51: Chapter 51 Biological Samples

Early the next morning, Chen Jian and Gu Songyan set out early with their team members to give presentations at the supervised units.

Only Zhao Yang remained at the hotel, staying put.

He asked Gao Yan for the contact list of the Tongan Municipal Public Security Bureau and called Chen Keyong, the head of the bureau's Discipline Inspection Group.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Keyong arrived at the Century Sunshine Hotel with a roster of all cadres at the deputy section level and above within the entire public security system.

Zhao Yang took the roster and examined it carefully; when he saw that name from his memories of his past life, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

The murderer of the June 11 Case!

No different from his memory, this person was currently still the deputy director of the Guangrong Police Station.

How arrogant; after committing the crime, he acted as if nothing had happened, going to and from work as usual.

No matter how hard the Special Investigation Team tried, they would never have suspected him.

Zhao Yang was agitated, his hands trembling slightly as he held the document.

Capturing this person would be of great significance.

To make Ji Hongwen pay the price, the breakthrough would inevitably have to come from this man.

But Zhao Yang wasn't certain if events had deviated from their original course.

Whether this person was truly the killer still required further confirmation.

The moment they saw the roster, Zheng Beichen and Gao Yan's eyes widened.

There were 143 people just among the directors, deputy directors, and instructors of the 46 police stations.

Including the various branch bureaus, detachments, and the Municipal Bureau's offices, there were over 500 people in total.

Interviewing them one by one—how long would that take?

The two could no longer hold back and wanted to question Zhao Yang's approach.

Zheng Beichen was the first to speak: "Zhao Yang, isn't our efficiency a bit too low doing it this way?"

Although Zhao Yang was the group leader, Zheng Beichen and Gao Yan were his seniors in the Commission for Discipline Inspection, so he showed them sufficient respect.

"Beichen, Gao Yan, think about it. Director Chen and Director Gu's theoretical level and work experience are far superior to ours."

Zhao Yang poured them each a cup of water and continued:

"If we want to achieve results, we must break the mold. Do as I say, and I guarantee that not only will you be credited with a merit this time, but you'll also have endless cases to handle after this."

Getting a merit for supervision?

Gao Yan assumed he was just talking nonsense with a straight face and smiled:

"Alright, we'll do as you say."

Zhao Yang took the roster and pointed casually:

"Well then, let's start with this Qianjin Police Station. We'll interview the director, deputy director, and instructor one by one."

The so-called interviews were nothing more than explaining policies, party discipline, and regulations, and instilling the importance of strengthening conduct.

After two days, they had only finished with four police stations.

On the third day, the interviews continued.

This time, Zhao Yang's choice of police station was no longer random.

Instead, it pointed precisely at the Guangrong Police Station, and he tapped on the name of the deputy director, Zhou Zhiqiang.

"Notify this person; we start with him today."

Zhao Yang had his own considerations for doing this.

The interviews over the first two days were just a smokescreen.

He wanted to leave the impression of a normal interview so there would be no cause for concern, preventing Zhou Zhiqiang from fleeing on short notice.

Hoping that the Tongan Municipal Public Security Bureau would catch him was practically a pipe dream.

Utilizing the power of the June 11 Special Investigation Team could work.

But if that happened, Zhou Zhiqiang, as the main suspect in a criminal case, would inevitably be taken over by the Special Investigation Team.

It would then become difficult for Zhao Yang to dig deeper into the dark secrets behind the case.

...

Xiushan Branch of the Tongan Municipal Public Security Bureau, Guangrong Police Station.

Zhou Zhiqiang wasn't nervous when he received the phone notification.

He had already inquired about it; it was just an ideological and political talk, a mere formality.

Smoking while driving his police car, Zhou Zhiqiang arrived at the Century Sunshine Hotel and went upstairs leisurely.

A pretty young woman was standing in the second-floor hallway; seeing him come up, she immediately asked:

"Are you Comrade Zhou Zhiqiang from the Guangrong Police Station?"

"Yes, I'm Zhou Zhiqiang." Zhou Zhiqiang blew a smoke ring and casually tossed the cigarette butt into the trash can.

"Please follow me." Gao Yan's expression was calm, showing no emotion.

She led Zhou Zhiqiang to an interview room where Zhao Yang was already waiting.

Seeing Zhou Zhiqiang arrive, Zhao Yang quickly stood up to shake his hand.

"Comrade Zhou Zhiqiang, I'm Zhao Yang from the supervision team. I used to work at the Tongan Television Station as a reporter covering the political and legal beat. Does Director Zhou still remember me?"

Zhao Yang's tone was earnest, and his smile was kind.

He was like a traveler returning home after many years, his eyes filled with warmth for everyone he met.

While speaking, Zhao Yang surreptitiously sized up the police officer in front of him.

The man was burly with a fair complexion and appeared quite friendly.

However, when he looked at people, a flash of ruthlessness would occasionally flicker in his eyes.

Hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang became even less suspicious and sized up Zhao Yang with a smile.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Zhou Zhiqiang pointed at Zhao Yang and burst into laughter.

"Right, right, right! I saw you at the municipal public security work conference. You were carrying a camera back then and looked very sharp."

Zhao Yang pointed to the chair in front of the makeshift writing desk:

"Officer Zhou, please have a seat."

Zhou Zhiqiang didn't stand on ceremony and sat down heavily in the chair.

He took off his police cap and placed it casually on the desk.

Zhao Yang didn't sit down; instead, he leaned against the desk and chatted with Zhou Zhiqiang.

"Work at the grassroots police station must be very exhausting, right? Look, you've even started losing hair."

Zhao Yang raised his hand, intending to pick up a fallen hair from Zhou Zhiqiang's shoulder.

Halfway there, he suddenly became alert.

A single fallen hair might not be 100% certain to be Zhou Zhiqiang's.

If he was going to take one, it had to be fresh!

He extended his fingers and brushed away the hair along with some nearby dandruff.

This action surprised Zhou Zhiqiang slightly, but he didn't become suspicious.

He became even more smug and shook his leg:

"You're telling me. Day and night, all the time, and for very little money."

"The salary for grassroots police officers is indeed too low; life is tough. Look, you even have white hairs!"

Zhao Yang had a smile on his face, but his eyes were fixed on a stray hair sticking up on Zhou Zhiqiang's head.

Suddenly, he reached out, gripped the hair tightly, and pulled it upward with force.

White or not, he would pull it out first!

"Ouch! Damn, that hurts!"

Zhou Zhiqiang had a rough, streetwise air about him; even in front of the commission's supervision team, he still used foul language.

Zhao Yang held the hair in front of Zhou Zhiqiang to show him.

It turned out to be a black hair.

He quickly apologized: "Sorry, I missed. You should pull it out yourself in front of a mirror later."

Zhao Yang knew that the more open and unconcealed he was, the less likely Zhou Zhiqiang would be to suspect anything.

After a few more pleasantries with Zhou Zhiqiang, Zhao Yang waved to Zheng Beichen.

"Beichen, you take over the interview. Make sure to explain the spirit of the 'Decision' thoroughly. Grassroots officers work hard and rely entirely on their ideals and convictions; we can't let those convictions waver."

Zheng Beichen gave Zhao Yang a strange look. For the past two days, Zhao Yang hadn't cared at all about the officers being interviewed.

What had gotten into him today to make him so talkative?

He sat down reluctantly opposite Zhou Zhiqiang and began reading from the script.

"You guys go ahead; I won't disturb you." As he turned to leave, Zhao Yang gave Gao Yan a meaningful look.

Gao Yan also noticed something unusual about him today and quickly followed him out, gently closing the door.

Once the door was shut tight, Zhao Yang lowered his voice:

"In a moment, go in with Beichen and keep the conversation going using any means necessary. Whatever happens, do not let Zhou Zhiqiang leave this room until I get back!"

His voice was low, but his expression was incredibly serious.

Gao Yan didn't understand why, and just as she was about to speak, Zhao Yang guessed what she wanted to ask.

"Don't ask anything, just do it. That's an order!"

With that, he turned and went upstairs to his room.

He carefully wrapped the hair in plastic film and placed it in a paper bag.

Then he picked up his phone, found Jiang Nan's number, and dialed.

"Jiang Nan, I don't care where you are right now, return to the Technical Brigade immediately. I'll be there soon!"