An hour ago, in the crime scene investigation laboratory.

Lu Chuan and a few others were discussing.

"The incense at Liang Dezhong’s home is definitely homemade. Look at these incenses, they vary in thickness and are quite rough in craftsmanship."

Old Bai took out a stick of incense, observed it for a moment in the light, and made a conclusion.

Regarding the incense, it was Yang Sen who made a major contribution.

After Liang Dezhong was arrested, the other tenants in the rented house were also taken away for questioning, and the entire building was sealed off. After finding the murder weapon and other clothing and shoes belonging to Liang Dezhong, the action team also discovered the site of the Mutual Aid Association’s rituals.

It was located in a room on the top floor of the entire building, on the inside.

After a quick inspection, the on-site detectives still called for the crime scene investigation team to come over and take a look.

Old Yang and Old Bai came over at that time.

The scene was nothing remarkable, quite empty in fact, with a sacrificial altar in the middle, and some ghost talismans with symbols that the average person couldn’t understand.

Besides these, there were some bloodstains that hadn’t been cleaned up in time.

There was also incense hanging above the altar.

In Haizhou City this season, although there are insects, there aren’t many, so typically, people don’t light incense. Moreover, the incense was hanging directly above the altar, which made it very conspicuous.

Old Yang found it somewhat strange and took some back for testing. As a result, he discovered something.

"I researched a bit, the hallucinogenic substance in the incense isn’t artificially synthesized, but naturally occurs within a type of fungus."

Lu Chuan handed out the already printed materials to the three of them: "This type of fungus is called Psilocybe, mostly growing in the mountains of southern Yun Province."

Yun Province?

Liu Guodong and the others flipped through the materials while listening to Lu Chuan’s explanation.

"Different poisonous mushrooms cause different symptoms after being ingested, some cause electrolyte imbalance, others cause hemolysis, some induce vomiting and dizziness, and some cause hallucinations."

"The effect of the Psilocybe contained in the incense at Liang Dezhong’s home leads to neurotoxicity and can cause certain hallucinations."

"Due to the very low concentration of Psilocybe in the incense, and since it’s not consumed directly but inhaled as gas during burning, the hallucinogenic effect is not particularly noticeable."

"People who inhale this might fall into a state of numbness with dull and confused thinking."

"Are you suggesting... that Liang Dezhong used this to control the people in the Mutual Aid Association?"

Liu Guodong immediately grasped the implication in Lu Chuan’s words.

"I think it’s possible. After all, according to Sun Qigang, their worship rituals became quite bloody later on, and eventually, they even used human blood for rituals. It’s difficult for a person of sound mind to self-harm."

"I just communicated with the action team, and during interrogation, they found self-inflicted injuries on the arms and legs of those tenants, some of which are quite fresh."

"If Liang Dezhong didn’t use some special method, I don’t think they would have done this."

"So, we need to investigate carefully how this incense came about."

After roughly understanding the situation, Liu Guodong reported to Qin Yong.

Zhang Hui entered the interrogation room for the second time.

"Liang Dezhong, let’s talk about your Mutual Aid Association this time."

"What’s there to say? It’s just an organization for mutual support."

"Mutual support?"

Zhang Hui sneered, "Liang Dezhong, you know better than anyone about the crimes you’ve committed. Four lives, do you know what offense this behavior of yours entails?"

"Hehe, what’s unclear, isn’t it just death? Everyone dies eventually, don’t you think so?"

"You seem to have come to terms with it, but one thing we don’t understand, why is this Mutual Aid Association putting money into itself without any return?"

"We found a lot of ritual superstitious DVDs in your room, where did these come from?"

"Additionally, where did the incense hanging in the ritual room come from?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Those things were bought online, you can check the courier records anytime."

"As for the incense, I bought it from someone when I traveled to Yun Province last year."

"That person told me that after lighting this incense, others would listen to you. I was skeptical at first, but later tried it during the Mutual Aid Association and it worked quite effectively."

"So, for every ritual, I would light some incense. When they performed the bloodletting rituals, they looked utterly pleased, I found it quite effective."

"And you were not affected?"

"Eat cilantro, eating a handful of cilantro in advance keeps you from being affected."

"Do you have the contact information of the person who sold the incense in Yun Province?"

"Yes, it’s in my phone, I’ve had him mail it to me twice."

The interrogation with Liang Dezhong went quite smoothly. He explained almost everything he knew clearly.

Perhaps this is what they say about a person speaking kindly at the end of their life.

Zhang Hui had interrogated many suspects who were sentenced to death.

Most suspects who committed serious crimes had a characteristic, they were particularly tight-lipped before confession, disclosing nothing regardless of the interrogation.

But once a breakthrough was achieved and substantial evidence was obtained, they would confess everything, and their emotions became relatively calm.

The information provided by Liang Dezhong was quickly verified.

The DVDs he bought were indeed acquired online, and through the seller’s address information, the action team rapidly locked in these clues.

Selling such prohibited items is illegal, and due to stricter regulation, these banned DVDs or books are now quite rare in some offline stores.

Yet online, there are still a few fish that slip through the net, and they are dealt with as soon as they are detected.

"We shouldn’t follow up on this lead ourselves, best to transfer it to the local public security bureau for them to handle."

Qin Yong made the decision; this case isn’t major, involving some banned DVDs and books to be confiscated completely, only needing some public security punishment maybe to resolve it.

The specifics depend on exactly how much the other party sold; if it’s a large volume, they might end up serving a few years.

The Criminal Investigation Team focuses primarily on the incense purchased by Liang Dezhong in Yun Province.

According to Liang Dezhong’s statement, these incense sticks were pricey, costing 500 yuan each.

Just from Liang Dezhong alone, 5,000 yuan was spent purchasing these incense sticks over there.

It’s conceivable that they couldn’t have sold only to Liang Dezhong, thus the value involved in this case could be exceptionally large.

Furthermore, Qin Yong had heard about the situation in Yun Province, being close to the border, it’s traditionally been a major entry route for unlawful goods entering the mainland.

So, should they tackle this case themselves, or hand it over to the Haizhou City Public Security Bureau Anti-drug Detachment?

If they handle it themselves and succeed, it would definitely count as a merit.

Transferred to the Anti-drug Detachment, though under the same Haizhou City Public Security Bureau, solving the case would mean the credit and reward would not leave them empty-handed.

What should they do, indeed?