C3 The Car Owner Qin Zhiqiang

"Alright, I'll tell you! The three of them are actually very run-of-the-mill, hardly busy at all. Sometimes they'll strong-arm some customers into the shop, but the commission they give me is peanuts, so I barely know anything about their backgrounds. I'm really not familiar with them, believe me!"

The Lady Boss, her eyes brimming with earnestness, grabbed Xiao Chennai's arm in a fervent gesture.

Yet, her sincerity seemed to evaporate under Xiao Chennai's frosty gaze, which was as cold and impenetrable as black ice.

"Their cooperation earlier was flawless!"

Stepping out of the foot bath establishment, Hua Ning commented with a playful tone.

Hua Ning seemed to be in high spirits, whereas Xiao Chennai's brow furrowed even deeper, his mind racing.

He couldn't shake off his unease. With no leads from the Lady Boss and nothing to glean from their social connections, it pointed to a grim conclusion: there were no useful clues on the victims.

According to the database, the three women each had their own nicknames: Bobo, Peachy, and Sweetie.

Despite their youthful-sounding names, Xiao Chennai suddenly realized why the Lady Boss had remarked on their lack of activity after seeing their pictures.

"Their social networks are too intricate. Let's head back and examine the fingerprints on the car!"

Xiao Chennai and Hua Ning made their way to the parking lot, ready to head back.

At the Snowbush City Public Security Bureau, every unit was bustling with activity.

Hua Ning was the first to reach the office and noticed an identification report on Xiao Chennai's desk.

She called out to Xiao Chennai, who had just walked in, "The fingerprint results are in!"

Xiao Chennai, eager for any lead, quickly took the report.

Qin Zhiqiang, male, 28 years old, a resident of Ancheng District in Snowbush City, and a self-employed merchant.

"Summon him for questioning immediately!"

Xiao Chennai couldn't afford to wait. With the previous lead gone cold, he was pinning his hopes on the fingerprints to provide a breakthrough.

They promptly reached out to the Ancheng District Public Security for assistance in summoning Qin Zhiqiang.

Soon after, Qin Zhiqiang was brought to the Snowbush City Public Security Bureau.

"Ms. Hua Ning, the suspect has been placed in interrogation room one," a petite female officer informed her, pushing open the door to Unit 9.

"Oh, I understand. I'll be right there!"

Dawn was breaking as Hua Ning, dozing comfortably, realized she was draped in a black windbreaker.

She recognized it as Xiao Chennai's.

Bringing the coat to her nose, Hua Ning detected a faint scent of cologne.

It appeared Xiao Chennai had good taste, which made Hua Ning chuckle to herself.

The red light above the door of Interrogation Room One was on, signaling the interrogation had begun.

The man inside yawned, his voice tinged with sorrow, "Officer, I was fast asleep. I've got to head to the market to sell pork tomorrow. What's this all about?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Hua Ning entered, taking the seat of a scribe next to Xiao Chennai.

Xiao Chennai passed a photo of a van to the man, asking in an icy tone, "Qin Zhiqiang, where were you around 23:00 last night?"

The man's mouth twitched, his gaze drifting as he replied, "I... was sleeping at home."

Xiao Chennai let out a mocking laugh, pausing his pen, "Sleeping? Three lives were lost in your car, and your fingerprints are on the handle. You're claiming you were asleep?"

The man froze, his fear palpable, "Lives? I didn't kill anyone. Don't pin this on me. I'm telling the truth; I got rid of that car last year for a new one."

His hands shook with fright.

"You ditched the car? That still doesn't prove you didn't commit murder that night!"

Xiao Chennai pushed a few more photos towards him. The man quickly shut his eyes, seemingly trying to avoid the images.

Hua Ning observed that the man appeared to be frightened by the gory scene, which was illogical.

Why would a butcher, accustomed to the sight of blood and gore, be scared of such images? What hadn't he seen in his line of work?

Hua Ning grew increasingly skeptical of Qin Zhiqiang.

The man remained silent, his eyes tightly shut, sweat beads the size of soybeans rolling down from his temples.

"Hello? Yes, I understand. Thank you!"

Xiao Chennai answered a call halfway through. It was from the An City Police Station. They had looked into Qin Zhiqiang's alibi for that night and discovered he had been lying.

That afternoon, after selling his pork, he encountered a lady of the evening with reasonable rates. He promptly found a nearby hotel and didn't return home until the following morning.

Xiao Chennai stood up, pacing back and forth near the doorway with a pen resting on his chin, deep in thought.

If Qin Zhiqiang had been at the hotel that day, he wouldn't have had the chance to kill those three people.

But what's peculiar is that Qin Zhiqiang fits the profile of the murderer all too well. Not only is he a butcher, but he also sought out a lady of the evening on the day of the crime.

"Come clean, I already know what you were up to that night. Should I pull up the surveillance footage?"

Xiao Chennai picked up the thermos on the desk and took a slow sip.

The man finally opened his eyes, smacked the chair with emotion, and pleaded, "Please, don't tell my wife. I can't afford to lose her."

"I didn't kill anyone, I swear. And I was scared, it was my first time finding a..."

Qin Zhiqiang trailed off, his head bowed in shame, unable to meet their gazes.

At the Snowbush City Criminal Police Squadron conference room:

"So, Chen, did the suspect confess?"

Sunn Limin entered, notebook in hand, followed by two men. One sported a crew cut and a square face, dressed in black.

The other was clad in a dark brown, checkered suit with gold-rimmed glasses. Beneath his pale skin twinkled a pair of bright, expressive eyes.

"He's still a suspect; we haven't ruled him out, but we can't confirm he's the perpetrator either," Xiao Chennai clarified.

He was struggling to connect the missing pieces, which meant he couldn't definitively peg Qin Zhiqiang as the killer.

Sunn Limin nudged the man in black forward, introducing, "Meet Cheng Sheng, a former undercover agent, right?"

Cheng Sheng nodded, exuding the air of a stalwart and honorable man.

"From now on, he's part of Unit 9."

As Sunn Limin concluded, Hua Ning led a round of applause.

Sunn Limin went on to introduce the cultured man, "He comes with an impressive pedigree. Personally selected by the mayor, he's a top-tier psychologist, Jian Chenyi!"

After introductions and greetings were exchanged, Sunn Limin took a seat with a grave expression and began to speak slowly, "Three members of the previous Unit 9 have been murdered, which is a disgrace to the Snowbush City police force. To this day, their whereabouts remain unknown."

Cheng Sheng's fists tightened as he spoke, his veins bulging visibly with tension.

Hua Ning, meanwhile, clasped her hand over her mouth in astonishment, unable to believe that Unit 9 had such a troubled past.

"Therefore, I would like you to join Unit 9 as undercover officers. This way, you can avoid alerting the perpetrator of the past case while simultaneously operating under the radar."