Chapter 180 137: Identities of the Deceased! A Clue from 6 Years Ago

Three people died in this case...

Three people who knew each other quite well!

Based on current deductions, the police suspected the killer had some sort of conflict with these individuals.

And it was this very conflict that led to the murders.

Where do most human conflicts originate?

Their profession!

And the professions of the three victims...

"The deceased, Zhang Family, became a fruit stall owner six months ago."

"The deceased, Zhao Qiao, started working at a refrigerated transport company a year ago."

"The deceased, Sun Fuzhe, the victim from the first crime scene—the one who was cooked—was unemployed before his death."

"And according to the court archives, the police discovered..."

"These three people... no, five people... they all had the same profession six years ago..."

Qian Hua's brows furrowed as he looked at the files presented by the records department.

"City management officers!"

"City management officers?" Li Jianye's eye twitched.

Qian Hua nodded. His brow furrowed even deeper, his thoughts seemingly connecting to another matter. His brow twitched slightly, but he still replied:

"That's right. In '97, they worked in city management positions in Linlan City. Zhang Family was a squad leader, while Sun Fuzhe and Zhao Qiao were team members."

"The quality of these men wasn't high. Their methods were very crude..."

"Get to the point," Li Jianye said.

"The point is, during one of their law enforcement actions, they caused the deaths of two people. The court ruled it as accidental killing by the city management squad, lacking subjective intent to murder."

"Afterward, the court tried the main perpetrators. Zhang Family and the others all received several years in prison."

"They were released around '03."

The victims had killed people before.

Even if it was accidental, it was still killing!

The most crucial part was...

'Damn, it really is related to their job...'

Xu Huo's heart sank. This was getting tricky.

'I can't believe it's related to city management officers...'

City management officers. The caliber of people in this profession was generally not high; in this day and age, most of them were hooligans and thugs.

As for what these people were capable of...

The list was long!

No matter how minor the position, they still held power. And once someone has power, they're no longer an ordinary person...

To put it bluntly, city management officers were in charge of managing the city. The power held by a low-level squad leader was even less than a police officer's. How serious could their crimes possibly be?

Let's take a few examples.

「In his previous life.」

In one city, there was a city management squad leader with the surname Wang. He took bribes. How much did he take?

Five million three hundred thousand! And half a kilogram of gold!

Five million three hundred thousand in '09! A mere city management squad leader dared to take that much!

Was that the only case?

No, no, no.

In a province known for its fractious cities, a city management official in charge of advertisement administration dared to take seven million!

A city management officer in a coconut-producing province dared to take twelve million!

There were even people in more overlooked positions who committed major offenses.

"Sanitation worker." You've probably heard those two words before.

The elderly people sweeping the main roads.

How much could they possibly rake in?

A former captain of the Municipal Sanitation Brigade dared to take six million!

A captain in charge of sanitation workers could skim six million...

It's unbelievable.

So what about the victims in this case?

'They *only* killed two people?'

Xu Huo's brow was tight as he looked up at Qian Hua.

It felt wrong to say that—a human life is priceless—but when compared to the killer's brutal methods...

'What is really hidden in that case!?'

Qian Hua looked hesitant, but he still said nothing.

"I don't know. But from the looks of it, the killer's conflict with the victims most likely arose when they were city management officers."

Xu Huo paused.

He stared into the other man's eyes for a long time before looking away and speaking slowly:

"Have the files on the people who were accidentally killed been checked?"

Hearing this, Qian Hua quickly nodded.

"Yes."

"And the cause of death?"

Xu Huo paused, then spoke again before the other could answer:

"If I'm not mistaken..."

"The way those two people died... does it match the causes of death in the current case?"

'A taste of their own medicine!?'

If he could confirm the methods of killing were the same, he could basically confirm that this case originated from that incident six years ago!

Under Xu Huo's gaze, Qian Hua nodded.

"One victim was an elderly vegetable farmer. It was winter, and he was selling his produce at a street market. Due to the excessive violence from Zhang Family and the others, he fell ill on his way home and died."

"The other person who died was an orphan, a young girl. She sold flowers for a living. Her flowers were snatched, which led to a heated altercation. During the struggle, she was pushed into a streetside wok of boiling oil. She was taken to the hospital but couldn't be saved due to an infected wound..."

Two people had died.

A young girl who sold flowers for a living fell into a wok of oil and died. This corresponds to the first crime scene and Sun Fuzhe, who was cooked.

An old man who sold vegetables for a living was beaten, then collapsed and died on the road home. Does this correspond to... the second crime scene, the dismembered body in the vegetable patch?

Looked at this way, the case seemed clear.

It was a killer with a specific grudge. But the problem was...

"Three people are dead now."

Xu Huo paused, looking at Qian Hua.

"Three people!"

"What about the third scene?"

"What's the deal with the ice sculpture at the third scene?"

Qian Hua frowned. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, clearly conflicted. After a long moment, he shook his head.

"We can't find a corresponding link at the moment."

Xu Huo watched him, fell silent for a moment, then dropped the subject.

"Forget it. Send out officers to investigate."

He waved his hand, deciding not to dwell on it.

"What are the names of the other two?"

"Zhou Hu and Chen Zhe," Qian Hua said.

"Where are they?"

"Rongfu Street and Chuntian Road."

Xu Huo nodded and said no more.