2: Chapter 2 Entering the Crime Scene

In his previous life, he was too naive.

He thought he could expose the truth with nothing but passion and the camera on his shoulder.

Instead, the tapes were confiscated by the Station Director, he was suspended, and he watched helplessly as Sun Hongwei was wrongfully imprisoned.

It seemed as if everything was being manipulated from the shadows.

In this life, he would not repeat the same mistakes.

"Yezi," Zhao Yang turned around, "Don't tell anyone about what you saw today or anything that happens next. If anyone asks, just say the interview was canceled at the last minute."

Tian Ye hadn't yet recovered from the shock of the police gunpoint and stammered:

"Ma... Master, then what do we do now..."

"Coward, look at you, scared out of your wits." Zhao Yang shot him a sidelong glance. "The police don't dare to just open fire. Come on, let's go to the crime scene."

At this time, the crime scene shouldn't have been fully processed yet.

He had to avoid those eyes and get there quickly to secure first-hand evidence.

The two went downstairs and got into the car. After driving out of the District Government gates, Zhao Yang glanced at the street corner.

The black Santana was gone.

It seemed no one was paying attention to a small fry like him.

Zhao Yang floored the gas pedal, heading straight for the Huayuan Xincun residential area on Changhua Street, following the memories of his past life.

Sun Hongwei's home was in this neighborhood.

In this life, he was going to break open more than just a wrongful conviction.

He would also expose the black hole that allowed the real killer to remain at large for seventeen years.

Huayuan Xincun only had six or seven buildings, all of which were multi-story structures of six to seven floors.

Sun Hongwei lived on the first floor, and the police cordon was visible from a distance.

Two police officers were loitering around the perimeter of the cordon.

Zhao Yang slammed on the brakes right next to the cordon and grabbed the camera before getting out.

He hoisted the camera onto his shoulder, not even giving the two officers a glance.

He was going for a look of pure arrogance.

"Yezi, hold the microphone and follow my lead."

Seeing Zhao Yang's high spirits, Tian Ye's previous fear vanished, replaced by an inexplicable surge of excitement.

He grabbed the microphone, jumped out of the car, and slammed the door shut.

"Got it, Brother Yang, I'm with you."

The two officers on perimeter duty quickly reached out to stop them.

"Hey, who are you? This is an active crime scene; you can't just barge in!"

Zhao Yang adjusted the camera on his shoulder and glared at the officer.

"You don't recognize the person, but don't you recognize the camera? This interview was personally arranged by Secretary Ji of the Municipal Committee. If you delay the investigation, can you take responsibility for that?"

The bulky broadcast-grade analog camera, combined with the TATV logo of Tongan Television Station on the microphone, naturally intimidated the grassroots officers.

The officer's raised hand froze mid-air. "Oh, I see. Once you're inside, you must follow Captain Xu's instructions. Do not disturb the crime scene."

Zhao Yang knew that if he had asked submissively, "Can we go in?" at this moment...

...he would have definitely been rejected.

This was all experience he had accumulated from years on the front lines of reporting in his later life.

Therefore, he immediately invoked the Municipal Party Committee Secretary's name to intimidate the perimeter police.

He must obtain first-hand evidence.

Zhao Yang guessed that the phone number Sun Hongwei left behind must belong to his father, Sun Zhendong.

Sun Zhendong was the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Committee of the neighboring Donghai Province.

He was the only backer Sun Hongwei could rely on at this moment.

Zhao Yang remembered clearly: in his previous life, Sun Zhendong suffered a sudden stroke after seeing the confession his son had been tortured into signing; otherwise, he would have been fully capable of intervening.

But the man was too upright; he would never take action without ironclad evidence.

So, Zhao Yang didn't make that call immediately.

A call from a stranger had limited value.

He wanted Sun Zhendong to remember him—not as a messenger, but as the one who broke the deadlock.

Zhao Yang and Yezi crossed the first cordon, took a few shots of the exterior, and arrived at the door of Sun Hongwei's home.

The door was wide open, the rooms were brightly lit, and several police officers were busy collecting evidence.

The order to arrest was issued before evidence collection was even finished, showing just how impatient some people were.

Zhao Yang immediately recognized the man in charge: Xu Yiming, the Captain of the Technical Brigade of the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Detachment.

Beside him was the Trace Evidence Technician, He Ping, and... the Forensic Doctor, Jiang Nan.

In his memory, Jiang Nan remained single even into her forties.

He didn't know if her standards were too high or if she was so beautiful that no one dared to marry her.

To obtain key evidence, the focus had to be on Jiang Nan and He Ping.

There were three other officers in the inner room who looked somewhat familiar.

Because he often covered the Political and Legal Beat, Zhao Yang knew they were all from the Criminal Investigation Detachment.

Seeing Xu Yiming's gaze sweep over, Zhao Yang quickly greeted him warmly:

"Captain Xu, I'm here to film some footage of the scene to help promote your success in solving the case!"

When Xu Yiming saw it was him, he frowned, then glanced at the station logo on the camera and couldn't help but ask:

"How did you guys get here so fast?"

Zhao Yang started talking nonsense. "Isn't there a crackdown going on? Speed is of the essence in solving cases. I'll film more of your work scenes so the Municipal Bureau can credit you later."

With over twenty more years of life experience, Zhao Yang was no longer the hothead he was in his previous life.

He mentioned the Municipal Bureau in his speech, making it sound as if this interview had been authorized by the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Xu Yiming was quite familiar with him and naturally wouldn't go to the Municipal Bureau's Political Department to verify.

Besides, news reports about murder cases on TV were common; it was no big deal.

Hearing Zhao Yang say this, Xu Yiming nodded slightly:

"Evidence collection is mostly finished. You can come in."

The bedroom was a mess.

A white cloth covered the body, its outline faintly discernible.

Zhao Yang had met Chen Xue once—she was tall, had a beautiful face, wore rimless glasses, and had an intellectual aura.

Even though he had seen many beauties in his later life, he still felt Chen Xue could easily outshine ninety percent of internet celebrities.

Beauty is often ill-fated.

Even after being reborn, he was seeing this scene again.

He looked away. The nightstand drawer was open, containing stacks of neatly bundled hundred-yuan bills.

Presumably, this was the so-called illicit bribe money.

In his previous life, besides the murder charge, Sun Hongwei's other crime was embezzlement and bribery.

Who would put the money in such a conspicuous place after taking a bribe?

Zhao Yang sneered inwardly; this frame-up was far too sloppy!

After filming the scene, Zhao Yang turned to look at Xu Yiming, who had been following by his side.

He lowered his voice to a whisper: "Evidence collection was just finished, and they've already made an arrest over there.

"Captain Xu, did you discover some powerful evidence?"

Xu Yiming's expression turned extremely grim. He glanced at the three officers in the room and quietly poked Zhao Yang in the back.

His voice was almost inaudible: "Follow me to the living room. I have an important discovery... There are too many eyes and ears here; it's not convenient to talk."

As expected, Xu Yiming was still the same Xu Yiming from his previous life.

Zhao Yang's heart pounded as he calmly followed, camera on his shoulder.

He had a strong premonition—

...that what Xu Yiming was about to say would likely tear through the first mask of this case.