My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Amidst Ru Meiqi's explanation, Xu Binchen returned. He nodded toward Jin Renguang, "Sorry for being late, Captain."

The latter only grunted and continued listening to Ru Meiqi. "What do you think?" Ru Meiqi took a sip from her water bottle to moisten her throat. "Is it only a coincidence?"

Jin Renguang's brows knitted. "The information and clues are too little. Let's wait for Qin Weizhe to return before we make any conclusion."

Fortunately, they didn't need to wait long because Qin Weizhe barged in not long after, following behind him was Luo Ning and two other detectives. When he saw Jin Renguang, he gave a smile albeit it was different from his usual smile, overly polite and distant. "Captain Jin, it's been hard on you to move back and forth."

Jin Renguang replied casually, "Not as hard as you.."

A strange undercurrent sparked between both of them, making the rest of the people look back and forth. Luo Ning looked at them strangely. He had only seen Jin Renguang on TV before, thus this was the first time he officially met the lead investigator of the biggest case the country had ever seen.

Luo Ning's first impression toward him was quite unpleasant. Mainly because he's biased toward Qin Weizhe, thus he subconsciously didn't like anyone Qin Weizhe didn't. Moreover, Jin Renguang was too fierce, his eyes sharp and intimidating. His presence was so heavy and domineering that Luo Ning didn't dare to breathe loudly. Totally different from Qin Weizhe who could make people feel comfortable and relax around him.

He bumped the person beside him. "Senior, what's going on between Detective Qin and Captain Jin?"

Even though Jin Renguang wasn't their captain and their job area was different, it was as if the title had stuck to him, making everyone call him so. 

"Ah, you don't know?" The man replied with a whisper. "I heard that Captain Jin used to be Detective Qin's instructor in the army. Detective Qin was thrashed around so badly that he developed an obsession to beat him, but he never succeeded till this day."

Luo Ning widened his eyes. "How could it be?"

In his impression, Qin Weizhe was formidable, intelligent, sharp yet friendly and charming. Nothing could ever shake him and similarly, nothing could beat or drag him down. He was practically Iron Man.

Yet in front of Jin Renguang, he was akin to a puppy being held by its neck, ferocious yet helpless to counter.

Jin Renguang sat on the center of the long table, laid back yet imposing. "I thank Detective Qin and everyone in the General Criminal Division for lending a hand toward our squad. Especially Detective Qin," Jin Renguang nodded toward him. "You are already busy with another case and still go out of your way to help us. Your contribution will be greatly rewarded."

Qin Weizhe sat on the left of Jin Renguang while Ru Meiqi sat on his right. From his position, he could see that, although Ru Meiqi was writing in her notebook, her attention was wholly focused on Jin Renguang.

Qin Weizhe chuckled, bitterness welled up in his heart. "As I should be." He only dwelled on it for a moment before focusing on the matter in hand. "Moreover, I suspect that these cases are linked with each other."

His words attracted every single person's attention, all waiting for him to continue.

"Little Ning, if you may." Qin Weizhe gestured toward him.

Luo Ning nodded and distributed a stack of reports for each person. Jin Renguang flipped through it and saw the contract of the villa sold under the name Li Qing.

Qin Weizhe gave them some time to digest before talking. "The deceased is Li Qing. 17 years old. Female. A third year student at Sangzhe High. Classmate of Shi Nian." He explained toward his confused subordinates. "Yes, you're right. It's Shi Nian who's the victim of the serial murder case. On 26th October, her body was found in the school. The initial conclusion gathered by the forensic was that she has commited suicide. However, there's two points which I found suspicious."

"First, there's no motive and second, there's no suicide note. From the statements of the people  who has closely interacted with Li Qing in school, I conclude that Li Qing isn't the kind of girl who would commit suicide but if she did, there's no reason why. She's the only daughter of Li Hanji, so her life wouldn't be too bad—"

Gasps resounded through the room. "Li Hanji? Isn't he Retired Major General Li's son?"

"Yes, you're right."

They all knew who Major General Li was. For those who graduated from the police academy, Major General Li was akin to a legendary figure with endless glory and contributions toward the country. Even if he had retired, he would still occasionally teach in the academy until a few years ago when his body was ridened with illness and he died of old age.

People said that apples wouldn't fall far from the tree but the same case couldn't be applied to Major General Li and his son. Major General Li was righteous, respected and noble, but how could he produce such a wimpy son like Li Hanji?

He had no talent in the army and he still couldn't succeed as a businessman.

The glorious Li Family slowly declined in Li Hanji's generation. Now, his only daughter had died. It was unknown how the Li Family would fare in the future.

"Let's continue." Jin Renguang rapped on the table.

Qin Weizhe rubbed his chin in ponder. "She used to be bullied a few years ago but it wasn't a reason strong enough to commit suicide, so this time, the motive must be worse than bullying. Moreover, two weeks before her death, she sold the villa under her name which Li Hanji had saved as her dowry for 150 million. At least 10 million was spent a few days before her death because she has been paying for her group's expenditure so…where did the rest of the money go?"

Ru Meiqi speculated. "She used money to join the group of powerful kids in school which showed that she had a strong desire to put up an appearance. It also aligned with the time of her fight with her close friends. High schoolers her age tend to have a high pride and aren't willing to be humiliated even a bit, moreover, Li Qing used to be the young lady of Li Family. I suspect that her pride was even higher than normal people."

Qin Weizhe beamed at her. "Yes, that's what I am thinking about! She even bought expensive jewelry for the leader of the group, Ruo Tingran. If such a person wished to commit suicide, then what did she need to put up an appearance for?"

Jin Renguang nodded in agreement. "So, what's the link between the cases you were talking about?"

"Aiyah, don't be too impatient," Qin Weizhe tutted. 

He nodded toward Luo Ning and the man stood up straight, his voice shaky and unstable at the beginning due to the nervousness, although his eyes remained bright and firm as he reported.

"I—When Detective Qin and I went to the crematorium to question the Li couple, Detective Qin told me to…" Luo Ning lowered his gaze and saw Qin Weizhe's encouraging eyes. Instantly, boundless courage and vitality surged through his veins and he loudly declared, "I went inside to collect some samples of Li Qing's blood and body fluid!"

The group of people were rendered speechless…

Going through someone's body, moreover collecting blood and body fluid without consent of the guardian, was practically an illegal act. If the Li couple knew, the police would definitely be sued until they couldn't even lift their heads anymore!

Luo Ning thumped his chest. "Don't worry! I have made sure that no one found out about it! Now, the samples are being tested and in a few hours, we will get the result!"

Some people were confused. "What are you testing her blood for?"

"Yes, what result are you expecting?"

"I am confused. What does it have to do with the serial killer?"

Xu Binchen's mind clicked. His voice rang out, cold and clear. "Detective Qin, do you suspect that Li Qing was taking drugs?"

The crowd died down in an instant, making the tickling sound of the clock become more conspicuous.

Under everyone's eyes, Qin Weizhe nodded. "Yes, I suspect…no, I am 80% certain that Li Qing was taking drugs. It's merely an intuition and for now, I don't have any evidence thus I can only pave my way with brute force." He chuckled. "When the result comes out, we can confirm it by then."

Who was Qin Weizhe? He's one of the youngest yet most successful detectives in the entire Criminal Division. He joined the police with perfect assessment results in analytical thinking, intuition and problem solving method which was out of the box.

When he said he was 80% certain, it practically meant that he was already confident in his judgement.

Sometimes, qualified detectives weren't ones who were good in interrogating, gathering proofs and subduing criminals, but those who could piece together the truth by taking in the large picture and thinking three steps ahead of others.

People often called it a sharp instinct.

Intuition. Such an abstract sense that couldn't be explained clearly. But oftentimes, that was what they needed the most.

And Qin Weizhe…

He was the best in that aspect.

The atmosphere in the room shifted. They unknowingly started to believe in him and continued his conjecture, "If Li Qing was really taking drugs…"

"The place where drugs can be bought freely and securely as long as you have power and money…"

Jin Renguang's lips curled into a cold smile as he pointed out everyone's thoughts. "Dreamscape Bar."

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A/N: Happy 200th chappies, my dearest readers! I can't believe how fast we have reached this step (´Д⊂ヽThank you for accompanying me along the way. Your comments, GT, votes and reviews are the main source of my motivation! 

Let's make MDG reach 100 GT this month and I will give you a mass release! ^^