I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 90: Chapter 88: Cao Hong Confesses, Sees Mo Xiaoxiao

Cao Hong didn’t deny killing Shao Dong. He admitted to it outright.

He said Shao Dong had been working for him for a long time.

Everything was going fine.

Then one day, he killed a man over a woman.

Killing someone was one thing.

But he also lost the Jade Token necklace and couldn’t find it when he went back to look.

”What’s the point of keeping someone like that around? So he can rat me out to the police?” Cao Hong said.

”But I have to admit, I never expected you to trace this back to me.” Cao Hong looked at Kang Ting. ”Captain Kang, your investigative skills are truly admirable.”

”I thought I’d cleaned the scene perfectly, and the staged suicide was flawless. Even if you found traces of a struggle and signs of the room being put back together, it shouldn’t have led to me.”

Kang Ting remained silent.

He couldn’t take credit for this.

Su Miaoyi was the one who found the Jade Token.

Su Miaoyi was also the one who gave them the lead on Cao Hong.

The Jade Token was dug up at the burial site, true.

But it had been buried in a rather tricky spot.

According to Cao Hong, Shao Dong had gone looking for it, which meant he must have searched the burial site as well.

Shao Dong didn’t find it.

When they discovered and exhumed the body, they didn’t find the Jade Token either.

It was Su Miaoyi who dug it up with her bare hands.

’If it weren’t for her, it’s hard to say when this case would have been solved.’

”If you were so sure we couldn’t trace it to you, why did you leave Jiangcheng?” Kang Ting asked.

”You always have to prepare for the one-in-a-million chance,” Cao Hong said. ”And here we are. Me being here is that ’one-in-a-million chance’ coming true. Of course I had to plan ahead. Whether it was murder, staging a suicide, or leaving Jiangcheng, everything I did was a calculated move for my own sake. I did everything I could. Getting caught anyway... I guess that’s just my fate.”

Kang Ting then asked about the drug deals.

Cao Hong confessed everything about his supplier.

However, the connection had been severed ever since he left Jiangcheng.

The supplier had probably vanished long ago.

Even so, they took down a detailed record.

Kang Ting immediately contacted the Jiangcheng police department to check the location Cao Hong had provided.

Cao Hong claimed his supplier was just a friend he’d met by chance.

He saw it was a good way to make money and just went along with it.

He said it had nothing to do with the Fengjiang Clubhouse.

And that no deals ever took place on Fengjiang Clubhouse premises.

”He confessed to all of that so quickly, with no lies or omissions. It’s like he’s trying to indirectly prove he wasn’t lying about the other things you asked either,” Su Miaoyi said.

Zhuang Yanzheng agreed with her.

”To him, some things are more important than his own life,” Su Miaoyi said.

Captain Kang seemed fixated on the Fengjiang Clubhouse.

He’d asked if the drug deals were connected to the Fengjiang Clubhouse.

But everything Cao Hong confessed, including the lead on his supplier, had no connection to the Fengjiang Clubhouse.

’Jiang Junrui...’

’Is there really no connection, or is he just buried too deep?’

’That birthmark on my back... Jiang Junrui must have spotted it when he passed by the private room on the twenty-eighth.’

’And then what?’

’What happened after that?’

’I returned to Jinghai on the twenty-ninth.’

’Did something else happen before I left for Jinghai?’

Su Miaoyi couldn’t remember.

...

Kang Ting came out of the interrogation room with a sigh. ”I’m afraid we won’t get anything from that supply line.”

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded. ”The moment he left Jiangcheng, that connection was gone. The meeting spot would have been moved.”

Kang Ting sighed again.

”How is Vice Captain Song?” Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

”It’s nothing serious. He’s at the hospital for a day of observation, and he’ll be discharged if everything’s fine.” Kang Ting said, turning to Su Miaoyi. ”I didn’t expect you to be so skilled.”

Su Miaoyi raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

”Song Yucheng spotted Cao Hong over by the Moon City Hotel,” Kang Ting said. ”He contacted me immediately. He was tailing Cao Hong covertly and followed him all the way to the overpass. I was too far away, so I had someone closer head over, but they were still too late.”

Kang Ting had just asked Cao Hong about it, too.

Apparently, Cao Hong had spotted Song Yucheng tailing him. He tried to lose him, but when he couldn’t, he deliberately led Song Yucheng to a secluded area, intending to kill him and silence him for good.

”It’s a good thing you were there. Otherwise...” The thought alone sent a chill down Kang Ting’s spine.

Su Miaoyi said, ”Just tell him not to throw any more sarcastic remarks my way next time he sees me.”

”He won’t,” Kang Ting said.

”Then tell him to apologize,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Kang Ting nodded. ”Alright.”

After he spoke, he looked at Su Miaoyi again. ”How much did Zhuang Yanzheng pay to hire you as a consultant?”

Zhuang Yanzheng frowned at the question.

Su Miaoyi: ”?”

”I’ll pay double. No, triple,” Kang Ting said, openly trying to poach her. ”Come to Jiangcheng with me. Room and board are on me.”

Su Miaoyi looked at Zhuang Yanzheng.

”Hey, I’m still here!” Zhuang Yanzheng said. ”Am I invisible? Do you have any idea whose turf you’re on?”

”Isn’t this exactly how you poach people on my turf?” Kang Ting shot back. ”You took one of mine, I take one of yours. That makes us even.”

”Who said anything about being even?” Zhuang Yanzheng scowled.

Kang Ting ignored him and looked at Su Miaoyi. ”I’ll get you a new computer.”

Su Miaoyi: ”...”

”Like we’re short on computers here in Jinghai? We don’t need you to buy her one,” Zhuang Yanzheng retorted.

”My computer is actually really good,” Su Miaoyi said, defending her machine. ”It never lags when I’m writing. It works great. It’s definitely worth more than five hundred.”

But no one was listening.

Kang Ting said, ”Name your price. Any condition you have, if I can meet it, I will.”

Zhuang Yanzheng stepped in front of Su Miaoyi, blocking her from Kang Ting’s view.

Kang Ting stared at him.

Zhuang Yanzheng said, ”Don’t even think about poaching anyone from my team.”

”Then give me back Lu Zhishen,” Kang Ting said.

”Forget it,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

”Then I’m taking Su Miaoyi,” Kang Ting said. ”Jinghai can’t be allowed to monopolize all the talent.”

”Uh...” Su Miaoyi peeked out from behind Zhuang Yanzheng. ”Um... my computer really is fine. It works great.”

Kang Ting looked at her.

Zhuang Yanzheng pushed her head back behind him.

Su Miaoyi: ”...”

”It would be more convenient to investigate Mo Xiaoxiao’s disappearance from Jiangcheng,” Kang Ting said to Su Miaoyi. ”Perhaps while you’re in Jiangcheng, you’ll see something related to her case.”

Su Miaoyi’s expression faltered.

Zhuang Yanzheng turned to look at her.

Su Miaoyi looked from Zhuang Yanzheng to Kang Ting. ”Captain Kang, I’ll have to trouble you with Mo Xiaoxiao’s case. I don’t have any plans to leave Jinghai at the moment.”

”Are you sure you won’t reconsider?” Kang Ting pressed. ”Our benefits are just as good, if not better.”

”No, thank you,” Su Miaoyi refused.

”Just think it over,” Kang Ting said.

”She already said no. Stop asking,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

”Says the guy who ran to Jiangcheng seven or eight times to get Lu Zhishen,” Kang Ting retorted with a frown. ”So you’re allowed to do it, but I’m not?”

”Yes,” Zhuang Yanzheng replied with brazen confidence.

Kang Ting: ”...You’re being completely unreasonable.”

”My word is final. I don’t need to be reasonable,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Su Miaoyi looked at the two of them. ’So immature,’ she thought.

”Um... if there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back.”

Both Zhuang Yanzheng and Kang Ting looked at her.

Then, the three of them started walking out together.

Just then, two officers escorted Cao Hong out of the interrogation room.

Su Miaoyi glanced over.

Cao Hong also gave her a long look.

Their eyes met. The scene before Su Miaoyi’s eyes suddenly changed, and she saw Mo Xiaoxiao.

She saw Mo Xiaoxiao’s eyes were filled with blood.

Blood streamed from her eyes, covering her face.

”Are you really not going to talk?” Su Miaoyi heard Cao Hong’s voice. She saw his tattooed hand grip Mo Xiaoxiao’s chin.

Mo Xiaoxiao bit her lip, refusing to speak.

Cao Hong sneered.

He placed his other hand on the top of her head.

Then, with a sudden, sharp twist of his hands in opposite directions, he snapped Mo Xiaoxiao’s neck.

He let go.

Mo Xiaoxiao’s head slumped forward.

Then the vision shifted.

She saw two men in black, their faces masked and hands gloved. They tossed a black bag into a pre-dug pit and covered it with soil.

...