Chapter 477: Follow The Vine To Get The Melon[1]

Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue went back first and handed the evidence they obtained to Peng Sijue. Peng Sijue held it in his hands to examine it for a moment. "This is not human tissue. To be precise, it’s the excrement left after insects had eaten it.”

"Can you detect the DNA from it?"

"That's a bit difficult. I'll go back to the site to get another sample."

"Ah, you don't know the situation. There are people living there. They’re a family of three. If you aren’t worried about the trouble, you can go. I won’t bother with this anymore.”

At that time, the Traffic Management Bureau called and said that the unit that the license plate number was registered to was a health club. After hearing the name and address, Chen Shi understood. He said to Lin Dongxue, "You don't need to go anymore. It's a prostitution place. Let me go in for a secret visit."

"Huh? A secret visit?"

"Don't look at me with that kind of look. Do you think I’d go and actually make a purchase? That time when I was caught, it was actually Wang Daji who went there. Do you still not believe me?”

"I didn't say anything. Why did you suddenly start to justify for yourself? Is it your guilty conscience?"

"I surrender! I surrender!" Chen Shi smiled. "You rest here. I’ll come back soon."

"Everyone’s so busy here. How can I be so thick-skinned as to rest here alone? I’ll go with you!"

Chen Shi had no choice but to agree. Lin Dongxue asked while on the road, "How do you know it’s that kind of place as soon as you hear the name?"

"Don't forget that I’m a driver. I’m more familiar with Long’an than you guys. When the night is quiet, there are often male passengers who go to such places. Wouldn’t I be able to guess just from that?"

"So it turned out to be like that! Do you want to contact the local police to come over and sweep the yellow?[2]"

Chen Shi waved his hand. "Don't cause a commotion as soon as we go. We need to first uncover the corner and see what’s happening inside first. It’s not too late to sweep the yellow after the investigation.”

Lin Dongxue thought out loud, "Is the missing person a prostitute? When I heard Captain Peng say that the deceased had syphilis in the morning, I was thinking whether she would be in that kind of occupation. It reminded me of a case."

"Even if you don’t tell me, I know. The 714 case."

"Correct!"

The 714 case was relatively well-known in the city and even the whole country. This happened a few years ago. A criminal gang specifically kidnapped sex workers and forced the sex workers to tell them their bank card passwords by using torture methods. They took away all their assets, killed them cruelly, dismembered them, and threw the body parts away.

The gang committed crimes everywhere. There were six[3] sex workers killed in total. They targeted women who weren’t from the city. Even if they disappeared, people who knew them wouldn’t report the crime. Plus, they generally had some savings no matter what. Both the mentality and motivation can be said to be extremely insidious.

In the end, the gang was arrested in Long’an. Song Lang hadn’t participated in the case, so Chen Shi wasn’t very clear about the specific situation.

He parked the car outside the health club and told Lin Dongxue that he would come back in a while before going upstairs. After entering the club, an employee asked Chen Shi what service he wanted. Chen Shi asked, "What services are there?"

"Ordinary services include foot therapy, massage, and health care."

"Listening to you, there are unordinary services then?"

"Sir, were you introduced to us by a friend?"

"Yes, I was introduced by a friend."

"Then, this gentleman should know what services there are then?" The employee lowered his voice. His tone was full of hints.

Chen Shi smiled and asked, "What price?"

"One thousand yuan an hour."

"That's a bit expensive."

"It isn’t. Our service is good, the environment is good, and the ladies are of high quality. Shall I take you to a room to have a look?"

Chen Shi stood still. "Can I name someone?"

"You can."

"I want to find a girl named Little Li."

The employee’s expression changed slightly. Then, he took Chen Shi to a room. After a few minutes, the people who came in weren’t girls, but a few strong men wearing unkind looks. They surrounded Chen Shi and the big man with a ponytail took the lead. "Is she in your hands?"

"No, actually, I came to find her too."

"Are you playing with me?!" The man grabbed Chen Shi's clothes and widened his eyes.

Chen Shi took out a document and pushed it in front of the eyes of the big man. When the man saw the words "Public Security", he immediately spread his hand as if he’d been shocked by electricity. Then, he immediately reached out to smooth the folds on Chen Shi's clothes, accompanied with a smiling face. "It turns out you’re an officer, you... What have you come here for?"

"I already said I’m looking for someone. Didn’t you go to Anhui Community a month ago to find someone named Little Li? How did you guys know she was there?"

"Uh, no..."

Chen Shi sighed. "Don't act anymore. Would we have come here without evidence? To tell you the truth, Little Li may no longer be here anymore. We are investigating a homicide case. I really don't care if you’re involved in prostitution. We aren’t in charge of that either. Please cooperate with us on matters of life and death. You also want to find Little Li, right?"

Ponytail pondered for a moment and told his men to go out. Then, he asked Chen Shi to take his phone out and put it on the table. He was afraid that Chen Shi would secretly record them.

He said, "Officer, Little Li's original name is Li Qiuli. To be honest, she was here as a prostitute. She’s worked for over a year. She suddenly stopped coming to work at the end of May this year and we couldn’t get through to her phone. So, we looked for her everywhere."

"Why are you looking for her? Afraid she ran away?"

Ponytail waved his hands over and over. "No, we’re not forcing them to be prostitutes. I will tell you this. The girls who are here come voluntarily. Think about it. How much can you earn at work in a month? And how much can they earn here in a month? It’s completely voluntary. No matter how you put it, we’re an enterprise that needs to be responsible for our own brand and employees. One of them is missing, so of course we’d have to find her. Otherwise, who would want to work here in the future?”

"Yes, yes, I understand. By the way, how did you find that community?"

"Through inquiries."

"Can you inquire in such a detailed manner? Even the house number was correct."

"What? Little Li was really missing there?"

"Answer my question first."

Ponytail stammered and admitted that there was a GPS on Little Li's mobile phone. Chen Shi’s logic followed this train of information. It was likely that the young ladies here were secretly monitored to prevent them from running away. However, he didn’t expose this matter.

Chen Shi said, "Understood. You’re also worried about her safety."

"Yes, yes. We’re a company and we care about our employees... Has Little Li been found? I mean, it’s okay even if she’s dead or alive.”

"We might have found her, but we’re not sure. Do you have her specific details? It’s best to have an ID number."

Ponytail covered his mouth. "She... She really got killed? Who did it?"

"We're still checking, but it's definitely not the man you were looking for. He just lives there and knows nothing, just like you guys."

Ponytail nodded. "Wait a minute, I'll give you Little Li's details."

1. Track down. Follow up a clue and seize the culprit.

2. Term often associated with purging sexual transactions and pornography. Arrest people involved in prostitution.

3. The author says five going forward, so I’m not sure which is the correct one.