Chapter 533: Chapter 533: Setting Out for Coconut Chicken

According to the information provided by Zhao Shengli, Sun Baojun and his wife Zhang Jinlian were caught having an affair not just once or twice.

But the two grew increasingly brazen, starting with meeting in hotels, then gradually moving to the Stone Carving Garden, and ultimately even doing such things in the house.

Zhao Shengli once mentioned this to his wife Zhang Jinlian, but in return, he received severe personal insults.

In Zhang Jinlian’s words, since Zhao Shengli was inadequate, couldn’t she find someone capable outside?

"I don’t know when they first got together."

In the interrogation room, Zhao Shengli looked like a walking corpse, his eyes empty and expression dull.

He spoke calmly about everything between Sun Baojun and Zhang Jinlian, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Maybe they hooked up when Sun Baojun first started working for me."

"Or maybe later..."

"Who knows."

"Sun Baojun maybe wasn’t the first, and surely won’t be the last. Will I be executed this time?"

Zhang Hui watched Zhao Shengli talk to himself, and after confessing to the entire murder process, he kept repeating everything that happened after Sun Baojun arrived.

Zhao Shengli had wanted to kill Sun Baojun for a long time and had been planning it even before.

Last November, Sun Baojun and Zhang Jinlian were caught having an affair in Zhao Shengli’s bedroom, which was just the trigger.

In fact, Zhao Shengli had long known about Sun Baojun and Zhang Jinlian’s affair.

He was just planning all along.

When Lu Chuan left the Crime Scene Investigation office, it was already past seven, and the sky had darkened outside.

Shen Yan, having changed into casual clothes, went home with Lu Chuan.

"Did Brother Zhang say they got him?"

Lu Chuan nodded, "Zhao Shengli has confessed."

"How did Zhao Shengli do it?"

Lu Chuan knew Shen Yan was asking how the mummified body appeared inside the statue.

"The statue was actually carved by Sun Baojun himself, the victim."

"Zhao Shengli knocked him out in the Stone Carving Garden, then stuffed him inside the statue and heated the statue directly."

"He used a gas cylinder to bake it from the bottom of the statue."

"He opened an exhaust hole at the top of the head so the moisture could escape smoothly during baking, Zhao Shengli confessed that it baked in the garden for three days and nights."

"Then sealed the exhaust hole and transported it to the East Sea."

When chatting with Liu Guodong and others, Lu Chuan had also speculated that the perpetrator might have directly heated a statue to achieve the mummified effect.

But he did not expect Zhao Shengli to bake it in the garden for three days and nights.

The reason Zhao Shengli came up with this idea was that he had done similar things before.

Of course, it wasn’t murder before, but making stone pot chicken.

He used to stew a small chicken in a stone pot, and once forgot to open the lid, over boiled it, and the chicken became a mummified chicken.

Zhao Shengli used a large statue to make a big stone pot, replacing the small chicken with Sun Baojun.

"Knocked him out and put him inside... so he was roasted alive?"

Lu Chuan nodded, "Most likely..."

Sun Baojun’s mummified body had completely dehydrated on the surface, and one can imagine the immense pain he suffered during the scorching process.

The streets were already crowded with people as Haizhou City’s nightlife began.

"What shall we have for dinner?"

Not having eaten in the cafeteria, now that this case was put to rest, they could finally relax.

"There’s a good coconut chicken place on Huaguang Street, I’ve heard it’s quite authentic, shall we try it?"

"Sure, coconut chicken! Let’s go!"

As Lu Chuan and Shen Yan were about to enjoy some coconut chicken, the action team’s work was not yet done.

Although Zhao Shengli confessed the entire crime, there were still numerous written reports to prepare afterward.

Nonetheless, with the case solved, Qin Yong felt a lot less pressured; after apprehending Zhao Shengli and obtaining his confession, Qin Yong immediately called Song Jiangguo to report.

This case had caused quite a stir in public opinion, with many versions of the story circulating outside. The quicker the case was solved, the better.

Song Jiangguo, who hadn’t left work on time today, was also waiting for Qin Yong to report the case progress.

Receiving the call, he was surprised that the case had been solved by the second day after the incident.

He glanced up at the clock on the wall; it hadn’t been 48 hours since the case broke.

That’s an incredibly fast pace for investigating a homicide.

"Good!"

Song Jiangguo laughed heartily, "Qin Yong, this case was handled beautifully by the Criminal Investigation Team, capturing the suspect in less than 48 hours."

"I’ll report to our superiors right away and commend the Criminal Investigation Team for their excellent work!"

"Thank you, Director Song!"

Hanging up the phone, Qin Yong exhaled deeply, leaning back in his chair, as his long-tense nerves finally relaxed.

The position of Captain of the Criminal Investigation Team can be an easy job but also a tough one.

It’s easy because there aren’t many mundane tasks, just casework, but not small cases, major ones.

It’s tough because case-solving is genuinely challenging.

In a big city like Haizhou City, there are at least several hundred criminal cases a year.

Among all these cases, murder and robbery are not rare.

Each month, about one or two cases land in the Criminal Investigation Team’s hands.

None of the murders are simple.

Take Zhao Shengli, who would’ve thought he’d bake someone inside a statue for three days and nights, turning the corpse into a mummy?

This is why the job is tough, the cases are genuinely challenging to solve.

Thinking of this, Qin Yong recalled Zhang Hui, who played a big role in this case.

Pursuing the Stone Carving Garden and finding Sun Baojun were all clues discovered by Zhang Hui.

One could say he made significant contributions to this case.

Following that were Lu Chuan and Shen Yan.

This pair...

Qin Yong knew that the colleagues in the team jokingly referred to these two as the "Death Duo."

No matter where they went, they always seemed to uncover some major cases. This wasn’t the first time, perhaps the fourth time by now.

Someday, if there’s time and opportunity, he’d have to chat with Lu Chuan about this. They shouldn’t always be out on the street, it might lead to trouble.

Maybe he could discuss with him whether they could have their dates in the team’s office instead.

Achoo!

As Lu Chuan was eating coconut chicken, he sneezed hard.

"What happened? Did you catch a cold?"

Shen Yan handed over a tissue, asking with concern.

"It’s nothing, maybe someone is talking about me... It’s nothing, let’s eat. This coconut chicken is indeed quite good, next time we should bring our mentors along to try it..."

In the following period, life at the Criminal Investigation Team was very calm.

As autumn progressed, the weather became cooler, and September quickly passed.

Haizhou City, located in a temperate monsoon climate zone, has four distinct seasons.

The autumn scenery is particularly beautiful.

At this time, the Five-Flower Mountain in the north of the city was crowded with people enjoying the autumn views.