Unable to breathe

Chapter 36

"You should leave early tomorrow. It's better to wait on the highway than to be late because of traffic when leaving the city."

That night, Wang Liguo was excited. Although he suspected the person making the call might not be the murderer, but someone else entirely, and even so, the person with the phone should know where it came from, his intuition told him the caller was the killer. Why? He couldn't contain his smugness; he wanted to show off, to provoke, to make a scene. And another thing: he knew they had been investigating, and to disrupt the investigation and divert attention, he had to signal, making us believe he had left Shenyang. This obvious attempt to cover his tracks actually proved he hadn't gone out of town and was still in the city. The investigation had worked! It had finally forced him out! He realized they would now have the upper hand, while the killer would only become increasingly passive. If he thought like a normal person, he would never have carried the victim's phone with him, much less make so many calls—he wouldn't have made a single call, nor would he have given the phone away for someone else to use. But he wasn't a normal person; he wouldn't act according to normal logic.

After his initial excitement, Wang Liguo finally fell asleep, the soundest he had ever slept since the incident.

Early in the morning, the sunlight seemed exceptionally bright. Since they hadn't arrived yet, he wanted to stay in bed a little longer. However, without hearing a knock, someone walked in. He was startled; why hadn't she knocked? He wasn't even dressed yet! Just as he was panicking, the woman was already at the bedside, smiling and nodding at him, then saying, "Thank you!"

The pretty woman looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen her before. Just as he was about to ask her why she was thanking him, she turned and left.

He watched her slowly walk out, the morning sunlight shining on her back, revealing a patch of blood-red on her white clothes.

He woke up suddenly, his eyes and heart still filled with a dazzling crimson.

From the place where the mysterious person made the third call to Shenyang, where the fourth call took place, there was a gap of more than ten minutes. It's impossible to enter Shenyang by highway in such a short time, because the roads leading into Shenyang are incredibly congested. With more and more government and private cars, driver's licenses are readily available, and there are countless drivers who can't drive. More and more drivers, both skilled and unskilled, those who obey traffic rules and those who don't, those who care about appearances and those who don't, are all on the road. Roads can be lengthened every year but not widened, leaving cars and their passengers stuck in traffic, unable to move an inch. A car company proudly announced its wish that every Chinese family would own a car! This is a suicidal slogan. If every Chinese family owned a car, everyone would be stuck at home, and those wealthy car dealers who made their fortunes would be stuck in their homes, their money stagnant.

Wang Liguo said in the car that there was only one way for him to get to Shenyang so quickly: by train! Everyone also said that the rumbling and clattering sounds coming from his phone must be the sound of a train.

Wang Liguo immediately made a phone call:

"Chief, the murderer could only have entered Shenyang on train number 641. I would like to request that the bureau contact the train station immediately and borrow their complete passenger registration list for train number 641 to Shenyang yesterday. Once we return to the city, we will form groups to investigate and screen for suspects from the passengers based on the characteristics of those eight murderers."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away! But you need to pay special attention: this time, you must meet with every passenger; not a single one can be missed!"

We will definitely pay attention!

Because it was during the SARS prevention and control period, passenger registration was only required at the train station. The "health declaration forms" for passengers on train 641 bound for Shenyang on July 8th had already been delivered to the Gujing District Criminal Investigation Brigade. The bureau chief was reviewing them when he saw Wang Liguo and others return and immediately pointed to the table full of declaration forms, saying:

"The list from the train station says there are a total of 260. Let me check. This train has 16 carriages. You will be divided into 17 groups, one group per carriage, focusing on checking male passengers. The people will be here soon."

"Then there's one group left?" Wang Liguo didn't understand for a moment.

"The last group checks the staff on the bus."

"Ah, right, right, right!" Wang Liguo thought to himself that he was so busy that he couldn't possibly forget anyone!

It was quickly determined that out of the 260 passengers, 161 were male and 99 were female.

It's said that during those days, more than sixty police officers were exhausted. They were all crammed into a large room, with 260 declaration forms posted on the wall according to the 16 train carriages. Every day, they had to meet with each person on the list to verify their information, starting in the city and then moving to other cities (preliminary investigations revealed that many passengers had already gone to other provinces and cities). Sometimes, they would spend an entire day without verifying a single person. Based on the eight characteristics of the suspects, most passengers were naturally ruled out, but the investigating criminal police officers had to provide reasons or evidence to refute them. Later, they had to go to Shenyang, Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Jilin, and other places to find people for verification.

After more than 60 police officers spent 10 days on the road, they hadn't eaten or slept well, and they had lost weight and smelled more sweaty. But what made them very gratified was that they had met all 259 passengers. Their names, genders, ID numbers, and contact numbers were all true. As for the inaccuracies in their home addresses, workplaces, and even ages, they were very understanding. They said it was just a matter of memory and certainly not a deliberate act.

Since 259 out of 260 people are real, the remaining one must be fake.

Yes, the person named Liu Yang on this form—none of his information—whether it's his ID card, phone number, address, or workplace, is genuine. Given this level of falsification, you might even wonder why he would falsify anything.

Later, when interviewed by a reporter, Wang Liguo said, "We know that the criminals made phone calls in Shenyang to deliberately divert our attention, making us think they were in Shenyang. So at that point, we naturally thought, 'Is it possible they went to Shenyang using a false identity? The person who filled in the false name is definitely the most suspicious and cannot be let go!'"

The command center went all out to find this fake Liu Yang.

The police officers tried many methods; some even went to the train station and went through all the health declaration forms from the days before July 8th. They actually found a man named Liu Yang who claimed to be a railway worker, going to Shenyang every morning and returning to the city every evening. Unexpectedly, a computer search revealed over a thousand people named Liu Yang in the city. Even after checking all these individuals, they still couldn't find the person claiming to be Liu Yang.

Wang Liguo was still very happy and immediately sent several criminal police officers to stake out the staff commuter entrance of the train station every day to watch for the person who claimed to be Liu Yang. However, Liu Yang's name disappeared from the new health registration form.

Wang Liguo wondered, since the fake Liu Yang could forge anything and he already knew the police were checking people at the train station, why was he still using the name Liu Yang? He hired a police officer who was an expert in document examination to stake out the employee commuter area. That day, a man named Wu Liang registered on a health registration form, and his phone number contained the numbers 4568. The fake Liu Yang used to frequently use these numbers. The expert officer immediately recognized him as the fake Liu Yang and took him away on the spot.

Upon hearing that they had caught the suspicious person, Wang Liguo was immediately overjoyed, thinking that they were finally getting close to their target.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that this man, now known as Wu Liang, was using his real name. The railway worker's ID card he was carrying, supposedly belonging to Liu Yang, was borrowed to evade fares. He traveled to Shenyang daily to promote his products, skipping fares to save money. Witnesses to the May 31st burglary, Zhao Yajuan and Tang Baoming, along with Zhao Yajuan's neighbor, and witnesses to the June 14th burglary, Yao Yulan, were brought in to identify him. All of them stated that Wu Liang was not the perpetrator. Further investigation revealed that Wu Liang simply did not have the opportunity to commit the crime, forcing him to deny involvement. However, this individual had caused the police to waste over ten precious days of their time.

Wang Liguo was terrified again, restless and unable to eat or sleep well, because the fifth "Death Saturday" had arrived. The thought that another innocent young woman was about to be murdered in this city filled him, as the head of the criminal investigation team, with the feeling that every stab from the killer was precisely aimed at his heart. He felt the killer intended to kill him in this way, and he felt both heartache and intense hatred.

"Unable to Breathe" PART 4 "Unable to Breathe" Part 7 (5) Please remember the domain name of Shulink Reading Novel Serialization Station: (lz is the first letter of the serialization, and shulink means Shulink)

His colleagues said that during those days he seemed to be surviving by smoking, one cigarette after another every day.

Later, Wang Liguo told Yang Ming and me about his fear. Yang Ming was deeply moved. Thinking about it, he remembered General Patton's words and told Wang Liguo:

“I remember General Patton, a veteran of many battles, saying that if courage is fearlessness, then I have never seen a courageous person. Everyone has fears, and the wiser one is, the more one knows about fear. The real warrior is the one who, despite having fears, can drive himself to move forward.”

Rumor: The more outrageous a lie is, the more people will believe it.

Back then, Jia Damen, the tycoon from the building materials street, hadn't yet mysteriously died or disappeared. He was riding high, drinking two ounces of strong liquor every night and eating several dishes pre-ordered from restaurants. After his meal, he would burp as he offered incense, fruit, and steamed buns to the Guan Yu statue in the main hall. He always told people that his business wouldn't be so good without Guan Yu's blessing. Late at night, he would secretly kneel before the Guan Yu statue, trembling with fear, and whisper, "Boss Guan, your sword can't be idle. Please have mercy and do a few more sales! You must let me sell ten thousand sets! If you can let me sell ten thousand sets, I'll rent another place and open a big company. I'll build a small Guan Yu temple for you in the company's courtyard! Paint it red!" Then he would kneel there and start calculating the bad accounts he'd done countless times: two hundred and fifty yuan for each set installed, two thousand five for ten sets, twenty-five thousand for one hundred sets, and two hundred and fifty thousand for one thousand sets! With 250,000, I won't have to worry about having 500,000. Then I'll take a mistress and have her give me a son!

These past few days, Mr. Jia has been busy going to the suburbs every day to negotiate a business for the rapid breeding of wolfhounds and mixed-breed dogs. Guard dogs have already risen to several hundred yuan each, and many families buy them specifically to tie them to their balconies at night to protect against psychopaths. He estimates that guard dogs will become even more expensive because there's a shortage; they're practically unavailable. Therefore, he wants to quickly establish a security company that can rapidly breed guard dogs.

When Boss Jia hired people to put illegal plasters on the doors of apartments in residential buildings, although he used the name "New Century Modern Doors and Windows Company," it was just a facade. Back then, he was just one person with two temporary workers, installing doors and windows for people. What kind of crappy company was that? Now he has a real big company, and he is the real Boss Jia. Every day, more than ten people are squatting on the roadside welding steel bars for his security windows. Stacks of welded steel windows are piled up on the roadside.

Traffic police and urban management officers approached Mr. Jia separately, saying he was obstructing traffic and affecting the city's appearance. Mr. Jia immediately bent over at a ninety-degree angle, his face beaming, and pointed his right index finger upwards, saying, "It's the higher-ups who are urging us to work overtime to implement the instructions of the municipal party committee and government. I have no choice! They want us to work overtime for the safety of the people! What can I do? They say it's a political task!"

After hearing what Boss Jia said, it became clear that this was a politically sensitive task requiring people's lives to be taken, so who would dare to stop Boss Jia? They could only let Boss Jia continue working on the road for the safety of the people.

The dozen or so people who welded steel windows for Boss Jia day and night only got to eat one meal a day from him at noon. They would only get a meal that served as both dinner and a late-night snack when they were starving. Boss Jia didn't provide breakfast. No matter how hungry they were, they dared not neglect their work. Their work was paid by piecework, and if they didn't meet the standard each day, they would work for nothing (of course, that's what they said; Boss Jia called it "not meeting the standard" and said that they would be fined, and after the fine for not meeting the standard, they would have no wages).

Mr. Jia's current wife cooks for the temporary workers. The first time she bought rice, he berated her, saying, "You have a pig's head! All you do is eat! The TV and newspapers are always talking about stale rice, stale rice, don't you know? Why don't you buy stale rice? No matter how much of this good rice you buy, it won't be enough for them. If you buy stale rice, they'll be full after a little bit. I save on rice, so I save money! Buy the cheapest vegetables, pick and choose!" Then he forced her to return the good rice and buy stale rice instead.

More than ten people have been working for Boss Jia for almost a month, but they haven't been paid yet. Boss Jia said, "Anyone who takes leave halfway through or doesn't want to work anymore, don't expect to get paid. We'll settle everything after we finish the work. I'm afraid if I pay you too early, you'll leave. I have plenty of money, I don't care about your wages. Your wages are nothing to me! As long as you listen to me and work with me to the end, when my company expands in the future, they will also invest and receive dividends. You will be my shareholders, and we will be brothers."

Mr. Jia also hired many temporary workers to install security doors and windows, in groups of three or four. He didn't care; he just paid them 100 yuan for each window he installed, and they earned as much as they installed. If he installed ten windows a day, he would earn 1,000 yuan. It's been almost a month, and these people haven't received a single penny. Mr. Jia said, "My money is all going towards materials. The more security windows we install, the more you all earn. I'm doing this so you can earn more. Good things come to those who wait. I'm saving all the money for you; you won't be shortchanged! Getting paid together makes it seem more substantial!"

Now, Mr. Jia no longer hires people to go to residential buildings and stick plasters on doors; those are just petty tricks! Now, Mr. Jia has started operating in a more formal manner. He openly and honestly found the director of the advertising department of a newspaper, first having a set of stainless steel security windows custom-made for the director's house, and also installing a top-of-the-line security door with an electronic lock. He then took the director to a bathhouse once and a massage parlor twice, finding the best girls to keep him entertained. Only then did Mr. Jia ask his new buddy to write an advertisement for installing security windows. From July 8th, 9th, and 10th, when news of a perverted demon committing murder spread throughout the city again, Mr. Jia's advertisement appeared in the upper right corner of the front page every day.

Install security windows in every home!

In order to implement the instructions of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government to ensure the safety of the entire city, and to prevent thieves from entering through balconies, the technically strong New Century Modern Doors and Windows Company, at the request of the general public and entrusted by relevant parties, has specially selected high-quality imported American steel to process first-class anti-theft steel windows. Quantities are limited, so act fast! Welcome to purchase. We also offer installation services with gifts. 24-hour door-to-door delivery service. Quality guaranteed, plus discounts for multiple packages! Hotline: …

The advertisement was indeed effective; the phone lines were ringing off the hook every day, and many people were inspired to order custom-made security steel windows as gifts. Mr. Jia, quick-witted, immediately installed another phone line and hired two pretty girls to answer calls and register customers. He instructed the girls that after registering a customer's order, they shouldn't hang up immediately but should talk to the customer for a while, telling them that many police officers from the Public Security Bureau also came to their homes to install security windows. They told them about this psychopathic killer, a highly skilled martial artist who could scale walls and rooftops, easily reaching a sixth-floor balcony. He was described as burly, 1.80 meters tall, wielding a knife in one hand and sleeping pills in the other, raping and murdering single women on the sixth floor before disposing of their bodies. The psychopath had recently announced that he would rape and murder a woman every two weeks, aiming to kill forty-nine women in total.

One girl said she couldn't speak those words, and Mr. Jia said, "If you can't speak them, then get out! I'm paying you for nothing!" He immediately found another girl who could speak those words for him. Every day, he personally supervised to see if they could speak the phone properly, and personally dispatched temporary workers to install the equipment.

Now, not only is there a lot of work, but everyone is also in a hurry, eager to have it installed as soon as they pay the deposit, so they can feel at ease once it's done. Fortunately, most of those who want burglar bars installed are ordinary people who can't get reimbursed (General Manager Jia thought to herself, if she could get reimbursed with public funds, she wouldn't be living on the sixth floor of the Gujing District; she would have moved into a gated luxury community long ago), so General Manager Jia never has to worry about them asking for invoices; since no one asks for invoices, he doesn't have to pay taxes on whatever he installs.

That night, Mr. Jia cursed his wife again, calling her a pig-headed idiot who knew nothing but eating dog shit. He told her, "When you have free time, go sit in other shops more often, tell them how terrifying that psychopathic killer is, let them be scared!"