Chapter 408: Once in A Lifetime[1]

The host unfolded the second slip. "Let’s listen to the second question. Some fans want to know when your new song will be released?"

"Well, this question-"

"You haven’t written it yet?" The host teased.

Luo Zuyu laughed as he rocked his body back and forth. "You’re so bad. No, I’ve been working hard to create new songs."

"How is the progress then?"

"Well... Progress. You know that I’m a passionate songwriter. Sometimes I need to let myself go and slowly accumulate a kind of energy and then release it all at once. I’m not sure if you understand. Most of the songs that I wrote were love songs. Some people say that my songs have a gloomy glitz to them. Because these things are deep in my heart... They’re things that are different, but they can move other people by analogy! I want to present them to others. Present them to everyone. But I also need a little time to accumulate everything."

The host summed up the incoherent answer for him, "Mr. Luo's meaning is that creation requires inspiration, and inspiration does not come immediately."

"Yes, inspiration... I think a song is an unforgettable feeling. It may be only once in your life. The most unforgettable kind. Just like how everyone is only born once and only dies once. This type of love only comes once as well."

"Some people say that every time you write a song, you fall in love. Is that true, Mr. Luo?"

"Is this the next question?" Luo Zuyu asked with a smile. "No, creation does require experience, but this experience is not a 100% recreation. It's like making the movie called A Nightmare on Elm Street. It’s impossible for the director to have really gone out to kill people! When I create, I may take out some of the things that my former girlfriends gave me and look at them. I might take a look at some old photos and listen to CDs and the like. It’s not like I really go out and fall in love in order to write each song."

Lin Dongxue changed to another channel and said, "How boring. Let’s watch something else!"

Chen Shi smiled, "Let’s see what movies are available on China Central Television channel 6."

At the case discussion meeting the next morning, everyone summarized their leads. Old Zhang had found the same type of balloons in the warehouse of a gymnasium. They were used to hang vertical banners weighing a few kilograms. The gymnasium was constantly being rented out for hosting cultural and sports activities and stored a lot of these balloons in their warehouse.

During the investigation, it was found that on the evening of July 14th, someone had sneaked into the warehouse and stole several balloons and a helium machine. Old Zhang had brought back the surveillance video and some photos of the scene.

Looking at the photos, Old Zhang said, "The door lock has extremely obvious signs of having been pried open. Next to it is a picture of the stolen helium machine. It was not large. Just the size of a chair. The staff said that it could fill about thirty balloons of this size with helium.”

Strictly speaking, the surveillance footage was recorded in the early morning of July 15th at around two o'clock. A man dressed in dark clothes snuck towards the door of the warehouse, fiddled around with it for a while, opened the door and then went in. Then he dragged a helium machine out after about fifteen minutes and left.

Another camera recorded a man lifting a helium machine onto a SUV parked outside the gymnasium and driving away. The license plate wasn’t clear and they could only rely on technical means to see if the video quality could be enhanced.

Chen Shi asked, "Old Zhang, was the gym really so easy to get into?"

Old Zhang said, "I walked around several times at the scene. There are three routes from the outside to the warehouse. If you take Route A, you would encounter two security guards. Route B is the same and you’d have to climb over or pry open an iron gate halfway. If you take Route C, you would encounter one security guard along the way. But most people are unlikely to know about this route, unless you’re a person who frequents the place... In addition, there’ve been no concerts or sports games recently and there are no valuables in the venue. Thus, the security guards have been rather lax of late. I asked a security guard and he said that he sleeps on a steel wire bed[2] in the security room at night and didn’t hear anything outside."

"I’m also wondering why this thief knew so clearly that the helium balloons were stored there. He must have been there before. Should I check it?” Chen Shi looked at Lin Qiupu.

"It is possible to investigate it, but the workload would be huge... I’m sure you’re aware that every year there are has-been singers who will come and hold concerts there. That’s in addition to the provincial athletic games and the provincial Paralympics. There was also a coal boss who held a wedding there this year for his daughter. You will need to investigate tens of thousands of people. Can you really check everyone?"

"So, this lead is a bust then."

"Old Chen, did you find anything?"

Chen Shi threw him a USB flash drive and said, "Open it up!"

The USB drive held the copies of five surveillance videos that were retrieved from the supermarket yesterday. Looking at the videos, Chen Shi suddenly thought, why would he pick such a small saw? From the incident of the murderer stealing the balloons, he seems to have been pretty clear that purchasing things would expose him. And this little saw could be hidden in a sleeve or pocket. Maybe it was stolen as well.

Chen Shi said, "Don't hold too much hope. These five people may not be the killer."

Lin Qiupu said, "If it’s just five people, you can still check them out. Check what they bought the saws for... We can carefully reexamine the footage later."

Chen Shi told them about the conclusions he came to yesterday and added, "The lead regarding the drugs should also be investigated. Ice is a stimulant and its effect can last for several hours. The killer killed people under the influence of drugs. Then he calmly drove to procure the items to destroy the corpse as well as dismember it, which defied reason. I think someone helped him to wipe his buttocks[3]. The murderer is either rich or has a very high social status. There is someone by his side who protect him even if it breaks the law. This person is unlikely to be a wife and more like an elder of his. The killer may be a second generation rich, a second generation official, or a second generation star!”[4]

Peng Sijue said, "Sperm was indeed found in the esophagus yesterday."

Upon hearing this, everyone was excited, but Peng Sijue continued slowly, "Unfortunately, it has already been seriously contaminated by the microorganisms in the body. And the amount is too small to serve as a sample."

"This is still good news." Chen Shi said. "As long as we find the head, we will have found conclusive evidence."

After Lin Qiupu had assigned the day's tasks, everyone went off to investigate the case separately. Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue were going to the Meteorology Bureau. On the way, Lin Dongxue opened up Weibo to see what reactions people had to the news that the official police Weibo had posted yesterday.

Chen Shi asked, "Has it already made the headlines?"

"No, the top headline is another piece of news. Luo Zuyu was exposed to have had a date at night with a mysterious woman. We are the second-ranked headline."

"What the fuck?! This guy has just been washed clean[5], but he is already involved in another scandal? And it pushed down such an important police announcement?!"

Lin Dongxue scrolled down and said, "Now he's desperately working on his PR! Huh? He seems to be in Long'an."

"Just you wait. There’s bound to be other second-rate entertainers having scandals exposed in the next few days."

"How do you know?"

"This is called public relations strategy. It’s not strange to see people diverting attention by tarnishing other people’s reputations... Oh right, when did this news come out?"

"The evening of July 14th."

"July 14th?" Chen Shi muttered. Could this just be a coincidence?

Probably just a coincidence. He changed his mind.

1. Expression originated from Japanese tea ceremony.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichi-go_ichi-e

2. I believe the author means these foldable frames: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8a/ba/b3/8abab365d4d5cd43c7b987e90bb960f9.jpg

3. Someone took care of his mess for him

4. An heir to a rich family, a family of government officials or a celebrity.

5. Washed clean of all his dirty deeds. Someone who now has a clean reputation after getting “washed.”