[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-chasing-the-criminal-case":3,"chapter-chasing-the-criminal-case-chasing-the-criminal-case-chapter-271":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Chasing the Criminal Case",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2329039,4554,"Chapter 271: Witness","chasing-the-criminal-case-chapter-271",271,"\u003Cp>As he thought this, he said, “The call log doesn’t show you made the emergency call—did you see the person who did?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At his mention, Lu Yun immediately replied, “No, according to the traffic police, it was a concerned citizen—I don’t know who exactly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After bidding Lu Yun farewell, the two went to the traffic police unit; Luo Fei still harbored doubts about why the caller’s basic information was missing from the case file, but procedurally, this wasn’t a major issue back then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He found Wu Haibo, the retired deputy captain of the former Traffic Police Unit Three who handled the case; when Luo Fei mentioned the incident, Wu pulled out a small notebook from his drawer, flipped through it noisily, then said, “Here it is! I wrote it down back then! This number!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Fei took the notebook—it was a work log—with a string of digits written on it and a small note below: “Emergency call for the 7.17 traffic accident.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Fei had Xiao Sun copy it down, then asked the old traffic officer for more details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Haibo, being a former cop himself, grew suspicious of their meticulous questioning; he knew the woman killed on the spot was a police officer’s family member—the officer now being Gu Changzheng, the city bureau chief and head of the Criminal Investigation Brigade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Fei didn’t hide his purpose; he touched his chin scar and said calmly, “Wu Lao, I won’t lie— we’re investigating this incident. You know, right after Old Captain Lu led us in dismantling the Chang crime syndicate and crushing a drug ring spanning several provinces, one of our heroes’ family members was involved in this strange accident! We can’t help but suspect something’s wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this, he laid his cards on the table; he expected Wu Haibo, the original lead investigator, to be angry. But Wu merely glanced at them with flickering eyes, sank onto the sofa, lit a cigarette, and drew a deep breath: “Have you opened a case?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Fei had anticipated this question; he didn’t answer directly but changed the subject: “This case has been taken over by our Jiangdong Branch. We suspect Fang Jie’s death was a deliberate murder—so if you have any leads, please tell us outright.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Haibo gently crushed his cigarette in the ashtray with his fingers: “I’ve told you everything I know. The rest—you’ll have to find out yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the dismissal, Luo Fei smiled: “Thank you for the number today. If you remember anything else, just call me.” He placed his business card on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Haibo nodded, a faint worry in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving Wu’s home, Xiao Sun immediately dialed the number; Luo Fei chuckled, “The current owner will say he just got this number—we’ll still have to track down the previous one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, the caller said he’d only had the number for about two years, but this was the first time anyone had asked about the previous owner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Sun relayed the man’s words to Luo Fei, who asked, “He said that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon confirmation, Luo Fei said, “Interesting. I hope I’m not overthinking this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Sun stared at him, confused, scratching his head. Luo Fei said, “Let’s go to the mobile company.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current owner of the number Wu Haibo provided was quickly identified—he was indeed a new subscriber from two years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The number belonged to an old prefix; before the current owner, it was registered to a woman named Liu Jinxiang. But records showed Liu Jinxiang was an elderly woman in her eighties—and she had died shortly after the accident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He remembered the traffic police file recorded the caller as female. Luo Fei felt trapped—every lead had vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only now did he understand why his Master had never questioned the accident back then. Perhaps he had investigated secretly—and reached the same dead end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What should he do next? Luo Fei had no direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ancients said, “When the willow darkens and the flowers brighten, another village appears.” But Luo Fei saw no opening—further digging might only bring greater trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the case seemed destined to stall, Wu Haibo called.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From his tone, Wu was extremely cautious—and he had chosen a meeting place outside his residence, at the traffic police family compound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Fei’s heart quickened; he sensed Wu had vital information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the meeting spot—a small roadside park—Wu Haibo was already seated on a bench when Luo Fei arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Fei nodded: “Wu Lao, have you remembered something?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu glanced warily around, then whispered, “You really want to investigate that incident?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Fei nodded firmly: “Yes. My Master may have had reasons to stay silent back then—but I have no such restraints. If there’s even a hint of wrongdoing, I’ll see it through to the end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No matter who you uncover? No matter how high up? Can you bear the cost?” Wu stared into his eyes, each word deliberate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wu Lao, say what you have. No matter who or how high, in my eyes there is only the law—if someone broke it, I won’t let them go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Wu watched his eyes. When Luo Fei finished, the old man’s clouded gaze suddenly blazed with intensity: “Good. I’ve waited years for someone to stand before me and say that. I’ll tell you—there was a witness at the scene that day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Luo Fei had suspected something, his heart pounded violently at the words: “Who was the witness? Where is he now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Haibo swallowed hard, his voice low: “Me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?!” Even Luo Fei, composed as he was, was stunned: “You were there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu nodded, paused, then said: “That day I was home after work, ready to rest, when my wife suddenly had stomach pain. Our medicine was gone, so I went out to buy some. My house is on Fenghua Road; the pharmacy was at the crosswalk, the only 24-hour window in town. I got the medicine and turned to head back—then I saw a pickup truck parked by the roadside near Fenghua Road. I didn’t think much of it—thought the driver, caught in the rain, had stopped to wait it out. But just as I walked about a hundred meters, a massive crash rang out—and I saw the accident scene.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why didn’t you report what you saw back then?” Luo Fei demanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… someone told me not to.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1059,"2026-06-20T19:35:31.675Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","224a51a2033f32908b4678f1466d9e346ddd1c3e744dcd220a93ca22f356527b","chasing-the-criminal-case-chapter-272","chasing-the-criminal-case-chapter-270",276,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchasing-the-criminal-case-cover.jpg"]