Chapter 228: Lan Cai’er Blackmailing K? The First Signs of an Overseas Criminal Organization

Overseas?

The moment Chen Sheng spoke these words, Su Ming raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

He then looked at Chen Sheng, who was frowning slightly and seemed uncertain, and spoke up.

“Chief Chen.”

“Where did you find the special clue that allowed you to boldly infer that the problem lies overseas?”

“To be honest, I also feel… there’s a high possibility that Lan Cai’er took photos of something she shouldn’t have abroad, which led to her being targeted for elimination.”

“But we need certain clues and details to verify this, as pure speculation might not be enough.”

Upon hearing this,

Chen Sheng didn’t hesitate at all. He walked with his slightly limp gait to the multimedia area, turned on the projector, placed a document on top, and began speaking.

“Team Leader Su, you can take a look at this document about Lan Cai’er.”

“First, we can confirm that Lan Cai’er was a journalist working at Jiahe City Television. When this incident occurred, she had just completed her internship.”

“This means Lan Cai’er had just graduated and was a very young woman.”

“However, her alma mater was not in the country; she graduated from Duke University in the United States, which consistently ranks in the top ten and has outstanding academic standards.”

“She majored in journalism, so after graduating and returning to the country, she became a reporter.”

“These basic details about Lan Cai’er, I don’t even need to release this document, I can recite them clearly by memory because I’ve seen it so many times.”

“But even though I had seen it countless times, without obtaining other crucial information, it was impossible to make the connection.”

At this point,

Chen Sheng paused for a few seconds before continuing with great seriousness.

“I hadn’t paid much attention to these incidental clues before, I just glanced over them, because when the drug trafficking organization was not discovered, the focus wasn’t on this.”

“Or rather, I never considered this possibility before.”

“Because I couldn’t believe there were criminals so arrogant that they would track down Lan Cai’er from overseas and kill her in Dragon Country just because she angered them over something.”

“After all, compared to Western countries, Dragon Country isn’t that free, and once a murder case occurs, the investigation force is beyond anyone’s imagination.”

“I always thought that maybe Lan Cai’er just had bad luck and became a victim of a random killing or angered someone around her, who then used various covert methods to kill her.”

“But just now, Team Leader Su, you suddenly told me…”

“That the Kill Organization established by K is highly likely to have close cooperation with some overseas organization, involved in the delivery of high-purity drugs and the selection of members for the organization.”

“And… Lan Cai’er may have taken photos of something and became a target for K because of this, which led to her being marked for elimination. Immediately, I thought…”

“A newcomer reporter from the TV station, who has just passed her internship, how would she come into contact with K’s drug trafficking organization and capture important evidence that led to her being targeted for death?”

“Of course, there’s one more premise: Considering K, the leader of this drug trafficking organization, is extremely cautious, managing to hide the entire organization for six years without us, the police, discovering it.”

“How could Lan Cai’er, who is not very experienced, just graduated and returned to the country not long ago, discover any intelligence about this drug trafficking organization within the country?”

“After thinking carefully for several minutes, I immediately made a bold inference…”

“If it happened domestically, it would be difficult for Lan Cai’er to find crucial clues about K or the Kill Organization. So, the problem most likely lies in the time she spent studying abroad?”

After hearing this,

Su Ming nodded slightly, agreeing with Chen Sheng’s bold deduction.

From the in-depth analysis of Lan Cai’er, it can be confirmed that the items in the current conference room are not something Chen Sheng specially brought out to show off, attempting to display that he is working hard to solve the case.

This is a true reflection of his inability to let go of the unsolved case, and that he comes here to study the case whenever he has free time.

At the same time, Su Ming was quickly thinking in his mind…

Considering K’s cautious nature, would he really allow someone completely unrelated, who under normal circumstances would have no interaction with him, like Lan Cai’er, to discover clues about a drug trafficking organization in Dragon Country?

Clearly not.

If it were that easy to discover, the dark side of Dragon Country wouldn’t have been hidden for six years, only to be gradually uncovered after the exposure of Zhou Shirui and Qu Pengfei.

However, due to the different national conditions in Western countries, some drug trafficking organizations might openly confront the police, with their weapons and equipment often superior to those of the police.

Therefore, the level of confidentiality and protection for the organization’s intelligence is not as high as imagined.

Clues and evidence related to the drug trafficking organization that could not be obtained in Dragon Country may not be impossible to obtain in the United States.

Not to mention…

It was Qu Pengfei, who was lured into a trap at a casino in the United States, that was eventually forced to join the Kill Organization.

This undoubtedly proves that Lan Cai’er, who happened to be studying abroad in the United States, really had some opportunity and possibility to capture important clues and intelligence.

At this moment,

Su Ming immediately thought of a possibility and boldly turned to Chen Sheng, saying,

“Chief Chen.”

“I’ll take a bold guess… If we assume that Lan Cai’er took photos of something abroad, which led to her being targeted by K.”

“Of course, it’s also possible that she didn’t capture any clues or intelligence about K, but rather some unspeakable secrets about his partners.”

“Considering Lan Cai’er’s time of death, she had just graduated and completed her internship.”

“So what I’m thinking is… could it be possible that Lan Cai’er accidentally recorded something in her graduation project, or some other work?”

“At first, she didn’t notice it, but later, upon reviewing her work, she accidentally found this recorded detail, which led to the killing and revenge?”

Upon hearing this,

Xu Changsheng, who was standing beside him, looked increasingly confused, his gaze filled with bewilderment as he asked Su Ming.

“Xiao Ming, doesn’t this seem a bit off?”

“Even if Lan Cai’er discovered some criminal evidence about K in her work, if she kept it to herself, nothing should have happened, right?”

“Unless… she contacted K herself, trying to blackmail him for some money? And then ended up getting killed?”

Su Ming gently shook his head, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully as he continued,

“Brother Sheng.”

“Maybe Lan Cai’er wasn’t trying to blackmail anyone. Since she was able to study abroad, her family background probably isn’t bad, so she wouldn’t need to blackmail criminals for money.”

“My current guess is…”

“As far as I know, universities in the United States highly encourage teamwork. Even graduation projects or theses can be done as part of a team.”

“So, is it possible… that it wasn’t Lan Cai’er trying to blackmail anyone? But rather, other members of her team were attempting to blackmail K or an associated criminal organization?”

“They originally thought they could make some money, but they misjudged the brutality of these criminal organizations?”

After hearing Su Ming’s analysis,

Chen Sheng, standing at the front, nodded in full agreement, then displayed a special group photo on the projection screen.

In this group photo, besides Lan Cai’er, there were three other members.

However, judging by their skin tone and facial features, the other three members were not from Dragon Country, but university students from other countries.

Then, he continued.

Chen Sheng slightly narrowed his eyes, looking at the group photo on the projection screen, then spoke with sharp seriousness.

“Just ten minutes ago.”

“I received the latest intelligence from the Criminal Investigation Technology Section… This photo, which includes Lan Cai’er, shows all members of the graduation project team, consisting of Westerners.”

“In those short seven days, for various special reasons, they all permanently closed their mouths…”

Upon hearing this,

Xu Changsheng was immediately stunned, his eyes filled with an indescribable astonishment.

Westerners… all dead?

It was clear.

This could not possibly be a coincidence. There was a hidden hand controlling everything, eliminating all the unstable factors.

Xu Changsheng took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and looked at Chen Sheng, his tone heavy as he said,

“Chief Chen.”

“So, are we really saying the issue lies abroad?”

“This graduation team of Westerners, including Lan Cai’er, just happened to capture or learn some important evidence about a criminal organization.”

“And then, one member of the team decided to use the evidence to blackmail and get a large sum of money.”

“Now that I think about it, it’s really something those bold, death-seeking young Americans would do—to blackmail a criminal organization.”

“Because one person’s boldness and greed cost the lives of three others.”

Chen Sheng nodded in agreement, then continued looking at the photo on the projector, with a somewhat complex expression as he said,

“I can say.”

“Team Leader Su’s deduction just now was basically spot on, and I can’t help but feel a sense of admiration and emotion.”

“I didn’t expect that I just gave a slight hint and mentioned some clues and intelligence not in the file, and Team Leader Su was able to deduce the general situation.”

“Now, back to the case.”

“The Westerners in this photo were part of Lan Caier’s graduation design team, composed of international students from different countries.”

“Then, aside from Lan Cai’er, although the nationalities of the other three members were not from the United States, they stayed in the United States after graduation, hoping to find high-paying jobs.”

“However, with the help of officers from the Criminal Investigation Technology Section, after searching various social media and platforms, it was confirmed that before Lan Cai’er’s incident…”

“The other three members had already been killed.”

“Their social media accounts almost simultaneously stopped updating, and their families posted mourning messages. This even became one of the campus horror stories at Duke University.”

“The members of the same graduation team died one after another in just seven days. This certainly has a strange and eerie atmosphere.”

“Of course, I also specifically looked at the Western police’s speculations about the case and their assessment of the cause of death for the three, hoping to find some clues or information.”

“But what I found somewhat laughable was…”

“The United States police gave the same explanation for the cause of death of the three members… simple suicide.”

“The reason given was that no signs of homicide were found at the scene, and the state was highly consistent with suicide. It’s very likely that there was an agreement to commit suicide together.”

“Indeed, those Western countries are the true haven for criminals.”

At this point,

Chen Sheng’s expression became even more serious, and then he spoke in a tone that seemed to carry some meaning,

“The discovery of this clue.”

“Actually, further proves the earlier deduction, that aside from the hidden Kill Organization in the dark side of our Dragon Country.”

“There are indeed other large criminal organizations abroad, which are either assisting K, or both sides are doing business, helping each other for mutual benefit.”

“But what I’m worried about now is…”

“Even though we know that Lan Cai’er indeed recorded some key clues or evidence, and it wasn’t just her, but the other three members also knew about it.”

“The problem is that they are all dead now, and the other three incidents occurred in the United States. We simply cannot access the case files for those three cases to verify our inferences.”

“With just the information we have now, is it possible to uncover what Lan Cai’er might have known?”

Regarding Chen Sheng’s concern,

Su Ming rubbed his chin, carefully looking at the group photo on the projection screen, then shook his head and narrowed his eyes in acknowledgment.

“Chief Chen.”

“Actually, I think… the entry point for the current case might not lie in what exactly Lan Cai’er and the others recorded or photographed, nor in the three deceased team members.”

“We should be looking to… use the information we currently have to dig out the Ghost hidden in Jiahe City, and then get the relevant clues from his mouth.”

“Since the goal is to plug the gap, and we’re not sure if Lan Cai’er shared the evidence or clues with anyone else…”

“The Ghost sent to deal with the issue would definitely need to confirm that Lan Cai’er didn’t tell anyone else, so the newly sealed gap doesn’t open up a bigger one.”

“Whether through interrogation or other means, we can deduce that the Ghost is likely aware of some relevant content.”

“So once we uncover the Ghost, it largely means… we have unearthed the important evidence Lan Cai’er recorded, which could impact the entire massive criminal organization.”

Su Ming’s clear thoughts and objectives made Chen Sheng nod in agreement.

Then,

He clicked on the next image and pointed at the projection, explaining in a calm voice.

“Although the focus is now on the Ghost.”

“Let me take this opportunity to finish off the last clue.”

“According to the information found by the Criminal Investigation Technology Section, the graduation project of Lan Cai’er and her Western team—’Seventy-Two Hours at New York Port'”

“Mainly covers the containers and various cargo operations at New York Port, with Lan Cai’er interviewing staff, while the other members did filming, editing, and voiceovers, etc.”

“In other words, many of the things we import in our country—wine, cigars, baby formula, luxury goods, and so on—come from container ships departing from New York Port. Is it possible that among them…”

“High-purity drugs transported by K?”