Diary of a Criminal Investigator-Chapter 396: The Troubled Killer

This case involving Hu Zhigang is definitely not something that can be resolved in a day or two.

The interrogation by Ren Qiang is certainly not going to be the last one.

The specific times and locations of the other body dumps, the exact location of the murders, and where the bodies were dismembered all need to be clearly explained by Hu Zhigang.

Moreover, future interrogations are bound to become increasingly harsh. With Hu Zhigang’s level of mental resilience, the mere threats from a few hoodlums in the detention center would be enough to make him spill everything.

What Ren Qiang said about the detention center is half-truth and half-deception.

Even when the detention center’s cells are extremely crowded, murderers are still kept isolated as much as possible.

This is because incidents have happened in the past where suspects convicted of murder, believing they are doomed, retaliated ruthlessly after being bullied and almost bit off a bully’s throat in the detention center.

In previous years, such incidents were not uncommon, so they started isolating the suspects.

Additionally, even the dumbest thugs wouldn’t mess with a murderer.

At most, it’s like well water not disturbing the river water, leaving each other alone.

Who would be foolish enough to go against a murderer, unless they have a death wish?

The investigation of the case continues, and the people in pre-trial finally have something to work on.

They have been interrogating Hu Zhigang for several consecutive days.

It turns out, you can’t look at murderers through the lens of common sense.

Hu Zhigang killed more than the seven people Ren Qiang uncovered during interrogation.

Crime Scene Investigation office.

"I heard from the pre-trial team that Hu Zhigang concealed two people?"

Old Bai was scrubbing a piece of small-leafed padauk with a metal brush, nodding as he scrubbed: "This bastard specifically targeted places like slow rock bars, killed people and dismembered them. He originally had two freezers, besides the ones we found, there was a smaller one that broke down, so he tossed it."

"The day before he got caught, he ordered a new freezer online. Luckily, he got caught, otherwise..."

"Let’s not talk about that. Old Yang, which school did your son end up applying to?"

Yang Sen hadn’t mentioned it in the past few days.

"The kid applied for a computer science program and went to Xinjing University."

Unexpected but not surprising, Old Yang’s kid didn’t apply to a police college.

Old Bai naturally didn’t bring it up: "Computer science is good too. It’ll be easier to find a job after graduation, and it’s convenient for civil service exams, plus he could work for Qiangsheng Group."

Lu Chuan nodded, agreeing.

In fact, Lu Chuan was the first to know about Old Yang’s kid ultimately applying for a computer science degree.

Because Old Yang had asked him how the benefits would be if his son worked for Qiangsheng Group after graduation.

Old Yang’s kid scored over 620 points in the college entrance exam, which was more than enough for a top-tier university, a 985 no less, and naturally, the benefits would be good after graduating.

"For computer science, during the internship period, it won’t be under ten thousand a month, and after regularization, it’ll be at least fifteen thousand."

"Per month?"

"Yes, per month. If he does well and gets promoted to middle management, he could earn over thirty thousand a year."

Thus, Old Yang gave up on the dream of having two generations of police officers in the family and discussed it with his son, who then applied for the current major.

In the end, people need to eat.

The better you can provide for yourself, the less you’d want to eat baked sweet potatoes every day.

Thirty thousand...

Even the director, Song Jiangguo, in a year couldn’t earn that much, and Qin Yong, as the team leader, hardly makes ten thousand a year.

After a lifetime of hard work, nearing retirement, you only get over six thousand a month.

Additionally, Lu Chuan has helped arrange jobs for quite a few university graduates from the Criminal Investigation Team’s families this month.

The worst of them went to a subsidiary of a food processing company in a nearby county. Though the place itself was average, the salary was over nine thousand.

The reason for the distance was mainly that the kid studied food processing, a vocational degree.

These days, a vocational graduate finding a job with a nine thousand salary right after graduation is like a dream come true.

Otherwise, he could only go to the local police station as an auxiliary officer, with no chance of becoming a permanent officer in his lifetime.

Of course, unless he had performed an act of bravery or displayed supreme valor, nearly losing his life to earn a permanent spot.

Life is life, and ideals are ideals.

One must eat first before they can discuss ideals.

Lu Chuan wasn’t wealthy growing up. His family was as poor as can be.

Liu Guodong also considered Old Yang’s choice very wise.

In this era, police officers rank at the bottom of the social dating chain. Despite being a stable job, the salary is low.

And there’s frequent overtime, often with no end in sight.

Don’t even think about handling family matters.

The relaxed lifestyle is quite pleasant, and the flamingo-lily that Lu Chuan has been diligently tending recently is particularly striking, as red as blood.

Then, something happened.

"Have you heard? The Jingzhou Road police station caught a murderer yesterday."

Even though Old Bai is nearing retirement, he is incredibly well-informed and always the first to know about everything.

"What’s the situation?"

It must not be a major case; otherwise, the Criminal Investigation Team would be involved.

If the Criminal Investigation Team isn’t involved, it means there’s no big trouble. Perhaps the person was killed, and the perpetrator was caught.

"It happened just the day before yesterday, a migrant worker bloodbathed the Mountain Water Court sales office on Jingzhou Road, killing two female sales agents."

Old Yang showed interest because of the female sales agents involved.

"What’s the story?"

"This, quite frankly, is a ridiculous story."

Old Bai has a talent for storytelling.

He sat down on the sofa with a tea cup in hand, speaking fluently.

"The suspect is a migrant worker who has been working in Haizhou City for over twenty years, and he is in his fifties."

"He saved all his life and took out a loan to buy a seventy-plus square meter apartment in Mountain Water Court."

"After completing the handover procedures, that night he realized his apartment was next to a huge building ventilation fan, making it impossible to sleep due to the noise."

"The suspect demanded that the sales agents either refund or switch his apartment."

"The result, of course, was that he couldn’t change it."

"The suspect ran everywhere seeking a resolution, visiting several places. The consumer association said it wasn’t a quality issue, and the environmental protection department said it was a design issue, and they couldn’t solve it either."

"The suspect even knelt down, saying this apartment was the entirety of his life’s savings, begging them to exchange it for one he could live in."

"After struggling for half a year, no one dealt with it."

"The day before yesterday, the suspect left a letter to his family, grabbed an axe, headed to the sales center, found the sales agent who sold him the apartment, and hacked away at her. After finishing her, he chased another agent and kept hacking."

"He killed two people; the axe broke, and then he went upstairs intending to commit suicide but was talked down. He got arrested."

The story came to a pause, and Old Yang, as a listener, felt a heavy pressure on his chest.

After a while, he asked, "What ended up happening to the apartment?"