Chapter 88: The Dagger Revealed

At the Wan Guo Grand Hotel, Zhang Shaojie stared at the footage on his DV, his face dark with rage; his heart churned with conflicting emotions, and when he heard Ling Wei cry, “The killer is Ling Wei,” his eyes welled up.

Seeing Chang Huazhong’s throat slit by Ling Wei’s knife, Zhang Shaojie understood his secret motive—his death completed the task of killing Chang and eliminated the threat to Zhang Shaojie.

A dead man says nothing and threatens no one.

Even if the police uncover Ling Wei’s connection to me, what of it? As long as I deny ordering him, and there’s no evidence, they can do nothing to me!

“Sigh!” Zhang Shaojie let out a long breath.

———

Luo Fei leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed; for days, these cops had interrogated him over and over, but he stuck to his story—that he had suffered a mental lapse, lost control, and accidentally hit Lin Yun.

As for what Lin Yun claimed—that they had spoken—was pure nonsense, just Lin Yun’s one-sided tale!

Lu Haoxuan reviewed his interrogation record, thought for a moment, and said: “He’s a hardened case. His attitude stems from believing the entire incident falls within his acceptable limits.”

Gu Changzheng stared at Lu Haoxuan, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. Lu Haoxuan explained: “Since he agreed to the scheme built around Long Guangsheng’s death, he already anticipated the worst outcome—imprisonment. But what power or person convinced him he could escape the death penalty for his actions?”

“I think first, he received a promise from someone—and he’s witnessed that person’s capabilities—so he’s fully committed to taking all the blame. Of course, these acts were carried out by his own hands; as long as he doesn’t speak, we can’t prove he was ordered by someone else.”

“And since he’s willing to risk his life, he must have received massive financial compensation. To break his psychological defenses, we must do two things: one, produce evidence sufficient to sentence him to death; two, make him completely lose faith in the person behind it all—shatter his composure, and he’ll talk.”

After listening to Lu Haoxuan, Gu Changzheng said: “Find the syringe used to inject Long Guangsheng with drugs, and investigate Luo Fei’s financial situation—Master, you mean to start from these two angles, right?”

Lu Haoxuan nodded with a smile and said: “Come here—I’ll tell you a plan…”

After listening, Gu Changzheng smiled: “Master, I understand!”

Three days later, at dawn, in the interrogation room, Gu Changzheng and a detective taking notes sat across from Luo Fei, who had been forcibly woken up. Gu Changzheng looked at the drowsy Luo Fei and smiled softly: “Luo Fei, sleep deprived? Still planning to stall with us? Still refusing to tell the truth?”

Luo Fei lifted his head lazily: “Officer, I’ve already said it—I had a mental lapse, dozed off, and nearly hit someone. How many times do I have to repeat it?”

Gu Changzheng leaned back, still smiling: “Heh, I’m not asking about that. I’m asking about Long Guangsheng.”

Luo Fei feigned ignorance: “Officer, I don’t understand what you mean. I nearly had a car accident—why are you dragging in other things? Hey, I just don’t get it!”

“Luo Fei!” Gu Changzheng suddenly sat upright, sternly: “Though you destroyed the syringe used to poison Long Guangsheng, you never imagined—when you placed that syringe in Li Jun’s car, hmm! Do you know what we found?”

“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Officer, if you have evidence, just show it—why ask me?”

Gu Changzheng acted as if ignoring him and continued: “You were careful, but you left a fingerprint. Am I right?”

“Hehe! Officer, bluffing won’t work—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Zhu Haitao has confessed. He can prove you brought Long Guangsheng to Xuelang Valley Disco. Oh, the other yellow-haired guy—I’m sure you don’t even know his name, but that’s fine—he can identify you. As for Li Jun’s car, think hard: didn’t you accidentally leave a fingerprint somewhere?”

“You didn’t say the syringe was in a bag?” Luo Fei blurted out.

“Did I ever say the syringe was in a bag?” Gu Changzheng fixed his gaze sharply on Luo Fei’s eyes.

Luo Fei realized at once he had made a mistake—this cop was bluffing him.

For days, these cops had interrogated him nonstop in shifts; his mind had remained on high alert. No matter which officer questioned him, forward or backward, from any angle—he answered with the script he’d memorized so deeply he now believed his own lies.

But today, this officer dragged him here at dawn—and despite his extreme caution—he’d still been tricked.

Realizing this, Luo Fei’s exhausted body suddenly snapped awake—like a startled wildcat, every hair bristling with vigilance.

He smirked crookedly at Gu Changzheng and suddenly raised one finger, pointing at him.

He would strike back—he would provoke Gu Changzheng. In anger, people make mistakes. If he could make the officer lose control and attack him—

But Gu Changzheng ignored his provocation, speaking rapidly: “You want to anger me? Don’t bother. Why do you want to anger me? Because you’re starting to fear. You’re not even sure if you left fingerprints—perhaps you left some on Long Guangsheng’s body when you injected him? You lied to Lin Yun, pretending to be Chang Huazhong, just to shield Chang Huazhong—because Lin Yun has never heard Chang Huazhong’s voice, and his voice is unmistakable. If Lin Yun accuses Chang Huazhong of ordering those acts, he can’t prove it because he can’t identify the voice. You planned it well—but you didn’t know Lin Yun recorded every conversation with this ‘Chang Huazhong’!”

“Impossible! That was an old phone—no recording function!” Luo Fei shouted.

Gu Changzheng smiled warmly, saying nothing. Luo Fei’s body turned icy cold—why was he making more mistakes the more he tried to guard himself?

Luo Fei lowered his head in frustration, a crushing sense of failure flooding his heart; his mind spun with images of that night—the car attempt to kill Lin Yun—flashing like a movie inside his skull.

He screamed: “All this is fake! You’re forcing it on me! You’re coercing me! Yes! These are all things you planted in my head!”

Gu Changzheng stood up, stepped away from the table, pulled out a photograph, and whispered something to him. Luo Fei’s eyes widened in utter disbelief.