We entered the hotel. It looked quite legitimate, and they didn't even check our IDs?
Regardless, we successfully got a room. The hotel was nice. After inserting the card and the lights came on, I felt a little uneasy. Had I guessed wrong? Why was there no sign yet? Should I call the police? It wasn't time yet.
"Why don't you take a shower first?"
Not to mention, Li Qian looked quite alluring like this.
I nodded, observed the surroundings, and walked into the bathroom. I turned on the shower, didn't undress, and sat on the toilet. I fiddled with my phone, contemplating.
A honey trap?
Luring someone with sex, then using violence and threats to extort money.
This method wasn't new. In the Song Dynasty, it was called a "beauty trap," in the Ming Dynasty, "zha huo tun," and it was officially renamed "xian ren tiao" in the Qing Dynasty.
I wasn't afraid of a honey trap, I just didn't understand why Li Qian would use such a shoddy trick against me. I waited for a while, calculating when to call the police. Just then, I heard a scream from outside.
It was indeed a little different, a variation of the honey trap. I pushed the door open, but it wouldn't budge. I was trapped in the bathroom. What the hell? I jiggled the handle, frantically pressing it, but it wouldn't open.
Finally, with a burst of strength, I ripped the door handle off. The door still wouldn't open. I thought for a moment and called out for Li Qian. There was no response from outside; it was silent. What was that scream earlier? I couldn't be stuck here. I retreated a few steps and kicked the door. The lock deformed slightly, but the door still didn't open. I realized this wouldn't work and picked up the toilet tank lid, smashing it hard against the lock.
Once, twice... The lid in my hand broke. With another strong kick, the door finally opened. I saw a person on the bed, a knife stuck in their chest, lying there with dried blood.
When I entered, there was clearly a bed here. How did it become a dead body? It looked like they hadn't been killed recently. What was going on? Did this world have spatial magic? While I was in the bathroom, did someone swap me into someone else's room? That was impossible; my thoughts were getting too far-fetched.
I stepped out of the room and saw two police officers holding batons. They looked even more flustered than I did: "Don't move, police!"
The police arrived so quickly?
This must be a setup, someone wants to deal with me? I thought, then slowly squatted down, hugging my head with my hands. I was arrested.
...
At the police station, I told them everything truthfully. The precinct didn't quite believe me, asking, "You went to a hotel with a woman? You're a university student."
"University students are adults. While going to a hotel might be wrong, I know what's more important than murder."
"After entering the room, you didn't see the body?"
I shook my head. Chain hotels are not that big. I recalled the scene at the time: inserting the card, the lights came on. Then, in the corridor, which was only about a meter long, Li Qian charmingly asked me to take a shower. Although I went into the bathroom then, I still glanced into the room. At that time, I thought it was a honey trap, so I paid close attention to the room's layout.
A king-size bed. The sheets were white. A dead person under the sheets? I denied this. If you were lying on the bed and covered yourself with the sheets, that's different from a flat sheet, isn't it?
The police officer asked again, "Are you sure you didn't go into the wrong room?"
"Is the hotel lock fake? How could I have the authority to enter someone else's room?"
My answer displeased the police officer, who shouted at me, "Be more serious!"
"Okay, Uncle Police Officer."
"What about the bathroom door?"
"I was locked in the bathroom and couldn't get out. I heard someone scream outside, and I thought Li Qian was in danger, so I broke the door."
"How could the door be locked from the outside?"
I knew that was common sense too. The lock just wouldn't open then, and I was anxious. "Why don't you check the door? Why are you asking me?"
"Mind your attitude."
"Okay, Uncle Police Officer."
At this moment, someone arrived at the interrogation room and whispered a few words to the two officers. The two officers nodded and started packing their things. I looked on curiously, "Uncle Police Officer, what's wrong?"
"This case is related to the major fraud case 107. You are being transferred to the special task force."
My eyes widened, and I began to sift through information in my mind. It must be people from "Logic Paradox." With such a large fraud case exposed, the "Black Gold" special task force has them cornered, yet they still have the resources to deal with me. Impressive, I admire them.
...
I waited in the interrogation room. It was already two in the morning. Unknowingly, I fell asleep. Suddenly, I heard the door open, and two officers walked in. I was delighted: "Sister, you're still in Hu City? Save me."
The two people who came in were both familiar. One was Yu Xiao Luo, and the other was a comrade from the criminal investigation bureau, whom I had met but didn't know the name of.
"I told you not to show off, not to play hero. Who allowed you to get involved in this case privately?"
Yu Xiao Luo was Yu Xiao Luo, bursting in like a cannonball, fiery tempered. I looked wronged: "I'm still confused. How about we share intelligence?"
"Who is sharing intelligence with you? What's your status? Do you still think you're an informant? You're a murder suspect now."
The person who came with Yu Xiao Luo was a man in his thirties, slightly plump, wearing glasses. He interrupted us with a smile and said to Yu Xiao Luo, "Xiao Luo, let me ask. It's better."
Yu Xiao Luo nodded.
"Tang Nan, I've heard your name. We've met, but we've never introduced ourselves. Luo Bo."
"Brother Luo."
"Alright then, let's start from the beginning. Why did you go to the hotel?"
"To get a room."
After I said that, I glanced at Yu Xiao Luo and saw her eyes were about to kill someone. I instinctively swallowed. "Let me explain. It wasn't actually to get a room. Can I start from the beginning?"
"Go ahead!"
I recounted how Li Qian invited me to her house for dinner, and then I discovered the chess set on the table. The ensuing intimacy, coupled with my sixth sense, made me suspect a conspiracy. It was then that Li Qian asked me to get a room. I felt we hadn't reached that point and asked her if she knew how to play chess. A set of old chess pieces at home, and no one plays? That felt odd.
To prove my suspicion, I went along with the plan and went to the hotel. Then, Li Qian asked me to take a shower. I went into the bathroom, suspecting a honey trap. But I didn't understand why Li Qian would use a honey trap against me, especially after I unconditionally paid her twenty thousand for surgery costs at the hospital.
After I finished speaking, I looked at Yu Xiao Luo pitifully. Yu Xiao Luo asked angrily, "Is what you said true?"
"Didn't even take off my clothes? Of course, it's true."
"And you didn't see the large dead person in the room?"
"This is truly strange; I didn't see anything."
Yu Xiao Luo listened and stood up, saying to Luo Bo, "Brother Luo, let's go. Let him go back to school; it's fine. Those cunning criminals want to drag him into this. We don't need to rely on him. If we really rely on him to solve the case, he'll get too full of himself."
Luo Bo nodded gently. "Okay, you go ahead and handle the paperwork. I'll ask a few more details about this case."
"Okay!"
...
After Yu Xiao Luo left, Luo Bo said to me, "Before I came, I reported this matter to Director Wang. He attached great importance to it. Director Wang's exact words were that we shouldn't disturb your life, but we also shouldn't keep you completely in the dark. After all, you're in the light, and the criminals are in the dark. We can tell you some things appropriately, in your words, 'share intelligence.'"
Luo Bo's words were a bit formal, but it was already good, as we weren't close. Unlike Yu Xiao Luo, we had gone through several major cases together. I smiled fawningly at his statement and clasped my hands together: "Thank you, Brother Luo."
"The deceased at the hotel is named Zhang Keqiang, the financial controller of Hongying Industry. When we were investigating the fraud case of Hongying Industry, ten billion yuan in funds flowed out of the accounts. We checked the transaction records, and all ten billion yuan were given to suppliers in the form of acceptance, meaning the funds were no longer on the books. According to an accomplice in the fraud, the ten billion yuan was secretly transferred to an account, but this statement is also unrealistic. We could easily find an account for ten billion yuan, and there isn't such a large private account in this city."
I listened, bewildered: "Ten billion? That's a lot of money, isn't it? Just disappeared like that?"
"The whereabouts of this ten billion yuan were handled by the financial controller of Hongying Industry. After we investigated this matter, that person disappeared. There was no news for over two months, and tonight, his body was discovered at the hotel."
"He didn't look like he was killed recently."
"Correct. That was the secondary scene."
"I wasn't in the bathroom for long, and I didn't hear anything. Also, the hotel should have surveillance, right?"
Luo Bo sighed when he heard this, "That was a fake chain hotel. It wasn't a chain at all and was involved in various illegal operations. Did the hotel check your ID when you went to get a room with the girl?"
This statement brought a bitter expression to my face: "Let's not bring that up."
"The body wouldn't have appeared on the bed for no reason. I will cooperate with the local criminal investigation team to thoroughly investigate this case. Just so you know, neither Xiao Luo nor Director Wang wants you involved. By the way, Director Wang is still concerned about one thing: have you prepared for your exams?"
"Wait, last year was a mess, and I failed all the subjects. I need to finish the make-up exams first. Preparing for exams is important, but I can't graduate without a diploma, right?"
"Then, let's leave it at that. If you need anything, tell us in advance. Don't take risks."
"Don't worry, Brother Luo."
I agreed verbally, but my mind was racing. This matter was definitely not simple. On top of a honey trap, a murder was arranged. And the deceased was the financial controller who made ten billion yuan disappear without a trace.
Who?
Who exactly?