Three Graves 14
If every person had a side others didn’t know about, then Lin Chen had never seen this side of Wang Chao.
The boy aggressively slammed open the door to the interrogation room, and arrived in front of Vice Captain Jiang. With extreme bluntness, he asked, “Where is Wang Shi Shi’s laptop?”
Captain Jiang, shocked at being yelled at, had a bit of difficulty reacting. “Laptop? I’m not sure if we have it…”
“What do you mean you don’t know if you have Wang Shi Shi’s computer?” Little comrade Wang Chao’s grape-like eyes squinted in a rarely seen manner, like he was getting ready to get angry. “Bring me the list of the deceased’s possessions, I’ll look for it myself.”
After all, he was in another’s territory. Having unbridled rage wasn’t very appropriate.
And so, Lin Chen gently pushed aside the two officers blocking him and walked over, pressing his hand into the little comrade’s head, and gently asked, “What’s wrong?”
The boy’s delicate lips were pressed together tightly, but he didn’t push aside the hand pressed against his head.
“It’s here, it’s here, the list is here.” Ma Han agilely handed over a folder.
Wang Chao didn’t say anything, only rapidly flipped through those few pages. After that, his expression became more and more ugly.
“Why is there no computer? Among the deceased’s possessions, shouldn’t the computer be the most important piece of evidence? Why isn’t it here?” Wang Chao asked.
No one on scene could answer this question. Truthfully, if Wang Chao hadn’t specially brought it up, no one had yet to consider this problem. For a second, the atmosphere was extremely cold.
“There is, indeed, no computer.”
“But the deceased’s mother clearly told us to go find her daughter’s computer!”
Lin Chen gazed at the boy’s pale face, and gently stroked the thin, black hairs on the back of his skull, again and again.
Halfway through speaking, Wang Chao suddenly stopped. He gripped the paper with the sketch on it in his hands, turned around and returned to his seat. “Nevermind, I’ll do it myself.”
Xing Cong Lian stayed in the interrogation room for quite a while after.
When he reemerged, there was almost no trace of the ruckus from earlier.
The tech guru’s hands flew across the keyboard, as if engaged in a brutal battle with data.
Lin Chen held a cup of water, and leaned against the window closest to Wang Chao, like his thoughts were wandering aimlessly, but also like he was guarding someone.
The sky was mostly dark. Outside the window, the streetlamps were slowly turning on.
Lin Chen saw Xing Cong Lian walk out and gave him a glance. Without sharing a word, they both headed out of the office.
Standing beside the large potted plant around the corner from the office, Xing Cong Lian took out his lighter, lit a cigarette, and asked in a low voice, “Did the little brat cause trouble?”
“He almost started an argument with the Second Branch people because of Wang Shi Shi’s computer.” Lin Chen swallowed, then asked, “What happened in the interrogation room?”
“Childhood trauma must have been triggered.” Xing Cong Lian said as he blew a smoke ring.
It must be some trauma if it made a polite, bright, boy turn anxious and aggressive. Lin Chen gently stroked a button. Xing Cong Lian’s words seemed too dodgy. He clearly knew, yet he said that sentence so casually, making it hard to question. Lin Chen raised his eyebrows and didn’t continue asking.
“You don’t need to worry too much.” Xing Cong Lian added.
Lin Chen didn’t reply.
Xing Cong Lian rubbed his nose. He knew Lin Chen realized that he didn’t answer the question seriously. But some things can’t be explained clearly in a few words. If it can’t be explained clearly, then why bother?
And so, he could only change the subject bluntly, “What about Professor Fu? Have you received any news?”
“He said he’s caught up in something, so he can’t make it today.”
“That works out. Have him find Jiang Liu’s entrance introduction as well…”
“What?”
“I listened to Wang Shi Shi’s mother speak just now. Your psychological statistics still make sense.” Xing Cong Lian held his cigarette and thought back to the interrogation room, where the woman used a proud tone to talk about her deceased daughter.
Clever, understanding, obedient, filial…too many words complimenting girls could be used to describe Wang Shi Shi. The daughter in Madame Wang’s mouth was like a puppet produced from a typical authoritarian family. Obedient and cowardly, never understanding what rebellion was.
How could a girl like this deviate from the norm, record a sex tape, then use that kind of method to end her own life?
“As it should be.” Lin Chen didn’t think it was unexpected, hearing Xing Cong Lian say that, “But Jiang Liu…”
“I’ve already sent someone to search.” Xing Cong Lian rushed to answer.
Suddenly, from the office came a terrible shriek.
“Ah!!!”
Lin Chen and Xing Cong Lian rushed inside, only to see Wang Chao’s baseball cap thrown aside. At that moment, he was holding his head in both hands, yelling, “Why is the internet so slow?!”
Everyone in the office was looking at each other, speechless.
Right now, Wang Chao was like a vase labeled “handle with care”, but also like a little dragon that could spit fire at any moment.
Xing Cong Lian walked over, picked up the police uniform on the armrest, and said to him, “Let’s go get you something to eat.”
_____________
Yong Chuan doesn’t have a great view, Xing Cong Lian really isn’t too familiar with it.
So in the end, they ended up going to the buffet inside the Cohen May Hotel.
Little comrade Wang Chao was someone who had seen the world, so he wouldn’t blink an eye at a plate full of sashimi and king crabs.
Lin Chen put a brimming cup of coffee down in front of the boy. Wang Chao didn’t even lift his head, he was still immersed in the endless image retrieval program.
Lin Chen pushed the coffee over and said to him gently, “Drink it.”
“I’m still young, I can’t have too much coffee!”
“It can stimulate the secretion of dopamine, which is to say, it’ll make you feel better.” Lin Chen said seriously.
Wang Chao hit the enter key a few times and finally lifted his head. Moved, he said, “Ah Chen, you treat me so well.”
Captain Xing carried a plate of pan fried yellow croaker over. Hearing those words, he set the plate down in front of himself with zero hesitation.
“What, you haven’t found the original video yet?” Captain Xing couldn’t help but ask, seeing that the tech guru was finally willing to respond to people.
“Boss, do you know what it means to find a needle in a haystack? It’s not just searching through a few pictures, it’s using a still photo to find a moving video. It needs to use image2play technology. It’s very difficult, okay?”
“Do you have to watch through all of the recent videos?” Xing Cong Lian muttered, stroking the stubble on his chin.
“Don’t knowingly break the law, alright, boss?!” Wang Chao vigorously took a gulp of coffee, “I’ve already finished writing the program, now I just need to wait for the search results.
Seeing the boy’s bloodshot eyes and a rare serious look on his face, Xing Cong Lian thought for a bit, but still asked, “Do you think it’s necessary to find the original video?”
“I’m more worried that there will be trouble if I don’t find it.”
Xing Cong Lian looked up rapidly, the chopsticks in his hands stilled.
Madame Wang said clearly that she saw the video online, and that she couldn’t download the video, so she could only take screenshots.
That means, if even Wang Chao can’t find the original, then that leaves only one possibility. A possibility that could increase the difficulty of the entire case astronomically.
“If I really can’t find it…then I don’t want to work on this type of case anymore. Get someone else.” Wang Chao said.
Xing Cong Lian and Wang Chao’s exchange was very short and very vague. It was like there was a code that indicated the conversation was complete, and the boy’s prophecy served as the end.
Lin Chen wasn’t sure what happened in the past, but what exists on the internet that can make Wang Chao, someone who could joke about robbery and sex tapes, stop in his tracks?
After eating, Wang Chao’s gaze never left the computer screen again.
He didn’t even have any interest in touring Xing Cong Lian’s executive suite.
The boy found a nice spot on the carpet and sat down cross-legged. The long carpet had a rose and canary pattern, it was soft and plush. The dazzling chandelier shone, while outside the window was a vast night sky. Yet he only watched over the laptop on the coffee table like a sculpture.
When Lin Chen woke up in the middle of the night, Wang Chao was still in the same position. The computer screen in front of him was dark.
Evidently, the search results were not great.
Lin Chen thought for a bit, then walked to his room in his slippers to find a blanket to cover the boy. He sat down on the carpet beside him.
“You still can’t find the original video?” He asked.
The boy’s expression was very bad. He shook his head stiffly.
“Why?”
“There are two possibilities, first, this video was never uploaded to the internet, only spread privately, and Wang Shi Shi’s mother is lying.”
“And the second?”
“Ah Chen, have you heard of the dark web?”
Lin Chen thought, this is indeed a name that does not sound very simple.
“I’ve heard a bit.” He said, as he pulled a cushion out from the sofa for the boy to lean on.
Maybe it was because the carpet was soft, or Lin Chen’s voice was too gentle, Wang Chao only felt his fatigue wash over him like a wave. He leaned against the cushion and said slowly, “If there is a video that can’t be found on the surface web, then the other possibility is that this video has been intentionally hidden in the depths of the internet. It can only be found through special techniques.”
“What does that mean?”
“The internet world we usually interact with is only the tip of the iceberg. Everything that can be captured by a search engine is considered the surface web. However, under the ocean, there is a wider, darker internet world. In that world, there are no police, no laws, no rules. It’s full of countless drugs, pornography, arms trading, smuggling, organ selling, human trafficking… Don’t you think it’s hilarious? We invented new technology that can let the user hide their identity from the server when accessing the internet. Now, the internet police around the world can’t do anything but sit around stupidly and watch countless sinful transactions happen under their nose, since we can’t find the IP!”
The more Wang Chao spoke, the angrier he got. At the end, he even slammed his fist on the floor.
Thankfully, the carpet was thick enough. Lin Chen pressed down on the boy’s hand, stopping himself from hurting himself further. “Then, please tell me, if this video really is on the dark web, what would it mean?”
“What would it mean? The deepweb has many hardcore videos that violate the laws of every country. A threesome is nothing! It only means that a group of dumb college students found a new internet world and couldn’t help but get excited and carelessly lose their lives after!”
“You’re too extreme.” Lin Chen said lightly.
“Ah Chen, have you seen a wicked world? The kind of world where everything is broken, it’s extremely dark, and there isn’t even a bit of light?”
“I really want to tell you a story, but after thinking about it, I can only say I don’t think I have.”
“Have you ever seen someone who is unreasonably evil?”
Looking at the boy’s disbelieving gaze, Lin Chen thought for a while, then finally said, “I have.”
“How can a human be so evil?” Wang Chao said, lips trembling slightly, as if thinking of something.
“Whether or not there exists absolute evil in this world isn’t a philosophical question. You can use a more spiritual perspective to look at this question.”
“I don’t understand…”
The boy’s eyes were damp, and he looked very lost. Lin Chen reached out and covered his eyes.
“As long as there is light in your heart, then the world will not be dark.” He spoke slowly and extremely softly. Before he could finish, he could hear the boy’s sweet snores.
Lin Chen turned around. He wasn’t sure when Xing Cong Lian came to stand behind him.
“Once, we investigated a genocide case. The killer used the dark web to live stream the entire killing…” The mixed-blood young man bent over, pulling the boy’s blanket up, “Wang Chao was in charge of locating the specific address, but in the end, there was nothing we could do.”