Chapter 100: Codename Wild Ghost!

Chapter One Hundred: Codename Wild Ghost

Jiang Tao had never introduced the young woman, and Li Baotao and the others simply assumed she was either his assistant secretary or a young officer assigned to serve tea for the leader.

No one expected that after he had invited everyone to the lounge for tea, Director Jiang would actually ask for her opinion—and then have that opinion rejected by this young girl.

At once, Li Baotao’s eyes turned toward her with a strange and uneasy look.
Who was she?
She looked no more than twenty-something. Could she be Tang Zhong’s sister?

Jiang Tao was deep and calculating. Even though her cold indifference had pricked his pride a little, he showed no sign of annoyance.
He had come here on a call from his old superior, Guo Hailong, to handle this case. Otherwise, how could he have known that a murder had occurred at such a remote Jade Maiden Peak?

Although the department took the killing very seriously, each unit had its own responsible superior, and not everything needed to be brought before Jiang Tao.

The old boss’s intention was to have him come and assist. After climbing this high, did he still not understand what “assistance” meant?
To tell the truth, he did not know who this girl was, and he did not care to know. He only needed to know that this was something his senior cared about. The sky is high, and one’s hands are too short to reach it.

Jiang Tao nodded. “That is exactly my thought. It is already late; I won’t take tea. Let us review the case first.”
“Yes,” Li Baotao replied. He briefed the case, with Jiang Kai filling in, and the two reported everything they knew in full.

Now they could no longer dare to favor one side or hide any truth. Their priority was to clear themselves completely.

After listening, Jiang Tao said, “This case is extremely severe. Someone impersonated a Taoist monk and attacked students who came up the mountain for recreation. Fortunately the students were not injured. If there had been casualties, how would we account to the school, to the students’ parents, to society? Baotao, Jade Maiden Peak is a student-heavy tourist area and a place the government plans to develop heavily. As district chief here, your responsibilities are heavy.”

By saying so, he had already fixed the framework: Tang Zhong was the student, the monk was a killer in disguise, and the Jade Maiden Peak branch had to uncover the truth and deliver justice for the victim.

Li Baotao, cold sweat on his brow, bent over apologetically. “Yes. This was an error in our work. I will learn from it. In future, we will regularly dispatch personnel to patrol all scenic spots and monitor suspicious persons entering Jade Maiden Peak. We will prevent incidents as much as possible and ensure students’ safety.”
“Mm,” Jiang Tao said. “You’ve worked hard. If you do what you say, I’ll come next year to reward your efforts.”
“Thank you, Director,” Li Baotao said gratefully. He glanced at the young woman. “Director Jiang, should we go and see the victim?”

Such a matter was awkward for the director to state directly. Subordinates were expected to understand.
“Mm. Your negligence is also your superior’s negligence. We should see him,” Jiang Tao said. “College students are our nation’s prized children. To encounter something like this must have terrified him.”

“------” Jiang Kai, standing behind, almost coughed blood at the absurd comment in his mind. Tang had frightened everyone, not the other way around.
Of course, he had no right to speak. He could not, at that moment, rush up to slander Tang and spread poison in the investigation. It was obvious Director Jiang had come here for Tang Zhong.

Led by Li Baotao, they moved to the iron door where Tang was being held.
Jiang Kai hurried forward, opened it, and invited the leaders in.

When Tang saw Wen Jing, he became even more certain she had been the one. Of course, only she could have done it, couldn’t she?
He had seen the girl before; on Mid-Autumn Festival he had once refused a basket of fruit and pastry boxes she brought.
They met each other’s eyes, but neither spoke.

“What is your name?” Jiang Tao asked kindly, looking at Tang.
“Tang Zhong,” he replied.
“Mm. Tang Zhong. I have already learned the situation. There are still procedural checks needed. Do not be nervous. Tell us exactly what happened. Speak the truth to us. If you truly are a victim, we will ensure justice for you.”
“Thank you, Director. I believe most police are good people.”
Li Baotao felt his legs nearly weaken when he heard that, and Jiang Kai inwardly wanted to tear into the boy alive.
‘Most police are good’—does that mean there are some bad ones as well?
Sure enough, after hearing that, Jiang Tao frowned and shot Li Baotao a displeased look. “Policing is not simple. We must bear with one another.”

Tang gave a small smile and did not add anything.
Wen Jing stepped before Jiang Tao. “I want to see the body.”

Jiang Tao nodded. “Where is the body?”
“In the cold room,” Li Baotao said. “Officers from the Municipal Bureau came this afternoon and examined it. No conclusion yet. Director, I’ll lead you.”

When they saw the Taoist’s corpse pulled out of the freezer locker, everyone drew breath sharply. There was no escaping it—the room was freezing.
They had seen many dead bodies before, but few had been tortured this badly.
Falling from a height and breaking apart could be understood.
But the two wounds near the eyes were deeply shocking. They had clearly been stabbed, rendering him blind while still alive.

“Has his identity been confirmed?” Wen Jing asked.
“No,” Li Baotao replied. “Our equipment here is outdated. We need the Municipal Bureau officers to photograph him and take the images back for broader searching.”
“May I take a couple of photos?”
“Of course.”

Wen Jing pulled out a black, rather ugly-looking phone and snapped several shots of the corpse.

“Were any suspicious items found on him?”
“Yes,” Li Baotao said. “A strange pair of shoes. Also a wallet and an identity card—no bank card. There is, however, several thousand in cash in the wallet.”

Wen Jing photographed the shoes and the ID the officers handed over, then bent to her phone and typed. “What is your fax number?”
Li Baotao gave one. She entered the digits.
“We’ll wait by the fax machine,” she said.

Li Baotao was puzzled, unable to imagine what they were waiting for at the fax machine. But since this woman had requested it, and Director Jiang had said nothing, they had to comply.

The fax was in the main office. The group entered, and the two young officers on duty—a man and a woman—jumped up quickly.
Li Baotao waved them off, motioning them to continue their work.

After a short conversation with Jiang Tao, about ten minutes passed before the fax machine chirped.
Jiang Kai hurriedly pressed the receive key, and documents began to come through.
Click, click...
The first sheet finished.
He pulled it out and was so stunned he nearly bit his tongue.
Wen Jing stepped forward without a word and took the paper from him.
Then the second, the third...
In total, eleven pages arrived.

She arranged them in order and began from the first.
After reading, she handed the pages to Jiang Tao. “Director Jiang, I think this case is now very clear.”
Jiang Tao looked through them briefly, then passed the file to Li Baotao.

When Li Baotao saw the first page, two black-and-white photos and two color photos were clearly printed on it. Even with some changes in appearance, he recognized that this was the fake Taoist lying in the freezer.

Name: Zhou Yi (Codename: Wild Ghost)
Sex: Male
Age: Thirty-nine
Place of origin: Ting Xi Langzhou
Personality profile: unpredictable, fond of disguises, cunning, cruel, prone to sadistic killing, with severely warped psychology.
Criminal record: New Era Year 185, March: Four-person family annihilation case in Xiangxi, the Li Dongfang Household; New Era Year 186, July: Death of Chen Gang, general manager of Taida Branch in the Hetao area; New Era Year 186, September...

The following pages were all detailed records of this Zhou Yi, nicknamed “Wild Ghost,” a history of murder, robbery, and every evil imaginable. He was a professional killer and a top-tier S-class wanted criminal in Xia Country.

The contents shocked Li Baotao deeply.
Even more surprising was how this young woman, after taking only a few photos of the corpse in under twenty minutes, could obtain such a detailed criminal profile so quickly. How had she done it?
The municipal officers had already spent several hours and had not yet called with useful information.

“He is monstrously wicked,” Li Baotao said, full of outrage. “For such crimes, execution a hundred times would still be too little if he were caught.”
He noticed that at the back there were reward notices from the Department of Public Security and the World Criminal Police Organization, one million Huaxia credits and two hundred thousand U.S. dollars. He thought, if this case goes up officially, are we really going to give this bastard a reward too?

“If you doubt the authenticity of this file, forward it to the Mingzhu City Bureau and let them recheck it,” Wen Jing said. “I do not intend to interfere in your internal affairs, and I certainly do not want to force a change in your investigation—but I must take him away.”

PS: This is chapter one hundred. Liu writes incredibly fast... well, keep praising me, or keep cursing me.