Chapter 16

Sixteen new clients moved in, causing the forensic room to become somewhat cramped.

Forensic doctors from other cities and provinces began to conduct autopsies together, and any clues were gathered and sent back, after which a large number of police officers began to investigate the case.

The entire Tongcheng police department, and even most of the Su province police force, began to invest in solving this major case. While the media hadn't fully caught wind of it, they had to seize the time to find some preliminary clues as soon as possible.

At this critical juncture,

Zhou Ze and Lawyer An drove back to the bookstore.

It was like playing a game. You just defeated a Boss, and you were feeling proud and satisfied, thinking the game was quite interesting,

Then suddenly you're told that,

There are fifteen more Bosses waiting for you to conquer,

And you'd probably think the game was a little boring.

Maybe that's not the right way to put it, but that was indeed Zhou Ze's current mindset. He was tired, and he'd had enough of this detective game. He was too lazy to continue following up on the larger conspiracy that would be involved.

A salted fish flips over to get sun on both sides.

If you keep flipping it over and over, it will become dried salted fish.

Back at the bookstore,

He took a shower first.

After changing his clothes, Zhou Ze lay down on the sofa.

Bai Yingying brought him a cup of coffee.

Zhou Ze immediately perked up and sat up. The familiar taste, the familiar charm.

"Did you buy it?"

"Yes, Boss," Bai Yingying nodded.

"You're so thoughtful."

He took a sip of coffee,

The familiar civet cat flavor,

So comfortable.

Lawyer An, who was sitting next to him, also got up and walked behind the bar.

Zhou Ze's hand, holding the cup, trembled slightly.

He remembered the horror of being dominated by Lawyer An's huge thermos cup that morning!

"Don't worry, Boss, I've hidden your coffee in the bedroom. Below is Nescafé instant coffee that's on sale at the supermarket today because it's nearing its expiration date."

Bai Yingying said, while glaring fiercely at the bar,

Daring to steal the Boss's bone,

Oh no,

Daring to steal the Boss's coffee,

How hateful!

When Lawyer An came out,

He was holding his signature big thermos cup,

So big he had no friends,

And he deliberately shook it in front of Zhou Ze, as if he was showing off.

Zhou Ze didn't bother to pay attention to him.

Lawyer An suddenly felt a little bored.

After taking a sip,

He wondered if it was just his imagination,

But the coffee also seemed much more bland.

He took a sip and secretly glanced at Zhou Ze. Seeing that Zhou Ze still didn't react, Lawyer An simply started chugging it down, to see if he would feel the pain!

After a round of heavy drinking,

Zhou Ze still calmly held his cup and slowly sipped his coffee.

He was thinking that Nescafé instant coffee wasn't cheap either, especially since this guy was drinking it like water. Next time, he should ask Yingying to buy a few boxes of expired, cheaper coffee for Lao An to drink.

His phone rang at this moment. It was Lao Zhang's call.

Lao Zhang probably went back to the office after a busy day and found that the Boss and Lawyer An were gone, so he was a little anxious.

"Hello."

"Boss, where did you go?"

"We're investigating outside. I'll let you know if I have any clues."

"Weeping."

"............" Lao Zhang.

"Oh, I'm investigating outside with Yingying."

"............" Lao Zhang.

"This is the thing, Boss, according to the preliminary analysis of the bones, each corpse has a distinct time gradient for their time of death. This means that our previous guess that the murderer was killing in segments, or even killing one person a year, is very likely to be true."

"Mm," Zhou Ze yawned.

"But now there's a problem. The most recent corpse is also more than a year old," Lao Zhang said anxiously. "In other words, the murderer hasn't killed anyone and buried them this year. Also, there are traces of deliberate damage to the bones. Cutting marks were generally found on the skeletal remains."

"Mm."

"Boss, this case needs to be expedited. The murderer hasn't killed anyone this year. If we don't catch the murderer soon, I'm really worried..."

"Then you go for it. Don't worry, the Late Night Bookstore will always be your strongest support!"

Free chicken soup, being thrown out.

"How about this, if I have any other discoveries here, I'll report them to you, Boss."

"Okay, okay."

"Or, Boss, could you come to the bureau again? We can investigate together again?"

"Actually, you can look for Lao Dao. By the way, where did Lao Dao go?" Zhou Ze looked at Yingying.

"He went out in the afternoon, looking very eager," Bai Yingying smiled mischievously, hinting to Zhou Ze what Lao Dao had gone to do.

"Oh, he went out. Lao Zhang, you can call Lao Dao and have him accompany you to investigate the case. Drive the police car to find him and clean up the human environment of Tongcheng by sweeping away the prostitutes."

"Find him?"

Lawyer An instinctively felt that it was a bit unreliable.

"Don't worry, he's very reliable, and he's first-rate at stepping on landmines."

"Are you kidding me, Boss?"

Lao Zhang still knew a little about Lao Dao's character and his real level.

"Whoever uses him will know. Don't worry, you go contact him."

Zhou Ze wasn't deceiving Lao Zhang, nor was he fooling him. Lao Dao might really have that kind of physical attribute. Whenever there was something unlucky happening around him, he was always the first to trigger it.

Once or twice is a coincidence or an accident,

But after so many times,

It proves that this guy might just be unlucky by nature.

After saying that, Zhou Ze hung up the phone and then moved Lao Zhang's phone number into the blacklist in his address book.

He got up,

Waved to Yingying and said:

"I'm going to take a nap first. I have to work the night shift tonight. If Lao Zhang calls back, don't wake me up."

"Boss, what if Lao Zhang comes back to find you?"

"Then break his legs and throw him out."

"Okay, Boss, Yingying understands!"

............

"Achoo!"

Lao Dao sneezed,

And reached out to wipe his nose.

"I say, Big Sister, you have the air conditioner set too low here. It's really easy to catch a cold after taking off your clothes."

Lao Dao pulled out a tissue from the bedside table with some dissatisfaction, wiped his nose, and wiped the snot off his nose.

"Others, after I pinch them, are gone in a matter of seconds. They just take off their clothes and put them back on. Do you think everyone is like you, wanting to blow on the air conditioner for so long?

Old Brother, I'm telling you from the bottom of my heart, the money you spent isn't even enough to pay for the air conditioning electricity."

"Hey, although I know it's a lie, it's really nice to hear. Alright, I won't delay you from doing business, Big Sister. See you."

"Come again next time."

"Sure, sure."

Lao Dao walked out of the small room and sneezed again.

Damn it,

Did he really catch a cold?

This foot massage shop was located in the town and wasn't actually very far from the bookstore. The entrance was a very narrow passage, truly a secluded place.

At the entrance of the passage sat an old man wearing a blue hat. There was a small table in front of the old man, with Chinese chess pieces on it, arranged in a chess puzzle.

As the saying goes, after that, a man enters a saintly state.

For a time, the soul and sentiments were sublimated, becoming desireless and refined.

Seeing the chess puzzle, Lao Dao simply sat down on the stool next to him and started watching.

The old man looked at Lao Dao, smiled, and said, "Want to play a game?"

"Let's do it!"

The two began to arrange the chess pieces. The scene of two old men playing chess together was very harmonious.

If the sign above their heads that read "Foot Massage, Massage, Health Care, Essential Oil Massage" were removed,

It would be even more harmonious.

At the beginning of the game, the two played very quickly. After entering the middle stage, the speed of the two men's playing slowed down.

"Old Brother, you're here to have some fun?" the old man asked Lao Dao.

Lao Dao's age was indeed older than this old man.

"Ah, yes, what about you?"

"I'm watching the door, and also keeping an eye out."

"Nice to meet you."

"You're too kind."

"Old Brother, your wife isn't around anymore?" the old man asked.

People of their age had already seen through life and death.

"I'm alone."

"What about your children?"

"No children."

"Listening to your accent, Old Brother, you're not a local, right?"

"My hometown is Shaanxi. I was in Rongcheng for the past two years, and I just came to Tongcheng this year."

"You're so old, and you're still running around."

"It's precisely because I'm old that I have to run around more."

"That makes sense, that makes sense. People of our age don't have many days left. This year, I've been to several funerals of friends and relatives.

They're leaving, one by one, and I'm a little afraid to answer the phone now. I'm afraid it's another bad news, that so-and-so has passed away.

My wife left early, and I'm sending off black-haired people as a white-haired man. Relatives and friends don't visit anymore. The only visits are at funerals."

"Then that's your fault."

"How do you say that, Old Brother?"

"Why did you used to be such a nice guy and have so many friends? If you ask me, you shouldn't have made friends in the past. You should have just made enemies."

"Make enemies?" The old man looked dumbfounded.

"That's right, when you get to this age,

You answer the phone,

Hey,

That enemy has died again,

You can wait for surprises every day."

The old man scratched his head, pondered for a while, and then laughed loudly, "You really see things clearly, Old Brother."

One game ended half an hour later. Lao Dao was more skilled and won, but it was a hard-won victory.

"Enjoyable, enjoyable!"

The old man patted his thigh and said:

"I have some Moutai and salt-boiled peanuts that I cooked myself. Want to go up and have a drink?"

"Let's do it, let's do it!"

Lao Dao was in a good mood today, and the old man in front of him was also to his liking.

The two old men walked inside with their arms around each other's shoulders.

From the small rooms inside, there were still sounds of the bed shaking from time to time.

The two looked at each other and smiled,

As if the rocking bed,

Contained their own long-lost youth.

At this time,

It was already night,

And the lights on the sign at the entrance of the alley had also lit up,

The red neon sign,

The words "Health Care,"

Were dazzling and bright,

As if there were fresh blood,

About to drip out...