After a while, Huang Xiaotao knocked on the door. She was already dressed and ready, which surprised me.
"You're quick. Isn't it supposed to take girls half an hour to get ready?" I teased.
"Dummy, I didn't want you waiting, so I got dressed early," she said with a grin.
"Alright, give me five minutes!" I quickly got dressed and pulled the key card from the door. Wang Dali greeted, "Xiaotao, you look stunning today."
"Obviously. When don't I?" she replied narcissistically. "How's your cold?"
"Fine. I'm tough as nails — a little cold won't bring me down," Wang Dali said confidently.
Xiaotao knocked on Wang Yuanchao's door. He opened it, wearing a tank top that showed off his muscles and chest hair. Gun slung at his side, a cigarette in his mouth, a silver flask in one hand. His scruffy beard and brooding eyes made him look like a movie spy.
Xiaotao scolded, "Smoking and drinking this early? No wonder your wife left you. Get out!"
He just took a drag and a sip, then closed the door. Five minutes later, he appeared, fully dressed.
…
Wang Dali remarked, "After these days, I think Uncle Wang is actually pretty cool."
"Too cool guys are never reliable. If you dig into his messy love life, you'll change your mind," Xiaotao said.
Wang Dali teased, "What about me? Am I reliable?"
Xiaotao glanced at him, "Losers are even less reliable."
Wang Dali was crushed. "Then what about Song Yang? Is he reliable?"
She looked at me coldly, "Don't know."
After leaving the hotel, I recapped the curse-related findings my junior had dug up. Wang Dali was shocked. "A killing curse? How do we solve this case then?"
Xiaotao sighed, "The real problem is: how do we convict a suspect? There's no law against curses. Otherwise, the prisons would be full of cursing people."
I said, "The curse is real, and we can't let others suffer. We should ask Director Cheng to treat this case specially."
She nodded. "We believe it because we've seen it. The cops might lose morale hearing about curses."
I reassured her, "'Financial Cat' kills in a predictable way: it must be placed in the victim's home, it activates at a specific time, and then the culprit takes it away to cover their tracks. The curse isn't some vague magic — it follows rules and science. There are still clues to chase."
"But I won't reveal the curse publicly. Like Xiaotao said, that'd cause panic."
At the police station's second-floor meeting room, breakfast was waiting. Everyone gathered around the table, and I noticed Captain Liao was there too. Everyone tensed as we walked in, so I waved, "Relax, eat and discuss."
I summarized the clues: two officers on hospital duty said the girl's stable and taken by her aunt; victim's business dealings were messy with no obvious leads; White Yidao found info on Yu Jun, a product manager for an electronics import company. The male victim was a long-time partner; unpaid shipment fees would naturally transfer to Yu Jun after the victim's death.
I asked White Yidao, "Have you met Yu Jun?"
"Yes."
"Did you verify his statements?"
"Not yet, I was busy all day. Had to wait outside his factory for hours before seeing him. After that, it was night — no time to verify."
I frowned, deciding to visit Yu Jun myself.
Suddenly, an officer looked shocked. "Consultant Song, remember the vacant apartment opposite the victim's place you asked me to check?"
"What about it?"
"The tenant's name is also Yu Jun."
My eyes lit up. "How long had he rented it?"
"One month. After the murder, he found it unlucky and moved out. Didn't even want his deposit."
"What day did he move out?"
"The day after the murder."
The room buzzed — a breakthrough! Though unclear, it was a ray of hope. Everyone looked excited except White Yidao, whose face showed doubt. Was he hiding something?
Captain Liao raised a hand. "Song Yang, I'm not sure if I should say this."
"Go ahead."
"Yu Jun's name sounded familiar. Turns out he was linked to the last case's victim. We ruled him out early, thinking he couldn't be the killer."
"What kind of link?"
"They were competitors for the same product manager position. After the victim's family had the accident, Yu Jun took the spot. We checked his whereabouts — he has a solid alibi. So, I called it coincidence."
I asked, "Three coincidences? You still believe that?"
Silence fell.
Looking around, I said seriously, "These aren't normal cases. The method isn't stabbing or poisoning — it's some kind of biological magnetic field that drives people insane!"
The room erupted in whispers. I told them about last night's reconstruction and the mysterious sculpture from the thief Zhang Liu'er.
All signs point to Yu Jun as the killer. He has a sculpture that can alter moods, watched the victim's house before and after, but didn't fully control it. He slipped in after the murder and stole the weapon amid the chaos.
After I finished, the atmosphere was electric. But White Yidao seemed uneasy.
I asked him, "White Yidao, thoughts?"
"N-no," he scratched his nose nervously. "Mysterious sculpture? Consultant Song, that's a bit far-fetched."
I had a feeling he was hiding something.