Chapter 178: Chapter 137: Murder? Fraud?

“Captain Li, you’re here.”

“What’s the current situation?”

“That guy should still be asleep. So far, he hasn’t left the hotel. I asked the staff in there, and they said he hasn’t come out since last night. What a sleeper!”

Hu Zhao complained a bit. It was already nine-thirty, and they had been there since seven, waiting for two and a half hours with no developments. But they couldn’t leave; what if the guy acted the moment they left? Nobody could say for sure.

“These drifters are used to a carefree lifestyle, can’t stand even a bit of restraint, and don’t keep regular hours. Sleeping till ten in the morning is normal for them. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

And so they waited until ten-thirty before Wang Wei lazily sauntered out of the hotel.

“He’s coming, he’s coming!”

Seeing their target appear, everyone perked up and turned their gaze toward him.

Today, Wang Wei was wearing a black jacket and jeans, and unlike yesterday, he also wore a mask.

After he headed towards the road, Li Xiang and his team followed him, trailing behind.

Wang Wei looked around cautiously from the road but did not spot the plainclothes officers surveilling him.

He then walked along a pedestrian path heading towards Longxin Garden again.

“You guys keep your distance; I’ll move in closer. Wait for my signal, and be ready to arrest him anytime.”

To avoid exposing themselves, Li Xiang had the others stay back while he approached alone.

This time, Wang Wei didn’t stick to the outskirts but took an internal road into the neighborhood, walking into a stairwell while snapping pictures with his phone.

The building he entered was the one where Qiu Chengguang lived.

Was this just a coincidence?

Suspicion around Wang Wei grew as Li Xiang kept a low profile, continuing the tail.

During this, Wang Wei made a call, but due to the distance, Li Xiang couldn’t hear the conversation clearly.

Wang Wei took the fire stairs instead of the elevator, heading up to the 14th floor where Qiu Chengguang lived. Li Xiang followed, watching as Wang Wei took a photo of Qiu Chengguang’s front door, confirming his suspicion that Wang Wei was targeting Qiu Chengguang.

Li Xiang then sent a directive to Sun Zhidong and the team to be ready for an arrest when Wang Wei came downstairs.

Upon receiving the order, Sun Zhidong and his team prepared for capture downstairs.

As soon as Wang Wei reached the lobby on the first floor, they pinned him down swiftly, with three officers surrounding and holding him to the ground, rendering him immobile.

“Don’t move, it’s the police.”

“What’s your name?”

“Wang Wei.”

“Do you know why we’re arresting you?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t done anything.”

Wang Wei was bewildered. He hadn’t done anything, yet the police arrested him. What was going on?

“Still playing dumb, take him away.”

This was not an ordinary case but an attempted murder. Even though the murder hadn’t succeeded, it was still a major crime.

The police wouldn’t wait for him to succeed in killing before acting.

Once Li Xiang learned that there was no apparent connection between Qiu Chengguang and Wang Wei, it became clear that Wang Wei’s actions were highly targeted, providing the police ample reason to apprehend him.

“Hu Zhao, take him back to the station first. I’ll head to the hotel to collect his belongings.”

Wang Wei’s belongings were still in the hotel. After giving instructions to Hu Zhao, Li Xiang and Sun Zhidong went to Longxin Hotel. After explaining the situation at the front desk, they used the Universal Door Access to open Wang Wei’s room.

Upon entering, the first thing Li Xiang noticed was a pile of takeout boxes carelessly left on the coffee table, and the trash overflowing from the bin — it seemed like no one had cleaned the room since he checked in.

After inspecting the scene, aside from trash, he found a black suitcase. Upon opening it, he found only some clothes and a wallet with around two thousand in cash, a few bank cards, and an ID card.

There were no weapons or anything incriminating; based on these, Wang Wei didn’t quite fit the profile of a killer.

“We need to take these things back.”

After ensuring nothing was overlooked, Li Xiang took the black backpack and returned to the precinct.

By then, Wang Wei was sitting in the interrogation room. Li Xiang, upon returning, took Wang Wei’s phone and entered the interrogation room, activating the body camera.

“Wang Wei, 43, from Xiangping, previously convicted of theft and sentenced to three years. Tell me, what brings you to Jinghai?”

“Officer, Jinghai is a big city, I just came to travel.” Wang Wei was all smiles, trying to bluff his way through.

“Oh, really? Jinghai is indeed scenic. What’s your phone password? Let me see your beautiful Jinghai photos.”

“Uh.” Wang Wei hesitated, remembering there were some videos in his photo album, making him a bit reluctant.

After all, which guy keeps a clean phone?

The phone in the police’s hands was the worst case.

“Uh, what? What’s the password? You don’t tell us, we’ll just spend some time cracking it.”

“123456.”

Li Xiang opened the phone’s photo album and checked the photos taken in the past few days. Sure enough, every shot was of Longxin Garden’s location, with one photo particularly catching his attention.

It was a photo of Qiu Chengguang.

“You’re unique. While others take photos of the sights, you’re out here photographing door numbers. What were you planning?”

“Nothing, no plan at all.”

“I’d advise you to come clean. We wouldn’t arrest you without any leads. You don’t have to say, but I bet your phone will tell us plenty, like this person, do you know him?”

“I don’t know him.”

“Then why do you have his photo?”

Li Xiang continued to dig through Wang Wei’s chat records and discovered another suspect, finding the case increasingly intriguing.

This phone was crucial evidence in their hired-killing plot, with chat content detailing their criminal plan.

“Alright, I’ll talk, I’ll talk.”

By this point, Wang Wei realized he couldn’t hide the truth any longer and decided to confess.

“A friend of mine contacted me a few days ago, asking me to come to Jinghai to kill Qiu Chengguang. After the job, he’d pay me a hundred thousand. I needed money, so I took the job. But I wasn’t dumb enough to actually go through with it for just a hundred thousand. Killing isn’t worth that little.

So I told him I needed start-up money and asked for fifty thousand upfront, saying I needed to buy a ticket and tools for the crime and disposal. I was bluffing, just hoping to get some cash to spend. He argued fifty thousand was too much, eventually giving me twenty thousand, saying he’d pay the rest after the job.

I figured I could probably squeeze more out, so I bought a ticket to Jinghai, checked into a hotel with the address he provided, and sent him some photos. I told him I was in place and asked for another fifty thousand before I’d act. But before he paid, you guys showed up. How did you know? Did he suspect I was conning him and called the police?

He’s an idiot if he did that. How dare he? Hiring a killer carries a heavier penalty.”

Wang Wei thought his capture was due to the original employer reporting him, not realizing how the police had caught him.

He was baffled because he believed he was in control; even if the guy found out he was scammed, there was no chance he’d report it, given that hiring a killer equals murder.

“That’s not for you to know. You said you just wanted to scam some money? Your chat history tells a different story.”

“Those chats were meant to fool him. I mean, if I was really going to kill someone, I’d at least need to buy a knife, right? But I didn’t even do that. Hell, I even thought, if he really wouldn’t pay, I’d just confront Qiu Chengguang and have him lay low for a few days. I’d even share the payout if I managed to get the money.”

“How generous of you!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep