Chapter 12: Don’t Go to Sleep
Discovering human remains definitely warranted reporting to the authorities.
But before that, Tang Jianing wanted to know whether these remains were an isolated accident or if the entire warehouse district had become a burial site for the killer.
If there was only one, converting this area into a commercial street wouldn’t be much affected.
However, if there were many fragments—no matter how much was just rumor—there would be no chance of building a commercial street here.
Whether merchants or visitors, everyone would carry a certain fear in their hearts.
Strength lies in numbers, and the security department, having dealt with life-threatening situations before, was well-versed in such search operations.
More than ten minutes later, Da Hu stood before Tang Jianing, accompanied by a group of men.
“Miss, we’ve searched everywhere...”
“Tell me.”
Judging by Da Hu’s expression, Tang Jianing guessed the situation was more serious than she had imagined.
“We found sixteen red buckets in these warehouses, including the one we saw earlier. We didn’t break them open to avoid damaging any remains inside.”
“But judging by their construction and shape, it’s likely they were all placed here by the same person.”
Tang Jianing’s face instantly darkened upon hearing this.
Great!
Just great!
The multi-million project was effectively ruined. Even if she painstakingly transformed this area into a proper commercial district, few merchants would dare to come.
Taking a deep breath, Tang Wanwan tried to calm her rising frustration.
“Have you contacted the criminal investigation unit yet?”
“Not yet. The chief’s phone is unreachable—he’s probably in a meeting.”
Though Da Hu hadn’t passed the civil service exam, he understood how busy a chief could be, especially with the Liao family case involved. Most likely, he was in a conference room right now.
“Then get in touch with the chief of the criminal investigation squad. You have his number, right?”
“Yes!”
Da Hu nodded and quickly dialed the number.
Soon, a strong and commanding voice came through the phone.
“Why call me now? Don’t you know I’m busy with a case?”
“We have a situation here. Our Miss wants to speak with you!”
Hearing the word “Miss,” the voice on the other end sounded even more exasperated.
“If it weren’t for your Miss, our chief wouldn’t still be getting scolded at the municipal committee, and we wouldn’t have so many approval procedures stuck with him.”
“I’ve only gotten two hours of sleep so far.”
The intensity of the complaint caused a hint of awkwardness to creep onto Da Hu’s face. He glanced at Tang Jianing to make sure she wasn’t upset.
“Put him on the phone!”
Tang Jianing could sense what was going on from the tone.
The two million spent on the land, combined with her words about withdrawing from Shancheng, had clearly provoked the city officials.
The chief was probably negotiating a way to appease Tang Liqian and might even be reporting up the chain.
“Hello, I’m Tang Jianing.”
“Miss Tang!”
Though the squad chief was still full of grievances, his tone softened when speaking to Tang Jianing.
“No chance to sleep. We’ve found over ten human remains fragments here, but we’re not sure how many individuals they belong to.”
The air seemed to still for a moment; Tang Jianing could hear the heavy breathing on the other end.
“How many exactly?”
“More than a dozen fragments. We can’t say for sure how many people, but rough estimates put it at no fewer than five.”
Judging by the bones discovered in the broken bucket—an almost complete arm bone—if the bodies were evenly dismembered, five to eight victims would be an accurate estimate.
If not dismembered but crudely stuffed into the buckets, then the number of buckets equaled the number of bodies.
“You’re sure these are human remains, not fragments of currency?”
“Yes. Hurry over and bring tools capable of breaking concrete. The situation is more complicated than you think.”
At Tang Wanwan’s words, the squad chief seemed to lose all strength and resolve, sighing heavily.
“We need the location.”
“East City, abandoned warehouse district. Da Hu and I will be waiting at the main gate.”
“Understood.”
After hanging up, Tang Jianing could almost imagine how grueling the investigation ahead would be.
The fixed evidence in the Chi Ziqi murder case, the prosecutor’s approval for arrest, and at least three interrogations.
Add to that the victim’s parents’ involvement in obstruction of justice and extortion.
Everyone was already overwhelmed.
Now, with an imminent serial murder case, no one would get much sleep for at least a week.
Within twenty minutes, three police cars roared to a halt. Over ten detectives, wearing uniforms and dark circles under their eyes, stood before Tang Jianing.
“Miss Tang!”
The squad chief approached, and Tang Jianing nodded in acknowledgment.
“Tonight, Da Hu and I came to inspect this site for future demolition and reconstruction plans.”
“After entering Warehouse No. 1, we found a red bucket filled with cement poured straight from a mixer.”
“Out of curiosity, I asked Da Hu to break it open, revealing human hand bones and a complete forearm.”
“Since this area is slated for redevelopment, we searched around and found a total of sixteen such red buckets.”
As Tang Wanwan explained, the squad chief’s face darkened further.
A serial killer!
Though the exact number of victims was still unknown, it was clear from Tang Jianing’s account that it wouldn’t be small.
This case would undoubtedly be submitted to the bureau tomorrow. Such a heinous crime would surely come with a mandatory deadline for resolution—seven days at minimum, up to half a month.
Beyond that time, the case would have to be escalated.
Thinking of the dreaded provincial homicide unit, the squad chief silently strode toward Warehouse No. 1.
Tang Wanwan watched as a group of detectives carrying tools entered, then nodded to Da Hu, and the two followed.
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