Simulating_Crimes_C57
by MarineTLChapter 57: Screening Staff at Shude Middle School, Could the Hidden Mastermind Be Right Next to Us?
Local resident of Magic City.
This is another clue derived from Skinny Dog’s words.
At this moment, Xu Changsheng did not try to keep things suspenseful. He looked at Su Ming and explained.
“The three places Skinny Dog mentioned just now.”
“All fall under the jurisdiction of Shengtian Village. Thirty years ago, in the 1990s, it was one of the more prosperous areas in Huaihai District.”
“The main reason for this prosperity was the massive Shengtian Textile Factory, which employed nearly ten thousand workers at the time.”
“These workers brought their families, turning the otherwise remote Shengtian Village into one of the busiest places in Huaihai at that time. The Fulin Convenience Store was the closest to the textile factory.”
“As for Hexing Alley, it was the place where most of the workers lived.”
“But the good times didn’t last.”
“In the mid-1990s, the slogan ‘Breaking the Iron Rice Bowl¹’ emerged, and an unprecedented wave of layoffs swept the country.”
“That year.”
“Due to the textile factory’s poor performance and outdated industrial structure, it was forcibly shut down. Even the factory’s sign was burned down, leading all the workers to scatter westward in search of other jobs.”
“In less than a year.”
“The bustling and prosperous Shengtian Village disappeared like a bubble, replaced by desolation and remoteness.”
“Because Shengtian Village was already on the edge of the suburbs.”
“It was only busy because of the textile factory, and as more people moved away, the whole village probably doesn’t have many residents now.”
“However, demolition couldn’t take place, because that textile factory was too large, and the location was too remote to make money from construction. Real estate developers wouldn’t take a loss.”
“So, it was just left there.”
“Except for the old locals of Magic City, anyone who goes to Shengtian Village wouldn’t know the name of the abandoned factory, let alone the…”
“Fulin Convenience Store and Hexing Alley.”
“But it is indeed a great place for drug transactions, since it is nearly completely abandoned, and there’s barely any surveillance!”
At this point.
Xu Changsheng seemed worried that Su Ming might misunderstand, so he quickly added.
“Xiao Ming, don’t get me wrong.”
“I’m not that old. This is something I learned from a previous case in Shengtian Village, when Director Lin took me to handle the case.”
“After all.”
“When the Shengtian Textile Factory was abandoned, Director Lin was still in elementary school.”
Sitting in the interrogation chair, Skinny Dog immediately picked up on Xu Changsheng’s words.
“Right, right!”
“When I went there, I felt like it was so desolate, hardly any young people. Most of the people there were elderly, half in their graves.”
“If we locals hadn’t heard of it, we’d really have no idea about this place!!!”
“By the way!”
“Officers, I thought of something strange…”
Skinny Dog paused for a moment, then, seeing Xu Changsheng and Su Ming looking at him, continued seriously.
“My superior seems to be ill.”
“Because when I was talking to him on the phone.”
“I often heard him suddenly sneeze, and the sound wasn’t very loud, kind of like he was forcing it to hold back!”
“And there was also the sound of sniffing. I can’t quite remember it clearly…”
“But he definitely sneezed!!!”
Hearing this detail from Skinny Dog,
Su Ming raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and followed up with another question.
“Did this sneezing happen every time he called you?”
“Or was it just once or twice?”
Skinny Dog turned his eyes, thinking for two seconds.
Then, he gave a vague answer, not remembering clearly.
“I can’t quite recall.”
“It seems there was no sneezing during the first call.”
“And then… there was probably some during the second call?”
“But the last time, around fifteen days ago, there were definitely sneezes, and he sneezed several times!!!”
Upon hearing this answer,
Su Ming gently nodded, then looked at Xu Changsheng and said.
“Brother Sheng.”
“I’ll make a bold guess.”
“The criminal suspect hiding in the shadows might have hay fever due to pollen allergies, because according to Skinny Dog’s impression…”
“The first time they contacted him, there were no sneezes, the second time there might have been some, and the third time, he definitely tried to hold back sneezing.”
“If it was just a cold, I don’t think it would last this long.”
“Moreover.”
“A cold would usually get better quickly and wouldn’t become a clue, but instead, it would become misleading information to confuse us.”
“Naturally, there would be no need to forcefully hold back sneezing to avoid drawing Skinny Dog’s attention.”
“As for serious illnesses like tuberculosis or lung cancer, that’s even less likely, considering that such a strict drug trafficking organization…”
“Would never have a sick person in charge of such a large drug market in Magic City!”
“Then.”
“Based on the timeline.”
“When the suspect first contacted Skinny Dog, it was likely in February, when the weather was still cold and the pollen hadn’t spread yet, so it didn’t trigger his hay fever.”
“When they contacted him again in March, spring had arrived, and although pollen was in the air, it wasn’t yet overwhelming.”
“So it was bearable, with just occasional coughing, nothing Skinny Dog would have specially remembered.”
“And by fifteen days ago.”
“The pollen in the air reached its peak, and the suspect could no longer endure it, but fearing the sneezing would expose him, he had to forcefully hold it back.”
“After all.”
“Pollen doesn’t end until May, and in his Blue Whale game, Zhang Wan and Huang Yan likely won’t survive that long.”
“So naturally, he needs to hide as much as possible to avoid being detected.”
“Now, although there are still many missing clues, I can already roughly sketch the profile of this criminal suspect…”
At this moment.
Su Ming rested one hand on his chin and lightly tapped the table with the other, organizing his thoughts before continuing with a serious tone.
“Based on the interrogation clues from Skinny Dog.”
“We can deduce the true mastermind is cautious and detail-oriented. Due to the use of a voice changer, we can’t determine their gender yet.”
“For now, we suspect the person works at Shude Middle School and is at least somewhat familiar with Huang Yan and Zhang Wan’s situations.”
“They likely have an independent office, though we can’t be 100% sure. They grew up in Magic City and probably witnessed the rise and fall of the Shengtian Textile Factory.”
“Let me add a personal deduction…”
“In my previous experience, drug dealers usually choose locations they’re familiar with for transactions, rather than unfamiliar ones.”
“But because Shengtian Village had already started declining.”
“The suspect’s parents probably worked at the Shengtian Textile Factory, which is why the suspect knows Shengtian Village so well.”
“At the same time, the suspect is likely allergic to pollen and experiences uncontrollable sneezing and coughing.”
“The last point.”
“From the Blue Whale game played by Zhang Wan and Huang Yan, I deduce that the suspect may have some basic knowledge of psychological counseling or psychiatry.”
“Because in the last email between Huang Yan and the suspect, they specifically mentioned a mental hospital.”
“Although it could be false information, we can still consider it for screening.”
“And from the progress of the mind control crimes…”
“We can see the suspect has such abilities, but it’s also possible they learned these skills later on just for committing crimes.”
Su Ming paused, then looked at Xu Changsheng and suggested.
“Brother Sheng.”
“I think we should start by screening at Shude Middle School based on this clue.”
“Because…”
“Regardless of where the criminal suspect is, just knowing the general information about Huang Yan and Zhang Wan is enough for us to begin screening within Shude Middle School!”
“And I believe…”
“Whether we find the killer or not, screening within Shude Middle School will surely bring us closer to the truth!!!”
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—”Breaking the iron rice bowl” means losing or leaving a stable, lifelong job, often in government or state-owned enterprises, to face job insecurity or pursue competitive opportunities after China’s economic reforms.