Insights Chapter 60: Cleaning Company

Chapter 60: Cleaning Company

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Gu Yanchen went to the hospital to get a few stitches, wrapped in gauze, and lightly injured but still on duty. In the early hours of the morning, he had just come from the Criminal Investigation Department to check on the progress of the autopsy here. Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the door of the autopsy room, he saw Shen Junci staggering out from inside. Gu Yanchen hurriedly supported him, letting him sit on a chair outside the autopsy room in the corridor.

Seeing Shen Junci’s pale face, he asked, “Are you feeling unwell? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Shen Junci paused for a moment before stopping the dizziness. He shook his head, “No need to go to the hospital.”

Gu Yanchen’s hand touched his forehead and felt some warmth, “You have a fever.”

Shen Junci closed his eyes for a few seconds, finally feeling a little better. He opened his eyes and said, “I’m fine, maybe just caught a cold from the rain, feeling a bit hypoglycemic…”

Considering he was hungover yesterday, spent the whole day in turmoil, exercised all night, and took the medicine late, he now just felt exhausted.

Gu Yanchen looked at Shen Junci’s pale face, feeling uneasy. “How about I call a taxi to send you back to rest?”

“No,” Shen Junci shook his head again, “if you send me back now, I won’t be able to sleep soundly. Is the wound of the long-haired man in black bandaged? When are you planning to start the interrogation?” He was more concerned about the progress of the case now.

Gu Yanchen checked his phone. It was two in the morning. “He’s an important witness, and Director Ding needs to be present. Director Ding was in a meeting in the provincial office yesterday and is rushing over now. It’ll probably take a few hours for him to arrive.” He thought for a moment, “the detective team has some food prepared and also has basic medicines. How about you rest there for a while?”

Shen Junci agreed and followed Gu Yanchen to the detective team’s office. He suddenly remembered the day Lin Xianglan died, feeling like he was rescued by Gu Yanchen back then. Now, after many years, he was brought by him to the duty room of the detective team.

Gu Yanchen poured him a glass of warm water and then got him some energy bars and cold medicine. After eating a bit, the ringing in his ears and dizziness finally subsided. He didn’t have the strength to go back to the rest area of the medical examiner’s building.

Shen Junci was usually a bit of a neat freak, but at this moment, he completely ignored it. He didn’t even take a shower and just lay down on the duty bed of the Special Criminal Division. Before closing his eyes, he reminded Gu Yanchen, “Wake me up when Director Ding arrives.”

Gu Yanchen assured him, “Don’t worry.”

After a while, Shen Junci fell asleep, having a chaotic dream. Sometimes he felt like he was running in that abandoned steel warehouse, sometimes he saw the scene of the man’s head exploding in front of him, and sometimes he felt like his body was being cut open alive.

Then he heard Gu Yanchen calling him drowsily, “Doctor Shen, Director Ding is here.”

Shen Junci opened his eyes, his forehead covered in cold sweat. After a moment of recognition, he realized it was already dawn. It was five in the morning, and Director Ding had finally arrived.

Gu Yanchen touched his forehead, “Looks like the fever has subsided.”

“I’m fine,” Shen Junci forced himself to get up, rubbed his eyes, went to the bathroom to freshen up, and then came to the observation room of the Criminal Investigation Department.

Director Ding was already sitting in the main seat, and the others were all present. The wound of the man in black had been treated, and after resting for a night, he was sitting in the interrogation room. Now, under the light, Shen Junci could see clearly that the person was a slender and handsome man with long hair. Since coming in, he had kept his head down and hadn’t answered any of the police’s questions.

Gu Yanchen entered the observation room first, pulled out a chair for Shen Junci to sit down, and handed him a police jacket, “The air conditioning here is on low, so put this on to keep warm.”

Shen Junci indeed felt a bit cold and wrapped the jacket tightly around himself. He looked a bit pale and lacked energy. Gu Yanchen then asked Bai Meng to bring hot water for Director Ding and Shen Junci. After everything was settled, Gu Yanchen asked, “Have you collected the information?”

Bai Meng looked a bit embarrassed, “We only took blood samples and DNA. He… doesn’t have fingerprints…”

Gu Yanchen frowned. This was the first time he had heard of someone lacking fingerprints.

Shen Junci, on the other hand, seemed unsurprised. He drank some water and said, “His accomplice also doesn’t have fingerprints. Prolonged exposure to water, burns, or the use of chemicals can erase fingerprints. These people may have been manufactured to do these dirty deeds.”

At this point, the man in black inside the room changed into a new outfit. With his long hair down, covering his right eye, he had a slender figure and delicate features. Despite being a man, he had a pair of phoenix eyes and thin lips. He was now sitting motionless, staring at the table in front of him. If it weren’t for their struggle last night, it would be hard to believe that the person in front of them could be a cold-blooded killer. Yet, this was the same person who might have killed Zuo Junming before and almost killed Zhang Kabei last night.

Gu Yanchen put on a headset and then turned to enter the interrogation room. He went straight to the point and asked him, “You’re sitting here silently. Are you hoping someone will come to rescue you?”

The man didn’t speak. Gu Yanchen leaned against the table and continued, “This is the Penang City Bureau. There are thousands of police officers here. Even if your backers are powerful, no one can take you away.”

The man chuckled, lifted his head to look at Gu Yanchen, and finally spoke, “Are you ready to interrogate me?”

He didn’t seem like other criminals who would be nervous or distressed. He was smiling and relaxed.

“Your accomplice died on the spot. You’re just a pawn now,” Gu Yanchen said.

“Gu Yanchen,” the man continued to smile, even happier, “Captain Gu, your interrogation won’t do anything for us.”

Gu Yanchen felt a slight frown as the man directly called out his name.

The man said, “Don’t be surprised. Your roster at the City Bureau is basically public information. We’ve also investigated the Special Criminal Division. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. It was our negligence that we didn’t expect to be caught by you this time.”

Gu Yanchen asked him, “Who are you guys?”

The man replied with a question, “Don’t pretend you can’t use torture now. Even with severe torture, you won’t be able to get information from me that I don’t want to say.” He paused and then said, “But, I’m in a good mood today. We can make a deal.”

Gu Yanchen, after so many years as a policeman, encountered this situation for the first time. He glanced towards Director Ding in the observation room as if seeking advice.

Director Ding spoke into the microphone, “Agree to him.”

Gu Yanchen received the command through his earpiece and then turned back to ask the man, “What deal?”

The man said, “First, let your colleagues all leave, empty the observation room, and turn off all surveillance.”

This was clearly against regulations. Gu Yanchen said, “That’s impossible.”

The man lowered his head for a moment, then said, “Let’s compromise. You choose two policemen, add Director Ding, and it’ll be just me and you talking. The others can leave.” He looked towards the glass of the observation room and added, “Don’t try anything funny. If I sense anything wrong, I’ll shut up immediately.”

Gu Yanchen hesitated for a moment, and then Director Ding’s voice came through again, “Agree to him. Anyway, he’s handcuffed in the interrogation room, and you’re armed. I want to see what he’ll say.”

Bai Meng hesitated and looked up to Director Ding, “Should we turn off the surveillance?”

Director Ding said, “Yes, turn it off.”

After receiving orders from their superiors, Bai Meng turned off the surveillance and recording facilities. Gu Yanchen pondered for a moment and then called Bai Meng and Shen Junci to come in. The four of them entered the interrogation room and sat opposite the man.

Director Ding said, “I am in charge of the Penang City Bureau. The surveillance here has been turned off, and there are only a few of us now. What you say will not be used as a confession. I hope you can cooperate with the police and provide some information that we don’t know.”

Director Ding’s intention was clear; he was trying to coax information out of him, knowing that the man was already in custody. Once he confessed, they would listen to what he had to say and decide how to proceed later. After all, such a big case would eventually go to trial.

The man finally spoke, “Since it’s a promise from a high-ranking official, I’ll trust you for now. Let’s start with introductions. You can call me An Nan.”

This was obviously a code name.

Gu Yanchen asked, “What about your deceased companion? What was his name?”

“He was called Lie Quan,” An Nan replied. “We are all dogs raised by the boss.”

Upon hearing this, Director Ding and Gu Yanchen couldn’t make a judgment yet, but Shen Junci knew that what he said so far was likely true. The secret he had hidden for so long was casually revealed by the man.

Gu Yanchen continued, “Are you the ones who framed Zhang Kabei and committed this crime?”

“More accurately, we are the stage designers responsible for planning this. Lie Quan was an old hand, while I am a newcomer,” An Nan said, leaning back in his chair. “I am now willing to cooperate with you and tell you some unknown information. But my condition is that these words cannot be used as evidence in the case file, and I don’t want these words to be recorded,” An Nan said. Hence, he had asked the other policemen to leave.

Director Ding said, “You are currently a suspect in this case. We agree to have a private conversation with you, but it doesn’t mean we will concede. Ultimately, your treatment depends on the content of your statement.”

An Nan lifted his phoenix eyes and said, “Ding Yuzhi, don’t give me those high-sounding words.” He directly called out Director Ding’s name. “Don’t think I’ll tell you anything that will help your investigation. Honestly, your City Bureau is not clean, so I won’t discuss these matters in front of so many policemen. And for you guys, if you talk directly, it might bring disaster upon yourselves. Who knows, you might end up dead sooner than me.”

With that, he smiled.

This was a threat, but Director Ding didn’t buy it. He sternly said, “Stop the nonsense. Negotiations require bargaining chips. If you have something to say, let’s hear it.”

An Nan then straightened up and said calmly, “Have you heard of a cleaning company?”

Upon hearing this term, Gu Yanchen looked up, his expression serious, his gaze fixed on the man. Director Ding frowned slightly, pressed his lips together, and felt the unusualness of the case.

“Are they the ones who set up the scene to mislead the police?” Gu Yanchen asked. He had discussed this issue with Shen Junci last night.

Obviously, Shen Junci already knew something. In Gu Yanchen’s understanding, those people were high-end professional killers who kept up with the times.

An Nan’s eyebrows trembled slightly. “That’s right. The planner plans, the stage designer completes the task, and the cleaner cleans up. These are the professionals who deliberately mislead the police and the prosecutors, set up the scene, commit crimes, and yet can evade legal sanctions.”