Insights Chapter 91: Falling

Chapter 91: Falling

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

It was another bright and sunny morning, at Penang Metro Line 2, Penang Technology Center Station. This was an extension of Line 2, the third station after the starting station, located at the western end of the city. It was very far from the city center. However, the rent was cheap enough, and the houses were new, suitable for young people who had just started working with low salaries.

Jiang Xiaoyi and her college classmate Zhang Xin were persuaded by the agent to come here. They graduated last year, fed up with the high prices of old and rundown houses in the city. Suddenly seeing the houses here, they felt they were spacious and comfortable. But when they actually moved in here, they found out that it took one and a half hours to get to work every day, nearly three hours round trip.

Every day was such a torment, commuting became a kind of suffering. Today, as usual, they got up early, hurried out after washing and putting on makeup, yawning as they descended the long staircase of the subway station. At seven in the morning, there were already long queues at the security check and entrance of the subway station, indicating the upcoming fierce “battle”.

Most of the people on the subway were young people like them, rushing to work. Some were browsing their phones, while others were eating breakfast. If they missed this train, it was very likely that they would be late for the next one five minutes later. They passed the security check and were about to swipe their cards when an elderly person suddenly cut in line in front of them.

The old man had silver hair, bent over, pushing a small shopping cart for groceries, but his movements were not slow. He squeezed Jiang Xiaoyi and forcefully swiped his card on the subway ticket machine. “Beep, senior card.”

Jiang Xiaoyi was annoyed by this queue-jumping behavior, her nose crooked with anger. She went up to argue, “It’s you again! You stepped on my foot last time, and now you’re cutting in line again!”

They saw this old man every day on their way to work, pushing his way through the rush hour. He always arrived at about the same time as them.

Zhang Xin pulled her aside and said, “Forget it, forget it, don’t argue with the old man. Let’s hurry down, we might miss the train if we don’t.”

The old man seemed to have hearing problems and didn’t hear what they were saying, he just walked straight into the subway.

Only then did Jiang Xiaoyi swipe her card, muttering angrily to her friend, “You see, we’re afraid of being late for work, what are these old people in such a hurry for? Ever since the subway transportation became free for the elderly, they’ve been competing with us every day. Are they rushing to be reborn?”

Zhang Xin spoke up for the old man, “Maybe he also has urgent matters.”

“Urgent to finish buying groceries and go to the park to find his old lady?” Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t help but sarcastically remark, “You know, last time when I got off work, my stomach hurt. I finally got a seat, but then an old lady came over and forced me to give up my seat. The man next to me was sitting in the priority seat, but he just ignored it! Afraid of tough people and bullying the weak! I gave up my seat for the old lady, but she got off after only two stops. When she got off the train, she ran faster than a rabbit.”

Zhang Xin said, “There’s a saying, isn’t there? It’s not that the old people are getting bad, it’s that the bad people are getting old. We’ll also grow old one day. Looking back, maybe we’ll have to compete with young people for seats too.”

Jiang Xiaoyi felt discouraged, “Thinking about having to take the subway for an hour and a half and then facing the stinky face of the supervisor, I just don’t want to go to work.”

Zhang Xin smiled bitterly, “If we want to stay in Penang, we have to adapt to these things. Otherwise, you can go back to your hometown and take the civil service exam.”

At the mention of this topic, Jiang Xiaoyi sneered, “What exam? My family doesn’t have any connections. Trying to compete for those few spots in the entire city is just a waste of time.”

As they spoke, they consciously walked towards the end of the subway, where there were fewer people and it was easier to get on the train. When they arrived, they found that in just a short while, the old man who had cut in line earlier was already standing right in the front. The two of them could only stand in the back row.

Jiang Xiaoyi nudged Zhang Xin and said, “Look, that old guy squeezed his way to the front. He’s really vigorous for his age.”

This station was above ground, without protective barriers. Yellow lines were drawn on the ground, and loudspeakers emphasized not to crowd. The train was probably about to arrive, as the people in the front rows had already squeezed several layers, separating them and the old man. Jiang Xiaoyi saw that they couldn’t squeeze in anyway, so she didn’t rush.

Zhang Xin said she wanted to quickly buy a bottle of water from the vending machine, while Jiang Xiaoyi turned her back to the crowd, opened her phone, and checked her makeup. The new eyeshadow had a golden shimmer. She raised her hand and took a selfie, applying a beauty filter, and recorded a few seconds. Just then, the subway arrived at the station. They could see the train, and the people in the front row unconsciously moved forward. At that moment, there was a sudden “plop,” followed by screams from the front.

Jiang Xiaoyi also heard the screams and turned her head to look at the crowd, hearing someone say, “Someone fell down!”

The subway made a chilling sound, like the friction between the subway train and human bones being crushed. Every hair on Jiang Xiaoyi’s body stood up. It was the sound of the subway train crushing bones. The rush-hour subway made an emergency stop and halted at the station. Even though the driver reacted quickly, someone was still crushed to death, and blood splattered onto the platform. The people in the front rows retreated, and some started to run outside the subway.

“It’s an old man.”

“He was standing just fine. I don’t know why he suddenly fell down.”

“Oh my god, it’s so tragic… He’s probably beyond help, right?”

It was the first time Jiang Xiaoyi encountered such a situation, and she felt her legs trembling. Subway staff immediately ran down to check the situation.

Some called the police, while others used megaphones to announce, “Emergency situation, subway service is suspended. Please, cooperate and find alternative transportation.”

Not only were the passengers on the platform evacuated, but even the passengers on the subway train were also evacuated. People hurriedly left the subway, muttering about their bad luck. Jiang Xiaoyi and Zhang Xin estimated that they would be late. They followed the crowd out of the subway and took a bus to work. While walking, Zhang Xin looked at Weibo. There was already discussion online.

“The subway on Line 2 had an accident. The entire line is suspended.”

“I heard an old man fell down.”

“Did he jump down himself?”

“Maybe he was pushed down by the crowd. The old man might have felt dizzy himself.”

It wasn’t until about ten minutes after the incident that Jiang Xiaoyi still felt her legs trembling. Whenever she recalled the piercing sound, her teeth kept clattering. She couldn’t help but post on her social media, “Scared the hell out of me. Happened to be at the scene of the accident on Line 2. Seeking comfort… Going to be late again today.”

She posted the video she took in the morning. Immediately, some sharp-eyed friends noticed, “That old man was pushed down!”

Jiang Xiaoyi watched the video again. There were many people standing behind her, and the old man was in the corner of the background. From the video, it could be seen that a hand reached out and pushed the old man from behind…

A murder had occurred, and the police arrived at the scene at the fastest speed, with the nearest police station’s medical examiner being the first to arrive. The tracks needed to be cleaned, and the medical examiner took photos of the scene, brought up the corpse, and laid it on the platform. Several detectives, who had seen many gruesome scenes, remained calm as they covered the old man’s body with a white cloth and stood aside, discussing.

Captain Bao of the station and several team members said, “Just set up the police cordon and protect the scene. City Bureau detectives will come to inspect the scene later.”

A nearby team member was puzzled, “This looks like a small case. Why did it alarm the elites of the City Bureau? As the saying goes, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?”

Captain Bao replied, hands on hips, “There are new rules now. After receiving a call, we’re required to collect information and report it to the headquarters immediately. This case was specifically designated for the City Bureau involvement, so they must have their reasons.”

Immediately, someone chimed in, “I heard the same. Recently, the City Bureau has taken over quite a few ordinary cases. I wonder if they’re investigating some big case? Them being willing to work isn’t a bad thing, is it? Anyway, we’re happy to have less work.”

Captain Bao patted the speaking team member on the shoulder. “What are you thinking? Later, our whole team will have to cooperate with the investigation and work together.”

A senior detective standing nearby lit a cigarette. “But speaking of which, the economy’s been in a downturn lately, and people are getting more aggressive. I feel like the frequency of call-outs has increased in the past two years.”

Another team member chimed in, “Yeah, especially among the older folks, there are more suicides, accidents, and homicides.”

Thirty minutes later, several members of the Special Criminal Division arrived at the scene. The once bustling subway station was now empty, with several police cordon lines criss crossing near the scene. When they arrived, Captain Bao began the handover process.

Gu Yanchen looked around, assessing the situation. This area was above ground, and there were no barriers on the platform. The surveillance footage had already been retrieved and provided to them. The incident occurred at the end of the subway line. The surveillance cameras were a bit far, so they could only see a crowd of people, unable to clearly discern who reached out their hand. Then, the old man swayed and fell, and the subway slowly moved forward.

At the time, there were too many people nearby, and the subway staff didn’t respond promptly enough, treating the accident as a mishap and allowing the perpetrator to escape in the crowd. The police issued a message seeking eyewitnesses, but so far, apart from a girl named Jiang Xiaoyi who proactively contacted them, there were no other leads. There were various messy footprints on the ground, some stained with blood. With so many traces, it was difficult to ascertain information about the perpetrator.

The old man’s shopping cart was also retrieved, crushed by the train wheels into a twisted mess. The corpse on the ground was covered with a makeshift white cloth. Shen Junci, wearing a mask and gloves, crouched down, lifted the cloth, and took a look. A strong smell of blood emanated from it. Qi Yi’an also looked on with a medical examination kit in hand. The corpse barely retained its human form and could only be described as “horrifying.”

Shen Junci said, “The deceased was male, around 80 years old, and the cause of death was being crushed by the subway. Let’s do a surface examination first. We need to speed up; the subway will resume service soon.”

They checked the old man’s pockets and found a crushed wallet, a shattered phone screen, and a bunch of keys. These items were placed in evidence bags, and Bai Meng opened a laptop nearby to identify the name on the wallet. Soon, the identity of the deceased was found in the system.

“The deceased is Zhao Chuanwen, 81 years old, who lived in a nearby community.”

After hearing this, Qi Yi’an couldn’t help but marvel, “Teacher, you’re amazing. You were only off by a year in estimating his age.”

Shen Junci felt a bit frustrated, “Off by a year.”

Qi Yi’an, “…”

After taking photos and collecting evidence, the medical examiners prepared to transport the corpse back for autopsy, while subway staff began washing the floor, preparing for the resumption of subway service. Gu Yanchen led several detectives to the old man’s residence.

The old man lived in a community about a ten-minute walk from the subway station called Green Lotus Community. It was a new community, just built over two years ago. The environment in the community was nice, with various flowers, plants, and trees planted. In the central courtyard, there was even a fountain. The community was quite large. To gather information, they walked around and first went to the community office located in one corner.

At 8:30 in the morning, several community workers had just arrived for work. When they heard that the old man who fell from the subway was from this community, they were surprised.

A female worker exclaimed, “Director Gao, is this the area you’re in charge of?”

After hearing their words, a middle-aged man ran over and checked the records. “He lived here, in Building 3, Apartment 702, Zhao Chuanwen. I remember him. Wait, I’ll take you there.”

Director Gao led a few people over, introducing them along the way, “Zhao Chuanwen is a lonely old man in our community. His wife passed away early, and he has no children. He often participates in the elderly activities organized by the community.”

Gu Yanchen asked, “What kind of activities does the community hold here?”

Director Gao said, “Not much, just previously we held a choir competition, and there was also a Go competition. Old Zhao seemed to have won second place in the Go competition and received a prize of five hundred dollars.”

Director Gao brought them to the door and called the locksmith to open the door.

The entire room was quite spacious, totaling around 140 square meters, with three bedrooms and a study. There were no electronic gadgets or books in the house.

Bai Meng searched around, furrowing his brows. “His family members are all deceased, and there are no relatives to identify the body.”

Today, the evidence team included Guan Haiyi. He inspected while wearing shoe covers, furrowing his brows as he said to Gu Yanchen, “Captain Gu, this place is pretty clean. There are only traces of one person living here.”

Lu Ying inspected while asking, “He lived alone, so why does he have such a big place?”

Director Gao leaned against the door and said, “You may not be aware, but this area used to be a rural area of Penang. Zhao Chuanwen was particularly lucky; his family was a relocated household. They were compensated three times the value of their property, and he only kept one property, the rest were compensated for.”

Calculated according to Penang’s current housing prices, that amount of money was not insignificant. None of them realized that this elderly man, dressed plainly, was actually a hidden millionaire.

Guan Haiyi dusted for fingerprints while saying, “Most elderly people have homes; it’s abnormal if they don’t.”

Bai Meng, being younger, didn’t quite understand the implication behind his words and asked, “Why?”

Gu Yanchen answered her, “Elderly people usually accumulate some wealth, right? Also, as people age and live alone, it’s difficult for them to rent a house.”

No landlord would willingly rent a house to a lonely elderly person over seventy. Even if they offered a high rent, landlords were reluctant. If someone died in the house, it would become a murder scene. It was a sad but realistic issue that young people often failed to realize, but people would eventually grow old. There was no useful information found in Zhao Chuanwen’s home, so Gu Yanchen instructed the detectives to visit neighbors and property managers.

Accompanying Bai Meng, he knocked on the door opposite. The door was opened by a woman in her sixties. When she heard that they wanted to inquire about the neighbor across the hall, she furrowed her brows, “Has something happened to old Zhao? I’m not sure…I saw him just a few days ago.”

Bai Meng asked, “When was the last time you saw Zhao Chuanwen?”

The woman furrowed her brows, thinking for a moment. “Three days ago…”

Bai Meng asked, “Who did he usually interact with?”

The woman was very enthusiastic and didn’t wait for a few questions before she started talking about various things, the old lady continued, “Old Zhao had some good friends. They often walked together and played chess. Among them, there was someone named Old Wei. You should go ask him to see if he knows anything.” 

Bai Meng pressed on, “What’s the full name of this Old Wei?”

The old lady pondered, “I’m not sure. Everyone just calls him Teacher Wei. They seem to have met during community activities and also live in the same neighborhood.”

Gu Yanchen noted down the name and then asked the old lady, “What kind of activities do they usually participate in?”

“Just those activities for the elderly,” the old lady replied casually. “They’re often held nearby, selling health products, promoting nursing homes, and advocating for healthy aging. Every time they go, they get some eggs and stuff. There’s a group of them who, with nothing else to do, love to queue up for these activities, listen to lectures, and make friends. It’s like how some people enjoy square dancing.”

Those classes often gave out small gifts, providing little favors to the elderly.

Bai Meng reminded her, “Auntie, be careful. Many of those who lure people in with gifts are scammers.”

The old lady nodded, “I know. I have to pick up my grandchildren, so I don’t go often. And I won’t easily give money. I just take the stuff; I don’t participate in any activities. My daughter and husband keep an eye on me tightly. I don’t have extra money to be swindled.”

After asking a few more questions, the old lady couldn’t remember anything else. “I need to make lunch now. Why don’t you go ask Old Wei? Every time I bring the kids back, I often see Old Wei coming over to see him. The two old men are often together.”

After chatting with the people around, they returned to the community office. Director Gao helped them check the registration log. After flipping through it for a while, they found someone named Wei Sen. He was 78 years old this year, from Penang, also a relocated household, and lived in Unit 14, just two rows of buildings away from Zhao Chuanwen. Wei Sen was a retired teacher, just like Zhao Chuanwen, elderly and with no family members left.

“Let me contact him first and ask him to cooperate with your investigation,” Director Gao said, picking up the phone. “Hmm, no one’s answering the phone. This old man, his ears don’t work well. He often can’t hear the phone ring. I’ll go visit him right away. It’s lunchtime now. How about the leaders from the City Bureau go eat first?”

Gu Yanchen made arrangements for the team from the Department to go find Wei Sen with Director Gao, while he took his team to have lunch first. This way, the two teams could alternate and not delay the case.

After a morning of hustle and bustle, considering they would still be in the vicinity in the afternoon, they didn’t return to the City Bureau but instead found a nearby small restaurant and settled for some food.

Bai Meng sighed, “This is the fourth case this week, right?”

For some reason, Director Ding and Captain Gu suddenly focused on ordinary cases in the city. As long as the victim was over seventy years old, the case would be sent to the Criminal Investigation Division of the City Bureau for special treatment.

They didn’t realize how many cases of elderly deaths there were in the city each week until now. They had been dealing with several minor cases consecutively this week, and they were all working overtime and busy. Those cases were all small and not complex.

One case involved an old man being hit by a neighbor’s car, another involved an elderly woman with a serious illness being locked in her home and starved to death by her niece. In the Criminal Forensic Department, there was even a display of an elderly corpse pulled from the river, waiting to confirm the identity.

For some reason, it seemed like everyone in the city suddenly went crazy. Murder cases filled with aggression were everywhere. People were ruthlessly killing defenseless elderly individuals.

Gu Yanchen, sipping his water, lowered his head, his eyelashes drooping. “This might be a serial murder case.”

Lu Ying said, “Captain Gu, don’t joke. In serial murder cases, there are usually one or two perpetrators. We’ve investigated all these cases, and each has its own perpetrator. Those people are nowhere near connected, and they don’t know each other.”

Gu Yanchen said, “That’s why we need to find the commonality among these cases.”

Bai Meng frowned, “These cases are difficult to find similarities even if we connect the dots…”

Gu Yanchen reassured them, “Don’t worry, we’ll investigate slowly.”

Just as their food arrived, a message came in the group chat. Shen Junci had sent the autopsy results.

“The cause of death was a ruptured heart, and there were also severe head injuries,” Qi Yi’an supplemented the autopsy report, including several photos.

Bai Meng, not looking at her phone, asked while eating, “Whose information is this?”

Gu Yanchen said, “It’s from the autopsy conducted by the Forensic Department.” He glanced at the dishes on the table—roasted pig brain and stir-fried pork kidneys—then flipped his phone over thoughtfully. “Let’s finish eating first before we look.”

Everyone understood and silently ate their meal.