Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

A valley located approximately 200 kilometers northwest of Shenhai City.

Cao Yingying looked up and saw cars slowly passing by on the overpass above her head. The roar of the engines gradually disappeared into the night as the lights faded away, like shooting stars slowly streaking across the night sky.

Looking down, one could see many police officers searching for various traces in the valley with flashlights. The flickering lights looked like a field of fireflies.

At the center of the lights was a car with a severely deformed frame and a shattered body. Forensic officers were carefully collecting various traces from the car.

Four white sheets covered the car; those were the bodies of Chen Huizhu, her family of three, and the driver.

"Old Luo, how's it going?" Zhou Zhengguo asked with a frown as he saw Luo Fangbing from the forensic department walking over.

"Director, the situation is a bit complicated..." Luo Fangbing also frowned deeply.

"Based on the on-site investigation, the preliminary conclusion is that when the car carrying Chen Huizhu's family entered the overpass, it must have encountered an emergency, and the driver braked suddenly, which can be determined by the tire tracks on the overpass surface."

At that point, the car had likely come to a complete stop.

The driver was then shot and killed instantly. The car crashed through the overpass railing and plunged into the valley.

This was no accident; it was murder, and the killer made no attempt to hide it, acting extremely arrogantly, as if he were deliberately telling everyone that they were the ones who killed the person.

"Luo, do you mean the car was forced to stop before it crashed through the fence and overturned into the valley? That means the car was pushed into the valley?" Cao Yingying raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Yes, to be precise, it was pushed down by a high-horsepower car from behind."

However, the car was badly damaged during the fall, making it very difficult to find any signs of impact at the rear. Sigh…

Luo Fangbing sighed softly after speaking.

"Can you confirm what kind of vehicle was ramming you from behind?"

"It's hard to say for sure," Luo Fangbing shook his head. "The rear of the car is badly damaged, and I haven't been able to find any useful traces yet."

I didn't find any useful clues on the overpass. I judged that the car must have been modified. There should have been very strong anti-collision armor welded to the front of the car body, otherwise such a strong impact should have left some fragments.

It's too dark now. Maybe we can find some clues when it gets light.

"Okay, I got it. You can go back to work," Zhou Zhengguo said, taking a deep breath.

"Yes."

Luo Fangbing went back to work. Just as Cao Yingying was about to say something to Zhou Zhengguo, Zhou Zhengguo's phone rang. After looking at the caller ID, Zhou Zhengguo answered the phone.

The call was from Liu Yusheng, the municipal party secretary. Zhou Zhengguo reported the results of the on-site investigation to Liu Yusheng.

"Old Zhou, who do you think did this?"

"Secretary, it's too early to say."

"Wasn't it the work of the Sea Harriers? Didn't you protect Comrade Chen Huizhu for a long time to prevent retaliation from the Sea Harriers?"

"That's possible, but after seeing the scene, I think it's probably not them. This wasn't a simple murder; it was more like an execution!"

"Is the security officer present for the execution...?"

"Yes, they arrived even faster than us," Zhou Zhengguo said, lowering his voice slightly.

"I understand... Now that the security personnel have gone there, things aren't that simple."

Whew~ Liu Yusheng let out a soft breath: "Old Zhou, no matter what the comrades in the security department are doing, we still have to investigate what we need to investigate ourselves."

Comrades Cheng Zhongjin and Chen Huizhu are both our cadres; this matter is extremely difficult.

"Yes, speaking of this, Secretary, could you please coordinate with Haixi Province? After all, Comrade Cheng Zhongjin is the vice mayor of Guishan City, and Comrade Chen Huizhu is the director of the Family Planning Association."

If the truth of this matter were revealed, I'm worried it would cause public panic. What I mean is, could we please announce that it was just a traffic accident?

"You're absolutely right. This matter shouldn't be made public. Leave it to me, I'll handle it."

"That's great, thank you for your support, Secretary."

"It's not really about support... Oh, by the way, did the security department say anything?"

"No, he was inspecting the scene the whole time and didn't say a word."

"Understood. After the security personnel finish their on-site investigation, you can communicate with them to at least figure out how we should cooperate."

If there are any updates, give me a call, no matter how late.

"Okay, Secretary, please rest assured."

Zhou Zhengguo hung up the phone and searched the crowd with his eyes. After a long while, he finally found 073's figure at the edge of the crowd.

073's attention didn't seem to be on the car; he was looking around in complete darkness, and it was anyone's guess what he was searching for.

Zhou Zhengguo gritted his teeth and decided not to bother 073 for the time being. He turned to Wang Tiejun and asked, "Tiejun, why don't you take the anti-drug team back first? Yingying and I will keep an eye on things here."

You've all been busy for days without a proper rest, and now everyone's come all here. I'm a little worried about things at home.

"Okay, then I'll take everyone back first," Wang Tiejun thought for a moment and nodded. It was pitch black everywhere, and it wouldn't make much sense to have so many people crammed into the valley. It might even ruin the scene.

"By the way, Tiejun, you guys must be heading back in the early hours of the morning. Buy everyone a late-night snack so they don't go home hungry. Keep the tickets, I'll reimburse you."

"No need. I just called Xia Jing and she said that An Xiaohai's people ordered a lot of takeout and sent it to the bureau. The colleagues who stayed at the bureau can't finish it all. There's a huge pile in the reception room. We can just heat it up in the cafeteria when we get back."

"What? An Xiaohai hasn't left yet? His men haven't left either, they're still gathered at the entrance?!"

"Yes, that's what Xia Qing said."

When did you talk to Xia Jing on the phone?

"Just now, about 10 minutes ago."

"No...no! Tie Jun, you need to check right now whether An Xiaohai is still in the station? Are his men still gathered at the entrance?" Zhou Zhengguo said anxiously.

Wang Tiejun was slightly taken aback, but immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. He promptly dialed the number of the officer on duty. After verifying the information, Wang Tiejun was also shocked:

"Chief, An Xiaohai didn't leave. His men are still here, very quietly, all squatting at the main entrance of the bureau!"

"Oh no! This isn't over yet!" Zhou Zhengguo's expression finally changed. "Tie Jun, go wait for me in the car. I'll go back with you! Captain Cao, I'm leaving this to you."

Before Zhou Zhengguo finished speaking, he had already jogged towards the location of 073.

------

"Don't you like the milk tea?" Xia Qing asked cautiously, biting her straw.

"It's definitely not to my taste, it's too sweet, I don't really like sweets," An Xiaohai said with a smile.

"Are you afraid of gaining weight?"

"No, I just don't like sweets."

"You're so direct."

"It's better to be direct with friends, so that everyone doesn't feel pressured."

"Are we friends?"

"Of course we are. We are friends, and we've fought side by side together."

Xia Qing couldn't help but smile: "You don't really need to sit here all the time. This chair is very uncomfortable. If you're tired, you can sit at my desk."

"Have you ever sat in this kind of chair before?"

"I tried it secretly, and it was quite uncomfortable."

"Ha, I didn't expect you to be so curious. This is a prisoner's chair; it must not be comfortable," An Xiaohai said with a soft sigh.

"It's nice here. Maybe it's because I've been in prison for a while, but this environment makes me feel safer and allows me to calm down completely."

"What does it feel like to be in jail?"

"It's hard to say," An Xiaohai smiled again: "Going to jail means being isolated from the world by solid walls and dense iron bars."

Inside the cage, one can clearly sense the passage of time and feel the weight of loneliness;

A cage can isolate you from communication with the world, but it cannot stop the world from being malicious towards you.

Once you gradually get used to the feeling of being in a cage, you may become unwilling to go out. Once you leave the cage and return to the busy and chaotic world outside, you may find it difficult to find peace again, and gradually, you will forget the purpose of living.

Xia Qing's gaze remained fixed on An Xiaohai's face, while An Xiaohai's gaze drifted into the void.

The faint moonlight reflected in An Xiaohai's pupils through the window, casting a mysterious hue over them.

"This is the first time I've heard someone describe going to jail in such a poetic way..." Xia Qing said softly, holding her milk tea cup, after what seemed like an eternity.

The remaining milk tea in the cup had long since gone cold.

Outside the detention cell, Liu Cong leaned against the wall, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, then took out a lighter but didn't light it for a long time. After a while, Liu Cong put the cigarette back in the pack and silently turned to leave.

dong dong dong~

A knock came at the door; the sound of knuckles tapping on the cold iron door was faint and muffled.

Xia Qing, who was leaning against the wall, straightened up slightly in a fluster. An Xiaohai turned his head to look at the door of the detention room, only to find that the person standing at the door was actually the female doctor with a full head of silver hair from Nanjiang County People's Hospital.