Klasse 0 der 10

Kapitel 9

He Lan was quite angry, but she couldn't show it on the phone. She tried to comfort the woman, saying that she was only asking about Xu Li's situation and didn't suspect her, much less arrest her. The woman still didn't believe her and kept insisting that it had nothing to do with her.

Finally, Helan hardened her expression and said that if she didn't come, they would have to go find her themselves. The woman said she would hide, to which Helan replied dismissively, "Have you ever heard of someone the police can't find?"

There was silence on the other end. Taking this opportunity, Helan said, "If you don't want to come to the police station, we can arrange to meet at another place, like a tea house or a coffee shop. And I'll go alone, without anyone else."

"You're not lying to me, are you?" The woman still seemed to have some doubts about Helan's words.

At noon, Helan returned from outside. She had successfully met with the woman and learned a great deal about Xu Li. Qin Ge was waiting for her in the office, and she briefly reported the situation to him.

Xu Li wasn't a local. Two years ago, she came to this city to work with a group of girlfriends. Six months later, she left her fellow villagers and started working as a hostess in nightclubs and bars. Xu Li wasn't ugly, but she wasn't particularly beautiful either. She was average-looking among hostesses, so she didn't have any special experiences.

The night before she disappeared, she didn't get home until around 1 a.m.—it was actually a single-story house she shared with someone. The person she shared the house with was the woman Helan met today, named Sun Hong.

“It’s definitely a fake name. These hostesses never mention their real names to anyone,” He Lan said.

According to Sun Hong's recollection, on the night of the incident, business was slow at karaoke bars and nightclubs because it started snowing in the evening. She and Xu Li went home early. They watched TV in the living room for a while before going to their respective rooms to sleep. Later, around 1 a.m., Sun Hong was awakened by a noise outside. She put on her clothes and went to the living room, where she saw Xu Li putting on a down jacket. She asked Xu Li where she was going so late, but Xu Li didn't answer, only saying that she had gone out to do something and would be back soon.

“Actually, I knew what she was doing even if she didn’t say it. She was listless when she talked to me, yawning constantly and sniffing her nose. Anyone with eyes could tell she was having an addict’s session again,” Sun Hong said.

Sun Hong couldn't say when Xu Li started using drugs, but recently her addiction had been getting worse. That day, she clearly had a craving late at night and went out to buy drugs, but she never came back.

The most crucial issue is that Xu Li has always bought her drugs from a man called Lao Qiang.

That afternoon, Lao Qiang was cornered in a room by Qin Ge and He Lan. They handcuffed him first, then questioned him about that night. Without much thought, Lao Qiang said that Xu Li had indeed come to him that night, bought a packet of drugs, and then went home without even entering the house.

There are three other people who can testify for Lao Qiang; they were playing mahjong together in Lao Qiang's house that night.

In other words, after Xu Li left Lao Qiang's place, no one saw her again.

Xu Li's rented apartment wasn't far from Lao Qiang's house, just two streets away, about a half-hour walk. That night, the snow was heavy, so her walking pace might be slower, but it wouldn't take more than forty minutes.

Xu Li likely encountered an accident on her way back.

It snowed heavily that night, and continued intermittently for two more days. Even if Xu Li left some clues when she was kidnapped, they would have been covered up by the heavy snow.

No one could predict when Xu Li's drug withdrawal would flare up, and if it were someone she knew who had premeditatedly kidnapped her, they wouldn't have chosen that moment to strike. It's important to understand that perpetrators targeting prostitutes usually use bribery to lure them away; kidnapping a prostitute is incredibly easy.

Therefore, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that Xu Li accidentally encountered the perpetrator on her way home after buying the drugs.

Therefore, the police could not possibly get any results from investigating Xu Li's side.

Just as Qin Ge and He Lan's investigation reached a stalemate, experts from the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Cyber Security Department collected evidence from the attacked server and successfully obtained the intruder's IP address. It seems the intruder wasn't a professional hacker; he hadn't even considered hiding his IP address when he broke into the server.

With the IP address and the time of the server intrusion, it was easy to find the phone number that connected to the hacker's computer.

But the investigation into that phone call was equally disappointing.

The phone's owner worked at a computer company and had broadband at home, but that night, he was setting up a local area network for an internet cafe that was about to open. Because the opening was imminent, he worked overtime until after 4 a.m. It was snowing heavily outside, so he slept for a few hours at the internet cafe and went straight back to his company the next morning.

His words were confirmed by the internet cafe owner and his colleagues at the computer company.

He lived alone in his apartment, so it was impossible for anyone else to have been there that night. Later, when the telecommunications workers assisting with the investigation inspected the outdoor telephone lines, they discovered that a section of the insulation had been stripped, showing clear signs of theft. The telecommunications workers explained that because it was an old residential building, all the telephone lines were installed later. Some lines were simply strung outside, which gave the thief the opportunity.

As for internet accounts and passwords, since the initial accounts and passwords provided by telecom companies when signing up for broadband services are phone numbers, and since the accounts can only be used on the same device, many users are simply unaware of the need to change their passwords.

The hacker only needs to connect a telephone to the line and dial their own mobile phone to obtain the phone number. Then, using that number's account and password, they can connect to the internet, hack into the server, and upload the video file.

The section of telephone line with its insulation cut was on the rooftop platform, but during the surrounding investigation, no clues were found—the three-day heavy snowfall was enough to destroy any trace.

The investigation has once again reached a stalemate.

By this point, Qin Ge and He Lan were almost certain that the video online was definitely not just a prank, and that the woman named Xu Li must be dead. However, without a body, without the person who reported it, and without any clues, if no new discoveries were made, the truth might remain a mystery forever.

That afternoon, Qin Ge drove with He Lan to Lao Qiang's house. Lao Qiang was detained in a detention center for drug trafficking, and his wife and children had long since left him, so his house was tightly closed.

Qin Ge had no intention of going to his house; he just wanted to retrace the route Xu Li had taken home that night.

Old Qiang's house is located at the intersection of the old and new city areas, while Xu Li's rented house is on the east side of the old city, facing Gucheng Road across a large area of densely packed bungalows. To get from Old Qiang's house to Xu Li's house, you have to cross two streets: one is the main road we are used to, and the other is a quiet side street.

Qin Ge chose the shortest route and walked slowly forward, while He Lan followed in her car on the road.

Although the snow had stopped for several days, there was still snow on both sides of the road. Qin Ge imagined that night, snowflakes falling from the sky, turning the city white, the whole street silent, Xu Li walking alone on the street, and at some point, unexpectedly encountering the murderer. Perhaps the two brushed past each other, perhaps they only glanced at each other from afar before going their separate ways. Xu Li certainly never imagined that the chance encounter with the night walker would become her Grim Reaper.

Turning from the main road into the alley, Qin Ge stood in the middle of the road, looking at the bare trees and low, dilapidated bungalows on both sides. Interspersed among the bungalows were some four- or five-story old buildings, mostly constructed in the 1980s. Between the bungalows and old buildings were a complex network of alleyways, stretching in all directions like a spider web or blood vessels.

Such terrain provided the perpetrator with an easy opportunity to commit the crime.

The murderer attacked Xu Li here and took her away. However, the murderer may not have defeated her in one move. Even without a moon, the snowy night wouldn't be too dark, and Xu Li might have noticed the murderer as he approached. At this point, Xu Li would be terrified; she would scream and try to run away. If that happened, these actions would likely alert the residents on both sides of the street.

Of course, these are just Qin Ge's speculations, and they may not be true at all.

Qin Ge and He Lan continued forward. Just then, Qin Ge's phone rang. He stopped by the roadside to answer it. It was his team leader calling to remind him to return to the bureau for a meeting that afternoon. Just as he hung up, he suddenly heard He Lan call him softly.

He followed Helan's gaze and saw three young people crossing the road not far ahead.

Crossing the road illegally is nothing unusual, but these three people were acting suspiciously—hands in their pockets, not walking straight, leaning to one side, and their heads swaying around.

They turned into a small alley when they reached the roadside.

Qin Ge quickly followed, and at the alley entrance, she saw them enter the outermost opening of a four-story building. He Lan, who was also there, parked his car and followed. The two slowly walked into the alley, looking up at the balconies and windows above the opening.

Suddenly, Helan grabbed Qin Ge's arm. Qin Ge was startled, then heard footsteps behind him, followed by several young people walking past. They were both men and women, and all looked somewhat nervous. As they passed Qin Ge and Helan, their eyes revealed wariness and suspicion.

Helan linked arms with Qin Ge, looking completely at ease, and even whispered something in Qin Ge's ear. Qin Ge was still a little stunned, but Helan chuckled softly.

"It's a shame this girl isn't an actress," Qin Ge thought.

The young people seemed relieved and sneaked into the same building entrance.