Chapter 322: Zhang Xiang

The knife used to slash tires was about 40 centimeters long, a thick-handled single-edged dagger that looked perfectly suited for cutting tires.

Yu Wenshu looked at the photo, then at Jiang Yuan, first feeling a wave of dread, then swelling with rage: "This bastard dares to attempt murder of a police officer?"

Jiang Yuan casually offered a fair remark: "Given the circumstances at the time, it probably wasn't meant for murder—the car wasn't going fast enough. Maybe he just wanted to cause a minor accident…"

"Even an injury is unacceptable," Yu Wenshu gritted his teeth, furious—he couldn't even bear the thought of Jiang Yuan staying up late. What if Jiang Yuan got hurt and had to rest? That would be a massive problem.

Not only would it waste time, but worse, Huang Qiangmin might use neglect as an excuse to take him away. Where would he ever find another hell-level combine harvester like this?

Yu Wenshu simply couldn't tolerate this possibility; just imagining it made his eyes bulge with fury.

Shen Yaoguo frowned: "You were just going to the scene to take a look—why would someone slash your tires? Was it necessary? And how did he even know you were coming? He can't have been camping out by that warehouse every day—that makes no sense."

"That's true," the others in the room thought for a moment, but none gave a direct answer.

Of course, if you took a conspiracy theory approach, maybe the suspect had somehow learned something in advance—even knew Jiang Yuan's identity and abilities—and had prepared accordingly. A minor car accident could still cause major casualties.

But if you considered it from that angle, there were too many unanswered questions: How did the suspect know internal details? How did he know about Jiang Yuan? How did he precisely identify Jiang Yuan's vehicle?

Some of these questions weren't without explanations—they just became too complicated to unravel.

And detectives usually didn't think in such conspiracy-laden terms.

Not only was the likelihood of such a scenario low, but even if it did happen, how could you possibly prosecute such a complex case under the law? In the end, you still needed relatively reasonable evidence. That's one reason Liu Jinghui wasn't popular among detective captains.

"Regardless, let's take down Zhang Xiang first—then the case will become clear," Yu Wenshu broke out of his thoughts first. "Zhang Xiang has a complicated history. Direct breakthrough might be difficult. I'll call in a few more interrogators who specialize in this—let's break his teeth first."

When in doubt, call for backup—after so many years as a branch commander, Yu Wenshu had practically formed a mental habit of it.

The provincial criminal investigation unit never lacked specialized talent. County bureaus were always short-staffed, but the provincial capital's municipal bureau constantly borrowed officers from subordinate units, and their own positions were highly valued—so they could gather whoever they needed.

The provincial public security bureau, the municipal bureaus of direct-administered municipalities, and even the Ministry of Public Security took this model further, hiding dragons and tigers—leave one unwatched, and a level-5 or even level-6 super expert might suddenly appear.

From this perspective, the more prosperous a metropolis, the less it should be targeted for crime—especially high-profile, high-impact crimes. Choosing a big city was an absolute mistake. It was like upgrading the confrontation level from amateur fifth dan straight to professional first or second dan. For an ordinary criminal, doing this was asking for a beating.

In Ningtai County, calling in five senior interrogators at once was absolutely impossible.

Ningtai County didn't even have five interrogators total.

The experts arrived. Zhang Xiang and his men had already gone through the preliminaries—photographs, fingerprints—all of them flushed, pinned to steel chairs, hands separated and secured, feet spread and restrained, backs and buttocks pulled tight against the chairs by straps—hard to move a muscle.

Jiang Yuan and the others sat calmly in the office, watching the interrogation room through the projector.

Zhang Xiang was a burly man who looked intimidating—his upper body massively thick. Even bound by straps, he still shook the chair with loud thuds.

His four subordinates were all young, fit guys, barely over twenty, their faces carved with the words "defiant and unruly," glaring fiercely at either side—too light to wrestle free.

"This Jianyuan Pharma is interesting," Shen Yaoguo said, his instincts flaring as he watched the young men's expressions.

If these kids had been in his public security branch, he wouldn't have hit or yelled at them—he'd have dragged their entertainment venue's boss in front of everyone and made him lose face.

Only one audio channel was playing in the office, but Shen Yaoguo could close his eyes and predict exactly what these brats would say:

"We're from Jianyuan."

"We're law-abiding citizens—why are you arresting us?"

"I don't care what you say. I'm not afraid of jail."

Shen Yaoguo chuckled. "Actually, we could handle this too—we've got the most experience with this kind of thing."

"Same thing," Yu Wenshu said just as confidently.

If Zhang Xiang himself still had a bit of resistance left, his handful of underlings had zero chance of withstanding interrogation.

Modern interrogation isn't about shouting or applying brute pressure. Sometimes you offer comfort; sometimes you pretend to cooperate.

Interrogators are psychological experts. These street thugs who couldn't even score 30 on an "administrative ability test" or "essay exam"—how could they possibly resist?

In just a few minutes, the thugs in the interrogation room started spilling everything.

Shen Yaoguo felt a tinge of disappointment—if these kids had shown stronger resistance, he could've gone after Jianyuan Pharma's "parking lot project" manager.

Now that their statements were out, pressure on Zhang Xiang began rising geometrically.

No extra maneuvers needed—Zhang Xiang quickly confessed.

"I killed him. I set the fire," Zhang Xiang said. At those words, several people in the room couldn't help glancing at Jiang Yuan.

With that confession, the case was fully solved. Completely solved.

Shen Yaoguo's hidden threat vanished—he no longer needed to worry about his career prospects or find someone to take the blame.

Even though Shen Yaoguo looked calm on the outside, he couldn't help clenching his fist.

"How did you kill him? Describe the full sequence," the interrogator asked casually—yet he had complete control over Zhang Xiang.

A man who looked physically strong, after years in a private company, was like a pickled radish—no longer hard, at best slightly crisp in the middle.

Zhang Xiang's face turned deathly pale. After several hesitations, he said: "I told Wang Kedian to open the door. Then I went in to find Yin Fei. The boss gave her benefits—that was the boss's deal. But if she wanted to go solo, she had to sign a new agreement. So I went to talk to her."

"She still thought she was the same as before—talking like she owned the place. I spoke nicely to her, and she started cursing me, throwing things at me."

"I could've just walked away then. But I was young then, and she goaded me—knife at my throat, still yapping… So I stabbed her once, and shut her up."

Interrogator: "Describe exactly how you stabbed her."

Zhang Xiang: "I shoved her against the wall, thinking I'd just scare her. But she said she'd report me for rape and go straight to Yuan Jiansheng. I got angry, scared—I thought, since I'd gone this far…"

Zhang Xiang sighed: "Tired. Better to die and be done with it."

The expert then asked sequentially about the arson, the weapon, the accelerants, and so on.

After covering all key questions, at the end of the interrogation, the expert glanced at the checklist and asked: "How did you get the key to the warehouse's back door? Where did you have it copied?"

Zhang Xiang hesitated suddenly.

"You've told us everything important—why hold back on this last detail?" the interrogator said casually, but the words carried weight.

"I'm afraid you won't believe me if I tell the truth," Zhang Xiang said.

"Say it. We'll judge for ourselves."

"I was at home that day. Someone slipped it under my door. There was a printed note on it saying it was the key to Yin Fei's warehouse back door. I got played." Zhang Xiang shook his head.

The interrogator had read the case file. He glanced at the camera and asked: "Did you ever pay Wang Kedian money or buy him a train ticket?"

"No. I went to find him the next day—he'd already run off," Zhang Xiang said carelessly. "He ran, so I just relaxed. Sure enough, nothing happened—I made out like a bandit!"

This time, every officer inside and outside the interrogation room fell silent.