“Dad…” Mu Qinghai’s eyes were red, and he called out with a trembling voice.
“So, you took the risk and killed Qian Guoliang?” Ah Li continued to stare at Mu Enli and asked.
“I didn’t think too carefully at that time.” Mu Enli shook his head and said. “It’s just that an evil thought came out in my heart, and then it was out of control. I definitely could not let this person leave. So, when he found me for the second time, I told him to come and look for me.”
“How did you kill him?” Ma Houde also asked immediately.
Mu Enli said, “Qian Guoliang is a trained professional. I know that ordinary technique is not sufficient to kill him. Besides, I am old. It is even more difficult for me to fight with him directly. So, I chose to use poison…The restaurant that I frequently go to has what I need… fugu [1].”
Xiao Bao said at this time, “Officer Ma, after the data collected from the deceased, were sent back for analysis, the toxin was confirmed to be that of the pufferfish.”
Mu Enli said calmly, “I used a fine needle dripped with the poison and then hid it on the chair’s cushion. When the time came, Qian Guoliang came to me. I started to negotiate with him. He was cautious, but he still carelessly sat down in the end. After being pierced with a needle at that time, he immediately felt that something was wrong. I fought with him for a while when the poison weakened his body. I pierced his chest with a knife. However, I didn’t have much strength. The wound caused by the stab was not deep. Qian Guoliang finally rushed out of my room and escaped. However, he didn’t manage to escape very far. So, he collapsed and lied dying.”
The old captain looked at Officer Ma and said, “I was afraid that this matter would be discovered. So, I quickly turned off the power and secretly changed the video when Qing Hai and the crew were leaving.”
“Why did Qian Guoliang only die in the morning?”
“Of course, it was to prove that I was not present at the crime scene.” Mu Enli said calmly. “I thought the poison would immediately kill Qian Guoliang, but I didn’t expect his body to be very strong. He must have undergone some drug resistance training, or the amount of toxin I used was not sufficient…but this is fine. It will at least give me time to think about how to deal with the things that will happen afterward.”
“I don’t understand. How did you make Qian Guoliang suddenly appear on the video?” Ma Houde said puzzledly, “Also, the surveillance camera returned to normal!”
“It’s just a straightforward trick,” said Mu Enli calmly. “Have you already opened the door of the utility room, but you can’t find anything inside?”
Ma Houde nodded, “Indeed.”
Mu Enli said, “But Qian Guoliang was hidden within the utility room. He was hidden above the utility room.”
Lin Feng frowned and said, “This does not make sense. Even if there were people above the utility room, the floor can’t be clean. Moreover, the door was still locked! How would Qian Guoliang, a seriously injured person, be still in the mood to lock the door?”
“Like I said, there is naturally a place to enter the utility room’s upper.” Mu Enli shook his head and said. “You only see the door and the inside, but you never see the door’s top.”
“The top of the door…” Officer Ma frowned and said. “I remember it is just a steel plate, and there are screws on it!”
“There are only screw heads. There isn’t anything screwed on.”
Mu Enli said calmly, “I am familiar with every nook and cranny of this ship. The steel plate is not as thick as it looks. I hid Qian Guoliang in it. Since his body is in excellent condition, toxins can’t kill him. Then, it’s simple. I used some first aid methods I learned in the army to slow down his death. I took some cardiotonic drugs from the medical room and injected him with it to ensure that he can move for a short time. Next, when he is a little sober, he knocks off the steel plate and falls off. After the steel plate is knocked away, the weight will automatically return to the original place. Because of the screw head, it looks like it is stable. The camera over there has a blind spot. The position where he fell is invisible to the camera. The next thing is to see where he can go, but he is tenacious. He can actually walk up to the deck.”
“But, the knife injury on the deceased has two different pressures. How do you explain this?” Xiao Bao suddenly asked.
Mu Enli said, “Probably, it was pushed in deeper when he fell.”
Xiao Bao nodded, seemingly agreeing with this statement, “Then, why are there two different fingerprints?”
“That was I deliberately dipped Qian Guoliang’s blood and smeared it. The purpose is naturally to confuse and not let people know where he fell and create an illusion that he was further behind but suddenly appeared,” said Mu Enli calmly. “The blood is the same. I don’t think anyone will pay attention to the difference in the palm mark.”
“But, someone really noticed.” Ma Houde said, looking at Fei Ying abruptly.
Fei Ying, who was still in pain with his leg…did not even feel proud. He was still leaning against the wall with his gaze scattered around.
“That’s not right…” Ah Li frowned. “Since the palm marks that came after were imprinted by you, there was still a long time before Qian Guoliang fell. Wouldn’t something as obvious as this be noticed by anyone passing by?”
“That is not a passage for tourists, but for the ship personnel,” said Mu Enli. “Like I said, I am more familiar with this ship than anyone. At both ends of the corridor, I quietly post the warning sign, prohibiting others from walking into here.” Mu Enli continued calmly, “I know that there will be a blockade in that area if the deceased appears. The crew who went to sound the alarm will definitely be able to see it, but after he sees it, he will probably only think that someone has sealed off that area earlier. He won’t suspect anything.”
“But, how do you guarantee that no confused tourists will open the door and walk down from the deck?” Officer Ma continued to ask.
“The doors on the stairs can only be opened from the inside.” Mu Enli said insistently, “If the tourists can’t open the door, do they have to crash the door?”
Ma Houde and Ah Li glanced at each other and frowned, but Fei Ying suddenly said, “Captain, don’t try to lie to me! If you really killed Qian Guoliang, why would the drawing and the protractor be with your son! I saw your son looking for something in your room with my own eyes!”
Mu Enli was taken aback. He then looked at Mu Qinghai in amazement and frowned. He looked at Mu Qinghai, who was silent. He suddenly sighed and said with a wry smile, “It turns out that you picked it up.”
“Pick it up?” Fei Ying was taken aback.
Mu Enli sighed and said, “Only me and the plan’s insiders would know the place where the box was hidden. At that time, they specially modified the Baiyu cruise ship and hid the box. However, they also made drawings and a protractor for safety reasons, which served as a guide. Later, I felt that it was unsafe. So, I used that place as my bedroom… After I poisoned Qian Guoliang, he must have put those things in some place during his escape. This was because after I found him, I didn’t find anything on him. Qing Hai… Did you go to my room to find something?”
“I… I just…”
Mu Qinghai lowered his head. His eyes were red, and suddenly he took off the earphones that were used to facilitate communication between workers on the ship. Looking at Mu Enli, he knelt on the ground in shame, “I… It was just a momentary obsession… I, I thought there was really… a treasure…”
“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” Mu Enli slammed the table and growled. “I have raised you for thirty years! I haven’t married my whole life, and I only have you as my only son! If there is a treasure, will I bring it with me into the coffin? Would there be anything that I would not leave for you!? You are foolish! You are wicked! What about your ambition? Didn’t you say you want to be a good captain! Don’t you want to prove your abilities to me! Why are you so foolish at this time!? Why have you become greedy about this kind of thing? Do you know what you are looking for is something that you can’t mess with?”
“Dad…Don’t say it. Please don’t say it!” Mu Qinghai raised his head, squeezed his fist, and cried in pain. “Please stop talking…okay?”
The old captain suddenly stood up, picked up the pen holder on the table, and slammed it towards Mu Qinghai, directly hitting Mu Qinghai’s forehead. However, Mu Qinghai did not dare to move, even if his forehead was bleeding as a result of being hit.
“Idiot!” Mu Enli gasped and said. “I killed Qian Guoliang just to prevent you from being implicated! You get involved with such a matter on your own! You…! You…! You really want to piss me off…piss…?”
Mu Enli grabbed his heart with a painful expression on his face, and his face was pale. He collapsed on the ground in pain as soon as he finished speaking.
“Doctor! Doctor! Call a doctor!” Mu Qinghai rushed to Mu Enli at this time and said sadly. “My dad has heart disease, a severe heart disease!!!”
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugu
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