Chapter 49 Do You Think It’s Possible That Zhang Weiyan Chose…

Chapter 49: Do You Think It Could Have Been Zhang Weiyan's Choice...

Eager to learn the results of Ji An's investigation as soon as possible, Guan Xia decided not to go home that night and crashed at Pang Le's place.

Neither of them wasted time after entering the house; one used a computer, the other a tablet, searching online for information about the Judgment Angel.

They started enthusiastically, but as time passed, Guan Xia's eyes glazed over, her expression going numb. Sitting for so long, her legs had gone stiff.

Standing up to stretch her limbs, Guan Xia checked the time and realized it was well past midnight. She walked to the living room and asked Pang Le, "Have you found anything?"

Pang Le was staring blankly at the ceiling, his tablet screen dark and set aside. It took him a moment to respond to Guan Xia. "I found a bunch of random stuff, but none of it relates to any organization. I even scoured a few forums for hours—either it's all mythology or arguments about game stats. My head hurts from reading."

Annoyed by the tablet in his way, Pang Le pushed it aside and asked Guan Xia, "What about you? Any discoveries?"

Guan Xia slumped further into the other end of the sofa. "Nothing. I even checked Feng Xingping’s short video account, practically turned it inside out, including the comments. Everything seems normal, nothing suspicious."

After a moment of silence, Pang Le said, "Actually, it makes sense. After all, killing four people like it’s nothing—if this organization really exists, it must have been around for a while and would do everything to hide its tracks. Us finding anything at all was sheer luck."

"Now we can only hope Sister Ji finds something," Guan Xia said. "Hopefully, it’s good news."

Guan Xia stayed at Pang Le’s place for three whole days before finally receiving a call from Ji An.

"I found something," Ji An said right away as soon as the call connected. "I’m already on my way. Shall we meet at the usual spot?"

It sounded like some kind of clandestine meetup message, and Guan Xia found it somewhat amusing. Controlling her emotions, she replied, "Okay, see you soon."

After hanging up, Guan Xia heard Pang Le ask, "Was that Sister Ji?"

Pang Le was currently perched with one foot propped up on a chair, eating takeout without any semblance of decorum. Even before Guan Xia could answer, he had already assumed as much and quickly sped up his eating.

Looking at the takeout that was already two-thirds finished, Guan Xia also began shoveling food down haphazardly. "Yeah, Sister Ji wants us to meet at the usual spot. Seems like good news."

They finished eating in just a few minutes, didn’t even have time to clean up the trash, hastily wiped their mouths, changed their shoes, and bolted out the door.

By the time they drove to the meeting place, Ji An was already waiting in the small room. The empty whiteboard now had a few extra photos besides the three sketches, and the projector was turned on, displaying a paused surveillance video.

Hearing the door open, Ji An looked up and greeted them. "You’re here."

"We’re here, we’re here," Pang Le quickly closed the door and sat down in the chair opposite Ji An. "Sister Ji, is it good news this time?"

A slight smile appeared on Ji An’s typically emotionless face, her eyes bright. "It’s good news. Sit down quickly."

Guan Xia hurriedly took a seat next to Pang Le. Ji An stood up and pointed at a photo that had only appeared today. "Take a look. Does this pattern look familiar?"

Guan Xia and Pang Le focused intently.

It was clearly a screenshot from surveillance footage, showing only the upper body of a man. The image had likely been enlarged, and the overall background was dark, making it unclear. The man was wearing a hat and a mask, revealing only the outline of his nose. Ji An pointed at the man’s hand, which was holding a phone. After scrutinizing it for a while, they hesitantly said, "Is that a tattoo?"

"It is indeed a tattoo," Ji An tapped the photo. "Look more carefully."

Guan Xia walked right up to get a closer look, and Pang Le immediately followed. They almost pressed their faces against the photo before finally making it out. "It’s the Judgment Angel."

Guan Xia was the first to react. She had been obsessively searching for information about the Judgment Angel these past few days. If the photo hadn’t been so blurry, she would have recognized it from the one-third of the wing visible in the tattoo.

Pang Le had also practically memorized the Judgment Angel’s appearance and recognized it just a moment after Guan Xia. "It’s the Judgment Angel, no doubt about it. That’s the pattern. So, Guan Xia was right—there really is a third person."

"Yeah, I didn’t expect a third person either," Ji An said, her eyes fixed on the man in the photo.

"Does this count as substantial evidence?" Guan Xia asked nervously.

Ji An snapped out of her thoughts and nodded at Guan Xia. "This footage was found in surveillance footage from a kilometer away from the crime scene, taken at 1:36 a.m. on the night of the incident. Combined with the connection you discovered between Feng Xingping and Zhang Weiyan, it’s enough to reopen the unsolved case."

Guan Xia breathed a huge sigh of relief. At least their efforts hadn’t been in vain. Once the relevant information was passed to the Xicheng District Criminal Investigation Department through Xu Nian, she wouldn’t be far from the next halo recharge. She could finally enjoy another stretch of safe, quiet days.

With Ji An’s words, it felt like a weight was lifted from Guan Xia’s heart, and she relaxed a little. She turned her attention back to the photo, her mind racing again. "January 29, 2021—why did they choose this day to commit murder? Zhang Weiyan jumped into the river on December 19, 2020. Both dates have the numbers 1, 2, and 9. Is there some connection?"

The three fell into thought. Pang Le suddenly asked, "When was Lunar New Year in 2021? Was it at the end of January?"

Guan Xia and Pang Le almost simultaneously pulled out their phones to check the calendar. Ji An said, "I already checked. In 2021, Lunar New Year was in February. Lunar New Year’s Eve was on February 11."

"So it has nothing to do with the Spring Festival," Pang Le said, then immediately corrected himself. "But wait, maybe they killed right before the New Year. If that’s the case, do you think it could have been Zhang Weiyan’s choice?"

Guan Xia thought of something. "When did Zhang Weiyan’s father, Zhang Hongxue, drown?"

Ji An thought for a moment. "It was in the fall, around Golden Week. But I remember Zhang Hongxue and Zhang Hongda’s father passed away from illness before the New Year."

As she spoke, Ji An picked up a black notebook on the conference table and flipped through it. A few seconds later, she confirmed, "It was indeed before the New Year—January 29, 2008. Lunar New Year’s Eve in 2008 was on February 6."

"That’s it," Pang Le clapped his hands. "Such a specific date—it must have been chosen by Zhang Weiyan. This gives us a clue linking the case to Zhang Weiyan."

"But this organization is really something," Pang Le said. "Not only are they ruthless, but they’re also accommodating. What I don’t understand is, what are they after? Money? Zhang Weiyan didn’t have any. Power? Even less likely. And Zhang Weiyan certainly wasn't much to look at. So, all that’s left is his life."

"His life..." Guan Xia pondered. "Why would they go to such lengths to help Zhang Weiyan get revenge? What do they want with his life? It can’t just be for altruistic reasons."

"Maybe it’s their way of recruiting members," Ji An suddenly said. "While investigating Feng Xingping’s bank records, although everything seemed normal and I didn’t find any issues, I did uncover something else."

Guan Xia and Pang Le immediately sat up straight, their eyes fixed intently on Ji An.

Ji An pointed to another photo. This one showed a middle-aged man, around forty years old, balding, overweight, with a face full of flesh and somewhat cloudy eyes, giving off a creepy vibe.

"This man," Ji An said, "died in 2018—homicide. The case remains unsolved. Coincidentally, he was Feng Xingping’s stepfather and had a previous conviction for child molestation."

Understanding what Ji An meant, Guan Xia widened her eyes in shock. Pang Le exclaimed, "Wow, so Feng Xingping was the previous Zhang Weiyan. What about this third person? Does he share the same traits?"

"I haven’t looked into that," Ji An said. "Based on the clues we have so far, this person is a strong suspect. I’m afraid investigating him might alert him."

"Right, right," Pang Le said. "Let’s leave this person to the police. We shouldn’t risk spooking him."

Guan Xia was also somewhat startled by what Ji An had uncovered. She repeatedly examined the sketches and photos on the whiteboard, and her gaze fell on the projection screen. She couldn’t help but turn and ask, "This surveillance footage..."

Ji An also looked at the screen. "This is a segment of surveillance video that shows half of the suspect’s face. He seems to be a heavy smoker. Less than three kilometers from the crime scene, he stopped by the roadside to smoke. Unfortunately, he didn’t remove his hat, so only half his face is visible. He also put the cigarette butt in his pocket after smoking."

"So professional, so cautious," Pang Le said. "By the way, Sister Ji, what was the cause of death for Zhang Hongda’s family of four? And this killer must be trained, right? Both adult sons were home when Zhang Hongda’s family was killed."

Ji An said, "The cause of death was a bladed weapon piercing the heart—instantaneous death. Based on the method, it’s likely this suspect has more than these four lives to his name."

Guan Xia carefully examined the paused surveillance footage. "So, it seems this man joined the organization much earlier than Feng Xingping, but he doesn’t look very old."

Ji An adjusted the playback and replayed the surveillance video.

From the angle and height of the camera, it was installed quite high, facing an intersection. At nearly 2 a.m., the streets had barely any pedestrians or vehicles. A few passersby walked by, and soon a man in a black short jacket, black hat, and blue mask turned a corner and appeared in the surveillance video.

Although the man’s face was well-covered and unclear, his movements seemed somewhat agitated. As he walked, he occasionally shook his neck and rubbed his nose through his mask with his fingers. As Ji An had said, he might have been craving a cigarette. The man eventually stopped by a green space, almost impatiently pulling out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket, removing his mask, and smoking.

He finished the cigarette quickly, seemed to calm down, stuffed the butt into the cigarette pack, and quickly left the spot, soon vanishing from view.

"This state..." As soon as the video ended, Pang Le couldn’t help but say hesitantly, "Are we sure it was just a nicotine fit? Could there have been something else in that cigarette?"

Although Guan Xia didn’t smoke, she also felt the man’s behavior before smoking was somewhat strange.

Ji An said, "No cigarette butts were left at the scene, so it's impossible to confirm whether the suspect was just smoking or something else. However, once the police from Xicheng District bring him in, we can find out if he has a history of drug use."

Guan Xia let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair. At this stage of the investigation, both Guan Xia and Ji An had done everything they could. The next steps would depend on the police.

Guan Xia looked up at Ji An and asked, "Ji, do you know anyone from the Xicheng District Criminal Investigation Department?"

Ji An thought for a moment and understood Guan Xia's intention. She shook her head and said, "Lu Tingfeng probably does, but I don’t. I used to work for the police department in Shangshuang City, Ningyun Province."

"Ningyun Province?" Guan Xia and Pang Le were both surprised. "Ningyun Province is thousands of miles away from Dingyuan Province. How did you and Lu Tingfeng meet from such a distance?"

"It was a coincidence," Ji An replied. "Once this case is over, I’ll tell you the story when I have time."

Guan Xia’s attention quickly returned to the case at hand. Since Ji An didn’t know anyone from the Xicheng District Criminal Investigation Department, it seemed she would have to bother Xu Nian again.

Checking the time, Guan Xia realized it was already past 9 p.m. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to call Xu Nian to avoid things dragging on.

Xu Nian answered quickly, his voice calm as he asked, "Guan Xia, what’s the matter?"

Guan Xia cut to the chase. "About the case I mentioned last time, I remembered some additional details, and..." She paused, glancing at Ji An. Seeing Ji An nod in approval, she continued, "And my friend and I found out some things that we believe really should be shared with the Xicheng District Criminal Investigation Department. Could you help us get in touch with someone there?"

Xu Nian sounded surprised. "What a coincidence. I’m currently at the Xicheng District precinct, discussing this very case with the head of CID. If you’re willing, you can come over directly, or we can meet you somewhere else if you prefer."

Unable to decide immediately, Guan Xia replied, "Let me talk it over with her, and I’ll get back to you shortly."

After hanging up, Guan Xia filled Ji An in on what Xu Nian said and asked, "Ji, do you think we should go there or suggest another meeting place? Also... are we breaking the law by investigating privately like this?"

Noticing Guan Xia’s unease, Ji An smiled reassuringly. "Don’t worry. At most, the police will give us a warning, advising against taking risks and emphasizing that we should seek their help when needed. But they won’t arrest us. You can not worry about it."

Guan Xia breathed a sigh of relief, feeling completely reassured.