Chapter 33: A Lead from the Narcotics Squad

With only one perpetrator identified so far and no clear commonality between them, Cen Lian set Tu Lou’s identity information aside, hoping to find traces of other suspects in the remaining surveillance footage.

It was late, and he returned to his dormitory in a daze. As he passed the armory, a sudden realization struck him.

"Gunshot wounds—only gunshot wounds would necessitate decapitation!" Cen Lian snapped into clarity. "These five victims most likely died from gunfire!"

He had suddenly grasped the most baffling aspect of the case. This explained why the killer had only removed the heads without dismembering the bodies or attempting to conceal the victims' true identities. With his mind racing, Cen Lian collapsed onto his bed and fell into an instant sleep.

When he woke the next morning, his first instinct was to grab his phone and call Wu Qiushan.

"Brother Yue, I’ve figured out what those marks on the five bodies were!" Cen Lian began as soon as Wu picked up.

Wu, still groggy on the other end, listened as Cen continued.

"I suspect the marks on their clothing were left by bullets!" Cen Lian finally finished in one breath.

Wu paused, surprised that Cen had arrived at the same conclusion as him. "I didn't tell you this before, but the marks on the bodies did indeed resemble those left by gunshots on clothing. However, the bodies had clearly been cleaned, and there was so little fiber residue that I couldn't be certain. Was this from your surveillance review?"

Cen Lian then realized why Wu had been so insistent on reopening the case; he clearly had a strong suspicion that the marks were indeed bullet-related.

"I saw someone in the surveillance footage who seemed suspicious; there was a silhouette at his waist that looked like a gun," Cen Lian said, recalling the footage from the day before. "I’ll continue checking the footage. You should come over if you have the time."

Wu agreed.

Although they had identified one suspect, Cen Lian still couldn't find any connection between him and the victims. No one would risk arrest to shoot and kill two sex workers without a motive, even if they were men. Frowning, Cen Lian returned to his computer to continue reviewing the surveillance videos.

At least one more perpetrator remained at large, which meant there were likely one or two guns still out there. Even though it was a case from eight years ago, any case involving firearms required immediate and serious attention.

When Tang Hua entered the office, he found Cen Lian sitting at his computer with dark circles under his eyes.

"Cen, you're only 27, but if you keep this up, your cervical and lumbar spine are going to retire early." He brought over breakfast, sharing a portion of soy milk and fried dough sticks with Cen.

Cen Lian stretched his neck, which let out a sickening crack. "It’s already beyond saving. Whatever." He offered a smile so weary it looked like he was about to ascend to heaven, prompting a startled Tang Hua to place two more meat buns on his desk.

Tang Hua then noticed the documents by Cen’s hand.

"Is this the person you find suspicious?" Tang Hua immediately set down his bun, wiped his hands on his polished police trousers, and carefully picked up the printed household registration.

Cen glanced at it and said, "I just find him strange. You can vaguely see a silhouette at his waist in the surveillance footage; it looks like a gun."

The man’s registration hadn't been cancelled, and the system showed his current age, meaning he was still alive—and quite possibly still armed. This meant that the seemingly unremarkable Tu Lou was actually extremely dangerous.

"A gun-related case?" Wang Yuanteng walked in, overheard the conversation, and strode over to snatch the registration from Tang Hua to examine it closely. There was nothing unusual on the paperwork itself.

"I’m going to look into the company he currently works for," Wang said, heading to his desk.

Tang Hua, however, was considering something else. "Do you think he might have been sent to silence them?" he asked hesitantly. The victims were service workers in the nightlife industry who often performed out-call services; it was hard to say whether they had been killed for knowing too much.

"If it were a cash transaction arranged through a middleman, the original task force would have had a very hard time confirming the existence of such a 'client,'" Cen Lian said, slowing the playback speed of the surveillance footage. But with the Haoyan Nightclub now out of business, finding that original middleman would be incredibly difficult.

Qi Yan silently took Tu Lou’s information, studied it for a long time, and then, as if remembering something, retrieved a file from his desk.

"Do you remember the drug dealer we encountered in Guangxin Village?" Although Qi Yan hadn't been there, Tang Hua had shared the story. Later, the captain of the Anti-Drug Brigade, Song Yanghua, had stopped by to say they were investigating, though there had been no results yet.

Cen Lian nodded. "I remember. Does this have something to do with the headless bodies?"

"Look at this," Qi Yan said, handing over the file. "Captain Song said they tracked the person who met with Feng Tianyang to Yunzhong City. It’s likely a large drug trafficking ring."

Ordinarily, sensitive information from an ongoing case shouldn't be shared with unauthorized personnel, but Song’s visit suggested he wanted their help.

"Yunzhong City..." Cen Lian turned back to the surveillance. "It seems this case might be connected to Yunzhong City as well."

Clues were emerging from all sides, providing a clearer direction, yet the solution still felt far off.

Wu Qiushan arrived with the lab reports. By the time he reached the station, Yuan Chenxi had already drafted the report to reopen the case.

"You're already filing to reopen it?" Wu asked, confused.

"We have some leads," Cen Lian said, handing him Tu Lou’s information and the files from Song Yanghua. "We’ve met the criteria for reopening, so I decided to submit it immediately."

Wu frowned as he read through Tu Lou’s details. "If this cold case is reopened, we may need to head out of town," he said, looking up at Cen. "Have the DNA matching results for the Chen Nan case come back yet?"

"Not yet," Yuan replied without looking up from her screen. "They aren't placing much priority on this case, so the DNA matching process is slow."

Everyone in the room sighed; they were used to this—cross-provincial investigations were always like this.