Chapter 204 11

Chapter 204.11

Since the discovery of the suspected fraud case at Zhao Shouning's home, the task force identified several similar cases over the next two days, all with common characteristics.

The complainants were usually relatives who reported that their family members had fallen victim to fraud, while the persons involved insisted that nothing had happened.

The bank accounts similarly showed mysterious small, frequent transfers, suspected money laundering.

Due to a lack of clues, the anti-fraud police at the time mostly just conducted preliminary inquiries and were unable to proceed further with the investigations.

He Lin noticed another commonality among these cases: the families also had young members who had died recently, all within the last two years.

Based on these similarities, Li Shang proposed a bold theory.

He asked Gu Niantang to retrieve information on families in the provincial capital who had lost young family members within the last two years.

In such a large city, hundreds of such families are created every month, with over two thousand added last year alone.

Sure enough, the police found similar suspicious activity in the bank accounts of many family members.

The investigative leads gradually became clearer.

It is likely that someone in these families is involved in money laundering with Psi.

The causes of the children's deaths varied—some due to illness, some in car accidents, and others in accidents. Some cases were more concentrated, such as the lantern festival stampede incident, where more than a dozen victims were within this age range.

This case had many victims and involved many individuals, making it easier to identify issues.

He Lin decided to use this as a breakthrough and ordered the retrieval of all information on the families of the lantern festival victims for detailed research and analysis.

Li Linxi and the economic crime investigation team carefully screened the account information of the victims' families, listing all the circumstances. Besides Zhao Shouning, nine other families had questionable account activity.

This probability and the current situation made it more than mere suspicion.

Subsequently, He Lin asked Zhou Tianyi to investigate the details of the lantern festival. After the festival, the provincial bureau had conducted some investigations and left records.

The accident had many victims and an element of randomness.

Since there was insufficient evidence at the time to prove the possibility of murder, the incident was classified as an accident.

He Lin and Li Shang re-examined the case together and, after discussion, identified several suspicious points.

First, what seemed like an apparently accidental incident actually had some inevitability.

That year, a company suddenly decided to sponsor an event at the lantern festival, offering generous prizes such as cash, gold bars, and gaming consoles. Even the consolation prize was a wireless headset. With many winning chances, people were attracted.

The park director wanted to boost the event's popularity and secure some investment sponsorship, which was understandable, but the excessively rich prizes created safety hazards.

The lantern festival had several rounds of online promotions, and many people, especially students, came for the prizes. Some even participated in groups from their dormitories.

On the day of the incident, the prize area was set up in a corner of the lantern festival, and many people moved from the entrance toward the draw area.

When passing through a funnel area, the path suddenly narrowed, and people pushed forward.

According to later survivors, someone kept pushing and shouting from behind, urging people to move forward and saying they would miss the prize draw.

Since the incident occurred at night, the festival lights were hung high up, providing insufficient ground-level lighting.

People couldn’t see who was doing the pushing.

The combination of these factors led to the tragedy.

In principle, such events should be reported in detail to the police, with all potential risks identified and addressed and safety plans prepared before proceeding.

However, since the lantern festival was a key cultural and tourism project in the province and had been held for many years, the park leadership had good relationships with officials at various levels, so it was approved directly.

On that day, the park was severely understaffed, and there was no emergency response plan.

The sponsoring company also disappeared after the festival, leaving behind only a shell corporation.

The park leadership and those responsible for approval were punished, but it did little to mitigate the severe consequences.

Afterward, due to the chaos at the scene, the police were unable to identify those responsible for the pushing.

Subsequently, the task force searched online and found many exposé posts about the lantern festival incident.

Someone had reposted a prediction a few days before the accident, saying that the day of the lantern festival was a so-called "Day of Blood" that would bring divine punishment and bloodshed.

However, when the police tried to find the original source of this prediction, they were unable to locate it.

Given all these suspicious points, along with the strange transfers in the family accounts, He Lin found the entire situation highly suspicious as he followed these clues.

There were too many coincidences.

The young people were influenced by external factors to go to the park that evening, participate in the event, and lose their lives.

Afterward, their parents were drawn into a money laundering case.

The probability of all this happening randomly was very low.

However, He Lin was puzzled: since the participants and victims were random, if someone was truly manipulating things from behind, how could they ensure the victims were their targets?

He voiced his confusion.

Li Shang thought quietly for a moment, tapped the table, and finally connected the recent clues: "Perhaps those people weren’t the targets; instead, after their deaths, they became the targets."

He Lin frowned: "How could that be achieved?"

Li Shang didn’t answer directly but asked He Lin: "Do you remember our previous analysis about these people possibly having involvement with a sect?"

He Lin said: "Yes. We suspected that those involved in money laundering were followers of a certain sect."

Li Shang replied: "Perhaps it’s the other way around. Maybe they weren’t sect followers who participated in money laundering; instead, they were made into followers and then participated in money laundering."

"After their children died, they became targets, and the parents were guided to become followers?" He Lin found this analysis still somewhat hard to believe.

"It’s hard to judge now; it’s just my speculation. But I think that since there is a group behind this, we can reasonably suspect there must be a method of propagation. For example, perhaps through bereavement support groups for bereaved families." Li Shang lowered his eyelashes, after a moment's thought, and added, "Regardless of the reason, one thing is certain: the families' transfers started after the children's deaths, so there must be some connection. Let’s investigate from this point and then work backward."

Only parents would spend money for their children so unreservedly, even after their deaths. Parents of children who died wrongful accidental deaths would take a long time to emerge from their grief.

Li Shang paused and added: "Also, I think the so-called prediction is a clue worth investigating in detail."

He Lin asked him: "First, regarding the parents, which family do you think would be a promising starting point?"

Li Shang thought for a moment and picked one.

That case file had distinctive features.

Yang Shumin, forty-two years old, is a single mother who has been widowed for many years. She holds a bachelor's degree, is relatively young and well-educated, and currently works as an employee at a company.

Her only son, eighteen-year-old Yang Zhiyuan, died in that lantern festival.

This background suggests that she is likely reasonable, less influenced by family pressures, and easy to communicate with.

Once the candidate was selected, He Lin completed the paperwork, and Sun Cheng called Yang Shumin to schedule an interview at the provincial police department.

Suddenly receiving a call from the police, Yang Shumin became wary and her first reaction was to refuse.

"Why are you calling me?"

"Is there something that can't be discussed over the phone?"

"I'm not refusing to cooperate with your work, but I haven’t done anything illegal."

"Sorry, I have another call coming in."

The woman, flustered, abruptly hung up the phone.

Sun Cheng tried calling several more times, but no one answered. He looked up, somewhat puzzled, and said to He Lin, "Captain He, she’s not answering anymore..."

He Lin replied, "Don’t we have her work information? Call her workplace's front desk."

Sun Cheng immediately did so. The call connected, and the front desk went to get her. Yang Shumin picked up the phone again.

He Lin thought for a moment and reached out to Sun Cheng, saying, "I'll speak with her."

Sun Cheng quickly handed him the receiver.

The woman’s voice came through the receiver: "I... I’m very busy with work. Do I have to come in?"

"Hello, we are currently investigating a case related to your son’s death. We hope you can cooperate with our investigation." He Lin’s tone was polite but serious, with some pressure. When the woman remained silent, He Lin continued, "It would be best if you could come to the provincial police department. If you’re unable to come, we can also visit you at your workplace, though that might cause you embarrassment."

He Lin’s tone was firm. After hearing this, Yang Shumin fell silent for a moment and finally agreed, "What time?"

He Lin said, "Two o’clock in the afternoon."

.

Right on time, Yang Shumin arrived at the provincial department.

The woman had long hair tied up in a bun. Though she wasn't young, she still maintained a good figure and appeared professional and dignified. Instead of taking her to the reception room, He Lin had Zhou Tianyi bring her directly to the interrogation room and asked her to wait.

The windowless, enclosed environment of the interrogation room would add pressure on the woman, which would be more advantageous for the police investigation.

He Lin had a hunch that if this interrogation went smoothly, it could become a breakthrough in the case.

According to the file, Yang Shumin’s husband had died of an illness, and she had raised her child alone. Her hardships over the years were likely known only to her.

Her son was only eighteen, had just been admitted to university, and was still in his freshman year when this tragedy occurred.

Even though she was very strong, the incident had still hit her hard, leaving her looking somewhat haggard.

He Lin went to the office to get Li Shang.

This time, Li Shang observed from the monitoring room while He Lin and Sun Cheng conducted the interrogation.

After verifying her personal information, they confiscated the woman’s phone, and the questioning officially began.

He Lin started by asking about the suspicious money transfers.

Yang Shumin listened quietly to He Lin’s explanation. After looking at the documents he handed her, she pressed her lips together and spoke hesitantly, "This money... I transferred it out. I can confirm that these payments weren't scams, but as for the specific purposes, it’s been too long, and I can’t remember."

Hearing this obvious lie, He Lin pointed to a transfer of 5,000 yuan from the previous month on the statement. "The most recent one was just ten days ago. You can’t remember that either?"

The woman lowered her head, her eyes downcast, and said, "This is my personal privacy. I have the right to remain silent. You can’t force me to incriminate myself."

Hearing this, He Lin arched an eyebrow. There was that phrase again.

He directly asked, "Did someone teach you to say that? To use those words if the police ever questioned you?"

His bluntness clearly flustered Yang Shumin. Her eyes flickered as she shook her head and denied it, "N-no..."