Bang!

"Wang Qi!"

"On Temple King Mountain, you used the victim's dagger to kill, and your fingerprints are on the handle!"

"At this point, what's the point of denying it?"

Ren Qiang slammed his fist on the table, his voice loud, trying to intimidate Wang Qi.

"Officer, you don't need to scare me."

Wang Qi chuckled with a disdainful expression, "I know what I did myself."

"Either way, it's death. If I did it, I'll admit it. If I didn't, admitting won't help. You still haven't caught the real killer."

Ren Qiang frowned deeply.

From Wang Qi's expression and tone, he could tell the other was likely telling the truth.

But if Wang Qi wasn't the killer, what about the fingerprints on the dagger that killed Zheng Bin?

Was there someone else at the scene?

"Wang Qi, the person who died on Temple King Mountain nine years ago was a police officer."

Ren Qiang's tone softened, "With a murder on your hands, the usual outcome is definitely the death penalty."

"But if you really didn't commit the murder on Temple King Mountain, we hope you can tell us the truth. Who actually did it?"

"This could count as atonement with merit, and your death penalty might be reduced to life imprisonment."

Life imprisonment?

Hearing this, Wang Qi suddenly became excited.

"What you said... is true?"

No one wants to die if they can live.

Knowing what he had done, Wang Qi was prepared to die.

But if there was a chance to live now, even life imprisonment, spending his life inside, was better than death.

"I can't guarantee, but we'll report the information you provide to the judge. The final verdict will consider your crimes and the value of the information you provide."

Ren Qiang didn't give a definitive answer.

But even this gave Wang Qi hope to live.

"I'll tell, I'll tell, I'll fully cooperate with you. Don't worry, the information I know is definitely valuable, valuable!"

Wang Qi's attitude made a 180-degree turn.

"The person who killed that policeman on Temple King Mountain nine years ago was Wang San."

"Wang San? Is that a nickname?"

Zhang Hui began to take notes as Ren Qiang continued questioning.

"It's a nickname. Everyone in our circle calls him that, but we don't know his real name."

"Your circle? What circle?"

"Crossbows. We play with crossbows."

"Go on!"

"Yes, yes, that's how it is. We play with powerful crossbows. It's illegal. We often organize people in the group to hunt in the mountains..."

The matter Wang Qi confessed to was indeed significant.

Centered in Haizhou City, it extended to four or five surrounding prefectural-level cities, forming a group illegally possessing crossbows.

They usually contacted via the internet and regularly organized hunting activities.

"Wang San was the leader. He started this circle."

"What do you do in it?"

"I make crossbows, earning three thousand yuan each, and occasionally join them in hunts."

"Where do you hunt, and what do you hunt?"

"There are generally four fixed places: Temple King Mountain, Sunwu Mountain, Beihang Mountain, and Big River Port."

"These places have deep forests with bears, wolves, and animals like deer."

"Besides those... sometimes they also hunt people!"

"People?!"

Ren Qiang's voice rose several octaves.

"Yes, if there are just one or two hikers in the mountains, they hunt people."

"I know of at least three instances."

"But I didn't participate. I only helped them with crossbow adjustments. These years, I went hunting with them only about a dozen times."

"What's with the fingerprints on the dagger?"

"I remember that. Back then, that policeman was shot with a crossbow, and then Wang San used his dagger to mess up the wound, creating the illusion of a dagger killing."

"He gave me the dagger and asked me to take care of the fingerprints. I wiped the handle with the dead... the policeman's clothes, then put the dagger in his hand, and finally threw the body into the ravine."

"There are wolves and bears there. We thought it would be eaten clean, but unexpectedly, hikers discovered it and reported it."

"Because of that incident, our group halted activities for about a year. Only when the situation quieted down did it resume."

Criminal Investigation Team's conference room.

Qin Yong had a grave expression as Ren Qiang reported the relevant situation.

"According to Wang Qi's confession, there are thirteen people in this circle."

"The leader's nickname is Wang San. We only know he's from Tianzhou City, but not his real name."

"Wang Qi handles making crossbows and arrows. Wang San organizes the activities, and the other eleven join irregularly."

"The last hunt was six months ago. The next time is undetermined. Based on past experience, it should be around May or June this year."

In the conference room, besides Ren Qiang, there were also Sun Jun, Zhang Hui, and Wang Shuai, key members of the action team.

Regarding the crime scene investigation, Qin Yong specifically instructed Liu Guodong to participate with Lu Chuan.

"Based on the current clues, it's confirmed that this is a long-embedded, secretive, organized crime syndicate around Haizhou City."

"They use crossbows for illegal hunting and even kill adventure hikers."

"The case is particularly severe, with crime scenes spanning at least four prefectural-level cities. This is going to be a tough battle!"

"I announce the reformation of the Temple King Mountain murder special task force and the relaunch of the investigation!"

This was the conclusion Qin Yong reached after consulting the municipal bureau's opinion.

Using the reopening of the nine-year-old Zheng Bin murder as a breakthrough, to capture the entire illegal hunting organization!

Crime scene investigation office.

"Master, what Group Leader Ren just said... is it real?"

Lu Chuan still found it hard to believe.

In this day and age, stories about hunters still exist!

This sounds like a fantasy tale.

The deep forests are not lawless places. Even without rangers, someone would report if a person died.

Over the years, many resources have been used to search for those who went missing in the mountains.

Liu Guodong sighed, "It's not that impossible."

"Leaving aside other things, just talking about Temple King Mountain, its periphery has been developed into a tourist area, but the interior still has vast undeveloped primitive forests."

Temple King Mountain stretches several hundred kilometers in Haizhou City's northeast, with broadleaf forests whose age is unknown.

It's not an exaggeration to call it a primordial forest.

"Every year, eight to ten people go missing there. Only one or two are found."

Temple King Mountain borders multiple prefectural-level cities, and any place can lead into the mountains.

Once someone is really missing, it's indeed difficult to find them.

"Sunwu Mountain in Tianzhou City is larger than Temple King Mountain. Although Beihang Mountain is smaller, its cliffs are steepest."

"Among these places, Big River Port is slightly better. As long as you don't drown, it's relatively safe."

The case is severe, but investigating it is relatively straightforward.

Though Wang Qi doesn't know Wang San's real name, he knows several other group members.

Three of them are locals from Haizhou City.

Knowing the names makes it easier, and what remains is how to apprehend them.

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