A Taoist elder sitting next to Bai Lin meditated, "Indeed, why? Logically, he shouldn't be able to hold on for long. The last time I saw him, bad luck had already enveloped his body. I couldn't even see his face clearly."
"Enveloped by bad luck? Just look at him, does he look unfortunate? Huh?!" Bai Lin hoarsely roared, the tablet computer he held in his hands pushed out a piece of news—Dingsheng Group's exploration company in Moro discovered an extremely rich offshore oil field, and now had reached an agreement with Moro for joint development.
The news had just come out for a few minutes, and Dingsheng Group's stock price, which had already been trending upward, immediately surged, directly causing Bai Lin's acquisition plan to go bankrupt, and the tens of billions of funds he had moved from the Bai family were all lost.
Who is the jinx, who is the lucky star, it is difficult to determine now.
Ruan Ye was just tied up, not beaten, and the injection in her vein was glucose, to supplement energy, not poison. The adhesive tape covering her mouth had been cut open by a sound engineer to allow her to be fed water. She ate, drank, and relieved herself on the bed. Although the smell was unpleasant, her life was guaranteed, and there were no visible injuries on her body.
"Assistant Manager, she's fine!" Liao Fang roughly checked Ruan Ye's condition.
"Good that she's okay, quickly untie her! Be careful when removing the tape, don't hurt her eyelids. Cover her eyes with a semi-transparent gauze before letting her out so that she's not exposed to bright light. I'll call for an ambulance," Liu Tao took out his phone to contact the ambulance center.
Liao Fang and several team members hurriedly untied Ruan Ye.
Ruan Ye seemed completely numb, clearly awake but unresponsive, with pupils constricted to the size of a pin, as if her soul had left her.
"Ruan Ye, Ruan Ye, can you hear us? We're the police, we've come to save you, Ruan Ye..." Liao Fang persistently shouted.
"Hey, strange, is this room leaking?" The police officer responsible for removing the metal supports felt Ruan Ye's wet hair and, looking up, saw a metal bucket hanging above the small bed with a small hole at the bottom, filled with water dripping down.
The officer didn't understand the use of this bucket at that moment, but he didn't have time to ponder deeply, as he was busy rescuing Ruan Ye.
After a lot of work, they finally removed the ropes, straps, and metal supports, and carried Ruan Ye out of the fetid room. After a while, Ruan Ye gradually showed some reaction, starting to struggle in Liao Fang's arms. The adhesive tape covering her mouth had been removed, but she could not speak a complete sentence, only making animal-like moans, with an expression resembling madness.
Liao Fang held her tightly, repeatedly speaking comforting words. Seeing this scene, the sound engineer burst into extreme delight. As he smiled, Ruan Ye began to shiver, and then started frothing at the mouth and convulsing non-stop, eventually fainting from the fear.
"First, take her to the hospital," Zhuang Zhen said, while taking out handcuffs and walking toward the sound engineer.
The sound engineer stood up voluntarily, raised his hands, and said with a smile, "No need to be nervous, I won't resist. In fact, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
"You better behave!" Zhuang Zhen grabbed his hand, twisted it behind his back, and said sternly, "We suspect you are involved in several murder cases, you are under arrest!" With a crisp sound, a handcuff locked onto the sound engineer's wrist.
The sound engineer's home was tidy and unfurnished, with only a set of chairs and a computer. He even slept directly on the floor without a bed or a blanket, living a simple and austere life like an ascetic. The technicians from the forensic department conducted a thorough search of his home, but found no evidence linking him to the previous four murder cases. His computer had been completely formatted a few minutes before the special investigation team arrived, and the hard drive had suffered from a destructive virus, making it impossible to recover any data. He was a high-IQ criminal well-versed in various anti-detection methods.
Currently, the only help in the case was the investigation result regarding the sound engineer's social background. According to the special investigation team, his sister had attended a major high school affiliated with the normal university and was Ruan Ye's classmate and roommate, but had committed suicide three years ago. From this, it could be inferred that this series of murder cases should have been caused by this sister, but the specific circumstances were unknown.
Zhuang Zhen was worried about this because if the special investigation team could not gather all the evidence, they would not be able to charge the sound engineer with the murder. After all, the sentencing for murder and kidnapping differed greatly, and perhaps in less than ten years, this man could be released from prison and continue to threaten society.
But Song Rui told Zhuang Zhen: "Your worries are unnecessary. From the series of reactions since his arrest, he has no intention of refusing to confess. Let's question him first."
"Okay, let's interrogate first. We don't have time to unravel the truth of that suicide case years ago. The superiors are pressing us, giving us an ultimatum," Zhuang Zhen expressed slight dissatisfaction with the bureaucratic style of the higher-ups but also showed understanding. After all, the social impact of this case was too great, and unless it was concluded quickly, the sub-bureau would not be able to justify it to the public.
As they were organizing the information, Liao Fang came back from the hospital with a medical report, joyfully saying, "Captain, the doctor said Ruan Ye's condition is very good, no external or internal injuries, and she hasn't been violated. She just needs some more observation in the hospital and will be able to go home in a few days."
"Oh, she's much luckier than the other four," Xiao Li said, clearly relieved.
Song Rui was carefully examining the photos of the crime scene. Upon hearing this, he picked out one of the photos and sighed, "Is Ruan Ye really luckier than the others? I'm not so sure. Do you know what this bed, this bucket, and this dripping hole are used for?"
"What are they used for?" Xiao Li asked curiously.
Zhuang Zhen stared at the photo, his tone very solemn, "It's the water torture."
"No way, it's the water torture?" Xiao Li imagined the scene but couldn't understand the horror of the water torture.
Song Rui put down the photo and sighed deeply, "Ruan Ye's experience with the water torture is different from the historical water torture; it's an upgraded version. Emperor Zhou invented it as a form of punishment, strapping a person to a seat, making their head unable to move, and hanging a bucket full of water above them, constantly dripping water onto their head. It may sound childish, but this punishment is more torturous than flogging, cutting, and burning. There was a terrorist once captured by a hostile base, who endured lashes, cuts, and fires but couldn't endure the water torture, biting off his own tongue to commit suicide. It is said that in ancient times, some prisoners facing execution would rather choose to die with a smile rather than endure this punishment."
"Is it that exaggerated?" Xiao Li tried to imagine the scene but still couldn't comprehend the horror of the water torture.
Song Rui put on his glasses and said firmly, "So I have reason to suspect that Ruan Ye is the cause of this series of murder cases and the primary target of the killer. Instead of killing her, the killer would prefer to fundamentally destroy her. I think I already know how to talk to the killer. Let's go."