Chapter 1826: Breakthrough
"They’re monitoring you, but you’re not a suspect, why would they monitor you?" Zhang Ting was just a female cop and naturally didn’t understand all this, but it was also normal. The complex relationship between him and Chen Yuxin was known to few people, and in anyone’s view, it was utterly absurd for an outsider to openly monitor her husband.
"Well, it’s hard to say for now, but don’t worry, she absolutely won’t interfere with our investigation and won’t know about the case." Ye Shikai said perfunctorily.
"That’s good." Zhang Ting rolled her eyes disdainfully. In the past few days, she had meticulously gone over all the case files from start to finish and finally noticed some "puzzling points." Most of the missing people were middle-aged or elderly, not children, which always intrigued Zhang Ting, as these middle-aged and elderly people didn’t have much strength, what would be their motive for abducting them?
Ye Shikai took out a map marked with all the missing persons’ "residences." Unsurprisingly, these people almost all lived in suburban areas, with the only one close to the city being in the shantytown area, which was where the fire happened. Ye Shikai wasn’t surprised at all. Following this line of thinking, if someone indeed abducted these missing persons, they definitely wouldn’t hide them in Yanjing but rather send them elsewhere. Since this is the case, could the missing persons possibly be in Zhongyuan City?
"What are you thinking?" Zhang Ting asked.
"Ahem, nothing much, let’s hurry to Zhongyuan City."
Two hours later, at Zhongyuan City Police Station.
"Yanjing Police Department, Zhang Ting."
"Thanks for your hard work, Zhang. This is..." The middle-aged man in front of them was the director of Zhongyuan City Police Station, Huang Hai. After the disappearance case occurred, he immediately invited the officers from Yanjing Police Department for joint investigation.
"This is Ye Shikai, here to help with the case." Zhang Ting introduced.
"Ah, it’s Ye, welcome."
"Hello Director Huang."
Ye Shikai shook hands with Huang Hai, and suddenly his eyebrows twitched. There was an energy fluctuation within this man’s body; Huang Hai was surprisingly a cultivator as well.
Similarly, Huang Hai also sensed that Ye Shikai was not an ordinary person, a flicker of something crossed his eyes, but he quickly masked it. Zhang Ting didn’t notice it. Although Ye Shikai encountered many cultivators, the total number of cultivators among the general populace was scarce, and most were affiliated with sects or families. In Yanjing, nine out of ten cultivators belonged to the four major families, so encountering cultivators among pedestrians on the street was rare.
"Let’s go to my office, where I’ll brief you on the case."
"Alright."
"Okay."
"Feng Ling, you’ll wait here; if you feel bored or hungry, you can go for a walk; I’ll be inside the police station," Ye Shikai instructed. Feng Ling was always by his side, making him feel uncomfortable, and here was the police station, dressed like that—was she worried she wasn’t standing out enough?
"The Family Head ordered me to always follow you closely."
"Are you going to follow me to the bathroom? I’ve told you, stay put here and don’t leave." Ye Shikai almost cursed. This Feng Ling certainly lacked empathy, but because of this, she became Chen Yuxin’s trusted confidante.
"Alright then, I’ll sit here and wait for you to come out."
"Do as you please."
Inside the meeting room.
"What did Ye do before?" Huang Hai suddenly asked. Both Zhang Ting and Ye Shikai were momentarily taken aback.
"I was in the military before, but I’ve since left and spent a few years abroad before returning," Ye Shikai replied.
"Are you adapting well to life back in the country?"
"Pretty good."
"He’s certainly living well, with so many women around him, never worried about food or clothing." Zhang Ting sneered. In her eyes, besides being a "mysterious figure," Ye Shikai was also a philandering scumbag. The scandal of Ye Shikai divorcing Su Qingyu and marrying Chen Yuxin had been widely talked about, even she was somewhat aware. But she was curious, even though Ye Shikai and Huang Hai were meeting for the first time, why was Huang Hai so interested in his situation?
"Ahem, can you stop undermining me?" Although Ye Shikai wasn’t one for vanity, there were still many officers here.
"Alright, let’s continue reviewing the case files, about these disappearance cases, there are some common points, such as..."
.................................
Midnight.
Ye Shikai stayed at the hotel next to the police station. He wasn’t a police officer, so the case files could only be handed over by Zhang Ting.
Knock, knock, knock.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Ye Shikai walked over to open it. Naturally, it was Zhang Ting, but before he could react, a shadow darted over. Ye Shikai quickly stepped in front of Zhang Ting.
"Feng Ling, what are you doing?" Ye Shikai’s movement technique was fast, and he grabbed the intruder’s arm.
"Nothing, my lord, I was worried someone might come and do harm." Feng Ling said coldly.
"I’d harm him? Miss, you’re overthinking it." Zhang Ting sneered, sensing Feng Ling’s emanating killing intent, which definitely wasn’t coming from an ordinary woman. But she couldn’t figure out, why was there such a "fierce" woman around Ye Shikai?
"Zhang Ting, what do you want with me?" Ye Shikai asked curiously.
"It’s naturally about the case. I’ve found a breakthrough; let’s talk inside." After speaking, Zhang Ting went straight into his room. Ye Shikai closed the door, Feng Ling wanted to come in, but he stopped her directly.
"Sir, I..."
"You don’t need to say anything. I give you two choices: first, stay at the door; second, if you feel confident, you can try to break in." Ye Shikai said coldly.
"Alright then, I’ll guard the door. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to instruct."
Inside the room.
"Who is that woman? She’s managing so strictly, and she’s not your bodyguard, is she?" Zhang Ting asked.
"Alright, get to the point, what are you coming to my room in the middle of the night for?"
"Didn’t I say I’ve found a breakthrough?" Zhang Ting placed a file on the table along with a map.
"Most of the missing cases in Zhongyuan City are related to this place." Zhang Ting circled a spot on the map with a pencil.
"This is... the South District Market." Ye Shikai murmured.
"That’s right, it’s where all the missing persons frequently visited. We can definitely find clues there." Zhang Ting continued, "We’ll go first thing in the morning."