Card Room (Rebirth)

In previous cases, the first priority when finding a corpse was to determine the identity of the deceased. It was only by knowing the identity of the deceased that Yu Hanjiang could investigate his social relations and find the most likely suspect to have killed them.

This case was completely different from the past.

Among the nine dead bodies that appeared, four of them couldn’t be identified or their names confirmed. For another two, it hadn’t been determined if they were related to the organ trafficking case. Only the dismembered Cheng Shaoyu, Liu Renyuan with the missing kidney and the delivery man Wang Wei were determined to be related to the case and clearly identified. Out of these three, only Wang Wei’s ex-girlfriend Xu Fangfang could be contacted to talk to.

Liu Qiao was responsible for watching Xu Fangfang and she knew the specific address of Xu Fangfang’s grandmother.

Yu Hanjiang ordered, “Xiao Liu, secretly search Xu Fangfang’s home to see if you can find any clues. In addition, you have to watch and protect Xu Fangfang tonight. If she is really an insider then she might be in danger of being killed.”

This organ trafficking organization was cold-blooded and cruel. They regarded human lives as trash and could definitely kill to shut someone up.

Liu Qiao nodded seriously. “I understand. If someone wants to kill Xu Fangfang, I will immediately use the Thumbelina card to make her smaller and take her away.”

Xiao Lou added, “If you encounter danger then protect yourself. If you need help then contact me straight away.”

Everyone left the Peach Blossom Spring and separated. Liu Qiao used her memory of Xu Fangfang’s movements during the day and went back to Xu Fangfang’s house with the light footwork card.

Xu Fangfang’s house wasn’t far from the hospital. Her grandfather had passed away and his body was placed in the mourning hall. He would be sent to the funeral home for cremation after dawn. Xu Fangfang had cried and fainted in the afternoon. She slept for a long time and was in charge of guarding his spirit tonight.

The girl kneeling in the mourning hall was full of grief and her eyes were bloodshot. She looked at the portrait of her grandfather and kept sobbing. It was difficult for Liu Qiao to not come forward and comfort her. Liu Qiao took advantage of the mourning girl not paying attention to put on the invisibility cloak and sneaked into the bedroom.

Xu Fangfang’s bedroom layout was simple with a bed, wardrobe and dressing table. There was no storage compartment under her bed and the drawers in her wardrobe were full of socks and underwear. After a brief search, Liu Qiao didn’t find any suspicious clues so she turned to search the drawers of the dressing table.

The dressing table had three drawers. The top drawer contained a red jewelry box. Next to it was a card with the words ‘Dear Fangfang, Happy Birthday. Love you forever—Wang Wei, October 8th’. The jewelry box was empty. Xu Fangfang wore a heart-shaped necklace around her neck and this should be the birthday gift from Wang Wei.

A man’s belt was folded in the middle drawer. The packaging of the box was very delicate and there was also a card on it. It was a gift from Xu Fangfang to Wang Wei dated November of last year. Unfortunately, the belt wasn’t given since they broke up.

Liu Qiao was filled with doubts as she continued to look at the bottom drawer. This drawer couldn’t be pulled out and was obviously locked. Liu Qiao thought about it and took out the Master Key card. This card was from the Fenglin High School case in 3 of Hearts a long time ago. There was a limit on the number of times it could be used. Her card had one use left. If used up, this card would become invalid.

However, Liu Qiao intuitively sensed this drawer had an important clue. She didn’t save this card and instead used it to directly open the drawer. The drawer contained a velvet box and a letter.

Inside the box was a shiny diamond ring. The diamond was quite large and very valuable at first glance. The inside of the diamond ring had the letters ‘WW&FF’ engraved. This should be a diamond proposal ring from Wang Wei to Xu Fangfang.

Liu Qiao opened the envelope and found a letter inside with Wang Wei’s handwriting. The letter said: ‘Fangfang, I finally saved enough money to buy the diamond ring you like. I have already contacted the wedding company. Let’s get married at the end of this year. I will give you the happiest and most romantic wedding. At that time, we will invite your grandparents and parents and my family to attend. I will protect you for the rest of my life.’

Liu Qiao looked at the evidence and felt rather complicated.

On the surface, Xu Fangfang and Wang Wei’s relationship should be very good. Wang Wei even bought a diamond ring for a marriage proposal. Why would he suddenly break up with her? Then after the breakup, Xu Fangfang didn’t throw away the gifts and cards from her ex-boyfriend. She even pinned the WeChat dialogue box of her ex-boyfriend to the top. Did she suddenly learn about something and regret it? It had been nearly half a year since November. Why didn’t she contact Wang Wei?

This diamond looked quite big. It should cost a lot of money, right? Diamonds usually had an appraisal certificate. Liu Qiao searched the inside of the envelope again and found a diamond ring appraisal certificate inside. It was a diamond ring that was nearly one carat. It was worth 10 million gold coins, which was 100,000 yuan.

A diamond ring of 100,000 yuan was a bit extravagant for the working class. Wang Wei was a takeout deliveryman and his salary wasn’t high. How could he buy such an expensive diamond ring? It seemed it was necessary to check Wang Wei’s bank records.

Liu Qiao frowned slightly and used her mobile phone to quickly photograph the evidence collected at Xu Fangfang’s house. Then she reported it to Yu Hanjiang immediately.

Liu Qiao replied, “I understand.”

Since Xu Fangfang stayed up all night guarding her grandfather’s soul, Liu Qiao who hid herself in her room wasn’t discovered at all.

After Ye Qi, Long Sen and the others left the hospital, they temporarily stayed in a hotel. Yu Hanjiang asked everyone to rest early to recharge their energy so they could deal with tomorrow’s large-scale investigation. Shao Qingge was sleeping in the hospital. To prevent any accidents, Xiao Lou slept on the sofa in his room.

Yu Hanjiang didn’t close his eyes all night and compiled the information of the deceased, including their family members and work. This was for a follow-up investigation. In addition, Professor Qin Changming’s data on kidney transplant patients was also compiled. A telephone investigation would be used to confirm the source of the kidneys transplanted into these people.

At 7 o’clock in the morning, Yu Hanjiang washed his face with cold water and woke up his four teammates staying in the hotel. The farmer’s market in the west district. This was the focus of the four people’s investigation this morning.

At 7:30 a.m., the morning market had already begun. The large farmer’s market that covered several acres was very lively. There were trucks from many restaurants who got fresh vegetables from here and some citizens came to buy vegetables at the morning market because it was the cheapest.

Long Sen and Qu Wanyue were originally a couple and it was natural for them to play a husband and wife. The two of them got out of a car and walked around the farmer’s market hand in hand, looking for the ‘Good Taste Porridge Store’ and ‘Spicy Rice Noodles’ that Yu Hanjiang mentioned.

Old Mo and Ye Qi were acting as a grandfather and grandson. Ye Qi took Old Mo’s hand and said, “Grandpa, I want to eat fruit.”

Old Mo smiled and replied, “Okay, Grandpa will buy it for you.”

Xiao Ye had superb acting skills and a tacit understanding with Old Mo. The two people entered the farmer’s market and strolled by the stalls one by one, checking for suspicious people while buying fruits.

The four people moved separately and Long Sen and Qu Wanyue soon had a result.

Xiao Lou’s temporarily built WeChat group received a message from Long Sen. “Group Leader Yu, we’ve found the ‘Good Taste Porridge Store’. It is in an alley diagonally opposite the farmer’s market. Wanyue and I have gone in to have a bowl of porridge.”

It was time for breakfast and the porridge store was crowded. The table where Long Sen and Qu Wanyue were sitting was for four people. Next to them was an old lady with no place to sit. Qu Wanyue took the initiative to move positions and politely asked her to sit down.

The old lady thanked her with a smile and sat down to drink the preserved egg porridge.

Qu Wanyue pretended to be curious. “Auntie, why is the business of this porridge store so good? The store is full of people and I think there are still people queuing up outside.”

The old lady answered, “This porridge store has been here for five years and the porridge is famous. People from nearby communities come here to drink porridge every morning. I like the preserved egg porridge the best.”

Qu Wanyue wondered, “Doesn’t this place do takeout? Why are so many people lining up to buy it?”

“There is no takeout for breakfast. There are too many porridges to be served and there is no supply. Lunch and dinner can be delivered.”

Qu Wanyue glanced around the place. She found a table containing a large number of takeout boxes, consistent with the photos sent by Yu Hanjiang. Qu Wanyue took out her mobile phone, pulled up the information about Wang Wei that Group Leader Yu had found from the database and asked, “Auntie, do you know this deliveryman?”

The old lady hesitated. “Why are you looking for him?”

Qu Wanyue explained softly, “This is my brother and he delivers takeout around this area.”

The old lady suddenly realized. “No wonder. Of course I know this young man. However, I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

Long Sen wondered, “When was the last time you saw him?”

The old lady thought about it carefully. “I have a deep impression of him. This little brother is the most handsome one among several deliverymen and he is also polite. He always says ‘I wish you a happy meal.’ My neighbor is a young couple who don’t know how to cook. They ordered takeout every day and he delivered it. However, I haven’t seen him since November last year. I still remember my neighbor asking why they changed deliverymen. What about the previous one? The new delivery person said that he quit and went home.”

Long Sen and Qu Wanyue looked at each other. It seemed that Wang Wei had experienced something in November last year and quit delivering takeout.

After completing the investigation of the ‘Good Taste Porridge Store’, they went out to find ‘Spicy Rice Noodles’. They walked a few streets and found a small store at the deepest end of a small alley. On the door sign that said ‘Spicy Rice Noodles’, the paint for the word ‘spicy’ was almost faded. They would’ve missed it if it wasn’t for Long Sen’s sharp eyes.

The two of them went in and asked for ‘meat noodles with sauce’. Then they sat down to eat. The taste of the rice noodles wasn’t bad. The store was small in size. It had only four tables and could accommodate only 16 guests at a time. On the other hand, there were several QR codes for takeaway platforms on the dining table. Qu Wanyue pretended to chat while paying and asked the cashier, “Your rice noodles are delicious. Do you deliver?”

The female cashier smiled. “Of course. We receive hundreds of takeout orders every day. If you like, you can follow us and order takeout.”

Qu Wanyue scanned the QR code and wondered, “How far can the takeout be delivered?”

“Delivery is within 5 kilometers. If it is more than 5 kilometers the rice noodles will become sticky and can’t be eaten anymore.”

Long Sen took out his phone and showed Wang Wei’s photo. “Have you seen this delivery man? He is my brother.”

The girl was surprised before laughing. “I have seen him. Previously he came here to pick up takeout. This young man is handsome and good-tempered but I haven’t seen him since November of last year.”

After walking out of the store, Long Sen and Qu Wanyue came to a secluded corner.

Qu Wanyue analyzed it. “The locations of the two stores have been determined. Both of them do takeout so any residents within 5 kilometers could’ve ordered their food and threw the garbage away after eating the takeout. Then the garbage truck will collect it and send it to the garbage dump.”

Long Sen took a branch and drew an image on the ground. “‘Spicy Rice Noodles’ is in position A and the ‘Good Taste Porridge Store’ is in position B. There are five streets between the two stores and they are only three kilometers away from each other. There is also the farmer’s market. These three places connect to form a triangle. Group Leader Yu’s scope of investigation can be further reduced. I think that illegal clinic is somewhere in this triangle.”

Qu Wanyue said, “November last year is a critical time. Chief Shao and Liu Renyuan’s operations were performed at that time. Wang Wei no longer delivered food in November and also underwent a transplant surgery. Or did he know something and was killed?”

The two people glanced at each other and immediately sent the results of the search and analysis to the WeChat group.

Xiao Lou praised them. “Amazing. You determined the triangle which makes the following investigation much easier.”

Yu Hanjiang also gave a thumbs up. “Continue to visit nearby employees who deliver food and chat and listen to them. See if they are familiar with Wang Wei. Remember, don’t be too deliberate or you might alert the enemy.”

Long Sen and Qu Wanyue replied at the same time. “Understood.”

Yu Hanjiang asked, “Old Mo and Xiao Ye, how is your progress?”

Old Mo and Ye Qi didn’t respond. Currently, the grandfather and grandson were selecting fruit everywhere in the farmer’s market. Ye Qi played a naughty child and walked around various fruit stalls while Old Mo followed. The two people walked all the way and bought a lot of fresh fruits.

As they passed a corner, Ye Qi suddenly said, “Grandpa, I want to eat corn!”

Old Mo helplessly took him to a stall that sold corn. The middle-aged woman saw Ye Qi’s cute appearance and couldn’t help smiling. “Child, would you like some corn?”

Ye Qi picked a relatively small corn. As Old Mo paid money, Ye Qi stood beside him and ate the corn. He asked, “Auntie, your cooked corn has been peeled. Where are the skins?”

The woman said, “They are all thrown in the trash.”

Ye Qi had actually seen the corn leaves in the trash can by her feet a long time ago. He pretended to ask curiously, “Doesn’t the garbage smell bad after a long time? Does anyone take it away? We have neighborhood aunties cleaning downstairs every day.”

The middle-aged woman saw his serious expression and smiled. “Of course there are also people here who clean up. After the morning market is over, there will be a garbage cart to throw all the garbage from the stalls into the garbage bin at the back.”

Ye Qi let out an ‘oh’ sound and looked at Old Mo. “Grandpa, I still want to eat green onion cake.”

Old Mo looked helpless. “Okay, Grandpa will buy it for you.”

The two of them walked deeper into the farmer’s market. Ye Qi quickly spotted a garbage cart and sanitation workers wearing masks while collecting garbage from different stalls. Ye Qi and Old Mo followed behind the small cart and soon found the trash bin the woman mentioned.

This was a bin with a length of around 3 meters and a width of around 2 meters. It could hold a large amount of garbage and was obviously dedicated to the farmer’s market. It was full of rotting vegetables and fruits.

Ye Qi carefully inspected the area. His eyes were sharp and he noticed a small amount of black ash in a hidden corner next to the trash bin. Ye Qi immediately became alert. “Are these traces left from a burnt corpse?”

Old Mo’s face was serious. “It is possible. We should take some samples back for Group Leader Yu to test.”

Ye Qi nodded. He took a plastic bag from his pocket and crouched on the ground to take some samples of the black ash. Just then, there was the sudden sound of footsteps. Ye Qi hurriedly put the plastic back in his pocket while Old Mo pretended to yell angrily, “Hey you naughty child, I told you not to run around! Why did you come to the trash bin! You will be scolded if you go home with your clothes all dirty. Come out!”

Ye Qi told him, “Grandpa, I seemed to have seen a stray cat just now.”

Old Mo interrupted him. “What stray cat? Come out quickly!”

Ye Qi was grabbed on the arm by Old Mo and pulled like a chicken.

The two of them met a tall man head-on. The man was wearing big sunglasses and his face couldn’t be seen. He was dressed in a black trench coat and exuded cold hostility. He turned his head to look at them and the eyes behind the sunglasses seemed cold.

Old Mo and Ye Qi were frightened and quickly left the scene.

Ye Qi spoke in a childlike manner. “Grandpa, my clothes aren’t dirty. I still want to eat a sesame dumpling…”

Old Mo scolded him. “Your parents don’t let you eat snacks. Be good and I will buy you breakfast!”

The two of them went further and further away but Ye Qi always felt a sharp gaze staring at his back.

It wasn’t until they left the farmer’s market that Ye Qi exhaled softly and whispered in Old Mo’s ear, “Why did my back feel chilly when that person just now looked at me? Will he be related to the organ trafficking case?”

Old Mo quickly calmed down. “Report it to Group Leader Yu now!”

Proofreader: Paranoid Kitten & Fictional Reality