Chapter 82 04

Chapter 82.04

"Who?!"

He Lin pursued for a few steps, stopping an elderly man in his seventies in the courtyard.

He Lin asked him, "What are you doing here?"

The old man retorted confidently, "I live right next door." He cautiously stepped back, eyeing the two of them. "And what are you two doing here?"

He Lin flashed his police badge. "Police, investigating a case."

The old man immediately quieted, his body relaxing. "Ah, so you're police officers? Well, then, I’m not in any trouble. I just happened to see the door open…"

As the old man tried to leave, He Lin extended an arm to stop him.

Then, with a friendly smile, He Lin seized the opportunity. "Sir, you’ve lived around here for a long time, haven’t you? You must know a lot about this area. If you’re not too busy, why not chat with us for a bit?"

The old man seemed reluctant. "I’ve got things to do at home…"

"Please, help us out. We have too few leads, and it’s hard to report to our superiors," He Lin added. "It won’t take up much of your time."

Traditional investigation methods often involved door-to-door inquiries.

Now that the old man had come to them, He Lin wasn’t about to let him go.

The old man seemed to hesitate for a moment, then softened. "Alright then, I’ll tell you what I know."

He Lin turned and saw Li Shang had already risen from the doorstep, notepad in hand.

He Lin gave him an OK sign. Not planning to talk in the kitchen, he pointed and said, "Let’s sit and chat in that classroom over there."

The three of them went inside. He Lin found a few relatively sturdier old desks, wiped off the dust, and they all sat down.

The old man provided his name, age, ID number, and address. Then, he scrutinized them and asked, "Are you here to investigate the female principal’s hanging? That was years ago, right? Why look into it now?"

"We’ve uncovered some new leads and came to verify them," He Lin replied. "Sir, were you living nearby back then? Did you hear anything? Like strange rumors or encounter any unusual people?"

The old man shook his head. "I’m not sure, but I’ve long known there’s something wrong with the feng shui of this courtyard."

Well, no leads on the case, and now we’re talking about the supernatural.

Li Shang’s pen paused mid-stroke, unsure whether to continue writing.

He Lin, however, remained calm and continued, "What’s wrong with it? Please tell us, sir. You’re a wise man; enlighten us."

The old man thought for a moment. "I’ve lived here for decades. This whole area used to be family plots. I watched all the houses around here go up. When this courtyard was built, all sorts of strange things happened. First, a two-meter-high wall was erected, and every rainy night, ghostly figures would appear. Some said it might have been a graveyard, that something sinister was buried here."

The idea of ghostly figures was too vague. He Lin asked, "Were there any other strange occurrences?"

"During the years it was used as a warehouse, things were relatively peaceful. But later, the old lady who owned the place, thinking it a waste to leave it empty, decided to raise chickens. She bought dozens of chickens and let them free-range in the yard, coming by every few days to feed them. The first few days were fine. But then…" The old man paused for dramatic effect. "Guess what happened next?"

He Lin thought for a moment. "Someone stole the chickens?"

Li Shang: "…"

The old man scoffed, giving He Lin a look that said, "Young man, you’re too naive." "Hah, if only it were just theft! After just a few days, the old lady opened the gate and found most of the chickens dead, littering the ground. The ones still alive were on their last legs, flapping their wings weakly. The place was covered in feathers. It was a miserable sight… The old lady cursed up a storm, accusing someone of poisoning her chickens. I passed by and took a look—gave me nightmares for days."

He Lin asked, "What happened after that? Did she report it to the police?"

The old man shrugged. "The police came, but they didn’t find anything. No one dared to eat the chickens, so they burned them all. The matter was just dropped after that."

He Lin and Li Shang exchanged glances. Could it be that the poisoner wasn’t just targeting people—even chickens weren’t spared?

As they looked at the courtyard, images of scattered corpses filled their minds.

Could it be…?

Li Shang thought of a possibility and asked the old man, "You live southeast of this house—could you hear the kindergarten and the chickens?"

"Of course I could! How could I not? There were roosters among them—they’d crow at the crack of dawn. And the kids, naturally, were noisy too. The noisiest time was during pickup—parents would crowd the intersection, causing traffic jams."

He Lin understood what Li Shang was getting at. "Was anyone bothered by the noise?"

"Sure. There was an old woman who lived on the other side of the kindergarten—she always complained she couldn’t sleep. And there was an old man on the west side…"

"Are those people still living here now?"

"The old lady passed away years ago, just two or three months after Principal Cui died. The old man died around the same time. People around here have either died or moved away. I’ve been living with my son for a while now."

He Lin asked, "Were there any young adults who complained? Or any students studying for exams living nearby…"

The old man shook his head. "Haven’t heard of any."

He Lin lowered his head in thought. When the chickens died, there was no kindergarten, let alone any meal program. It seemed unlikely the catering company was involved. Would someone really go to such extremes—poisoning chickens and tampering with the food to make kindergarten children sick—just because of noise complaints?

And who ultimately killed Cui Qiao? The person who controlled her and hung her up must have been strong.

Was it someone who reported problems with the kindergarten? Or an angry parent?

At this point, the old man said, "Anyway, this place has gotten stranger and stranger since the kindergarten incident. My son just dropped me off to pick up some things, and I saw the door open, so I got curious and came in."

He Lin asked, "These clues are really helpful. Can you think of anything else?"

The old man thought for a moment, then looked up. "Now that you mention it, I stayed here overnight once and heard strange noises in the courtyard that night."

He Lin asked, "What kind of noises?"

The old man recalled, "Sounded like digging…"

This made the case even more mystifying.

He Lin chatted with him a bit longer, took down the old man’s contact information, and politely saw him off.

They returned to the kitchen, took detailed photos, and conducted on-site measurements. By the time they finished, it was nearly evening.

He Lin turned to Li Shang and said, "Let’s go. I’m heading to the municipal bureau—I’ll drop you off on the way."

Li Shang looked at him. "That’s out of your way."

He Lin’s home was clearly nearby; going out of his way to drop Li Shang off would add considerable distance.

He Lin said, "It’s not just you who takes work seriously. Can’t I voluntarily love overtime? I need to check on how things are going at the office anyway." He paused. "Besides, I’ll drop you off on the way."

Li Shang didn’t say anything more.

They had just gotten into the car when Li Shang, feeling exhausted, leaned back in the passenger seat and closed his eyes to rest.

Not long after they set off, He Lin received a call from Lao Wu.

He Lin switched to speakerphone. Lao Wu's voice was slightly hoarse: "Captain He, we've uncovered some leads here."

He Lin said, "Alright, proceed."

Wu Yunsheng reported, "First, regarding that catering company—it was shut down last year after being caught using pre-packaged meal kits and facing tax violations."

He Lin responded, "Understood. We’ve also found clues here that effectively rule out that company. Furthermore, we now believe Cui Qiao likely did not commit suicide. This case may be far more complex than initially thought, and the situation is graver than expected."

Over the phone, Wu Yunsheng added, "We’ve also discovered reports of child fatalities."

He Lin stiffened, his brow furrowing.

Li Shang, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in the passenger seat, slowly opened his eyes. His normally calm gaze now carried a trace of shock.

He Lin pressed on, "How many? How did they die?"

"Of the families we’ve managed to contact so far, three children have..." Wu Yunsheng’s voice faltered, "...all died from illnesses in the years following the incident."

The two men in the car fell silent, stunned by the news.

The fact that every family they had reached reported a child’s death implied the actual number of deceased children was certainly higher than three.

After the kindergarten closed and Principal Cui died, death had followed like a shadow.

What kind of horror lay hidden beneath this veil?

Could this be the true reason behind the journalist’s subsequent disappearance?

He Lin quickly regained his composure: "Drop all other assignments. Prioritize this investigation. Work late tonight—keep making calls, and try to reach every family we can by morning. Do everything possible to confirm the current status of each child."

He glanced at the navigation system: "We’re on our way back now. We’ll discuss further details when we arrive."

He Lin drove fast, weaving through traffic. As they neared the Yuncheng Public Security Bureau, he turned to Li Shang, "How are you holding up? Want to go home first or..."

Li Shang’s forehead glistened with sweat, his eyes dark, like inkstone soaked in icy water. He replied tersely, "Back to the bureau for the meeting."

He Lin studied him briefly and said, "If you insist on the meeting, fine—I respect that. But you need to eat something. I doubt you want to collapse at the station." He paused, glancing at Li Shang, "If you pass out, I’ll have no choice but to pull you off the case and force you to take medical leave."

Before Li Shang could respond, He Lin reached over and opened the glove compartment of the police car, which surprisingly contained a drawer full of snacks—crackers, candies, and energy bars.

He Lin said firmly, "All these candies and snacks are for you. Eat now. The rest are yours too—take whatever you want. Just get something in your stomach first. Or if there’s anything specific you’d like, just tell me."

Li Shang lowered his head, silent for a moment, then finally tore open a candy wrapper and placed it in his mouth.

.

That evening, in the Missing Persons Investigation Unit office on the seventh floor of the Yuncheng Public Security Bureau.

The three officers present wore grim expressions.

Since most of the children’s parents were migrant workers who had come to Yuncheng for employment, their household registrations were not digitally recorded, and they were highly mobile. The children had attended private kindergartens, many with incomplete records, and some had no documentation at all.

Wu Yunsheng and the team resorted to manual methods, systematically calling families based on old community registration lists. Some numbers were disconnected or unreachable.

Cheng Xiaoyi made call after call: "Hello, is this the parent of Shi Xi? This is the Yuncheng Public Security Bureau. We’re conducting an investigation. Could you please share Shi Xi’s current condition?"

"Passed away?! When did that happen?"

"A year ago, you say?"

"The cause was..."

"Sudden high fever... Okay, thank you. I’ll make a note."

"Do you still keep in touch with other parents from Xixi Kindergarten? Oh, you’re connected with Zhou Mingming’s mother? Do you know how Zhou Mingming is doing... He’s also...?"

Cheng Xiaoyi took a deep breath before continuing, "Alright, thank you. We may contact you again if needed."

Wu Yunsheng, face dark, drew two more lines on the whiteboard.

Fang Jue hung up the phone and spoke weakly to Senior Officer Wu, "Sifu, the family I contacted—they’re gone too... six months after the incident."

Having served as a police officer for years, Fang Jue had never encountered anything like this. His chest tightened, cold sweat broke out on his back, and a chill ran through his body.

He desperately wanted to step away from this case. If possible, he’d rather handle any backlog than continue.

Wu Yunsheng turned and added another line to the whiteboard. In one corner, two complete tally marks (正) were already filled in, plus two additional strokes.

The office door swung open, and He Lin entered swiftly, expression serious, followed closely by Li Shang.

Immediately upon entering, He Lin asked Wu Yunsheng, "What’s the current status?"

Lao Wu pointed to the whiteboard: "We’ve been making continuous calls. At the time the kindergarten closed, there were twenty-two enrolled children. So far, we’ve reached twelve families. Six calls went unanswered, and four have changed contact information—we haven’t located them yet."

He Lin asked, "How many of the contacted children have died?"

Wu Yunsheng’s throat tightened. He whispered two words, barely audible: "All twelve."

Hearing this, He Lin frowned deeply. "Have any of the families investigated the causes of their children’s deaths thoroughly?"

Lao Wu shook his head. "Most families came from low-income migrant backgrounds. Living conditions were poor, and some returned to their hometowns. They sought treatment at rural clinics or township hospitals. Some children died from unexplained diarrhea, others from organ failure following common colds or fevers. None underwent comprehensive medical examinations..."

Fang Jue added, "In rural areas, oversight of child deaths is minimal. Among those I checked, some bodies were cremated, others buried informally without official procedures."

Cheng Xiaoyi continued, "My findings are similar. Parents believed their children were simply frail. With little communication among them and only brief attendance at Xixi Kindergarten, no one linked the deaths to the food contamination incident years ago."

Wu Yunsheng concluded, "But we all know this mortality rate is statistically impossible."

Li Shang listened in silence, frowning. In his mind, he saw the image of dead chickens scattered on the ground. But now, it was young children—one after another—dying.

He Lin summarized the day’s field findings.

When he finished, the room fell into a heavy silence. Even He Lin remained quiet, brow furrowed.

At the start of the investigation, none of them had anticipated such a result.

Soon, He Lin collected himself: "Regardless of scale, this is the case we’re handling. Let’s organize our approach."

At these words, Li Shang stood and walked to the whiteboard.

As He Lin spoke, Li Shang began taking notes.

He Lin restructured all gathered evidence chronologically:

"Years ago, rumors of ghostly sightings on rainy nights emerged near the kindergarten site. Then came the incident involving dead chickens.

Four years ago, investigative journalist Yu Jinghui received reports that children at Xixi Kindergarten showed symptoms of food poisoning. He suspected contaminated food supplied by Principal Cui. After publishing three exposés, mounting public pressure forced Principal Cui to refund parents and close the kindergarten.

Later, Principal Cui was believed to have committed suicide—but she was actually murdered. The kindergarten disbanded, and families dispersed with their children.

At that time, the children may already have been poisoned. The toxins caused irreversible damage to their developing bodies."

"All of this led to the children becoming weak and sickly, and over the next four years, the young children died one after another due to illness. However, since the parents had scattered and few remained in contact, coupled with the fact that the principal was already dead—making accountability impossible—no one connected these events together. Thus, no one was aware of what happened afterward."

"Three years ago, Yu Jinghui got a new lead. He confirmed that the food contamination incident back then was not caused by Principal Cui. During the process of investigating this matter, Yu Jinghui mysteriously disappeared."

"Recently, Yu Jinghui’s sister discovered a message left on her brother’s phone. The 8th Precinct requested our assistance in the investigation, and we began looking into this case."

In the office, He Lin’s calm analytical voice was accompanied by the scratch of Li Shang's marker on the whiteboard.

Then, He Lin said, "Let’s think again about what the killer might have done…"

Hearing this, Li Shang started another set of notes on the side, comparing it with the timeline of events on the left.

"He could have poisoned those chickens."

"After the kindergarten opened, he poisoned the children’s food."

"He might have been involved in reporting the problems at the kindergarten, pinning everything on Principal Cui, and then hanging Principal Cui from the beam."

"He might have killed Yu Jinghui, who had started investigating again…"

"After that, he might have gone to that courtyard late at night, which is why the elderly resident heard strange noises."

He Lin finished organizing the two lines.

Wu Yunsheng frowned and said, "So, is there a serial poisoner behind all this, who has committed multiple crimes?"

Cheng Xiaoyi attempted a criminal profile: "This person is male, very tall, and in good physical condition. But why would he target young children and the kindergarten principal?"

Fang Jue couldn’t help but ask, "I think there’s something wrong here. Has this perpetrator been active for so many years, doing so many things? Does he do nothing else? How old is the perpetrator now?"

Li Shang stopped writing and proposed a hypothesis: "What if it wasn’t him, but them?"

Put this way, it seemed many questions could be explained. But if it were "them," the motive behind the crimes would be even harder to analyze.

He Lin looked at the clues on the whiteboard: "This case can’t be approached with conventional reasoning. I’m also inclined to think it might be a group conspiracy. And behind it, there may be a larger conspiracy hidden."

He narrowed his eyes as he spoke: "If the whole affair would leave the perpetrator(s) responsible for over twenty deaths, then he or they would naturally do everything possible to prevent it from coming to light… So, it’s no surprise that they would use every means to keep watch and eliminate threats."

"A bigger secret…" Fang Jue remembered something. "I recall a tainted milk scandal in the past that was also a sensational incident at the time. Could this case be similar?"

Cheng Xiaoyi said, "Or is it possible the children were systematically administered some substance?"

As someone with children, Wu Yunsheng could hardly listen to this. He wiped his eyes and then the sweat on his forehead.

His emotions and reason were constantly at war.

After thinking for a while, Wu Yunsheng spoke to He Lin: "Captain He, I didn’t expect this, really didn’t expect… things to turn out like this. Should we continue investigating? This case…"

As a seasoned cop, his intuition told him that over twenty deaths were no small matter. Whether in criminal investigation or narcotics, he had never handled such a major case. The issues here could be enormous.

Over the years as a police officer, Lao Wu had seen plenty of darkness. He knew well that these were forces ordinary people couldn't challenge.

The current situation might not even be something their small department or a few police officers could clarify.

Worst-case scenario, if this were to blow up, it might not even be something Director Chen’s level could decide.

It was as if they had transcended time, opening a long-buried Pandora’s box.

He Lin understood Lao Wu’s meaning.

He said, "Don’t be nervous. We’re just piecing the case together."

Then He Lin’s tone softened: "Right now, the only people who know that all the children might have died are those in this office."

The few people listened to his words and exchanged glances.

He Lin faced his four subordinates and continued: "As the Missing Persons Investigation Unit, we handle cases that have already been processed by the precinct. There’s an acceptable clearance rate. Our current annual clearance rate already far exceeds the department’s quota. In other words, we don’t have to solve this case."

Li Shang slightly raised his head, crossed his arms, and looked at He Lin, unsure why he was saying this.

He Lin lowered his voice and carefully analyzed: "This case was discovered by us. If we report it truthfully, Director Chen will be in a difficult position, and other departments won’t want to take on this political hot potato."

"Besides, this matter has been over for so long. To cover up the truth, several people have already died. Those behind it will surely use every means to destroy evidence. This case will be very hard to investigate."

"Such a major incident happened in Yuncheng, yet the leaders were completely unaware. If the case is confirmed and formally filed, how many people would lose their positions?"

"So, if we investigate, there will definitely be many forces obstructing us from getting to the bottom of it. The truth may not necessarily come to light."

"Rather than making waves and achieving nothing, the safest and easiest approach for us is to pretend we don’t know, delay it for a month, label it as a cold case, and put it back in the case archives."

Fang Jue frowned. He felt this wasn’t He Lin’s usual style of speaking: "But… Captain He…"

He Lin cut him off: "Anyway, the people are already dead. The missing can’t be found, and we can’t bring those children back to life."

Then He Lin continued to persuade them: "We’re just ordinary officers, ordinary people. It’s normal to be unable to handle some things. People need to know when to retreat. If there really is something behind this, our small Missing Persons Investigation Unit simply can’t handle it."

The office fell silent. Everyone looked at the whiteboard, feeling mixed emotions.

Cheng Xiaoyi blinked and said, "But we’re police officers… So… did those children just die like that?"

He Lin hadn’t expected the only woman in the office to say this, but he still damped her enthusiasm: "Which of you isn’t afraid of death? Even if you don’t think about yourselves, think about your families. Lao Wu, you have a family, children, you’re the breadwinner of your household. Cheng Xiaoyi, you have parents, a brother and sister-in-law. Fang Jue, you’re the only child in your family. Is that paycheck, this job, worth risking your lives for?"

Having said that, he stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and wiped clean all the words Li Shang had just written.

Li Shang looked at him: "…"

He Lin clapped his hands together and turned away dismissively: "So, send me all the case notes. Then, this case has nothing to do with you anymore."

Everyone sat there motionless, seemingly still processing what he'd said.

He Lin smiled and urged them: "What are you waiting for? Everyone has worked hard, go home. Forget about this matter, pretend it never happened. There will soon be new cases, new assignments. Do what you’re supposed to do."

Only then did the few slowly move. They silently returned to their computers and began filing the documents.