Chapter 168: Completion

The sea breeze of Dongji Zhen blew over without obstruction.

Zhong Kui stood by the sea, her long black hair beating her cheeks indiscriminately, just as the deep blue sea water beat the pier and the coast. She stared ahead, the dark clouds moving on the horizon, and a storm was about to come.

Qi Fei beside her picked up a stone on the ground and threw it hard at the sea, also looking at the vast sea: "Changing the direction of the investigation really led to discoveries. Chen Afeng is a qualified accountant, but her husband is addicted to gambling and owes a huge gambling debt outside. I found a retired employee who had a good relationship with her in the aquatic products company, who told me that Chen Afeng once wavered and wanted to embezzle public funds to repay her husband's debt, but it was not implemented in the end.

Lin Suzhen divorced that year, and Wang Lijuan and this sister-in-law had a very good relationship since childhood, saying many times that she wanted to help Lin Suzhen walk out of the haze of divorce.

And before Zhou Xiaomei was killed, she was having a conflict with her family because of an arranged marriage, and Wu Meiling's young daughter died that year."

"Humans always love to throw the knots that cannot be untied to ghosts and gods. Superstition is a painkiller that living people weave for themselves," Zhong Kui pushed away the broken hair hanging on her face, "It's just a pity that their wish to sew up their out-of-control lives made the killer turn into bait."

"Then the question is, they always have a channel to know the existence of this person. This Dongji Zhen has no temples or churches. Why did it become the starting point of the 'Demon Mirror Case'?"

"It seems that we have to do our homework again..."

Wu Shanqiu, like a brick-moving worker, put stacks of case files in front of Qi Fei and Zhong Kui.

"Brother Fei, haven't you already read these once..." Wu Shanqiu muttered.

"Zhong Kui and I went back to Dongji Zhen, isn't there a new direction?" Qi Fei took the case file and buried his head in reading.

The office was very quiet, and time passed minute by minute. The three of them flipped through the case files. The five victims in Dongji Zhen understood that their actions before their death were scattered, and they couldn't see any intersection at all.

Wu Shanqiu rubbed her temples and said: "Dongji Zhen is only this big. These people's daily life is work or home, two points and one line. If they had been to the same place, it would have been impossible for Lao Ye and Old Li not to have discovered it when they were investigating back then."

Her words reminded Qi Fei, who immediately got up and brought over Ye Ming's stack of materials.

In addition to professional ocean current analysis and Dongji Zhen planning maps, an old newspaper of "Nancheng Daily" sandwiched in it caught Qi Fei's attention.

"Three-layered waves?" Zhong Kui's words came to his ears.

Qi Fei looked at the newspaper carefully, and sure enough, on the title of one of the news, he used three colors of ballpoint pens to make marks back and forth.

This is the unique marking method of the two partners Lao Ye and Old Li. Three colors mean that Lao Ye had at least three clues gathered on this news when he was investigating back then—that is, the most important breakthrough.

I saw the title writing: Dongji Zhen Aquatic Products Company's new building breaks ground to write a new chapter in fishery development.

"Among the victims, the first victim Chen Afeng is an accountant of the aquatic products company," Wu Shanqiu said immediately.

"If it only had a relationship with Chen Afeng, Lao Ye would not use three-layered waves to mark it," Qi Fei said immediately.

He glanced at the date of the newspaper, which showed January 4, 1982, which was just the beginning of the year. But the content is very ordinary, nothing more than introducing the planning of the aquatic products company building and the contribution of Dongji Zhen to the fishery economy.

"The aquatic products building in this report is the location of the current Dongji Zhen Aquatic Products Company, right?" Zhong Kui said, "This new building is quite close to the Aquatic Products Technical School."

Qi Fei and Zhong Kui just came back from Dongji Zhen. Of course, he also remembered that the current aquatic products company is at the front door of the technical school. However, this fact cannot answer Qi Fei's confusion: "But I remember that this building was only completed at the end of 1983. Zhou Xiaomei of the Aquatic Products Technical School who was killed in the 'Demon Mirror Case', when she was boarding at the technical school at that time, this building was still a construction site."

"Construction site, there are also people," Zhong Kui said, "And the people at the construction site are the ones who are mobile. This building was completed at the end of 1983. I think it is best to check which month it is. Otherwise, why is Ye Ming so sure that the killer returned to Nancheng, just because of Xu Chunxia, or did he find other evidence?"

Zhong Kui woke up the dreamer with one word, and Qi Fei suddenly realized: "If the killer is related to this construction site... Chen Afeng and Zhou Xiaomei may come into contact with people at this construction site, then what about the other three victims?"

Zhong Kui's fingers pointed at a few words in this report.

Qi Fei looked at it and saw the beginning of the main text—Report from this newspaper (Reporter Zhang Xiaohua).

"Nancheng Daily, Zhang Xiaohua, it's easy to handle if there is a name!" Qi Fei said.

In the conference room of Nancheng Daily, an octogenarian wearing a grey wool vest sat on a thick sofa chair.

"Are you Teacher Zhang Xiaohua?" Qi Fei asked.

"The office told me that the police wanted to find me. This is really a fresh thing. Who are you..." Zhang Xiaohua put on his reading glasses and looked at the three people in front of him, with that curiosity of a reporter in his eyes.

"We are from the Nancheng Criminal Police Brigade," Qi Fei said, showing his ID, and at the same time handed over the 1982 newspaper.

Zhang Xiaohua took the newspaper and saw his marked report. His expression became more confused: "That's right, I wrote this, but this is just an ordinary communication draft. You are criminal police, then this is...?"

Qi Fei and Zhong Kui looked at each other.

Zhong Kui asked directly: "Do you still remember which month this building was completed?"

"November 13, 1983." Unexpectedly, more than forty years have passed, and Zhang Xiaohua blurted out the date of completion.

This aroused Zhong Kui's curiosity: "Remember so clearly?"

Zhang Xiaohua pushed the reading glasses hanging on the bridge of his nose: "Can't forget, because that year, the Demon Mirror Case that shocked the whole Nancheng happened in Dongji Zhen. The day before the completion, the last victim, named..."

Zhang Xiaohua frowned and tried hard to recall.

"Wu Meiling, a nurse at Dongji Zhen Health Center," Qi Fei reminded.

Zhang Xiaohua nodded immediately: "Yes, it's such a name. When the news came, the editor-in-chief said that I had already made an appointment to interview the completion of the aquatic products building, so I might as well set off a day early and follow the Demon Mirror Case.

So I arrived at Dongji Zhen on November 12, interviewed the murder case on the 12th, and interviewed the completion on the 13th. I won't forget." Speaking of this, Zhang Xiaohua sighed, "When the aquatic products building started construction, I remember the gongs and drums were loud, as if all the people in Dongji Zhen came, very lively.

But on the day of completion, because of the Demon Mirror Case, the whole town was shrouded in a depressing atmosphere, and all ceremonies were cancelled." ===== CHAPTER 169 =====