3: Chapter 3 A Night of Thunder: The Police's Powerlessness and the "Lives"

Changning City. The next morning, dense clouds covered the sky.

The tragedy that occurred in the general manager's office of the Xinwang Electronics Factory was like a giant boulder crashing into a calm lake, stirring up monstrous waves.

Four bodies, dead in miserable states, and a bloody scene. Even more bizarre was that, except for Wang Pangzi, who died from a blow to the Adam's apple by a hard object, the other three were finished off instantly with professional techniques.

Li Guofeng, the deputy captain of the Changning City Criminal Investigation Detachment, stood at the crime scene, his face ashen. In his more than ten years as a police officer, this was the first time he had seen such a clean, professional, and murderous crime.

"Where is the scene investigation report?" Li Guofeng's voice was terrifyingly low.

Xiao Feng from the Technical Department wiped his sweat, his tone filled with disbelief: "Captain Li, it's too clean. Aside from the victims' own blood and the puddle of urine left by Wang Defa, we... we found almost no traces of value."

"Fingerprints? Hair? The murder weapon?"

"None! It's as if the killer vanished into thin air! Door handles, tables, chairs, even the floor—every place where fingerprints could have been left was wiped clean! No hair residue, not even a clear footprint could be found! The opponent is definitely a highly trained professional!" Xiao Feng shook his head and pointed at the security door that had been kicked open. "Look at this lock; it was forcibly damaged from the inside and then reset, but the deformation of the door frame shows it was kicked open with great force from the outside."

Li Guofeng's brow furrowed. He walked over to Wang Pangzi's body, looking at the face that had been beaten to a pulp and then cleaned up.

"What about the motive?"

"The accounts from the finance department show that Wang Defa recently embezzled a large sum of wages from resigned employees. The most intense conflict involved a worker named Zhang Cheng, who came here yesterday afternoon to cause a scene."

"Zhang Cheng?"

"Yes, he was beaten by Wang Defa's men yesterday afternoon and then dragged out and thrown into the garbage pit on the back mountain."

Li Guofeng immediately made a judgment: "Immediately! List Zhang Cheng as the number one suspect and conduct a city-wide manhunt! Also, search the surrounding surveillance to see if there are any suspicious vehicles or personnel entering or leaving!"

Ten minutes later, another explosive piece of news came back.

"Captain Li! We caught someone at an abandoned gas station in the suburbs, highly suspicious!"

"What's suspicious about him?"

"He's wearing a black raincoat and carrying an empty backpack. Most importantly... he has bloodstains on him! But it's not his; it looks like he washed off someone else's blood!"

Li Guofeng's heart skipped a beat, and he stood up abruptly: "Bring him back! Interrogate him immediately!"

Half an hour later, in the interrogation room.

The person caught was, naturally, the Death Soldier "Wang Wu" deliberately arranged by Zhang Cheng. He looked like a homeless man, carrying an un-washable smell of grease, sitting silently on the iron chair.

Inside the interrogation room, the light was cold.

Li Guofeng and an old criminal investigator sat opposite him. Four bloody photos of the deceased were placed on the table.

"You killed them, didn't you?" Li Guofeng stared at Wang Wu, his voice carrying the usual pressure of an interrogation.

Wang Wu kept his eyes lowered and didn't say a word.

"When we found you, you were alone at an abandoned gas station in the suburbs. The residual blood on you, after comparison, matches one of the victims from Xinwang Electronics. You need to explain where you were last night and what you did."

Wang Wu looked up, his eyes as calm as a pool of stagnant water—no fear, no panic, not even a trace of emotion.

"..."

He didn't speak, just looked at Li Guofeng. That gaze made Li Guofeng feel as if he were being observed by a cold-blooded animal.

"Don't stay silent! Silence won't do you any good! Do you know Wang Defa? Who did you kill them for? Was it that guy named Zhang Cheng?" Li Guofeng increased his tone, trying to break down the other's psychological defenses.

"..."

Wang Wu remained silent. Despite Li Guofeng slamming the table and shouting sternly, Wang Wu was like a rock, motionless. He would only answer with one word, or not answer at all.

"My name is Wang Wu."

This was the only information Wang Wu provided, which was also his system identity.

Li Guofeng felt an unprecedented sense of frustration. This man's psychological quality was too terrifying—airtight, with absolutely no flaws.

Just then, another officer rushed in, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Captain Li! Something big happened! Zhang Cheng... Zhang Cheng has appeared!"

"Where?"

"He went to the hospital to get bandaged himself! Just ten minutes ago, he went to the City Hospital, saying he was beaten last night and thrown into a garbage pile. He called the police! He said he wants to sue Xinwang Electronics Factory!"

Li Guofeng and Zhao Qiang looked at each other, both seeing shock and confusion in the other's eyes.

A killer who murdered four people with professional techniques would go to the hospital and call the police himself? This made no sense!

"Quick! Go to the hospital! Bring him back!"

Outside the emergency room at the City Hospital.

Zhang Cheng sat on a bench, a circle of white gauze wrapped around his left wrist, which he had deliberately scratched with a stone.

He looked very weak, with obvious swelling and bruising on his face—ironclad evidence left by Wang Pangzi and the others.

When Li Guofeng arrived with his men, Zhang Cheng stood up in "terror."

"Officer! You're finally here! I... I almost thought I was going to die out there!" Zhang Cheng's voice carried a hint of trembling, his performance executed to perfection.

"Zhang Cheng, where did you go last night? Tell the truth!" Li Guofeng got straight to the point.

"Officer, last night I had two ribs broken by those bastards under Wang Defa and was thrown into the back mountain garbage dump! I crawled my way out!" Zhang Cheng pointed at himself. "Look, these are the injuries from the beating! I am the victim!"

He handed over a "Trauma Diagnosis Certificate" issued by the hospital.

Li Guofeng took the certificate, and his heart sank. It clearly stated: multiple soft tissue contusions, two fractured ribs, and severe hypothermia.

If he was the killer, how could he have allowed himself to suffer such heavy injuries and risk freezing to death?

Li Guofeng asked again: "Then where did you go after you escaped?"

"I escaped to an abandoned construction site and hid in a portable cabin. I didn't have any money and didn't dare go far. It wasn't until dawn this morning that I dared to come out and seek help at a nearby clinic." Zhang Cheng spoke without any flaws; every time point matched up.

"You're lying! Four people died at the scene! Wang Defa and his three thugs are all dead! We have evidence that you had a conflict with them!"

Zhang Cheng's eyes widened in "shock," followed by an expression of unbelievable anger: "They're dead?! Hahaha! Karma! Officer, I did have a conflict with them; they owed me my hard-earned money! But I'm just one person, and I was beaten half to death by them. What would I have used to kill them? I couldn't even stand steadily!"

He suddenly lifted his shirt, revealing his bandaged abdomen: "Officer, Wang Defa kicked and broke my ribs! If I could kill someone, he'd be the first I'd kill! But the truth is, I almost froze to death! I'm the victim!"

Li Guofeng looked at him with sharp eyes. Zhang Cheng's reaction was too real—that resentment and helplessness didn't seem faked at all.

More importantly, the Technical Department compared Zhang Cheng with the perpetrator's methods: one was a weakling whose bones were cracked from a beating; the other was a professional killer with pervertedly clean techniques. The two simply could not be the same person.

"Officer, I suspect that Wang Defa and his lot offended some people from the underworld and were killed for revenge. Black-hearted bosses like them have too many enemies!" Zhang Cheng guided him at the opportune moment.

In the end, Li Guofeng returned empty-handed.

Zhang Cheng had an alibi—he had severe injuries and was found far from the crime scene. He had a police report—proving he was a victim. He had a strong motive, but no capability to commit the crime.

Ultimately, Zhang Cheng was "released," though he remained under close surveillance.