247: Chapter 247 The Birth of a Demon

1.28 Pu River Explosion Case

Looking at the charred remains and the bone fragments salvaged from the wreckage, the dozen or so people in the conference room remained expressionless. They were all experienced veteran officers, elites in their field; such sights could not unsettle them.

"Was it done by this big entrepreneur?"

Someone grew interested.

"There's no evidence, and back then, it was actually the target who reported it to the police..."

The young man with the crew cut said, flipping to the next page of pictures. The image showed a youthful, timid-looking boy in an interrogation room.

"According to the target's statement, he reported it to the police in advance because he suspected his father was being scammed into going abroad. The ship exploded before they even boarded. At the time, a trace analysis was conducted. It was confirmed they had never boarded the ship and lacked the capability to commit the crime, so they were ruled out as suspects. The case was ultimately classified as an accident."

"Was he lying then?" asked a robust officer in his thirties, his eyes glinting.

"Records indicate his father was facing bankruptcy and possible imprisonment. There was a 90% chance the target's father intended to stow away abroad. But with no evidence from the deceased and no actual attempt made, the matter could be treated as minor or major. The officer handling the case back then detained him for only twenty-four hours before releasing him."

"How could they release him without a thorough interrogation! What kind of policing is that!" Hearing this, the robust officer slammed his hand on the table with a loud smack.

"Officer Luo, it's been so long, no need to get angry," a middle-aged man exhaling a smoke ring said with a smile. "Even if you tried to pursue this minor issue with him now, you probably wouldn't even get a meeting. Look at his status now—the owner of a five-trillion-dollar conglomerate. Goodness, even if I'd lived since the time of Qin Shi Huang, I couldn't earn that much money."

Officer Luo snorted coldly. "No matter how rich he is, in this country, he must abide by the law!"

"Alright, that's not important. Xiao Ping, continue with your report."

The leader of the serious crime squad, seated in the center, spoke up.

"Yes, Chief," the young man with the crew cut clicked his electronic pen. A short video clip appeared on the screen, showing the exploded ship slowly sinking.

"Let me show you something interesting. I found this a year after the incident, recovered from the shipwreck salvaged from the riverbed. There was a surveillance camera in the cabin that happened to capture the shore as the ship sank. I managed to retrieve this 10-second video clip."

"What can we see from this?"

The dozen or so people in the conference room widened their eyes but couldn't spot any valuable clues.

"Here," Xiao Ping paused the video at the six-second mark and zoomed in on the lower-left corner. As the image enlarged, amidst the flames, everyone spotted a figure on the shore. It could be none other than the target.

But what was chilling was that in the footage, Lin Fang showed no panic or fear. Instead, he was smiling—a wide, crazed grin that seemed capable of devouring people.

Hiss—a demon's smile!

Everyone in the conference room drew a sharp breath.

Someone murmured, "If it was really him... a seventeen-year-old boy, orchestrating a murder, then standing on the shore watching the target burn alive... and he could still smile?"

"Everyone, this is just a screenshot, and it's been restored. It doesn't prove anything."

Xiao Ping, standing before the screen, shook his head with a slight smile at their astonished expressions, then continued, "If this case was just an accident, the next one I'm about to discuss is truly intriguing."

Xiao Ping clicked his electronic pen. The screen displayed large characters: 5.23 Disappearance Case.

"Four months later, Binhai City witnessed a bizarre and widely publicized disappearance case. Due to the importance of the missing individuals, the city's search teams were mobilized, but ultimately found nothing. You all might have heard about it."

Some in the conference room nodded, clearly recalling the case.

"These are the three missing persons: Qiao Wei, Qiao Yuheng, and Li Shuying—a family of three."

Corresponding photos appeared on the screen.

Xiao Ping stated solemnly, "On the day of the incident, surveillance footage showed Qiao Wei getting into his father Qiao Yuheng's car after being released from prison. His mother, Li Shuying, was also in the car. Initially, the car headed normally toward Binhai Airport. But after passing a roundabout, it began moving strangely westward. Even more bizarre, after entering an old urban district, the car vanished from surveillance entirely."

"The search continued in Binhai City for two months. Their phone records from that day were also checked, but nothing was found."

"No sign of the living, no trace of the dead... completely vanished without a clue..."

Hearing this, the dozen or so officers in the conference room finally showed grave expressions, ceasing their hushed conversations.

In Binhai, where surveillance was nearly omnipresent, such a bizarre occurrence indeed raised serious questions.

Someone asked doubtfully, "According to the records, wasn't Qiao Wei sentenced to five years? How was he out after just four months?"

"The record states that Qiao Wei developed a severe cognitive mental disorder and was granted non-custodial execution."

Hearing this, one officer sneered, "Wasn't it because he was from the Qiao family of Shengjing? If he hadn't been released so early, maybe the disappearance wouldn't have happened?"

Expressions in the conference room varied, the atmosphere turning subtle. It was obvious to anyone with eyes: the Qiao family was a 'colorful' dynasty dating back to the founding era, with the patriarch's name even appearing in textbooks.

Some window papers shouldn't be pierced; some names themselves were talismans. How many truly mentally ill people were there in the world?

Seeing the discussion taking a problematic turn, the serious crime squad leader quickly coughed a few times and said, "Alright, they're dead now. Let's not discuss that. What matters is the case!"

Officer Luo's eyes narrowed. "What does this have to do with the target? Could he have done it?"

"Can't be certain," Xiao Ping replied, switching the on-screen materials.

"On the day of the disappearance, the target was holding a product launch in Tiangang City, over 2,000 kilometers away. If not for his recent rise and us digging through old files, we would never have connected him to this case."

"We discovered that the reason Qiao Wei went to prison was his involvement in a financial fraud case. The biggest victim of that fraud was the target's father, Lin Tianxiong—which was also why he had intended to stow away abroad."

On screen appeared a burly man with thick eyebrows and large eyes.

The clues were connecting!

"Could it really be him? But how did he do it?" an older officer pondered, his voice grave.

Another frowned. "What a ruthless heart. Clearly, the other two had nothing to do with the fraud, yet he spared no one."