Chapter 256: The Arrest Begins (1/2)

My aunt was the one who taught me how to drive and I hadn’t taken any formal driving lessons. With my level of proficiency, the car would definitely be sent back into the workshop as soon as I tried to reverse. Besides, I hadn’t sat for a driving test yet, so I didn’t actually have a driver’s license.

“Forget about the car!” I said. “Getting a cab isn’t much trouble anyways.”

”Just accept it,” laughed Xiaotao. “It's for the convenience of working the case.”

After slight contemplation, I asked Dali, ”Didn't you say you wanted to get your driver's license last summer? Have you taken the test?”

”I only said that to please my dad,” said Dali, a daft look spreading across his face as he scratched his head. “I went to one class and learned a little theory, but that’s it.”

”How about this? I don't have time to sit for the driving test so you can use the car,” I suggested. “Dali, when this is all over, you should take the test. I’ll have to trouble you to drive me around in the future!”

”Oh my God, I’m getting a car! It’s so sudden! I can’t believe it!” gushed Dali, his hand clutching his chest in excitement. “Dude, why are you so good to me? Aren’t you afraid I might fall for you?”

”Quit fooling around. I’m asking you to be my personal driver,” I chuckled.

“You may address me as Mr. Wang in the future!” Dali patted his chest.

Xiaotao laughed at our interaction and added, ”Aside from freezing the website’s accounts, we’ve also frozen the accounts of all the streamers found through the studio’s computers. With the disappearance of the website, the whole lot of them are bound to have been alerted but I couldn’t care less. I’ve already declared to my superiors that we will arrest all the streamers who have broken the law nationwide.”

“If this matter is released, it will definitely be a huge shock to the industry!” I said.

”We can’t allow this to get out,” nodded Xiaotao. “As long as you and I know, that’s enough.”

”That’s to say, you’ve also frozen Storm Punisher’s account?” I asked.

”Wang Yizhou's name was on the list!” replied Xiaotao.

The young people of today left their houses without any cash, having acclimatized to the usage of WeChat pay and credit cards. Freezing his accounts meant that he was temporarily immobile. As the saying goes, there is no better strategy than to exhaust an enemy’s supplies. This drastic measure would definitely deal a heavy blow to our suspect.

Additionally, Xiaotao had issued a wanted notice to all precincts and called for close monitoring in every railway station, bus station, airport and dock, connecting the entire province in the search to arrest Storm Punisher. As long as he used his ID, his location would be exposed at once.

With Skynet surveillance, even the tiniest clue that might usually be undetectable could lead us to the criminal. Right now, Storm Punisher was trapped in Nanjiang City with no way of leaving so all we had to do was catch the fish in the barrel.

We arrived at an open space surrounded by a team of officers who watched over Pork Rong’s naked corpse. Strictly speaking, only half of it was left but it was unmistakably Pork Rong because of the stake still impaled in his anus. The blood on his legs had long solidified. At the moment, Bingxin was crouched beside the corpse, examining it for evidence.

Pork Rong had murdered six policemen which was considered a grave criminal offense. However, on the other hand, he was just a young man who simply craved fame and became a bomb fanatic after he was driven by various factors. Seeing his incomplete corpse, I couldn't help but sympathize.

”Why is the body here?” I asked.

”Song Yang-gege, aren’t you silly!” laughed Bingxin. “Why would you ask such a question?”

I turned to the others and said, ”Don't you think it’s strange? The body could have been left at the crime scene and would’ve been ignored. Yet Storm Punisher made the effort to abandon the corpse in the wilderness. That proves one thing–wherever he’s hiding isn’t a convenient place to store the body.”

”Not convenient?” Xiaotao perked up at once. “What do you mean by that?”

There were flies buzzing around the corpse’s intestines that had been exposed, leading me to conclude, ”The weather is beginning to get warmer and the corpse will start to smell. This suggests that wherever Storm Punisher is hiding isn’t a standalone bungalow or an airtight basement. There must be other houses around. With his accounts frozen, he’s under financial difficulties so he plans to stay there for some time, which is why he bothered to deal with the aftermath.”

”That makes sense!” nodded Xiaotao.

I moved closer to observe the body and asked Bingxin what she thought. ”The time of death is 48 hours ago,” she concluded.

”Wasn’t he killed last night...” interjected Dali.

I checked for rigor mortis of the joints, applying pressure on the knees several times. The human knee was the largest piece of cartilage throughout the entire body, and was one of the first parts to start rotting after death. My conclusion concurred with Bingxin’s.

”The video must’ve been pre-recorded,” I said. “When we watched the live stream last night, Pork Rong was already dead and had even begun to stink, so Storm Punisher had to dispose of the body.”