Chapter 2144 - 1175: Wronged_9

Furthermore, there was another team responsible for thoroughly investigating his workshop and his residence.

At first, Zhou Wenqing stubbornly denied everything, refusing to admit it, but when all the evidence was laid out before him, he finally bowed his head.

He confessed to his crimes, and the factory’s joint defense squad directly detained him in his own bungalow room and reported the capture of the murderer to the higher-ups.

The higher-ups were extremely pleased upon hearing this and promised to send someone first thing the next morning to take him back to the city. Such malicious cases must be dealt with harshly to serve as a warning to others.

But what no one expected was that trouble arose that very night.

Zhou Wenqing, using thirst as an excuse, tricked the squad member guarding him out of the room, then locked the door from inside and set the entire room ablaze.

The room was small and filled with flammable materials, the fire became uncontrollable.

In just a few minutes, the fire rose fiercely toward the sky, and Zhou Wenqing was engulfed by the flames along with the room, impossible to save him.

The dossier ends here; the case is closed, and Zhou Wenqing committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

Yang Xiao, having worked at the Patrol Defense Office for many years, immediately noticed many peculiarities in this dossier.

The people sent by the higher-ups arrived early the next morning, and the suspect committed self-immolation after that; this all seems suspiciously like silencing a witness.

Moreover, Yang Xiao had never seen the steel shoes, but by their name, they must be heavy due to the iron contained within them. Would anyone really choose to wear these shoes to commit a crime?

This is utterly absurd!

Is there simply no other footwear to wear, or is one deliberately trying to slow oneself down for a thrill?

Furthermore, and most critically, Yang Xiao couldn’t find the Ominous Instrument used by the suspect anywhere in the dossier.

How did they commit a crime without a weapon?

Oh, it wasn’t entirely unmentioned; there was a brief mention that the culprit, after committing the last crime, felt afraid and worried that the factory’s joint defense squad would trace it back to him, so he hurriedly threw all the Ominous Instrument into the lake at nightfall the next day when there were few people around the shore.

It was all over now, without evidence, Yang Xiao wouldn’t dare fabricate a case like this.

Yang Xiao was now at least ninety percent sure this was a complete miscarriage of justice; Zhou Wenqing died wrongfully, and even worse, he was likely made a Substitute Death for someone else.

The injustice was too severe, the death too suffocating, thus he turned into a Fierce Ghost.

Thinking along these lines, Yang Xiao highly suspected that Zhou Wenqing wasn’t the one who set the fire, he was locked inside the room. Yang Xiao believed because the person who set the fire never intended for him to live.

If he lived until the next day, when the city officials arrived, and he pleaded innocence, things would be hard to handle.

Might as well go for broke, ensuring death without evidence.

More laughable still, this fire even burned down Zhou Wenqing’s residence, leaving not a trace of evidence; everything was turned to ashes.

Since becoming an officer at the Patrol Defense Office, Yang Xiao had seen a lot, and rarely did he encounter situations that left him speechless, but this time he was truly angry.

People ought to have boundaries in their actions, but this group of fellows were utterly shameless.

At the same time, Yang Xiao remembered that name, the factory’s joint defense squad, the very name suggested these guys were unprofessional.

After going through the dossier, Yang Xiao looked up at the fellow tied up in front of him, his name was Sun Fendou.

"Let me introduce myself; I am Ma Jiefang, sent down from the city, in charge of this traitorous face-stripping case."

"You are the first culprit I’ve caught, so I’ve accounted for myself to those above." Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon seeing Yang Xiao’s demeanor suggesting he would use him for a scapegoat, Sun Fendou’s face turned deathly pale, stammering in defense of his innocence, claiming that these people were entirely without conscience and would receive retribution.

"But speaking of which, I’m prepared to give you a chance to voice your thoughts. If you can persuade me and give me a reason to convince my superiors, I’ll let you go." Yang Xiao offered a carrot after the stick.

"Really?" Sun Fendou’s eyes sparked with hope, "Can you truly persuade Chief Zhou and the others?"

Yang Xiao snorted coldly upon hearing this, pointing toward the door, boasting, "Look for yourself; when I said I wanted everyone to clear the room for a private chat, who dared to stay on site?"

"Okay, okay, I trust you, but please believe me. This matter really has nothing to do with any traitors, just... just some other forces at play." Sun Fendou suddenly lowered his voice, behaving mysteriously: "It’s Zhou Wenqing... Zhou Wenqing’s ghost who has grievances, the Fierce Ghost committed the crimes!"

"Do you know Zhou Wenqing?" Yang Xiao suddenly asked.

"Sort of... sort of, but I wasn’t familiar with him, the person, well... wasn’t very close to anyone, but I kind of got along with him, at least I wasn’t bullying him." Sun Fendou said.

"What do you mean, was Zhou Wenqing disliked by everyone?" Yang Xiao pursued.

"Not disliked, but how to put it, he had a very reclusive personality, rarely spoke to anyone, very unsocial."

"The main thing is he was odd, behaved strangely, and the way he looked at people was weird, staring at them fixatedly, very creepy, eventually everyone ostracized him, gossiping behind his back about how he was a weirdo."

"Staring at people?" Yang Xiao keenly noticed this point, remembering clearly that the mission was titled ’I am Watching You.’

"Yes, staring at people." Sun Fendou nodded repeatedly.

"For example, how did he stare at people, where did he look?"

Sun Fendou thought for a while, then spoke up: "He liked going to the Cultural Palace at night, ballroom, cinema, recital room, and the chess room, he loved those places."

"But he didn’t play, and of course, no one was willing to play with him; he would just sit in a relatively dark corner nearby, stare at people, and sit there all night, unsettling everyone with his gaze." Sun Fendou recalled.

"Even stranger, his room was never lit, whether day or night, he would at most light a candle."

"People in the factory teased him saying he was a reincarnated weasel, those shifty little eyes capable of seeing things clearly at night."

"He knew people were gossiping about him, but he never explained, and of course, even if he did, no one would listen, because nobody liked him, not even the leadership..." At this point, Sun Fendou suddenly paused, glanced at the window to make sure no one overheard before he relaxedly continued.

"Not even the leadership liked him, so they often gave him a hard time, correct?" Yang Xiao inquired.

"I never said that, that was you who said it," Sun Fendou emphasized.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao snorted coldly and gestured to Ye Zheng standing beside him; Ye Zheng understood.

In the next moment, Ye Zheng pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and took out a steel pen, meticulously recording while saying, "Sun Fendou says the leadership in the factory all had prejudice against Zhou Wenqing, they drove Zhou Wenqing to death."

Upon hearing this, Sun Fendou nearly jumped from the chair in panic, "Hey, hey, hey, you can’t falsely accuse good people, when did I say such things?!"

Yang Xiao sighed, got up, took the notebook from Ye Zheng, tore off that page, and reproached, "What are you doing? Don’t you realize, just based on what you wrote, Sun Fendou’s life would be ruined."

"Oh, but he doesn’t listen."

Upon hearing this, Sun Fendou nearly jumped from the chair in panic, "Hey, hey, hey, you can’t falsely accuse good people, when did I say such things?!"

Yang Xiao sighed, got up, took the notebook from Ye Zheng, tore off that page, and reproached, "What are you doing? Don’t you realize, just based on what you wrote, Sun Fendou’s life would be ruined."

"Oh, but he doesn’t listen."