Then let the witch offer her loyalty

It's so weird.

And who is this "Chen Moxin" on the list?

Who put this newbie, who's only been here for three months, in there?

A mess.

Cao Jiande's mind was in a mess, and he couldn't help but sigh.

Regardless of where the problem lies, the list has now been published and is a done deal.

For someone like him who has no powerful connections, if the matter isn't resolved, the only option is to refund the money.

Taking money and not doing anything? Perhaps some people with powerful backgrounds would dare to do that, after all, they are not afraid of retaliation, and others do not dare to retaliate either, so they can only swallow their pride and suffer in silence.

I don't have that kind of capital.

The thought of those glittering gold pieces made Cao Jiande feel a pang of heartache.

It hasn't even warmed up in my hands yet.

He rubbed his temples and muttered to himself, "This is probably God's way of telling me to stop now."

"Maybe we should treat this as the last time... Anyway, I've saved up quite a bit of money over the years, and it's good to land safely..."

"Ring ring." Just then, my phone alarm went off.

21:30, time to take your medicine again.

He took out his small medicine bottle, swallowed his daily dose of high blood pressure medication, and then went to bed.

He had barely lain down when his phone rang again. This time it wasn't an alarm clock, but a text message notification.

He picked it up and saw that it was sent by his secretary.

When he saw the text message, he felt his breath catch in his throat and a chill run down his spine.

[Director, people from the court are here; they seem to be looking for you.]

In an instant, a wave of dizziness hit him, and Cao Jiande even heard a buzzing sound in his ears.

A courtroom?!

Why would the court come looking for me out of the blue...?

Could it be that the Wu family reported it?

impossible!

I already said that I would refund the money if it couldn't be done, so they have no reason to do that!

So what exactly happened?!

His hands trembled as he tried to call his secretary back.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off. Please try again later."

The mechanical prompts sounded incredibly cold at this moment.

Cao Jiande sat dejectedly on the edge of the bed, his clothes soaked with cold sweat, his eyes empty.

"Why this time of all..."

"I'll be retiring in another year..."

Regret filled Cao Jiande's heart. How he wished he could turn back time, give up all wealth and fame, and just work honestly as an ordinary cadre...

Every second was torture for him. He was constantly sweating profusely, his body was alternating between hot and cold, his heart was pounding as if it would burst out of his chest, and his head was throbbing with pain.

Let's run away...

right...

Run away!

Before the judge arrives, I'll take the money and run to the docks!

Just as Cao Jiande had this thought and was preparing to pack his belongings...

A strange feeling rose within me.

...

Several black cars stopped in the residential area, and more than a dozen judges in black uniforms stepped out, resembling black crows in the night.

"Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, set up positions at the designated locations. The rest of you, follow me." Luo Lingyou led the way into a building and arrived at the door of Room 301 on the 3rd floor.

Among the entourage was a property management staff member. At Luo Lingyou's prompting, he stood in front of the door and knocked, pretending to be calm as he said, "Hello, is anyone home? I'm from the property management. The downstairs residents are complaining that your bathroom is leaking. Could we come in and take a look?"

There was no response from inside the door.

The property management staff asked cautiously, "Are you not home?"

Luo Lingyou ignored her and ordered a strong male companion, "Break down the door."

"Thump!" The male judge kicked the door open violently, scattering broken lock parts all over the floor.

This is a high-end residential area. Cao Jiande's home is a large single-level apartment of more than 200 square meters with several suites, which is very spacious.

Luo Lingyou glanced at the shoes placed at the entrance and made two hand gestures to his companion.

The person is still alive.

Search separately.

The judges dispersed and began searching different rooms.

Luo Lingyou went to the master bedroom behind the living room, but there was no one inside.

She opened each of the wardrobes one by one to check if anyone was hiding inside.

Halfway through the examination, her ears twitched slightly as she heard a sound.

She turned her head and saw a door in the corner of the master bedroom, which should be the ensuite bathroom. The noise she had just heard came from inside.

She quietly walked to the door and pressed herself against the wall, listening intently.

"Hiss... Uh..."

Strange, intermittent sounds came from inside, sharp and hoarse, like the whimpers of a critically ill patient before death.

Luo Lingyou unbuckled the leather strap of the stun gun at his waist, placed his hand on it, and then opened the door behind him and rushed inside.

In an instant, a putrid, sour stench wafted over, mixed with the smell of bitter almonds.

As expected, Cao Jiande was hiding inside.

But he was already close to death.

Cao Jiande was slumped over the toilet, which was covered in vomit. He seemed to have been trying to get something out of his mouth, but he hadn't succeeded, or perhaps it was too late; the vomit had already destroyed his life.

He was convulsing as if electrocuted, his body covered in red rashes, clutching his throat and struggling to breathe, but only a sharp wheezing sound from the air rubbing against his throat could be heard, and foamy saliva kept gushing from his bluish-gray lips.

Faced with such a horrifying scene, Luo Lingyou was neither frightened nor did she call for her companions. She simply walked silently to Cao Jiande's side, bent down with her hands on her knees, and looked down at him.

Those crimson eyes scanned Cao Jiande's body, sometimes looking at the unconscious bloodstains left on his skin, and sometimes landing on his distorted face, filled with pain.

Without her noticing, the corners of her lips slowly lifted into a mysterious arc, as if she were admiring a masterpiece by a master, looking with appreciation at the work of art before her that was imbued with a sense of death.

"That's amazing! How did you do that?"

She was talking to herself, or perhaps to someone else.

Cao Jiande's body trembled incessantly, like a string about to snap. Each breath was weaker than the last. His hands flared weakly, trying to grab Luo Lingyou's sleeve, but he couldn't even do such a simple action. Only a dying moan escaped his throat.

Luo Lingyou tilted her head slightly, smiling like a cat watching its dying prey. She raised her slender fingers like a gun and aimed them at Cao Jiande's forehead.

"Bang~"

The third shot was fired.

Cao Jiande also breathed his last, unable to die in peace.

Luo Lingyou then got up and went outside, adopting a serious expression, and shouted loudly to his companions, "We've found the person! Get the medical team up here right away, quick!"

Chapter 41 Cat

The medical team that rushed to the scene performed emergency treatment on Cao Jiande, but it was too late; the window of opportunity for rescue had already been missed.

Cao Jiande's death was a significant surprise to the judges, but the follow-up work went relatively smoothly.

The judges found a large number of antiques in Cao Jiande's home, all of which were crudely made fakes.

However, any judge with a little experience knows that there are many intricacies involved.

These fakes themselves have no value, but some of them were given as bribes.

When giving away counterfeit goods, the other party often makes an agreement with the target: you will go to such and such store at such and such time to sell this item.

The people at the recycling shop were also given prior notice that they would buy back the counterfeit items at the price of genuine products.

This completes a very subtle way of sending money.

If someone comes to the target's home, at most they can only find some worthless fakes, which is not enough to establish a legal basis.

When I went to the store, they said that they had misjudged the product and were accepting it as a genuine item; it was a normal business practice, and they would bear the profits and losses themselves.

Such methods have increased the difficulty of identification in many cases.

However, Cao Jiande was clearly even more greedy. In addition to the fake antiques, a large amount of gold, jewelry, cash, and other stolen goods were also found in his home, with an initial estimate of more than 60 million yuan.

On the other hand, the Wu family, including Wu Yueping and his wife, as well as their only son Wu Xuan, who had offered bribes, were all taken into custody by the judges.

These are all spineless cowards; they cried and begged to confess before the trial even started, hoping to get lenient treatment in exchange for it.

According to people at the scene, Wu Xuan's pants were wet when he was handcuffed.

After Luo Lingyou finished dealing with Cao Jiande's matter, it was already late at night. She returned to the courtroom overnight and reported to her direct superior, Yan Yong.

In the office, Yan Yong rubbed his forehead, looking quite distressed: "Sigh... how did this matter end up resulting in a death..."

Worried that Luo Lingyou might misunderstand that he was blaming her, he said in a gentler tone, "This is not your fault. I have seen the forensic report. It was acute cyanide poisoning. There was no time to save her. It would have been useless if anyone had gone to her."

"Xiao Luo, you're quite familiar with the situation on the ground. What's your opinion on Cao Jiande's death?"

Luo Lingyou replied, "I compared the forensic autopsy report and found that Cao Jiande was poisoned around the same time as when we arrived at his home, which was around 9 p.m.

"In addition, I found a text message on Cao Jiande's phone. It was sent to him by his secretary before he was poisoned."

"Based on the timing analysis, there is reason to suspect that Cao Jiande knew he was about to be investigated, and out of fear of punishment, he committed suicide by poisoning himself."

"However, there are two suspicious points. One is the secretary. She was indeed working overtime at the bureau that night and did see our people enter Cao Jiande's office, but she denied sending that text message."

Yan Yong frowned after hearing this.

"Is the phone with that secretary?"

"Yes, it was found on the spot."

"Are there any sending records?"

"The records were deleted, but they were recovered using technical means."

"Isn't it obvious that she posted it?"

"Anyway, she absolutely refuses to admit it, and we can't rule out the possibility that she's just putting on an act to try and get away with it."

Yan Yong thought for a moment and said, "We'll talk about that later. You just mentioned two points of doubt. What's the second point of doubt?"

Luo Lingyou replied: "The second point of suspicion is the location where Cao Jiande died. There was a lot of vomit in the bathroom where he was, which means he must have induced himself to vomit."

"It is not reasonable for someone who commits suicide by poisoning out of fear of punishment to induce vomiting."

Yan Yong's gaze deepened, clearly indicating that he had the same thought as Luo Lingyou.

"So, is it possible that it wasn't suicide at all, but that he was poisoned?"

"The forensic team did not find any traces of a third party at the scene. In addition, there are surveillance cameras outside Cao Jiande's building, and no suspicious persons have been captured on camera recently."

Yan Yong tapped the table lightly with his knuckles, as if to remind people: "This is conventional criminal investigation thinking. We must consider the possibility that psychics are the perpetrators."

"Some time ago, the Bureau captured a person codenamed 'The Teleportation Witch,' who can teleport objects."

At this point, his gaze sharpened: "If this ability were used to commit a crime, poisoning could be done completely silently!"

...