Insights Chapter 37: The Verdict

Chapter 37: The Verdict

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Inside the interrogation room, the tense questioning continued. Suddenly, Gu Yanchen shifted the focus of the interrogation. “Your mental resilience is remarkable. Is this not the first time you’ve done something like this?”

Liao Yinghan’s mouth twitched. “What do you mean by that?”

“Before this, we’ve met your ex-wife.” Gu Yanchen continued, “She said that when you went diving together years ago, you had similar actions.”

“Zhao Yushan?” Liao Yinghan chuckled. “She and I went diving together, and she’s still alive and well. Furthermore, her being alive proves that the diving accident this time was just an accident, doesn’t it?”

“But what if this isn’t the first time?” Gu Yanchen looked at the man before him.

Liao Yinghan’s mind buzzed, his face paled by a degree.

Gu Yanchen presented another piece of evidence, a compensation claim. It didn’t belong to Zhong Xiao Ke or Zhao Yushan, but to Liao Yinghan’s mother, Han Chunmei. “You were born into a divorced family and depended on your mother for survival. Several years ago, your mother died in an accident.” Gu Yanchen continued calmly, “I checked the insurance records from back then. Your mother’s death was classified as accidental, and the insurance company paid out five hundred thousand. For you, a recent college graduate, that was the largest sum of money you ever received in your life… I have the insurance records from back then.”

Gu Yanchen pulled out more files. “After forensic investigation, the incident was determined to be an accident, and the police didn’t file a case. But the insurance company has a complete record. So before your mother’s death, were you aware of the existence of that insurance money?”

Liao Yinghan said, “I… I didn’t know. I only found the insurance policy at home after my mother’s death.”

“I looked into various details in the insurance records. The entrance to that underground passage was rarely used. From the surveillance footage showing you and your mother leaving the community gate together to walking to the underground passage, it’s a five-minute journey. But why did you only report to the police and call for emergency services forty minutes later? What were you doing for over half an hour in between?” Gu Yanchen asked.

“I went out to seek help. And that incident has nothing to do with the current case!” Liao Yinghan retorted.

“Why didn’t you call for an ambulance promptly? Perhaps if you had called earlier, your mother could have been saved?” Gu Yanchen said, his tone filled with regret. “She was your mother, whom you depended on for decades. How could you watch her die like that? Because you could do that, you were able to kill Zhong Xiaoke without hesitation, right?”

Bringing up Liao Yinghan’s mother was a key strategy in this interrogation.

Gu Yanchen himself didn’t know who his father was from a young age. He understood how important a mother was in a child’s growth. Liao Yinghan’s weak spot wasn’t his wife. Regardless of whether it was his first or second wife, even if they slept in the same bed, he didn’t love these women. But he did have feelings for his mother.

This was like with some men, who were indifferent when discussing their wives or girlfriends but would change their attitudes when discussing their mothers. The suspect became more proactive when talking about his mother.

Gu Yanchen brought up the old case not to combine two cases for trial, as that case was years ago with no evidence and an unknown truth. His goal was still to make Liao Yinghan confess to killing his wife. Despite appearing to be a good son and husband, he pretended to take care of women meticulously. This combination of a gentle appearance and a sinister heart had a lot to do with his mother.

Liao Yinghan tensed his lips.

“After your mother’s death, you received the insurance money. Did this deepen your desire to kill your wife for insurance fraud?”

This was a simple and reasonable inference about his motive for the crime. And it was his deepest secret. Liao Yinghan’s face turned ashen. Gu Yanchen’s words became a sword hanging over his head, forcing him to break out in a cold sweat.

Initially, under police questioning, facing the crime of killing Zhong Xiaoke, Liao Yinghan was already on his last legs. Now, with Gu Yanchen mentioning his mother’s death, his psychological pressure had reached its limit. It was like a balloon expanding to its maximum, encountering a needle. A gentle prick would cause an explosion.

Gu Yanchen took out a photo, showing the scene of Liao Yinghan’s mother’s death captured by the surveillance camera at the bottom of the stairs. It was included in the insurance file.

Placing the photo on the table, Gu Yanchen said, “They say people review their lives before death. What was your mother thinking when she lay under the cold stairs? And Zhong Xiaoke, when you pulled her up from the water and she realized you were going to kill her, what was she thinking?”

This was empathy, making him feel the emotions of the deceased, increasing the suspect’s fear and guilt.

Gu Yanchen deliberately remained silent for a moment before asking him, “How does it feel to kill your loved ones?”

Upon hearing this question, Liao Yinghan was on the brink of collapse. The images of his dead wife and dead mother overlapped on the table before him. For the past few years, he had been numbing himself, trying to forget about his mother’s death, a sin buried deep in his heart. His head throbbed, veins pulsating on his forehead. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, one misstep away from plunging into the abyss.

Gu Yanchen returned to the current case and presented the final piece of evidence. He pulled out a photo taken during the second autopsy of Zhong Xiaoke. “Explain again, what are the marks on Zhong Xiaoke’s face?”

There was a ring-shaped mark around the corpse’s mouth. It was the mark he left when he covered her nose and mouth. Gu Yanchen also presented a screenshot from a VLOG, with a mark indicating a face mask in the suitcase.

“You used this face mask to prevent Zhong Xiaoke from exhaling air underwater.”

Connecting his actions captured by the camera, several key pieces of evidence were linked together, like boxes falling one after another, blocking all the paths before him.

Liao Yinghan couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation; he had run out of options.

Gu Yanchen solemnly asked him, “Liao Yinghan, is this your first or second time killing someone? Did you also kill your mother?”

The seventh step of the Reid Technique forced the suspect to make a choice. Under high pressure, when faced with two options, a person’s thinking becomes constrained, unable to escape. The suspect would habitually choose one of the options and usually pick the one that seemed to carry lesser guilt.

But this was a trap. Regardless of which answer he chose, he would admit to his guilt. Finally, the last trace of sanity was shattered.

After a moment of silence…

“The first time…” Liao Yinghan’s voice trembled, “I just… didn’t call for an ambulance for my mother in time…”

As he uttered these words, Liao Yinghan began to tremble violently, and tears streamed down his face. He realized what he had just confessed to. Sitting in the interrogation room, his shoulders shook, and he sobbed uncontrollably. That time, his mother was going to buy him a pair of shoes. They walked to the entrance of the passage together, and his mother nagged at him along the way, scolding him for spending too much money. She complained that the last pair of shoes he bought didn’t last long, and his grades were poor. Despite his mother’s harsh words, he obediently followed behind her, promising to be obedient.

As he looked at his mother’s back, hatred and evil thoughts arose in his heart. With just a gentle push… Perhaps because his mother was in a hurry, she accidentally stepped into empty space and fell down the stairs. He glanced at his mother, her eyes open, her bloody hand reaching out to him. In her eyes was a plea for help. He hesitated, thinking about his mother’s scolding, and ran out of the underground passage. He sat outside for half an hour before summoning the courage to return to the passage and call the police and emergency services.

But his mother still died. His mother’s death allowed him to receive a large sum of insurance money.

After a moment, Liao Yinghan regained some composure and asked, “Can… Can I have a cigarette?”

Confession, tears, requests for items from the police—these were all signs of defeat during interrogation.

At this point, if the suspect’s requests were met, they might confess to everything.

Gu Yanchen was prepared; he took out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket and placed them on the table in front of him.

Liao Yinghan’s hands trembled as he picked them up. It took him three or four tries before he managed to light it. He took a drag and looked up, asking, “How many years will I get for this? Or will I just be sentenced to death?”

Liao Yinghan had abandoned all attempts at evasion and resistance.

Gu Yanchen didn’t answer him but instead asked again, in a solemn tone, “Do you admit to killing your wife?”

Liao Yinghan smiled faintly, his mouth twitching. “I killed her. I had planned to do so ever since I married her.”

.

In the observation room, Bai Meng breathed a sigh of relief and cursed, “Damn, this scum finally confessed…”

These testimonies would serve as the strongest evidence to send Liao Yinghan to prison.

Director Ding, who had been stern-faced all along, finally cracked a smile. “You did it! I knew our captain could do it!” The old man breathed out heavily, leaning back in his chair. “Doctor Shen, you did well too, providing crucial evidence. In short, we won this battle beautifully.”

Shen Junci nodded gently, his gaze still fixed on the interrogation room, looking at Gu Yanchen inside.

The interrogation room was still wrapping up.

Now that Liao Yinghan had confessed, Gu Yanchen could finally relax from the tension of the interrogation. But he still needed to ask for some details, get Liao Yinghan to sign the confession, so that it would become irrefutable evidence for the case, eliminating the possibility of recanting in court.

“You were prepared from the beginning, choosing your crime scene in the deep sea?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen many cases related to killing wives, like the logging truck dismemberment case, the staircase hanging case, and the case of killing a wife and stuffing two daughters into an oil drum. But those are all risky. I wanted something more discreet.”

“Initially, you thought of tampering with the oxygen tank?”

“It’s difficult to tamper with oxygen tanks, it would raise suspicions. The diving projects here are tightly managed, with several inspections. After what happened with Zhao Yushan, I realized that plan wasn’t practical. So I adjusted my plan.”

“Where did you purchase your diving mask?”

“At a medical store, using cash. The masks they provided had air holes. I sealed them with waterproof glue. I even did some tests to make sure it was foolproof.”

All the details were filled in. Gu Yanchen said, “I can sense that you didn’t love your wife at all. You loved yourself and money more.”

“I married my wife for money. To me, they’re not essential; money is. Women are always troublesome. They nagged me to wash socks, clean the room, cook, and carry things for them. They always force me to say insincere compliments, praise their looks. And I have to buy them gifts, it’s exhausting…” Liao Yinghan blew a smoke ring. “Initially, my mother and I used to argue a lot, but I couldn’t leave her. I still loved her. When I received compensation for my mother’s death, it was the first time in my life I had a large sum of money I could control. It was like accidentally finding a lottery ticket; I had a wonderful time, but the money quickly ran out.”

He lowered his head, smoking. “That was when I first knew what freedom in life meant.”

That happiness was short-lived, the money was still too little, and he wanted to replicate that feeling.

“Since then, I’ve been thinking about buying another lottery ticket. I started thinking about how to perfectly kill a wealthy woman.” After admitting to the murder of his wife, Liao Yinghan seemed relieved, finally able to speak his mind.

Gu Yanchen said, “That’s insurance, not a lottery. Death insurance is actually money left for the living. It’s a blessing from the deceased, hoping that their loved ones can find solace in money. Your thinking is fundamentally wrong.”

Gu Yanchen looked disdainfully at the man before him. He wasn’t just living off others; he was also devouring his own wife. The man before him seemed like an immature giant baby, scheming to get money from others without wanting to pay the price. It was pitiful for that woman, her misplaced love costing her life.

After sorting out all the confessions, Gu Yanchen walked into the observation room, Director Ding praised him again before leaving satisfied.

The interrogation had lasted the whole afternoon, and when Gu Yanchen emerged from the interrogation room, he felt tired. He wanted to go home, walk his dog, eat something delicious, take a shower, and sleep, to clear this criminal from his mind.

Shen Junci packed up and followed him out. “Captain Gu, the interrogation was quite impressive.”

But Gu Yanchen wasn’t particularly excited. He politely replied, “Thanks. It’s also thanks to you. If you hadn’t found some clues in those records, it wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”

In those records, he determined that Liao Yinghan had complex feelings towards his mother, which led to the final strategy that broke Liao Yinghan.

It was dusk now, and the sky was gradually darkening, another night was approaching.

Gu Yanchen suddenly felt nostalgic. “Lin Xianglan once told me something. He said, at the end of every successful interrogation, the interrogator feels like they’ve unraveled the truth, like they’re invincible. But in reality, when we interrogate, the crime has already happened. As guardians of a city, the victors of interrogation are actually losers.”

He remembered the joy he felt just after interrogating a tough criminal. Unlike Director Ding’s congratulations, Lin Xianglan had said these words to him. It was a reminder to the victors. Punishing those who deserve it doesn’t warrant self-satisfaction.

Every criminal interrogation represented the wrongful death of innocents, representing those they couldn’t save.

“We can’t change the past. It’s very regrettable that we couldn’t save Zhong Xiaoke. But we can try our best to save other women from harm.”

He and Lin Xianglan viewed things differently. Lin Xianglan was more pessimistic, always feeling the burden heavily, moving forward with heavy steps. Lin Luo, on the other hand, was stubborn and hopeful, never losing sight of his convictions.

“I think we should look forward to it. Every victory is like lighting a little star in the darkness. If we accumulate enough, those stars can illuminate the entire night sky.”

Gu Yanchen turned to him, saying, “I’ve also seen a saying, ‘Stars shine so that everyone can find their own star one day.'”

Shen Junci’s eyelashes gently closed, then opened. He recognized the source of the quote. “The Little Prince.”

In that moment, the light from outside the car window reflected on his face, his eyes shimmering, as if containing stars.

Gu Yanchen felt as if he had found his own star.