Qiu Sushan simply “hmm”ed, indicating that only one last case remained, after which they could wrap up.
She leaned her elbows on the table, clasped her hands together, and furrowed her brow as she continued:
“Regarding the recent King’s Park Murder Case, how did you know these people were the murderers?”
There was a pause. Yi Jiayi slowly exhaled, feeling as if her brain was almost squeezed dry, like a cheating scoundrel who has to explain his relationship with each woman one by one, and this last “woman” caught him red-handed in bed, leaving him utterly indefensible.
Lying was truly not meant for humans—it was too exhausting! Perhaps many people are honest not because they are morally superior, but simply because they find lying too mentally taxing and prefer to be lazy!
She strained the last bits of her wit to reply:
“Firstly, Officer Fang confirmed the crime was committed by a group. Identifying the nature of this group was the key breakthrough.”
“Officer Fang first ruled out the unlikely scenario of strangers committing the crime, starting the investigation with acquaintances involved in group activities.”
“This led to the question: What kind of group was it? A loaning circle? Mahjong players? Childhood friends, or perhaps buddies from the underworld?”
“The level of brutality in this case does not fit the profile of ‘friends turning foes’ or ‘grudge over lost money.’ Only those who naturally disregard life, more beastly than human, could behave in such a perverse way.”
“Finally, according to the network of relationships investigated by Officer Fang, combined with the details of the crime, the prime suspects naturally turned out to be the known criminal, Da Jianzi, and his underlings.”
Yi Jiayi desperately used Officer Fang Zhenyue as a shield, trying to downplay her own involvement.
It sounded as if Fang Zhenyue had cracked the case, while all she did was draw a few circles.
After a lengthy response, a breathless Yi Jiayi failed to notice that she had used the term ‘profile,’ which she had just read in a magazine on Madam’s desk.
Qiu Sushan, too, didn’t realize that upon hearing ‘profile,’ she had a higher regard for Yi Jiayi’s professionalism.
Nevertheless, Qiu Sushan still cautiously turned and asked Fang Zhenyue, who had remained silent:
“Apart from Da Jianzi, do any of the other suspects listed on the board have a criminal record?”
“Who identified the murderer first, Yi Jiayi or your team who pinned it on Da Jianzi’s gang?”
“Is the information discussed in the meeting, as mentioned by Yi Jiayi, sufficient to deduce the real culprit?”
“In the past six months, has Da Jianzi only been hanging out with Liu Zhouhe and four others, with no other suspicious friends?”
Caught off-guard by Madam’s sudden turn to seek confirmation from Officer Fang, Yi Jiayi felt dizzy with the barrage of questions, alarm bells ringing in her head.
It was over, there were surely gaps in her previous answers, and Madam had picked up on them.
Fang Zhenyue kept his eyes on Yi Jiayi, noticing her growing weakness. Clearly exhausted, he did not respond to Qiu Sushan’s questions but instead stood up and walked to the side of the table, considering whether to ask Qiu Sushan to take a break and continue the conversation later.
Yi Jiayi sensed Fang Zhenyue approaching, but did not feel any concern from the officer. All she felt was an oppressive force that seemed to seep into her bones, making her feel even more uneasy.
Her brain felt rigid, almost crashing.
Qiu Sushan had worked with Fang Zhenyue for many years; they understood each other without needing to speak. Just from the sidelong glance he gave, she knew he thought she was asking too many questions.
With a sigh, she reluctantly glared back.
Fang Zhenyue wanted to specially appoint a clerk to the Major Crime Unit, of course he had to explain what extraordinary skills and experience this clerk possessed!
If Qiu Sushan could single-handedly control decisions within the police force, then there would be no need to ask anything; she could just promote on the spot.
But she couldn’t.
The Major Crime Unit (CID) dealt with life-and-death cases, not child’s play;
Moreover, after being promoted, the salary doubled, and the status was higher, such appointments and dismissals needed to be convincing;
Furthermore, joining the Major Crime Unit meant facing the world’s most dangerous criminals directly. Unsure if a young female officer could handle it, who would dare to transfer her in?
Understanding these points was not only a responsibility to society and the police force but also to Yi Jiayi herself.
Thus, Qiu Sushan persisted and asked the final question:
“Before you finished work yesterday, the murderer Zhang Jintu was not on the whiteboard. The detectives only identified this suspect during last night’s capture process.”
“That means, from last night to this morning when you started work, no one mentioned Zhang Jintu to you.”
“How did you confirm he was the murderer without any prior information?”
At that moment, Yi Jiayi realized there was no escape.
A huge wave crashed over her, pushing her into a corner.
She felt a buzzing in her brain, as if suffocating.
The morning sun already carried warmth, the rays becoming more vertical and scorching as they cast down, no longer illuminating Yi Jiayi’s face but making Qiu Sushan’s computer chair burning hot, emitting a faint smell of leather.
The young female officer clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and after a few seconds of staring at the dazzling light outside the window, slowly drew her gaze back.
Her voice was slightly hoarse, yet not overly panicked or trembling:
“Madam, of course, there are other suspects that sir and others suspect on the whiteboard. Among the male victim’s disreputable friends, there are also others with criminal records. But not everyone with a criminal record acts inhumanly like ‘Da Jianzi.'”
“Da Jianzi, real name Zhao Zujian, born in 1967. At 14, he was reported by neighbors for abusing small animals. At 15, he attempted to rob a gold shop and was caught on the spot. That same year, he injured a neighbor and was escorted to the police station by several adults… At 18, he started working as a bouncer for a nightclub, where he was arrested by the anti-vice squad and put on record. That same year, he was recorded for six other violent offenses… At 22, he was involved in a brawl in Mong Kok that resulted in injuries to two people, leading to a sentence of 3 years and one month in prison, and after his release…”
“Liu Zhouhe, born in 1969, started hanging out with Da Jianzi when he was 17. Together with Da Jianzi, they detained, beat, and tortured a girl involved in smuggling to force her to repay her debts, and were caught when neighbors reported hearing her screams after a day and night of torment. At the age of 21…”
“…Zhang Jintu was not a clean man, but the day before he mixed with Da Jianzi and the male victim Ding Baolin, he worked as a bouncer at the Fulihua Nightclub with Da Jianzi. He once had a conflict with a boss lady there, and she reported him to the police, accusing him of luring an ignorant young girl into prostitution.”
“In the second year of hanging out with Da Jianzi, Zhang Jintu and Liu Zhouhe enjoyed themselves stealing in the streets… The third year, Zhang Jintu took the youngest, Ah Hong, out on the streets just as a crackdown on prostitution was happening…”
“Zhang Jintu was tall, strong, and bold; his file noted that he had even beaten his own parents. Every time his younger sister saw him coming home, she would hide in a closet or under the bed…”
Yi Jiayi had dug up several criminals’ records from the archives in advance, memorizing and reciting them in case they were needed, and indeed they proved useful.
With such a detailed introduction of the characters, recited effortlessly, she outlined five morally ambiguous ruffians, startling Chief Inspector Qiu Sushan whose pupils contracted.
Chief Inspector Qiu was about to ask how Yi Jiayi knew this when the young policewoman spoke again:
“Recently, the police station has been scanning all old files into the intranet, a massive task of organizing case files that our administrative support staff has helped to share.”
“Now, who has access to a vast amount of case files and citizens’ records, clear about everyone on the whiteboard?”
“It’s me who organized these files.”
Yi Jiayi’s words were forceful, each phrase hitting hard on Madam’s sore spot.
Chief Inspector Qiu exhaled, opened her lips, and looked down, speechless.
But Yi Jiayi hadn’t finished:
“Last year, Madam led the team in the Tai Kok Tsui extermination case, bravely chasing the murderer and jumping from the second floor. Though she injured her foot, she managed to apprehend the murderer, earning significant credit. This I read in the files.”
“Seven years ago, Madam graduated with honors and joined the Mong Kok Police Station, quickly becoming the fastest trainee inspector to be promoted. In her third year as an inspector, she was transferred to the West Kowloon Major Case Unit. In April of the same year, she went to London for training, returned to Hong Kong two months later, and took on the most challenging plastic bag corpse case at that time, solving it within two weeks…”
“Last year, during a city-wide search for a murderer in a kidnapping and murder case, Madam achieved another remarkable feat, and in this case, Sir Fang was also commended. Furthermore…”
“Two years ago, Sir Fang cracked the idiot murder case, with a detective report of only one page outlining six investigative steps.”
“Four years ago, Police Inspector Sir Huang…”
Although Yi Jiayi did not have detailed files on police personnel in the case files she reviewed, some summary documents still included information about the detectives involved in the cases.
At the time, Yi Jiayi treated it as gossip, but now it also played a role.
Qiu Sushan listened as Yi Jiayi, a young girl who had just joined the police station less than a month ago, recounted with great detail the major and classic cases solved by various detectives, inspectors, and police superintendents, including her own exploits.
She was so shocked that she sat upright in her office chair, her hairs standing on end.
Some details, even those she had experienced firsthand, had become blurry in her memory, yet Yi Jiayi was able to accurately extract the essence and recite them with clear logic.
This was… incredibly impressive.
“Madam, if one diligently and patiently reads through all the case-related materials word by word, and analyzes and restructures them, anyone can capture the crucial clues.”
“The truth lies behind ‘intense effort.'”
Yi Jiayi finally finished speaking, leaning back into her chair in a state of exhaustion, her gaze at Madam calm and resolute.
She had done her best; there was no need for panic anymore.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the office subtly shifted.
Yi Jiayi, who had been passively answering questions, launched a counterattack and finally completely conquered Madam.
“What an exciting investigative logic, what a brilliant approach to solving cases!” Qiu Sushan clasped her hands together, leaned forward intently and sincerely:
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a young person like you!
“Yi Jiayi, you really did great!”
the golden finger and the ability to fill in the blank then connect the dots.