Chapter 101: Hanging on Wires

"Perhaps it's because she wasn't popular yet and was embarrassed to raise objections?" Wu Shanqiu said.

"If Hong Mei hadn't died, that could be understood. But she already knew at that time that Hong Mei had died in the way shown in the photo. Isn't that enough to make her vigilant?" Qi Fei didn't think it was that simple. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

Wu Shanqiu nodded after being told this by Qi Fei: "That's true... And that private message she sent to Hua Deping before Hong Mei died, thinking about it now, seems to have a deeper meaning."

Qi Fei looked at the sentence in the transcript and read: "'I have an audition in this city, this might be my major breakthrough.' Hm, don't you think it sounds like she knew beforehand that she was about to get the role of 'Xian Yao'? Is it precognition, or..."

On the messy set, Qi Fei had been standing on a high platform for a long time. This was the place where Lan Die stood the last time she was on wires. The perspective from up there was much higher than imagined. The towering artificial bamboo forest under Qi Fei's feet was like a hunter's trap, ready to kill the falling beast at any time.

The wire technician on the side sighed: "The actor least likely to have an accident in the whole crew was Lan Die. Sigh, things are unpredictable."

"Hm? Why do you say that?" Qi Fei turned his head and asked.

"Everyone knows the company wanted Lan Die to transition into an action star. She had undergone high-intensity training, and this kind of aerial movement was a piece of cake for her. However, having said that, if the rope breaks, even the martial arts director would be in grave danger; it's hard to save oneself. Sigh, there's no way around it. Speaking of which, you should know it has nothing to do with me, right? I really did check it!"

The speaker didn't intend anything, but Qi Fei suddenly realized a problem and immediately made a request to the wire technician: "Master, I want to experience hanging on wires!"

By the time Wu Shanqiu saw it, Qi Fei was already wearing the full set of wire equipment, swinging in the air.

Despite having the foundation of police academy training, different professions are like different mountains; his posture in the air was far from graceful.

"Brother Fei, where did you get the sudden interest in playing this?" Wu Shanqiu shouted from below.

Qi Fei was seen struggling in the air, trying to coordinate with the wire technician to get close to those bamboo stalks, but his movements were clumsy, not to mention that the bamboo looked much thinner in the air than in reality, like toothpicks, making it really hard to target.

A person doesn't look like they're doing much on wires, but the physical consumption is actually very high. Before long, Qi Fei was already sweating profusely and finally gave up the attempt, coming down to the ground from above.

"Lan Die was very likely a suicide," he said to Wu Shanqiu as soon as his feet touched the ground.

"Ah!" Wu Shanqiu looked surprised.

"You saw it just now. Falling onto the bamboo while hanging on wires isn't as easy as you'd think; it requires professional training for the actor. In other words, to make Lan Die die perfectly replicating the appearance in the photo, it would be completely impossible without Lan Die's own cooperation."

"Then the wire rope..."

Qi Fei scanned the surroundings: "Wasn't there a wire cutter missing at the time? I think our search radius was still too small." As he said this, he walked toward the outer perimeter. "Before the actor hung on the wires, the wire technician had already checked the equipment and said there was no problem. If Lan Die committed suicide, then this rope was destroyed by herself after she put it on. That takeoff platform was only so big; if it had been left on the spot, it would definitely have been found, unless she threw it away." As he said this, he looked back at the platform. "At that height, the object might not have landed on the ground."

Sure enough, just as Qi Fei guessed, after a search, the missing wire cutter was found on a roof beam.

The recovered cutter was carefully placed into an evidence bag.

"If all the inferences hold, there should only be Lan Die's fingerprints on this cutter."

"No need for 'if,' there definitely won't be anyone else's fingerprints." Zhong Kui's voice suddenly came.

Sure enough, the snow had stopped, and she appeared again.

The moment he saw Zhong Kui, Qi Fei ran over in two or three steps, asking a question he already knew the answer to: "Playing hide-and-seek without saying hello again? We're investigating a case; you're being too casual as a consultant, aren't you?"

Zhong Kui raised an eyebrow: "How do you know I wasn't investigating the case?"

"Investigating in the mountains?"

"Just investigating in the mountains." Zhong Kui grinned. "I had nothing to do, so I watched all of Hong Mei's TV shows."

"Binge-watching? Does that count as investigating a case?"

"Those superficial TV shows are really boring. If it wasn't to investigate the case, would it be for entertainment?" Zhong Kui rolled her eyes.

"Then may I ask, Great Immortal Zhong, any incredible discoveries?" Qi Fei proudly held up the cutter he had just found, showing off that he had made a major breakthrough.

"Yes, there are." As she said this, she took out a disc. "This is an unbroadcast clip I just asked the director for. I was waiting to watch it with you!"

"Wait." Wu Shanqiu interrupted the two's conversation. "Let's put the binge-watching aside for a moment. There's a very important question: why did Lan Die commit suicide?"

Zhong Kui looked at Wu Shanqiu: "Very simple, because she knew we would definitely find out."

"What kind of tongue twister is this?" Wu Shanqiu was confused.

"That day in the RV, she tried to mislead us, saying something about a female ghost causing trouble, but it was very obvious that neither I nor Qi Fei bought it. And her goal had already been achieved, she had no more attachments. When she saw that set, perhaps she remembered the dramatic death method in that photo and decided to end it all."

"I know you want to say Lan Die killed Hong Mei, but we discussed this before; she simply didn't have the time to commit the crime..." Wu Shanqiu frowned and said.

Zhong Kui played with the disc in her hand: "Of course, she traveled a thousand miles in a day, working so hard to create an alibi, it must have been to evade criminal responsibility. If this murder had been committed by her alone, of course, she wouldn't have given up her life so easily. However, if she wanted to use her death to cover for someone else, that's a different story. Lan Die's suicide actually exposed that the murder of Hong Mei was not completed by her alone." After finishing, a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, her gaze falling on Qi Fei. "I think this matter can only be resolved after going to the Yun Shen Secret Realm."

In Liu Tong's office, he held his thermos, looking at Zhong Kui, then at Qi Fei.

Zhong Kui gave him that irresistible smile: "Liu Tong, I'm going to take Qi Fei to stay at the Yun Shen Secret Realm for two days. You don't have any objections, right?"

Liu Tong always had the appearance of a good man, smiling and saying: "As long as our Brother Fei is willing, I have no objections." ===== CHAPTER 102 =====