Silent Testimony - Chapter 100

Since the case broke, Tao Ling had been severely sleep-deprived. Last night, cradled in Li Hewei’s arms, she finally fell into a dreamless sleep. In the morning, she was jolted awake by her alarm. Sunlight flooded the room. She opened her eyes and reached for her phone.

9:02 AM.

Sister Wei had a meeting at 10:00 AM.

Today was the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and Tao Ling was still on vacation. She planned to accompany her mother this afternoon to claim Tao Yang’s remains for cremation and burial. Shaking off her grogginess, she got out of bed, slipped into her slippers, and went to find Li Hewei.

She checked the bathroom, the living room, and the kitchen, finally spotting her in the study, still dressed in loungewear.

“Sister Wei?”

“I found a USB drive.” Li Hewei didn’t look back. She gripped the mouse and clicked through a folder on the computer screen, murmuring, “It might be a clue—a very important clue.”

“A clue?” Tao Ling approached, leaning her hands on the back of the chair to scan the files on the desktop.

“Shen Ning said that the ‘original’ Li Hewei had been helping her investigate the case all along. So, I wondered if she had left anything behind.” Li Hewei had been troubled all night by chaotic dreams. Shen Ning’s desperation had made it impossible to sleep well. Upon waking at dawn, she had felt a sudden urge to search through the private belongings the previous owner of this body had left untouched.

The bottom-right drawer of the bookshelf was locked. She found the key, opened it, and found a USB drive labeled “Chu Xiaoyi.”

The drive contained five folders arranged chronologically: April 9–10, 2010; May 2–4, 2010; August 17–20, 2011; February 11–14, 2012; and then a two-year gap leading to December 18, 2014.

Li Hewei clicked the first one.

April 9, 2010: The original Li Hewei was still a graduate student. Based on Shen Ning’s accounts and the written receipts left after the case was closed, she had organized the documents.

On the night of March 7, 2010, Shen Ning had spoken to Chu Xiaoyi on the phone and knew her mother was going to the Government Affairs Center the next day to handle paperwork for Shen Hao’s discharge from the military. At 8:27 AM on March 8, Chu Xiaoyi left the house; community surveillance captured her wearing a teal coat, carrying a camera, and a handbag.

However, no camera was found in the crime scene photos or among her personal effects. The original Li Hewei had noted in red ink: Where is it? Was it snatched by a bystander or stolen intentionally?

Initial Forensic Report: Death caused by hemorrhagic shock from a car accident, cardiac arrest, impact injury to the back of the head, and multiple crush injuries to the limbs and abdomen.

Shen Ning’s Private Autopsy: Crush injuries to the legs, abdomen, and wrists; blunt force trauma to the back of the head from repeated strikes (not a single vehicle impact).

The original Li Hewei had archived photos of the scene and autopsy, but biological samples, trace evidence, and physical exhibits had been completely destroyed. The criminal investigation department had refused to open a case; finding the truth was as difficult as reaching the heavens.

May 2, 2012: The original owner had drawn a character relationship map and accompanied Shen Ning to find He Tian, the Deputy Captain of the Traffic Police Brigade in charge of the accident case. He had dismissed them with empty bureaucratic platitudes.

August 17, 2011: After being hired by the Puchen Municipal Public Security Bureau, the original owner tried to use her position to access the archives but was refused. She returned to the Traffic Police Brigade to intervene, but the Deputy Captain—a “smiling tiger”—agreed verbally while privately calling her superiors to demand she “follow protocol.”

Behind He Tian’s photo, the original owner wrote: Reason for refusal? Quickly classifying the case as a car accident—negligence or bribery?

February 11, 2012: She contacted Chu Xiaoyi’s former assistant and team members. All of them avoided the topic of her undercover investigation. Ma Peng (Station Chief of Puchen Evening News, Senior Reporter); Su Lu (Reporter, Chu Xiaoyi’s assistant).

2013: After the archives fire, Shen Ning wrote to the Shujiang Traffic Police Branch raising all her doubts. The reply stated the matter had been referred back to the Puchen Traffic Police Brigade, where it vanished once again.

December 18, 2014: After the original owner was promoted to Squadron Leader, she realized the magnitude of the obstruction and began a secret investigation into the bank records of He Tian and the forensic doctor. That day, she was in a car accident and received a threatening text: 【Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. Next time, it might not just be your arm.】

Tao Ling’s hand tightened on the back of the chair. She whispered, “Sister Wei…” It turned out the 2014 accident wasn’t a simple rear-end collision, but calculated retaliation.

“I’m fine.” Li Hewei took a deep breath. Recalling a text she had received after crossing into this world—one she thought was a prank—she pulled out her phone.

July 17, 2015, 0:23 AM: 【You’re lucky that flowerpot missed. You won’t be lucky every time.】

The original owner had been scared into a faint by a falling flowerpot—that was their doing, too? Li Hewei considered herself psychologically resilient, but at this moment, her brow was tightly knit, and her heart skipped a beat.

Tao Ling’s eyes were rimmed with red. She grabbed her phone. “Tell Sister Qiu. We have to tell her everything.”

“Wait.” Li Hewei pondered the details. “Chu Xiaoyi’s case isn’t simple. Files destroyed, records lost, the driver dying mysteriously after release, the doctor resigning, colleagues avoiding the investigation topic…”

“Tao Tao, there might be internal interference. Deputy Captain He Tian? Archive managers? Or someone even higher in the judiciary.” Li Hewei thought of real-world cold cases that took decades to solve because the truth was suppressed.

“What should we do?” Tao Ling asked, her face full of worry.

“The Provincial Department is already discussing the case’s classification. Sister Qiu and Director Liu suspect something; they’ll have a plan.” Just as Li Hewei finished speaking, her phone rang. It was Qiu Wan.

She answered immediately. “Hello, Sister Qiu.”

“He Tian is dead.”

Li Hewei was shocked. “What?”

“Suicide. There was a note.” Qiu Wan sighed. “Come to the station for a meeting first.”

In the small meeting room on the third floor of the Puchen Bureau, the same seven people from the previous night were gathered.

“Two pieces of news,” Director Liu began, displaying a suicide note on the screen. “He Tian committed suicide. He claimed he took 1 million yuan from the driver, Wang, to close the case as an accident. Later, fearing exposure, he burned the files and used connections to intentionally ‘lose’ the court records.”

“As for the forensic doctor, Meng Kuang, he turned himself in, claiming Wang gave him 500,000 yuan to lie about the autopsy.”

Captain Jiang sounded excited. “The chain of evidence is complete!”

“It looks complete on the surface, but there are too many coincidences,” Qiu Wan countered. She pulled up a photo of the court archive manager, Zhao. “He says he did He Tian a favor for a 100,000-yuan bribe—he stole 20 files, including Chu Xiaoyi’s, during the court’s relocation.”

Captain Jiang’s smile widened. “See? We even have witnesses.”

“But,” Qiu Wan continued, “He Tian received a call last night from an unregistered Shujiang number. The call lasted 12 minutes and 19 seconds.”

Director Liu frowned. “Did you call it back?”

“It’s been busy. They probably tossed the SIM card.”

Silence fell over the room. Captain Peng suddenly stood up. “I’m going to interrogate the forensic doctor and the archivist myself.”

“Captain Peng,” Qiu Wan reminded her, “the doctor is in Interrogation Room 1, the manager is in Room 2.”

Half an hour later, Captain Peng returned. “They aren’t lying.”

“I told you,” Captain Jiang said, beaming. “Once people know the bureau is investigating seriously, who would dare lie? Old Liu, your Puchen Bureau just solved three cases in a row. Get ready to be commended at the next meeting.”

He looked at Captain Peng. “And Old Peng, we can finally report back to the provincial office.”

Li Hewei suddenly spoke up. “Who called He Tian last night?”

“Maybe just a friend. Real-name registration only started in 2013; it wasn’t widespread in some places,” Captain Jiang said with a fake smile. “Xiao Li, you have to learn to be flexible. The evidence chain is complete. Solving the case early is better for everyone.”

“Is that so?” Li Hewei’s face was cold, as if she were standing in a winter wasteland. She questioned him sharply: “Captain Jiang, an investigation cannot ignore a single doubt. You say it’s better for everyone—but what about the victim? And what about Shen Ning, who fought so hard to find justice for her?”