Chapter 1147 - The Case
"For the Senate and People!" Xu Ke delivered the standard salutation.
"Service, service." Ming Qiu nodded toward the sofa. "Please, sit."
Once they were settled, Ming Qiu dispensed with pleasantries: "Your file indicates you were a police officer before D-Day?"
"That's correct." Xu Ke sat rigidly on the sofa, hands on his knees, a trace of nervousness in his voice. "Two years in traffic enforcement, then three in criminal investigation, and finally one year in the Legal Section before the transmigration."
"No need to be so formal—relax." Ming Qiu smiled. "You also served in the military?"
"I enlisted during my third year of university. Two years with the North Sea Fleet."
"Quite a varied background, then. After D-Day you worked in the Navy, then the External Intelligence Bureau—military, police, guards, intelligence. You've covered all the bases, haven't you?"
Understanding slowly dawned on Xu Ke. Rather than respond, he waited for Ming Qiu to reveal his purpose.
"I'd like you to look at something first." Ming Qiu retrieved a folder from his desk and handed it over.
Inside, Xu Ke found several photographs at the front. In this era, with materials brought from the future steadily depleted and substitutes not yet in mass production, photographs were a rarity reserved for essential purposes. But these particular photographs were of a type he knew intimately: crime scene images.
The first showed a man's body sprawled on a beach, completely naked and—most disturbing of all—headless.
"This murder was discovered yesterday when the body washed ashore," Ming Qiu began. "Although the head is missing, the fatal wound appears to be a knife injury to the victim's lower back. At first, the victim's identity remained unknown, and jurisdiction was unclear, so Kaohsiung Police Station took initial charge. But yesterday afternoon, someone recognized the body by its tattoo—a Navy petty officer, a naturalized citizen named Zhang Qianniu. Fingerprints confirmed the identification against his service records. He'd failed to return to base the previous night, but no one imagined he'd met such a violent end."
Ming Qiu paused deliberately. Xu Ke remained silent, listening intently.
"Since this case involves naval personnel, I've conferred with Wei Bachi and decided to take it over from the police. Considering you're the only person in the Navy with investigative experience, we're assigning it to you. What do you say?"
Though phrased as a question, Xu Ke understood it was anything but. He rose immediately. "I guarantee I will complete the mission."
A smile crossed Ming Qiu's face. "Sit, sit. I'm no expert in solving crimes, but walk me through your approach."
Xu Ke chose his words carefully: "First, I'll examine the scene and canvass the surrounding area—someone may have seen or heard something. Then I'll investigate the victim's social connections and movements in the days before his death: his associates, any enemies, anything that might yield leads for the next phase."
Even as he spoke, a bitter irony struck him—even in this new world, he was still doing his old job.
Ming Qiu nodded. "Solid approach. Any difficulties or requests?"
"What about my current duties at the External Intelligence Bureau?"
"Already handled. I've spoken with Jiang Shan—he agrees Li Di can cover for you temporarily. Brief him as needed."
"I'll need personnel to help conduct interviews in East Gate Market and elsewhere. Authorization to question both civilians and military personnel. And cooperation from the police station."
"All arranged. Personnel from the Base Service Company are at your disposal. I'm issuing orders immediately appointing you Security Officer of Kaohsiung Base—all naval personnel must cooperate with your inquiries. As for civilians, I've already spoken with Ma Jia at the Arbitration Tribunal. He's granted you authority." Ming Qiu produced two documents. "Here are your credentials."
"I'll also need Zhang Qianniu's personal file," Xu Ke added quickly.
"Get it from my adjutant on your way out." Ming Qiu was entirely accommodating. "When can you begin?"
"I need to review the case materials first. I can start this afternoon."
Xu Ke plunged into the investigation, beginning with Zhang Qianniu's file.
The man's background was typical of most naval personnel: born a fisherman, both parents dead before he reached adulthood, one brother and one sister long since scattered to the winds, their whereabouts unknown. He'd served under the pirate Zhu Cailao, and after the great rout at Nanri Island, drifted with some former comrades to the Guangdong coast to continue their outlaw trade. When the Navy launched its pirate suppression and recruitment operations, he surrendered and enlisted.
His service record was unremarkable. Due to his age and physical limitations, Zhang Qianniu never qualified for combat squadrons. He'd served long-term in patrol and guard units, executing countless patrol missions. With minimal education and only a Grade C literacy certificate, officer training was beyond his reach. He'd remained a deck hand on special service boats. Currently, his vessel—Coastal Patrol Boat 041, a single-masted patrol craft—sat docked at Kaohsiung, undergoing maintenance and awaiting orders.
Zhang Qianniu had never been an important figure among pirates; he'd never commanded a ship. But he'd joined their ranks at sixteen and spent over a decade moving through various gangs—a typical backbone member who knew many people. Thus, his political review assessment noted: "Makes friends easily, values loyalty, complex social connections."
His personal life was uncomplicated. No dependents. Not particularly interested in women—occasional brothel visits during shore leave. No homosexual tendencies or behavior.
The Political Security General Administration's rating from his training camp days was III-C—controllable use, third tier. Xu Ke turned to the most recent political assessment: III-B. For a veteran sailor with over two years of service, that rating was conspicuously low.
He reviewed the related reports from the "Ten-Man Team" system: "prone to violence, undisciplined, and lax."
The disciplinary record bore this out—over a dozen infractions, "no major offenses, but constant minor ones." Most stemmed from his violent tendencies and lack of discipline. Alcohol-related violations dominated: returning to ship late after drinking, drunken brawls. The three most recent incidents had occurred within the past month alone.
Small wonder his career had stagnated. Given his service time and patrol missions, he should have made senior petty officer by now.
Xu Ke had sketched a rough portrait: low education, poor learning ability, fond of drinking, valued camaraderie.
For such a man to be suddenly murdered—his head brutally severed and cast into the sea—the motive was becoming complex.
Since he wasn't involved with women and showed no homosexual tendencies, this clearly wasn't a crime of passion. If it were robbery-murder, a navy petty officer with his lifestyle wouldn't have much in savings. Moreover, soldiers' pay was mostly deposited directly into bank accounts—he wouldn't have carried much cash.
His complex social connections presented a challenge, but this was Kaohsiung, not a place just anyone could enter. Over ninety percent of the population lived under near-imprisonment conditions. Those who moved freely could be traced with clear whereabouts and verified backgrounds.
One detail put Xu Ke on alert: removing the head and stripping the body was clearly meant to prevent identification. Even in the twenty-first century, this remained an effective counter-investigation technique. If not for someone recognizing the tattoo, Zhang Qianniu might have forever worn the unexplained label of "missing."
After considerable deliberation, Xu Ke telephoned the medical station and asked for Lei En, inquiring about the autopsy report.
Lei En was a professional epidemic prevention officer, dispatched by the Health Department to head the Kaohsiung medical station. Over the phone, he confirmed the fatal wound was indeed the knife injury to the lower back. Large amounts of alcohol had been found in both stomach and blood—enough to reach the threshold for intoxication. The victim had very likely been gotten drunk before being killed. The head had been severed postmortem.
"Can you determine the murder weapon?"
"From the wound characteristics, the weapon was a dagger. The head was removed with a standard naval cutlass," Lei En said. "I heard the weapons weren't recovered. But I compared the wounds against Navy-issue blades."
"Thank you. Please preserve the body for a few more days."
"No problem. Call me if anything comes up."
Xu Ke hung up and turned to the records he'd requisitioned.
According to the Qijin Naval Base logs, Zhang Qianniu had departed at 2:00 PM two days prior, his recorded destination being Kaohsiung city center—home to a sizeable Army-Navy Service Club with a tavern, restaurant, and shops where off-duty soldiers often went to unwind. By regulation, he should have returned to base by 6:00 PM.
The Army-Navy Joint Patrol Team records showed no Zhang Qianniu among those detained for failure to return on time that evening. By six o'clock, he had either already been killed or was being held somewhere in secret.
Xu Ke visited the service club in person. Staff quickly recognized Zhang Qianniu from his photograph—he came there occasionally. But having been arrested two or three times for drunken disturbances, he hadn't been seen there recently.
On the day of the incident, Zhang Qianniu hadn't gone to the service club. So where had he gone to drink?
Xu Ke immediately ordered that several sailors close to Zhang Qianniu, along with his direct commanding officer, be summoned for questioning.
From these interviews, he gleaned a crucial lead: Zhang Qianniu had recently been frequenting taverns on Commercial Street.
(End of Chapter)