I was a rookie reporter in the 00s

The next morning, Zhang Wanqing and Fu Siyuan arrived at the banquet venue—a luxurious hotel banquet hall. The room was still filled with the faint fragrance of flowers, giving it an extravagant, luxurious feel. They found the organizer of the banquet, a Chamber of Commerce employee named Li Ming.

"Hello, we are reporters investigating Zhao Minghui's murder," Zhang Wanqing said with a smile. "We would like to know more about this charity dinner."

Li Ming nodded. "Of course. This dinner is held every year by our Chamber of Commerce, and many business people are invited to attend. Mr. Chen Neng is a shareholder of Tianyu Group, and he attends every year."

"How did Mr. Chen Neng perform at the dinner?" Fu Siyuan asked.

Li Ming thought for a moment, then said, "Mr. Chen Neng behaved normally at the dinner. He interacted with other guests and even participated in the auction. He stayed in the banquet hall the entire time and never left."

Zhang Wanqing nodded, but she was a little confused: "Where is the surveillance video of the dinner?"

Li Ming smiled and said, "We have complete surveillance footage. If you need it, I can show it to you."

Zhang Wanqing and Fu Siyuan looked at each other and both understood that these surveillance videos might be the key to Chen Neng clearing his suspicion.

After returning to the newspaper office, Zhang Wanqing and Fu Siyuan began analyzing the surveillance footage from the dinner. The footage showed that Chen Neng had behaved normally at the dinner, interacting extensively with other guests and even participating in the auction. He remained in the banquet hall and never left.

"This surveillance video is too perfect." Fu Siyuan frowned. "Chen Neng's alibi is too impeccable."

Zhang Wanqing nodded, but she felt a little uneasy. "I think there must be something wrong here. There's no way Chen Neng can be cleared of suspicion so easily."

Fu Siyuan thought for a moment, then said, "Let's check other details of the dinner to see if we can find some clues."

Zhang Wanqing nodded: "Okay, I'll contact the other guests at the dinner to see if they have noticed anything unusual."

A few days later, Zhang Wanqing and Fu Siyuan discovered a key clue during their investigation. When they were interviewing other guests at the dinner, a guest named Liu Yang provided an important piece of information.

"I remember there was a strange person at the dinner," Liu Yang said, a hint of doubt in his eyes. "He stayed in the corner of the banquet hall and looked very nervous."

"A strange man?" Zhang Wanqing frowned. "Can you describe him?"

Liu Yang nodded. "He was wearing a black suit and a pair of black glasses. He looked very mysterious. He stayed in the corner and didn't communicate with anyone else."

Fu Siyuan nodded: "Did you notice when he left?"

Liu Yang thought for a moment, then said, "I remember he left about halfway through the dinner. At the time, I was wondering why this person was so strange."

Zhang Wanqing and Fu Siyuan looked at each other and both understood that this strange person might be the key clue.

"Did you notice the direction he left?" Zhang Wanqing asked.

Liu Yang shook his head: "I didn't notice it. But I remember that when he left, Mr. Chen Neng left with him."

"Chen Neng also left with him?" Fu Siyuan frowned. "This is so strange."

Zhang Wanqing nodded: "Let's go check the identity of this strange person."

After some effort, Zhang Wanqing and Fu Siyuan finally discovered the identity of the strange man. They discovered that this man was named Zhang Wei, and he was Zhao Minghui's former bodyguard. However, when they reported this information to the police, they said Zhang Wei had disappeared.

"Are you sure?" Zhang Wanqing asked.

Wang Qiang nodded. "We've investigated Zhang Wei, but he's missing. We haven't found any leads on him."

Zhang Wanqing and Fu Siyuan looked at each other and both understood that Zhang Wei’s disappearance was most likely related to Zhao Minghui’s death.

"Let's check Chen Neng's whereabouts," Zhang Wanqing said, "to see if he was really at the dinner party on the night of the incident."

Fu Siyuan nodded and continued working on his computer. He found that Chen Neng had indeed attended the dinner party on the night of the incident, but the time he left the dinner party exactly matched the time Zhang Wei left.

"Chen Neng's alibi is too perfect." Fu Siyuan frowned, "But the time he left the dinner party exactly matches the time Zhang Wei left. This is so strange."

Zhang Wanqing nodded. "I think there must be something wrong here. Chen Neng's alibi might have been carefully planned by him."

Let’s go back to the evening of the dinner:

The lights of the city twinkled in the distance, and the ballroom of the luxurious hotel was ablaze with light and bustle. The dinner was already halfway through, and the guests were chatting and laughing in the ballroom, the atmosphere lively. Chen Neng stood in a corner, a glass of champagne in hand, his eyes flicking to the door from time to time.

"Mr. Chen, you look very worried." A familiar voice sounded behind Chen Neng.

Chen Neng turned around and saw Li Ming, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, standing behind him with a smile on his face. Chen Neng smiled slightly: "President Li, I was just thinking about something."

Li Ming nodded and said, "Mr. Chen, you are the pillar of our Chamber of Commerce. If you need any help, please feel free to ask."

Chen Neng shook his head: "Thank you, President Li. I know how to handle this matter."

Li Ming smiled and patted Chen Neng on the shoulder: "That's good. The dinner will continue, please don't get distracted."

Chen Neng nodded and glanced towards the door again. Just then, he saw a familiar figure hurriedly leaving the door. It was Zhang Wei, Zhao Minghui's former bodyguard. Chen Neng's heart tightened, he put down the champagne in his hand, and followed him.

After leaving the banquet hall, Zhang Wei quickly walked through the hotel corridor and into the underground parking lot. He opened the car door, got into the driver's seat, and started the car. There was a hint of anxiety on his face, and a hint of uneasiness in his eyes.

"Damn, how did they know?" Zhang Wei whispered to himself, his voice trembling slightly.

His cell phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was an unfamiliar number. He hesitated for a moment, then picked up the call.

"Hello?" Zhang Wei's voice was a little hoarse.

A low voice came from the other end of the phone, with a hint of coldness: "Zhang Wei, you can't run away."

Zhang Wei's heart skipped a beat, and his voice was filled with nervousness: "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am." The voice on the other end of the phone sneered, "What matters is that I know what you are doing."

Zhang Wei's forehead was covered in sweat. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, his voice trembling slightly. "You...what do you want to say?"

"Did you know that Zhao Minghui is dead?" The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly became serious.