Chapter Excerpt
He knelt in the pool of blood, desperately trying to revive the already lifeless body. But suddenly, the sound of footsteps startled him.
He snatched up the gun from the blood-soaked ground and pointed it at the newcomer. "I'll kill you!"
His finger pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire. The figure before him smirked. "Heh, the great detective Song Lang, who personally killed his own superior and partner. Tomorrow's headline is gonna be one for the history books."
Rage surged through him, nearly tearing his chest apart. He threw the gun aside and charged at the criminal who had trapped him in this dead-end. But the criminal swiftly pulled out an iron rod from behind and struck him hard across the head. He collapsed to the ground, blood soaking his temples.
The sound of the rod hitting the floor was sharp and cold.
"Listen carefully," the figure's voice mocked, "From now on, there will be no more Song Lang. If I ever catch wind of you rising again, I'll come back and take everything from you. Heh, heh!" And with that, the figure disappeared into the darkness…
Chen Shi suddenly woke up. He looked into the rearview mirror, his face drenched in sweat. He didn't recognize the face staring back at him. No matter how hard he tried to forget, that blood-soaked night always resurfaced in his dreams, haunting him.
He grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his glove compartment, only to find it empty. Frustrated, he tossed it back in. D*mn, he was dripping with sweat. Even though autumn had arrived, the late-season heat still clung stubbornly to the air. With the changing seasons, colds were a real risk, and someone like him—a driver—didn't have the luxury of staying home in bed.
He checked the time: it was already 2 AM. Time to head home, get a hot shower, and try to get some sleep.
Just then, his phone beeped. A new order popped up: the passenger was only a kilometer away.
He checked the destination. It was on the way to his place. He could earn a little extra before clocking out. Why not? He quickly confirmed the ride and started the car.
A figure appeared in the headlights. Chen Shi, vain as always, quickly ran a hand through his messy hair. Two long, shapely legs approached the backseat. As the woman opened the door and leaned in, he took a quick glance… Hmm, definitely at least a D-cup.
"Where to, beautiful?"
"Stop asking questions," she snapped, "The order says it's to Feng Zhi Lin Hotel!"
He started the car, and the woman pulled a cigarette from her bag. Chen Shi extended two fingers. "Give me one, I forgot to buy cigarettes, and this craving is killing me."
She rolled her eyes in disdain and shoved the cigarette back into her bag.
"I'll tell you something," Chen Shi continued, trying to keep the conversation going, "It's pretty late for a woman to be heading to a hotel alone. Doesn't your boyfriend pick you up? That's pretty irresponsible."
"I'm just meeting a friend," she replied flatly.
"Heh, the classic excuse," he teased. "At this time of night, what if you run into some bad guys?"
"Bad guys?" She scoffed. "Bad guys don't have labels on their faces."
"Maybe not," he replied, "but I'm telling you, if a killer got into my car, I could spot them pretty easily."
"Oh really? And what does a killer look like?"
"Well," he explained, "they usually have restless eyes, tense body language, and they're easily irritated. They avoid talking about themselves, too."
She snorted. "Sounds like you've met one before."
Feeling like he had pushed it far enough, Chen Shi decided to go for broke. "Hey, how about adding me on WeChat?"
"Why?" she snapped.
"Just to get to know you, no need to be so defensive."
"Sorry, I don't think I need to know someone like you."
"Alright, alright, forget I said anything," he said smoothly, cutting the conversation short. After a brief silence, she pulled out her phone, glanced at the rearview mirror where Chen Shi was watching, and typed: "Dear, this driver talks way too much. He's so annoying!"
September 11th, early morning, a female body was discovered near the city's Anfu Bridge, about 100 meters from the riverbank. The victim was around 25 years old, slim, and had attractive features. Her clothes were torn, and there was a strangulation mark around her neck. Preliminary findings by the coroner indicated the cause of death was strangulation from behind. The victim had been sexually assaulted before her death. Later, we found her handbag about 300 meters downstream in the river, containing her ID, phone, and other personal items. Further investigation confirmed that the 1,000 yuan cash she was carrying was missing, and her phone was waterlogged and unresponsive. After a tech recovery, we were able to retrieve two messages sent from her phone. Both were addressed to her boyfriend, and the contents read:
"Dear, this driver talks way too much. He's so annoying!""Just got out of the car, someone seems to be following me."
The victim's boyfriend confirmed that he received both messages at the same time. We are now reaching out to the ride-hailing platform to investigate the driver's background.
Captain Lin Qiupu of the Criminal Investigation Unit calmly read the case summary aloud. A silence hung in the room, but murmurs soon followed.
"Another ride-hailing driver murder case?"
"Are ride-hailing drivers really this dangerous these days? Maybe we should just shut down these mixed platforms."
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Lin Qiupu interjected, "There's no evidence linking the driver to the murder yet."
"But if we estimate the time of death, it occurred around 3 AM. There were few cars on Dajiang Bridge at that hour. It's highly likely the driver is the killer!" Lin Qiupu slammed his hand on the table, and everyone went silent. He continued, "This case involves a ride-hailing driver, r*p*, murder, and a young woman. After the last ride-hailing murder case just ended a month ago, we now have the same keywords again. If this case gets exposed, it will cause a massive social uproar. The higher-ups are paying special attention and have ordered us to solve it quickly. I'll deal with the media and upper management. You all just focus on the case. No vacations for anyone. If you normally sleep for seven hours, now it's five. We need results in 48 hours. Do we have confidence in this?"
His words were harsh, but his cold determination was unmistakable. Many of the female officers in the room couldn't help but admire Lin Qiupu, his sharp eyes and crisp attire making him seem almost untouchable.
The male officers, on the other hand, could only silently sigh as they watched the women fawn over him.
"Confidence!" The special investigation team answered in unison.
"Good, I'll assign tasks. Xiao Qi, you take a team to re-examine the scene…"
As the officers left the meeting room, Lin Qiupu stayed behind, sorting through his files. Suddenly, he felt someone's gaze on him. His hands paused, but he didn't turn around, continuing his work. "Aren't you leaving?"
"Why did you assign the task of investigating the victim's relationships to me?" The female officer's voice was sharp.
"Unimportant? In my eyes, no task is unimportant. Every piece of the puzzle matters. You just need to follow orders."
"Easy for you to say," she retorted. "You never give me the difficult, dangerous jobs. Do you see me as a kid, Lin Qiupu? I've been through four years at the academy. I'm not here just for the experience!"
Finally, Lin Qiupu turned around, his expression softening slightly. "Sis…"
"Captain Lin!" The female officer raised her voice sharply. "Is it appropriate to address your subordinates so familiarly?"
She walked toward the door, paused for a moment, and said, "I'll prove myself to you. This time, I'll make a real contribution!"
As she left, Lin Qiupu smiled faintly, a touch of bittersweetness crossing his face.