Chapter 17: Mind Your Own Business When It Comes to the Big Shots

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Zhang Fan was clearly very familiar with this neighborhood. He turned into several narrow alleys one after another, moving with caution and care. Cen Lian followed from a distance, carefully using various cover to conceal his position.

About twenty minutes later, Cen Lian saw Zhang Fan enter a self-built house with no signboard. From the sounds inside, it was apparent that the ground floor was a mahjong parlor, faintly filled with the chatter and shuffling of elderly players.

This was problematic. If Zhang Fan exited through another door of this building, Cen Lian might not be able to track him.

It was unclear whether Zhang Fan had always been this cautious or if he had realized he was being followed during the tailing.

At that moment, Song Yanghua arrived.

“What’s going on?” he asked, panting, clearly having run all the way there.

“The middle-aged man we were supposed to meet went upstairs,” Cen Lian signaled toward the mahjong parlor on the first floor. “If we go in now, we’ll definitely alert them.”

Song Yanghua frowned deeply.

“Xiao Liu, go find the local community police officer here,” he said. He evidently had no intention of making an immediate arrest.

Although he was still unsure how large this gang was, the video Tang Hua had just sent clearly showed their transaction volume was small. Both men obviously had superiors above them.

Cen Lian and Tang Hua exchanged glances, unsure whether they should continue the pursuit. After all, drug-related cases like this usually fell outside their homicide squad’s jurisdiction.

After Song Yanghua arranged for personnel to set up a perimeter, he turned to Cen Lian and Tang Hua.

“It’s almost eight o’clock. You two head back now. We’ll take over this case,” he said matter-of-factly.

Though he was with the narcotics squad, he knew the third squad had just cracked a serial murder case and finally had two days off.

“Be careful,” Cen Lian called back, glancing once more for Zhang Fan’s text bubble, which no longer appeared.

After seeing them off, Song Yanghua picked up his phone again, continuing to mobilize forces from the narcotics squad.

“The year’s end is near. It’s time to send some dealers to the gallows,” he said, licking his lips with a righteous smile.

Cen Lian and Tang Hua returned together to the single dormitory of the homicide squad.

“Do you think we need to inform Captain Tan about this case?” Tang Hua hesitated until they reached the dormitory door before asking.

Cen Lian paused for a moment.

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“Yuan Chenxi probably already reported it to Captain Tan,” he said, fully trusting the efficiency of their colleague who handled internal affairs.

Tang Hua considered this reasonable, then pushed open the door and went to bed.

Cen Lian, however, could not sleep immediately after returning to his room. He pondered a serious question.

How far had the news spread about him sending the fugitive to another unit?

After fruitless racking of his brain, Cen Lian walked over to the newly set-up telescope by the window, solemnly scanning the vast universe for every observable celestial body.

...

Early the next morning, Wang Yuanteng stopped Cen Lian as he headed to the office area.

“I heard you handed a case over to the narcotics squad?” he said with a broad smile.

Cen Lian suddenly felt a bad premonition.

Sure enough, once inside the main office, every greeting mentioned the matter.

“This is bad. I feel like some strange persona is about to be pinned on me,” Cen Lian muttered as he sat at his desk, giving up all resistance and calmly accepting the “You’re a good guy” label as he opened his computer.

Following his earlier plan, he intended to review old cases with abundant photos and video footage, hoping to uncover new clues.

As is well known, surveillance videos, as audiovisual evidence, not only help officers solve cases but also serve as evidence to send criminals to their graves. Thus, many unsolved case files preserve extensive surveillance footage that had been reviewed.

Considering he could also access criminal records while viewing the footage, Cen Lian chose a particularly severe case.

A doctor’s murder that occurred six years ago.

Though doctor murders often appear in films and literature, they remain relatively rare in real life.

Among the many unresolved homicides accumulated by the Taishan District Police Station over the years, only three involved medical personnel.

Cen Lian selected the most recent one. The victim was Sun Xiaoyu, a twenty-four-year-old resident physician.

According to the case files, she was found dead on April 17, six years ago, in a hospital ward on the third floor of the inpatient department undergoing repairs in Kang’an City’s Sixth Hospital. A fruit knife was stabbed into her chest.

Because the case occurred in a hospital and attracted significant public attention, a special task force was formed.

The task force thoroughly investigated all of Sun Xiaoyu’s relationships and questioned all doctors, nurses, patients, caregivers, and any family members who had visited the ward. No leads emerged.

They also reviewed all hospital surveillance footage from three days before and after the incident, yet no suspicious individuals were found.

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This piqued Cen Lian’s curiosity.

According to the file, Sun Xiaoyu was killed with a single stab directly to the heart by a fruit knife. She collapsed on her back in the ward immediately afterward.

No fingerprints or footprints were left at the scene. Forensic examination found no suspicious hair or DNA. With all avenues blocked, the case became a cold case.

Cen Lian did not believe in perfect crimes. The special task force must have overlooked some clue.

Qi Yan passed by Cen Lian’s workstation and instinctively glanced over.

“What surveillance footage are you watching?” he asked, puzzled. Their third squad had been busy securing evidence against Yang Xu’s murders, which involved several homicides across multiple provinces. Many officers had been dispatched elsewhere.

Cheng Mingtong knew the third squad’s situation and had not assigned cases to them recently.

“This is surveillance from a case six years ago. I’m hoping to spot some clues,” Cen Lian replied, having already spent hours reviewing the footage. He looked up to stretch his neck as Qi Yan spoke.

Qi Yan was silent for a moment, feeling he couldn’t keep up with Cen Lian’s train of thought.

“Has this case been reopened recently?” he asked, doubting he had missed some news.

“No, no, I’m just browsing,” Cen Lian quickly waved him off. “You focus on your work.”

Qi Yan returned to his station, still full of questions, but hesitated before sending a WeChat message to Wang Yuanteng.

“Do you know if any cold cases have been reopened recently?” he asked uncertainly.

Wang Yuanteng, seated across from him, saw the message and gave him a look that plainly said, “Are you crazy?”

“No, haven’t heard anything,” he replied bluntly.

Qi Yan indicated Cen Lian to him.

Curious beyond restraint, Wang Yuanteng went over to ask Cen Lian. Five minutes later, he returned to Qi Yan.

“The boss’s business is none of us mortals’ concern,” he finally replied via WeChat.

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