Around 4:40 AM, Su Tianyu, Bai Hongbo, Zhang Hao, and the rest of the group arrived at the third-floor warehouse. The heavy rain continued to pour outside, and a few police officers were still present on-site, collecting evidence.
Inside the car, Su Tianyu was on the phone with Yu Mingyuan. "Hello, we've arrived, but I see there are still officers in the warehouse."
"Don't go in just yet," Yu Mingyuan replied. "They'll finish the scene soon and seal it off. Once they're gone, you can start working. Don't touch the other equipment inside, just clear out the speedboats and stuff in the backyard."
Yu Mingyuan's voice sounded strained, as if he was frustrated by the unwanted trouble, but he managed to stay composed as he directed Su Tianyu and the team to wrap up.
"Got it," Su Tianyu nodded and ended the call.
As he hung up, Bai Hongbo sighed. "Tang Baiqing really has too much time on his hands. Playing with women and ending up in a mess like this. Why not just love properly, without all the drama?" He continued, clearly irritated, "Do you think this will affect our business?"
"It shouldn't," Su Tianyu replied, shaking his head. "These are two separate issues."
Bai Hongbo sighed again. "Still, we're supposed to pick up new cargo tomorrow, and here we are, dealing with a murder tonight." He lit a cigarette. "What a mess."
Su Tianyu hadn't thought much about it until now, but as soon as Bai Hongbo mentioned it, it hit him. "Wait a second! Tang Baiqing caused trouble in the warehouse... but what about Da Xiong?"
Everyone in the car froze, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"He lives here. They probably took him in as a witness," Bai Hongbo replied cautiously.
Normally, when a case like Tang Baiqing's came up, the police would immediately intervene, and both he and Da Xiong should have been taken to the station for questioning. However, Deputy Chief Yang didn't arrange it that way. Instead, the officers took them to the criminal office building in Zhannan District.
The heavy rain continued to fall outside. Tang Baiqing's father's business car was parked across from the office building, the engine running but the lights off. The car was packed with people.
"Old Tang, make some calls, use your connections!" Tang Baiqing's mother urged anxiously. "We can't just sit here and wait."
"Are you out of your mind?" Tang Baiqing's father snapped, frowning. "Old Yang hasn't given us any information yet. What's the use of calling now? What should I say? That my son killed someone?!"
"What should we do then?" his wife asked, her voice trembling.
"Wait. If Old Yang doesn't give us an answer, we'll stay quiet for now," Tang's father replied firmly.
His wife, sobbing, didn't argue further.
It was early morning, and the criminal office building was nearly empty. Since no one from the police department was on duty yet, Tang Baiqing had been left alone in the office with no questioning or restrictions. It was Da Xiong who had been questioned twice, but only about the basic details of the case.
Inside the office, Deputy Chief Yang sat by the window, flipping through the victim's file, as well as the profiles of Tang Baiqing and Da Xiong.
"Did Tang Baiqing say the woman was pregnant? Is that true?" Yang asked as he scanned the documents.
"No, the autopsy confirmed she wasn't pregnant. She probably said that to scare Tang Baiqing," a police officer replied, sipping his tea. "But the needle marks are confirmed, and that works in his favor."
"That's a relief," Yang nodded. His gaze sharpened as he studied the information on Da Xiong. "This Wu Shixiong... he's from Tufang Street? Two brothers?"
"Yes, that's what he wrote on his form." The officer confirmed. "I brought it up with him, and he seemed a little off—like he might have a slight disability. He stutters when he speaks."
"Really?" Yang's eyes widened. "Does he have a cognitive issue?"
"He sounds like it," the officer replied softly. "Boss, if this guy does have a cognitive disability, things could get tricky. If we proceed with the woman's claim that Tang Baiqing acted in self-defense, then Wu Shixiong's testimony might not be accepted by the prosecution. If we don't have a third-party witness, we'll only have Tang Baiqing's word and the evidence we gathered... That'll be tough to pass in court."
Yang, who had been working in Dragon City's police force since the third year of its establishment, wasn't of a high rank, but he had a lot of experience handling criminal cases. After a quick glance at the files, he had already formed a preliminary idea of the case.
"Let's go talk to Wu Shixiong," Yang said, standing up.
"You think there's much point in questioning him?" the officer asked as he followed.
Yang didn't respond immediately but stepped out of the office.
Five minutes later, inside the interrogation room, Wu Shixiong stood up as soon as Yang entered. "Good morning, Officer!"
"No worries, take a seat," Yang smiled and gestured for him to sit. "Care for a smoke?"
"No, thank you." Da Xiong shook his head.
"I've gone over your statement, and it seems this situation isn't really your fault," Yang said warmly, sitting at the desk. "Once you sign your statement, you're free to go."
"Thank you... sorry for the trouble," Da Xiong mumbled, his voice low.
"I see you've got two brothers, right?" Yang asked, making small talk instead of asking more direct questions. "Did they both find work? Your family came from Xia Island, didn't they?"
"Yeah, both of them work now." Da Xiong nodded, answering the questions with surprising calmness.
"It's nice you're looking out for your brothers," Yang said, his voice still casual. "So, your family moved here from Xia Island?"
"Yes, they did," Da Xiong confirmed.
Yang continued chatting with Da Xiong for a while before standing up. "Alright, it's almost time for work. We'll wrap this up and head back to the station at 8 a.m."
Around 7:00 AM, at a breakfast shop near the port in Zhannan District, Wei Xiangzu was enjoying a bowl of soy milk and fried dough sticks. He was in good spirits.
"Boss, have you heard?" a young man leaned in to ask.
"Heard what?" Wei Xiangzu asked, his mouth full.
"Apparently, last night, the Sea Police's Tang Baiqing got into some trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Wei Xiangzu frowned.
"I heard someone died, right there at the Haiyan Pit warehouse." The young man sneered. "We were thinking of getting in touch with him, but now we can't even find him."
"Why would you want to contact him?" Wei Xiangzu asked, uninterested.
"What else? The deal Tang Baiqing and the gang have been running has ruffled a few feathers. It wasn't a big deal at first, but now it's grown too much. The higher-ups aren't happy." The young man glanced at Wei. "Boss, what do you think about this?"
Wei Xiangzu, still sipping his soy milk, didn't respond right away.
Meanwhile, Su Tianyu finished wrapping up the situation at the third-floor warehouse and, along with Bai Hongbo and Zhang Hao, drove straight to the Zhannan police station.