Chapter 114: A Substitute for the Victim

Before Yueyue committed suicide, I once drove a few thugs out of Snow Wolf Valley. Those people were clearly on drugs. It was that time I discovered Hou Hongbo and realized he was the one who had harmed Yueyue that night.

To make sure I wasn't mistaken, I followed him many times during that period and secretly took photos of him with a camera I borrowed from a colleague. I didn't expect those photos to come in handy later.

Later, because, because Yueyue was pregnant with that beast's evil seed, Yang Juan stopped working and stayed home to take care of the child. The three of us still needed to eat, so I had to keep driving, and I couldn't follow him every day anymore.

Until later, Yueyue was gone, and Yang Juan became mentally unstable. At that time, at that time, I wanted many times to drive my car into the river, so I wouldn't have to suffer anymore! But I couldn't let go—I couldn't let go of my parents and Yang Juan!

I had to avenge Yueyue! I couldn't let Yueyue die so unjustly! During that time, I carried a knife with me every day while driving, searching the streets for that beast! I went to the residential compound where he lived, to Snow Wolf Valley, and to every place he had been before!

I had made up my mind! Once I found him, I would force him with the knife and take him to the Qingjiang Bridge. I knew this beast couldn't swim. I wanted him to confess his crimes in front of the whole city! And then, and then I would kill him and commit suicide myself! To go find my Yueyue!

Speaking of this, Gong Zheng could no longer hold back, his hands cupping his cheeks as tears streamed down! Hu Jinquan's eyes were red; he tilted his head slightly, trying his best to restrain himself from letting his tears fall!

The room was silent. After several minutes, Gong Zheng sighed deeply again and continued, "But I couldn't find that beast anywhere. Later, I heard he had gone to jail for something else!

There was no other way; I had to temporarily give up the idea and wait for him to come out to carry out my plan.

Two months ago, I suddenly saw him at the bedsheet factory residential compound. He had finally returned! But at this time, the thoughts in my heart changed again. Before, Yang Juan was sometimes better and sometimes worse, but after these years, her condition had become even worse. My father-in-law was long gone, and her family was left with only a mother in her 70s who couldn't take care of her at all. My parents' health was also getting worse year by year. Sigh! I am also a useless person, and I gradually lost the courage to die.

But Yueyue's revenge had to be taken, so I thought about finding a chance to kidnap him, force him to confess, and then send him to the Public Security Bureau.

However, at this time, about a week ago, I thought the time was right and was preparing to act, but something happened at his home. That demolition team crushed his mother, and he was followed by too many people every day. So I continued to follow him, wanting to wait until he was alone to act.

Sigh! Who would have thought it would fulfill that old saying: the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. I never expected that besides me, someone else was watching him, and they had also targeted me!

Three days before that beast died, I was driving when a man stopped my car. After getting in, he asked me to take him to the industrial zone. It was almost dark then, and I thought after dropping off this passenger, I could stop by the bedsheet factory to watch that beast. After the car reached the industrial zone, the man pulled out a gun and pressed it against my lower back before getting out, forcing me to drive into an alley. I was terrified at the time, thinking I had encountered a carjacker. Later, in the alley, the man asked me if my surname was Gong and if I had a daughter who committed suicide after being raped!

When he mentioned this, I wasn't afraid anymore. I told him, "I am. If you want the car, take it. If you want money, I only have about 300 yuan from today's driving; take it all. I only ask you to spare me; I still have to take revenge, I can't die now!"

The man laughed loudly, saying he didn't care about those things and wasn't here for that. He said he knew about my situation and was willing to help me.

I pointed at his gun and asked if this was how he intended to help me. He laughed loudly and said he was just testing my courage. I knew I was in his hands now, so I didn't dare say anything. Seeing this, he told me the plan for how to kill Hou Hongbo.

After hearing it, I felt like I didn't have much risk, and I could kill that beast, which could be considered avenging Yueyue, so I agreed immediately!

But I didn't expect that originally he only wanted me to cooperate by bringing the person to the flood drainage ditch and then have me follow his instructions to call the police and tell them what to say. But after I did as he said, my father called me the next day, saying a friend of mine had come to see them and asked me to go home. I was a bit puzzled at the time; where would I have friends after all these years? After arriving home, I found it was a stranger, but as soon as the man spoke, I recognized it was that person!

I didn't know what he meant by going to my parents' house. The man didn't beat around the bush; he chatted with my parents for a few sentences, then pulled me aside, saying he wanted to leave and asked me to drive him a distance.

After getting out, the man told me things had changed. The police would come to find me in the next two days, and I was to confess that I killed Hou Hongbo once I entered the Public Security Bureau!"

Hu Jinquan had been listening intently to his account. This was the first time Gong Zheng had referred to Hou Hongbo by name when mentioning him. Hu Jinquan asked, "You should be able to recognize that person's appearance, right?" The reason Hu Jinquan asked this was that he noticed Gong Zheng had never described the man's appearance during his account, which made him feel a bit strange.

"The first time, in the car, the man's appearance gave me the impression of a middle-aged man in his 40s, but his voice sounded quite young. Later, we just contacted each other by phone. The second time we met was at my parents' house. That time he had a different face, looking a bit younger, but I still couldn't be sure if that was his real appearance."

"You mean you only saw him twice in total?" Hu Jinquan asked in surprise.

"Yes!"

"On the night Hou Hongbo died, did you see the killer at the scene?"

"No. After I received the instructions, I pretended to go to the flood drainage ditch to find him. After I went, the embankment was empty, and there was nothing there. It wasn't until I climbed up the embankment that I saw his corpse in the ditch."

"What about the mobile phone he used to talk to you?" Hu Jinquan knew Gong Zheng didn't have a mobile phone himself.

"It's hidden in my house."

"How did he threaten you?"

"Sigh! He said he had friends inside your department, so he knew immediately whether this would be classified as an accident."

"What?!" Hu Jinquan was so startled by his words that he suddenly raised his voice.

"He said he had his people inside your department!" Gong Zheng said word by word. "He threatened me that if I didn't do as he said, he would kill my parents and then sell Yang Juan to Southeast Asia! If I did as he said, he would give my parents and Yang Juan a large sum of money, ensuring they would have no worries about their lives in the future. What choice did I have? Later, I simply decided to gamble. Anyway, that beast was dead, so I could consider myself to have no regrets. If I didn't do as they said, my parents, Yang Juan, and I would all die! If I did as he said, the worst case was that I would die alone, and they could still live!"

"Heh!" Hu Jinquan let out a cold laugh, furious. This killer was truly too cunning! He had just found a scapegoat like this. He could be certain that even if Gong Zheng took the fall for this murder case, he wouldn't receive any compensation at all! ===== CHAPTER 115 =====