Diary of a Criminal Investigator-Chapter 382: The Second Body

Last night in Haizhou, before setting off, Lu Chuan had already studied the monitor video.

Although the video clarity wasn’t high, it was clear enough to see the problems. In the video, Wang Lili got out of the car, and the taxi waited for a while before leaving.

"Brother Zhang, in last year’s video, did you later find anyone or any vehicles passing by here that night?"

Zhang Lijun shook his head: "This chemical factory was relocated ten years ago due to severe air pollution, but because of funding issues, it hasn’t been demolished yet."

"No one manages the factory, and some equipment inside has been stolen by thieves, with almost everything that could be moved already taken."

"The entire factory is drafty, with many ways in and out. This location is near the gate, but it’s not the only access point."

"Moreover, we checked last year’s video. On that night, no one or vehicle passed through this section. Wang Lili was the only one."

"This road..."

Zhang Hui walked to the roadside, standing at the right-angle corner, looking at the weeds on both sides of the road.

"At this position, west of the factory gate, weeds are all over the road. Logically, not many people or vehicles should pass through here..."

Zhang Hui turned to the driver: "Driver, was this getting-off point a random stop, or was it at the request of Wang Lili, the female passenger?"

"It was her request. When she got on the car, she told me the destination was the gate of the chemical factory. When I arrived there, she asked me to drive a bit further around the corner."

"She requested it? A last-minute request?"

"Yes, just as I was about to stop at the gate, she asked."

"Let’s go take a look at the gate."

Turning the corner, only about twenty meters away was the gate.

Zhang Hui turned back, looking towards the corner, just able to see the surveillance camera pole there.

"Is there a possibility..."

Zhang Hui pointed to the surveillance camera at the corner: "Did Wang Lili come here to meet someone, and upon seeing the surveillance, asked the driver to drive a bit further before getting off?"

Lu Chuan and the others turned back, following the direction Zhang Hui pointed to, to consider this possibility...

It was definitely possible.

The key question is, whom did Wang Lili come here to meet?

Did she know this person, and what was the nature of their relationship?

"Brother Hui, let’s take a look inside the factory."

"Okay."

Walking in and around the factory premises revealed a rather rundown scene.

The streets that were supposed to be clean and orderly were now overgrown with weeds.

Some factory buildings had broken windows, and some office area buildings were even collapsed.

Many walls had graffiti, and there were quite a few discarded spray paint cans on the ground.

Lu Chuan approached a row of houses that looked relatively intact on the outside, frowning.

Inside was a lot of trash, discarded condoms, tissues, and everything.

There were even some rooms with sponge mattresses...

This place, it seemed, had quite a few wild lovers visiting.

Wang Lili...

Last year, leaving her colleagues on the pretext in the middle of the night, leaving a slow-shake bar, came to a place like this.

"Brother Zhang, can Wang Lili’s colleagues still be contacted?"

"Yes, I’ll contact them now."

While Zhang Lijun went to contact the other party, Zhang Hui and Lu Chuan continued wandering around the factory area.

After more than a year, it’s definitely impossible to extract any useful traces or clues, but it didn’t stop the few of them from making guesses.

"Brother Hui, Lu, do you think Wang Lili came to meet a lover last year?"

"In the middle of the night, running to such a desolate place alone, leaving colleagues behind, pretending to be unwell, she surely had a reason."

"I think Old Chen is right. Could Wang Lili have contacted someone through some social app? She didn’t make any phone calls in the car but was always on her phone, possibly communicating with someone?"

Their speculations were also the guesses of Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui.

But the key issue was that Wang Lili’s phone couldn’t be found, her call records showed nothing abnormal, but the same couldn’t be said about her social networking apps.

"I’m in contact, but the other party is at work. We’ll have to go to her workplace."

An hour later.

At Huangzhou Haisheng Import and Export Trade Company.

Lu Chuan and the others met Sun Xiaojuan, the colleague who was with Wang Lili on the day she disappeared, drinking at the slow-shake bar.

"Officer, Lili... hasn’t been found yet?"

Sun Xiaojuan, probably in her thirties, had a petite frame, a baby face, fair skin, not particularly pretty but quite pleasing to look at.

"We have some clues. This time we’re here to learn more about the details of Wang Lili leaving the slow-shake bar that time."

"Oh, I already explained this very clearly."

"That night, after dinner, she said going home early was boring, so we went to the slow-shake bar together. She only drank two bottles of beer, the small kind."

"Lili usually has a good alcohol tolerance. Half a jin of white wine is nothing for her. Two beers at the slow-shake bar are like drinking water to her."

Zhang Hui nodded, understanding that Sun Xiaojuan deliberately emphasized Wang Lili not being drunk to clear herself of any connection.

"Ms. Sun, no need to worry, we can confirm that Wang Lili’s disappearance has nothing to do with you."

"We just want to understand if there were any unusual actions by Wang Lili that day?"

"Or, say... any strange behaviors?"

Upon hearing Zhang Hui affirm that Wang Lili’s disappearance had nothing to do with her, Sun Xiaojuan visibly relaxed.

"Everything seemed normal. We were together during work without anything special."

"Did Wang Lili meet any strangers at the bar, or did anyone come up to greet her, trying to chat her up? Did she exchange contact info with anyone?"

"There were definitely strangers. The bar is full of unfamiliar faces, and going to such a place, us two women, surely people came to chat us up, but we generally don’t exchange contact details with people there. Lili didn’t that day either."

"Think again, is it possible there’s something you missed, like when you went to the bathroom..."

"Well... now that you mention it... there was a guy. When I came back from the bathroom, I saw a man chatting with Lili." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Tall, seemed quite okay-looking, but when I asked Lili, she said she wasn’t interested. But afterward, she didn’t really drink anymore, just stayed on her phone. Shortly after, she said she was unwell and left."

Zhang Hui and Lu Chuan exchanged a glance; there was indeed something here.

Meanwhile, as Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui gathered information from Sun Xiaojuan, there was a new discovery in Haizhou.

Warehouse Valley landfill.

"Captain Qin! Another corpse bundle has been found!"

The second body has been discovered!