239: Chapter 239 How to travel 13 kilometers round trip in sixteen minutes

For the sake of this case, Zhao Gang specifically cleared out a private room for Lei Zhen to serve as the office for the Special Task Force.

As it turned out, just as Lei Zhen drove back to Qinghe, he saw Zhao Gang getting out of a car with a look of utter dejection.

Lei Zhen hurried forward. "What's wrong, Director Zhao? Did you go home and get scolded by your wife?"

Seeing it was Lei Zhen, Zhao Gang finally told him about the ridiculous incident that had occurred earlier.

After hearing the story, Lei Zhen doubled over with laughter on the spot.

"You have the nerve to laugh?" Zhao Gang said angrily. "It's all because of you. If it weren't for you, how could something like this have happened?"

"Me... how did this become my fault?" Lei Zhen looked completely wronged.

"That guy named Chen Jiang—didn't you tell him to come in and surrender?" Zhao Gang asked.

"Well... that's true."

"Then what do you have to argue about? The new Director only came here specifically to see the 'freak' he heard had appeared in Qinghe. If it weren't for you, would all that mess have happened afterward? Tell me, who else is there to blame but you?"

Lei Zhen's mouth twitched at the words. "Director, you truly are a leader; you've pinned this blame on me so fast I didn't see it coming! This was clearly the Zhou Brothers matching the wrong people together. How can you blame me?"

"I say it's your fault, so it's your fault." Zhao Gang acted completely unreasonable. "I just went to apologize to Director Zhao, and he gave me the cold shoulder. Since this started because of you, you have to solve it for me."

"I... who do I think I am?" Lei Zhen's face twisted in distress. "Director, you think too highly of me. He gave even you the cold shoulder, and you're the Director. If I go, will he even acknowledge me?"

"I don't care. You must help me solve this," Zhao Gang started acting like a complete rogue. "This is an order. Also, Director Zhao required me to write a ten-thousand-word self-reflection, and you're writing that too."

"Huh?" Lei Zhen was stunned. "Director, I'm still investigating a case!"

"There's no conflict. I'll say it one last time: this is an order!"

After saying that, Zhao Gang strode away.

Lei Zhen stared at Zhao Gang's receding back, dumbfounded. "Who did I offend? Why am I the one taking the fall for the mess you guys made?"

Gu Qingcheng stood nearby with a look of schadenfreude, laughing so hard the crow's feet almost appeared around her eyes.

"Gu Qingcheng, as the leader of the Special Task Force, I am giving you a difficult task." Lei Zhen looked toward her.

Gu Qingcheng immediately wiped the smile off her face, suddenly having an ominous premonition.

"This ten-thousand-word self-reflection is being handed over to you. It must be given to me before midnight tonight."

Gu Qingcheng's mouth dropped open. "Wait... you're making me write it?"

"This is an order!" Lei Zhen put his hands behind his back and walked out with an air of self-importance.

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Since Lei Zhen was now the leader of the Special Task Force, it was naturally up to him to organize the meetings.

The others gradually returned to the temporary office of the Special Task Force.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Lei Zhen asked each of them about their findings from their inquiries.

Zhu Xiaojun stood up to report. "We visited Li Hongyan's old neighbors and her former classmates. Everyone said she was quite virtuous and hadn't been involved in any scandals. However, we did find out one thing: Li Hongyan once dated Ou Xiaochun's childhood friend, He Mingwei. But Li Hongyan's parents opposed the relationship, so they eventually broke up."

"Gu Qingcheng and I already know about that," Lei Zhen said. "Li Hongyan and He Mingwei met at a KTV. Furthermore, we suspect that Ou Xiaochun's son might actually be He Mingwei's."

As soon as he said this, Zhu Xiaojun, Tan Lin, and the others were somewhat surprised.

"How about your side, Hong Lin?" Lei Zhen looked toward the others.

Zheng Honglin said, "We learned of a situation in Fengming Village. It seems Ou Mingquan always had designs on his daughter-in-law. Years ago, when Li Hongyan had just given birth and was breastfeeding, some villagers said they saw Ou Mingquan peeping at her while she was nursing the baby several times."

Lei Zhen smiled. "We found out something too. Ou Mingquan didn't just peep at his daughter-in-law breastfeeding; he even secretly installed a camera in the house and filmed over sixty videos of Li Hongyan showering."

The group was shocked once again.

"Captain, you even found out about that?"

Lei Zhen straightened his posture and said, "If I didn't have this much skill, how could I be the leader of this Special Task Force?"

Everyone looked at him with admiration, except for Gu Qingcheng, who gave a secret pout.

Lei Zhen continued, "We also found out that on the day of the crime, September 19th around 6:00 PM, He Mingwei, who was playing tiles at the mahjong parlor, left for sixteen minutes using diarrhea as an excuse. I now suspect whether it was possible for him to use those sixteen minutes to go to Fengming Village, strangle Ou Mingquan, and then rush back."

After speaking, Lei Zhen pulled out a map.

"This is a satellite map from the mahjong parlor to Ou Mingquan's house in Fengming Village. I calculated the distance of the rural roads to be 13.4 kilometers in total. Although this distance would take about half an hour on a typical electric bike, if He Mingwei drove a car or a motorcycle, the time could be greatly reduced."

Indeed, a car or motorcycle could go sixty kilometers per hour on rural roads, which could cut the time by more than half.

"But even that wouldn't be enough time," Zhu Xiaojun said. "Even if He Mingwei rode a motorcycle—and on rural roads, a motorcycle isn't slower than a car—a single trip for 13.4 kilometers would take at least 12 to 13 minutes. It's impossible for He Mingwei to kill someone and get back in 16 minutes."

Lei Zhen thought for a moment. "In other words, if He Mingwei were to complete the murder and return within 16 minutes, he would have to cover that 13-kilometer route in under 8 minutes."

Zheng Honglin added, "To cover 13.4 kilometers in 8 minutes, the speed would have to be 100 kilometers per hour. That seems unlikely, doesn't it?"

Everyone looked at Zheng Honglin. "You calculated that so fast?"

Zheng Honglin smiled. "I've studied mental arithmetic."

Lei Zhen couldn't help but frown. "You also have to factor in the time to enter the house and strangle Ou Mingquan. To accomplish it, the travel time would have to be under 7 minutes."

"Then the motorcycle's speed would have to be 114 kilometers per hour," Zheng Honglin added.

Going 114 kilometers per hour on a rural road, especially on a motorcycle, was almost impossible.

Of course, it was even more impossible for a car, unless the driver was a professional racer.

"What if He Mingwei is a professional?" someone suggested.

Lei Zhen recalled, "Before cars became common, almost every household in the countryside rode motorcycles. The young people back then loved playing with bikes and had excellent skills. It's possible He Mingwei really is a master rider."

"How about this? While it's still light out, Qingcheng, come with me to He Mingwei's house again. I want to see if he has a motorcycle there."

So Lei Zhen told the others to rest while he took Gu Qingcheng back to Fengming Village once more.

By the time they reached the village entrance, the sun had already begun to set.

Sister Pang was currently in detention, Li Hongyan had taken the child to her parents' home, and Ou Xiaochun was said to be staying with a relative in the city. Their old family home still remained in its original state from when it was cordoned off.

Furthermore, since the case hadn't been cleared up, Ou Mingquan could not be buried yet.

This made the house look even more desolate and eerie under the falling night.

Lei Zhen led Gu Qingcheng straight to He Mingwei's house, where they happened to find the family having dinner.

He Mingwei's parents looked both surprised and nervous when they heard the police were there to investigate.

"It's nothing. we're just here to ask a few casual questions."

As Lei Zhen spoke, he glanced at a Zongshen off-road motorcycle in the corner of the house.

However, the bike looked like it had some years on it.

"Is this your bike?" Lei Zhen pointed as he walked forward.

He Mingwei nodded. "I used to like off-roading, but I stopped as I got older. This bike has been parked here for several years; the engine probably won't even turn over."

Lei Zhen looked closely. It was exactly as he said; the bike clearly looked like it had been sitting for a long time, with most of the paint peeled off, and the battery looked like it had been dead for years. One didn't even need to try to know it wouldn't start.

"Back when you used to ride, how long did it usually take you to get back from town?" Lei Zhen asked.

"Back from town?" He Mingwei thought for a moment. "At least ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Lei Zhen feigned surprise. "You rode that fast?"

He Mingwei smiled. "I've been riding for over a decade. I can tell you, in the whole of Qinghe Town, there aren't many people who can ride faster than me!"