Interrogation?
Liu Jin nodded, and immediately went to make arrangements.
...
The interrogation room was on the first floor of the team headquarters.
It was almost bare inside, with no floor tiles, just a layer of cement, and a dim light hanging from the ceiling.
The surroundings were very dark, and just standing inside, you could feel the invisible pressure.
A specially modified chair stood in the center of the room.
At that moment, Chen Hua, dressed in casual clothes and with hands handcuffed, sat silently on the chair.
He kept his head down, making it impossible to see his expression.
For a long while.
Footsteps sounded outside the door, growing louder and finally stopping at the entrance.
"Creak~"
The old iron door of the interrogation room made a piercing noise, and as the gap widened, a few figures slowly emerged.
"Captain."
Liu Jin stood up inside, nodding at Chen Changchun outside the door.
Chen Changchun nodded and entered with Xu Liang, then sat at the interrogation table, where Liu Jin picked up a pen and paper to record the interrogation.
Xu Liang stood in the shadow, saying nothing.
At this point, the interrogation preparation was complete.
Chen Changchun took a sip of tea and glanced at Chen Hua while drinking.
Although the capture had happened hours ago, it was his first time seeing the man's face.
His whole body was gaunt and skeletal, his skin as dark as charcoal, and his eyes very cloudy, like an old man at death's door.
"Chen Hua, right? Do you have anything to say?"
Chen Changchun put down the cup, directing his gaze at him.
The man remained silent, his handcuffed hands motionless.
"Not talking?"
"If you won't talk, I'll speak for you."
Chen Changchun sneered, suddenly slapping the table.
"Bang!"
"On the evening of June 1, 2004, Chen Wei was murdered while drunk on Hongfu Street. Wasn't that your doing?"
Chen Hua still did not speak, only raising his head, a hint of coldness in his cloudy eyes.
Undeterred, Chen Changchun continued:
"The crime scene was in a small alley. According to police reconstruction, during the crime, you held a sharp knife and stabbed the victim in the abdomen."
"During the victim's resistance, there was a struggle, which aggravated the injuries."
"While fleeing, you lost too much blood and died..."
"After the crime, you fled to your home in South Ring Alley, only five kilometers from the scene, but returned to Hongfu Street out of hatred to further harm the victim."
"Do you have any objections to these...?"
After speaking, he looked up at Chen Hua, waiting for a response.
Chen Hua still didn't speak, his face ashen, his handcuffed hands clenched into fists, staring fiercely at Chen Changchun.
So tight-lipped?
Chen Changchun frowned.
Just as he was about to speak again.
Unexpectedly, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"In 1997, why didn't you report Zhang Cui's death?"
Xu Liang's voice echoed from the corner, and everyone instinctively turned to look.
His expression was calm, his eyes devoid of emotion, as if merely having a casual conversation.
"If I'm not mistaken, the culprit in Zhang Cui's death was the family of Chen Jian and Zhu Hong."
"The police were right there at the time, so why didn't you report it!?"
Hearing the second voice, Chen Changchun hesitated but did not interrupt.
Chen Hua still did not speak, but his gaze shifted to Xu Liang.
Seeing this, Xu Liang was not angry and continued to speak.
"I've checked Chen Jian's background. He was rich even before the demolitions!"
"It's reasonable for a village head to have money, but too much wealth is unreasonable."
"The source of his money is nothing but 'black'... If I'm not mistaken, Chen Jian must have exploited you a lot back then."
The room went silent.
Until a long time later.
The always silent Chen Hua finally nodded.
"Hmm."
Upon hearing this, Xu Liang continued:
"When a person is bullied once, they'll be bullied again because they're soft, they're a coward!"
"No abuser would risk bullying an unknown person knowing you're soft and cowardly just for the fun of it."
"That's how Chen Jian was. He knew you were the most honest and useless, so he picked on you."
"Until the authorities started shifting from heavy industry to light industry, and Chen Family Village was included in the planned demolition area..."
He paused, with a playful smile on his face, scanning Chen Hua.
"Demolition, once the house is gone, it's as good as gold!"
"Although Chen Jian already had money, who wouldn't want more free money?"
"So, he set his eyes on the most cowardly, most useless person, you, because what does a coward need so much money for? It'd be better for his son!"
"Am I right?"
Having said this, Xu Liang looked at Chen Hua.
Chen Hua's fingertips were deeply embedded in his skin, his face livid like bronze, his muddy eyes full of hatred fixed on Xu Liang.
"Tsk, I hit the mark."
Xu Liang chuckled, unconcerned about the other's attitude.
Suddenly, his tone shifted.
"You refuse, though you're a coward, even cowards have their limits."
"But... at the end of the day, a coward is a coward, even if you refuse, essentially, you're just a coward with a bit of a rebellious streak."
"You were just a bit careless, and Chen Jian brought people to your house."
"At that time, your child and your wife Zhang Cui happened to be at home."
At this point.
In a daze, Chen Hua suddenly shouted.
"Shut up!"
Liu Jin snapped back and looked at Chen Hua, seeing that his palm was already bleeding, his face was hideous, and his eyes wished to devour Xu Liang.
"Ha, shut up? And what makes you think you can make me shut up?"
Xu Liang said with a smile.
Suddenly, his face changed, and he looked at him, full of disdain.
"You are a waste, but Zhang Cui is not!"
"Zhang Cui stuck by you her whole life, living a coward's life."
"You're a coward, but for the sake of the children, she didn't want to be a coward; when Chen Jian came to evict and seize the title deeds, she naturally refused!"
"So, during the conflict, Chen Wei was ruthless and beat her to death!"
"And you, this coward, even after your wife died, you could only cower when the police came!"
A string of words fell again.
Chen Hua's emotions became increasingly extreme.
"Shut up!"
"You're talking nonsense. You don't understand anything!"
He screamed hoarsely, the veins in his hands bulging, the chain of the handcuffs stretched taut, his eyes bloodshot.
"I don't understand!?"
"I checked Chen Wei's file four times; he's a lecher, and your daughter Chen Qingqing happened to be somewhat pretty."
"In 1997, when Chen Wei came to threaten, did he rape your daughter!?"
Xu Liang did not back down, loudly covering the other's voice.
"For four years, Chen Qingqing kept self-harming; she cut off her own flesh with knives, pulled out her fingernails, carved gashes on her body and chest with knives!"
"She even eventually jumped into the river to kill herself, a suicide case of a deceased merely aged 22!"
"And you?"
"Your wife was killed, your daughter was raped, yet you didn't dare to utter a single word!"
"Do you know why Chen Qingqing committed suicide?"
"Because you're a coward, because you're rubbish!!!"
Just as Xu Liang was about to continue speaking, suddenly, Chen Hua erupted.
"So I killed him!!!"
Chen Hua was emotionally shattered, reaching out as if to rise, but he was firmly trapped on the chair.
He seemed like a furious lion, his eyes blood-red, his whole body hysterical:
"I killed him! I killed Chen Wei!"
"He was a beast; he deserved to die!"
"I lay in ambush in that alley; I waited for several hours. When I saw him, I stabbed him to death with a knife. With each stab, I felt more and more satisfied. He deserved it; he deserved to die!"
"Are you satisfied?!"
"He deserved to be killed by me!!!"
Chen Hua collapsed, as if he had gone mad.
His wife died, his daughter was raped and eventually committed suicide, and the relocation compensation was taken away...
Chen Hua was screaming.
Suddenly, he cried again, covering his face with his rough hands, and tear-sized drops rolled down through his fingers...
"I am a waste... I am just a waste...."
"It should have been me who died..."
The interrogation room was silent, only his sobbing and murmuring.
"You..."
Chen Changchun tugged at Xu Liang, his expression hesitant.
This interrogation... went a bit too far.
Suddenly, Xu Liang spoke:
"I apologize for the offense caused by my words earlier, and compensation will be made later."
"But..."
"I have one more thing to say."
After saying this.
Without waiting for anyone around to ask anything.
Xu Liang's eyes suddenly focused, his gaze fierce, staring intently at the tearful Chen Hua.
"Mr. Chen, I think you got one thing wrong; this case is not murder..."
"It's manslaughter!"
Mans... manslaughter?
Yes, I remember now; from the beginning, the case was manslaughter!
No, that's not right!
Instantly, everyone on scene froze.
If the perpetrator was manslaughter, then Chen Hua's earlier confession to intentional murder...
"You're not the perpetrator."
"You're trying to take the fall... you're trying to cover for the perpetrator!"
Xu Liang remained expressionless, staring at Chen Hua.
At this point, after those two bursts just now, Chen Hua was blank.
His face was pale, his lips colorless, and somehow there was a hint of despair in his eyes.
"So let me guess..."
"Who is the perpetrator?"