Chapter 172 The Case

The next morning, the auto repair shop called and said the car was fixed.

Zhou Ze took Yingying to pick it up. Yingying eagerly sat in the driver's seat, looking excited.

Boss Zhou opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but decided against it and sat in the passenger seat.

Although he had the animal skin in hand, Zhou Ze wasn't reckless enough to rush from Huai'an to the Northeast. Finding the dragon vein was a tedious and arduous task, oh no, a very difficult task.

With only Yingying by his side, such a large geological survey project would be too much for him to handle. He couldn't possibly spend his days wandering around in mountain gullies, exposed to the elements.

It would be better to bring some subordinates along. At the very least, Baihu (White Fox) had to come. After all, it was her hometown, and she knew the area well.

Lawyer An was said to have gone to the Northeast as well. He could contact him later, and with him in charge of organization and operations, Zhou Ze could save a lot of effort.

Ultimately, it was because he was used to being lazy. He wasn't comfortable going back to those days of hard work.

To put it bluntly, if he, the boss, had to do everything himself, what was the point of having so many subordinates?

Yingying drove very carefully. The car ran well along the way, and by the afternoon, they finally exited the highway and entered Tongcheng city.

Twenty minutes later, the car pulled up in front of the bookstore.

Boss Zhou got out of the car first, leaving Yingying to obsessively practice "parallel parking" over and over again.

Instead of going to the bookstore first, Zhou Ze went to the pharmacy. Lao Xu (Old Xu) had called in the morning to say that the pharmacy had received two packages, which he preliminarily suspected were from Qing's two companions.

The packages had been sent from Jinling.

"Oh, Boss, you're back," Fangfang greeted Zhou Ze enthusiastically.

Zhou Ze nodded and walked into the ward.

As soon as he opened the door,

Wow,

Good heavens,

It was crowded!

Four beds were squeezed together, with only enough space to open the door. The bed at the very back was pressed against the wall.

For a moment, Boss Zhou felt like he was playing a real estate tycoon game.

The vegetable garden had already been expanded.

Did the pharmacy need to be expanded too?

Was he really so afraid of being poor that he kept bringing things home, whether living or dead, people or animals, making the vegetable garden, zoo, and pharmacy under his care increasingly bloated?

Now that he thought about it, moving the bookstore from the Wuzhou International Plaza to South Street didn't seem like such a smart move.

The Wuzhou International Plaza was practically a dying commercial center, and the rent must be dirt cheap now, but this place was truly prime real estate.

"You're here," Gou Xin said while eating lunch.

Twice-cooked pork, smoked pork with garlic sprouts, stir-fried sweet potato leaves, and a tomato and egg drop soup – the food was quite rich.

Zhou Ze ignored Gou Xin.

Gou Xin pouted, grumbled inwardly, and continued to eat, lamenting that his inferior battery wasn't as good as a chicken.

Zhou Ze first walked to the foot of Qing's bed.

Qing's eyes were closed.

She seemed to still be unconscious.

Boss Zhou smiled. He didn't do anything, partly because the other party hadn't actually done anything to him, and partly because the other party was still just a little girl's body.

He had no choice but to do what he did to Lin Ke back then.

Now, there was no need for that.

After standing at the foot of Qing's bed for a while, Zhou Ze went to look at the two new kids.

The two kids weren't shy around strangers and were sleeping soundly. They looked so well-behaved and quiet, without even any breathing or heartbeat!

After checking the power supply, Zhou Ze walked out of the ward.

Fangfang was sitting at the counter, putting on makeup in front of a small mirror. It looked like she had plans after work tonight.

"Fangfang, if anything happens at the store in the future, ask Lao Dao (Old Daoist) to help out."

"Understood, Boss. Hey, you know, Lao Dao may be old, but he's got a lot of strength."

Clearly, Lao Dao's feat of carrying two packages by himself yesterday had caught Fangfang's attention. Coupled with Lao Dao's thin and lanky frame, the image was quite striking.

"Yeah, he's still strong. Remember, if anything happens, ask him for help."

"Don't worry, Boss."

Zhou Ze walked out of the pharmacy and saw that Yingying was still there, continuing to practice parallel parking.

Normally, the parking spaces on both sides of the pedestrian street in front of the bookstore were quite spacious, but for some reason, there were more cars parked here today. The only empty space was between two cars.

Although Yingying had a driver's license and could drive on the road normally, many drivers were like this: parallel parking was easy to pass in Driving Test Part 2, but they would regret not truly mastering the skill in their actual driving later on.

Zhou Ze stood by the road and lit a cigarette.

By the time he had almost finished smoking, Yingying was still backing in and pulling out, backing in and pulling out.

At this moment, Xu Qinglang pushed open the door of the bookstore and walked out. Seeing Zhou Ze, he said, "You're back."

"Yeah, I'm back."

"Okay, I'll go buy groceries."

Xu Qinglang walked to the car and knocked on the window.

Yingying was as if she had been granted amnesty. She got out of the car, Xu Qinglang opened the door and got in, and drove the car away.

Yingying pouted, looking a little embarrassed.

"It's okay, it's always like this. Next time, if the space is too small, just push the cars in front and behind you a little."

Perhaps other boyfriends wouldn't be able to comfort their girlfriends like this, because their girlfriends didn't have the strength, but that wasn't a problem for Yingying.

Walking into the bookstore, Lao Dao was sitting behind the bar, wiping down the little monkey.

It looked like the little monkey had just taken a bath.

"Yo, Boss, you're back," Lao Dao said.

"Yeah, I'm back."

"There was a package delivered to the pharmacy next door..."

"I know, it's none of your business. You just keep an eye on it. It was sent by a friend of mine. It's useful, so pay more attention to it."

"No problem, Boss."

Dinner was sumptuous. Although there weren't many people, the table was lively. After dinner, Zhou Ze lay down on his favorite sofa again.

Closing his eyes,

Smelling the aroma of the coffee that Yingying had just brewed on the coffee table,

He pretended it was morning,

He pretended there was sunlight shining on him.

When there is light in the heart, one can naturally be bright and cheerful. Boss Zhou was obviously a master of this.

Now that he thought about it, there were advantages to Lao Zhang (Old Zhang) being away.

At least no one was constantly bringing up all sorts of trivial matters and asking him to contribute to society.

It could be said that, apart from Lao Zhang, the rest of the people in the bookstore rarely brought back any troublesome things. Even if they did, Boss Zhou could easily dismiss them or simply refuse.

However, it seemed that what you think about is what you get.

Just as Boss Zhou was about to turn over and continue basking in the sun, a police car pulled up and stopped in front of the bookstore.

"Yo, Lao Zhang is back?"

Lao Dao scratched his head in surprise and put the little monkey under the bar.

A policewoman stepped out of the police car and pushed open the door of the bookstore. Zhou Ze opened his eyes slightly. He recognized her, but he forgot her name. He only remembered that she was one of Lao Zhang's subordinates, a female detective.

"Hello, is Mr. Xu at home?"

Zhou Ze didn't believe that this female detective would have forgotten him. Detectives usually had good memories. Lao Zhang had once bragged that he overheard a man bragging with several girls at the next table while eating hot pot, and immediately recognized him as an online fugitive. He patiently put the tripe into the pot and ate it before going over and arresting him.

"Not at home, not at home," Lao Dao said, shaking his head.

The female detective was stunned for a moment, but she still walked up to Zhou Ze, extended her hand, and said, "Mr. Xu, hello, I'm Xiao Lu (Little Lu). Do you remember me?"

Zhou Ze sighed, looked at her, didn't shake her hand, but just nodded.

"It's like this, there's been a case in Tongcheng these days. Our captain is on another long vacation back home, so I can only ask you for help."

"I'm not a police officer," Zhou Ze shrugged.

"Our captain told me to come here to find you, saying that you would definitely be willing to help. Besides, maintaining social security and stability is not only the responsibility of us police officers, but also the duty of all citizens..."

"Okay, okay, stop talking, what's the matter?"

Lao Zhang wasn't here, but his shadow still lingered...

Boss Zhou even thought a little darkly that Lao Zhang and the other five ghost messengers were busy catching deserters near Yangzhou every day. Perhaps they felt a little unbalanced that he was living such a leisurely life at home, so they deliberately found something for him to do.

Of course, this was just his own imagination. With Lao Zhang's upright personality, he wouldn't do that on purpose.

"It's like this, recently there have been several incidents of underwear theft in the city. The thief specializes in stealing women's underwear. There have been many cases, causing a lot of panic."

Boss Zhou raised his hand and said, "I said, is this also under the jurisdiction of your criminal police?"

Had Tongcheng's public security improved to this extent that the criminal police brigade had no other cases to handle?

"The problem is not that simple. It's not purely stealing underwear that was left out to dry when people weren't home. It's that in some office building restrooms and when the owners were at home, they were drugged and passed out. Although there was no rape, there were obvious bruises on their bodies. In addition, the underwear worn by the victims was also taken away."

Zhou Ze understood. The nature of the case was different now. If it was just a pervert or someone with a special fetish who was secretly stealing underwear, it was certainly disgusting, but it should only be handled by the police station.

But this involved drugging, and although there was no actual rape, the nature of the crime had been determined, and it had already constituted a very serious infringement on the victims' lives and property.

"Moreover, just last night, a singer came to Tongcheng to participate in a commercial performance and stayed in a hotel. Even with bodyguards protecting her, she was also subjected to..."

Zhou Ze nodded, and subconsciously raised his head and looked around.

Boss Zhou habitually sent one of his subordinates to help solve this kind of thing.

But looking around,

Lao Dao wasn't reliable...

It might be okay to have him accompany people on trips, but it would be too difficult for him to find and catch people.

Lao Xu?

Why did he have a feeling that if he sent Lao Xu, Lao Xu might be assaulted?

But he was indeed the most suitable candidate to send out now. Even if the other party wasn't a ghost or demon, but just an agile person, it would still be easy for Lao Xu to catch someone with his sea god power.

However, as if sensing that Boss Zhou was about to pass the buck, Xu Qinglang actually went upstairs with a face mask.

He walked very resolutely, and very freely.

Everyone used to be neighbors, and now they had been eating from the same pot for so long, who didn't understand who?

Finally, Zhou Ze's eyes fell on the white fox lying in the corner. The white fox was emitting a faint white light. It would glow when there were outsiders present, so that the outsiders couldn't see it.

It was said that Lao Dao had been asking Baihu for advice these days, wanting her to teach the little monkey this trick, so that Lao Dao wouldn't have to worry about being reported as a smuggler of a national protected animal when he took the monkey out in the future.

But, how could he ask this female detective to have a fox handle the case?

At this moment, Zhou Ze's phone rang.

The caller ID showed Lao Zhang.

Zhou Ze hung up the phone, and then the phone rang again.

Zhou Ze hung up the phone again.

When it rang for the third time, Boss Zhou simply blacklisted Lao Zhang's number.

"Mr. Xu, the nature of this matter is very serious, and it has caused great social panic. Therefore, if you have the ability, I hope you can lend a hand."

Zhou Ze took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, stood up, and said, "Okay, I'll go take a look at the scene with you."

"Thank you, Mr. Xu. Please, take my car."

The female detective went to start the car first.

Zhou Ze changed into a set of casual clothes. He didn't ask Yingying to come with him, but instead walked to the corner, grabbed the white fox lying there in a detached manner, put it on his neck, and wrapped its tail around him. Baihu understood and reluctantly tucked its head into its fur.

After Boss Zhou got into the car, the female detective said in surprise, "Mr. Xu, it's already hot today."

"I just saw the news. The cold air has relapsed. It's even snowing in the Northeast."

"Okay, we're going to the Coast Community now. There's a female resident living alone who suffered misfortune. At the same time, this is the only case where the perpetrator left behind semen at the scene. There hasn't been one before."

"Shouldn't we go to the female singer's place?"

"She has already left Tongcheng to catch the next announcement."

"What a strong heart."

The female detective drove. Not long after getting on the elevated road, her phone rang. After answering the phone, the female detective immediately turned on the siren and U-turned, exiting from the elevated entrance she had just entered.

"Mr. Xu, I just received a report that an hour ago, a 30-year-old female victim was assaulted in the Water City Apartment. The same method, the same process."

"Okay, drive slowly, don't rush, don't rush."

"It's very urgent."

"No, driving still has to be safe."

Boss Zhou was really being kind. He knew that if there was a car accident, he wouldn't die anyway, but it would be hard to say about the female detective driving.

"After the victim reported the case, she jumped off the building and committed suicide."

"What?"

Zhou Ze was a little surprised. After all, the perpetrator only rubbed, and didn't actually penetrate. From today's open perspective, to say something morally incorrect, it was at least more acceptable than actually being raped.

"The victim had been raped several years ago and had been able to re-enter society and start a new life only after treatment by a psychologist. This time, although there was no...it should be that the old psychological trauma was reopened, so she directly chose to commit suicide.

When I first joined the force, I handled her case. At that time, it was a rapist who was sent to prison. So I have a deep impression of her."

Boss Zhou stopped talking and opened the car window.

"You can smoke, I don't mind."

"Thank you."

He lit a cigarette, and as soon as he finished smoking, the car had already entered the apartment complex.

The outside was already crowded with onlookers. The police had set up a cordon. At the same time, the body had been settled and covered with a white cloth. Only a pool of glaring blood remained not far in front.

The female detective had gone to communicate the case with her colleagues.

Zhou Ze stood alone on the periphery, silently looking around.

He didn't look at the body, not because he couldn't bear to look, but because he felt it wasn't necessary. He wasn't from a criminal investigation background, so he really didn't need to do these roundabout things.

"Do you sense anything?" Zhou Ze asked.

He was of course asking his white scarf.

"No."

"Oh."

Zhou Ze didn't sense anything either. He didn't sense any ghost or demon energy here.

However, Boss Zhou still patted the scarf slightly and said, "It's hot. Loosen your grip a little."

The scarf loosened, but he still felt hot.

"Still hot."

Soon, a trace of coolness came over. The fur wasn't hot anymore, but instead had its own refreshing effect. It might even repel mosquitoes.

Hey, Boss Zhou finally understood why little boys liked to use that silly sable as a scarf. These monsters even had their own switches to control cooling and heating.

Zhou Ze didn't linger downstairs for too long and went to go upstairs to take a look. The stairwell and elevator were naturally not sealed off, because there were many residents in this building. But when Zhou Ze walked out of the elevator, he saw two police officers standing in front of a door. This should be the victim's home.

The two police officers at the door looked a little strange when they saw Zhou Ze, but when Zhou Ze indicated that he wanted to go in, they didn't stop him and let Zhou Ze in.

He guessed that he must have run around at crime scenes with Lao Zhang too often in the past, so the police here all knew him.

The house was very clean and well organized.

After Boss Zhou walked in, he saw several police officers taking samples and photographing the scene. Zhou Ze only noticed one thing, and that was that there was a patch of dampness on the bed.

A police officer was taking samples there, very carefully.

This should be what the murderer left behind...

Boss Zhou bent down, held his breath, closed his eyes, and moved closer to the bed sheet.

Then he straightened up and said softly, "Did you smell anything?"

"I held my breath too," Baihu replied.

"I'm asking you to smell the scent."

"I'm not a dog."

"Just smell it."

After saying that, Boss Zhou closed his eyes again, held his breath, and moved closer to the bed sheet.

The police officer who was taking samples and preserving them looked at Boss Zhou strangely, but since he was allowed into the crime scene, he must be someone from the police station, so he didn't say anything.

After straightening up again, Zhou Ze asked, "Did you smell it?"

"I smelled it."

"Find the scent. Where is he?"

"I'm not a dog."

"But I don't believe your nose isn't as good as a dog's."

Baihu looked a little depressed.

As a five-tailed demon fox, she was actually being used as a police dog by the man in front of her!

"Say something," Zhou Ze urged.

He simplified everything as much as possible. He didn't mention the evidence, but found the perpetrator first. Boss Zhou didn't have the energy to seriously analyze the criminal's psychological problems here.

Baihu was silent.

"Are you going to answer or not?"

Baihu was still silent.

"Can't you track it? I said, let's finish this early so we can go back early. Do you think I want to waste time here?"

This kind of game of helping the police solve cases might be a very exciting experience for many mystery fans, but Boss Zhou had experienced it so much because of Lao Zhang that he wanted to vomit.

At this moment, Zhou Ze's phone rang. It was Lin Ke's number.

"Hello."

"Boss," it was Lao Zhang's voice.

"Boss, I've been trying to call your phone, but it kept saying it was turned off. It just so happened that my phone ran out of battery, so I used Lin Ke's phone to call you."

"Yeah, my phone just finished charging."

"Boss, there must be some misunderstanding."

"No misunderstanding, really, don't think too much."

"But that's impossible. How could you be like this, Boss? Impossible, impossible."

"I told you not to think so much, really."

Zhou Ze felt that Lao Zhang was too dense today. It wasn't the first time he had blacklisted his phone number. Why was he being so verbose this time?

You know, I know, everyone understands in their hearts, why did he have to repeat it so many times? It was so awkward.

"Boss, it's impossible, I don't believe it, I don't believe it."

"Okay, that's all. Be careful over there, and come back early when you're done. Goodbye."

Zhou Ze hung up the phone, then reached out and pinched the buttocks of the white fox on his neck.

The texture wasn't as plump as Corgi's, but it was very delicate.

"Say something, did you smell where he is?"

Baihu said weakly, "I smelled it."

"Where is he?"

Zhou Ze loosened his collar. Next, it would be simple. He was going to catch someone.

"He's in this room."

Zhou Ze was stunned.

In this room?

Zhou Ze's eyes subconsciously fell on the young police officer who was still taking samples.

Oh ho,

He couldn't tell,

He was hiding deep enough,

He could go film a suspense drama.

Zhou Ze bent down and brought his face closer to the young police officer.

He said, "It's you..."

"It's you..." Baihu.

"What?" The young police officer looked confused.

Zhou Ze was shocked again, and straightened up.

He said, "What did you just say?"

"It's you."

"If there's something wrong with your nose, I can take you to a vet."

Just then, Zhou Ze heard movement coming from the door.

It was the voice of the female detective talking to a male police officer:

"Deputy Captain, believe me, it's impossible for that bookstore owner, impossible. The captain repeatedly assured me on the phone that it couldn't be him.

I suspected him before, but before this case happened, I was observing in front of his bookstore. He was sitting in the bookstore at the time. He had no time to commit the crime at all!"

"But how is it that the DNA comparison results are consistent?

The captain isn't here, so he has no right to speak without investigation. By the way, where is he? Did you bring him? Detain him first and ask him about the situation clearly."

"..." Zhou Ze.