the same person.

Upon inquiring about the specifics from Wang De’an and Zhao Feng, the Yangcheng team said they’d promptly book flights to Citong and request local law enforcement’s assistance.

Thus, Wang De’an handed his phone over to Zhao Feng to coordinate the situation further.

Since Zhao Feng’s rank wasn’t high enough, he could only listen to the situation and planned approach from Yangcheng, before contacting his senior and partner, Old Xu Zhao.

As soon as the call was connected and Xu Zhao heard where Zhao Feng was, he couldn’t help but raise his voice, “Why did you go to Zi Huan Mountain again? Didn’t we make it clear about the case earlier? You didn’t have any objections previously, so what new idea do you have now?”

Zhao Feng felt rather embarrassed as Old Xu berated him. He hurriedly explained, “It’s not like that… My police college classmates came to play today, so I took them to Zi Huan Mountain. But we happened to encounter some people and then….”

He then simply reported to Xu Zhao about meeting Mijoe and the three others with Wang De’an, Wang De’an’s suspicions, and their confirmation call to their colleague in Yangcheng. However, he didn’t mention taking Wang De’an to Zi Huan Mountain to inspect the area where the body was found. Or else, Old Xu would genuinely erupt.

Afterwards, Zhao Feng asked what they should do next: arrest everyone immediately and await reinforcements or not to act haphazardly?

Xu Zhao queried the situation further, “Do you think that the other three people are aware of her identity?”

“Hard to judge.” Zhao Feng replied.

Wang De’an interjected, “The guy named Gao Shu is well-trained. He won’t be easy to deal with.”

Therefore, they ultimately decided that while maintaining their safety, they would keep Mijoe under surveillance and wait for reinforcements from their department.

After being “interrogated” by Wang De’an and Zhao Feng, Mijoe and the others didn’t think much of it, but were just waiting for Ye Chong to inquire with the information collection department about the “crime” that occurred deep in Zi Huan Mountain.

When they received a response about the circumstances confirming discovery of three bodies in Zi Huan Mountain on the 15th of this month, all four were astounded.

“Couldn’t…it have been done by that bird?” Zhou Rui nervously speculated, unconsciously lifting his head to gaze at the dense tree branches above.

Based on their observation in Wushu Mountain previously, the “giant raptor” could easily take down two or three people.

“Unlikely,” Ye Chong shook his head.

“Could it really just be a coincidence? The bird appeared here before, and then there was that thunderstorm, followed by the discovery of three bodies. In fact, I think there is no coincidence…” Zhou Rui’s unease grew as he spoke. Even though it was broad daylight, he still found the forest somewhat eerie.

For some reason, he remembered his initial experience with Dr. Fang, Team Leader Li, and other colleagues when they ventured deep into the Qinling Uninhabited Area for a mission. They were fairly unscared on their way there, but the return trip scared them quite a bit. They thought they might not make it out alive.

“Where were the bodies found?” Mijoe asked.

“The current information doesn’t specify the location, but… those two policemen are nearby, so they definitely won’t let us get closer. Let’s come back some other day.” Ye Chong responded.

Zhou Rui immediately agreed, “Yeah, we’ve collected almost all the samples we needed anyway. We can collect the rest another day.”

Mijoe looked at him strangely, “What do you mean ‘almost’? We still have a lot more to collect.”

Thus, at Mijoe’s insistence, they continued according to the original plan and finished collecting most of the samples before preparing to return to their parking spot.

However, not too long after they had started to leave, Gao Shu, who had been mostly quiet, whispered to Mijoe, “Those two policemen are following us.”

Mijoe instinctively looked back, but didn’t spot the two officers. However, she trusted Gao Shu’s judgment and asked, “Do you think they’re probably heading back too…”

Halfway through her sentence, she remembered the suspicious attitude of Officer Wang De’an and considered a possibility.

“In this situation… do you have a contingency plan?” Mijoe asked Gao Shu.

Even though their temporary investigation team was becoming increasingly harmonious, only Gao Shu, who had been responsible for her safety from the beginning, knew about her fake identity.

Gao Shu nodded, “Yes.”

But nearly an hour later, their GL8 was still pulled over by a police car.

Gao Shu’s directions to the others were very clear, “Don’t resist. Cooperate with the police.”

Due to their compliance, only Mijoe was taken in the police car without being handcuffed. The other three were taken in their own GL8 to the police station.

A few hours ago, the flight with Xiang Kun on board arrived at Citong’s Airport.

As expected, it was Xia Libing who came to pick him up in the old Camry.