Chapter 37

Chapter 37 3. panic room-11

“Before Yu Ping went missing, did he say anything to you? Did he mention where he was going?”

An Pingdong thought for a moment, then pressed further: “Also, during that time, who did he meet? Who did he interact with frequently?”

Lu Fangfang was stunned by the rapid-fire questioning from this unfamiliar officer she was seeing for the first time. Reflexively, she lifted her head, mouth half-open, displaying an expression that seemed very foolish and bewildered to anyone watching.

She had assumed, like during previous interrogations, that the officer was there to question her about her own case. But now, it seemed they were more concerned with her long-gone former lover.

Realizing this, Lu Fangfang’s lips trembled, and she voiced the question in her mind: “You’re looking for Yu Ping? Did he do something wrong too?”

“Cut the crap!”

An Pingdong slammed his fist on the table viciously. “We’re the ones asking the questions here. Speak quickly!”

“I… I just dated him for a year…”

Startled by An Pingdong’s shout, Lu Fangfang jerked her neck back. “The room he rented was a two-person room, and tenants came and went constantly. I didn’t know who was close to him or not!”

As she spoke, she stole glances at An Pingdong’s reaction, racking her brain to recall:

“I remember… it was just after the New Year this year, I think. He said his buddy had a vacant room, and he wanted to move there… I asked him to take me, but he didn’t agree. He moved silently on his own. I didn’t even see what his buddy looked like!”

Lu Fangfang fidgeted. “Later… even when handling that thing, it was still renting by the hour…”

She glanced anxiously at An Pingdong and nervously scanned the people in the room. “Then he got fired by the factory, came back, vented his anger on me, and even slapped me twice!”

Lu Fangfang raised her hand to her cheek, as if the fake Yu Ping’s palm prints were still there.

“After that, he rarely came to see me. By August, I couldn’t even reach him by phone. I knew we were definitely over…”

An Pingdong tore a blank page from his notebook and handed it along with a pen to Lu Fangfang. “Where was that group rental house you lived in? Write the address for me.”

As Lu Fangfang struggled to write the address in her terrible handwriting, like a failing elementary school student, An Pingdong asked her a few more questions. But the so-called lovers were just two people keeping each other company out of loneliness, sharing few secrets.

From An Pingdong’s experience and awareness as a detective, when Yu Ping decided to move to his “buddy’s” place, he had likely already connected with other criminals, conspiring to kidnap the wealthy Liu Yang’s son, Liu Lingxiao. In other words, the people he interacted closely with at the time were probably the other two kidnappers in the recordings.

At this stage, if the kidnappers refused to contact Liu Yang and his wife for ransom, the police could only painstakingly trace Yu Ping’s life over the past year from the deceased fake Yu Ping’s identity, investigating each close contact…

This required not only manpower but also time—time that could be critical for the missing child.

While An Pingdong was calculating the case in his mind, his shoulder was suddenly pressed by someone’s hand.

He turned and saw Liu Yi standing next to him, hand resting on his shoulder.

“I have a few questions to ask her,” Liu Yi said, nodding toward Lu Fangfang across the table.

An Pingdong stood and gave up the seat to Liu Yi.

Liu Yi sat without ceremony and asked Lu Fangfang: “You mentioned earlier that Yu Ping told you he had held many jobs before going to the battery factory?”

Lu Fangfang stared at Liu Yi, her expression stiff and confused.

She had long noticed this was the only handsome man in the room not wearing a police uniform, but with her limited knowledge, she didn’t dare guess his identity.

Now, this ridiculously good-looking man had swapped places with the burly officer and was personally interrogating her. She felt both surprised and inexplicably ashamed, lowering her head, unable to meet Liu Yi’s gaze.

“People like us, who hasn’t had ten jobs or so…”

Lu Fangfang murmured, head down.

Liu Yi: “Do you remember if Yu Ping mentioned any of the jobs he did?”

Lu Fangfang let out an “ah,” looking very confused.

“Any detail will do,” Liu Yi prompted. “Think carefully about everything he told you.”

Lu Fangfang pondered, mouth open. “Right, I remember… he said he worked for several years in the development zone of S City, G Province, a long time ago. Then he got sick. The factory didn’t compensate, so he had no choice but to come to Xinhai City… I can’t recall if he ever mentioned what kind of work it was…”

Hearing this, Liu Yi’s eyes widened. “Do you remember what illness Yu Ping said he had?”

Lu Fangfang frowned, hesitating, then slowly said in uncertain tones: “I think… it was a skin disease…”

Qi Shanyu, who had been standing nearby since Liu Yi came over to An Pingdong, hadn’t taken his eyes off Liu Yi once.

He noticed that the moment Liu Yi heard Lu Fangfang’s answer, he instinctively made a loose fist with both hands and leaned slightly forward—classic body language for someone suppressing nervousness and anticipation.

“I’ll ask a different question.”

Qi Shanyu heard Liu Yi’s calm, emotionless voice continue: “Did Yu Ping ever mention why the factory didn’t compensate him?”

“Ah, I remember that!”

When people were venting complaints, they inevitably said a lot. Even fake Yu Ping, who always hid his true identity, had cursed the factory in front of Lu Fangfang.

“My lover said the hospital treating him was in league with the factory. They didn’t register his illness, so he lost the lawsuit. The factory kicked him out, letting him fend for himself—”

Lu Fangfang abruptly stopped, eyes rolling. “I remember he said he’d chop up the factory boss’s whole family!”

Her voice rose, eyes wide with strange excitement and glee: “Could it be… he actually went and attacked them?!”

Liu Yi ignored her question, waving his hand to stop her torrent of words. “Are you sure the place he worked was S City, G Province?”

Lu Fangfang hesitated. “I… I don’t think I’m mistaken…”

She thought carefully, then nodded firmly. “S City and Xinhai City are called the ‘Twin Coastal Cities,’ right?”

She didn’t know the exact character for “twin beauties” but roughly understood and substituted a character she could pronounce. “Once, Yu Ping got drunk and said he used to be in S City and now is in Xinhai. So he’s slept with both cities’ girls…”

Hearing this, Liu Yi suddenly stood up, grabbed An Pingdong with one hand and Qi Shanyu with the other, and headed for the interrogation room door.

“What’s going on?”

An Pingdong, remembering to have his colleagues from Task Force Two take Lu Fangfang back, asked while walking: “What’s the matter?”

“Occupational Disease Prevention Institute in S City, G Province!”

Liu Yi’s voice was urgent. “Immediately contact all hospitals in S City qualified for occupational disease diagnosis. Use ‘contact dermatitis’ as the keyword to search all cases!”

He instructed: “Especially those cases where occupational disease was not confirmed. Send every single file here as soon as possible!”

&&& &&& &&&

Liu Yi’s request was extremely demanding.

It was already 7:30 p.m. Most doctors and administrators responsible for occupational disease diagnosis had long gone home.

But this was a nationally significant case concerning human lives. Any delay could be irreparable. Captain Shen Zun personally called the S City bureau, demanding cooperation, frantically calling the Occupational Disease Prevention Institute and Dermatology Institute staff back to work to review records overnight.

Soon, both hospitals faxed all relevant contact dermatitis case applications from the past ten years to the task force office.

Liu Yi stationed himself by the fax machine, eating a sandwich, watching the pages spit out, filtering them on the spot.

After about half an hour, when he saw a file with a white ID photo attached, he immediately dropped his half-drunk cup of coffee, grabbed the phone, and called the S City Occupational Disease Prevention Institute.

The staff, long waiting, responded promptly. Five minutes later, they sent him the complete medical records he wanted.

Liu Yi quickly scanned the newly faxed pages, reviewing the case descriptions, then flipping to the allergen section. Upon seeing the term he was looking for, he jumped from his seat and headed straight to the meeting room where Shen Zun was.

“I found them, it’s this person!”