Qingye Heshi’s mind went blank for a moment.
“Sorry, Illusion’s suicide, I find it a bit hard to imagine.”
“It’s alright, I was just being melancholic for a moment. It’s all in the past now, I’m an optimist,” Zheng Fan said, shaking his head with a smile.
Just then, Qingye Heshi’s subordinate came to his side and whispered a reminder. Qingye Heshi then said to Zheng Fan, “We’ve been chatting for a bit too long. I have urgent matters to attend to.”
“Hmm, I actually have something to do as well,” Zheng Fan said, looking at Xiao Zhao, who seemed to have just taken another call nearby.
Both sides politely bid farewell and turned to get into their respective vehicles.
Zheng Fan’s studio could actually afford a private car now; it had truly prospered.
“This was actually snatched from a gang that was threatening us a while ago. For our daily operations, public buses and subways are enough, at most we take a taxi. Besides, even buying one or two cars wouldn’t improve efficiency much,” Xiao Zhao explained the car’s origin with a slight blush.
“Who asked you? Drive,” Zheng Fan could only roll his eyes and say.
…
The scene at Dongding Road.
When Zheng Fan got out of the car, he turned and met eyes with Qingye Heshi, who was also getting out of his car at the same time.
“…” Qingye Heshi felt a bit awkward.
“What a coincidence, Xixikeke Street is really small.”
“Indeed.”
Not long after Qingye Heshi got down, he was called over by a police officer from the street nearby.
Zheng Fan looked at his back and said, “He’s been called here. Something is wrong with this matter.”
Xiao Zhao led Zheng Fan to their brothers who were in charge of the factory here.
Upon seeing Zheng Fan, the younger brothers immediately perked up and greeted him.
Zheng Fan feigned a nod, dealt with all of them, and then said, “Alright, tell me, what’s going on here?”
One person from among the younger brothers came out to explain: “Fei Ge, we can say this incident is purely bad luck.”
“The factory we’re currently watching hasn’t caused any trouble, but last night, a death occurred here, right next to our factory!”
“Hmm… Isn’t that quite normal?” Zheng Fan pondered for a moment, looking puzzled.
Getting flustered over a death in the Grey District was just making a fuss.
“The problem isn’t the deaths, the key is the identities of these few deceased! They are students from some school in Rafael School District. The police here say their deaths are full of suspicious points,” the younger brother said with a bitter expression.
They truly had grievances they couldn't voice.
Students from the White District were studying perfectly fine there, but for some reason, they came to the Grey District looking for excitement. As a result, whether it was bad luck or something else, they actually found excitement.
They found excitement, but their lives were gone.
The main point was, of all places to die, they had to die right next to their factory.
Xiao Zhao, after learning the full story, also frowned deeply: “It’s indeed difficult to handle. Although our studio is doing quite well, the outside world doesn’t care about our studio’s operations; they uniformly refer to us as Banmu. Our Banmu is already in a sensitive period right now, and this incident puts us at a great disadvantage.”
Zheng Fan didn't say much upon hearing this, looking towards Qingye Heshi who was talking to the police.
Standing among the police, he inexplicably felt more like a scene from a TV drama where a black-hearted CEO is framed and caught at a critical juncture.
Qingye Heshi told his subordinate to follow up with the police, and then he also walked straight towards Zheng Fan.
“You really caused me trouble. Is this factory on Dongding Road actually your property?” Qingye Heshi showed no expression, and his tone revealed no issues.
“Qingye Ge, this wasn’t done by us.” Even with his current elite demeanor, Xiao Zhao was ultimately just a deputy. Facing Qingye’s questioning stance, he couldn’t help but show some timidity.
“Whether it was done by you or not isn’t the main point right now. These factories on Dongding Road, no one wants them, not only because they are difficult to manage, but also because they are too close to Rafael School District. This boundary is very hard to control. Didn’t she tell you?” Qingye Heshi said noncommittally.
Others couldn't detect anything unusual, but Zheng Fan knew he was asking why Lin Yilin hadn't warned them.
How would Zheng Fan know this? He was just a studio mascot.
The other younger brothers didn't know what to say.
“Will you help handle it?” Zheng Fan asked directly.
Qingye Heshi said, “We are all from Banmu Office, so helping to handle it is inevitable, but this debt will still fall on your heads internally. Dadu police bully the weak and fear the strong. This time, they have a legitimate reason to want to downplay a major incident, and that’s not a small loss.”
“Why are you starting to fear the police now?”
“Because this time, the police can legitimately invoke Dadu’s authority. Rafael School District, first of all, is part of the White District, which must not be tainted. As one of Dadu’s largest school districts, it contains many descendants of prominent families. From any angle, it must not be taken lightly,” Qingye Heshi explained.
Zheng Fan sighed, “It feels like someone is trying to cause trouble for us. How do you say it, looking for a reason to start a war?”
“The operations of Xixikeke Street are above standard for now. There are no strict conflicts of interest between the White District and the Grey District, so there shouldn’t be a reason for war.”
“So, it’s targeting Banmu?”
“That’s the biggest possibility, but there are still suspicious points. Banmu’s scale is at most what it is. It’s not worth sacrificing lives from the White District to stir up trouble. If they truly wanted to eradicate us, they wouldn’t need to find a reason at all. Excluding official factors, then only an unknown mastermind throwing blame remains. Without a doubt, you were very unlucky and walked right into the crosshairs,” Qingye Heshi concluded.
Zheng Fan blinked his left and right eyes back and forth, his eyebrows dancing.
After Qingye Heshi finished speaking, the entire scene was enveloped in a grim atmosphere. He watched Zheng Fan’s eyebrow dance for a long time.
“…What are you doing?”
“Thinking, finding it troublesome, and trying to lighten the mood.”
“Stop your foolish behavior, we’re talking serious business now.”
“Can we go see the bodies and the crime scene?” Zheng Fan quickly shifted to the main topic.
Qingye Heshi was silent for a moment, then turned and said, “Come.”
Zheng Fan told the others to remain calm and followed him.
…
Qingye Heshi naturally had many connections with the police, and he easily led Zheng Fan and the others to the bodies that had not yet been sent away.
Looking at a bag on the stretcher, Zheng Fan said, “Doesn’t it look a bit small?”
“That’s part of one person’s body; the other parts are still being searched for, and the same goes for here. There are also a few bodies that are slightly better preserved, but only marginally so,” Qingye Heshi said, pointing to the side.
Zheng Fan peered into the alley where most people were gathered. Many police officers were searching through the dirty and messy alley.
Unfortunately, large piles of debris and scattered garbage made the work quite difficult.
“We found three attached fingers here; the palm part is still unclear!” a worker here looked up from the garbage pile, holding up an object.
Zheng Fan: “This is more brutal than my pet.”
Qingye Heshi glanced at it: “A cat?”
“Toast.”
Qingye Heshi: ?