Chapter 24: Qin Jiang

The presence of Qin Jiang here, compounded by his fall from the third floor, struck the scene like a bolt of lightning, plunging everyone into several seconds of stunned silence.

Ye Sangsang was the first to recognize the person who had fallen. She rushed forward to examine him and assess his injuries.

"Head trauma, fractured leg, call an ambulance!" After checking him, she issued swift instructions, then carefully adjusted Qin Jiang’s position to ensure his head wound was no longer in contact with the ground.

Even the experienced Zheng He stood frozen for a few seconds before snapping into action at Ye Sangsang's command. "Call for the ambulance immediately! Someone trained in first aid, come over and watch him! The rest of you, follow me upstairs."

He organized the team quickly, and an officer with basic first-aid training stepped forward. Ye Sangsang raised her weapon and charged toward the staircase of the small three-story building alongside Zheng He.

[Oh my god, why so sudden! Why did Qin Jiang fall from the building?]
[Was he thrown by the criminals? Is his life in danger?]
[I don't know why, but this case feels familiar. I feel like I've heard about it somewhere before.]

The live-stream audience was shocked by the sudden turn of events, feeling a sense of panic at the scene unfolding before them. Their minds were filled with questions; although they knew Qin Jiang had left early, they never expected him to appear here, let alone in such a tragic state. The entire case had become increasingly murky.

On-site, the investigation did not pause for discussion. Ye Sangsang and Zheng He took the lead, intent on finding an opportunity to capture the suspect.

The third floor was an illegal addition to the structure, accessible only by an external iron staircase that rang out with a hollow "thud-thud-thud" under their feet. As they ascended, they instinctively softened their steps. The fact that Qin Jiang had been thrown from the room suggested the presence of a suspect with significant physical strength. Although the two officers were armed, it had not been many years since strict weapon control laws were enacted, and there was a chance the suspect might be armed as well. A single lapse in caution could lead to a shootout.

Ye Sangsang had never fired her weapon in the line of duty; despite her calm exterior, her internal state was complex.

Upon reaching the top, they arrived at a small landing. Ye Sangsang and Zheng He exchanged a look, then raised their guns, one on each side of the door. After waiting half a minute in silence, Ye Sangsang attempted to turn the vintage, circular stainless steel doorknob. It turned halfway, then stuck—it was locked.

They exchanged another glance, fearing the suspect might jump from another window to escape. They braced themselves at the door.

"Bang!"

The next second, the sound of a heavy breach echoed as they both kicked the door. Because iron doors were expensive, most people used wooden ones; years of wind and rain had left the red paint peeling and the wood fragile. With two trained police officers kicking in unison, the door splintered, creating a hole. A second kick followed, and the door gave way entirely.

As the door fell, the two officers retreated to the side of the landing, backs against the wall, waiting for any movement from within.

Zheng He, impressed by the suspect's composure, shouted inside: "You are surrounded! Hands on your heads and get down! Don't make us use force!"

"Let's go in," Ye Sangsang said, sensing something was wrong.

Zheng He nodded. They rushed in together, back-to-back, scanning the room for the suspect. If the perpetrator had a firearm, they would need to act instantly to neutralize the threat.

[So intense.]
[Feels like watching a movie.]
[I can't imagine, if I were role-playing this, my blood would be boiling.]

The live-stream audience was deeply immersed, already imagining themselves in the scene. Ye Sangsang and Zheng He scanned the living room but found no one. They exchanged looks and headed toward the room from which Qin Jiang had fallen. Their expressions darkened as their eyes landed on a corpse on the floor. A search of the other rooms revealed no one else. There was only the body and the evidence of Qin Jiang's fall.

Ye Sangsang noticed a handgun in the corner—a domestic model. Her own sidearm was the standard police issue. She looked away to examine the victim. The deceased was lying face down toward the window with a bullet wound through the right chest; a shell casing lay in the corner of the room.

"Call the forensics team to examine the scene," she ordered. With a firearm involved—whether police-issued or the suspect's—they had to preserve the scene.

Neither spoke, both burdened by a sinking premonition that something worse was yet to come. After securing the area, they headed downstairs.

The ambulance had arrived inside the scrapyard. Nurses and doctors carefully placed Qin Jiang on a stretcher. Zheng He looked at Qin Jiang and volunteered, "I'll go with him; you stay here and handle the scene."

"Agreed. I'll wait for the forensics team and head to the hospital once I'm done," Ye Sangsang nodded, watching as they loaded the patient into the vehicle. Zheng He departed with the ambulance.

Ye Sangsang looked up at the three-story building and the bloodstains left behind by Qin Jiang, a complex expression crossing her face.

[Looking at this, I have a bad feeling.]
[I don't think Qin Jiang is that kind of person; there must be a misunderstanding.]
[This is so difficult!]

The viewers, like Ye Sangsang, felt overwhelmed. Although they hadn't spent much time watching Qin Jiang, they trusted Ye Sangsang’s previous analysis and believed he was a good man.

The forensics team arrived to map the trajectory of the bullet. The sound of camera shutters filled the air as the entire scrapyard was cordoned off with police tape. Ye Sangsang joined in the search, examining every inch to ensure no clues were missed.

Aside from the gunshot wound, the victim's face was intact. Soon, a local neighborhood committee member who knew Zhao Tianman arrived to identify the body. The person entered the room with visible trepidation, took one look, and turned pale. After a moment, they said with a complex look, "This is the ex-convict named Zhao Tianman. I remember him clearly."

Ye Sangsang acknowledged this and let the witness leave. Now, another question remained: where was Zhao Tianman's brother? He should have been the one to identify the body, yet he had been nowhere to be found.

Just then, a colleague approached with a file. "We've checked Zhao Tianman's record. He was released from prison only a month ago. He had served ten years for attempted murder during a home invasion, plus two prior convictions for theft. After his release, he had been in conflict with his older brother, Zhao Tianqi. Zhao Tianqi couldn't stand him, and they stopped speaking to each other."

Ye Sangsang pondered this. "And where is the brother now?"

The colleague looked troubled. "He’s downstairs on the second floor, dead drunk. We can't wake him up. When we asked him about his brother, he just mumbled something about burning him and buying an urn."

Ye Sangsang fell silent and returned to the scene. Since he wasn't awake, she would question him later.

After marking the position of the body, Ye Sangsang examined the signs of struggle. She envisioned the victim and Qin Jiang arguing before coming to blows. The windows were built low and covered in grime. She peeled off a piece of an old advertisement stuck to the glass; it crumbled into dust between her fingers. These windows hadn't been replaced in at least five or six years.

There were only signs of a struggle between two people. Ye Sangsang checked the other rooms. The third floor was crudely finished with cement floors and whitewashed walls, laid out as a three-room apartment. East was the room Qin Jiang fell from, followed by a middle room and a back room. The living quarters were squalid: dirty clothes piled high on the nightstand, tangled bedding, empty liquor bottles, and cigarette butts on the floor. It was clear the deceased had lived a decadent, self-destructive life.

The other rooms were mostly empty, filled with junk. The living room contained only a tattered leopard-print sofa. Ye Sangsang walked into the bathroom. Unlike the rest of the apartment, the toiletries and towels were neatly arranged. She noted this detail and left.

By the time she emerged, the medical examiner and forensics team had finished their work, and the body had been removed. The atmosphere was heavier than in other cases. Qin Jiang was a well-known veteran detective in the criminal investigation detachment. Had he not been so stubborn and prone to past mistakes, he would have long since been a detachment captain. Seeing him in this state left everyone feeling unsettled.

Ye Sangsang didn't leave immediately; instead, she went to see Zhao Tianqi. As the brother, he should have known the most, even if they had long since stopped speaking.

The door to the second floor was ajar. Ye Sangsang and a colleague knocked and entered. Zhao Tianqi was lying on the bed; he seemed to have finally sobered up and sat up.

"I know what you're going to ask. It's about Zhao Tianman. That ungrateful wretch is better off dead; he's not worth investigating!" He was clearly furious, harboring long-standing resentment toward his brother.

Ye Sangsang replied, "He is dead, after all."

Zhao Tianqi looked at Ye Sangsang, as if her words had caught in his throat, leaving him momentarily speechless.

[I feel like Sang-jie likes to leave people speechless in this mission.]
[Hahahaha, Zhao Tianqi: ??!]
[Zhao Tianqi probably expected Sang-jie to try and mediate, asking why he was unhappy and letting him vent.]

The room was silent for two seconds before Zhao Tianqi took a deep breath. "What do you want to know?"

"Just asking who your brother has been in contact with recently, if there were any strange developments, or if he had committed any new crimes," Ye Sangsang said.

Zhao Tianqi thought for a moment. "Recently? Other than going out a couple of days ago, he stayed at home. Occasionally, he'd come into my room to see if I had any money."

Ye Sangsang noted the "habitual thief" aspect, then asked, "Were there any strangers around him?"

"He was quite reclusive, and since he'd just gotten out of prison, he didn't really know anyone," Zhao Tianqi said.

Ye Sangsang noted this down. "Why were you at odds, and when did the conflict start?"

Zhao Tianqi’s expression darkened at the question, his chest heaving as he recalled the details. "When he came back a month ago, he demanded the house. He claimed that because our parents helped me build this recycling plant, he deserved a share, and he wanted ten thousand yuan from me."

"Did you give it to him?" Ye Sangsang asked.