The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 336 Upward Socializing
When Qi Fei saw the list, his eyes widened. The people on the list were all rich and powerful, covering almost all the core connections in Nancheng's political and business circles. No wonder Dong Ziwu, a young master whose family background didn't seem particularly strong, could easily sit in a position that everyone in Nancheng's investment world envied. It seems that his parents' ability to operate was extraordinary.

However, this list also raised a huge question for him—based on the preliminary investigation, the person who killed Dong Ziwu was undoubtedly dissatisfied with his character or his promotion. Yet, the people on this list, let alone those targeting Dong Ziwu, were practically all people who even knew him.
We still need to call Dong Qianjin over and get to the bottom of this.

Soon after, Dong Qianjin, a well-dressed middle-aged man, reappeared at the police station. Compared to the last time, he seemed to have aged ten years, though this appearance was more in line with his true age; the pain of losing his only son was unimaginable to others.

He sat in front of Qi Fei and looked at the names on the list for a long time. Although he was familiar with all of these people, not that he knew them well, but that he had done his homework on their resumes and backgrounds. Climbing the social ladder relied on scheming skills, which he was very good at.

After a long silence, he shook his head with a wry smile: "Officer, I really can't think of anyone here who would target Ziwu. Let alone my son, I'm not important to them. There are only one or two people I have a decent relationship with, but that's just for the sake of exchanging benefits. They're not close friends, much less enemies. People like us don't deserve to be their enemies. They wouldn't want us to dirty their hands."

These words are spoken so humbly, so humbly they're practically dust.

Looking at the elderly man, Qi Fei felt only sorrow and sighed inwardly. He then said with a serious expression, "Think carefully again. Who could have touched your phone? Judging from the time Tian Mi received the message, that person should have been right next to you at the time."

Wu Shanqiu added, "We've analyzed it. If he stole your WeChat account, for example, by sending it to Tian Mi from the computer client, then even if he deletes the sent message on the computer, you can still see it on your phone. The message on your phone has been deleted. This means that the other party sent it to Tian Mi from your phone and then immediately deleted it."

“You’ve all seen the alumni information on this list. I don’t know any of the younger ones, and the ones I do know are all around my age. I didn’t even know that these messages could be deleted…” Dong Qianjin’s words made sense.

However, according to current accounts, the investigation has reached a dead end.

Wu Shanqiu whispered in Qi Fei's ear, "We asked the hotel, and they claimed that the surveillance cameras were broken and couldn't be viewed."

Qi Fei knew that someone wanted the surveillance camera to be broken. Who knew what other people at the gathering were up to besides Dong Qianjin, or what shady benefits they were seeking? Dong Ziwu's affair was just the tip of the iceberg.

Seeing Dong Qianjin's haggard appearance, Qi Fei kindly escorted him to the first floor.

Dong Qianjin walked sadly toward the car. Qi Fei looked up and saw a familiar car—the black car that Li Shuangshuang had driven to Tian Mi's house that night.

It's quite strange that the prospective father-in-law and prospective daughter-in-law share a car.

Qi Fei quickened his pace to catch up with Dong Qianjin and asked, "Is this car yours or Li Shuangshuang's? I see you two are driving it."

"This car is from the Meridian, so what?" Dong Qianjin asked in return.

"Is this the only car your family owns?" Qi Fei asked curiously.

“No, this car is usually… oh no, it used to be driven by my son and Shuangshuang.” He corrected his tense, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I bought it for him when he graduated. Today, because my car is restricted from certain driving, I thought I’d take it for a bit.” Qi Fei looked the car over: “It looks a lot like Tian Mi’s car.”

“Oh, this brand of car is a copy of Mr. Tian’s model. My husband and I only earn a little salary, so we can’t afford Mr. Tian’s car. We can only afford the low-end version. I really feel sorry for my son. If I were more ambitious, I wouldn’t have to ask someone to arrange a job for him…” As he said this, tears welled up in Dong Qianjin’s eyes.

Qi Fei couldn't empathize with that, and said with a hint of coldness, "You've given him way too much." Then he opened the car door and asked, "Can I see inside the car?"

"Oh, it's nothing, just some relics from Ziwu," Dong Qianjin said.

Qi Fei inspected the device from all angles, finally focusing on the additional dashcam. There were subtle, barely noticeable scratches on the device. He carefully removed it and took out a black object from it. Even a layman could tell that this object did not belong to the dashcam itself.

Dong Qianjin looked at the object in Qi Fei's hand and asked in confusion, "What is this?"

"A bugging device." Qi Fei recognized it immediately.

"Huh? Who put this in there?" Dong Qianjin was extremely surprised.

“I’d like to know too,” Qi Fei said. He remembered Meng Qian seeing Dong Ziwu get into a black car, and turned to ask Dong Qianjin, “Does Dong Ziwu usually have someone drive for him?”

“It’s not that bad. My son’s career is just starting out; he hasn’t even become a leader yet…” Dong Qianjin said. Compared to Tian Mi, he was a different kind of person who was disliked. Tian Mi was arrogant and morally corrupt from the inside out. Dong Qianjin initially gave the impression of being more cultured, but after talking to him more, one would find that his obsequiousness towards power was even greater than Tian Mi’s. What he just said seemed innocuous, but upon closer examination, one would find that he genuinely believed that once Dong Ziwu became a leader, it was only natural for someone to drive for him; it was all just because he hadn’t become a leader yet.

How could Qi Fei not understand the meaning behind those words? His sympathy for Dong Qianjin, who had lost his son in his old age, vanished instantly.

"Are you sure he didn't have anyone to help him drive?" Qi Fei asked expressionlessly.

Dong Qianjin was stunned. Qi Fei's question had inexplicably stumped him. His eyes were blank, and he said in a daze, "I...I don't know..."

Yes, he was only busy helping Dong Ziwu gather various resources, trying to take a shortcut to help his son rise to power, but he didn't know what Dong Ziwu was doing on a regular basis.

He actually knew nothing about his son.

When people feel lost and helpless, they tend to seek out what they are best at, trying to regain a sense of control. Dong Qianjin's forte is interpersonal relationships. He suddenly walked to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and said, "Look at my brain! I brought you gifts today." He then took two blue bags out of the car.

Qi Fei looked at the words on the bag and was speechless...