Chapter 85 07

Chapter 85.07

That morning, in the old car:

The man began carefully, "This matter goes back twenty years."

"Twenty years?" He Lin stiffened. He had expected the case to run deep, but never imagined it could stretch so far back.

As he spoke, the man kept a wary eye on their surroundings. "I was just a twelve-year-old kid back then. My family was in that business—collecting scrap and trash, as well as doing long-distance hauling of goods. Back then, it was mainly my dad and older brother working together. They were hardworking, so we made ends meet."

"We had a large truck, usually driven by my dad, while my brother rode along as guard and backup driver. Then, when I was twelve, my dad suddenly received an unusual job."

He Lin asked, "What kind of job?"

"The client wanted to use our truck to transport something. The distance wasn’t far, but it had to be done at night, at specific times, and delivered to their designated location. They had people to load and unload the goods; my family only needed to drive. They paid a few thousand yuan per trip. At that time, that was a huge sum of money."

Li Shang frowned, listening intently.

He Lin continued, "Do you know what they were transporting?"

"No, and my dad didn't either. Back then, my grandfather had just passed away from illness, and our family was saddled with debt. We desperately needed money. I asked my dad about it, and he said we were earning this money and told me not to ask questions about it."

The man’s eyes took on a distant look as he looked ahead, lost in memory. "Those people were very mysterious. They specifically chose rainy nights to move the goods. Every time they finished, our truck would stink. My dad and brother would spend the whole night washing it with a pressure washer. During the day, they never mentioned where they’d been to anyone else and warned me not to tell anyone either."

"That summer, whenever it rained at night, they would go out to help those people transport the goods. When they worked elsewhere, they sometimes took me along. But for those trips, they never allowed me to come. Once, my curiosity overwhelmed me—I wanted to know what they were transporting—so I secretly hid behind the seats in the truck’s cabin. And then I saw something shocking..."

As he spoke, his thoughts drifted back twenty years. Even after all this time, the events remained vivid in his mind.

.

It was a summer night, stiflingly hot and humid. As evening fell, it began to rain.

The rain didn't let up. He finished his homework early, and his father urged him to go to bed.

Listening to the rain, he couldn’t fall asleep.

Late into the night, the rain outside grew heavier. He heard his father receive a phone call—they were going out again. That day, his mother had returned to her parents’ home, so no one else was around. He slipped out of his room and sneaked onto the family’s transport truck.

The truck was sometimes used for long trips, so it was fully equipped with daily necessities. Behind the driver’s seat, there was an empty space where his dad had set up a makeshift platform. During the day, it held some items, but on longer trips, it could serve as a simple bed to lie down and rest.

At twelve, he was as thin as a rail. He squeezed into the space under the platform and hid.

Only when the truck reached the delivery location did he crawl out from under the platform, startling his father and brother.

"You little troublemaker! Why aren’t you asleep? How did you get on the truck?" His father was furious and looked for something to hit him with. "Get out of the truck right now!"

His brother intervened. "It’s pouring outside—where is he supposed to go?" Then, trying to calm their father, he added, "When we get out, let him hide in the truck. We’ve worked with them many times now. Besides the first couple of times when they searched the truck, they haven’t checked the cabin since. No one will find him."

His father nervously replied, "No! If they find him, not only will we lose this job... but he..."

As a child, he didn’t understand his father’s anxiety. He only remembered his dad taking off his shoe and hitting him several times.

He remembered his brother intervening again. "Dad, it’s almost time. Those people will be here soon."

His father finally snarled, "You better be careful. If you dare come out later, I’ll break your legs! You’ll get what's coming to you."

His brother helped him hide back in his spot and covered him with a ratty old cloth. Before leaving, his brother handed him an old phone. "Stay hidden down there. Keep it on silent and play some games. No matter what you hear, don’t come out. Make sure no one sees you."

The truck arrived at the location, and his father and brother got out. They deliberately locked the cabin door.

It was still raining outside, and he remained hidden in the truck.

Later, he smelled an awful odor—the same smell that always lingered on the truck after his father’s return.

At first, he was terrified, but eventually, curiosity got the better of him. After a while, he crawled out from under the platform and cautiously peeked out the window.

Outside, rain was falling. Shadowy figures were moving things out of what looked like a warehouse.

They wore masks and thick, military-green raincoats. Everyone moved cautiously, using forklifts to load large metal barrels onto the truck. It was these barrels that emitted the strong, acrid smell.

The workers worked in silence, like ghosts.

Soon, the loading was finished, and he quickly hid again.

His father and brother returned to the truck. His brother patted his shoulder in reassurance.

The entire ride back was silent. They both looked extremely tense. He curled up in his hiding spot, not daring to say a word.

The truck drove to an unfamiliar place. The area was walled off, with some scaffolding set up—it seemed like a construction site...

People were already waiting there to unload the metal barrels from the truck.

Hiding in the corner of the cabin, he watched them work, smelling the awful odor and listening to the rain outside. He was terrified, realizing that whatever they were doing wasn’t aboveboard—otherwise, why would they do it secretly in such conditions?

Summoning his courage, he peeked out again. Through a gap in the fencing, he saw that the foundation of the building had been dug out, and people were burying those metal barrels in the dark, gaping hole.

As if moved by some unseen force, he picked up the phone his brother had left him and recorded the shocking scene.

...

The man finished recounting his experience.

He Lin could tell that rainy night had left a deep impression on his young mind.

The man continued, "Later, when summer ended, that strange business came to a stop. My family never mentioned it again. But the true nightmare of my life was only beginning."

"In the winter when I was seventeen, our family’s truck was involved in a bad accident. A drunk truck driver crashed into us. The driver died instantly, and my brother and father were also killed instantly. I had to drop out of school and start learning how to take over the family business."

At this point, his eyes grew red. "I’ve never been able to accept it. It happened on their usual way home. That drunk driver, in his big truck, suddenly crashed through the guard rail in the middle of the road and collided head-on with them..."

He Lin asked, "You suspect it was a murder to shut them up?"

The man nodded. "At first, I didn’t think of that. I just found their deaths very suspicious. I went to the traffic police and regular police multiple times, but everyone brushed me off, saying it was just an ordinary accident."

"Later, I almost forgot about the incident from all those years ago. I never went back to that area. Until one day, for a delivery, I had to pass by there. And then I saw... it had become a kindergarten."

"At the time, the kindergarten was already closed, but the sign was still there. The moment I saw that sign, my hairs stood up on the back of my neck, and the memories came flooding back. I went home and searched for news about that kindergarten. I found reports about the children’s food poisoning and the kindergarten principal’s hanging. I realized all of this might be connected to what I had witnessed back then."

He Lin, hearing this, put some pieces together. "So you contacted Yu Jinghui?"

The man nodded. "I’ve been working at a relatively large recycling center. There’s a phone there—whenever someone needs garbage collection, they call, and any of the dozen people at the station might answer. I used that phone to call Reporter Yu."

He looked at He Lin. "Honestly, you got lucky. When you called yesterday, I happened to be near the phone. If it hadn’t been me who answered, you might have been investigating for a long time."

He Lin asked, "Do you have any evidence to back up your story?"

"I do," the man said, taking out his phone. "Back then, in the truck, I secretly recorded a short video. Later, my brother found out. He told me not to tell our father and saved the video on the hard drive of our family’s old computer. After I learned about the kindergarten, I searched for a long time and finally found that hard drive."

The man opened his phone and pressed play. The video was grainy—it was an old phone, filmed at night, in the rain. The footage was blurry.

But it was still possible to make out some figures moving something in the darkness.

The scene was somewhat eerie.

The background location was indeed the current site of the kindergarten, and the shapes of the single-story buildings could still be vaguely recognized.

A man who appeared to be a supervisor was not wearing a mask and was yelling and gesturing angrily at a worker who had nearly spilled the contents of a barrel.

The moment the man turned his head, the camera captured his face, and there was clearly a prominent dark mole next to his nose.

The video cut off abruptly here.

After watching the short video, the man handed them a USB drive: "I gave this video to Reporter Yu back then as well."

Li Shang took out the tablet he had brought with him and directly copied the video.

He Lin said, "Thank you. The clues you've provided are very valuable. We will follow up on this."

"In the past, I stood at the entrance of the police station more than once, wanting to report these things, but I didn't dare. I knew that telling ordinary police officers wouldn’t just result in no investigation—it would also put me in danger." The man looked at them and continued, "So I waited, hoping that one day this opportunity would come…"

After finishing their conversation, to maintain their cover, the man made a show of having them test drive the car around the lot a few times. Then they pretended not to be interested in the used car and exited through the main gate.

The two returned to the police car, their expressions particularly grim.

The answer they had been searching for was finally revealed.

Li Shang blinked lightly, thoughtful for a moment: "I know what the issue is."

After saying this, he quickly searched through the digital photo files stored on the tablet and pointed one out to He Lin: "When Kindergarten Principal Cui passed away, there was a covered well in the backyard of the kindergarten. The kitchen’s water pipe was likely connected to a pump drawing water from that well."

It was an investigative photo taken during the earlier investigation by the district criminal police, showing half of the well opening.

Li Shang continued: "But when we went to investigate last time, that well was gone."

He Lin immediately connected the dots: "That elderly man mentioned hearing strange sounds in the middle of the night. Perhaps that was when the well opening was destroyed, completely filled with dirt, and sealed off."

Li Shang nodded: "Initially, when it was used as a warehouse, the pollution might not have been so severe. But later, the substances underground spread, especially contaminating the nearby well, which was used for cooking and the daily water supply at the kindergarten…"

"What they buried underground were likely chemicals that are highly polluting. Those substances can seep into the soil and groundwater. Toxins accumulate in the human body over time…" He Lin rubbed his temples as he spoke, "Earlier, we tried to identify the source of contamination to the food, but that approach was mistaken."

When they visited the yard last time, he had felt something felt wrong—it was unusually desolate.

Now he understood: it was a contaminated site. The grass growing there, the flowing water, even the air—everything was likely contaminated.

That’s why the chickens died.

And the children at the kindergarten died too…

If Kindergarten Principal Cui had still been alive, this matter might have been reported, so she had to die as well—and she was the perfect scapegoat.

It all made sense now.

The man was right about one thing: if Cheng Xiaoyi hadn’t uncovered this clue, and if they hadn’t been lucky enough to reach him by phone and have him answer, the police might have been investigating for a long time.

Li Shang said: "Now I understand what Yu Jinghui might have been looking for at the archives."

He Lin nodded: "He was probably trying to find out who the man in the video was…"

As they talked, Li Shang became thoughtful, his eyes lowered, his intense gaze softening: "From now on, we need to be extremely careful. We must carefully plan each move we take from here on out."

.

Since the other members of the Missing Persons Investigation Unit had expressed their desire to participate in the case, He Lin no longer held back. They gathered the entire office team to continue the investigation.

A few days later, at the Municipal Bureau, He Lin and Li Shang went to see Director Chen again.

In addition to the enhanced video footage, Cheng Xiaoyi had collected all the death certificates of the children.

Furthermore, Fang Jue and Wu Yunsheng had specifically visited some of the families who had lost their children. The parents, weeping as they spoke, recounted the process of their children’s deaths—how the young children kept falling ill. They were weak, struggling, and fighting to survive.

But the young children were like flowers with cut roots, already devoid of vitality, inevitably growing weaker day by day.

One little girl, by the time she passed away, had skin sores and a persistent high fever. She curled up in her mother’s arms, repeatedly saying, "I want to go to school and play with my friends. I don’t want to stay in the hospital."

Another little boy cried out in pain all night and died in his father’s arms.

But the parents, who hadn’t received much education, didn’t know the true cause of their children’s deaths. They simply thought their children had contracted a strange illness.

Years later, they never imagined their children’s deaths could be linked to the kindergarten. The lab results from the small hospital also failed to provide a clear cause.

Now, the police had recorded all these details and compiled the information.

The hidden truth behind it all was shocking.

And this was also the news Yu Jinghui had wanted to expose.

He wanted to use this story to atone for his past mistakes.

Looking at the photos of the deceased children, Director Chen’s expression became serious.

After hearing the progress of the investigation, Director Chen said: "This matter seems to have serious implications, and the progress is somewhat smoother than I expected. However, now that we’ve reached this point, it’s beyond what our public security department can handle alone."

Director Chen then organized his thoughts and said: "Here’s what we’ll do. This afternoon, I’ll contact the city’s environmental protection department and request that environmental testing firms conduct a full evaluation of the site. You continue to follow up on the clues and see if you can identify the people and companies behind this. Also, maintain discretion. Before the environmental assessment results come out, do not disclose any information to the outside."

He Lin said: "We will continue the investigation. As for the assessment, Director Chen, we’ll leave the arrangements to you."

Before the end of the workday, Director Chen gave them an update: "I’ve contacted the relevant departments and institutions. We’ve selected three environmental assessment agencies, all with the most advanced equipment in Yuncheng. They will each send people to take samples from the environment at the old kindergarten site. It will take about three to five days for specific results to come out."

He Lin said: "Good. In the meantime, we’ll pursue other leads."

The current focus of the Missing Persons Investigation Unit was to find the man in the video.

But with a population of millions in Yuncheng, finding him was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Over the next few days, Cheng Xiaoyi quietly collected information on all chemical companies in Yuncheng, as well as lists of teachers in related fields from schools and special talent registries. Unfortunately, she found no sign of the man with the mole on his face.

Subsequently, He Lin and Li Shang concentrated on the newspapers, studying the records Yu Jinghui had accessed before his disappearance. Since the documents he had retrieved were scattered across different years, they had no idea what clues Yu Jinghui might have found.

He Lin had all these materials photocopied at the archives and brought them back to the investigation unit’s office.

The incident had happened years ago, and there was no surveillance footage to reference.

The newspapers were bound in large volumes, and to avoid missing any valuable information, every page had to be reviewed.

Each person was assigned to search through newspapers from different years, circling any relevant findings. The findings were then brought to Li Shang for final verification and compilation.

After three days of searching with no results, everyone was getting discouraged.

He Lin kept encouraging them, boosting their morale, buying them KFC for afternoon tea regularly. Finally, on the afternoon of the fourth day, the investigation took a positive turn.

At the time, Fang Jue was yawning as he searched, his eyes nearly strained from reading.

Suddenly, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief. After confirming he hadn’t misread, he shot up from his chair: "I found it! Captain He! Brother Li! Come check this out—is this the guy?"

Everyone hurriedly stood up and gathered around. Fang Jue’s hands were shaking with excitement as he held an eight-year-old newspaper. In it, there was a piece of news about two local chemical companies announcing a new partnership to explore innovative development of a new type of material. In the accompanying photo, a man standing next to a few executives had a black mole on his face.

Li Shang quickly confirmed: "That’s him."

Wu Yunsheng’s face flushed with excitement, and he gave Fang Jue a firm pat on the shoulder: "Well done! That’s my protégé!"

Fang Jue grinned sheepishly: "Hey, at first I thought it was just a speck of dirt on the paper. Who would’ve guessed it was actually that mole!"

Cheng Xiaoyi ran a search using the clues from the news: "No wonder I couldn’t find him earlier. This guy is now a technical lead at a company in neighboring Jinzhou, named Zhao Lunjiang. He even changed his residency there, so his personal information couldn’t be found here in Yuncheng at all."

After a bit more searching, a bunch of details about Zhao Lunjiang appeared on the screen.

Cheng Xiaoyi said: "He’s 58 this year, about to retire. That company in Jinzhou is a full subsidiary of Yuncheng’s Qin's Chemical…"

He Lin compared the information Cheng Xiaoyi had summarized: "Qin's Chemical is currently one of Yuncheng’s major chemical companies and is even a publicly traded company. Its predecessor was Yuncheng Sanhua, which later went from state-owned to private. At that time, the assistant manager of the chemical plant, Qin Youlai, became the owner of Qin's Chemical."

Li Shang noticed a key timeframe: "Twenty years ago—that was exactly when this company underwent its restructuring."

Wu Yunsheng pondered briefly, connecting the information they had: "The Third Chemical Plant had been losing money for years because purifying and treating chemical waste required substantial financial resources. It’s possible that after the company went private, Boss Qin thought of dumping in landfills as a method to offload those high-risk chemical waste. Whatever remained turned profitable, which is how they managed to turn a profit and even go public…"

Cheng Xiaoyi added: "The original owner of that property probably knew about these circumstances, which is why he used it as what he called a warehouse. But he might not have informed his family, leading to the incident with the dead chickens. After the owner passed away, the plot was rented out as an empty lot to the kindergarten…"

Sharp-eyed Li Shang noticed another key timeframe: "Four years ago, around the time of the kindergarten incident, was exactly when Qin's Chemical was having its IPO…"

"So they absolutely couldn’t risk this getting out back then, and that’s how the subsequent events unfolded. They deliberately framed Kindergarten Principal Cui, then got the media to expose it and hired online trolls to make it stick." He Lin stood up as he summarized, "Now, the best way to prove all this is to arrest this Zhao Lunjiang for interrogation. He handled the operation back then and surely acted on orders from leadership—he knows the truth. We can persuade him to testify and identify the person behind it."

He then turned to Cheng Xiaoyi and asked: "Xiao Cheng, check where Zhao Lunjiang is right now."

"I’ll check right away." Cheng Xiaoyi spun her chair around, her fingers typing furiously. Shortly after, she shared more good news: "There’s a relevant chemical industry conference happening in Yuncheng recently. Zhao Lunjiang is in town for the conference—I can look up his hotel information…"

"How many days left in the conference?" He Lin asked.

"It ends tomorrow."

He Lin stroked his chin thoughtfully: "So if the arrest warrant comes through today, we can hold him."

With everything clarified, they had to move fast. He Lin took all the compiled materials to the chief’s office in the main building. Director Chen wasn’t in, only his secretary, Secretary Liu, was there.

Secretary Liu pushed up his glasses: "Director Chen is at a city meeting."

He Lin asked: "Around what time will he be back?"

Secretary Liu replied: "Probably around six. If it’s urgent, you can send him a message. He should reply if he has time."

He Lin checked the time and reluctantly returned to Building 7. He drafted a message to Director Chen and worded it politely.

They waited past six o’clock. He Lin let everyone else go home, leaving only him and Li Shang in the office awaiting news.

It was almost seven when they had just finished dinner.

The glass door of the office suddenly tapped, and Director Chen stepped in.

He Lin hurriedly offered him a seat: "Director Chen, you came all the way here yourself?"

Director Chen said with a warm smile: "Didn’t want to hold things up. I came straight here after the meeting to sign it for you."

The old man reviewed the materials, then signed Zhao Lunjiang’s arrest warrant with a flourish.

He added: "By the way, He Lin, there’s another matter I need to discuss with you. The environmental review results will be out tomorrow. The environmental protection department has asked me to attend a meeting—city officials will be there too. Since you’re familiar with the situation, come along with me."

He Lin acknowledged: "Any news on the results yet?"

Director Chen said: "Nothing specific yet, but given how seriously they’re taking it, the issues are likely significant. Don’t worry—I’ll be there. Just report the facts."

He Lin asked: "Just me?"

Director Chen: "You can bring one more person if you’d like."

He Lin glanced toward Li Shang, who was seated behind Director Chen.

Li Shang expressionlessly gestured back: Not me, but you have to go.

He Lin agreed: "Alright, what time exactly?"

"10 a.m., meeting room on the third floor of the municipal government building. Let’s meet downstairs at 9:30, and we’ll go together."

He Lin said: "Good. I’ll work on bringing him in for interrogation ASAP—might even make it in time for tomorrow’s meeting. More witness testimony could really nail this case shut."

Director Chen nodded: "Sorry to have you working late. Detain him as quickly as possible."

After the director left, He Lin checked the time. Instead of rushing to the hotel, he first reviewed the conference agenda Cheng Xiaoyi had dug up earlier.

Based on the timing, the closing banquet should be underway. The banquet was at the Yuncheng International Conference Center, located in the northern part of the city—quite a distance away.

He Lin wasn’t taking any chances. He called Wu Yunsheng and Fang Jue, asking them to meet later at the conference center.

Then he asked Li Shang: "Should we bring firearms for the operation tonight?"

Li Shang thought for a moment: "Carrying guns could also restrict our movements. We’re going to a conference center—it’s crowded and public. If the target is unarmed, we should be able to handle it. If he is armed, it might be easier to disarm him." He paused briefly before adding, "Once guns are involved, the situation changes completely."

He Lin hesitated: "Let’s still bring one along, just in case. If anyone plans to make a move, it’ll be tonight."

Li Shang finally nodded in agreement.

The two set out in a police vehicle from the bureau. He Lin drove northward while Li Shang pulled up a live stream of the conference banquet and quickly spotted Zhao Lunjiang in the crowd.

The car sped up, soon leaving the city and entering the sparsely populated suburbs.

He Lin checked the time: "About ten more minutes."

As soon as he spoke, Li Shang’s expression changed abruptly, and he warned: "Watch out!"

A large white vehicle turned from an intersection ahead, accelerated, and headed straight for their car.

In that instant, He Lin gritted his teeth and jerked the wheel hard—

Bang!

The next moment, the two vehicles collided.