Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1229: Statement in the Interrogation Room

“Captain Zhou, the person has been brought in.”

“How did he behave?”

Zhou Yusheng quickly looked to his colleagues, asking about the situation during Zhao Le’s transport.

One of them replied, “Zhao Le remained extremely calm and cooperative, didn’t ask a single question the entire way.”

“Didn’t ask anything?” Zhou Yusheng said, surprised.

The colleague nodded. “Yes, he didn’t say a word more than necessary.”

Zhou Yusheng stroked his chin. “Being this calm is a bit too much; it’s actually suspicious.”

Another colleague disagreed. “But if he had asked questions, we might have doubted something… whether he asks or not, whether he’s calm or afraid, it could be misinterpreted. Captain Zhou, maybe we’re being a bit biased from the start?”

Zhou Yusheng remained silent.

His team had spent a lot of time investigating Zhao Le, from the initial Lin Feng group to three subsequent teams… every evaluation of this young man was positive.Yet even that could be a form of preconceived judgment.

“Let the scrap-collecting old man identify him first,” Zhou Yusheng said, shaking his head. He glanced at the time; it had been nearly two hours since his last communication with Chen Mingming. Even from the suburbs, he should have returned by now.

Feeling a little impatient, he sent another text and then entered the prepared room.

The identification method was simple: in a room with a one-way mirror, the witness would identify several pre-selected suspects.

In reality, there weren’t any definite suspects. Several were temporarily brought from the detention center, and two more were just recently caught thieves.

Inside, the old man carefully examined each person. Before long, he pointed at a nervous young man with glasses. “It’s him.”

Zhao Le wasn’t ignorant; due to his professional background and schooling, he understood more than most.

Even an ordinary person, seeing the one-way mirror and the uniformed officers inside and outside, could guess what was happening.

He couldn’t help but feel a trace of nervousness… Zhao Le silently counted the time until the tightly shut room door finally opened, and officers began escorting people out one by one.

“You, come with us.”

Finally, an officer stood in front of Zhao Le, expression cold, gripping his shoulder firmly.

Zhao Le exhaled slowly. A gentle push from behind urged him forward, and he walked into another room.

This room also had a one-way mirror, but contained chairs and benches, one of which had shackles… Zhao Le realized this was the interrogation room.

Before entering, Zhou Yusheng repeatedly confirmed whether Zhao Le had any relationship or interest with the old man… the procedures and confirmations were strict; it wasn’t as simple as on TV, just pointing and being done.

“They don’t know each other and have no vested interest… Could it really be Zhao Le?”

Zhou Yusheng prepared to interrogate personally. As he entered, he reviewed Zhao Le’s file. There was a peculiar aspect: the investigation had begun from clues provided by Zhao Le, which led the police to trace Wu Rong’s line. In the end, Wu Rong was also found murdered in a rental in X City.

Now, while it wasn’t conclusive, it was highly likely that Wang Liang killed Wu Rong… if Zhao Le was Wang Liang’s killer, how much would he know about Wu Rong’s death?

There was almost no evidence at either murder scene, though both showed signs of thorough cleaning… if not for the major blackout that day, these cases might not have surfaced for a long time. Even those who knew Wang Liang and Wu Rong might still think they were alive, just missing.

Zhou Yusheng had a sudden thought: unless the real killer came forward to tell the truth, under current circumstances, the truth might never be uncovered.

Entering, Zhou Yusheng and his colleagues looked at Zhao Le seated in the chair. They noticed subtle movements: an unconscious adjustment of glasses to block their view, slight foot shifts, fingers curling as hands lowered.

Their trained eyes could gauge Zhao Le’s emotional state… Zhou Yusheng glanced at his colleague and nodded.

Skipping formalities, his colleague spoke seriously, “Zhao Le, I’ll ask you: where were you on the night of December 1 last year?”

Zhao Le remained silent.

The colleague frowned and repeated the question; Zhao Le still stayed quiet.

Zhou Yusheng finally spoke, “Zhao Le, your expertise aligns with our work. You should understand that even with zero testimony, sufficient evidence is enough for conviction. Silence will work against you, and it’s not a good choice.”

After calming his initial tension, Zhao Le said seriously, “Officers, what is your evidence… bringing me here without explanation isn’t proper procedure.”

Zhou Yusheng leaned forward, eyes sharp. “There’s a witness who saw you leaving Wang Liang’s rental on December 1. Forensic analysis indicates Wang Liang died between December 1 and 2. We have reason to believe you may have been the last person to see him alive.”

Zhao Le’s expression changed slightly… a witness?

Could this mean Chen Mingming revealed that he secretly went to the rental two nights ago? But who is this witness?

If a witness truly exists, why only now…? No, he couldn’t be certain; it could be an interrogation tactic.

Yet if the witness exists, staying silent is highly disadvantageous. Once the case is handed to prosecutors, it becomes even more problematic.

The witness could easily contradict Zhao Le’s earlier claims of no contact with Wang Liang, adding charges of withholding information… and if Chen Mingming testifies about Zhao Le’s secret visit, it would be even worse.

Indeed… the more careful one is, the more likely mistakes are revealed.

Zhao Le remained silent. Zhou Yusheng and colleagues watched quietly, noticing his flickering gaze and the sweat forming on his forehead. They knew the pressure on him was enormous.

Ultimately, he was still very young… reaching this point was impressive in itself.

“Wang Liang… I didn’t kill him.” After a long silence, Zhao Le finally spoke.

Zhou Yusheng and his colleagues exchanged a glance; the team on the other side of the one-way glass tensed instantly… Zhao Le was about to speak.

“You admit you were at the scene on December 1?” Zhou Yusheng asked calmly.

Zhao Le nodded.

Zhou Yusheng’s gaze hardened. “Explain in detail!”

Zhao Le took a deep breath. “I went there only to handle the body and the scene.”

“So you do know who the killer is!”

Zhao Le shook his head. “I know, but I could also claim I don’t.”

“You brat, are you trying to fool us!”

Zhao Le licked his lips and said, “I have no need to do that. The situation is already very unfavorable to me. The only way to reduce the charges is to cooperate with you and show merit… so I will cooperate fully.”

Zhou Yusheng nodded. “We won’t overlook your cooperation and performance, but the premise is that you’re not being deceitful.”

Zhao Le steadied himself, and after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, “I do know that the killer exists, but I don’t know their true identity—whether male or female, I have no idea. My contact with them was only through the internet.”

“Be specific!” Zhou Yusheng demanded sharply.

Zhao Le took a deep breath. “I only know them as ‘Mr. Blank.’ We met on a forum over a year ago and got along well. I don’t know much about them, only that they’re a crime enthusiast. That night, they suddenly asked me if I wanted to carry out revenge on Wang Liang.”

“At the time, I was in a terrible mood. My sister was in the hospital, and Wang Liang was completely unbothered. I agreed almost without thinking… At first, I thought ‘Mr. Blank’ just wanted to privately punish Wang Liang with me. But I never expected that when I arrived at Wang Liang’s rental, he was already dead.”

Zhao Le’s face turned pale with fear.

Not only Zhou Yusheng and his colleagues, but the team on the other side of the mirror also listened to Zhao Le’s statement in disbelief.

“Dead? You saw him dead with your own eyes?”

“No, I only saw the body,” Zhao Le continued, breathing deeply. “I didn’t see ‘Mr. Blank’ because they had already left. I was terrified and thought about calling the police immediately. Soon after, ‘Mr. Blank’ contacted me again, asking if I wanted to execute a perfect crime and take true revenge on Wang Liang… If I didn’t agree, what happened at the scene would be exposed immediately. They forced me to do it.”

“You agreed?”

“I agreed,” Zhao Le said calmly. “Because I hated Wang Liang more than the crime itself… When I saw my sister entering the operating room and the red light turned on, I realized I truly wanted to kill Wang Liang. But I restrained myself. I never expected it would happen so suddenly.”

“Describe your plan.”

Zhao Le nodded. “Through communication with ‘Mr. Blank,’ I learned many things. ‘Mr. Blank’ had previously checked Wang Liang’s phone and discovered something important: before returning, Wang Liang had personally killed Wu Rong. After killing Wu Rong, Wang Liang hid the body and faked the appearance that she was still alive… So we devised a plan to continue Wang Liang’s original plan.”

Everyone exchanged glances.

“In ‘Mr. Blank’s’ plan, I was responsible for buying the freezer, while they handled the body… I hid the freezer in Wang Liang’s home and only moved it in after the delivery person left. While they handled the body, I placed it in the freezer. Then I began cleaning Wang Liang’s rental once, and later ‘Mr. Blank’ returned alone to clean it again.”

“Next, ‘Mr. Blank’ went to X City, found Wu Rong’s rental, and cleaned that scene. Then, following Wang Liang’s original plan, they faked the appearance that Wu Rong was still alive. But they didn’t just fake Wu Rong—they also faked that Wang Liang was alive.”

“I never left this city, so I couldn’t have faked these appearances… Even if the police traced evidence to me, it would be insufficient. And I… after participating in this, I share responsibility with them. Betraying them would be betraying myself. Finally… I truly hate Wang Liang.”

The interrogation room was deathly silent. Everyone listened to Zhao Le speak carefully, astonished… but having handled many strange cases, they tried to find flaws in his words after the initial shock.

“You should know, if it hadn’t been for the blackout, the bodies might not have been discovered,” Zhou Yusheng asked gravely. “You… you had plenty of time. Why didn’t you destroy the bodies completely, but left Wang Liang’s and Wu Rong’s bodies?”

Zhao Le adjusted his glasses. “I couldn’t handle Wu Rong’s body because I couldn’t leave the city. But ‘Mr. Blank’ never really intended to completely destroy it either. They needed Wu Rong’s body as the only clue to guide the police—so that even if you investigated, it would only point to Wang Liang. But Wang Liang was already dead. You would need more evidence to determine the killer… You couldn’t even be certain. Everything would just be speculation.”

“Also, ‘Mr. Blank’ knew I wouldn’t return to the crime scene a second time to deal further with Wang Liang’s body… I considered secretly taking the body from the freezer piece by piece to truly destroy it. But I was scared, and could never handle it all at once—that would leave more traces. So I had no choice but to accept ‘Mr. Blank’s’ actions and help with this perfect crime.”

Zhou Yusheng sneered. “Perfect crime… you still left Wu Rong’s and Wang Liang’s bodies!”

Zhao Le breathed deeply. “That was left intentionally by ‘Mr. Blank’ for you.”

“For us?” Zhou Yusheng was startled.

“Yes. If it weren’t left, who would know they were dead… If ‘Mr. Blank’ had destroyed the bodies completely and continued faking that they were alive until it all ended, it would have taken even longer, and you… could you have found anything?” Zhao Le said. “Don’t you understand… this was their challenge to you.”

“You still got seen,” Zhou Yusheng sneered.

Zhao Le sighed, closing his eyes and muttering, “Yes… Heaven’s net is vast.”

(End of Chapter)