The Seventh District, the westernmost part of the empire, is arguably the most remote part of the empire and the most resource-poor area, and it is also the poorest area of the empire, with the vast majority of people living in the main urban area in the east.

Except for some places in the east, near the Fifth District, where the environment is acceptable, further west is a vast expanse of vast desert, where there is hardly any trace of human life except for a few villages.

Despite the harsh climate in District 7, there are huge oil reserves underground, and people can always get enough to eat by working and living in the local refineries and oil wells.

The inhabitants of this place are just like the living environment in which they live, rough, violent, and a little stubborn like a stone exposed to the scorching sun.

Hong Dabang is a typical person from the Seven Districts, rude, a bit of a barbarism who doesn't care about everything, but from the bottom of his heart, he is still full of rude straightforwardness and kindness.

Mr. Hong has two sons, both of whom are in middle school, and it is a time of headache and excitement, when his wife is at home and the family is supported by his own work at an oil refinery on the outskirts of the city. But fortunately, although this job is dirty and tiring, the income has been stable, enough to make ends meet.

Like all ordinary people in the empire, Hong Dabang has his own little life, which may not be exciting, and it is indeed a bit lackluster when you think about it, but there are also countless stars shining in this page of cookie-cutter life memories, which are flashes of happy moments.

The familiar craftsmanship at the wife's dinner table, it is rare to play football with her son when she is off-duty, coax her son to drink liquor when she is in a good mood, and then laugh and watch the two silly boys choke on their faces in the midst of his wife's complaints. These moments are indeed ordinary, but they are also the ordinary warmth of ordinary people's lives.

What's more, the family has neither foreign debts, nor enemies, nor does it contaminate people and things that should not be touched by them, and the biggest conflict is nothing more than quarrels between neighbors and colleagues. In general, although Hong Dabang has a bad temper, he is still a good law-abiding citizen.

Hou Yi, who has been a criminal policeman for 20 years, flipped through the investigation materials in his hand irritably, Hong Dabang's family of four is the most ordinary low-level people, and even the information about them is so simple that it is lackluster, only two or three pages thin. Hou Yi really couldn't understand what the reason could be, so Hong Dabang chose to put down the powerful rodenticide at his family's dinner and end his own and his family's lives in this cruel way.

The time of death of the four people was the evening before yesterday, and the rat poison was bought by Hong Dabang from the small store after work, and the shopkeeper has found it and can confirm this. The effect of the medicine was so violent that the family of four choked in a very short time, and they didn't even have time to leave the table to call for help, until this morning when the young man next door smelled the rancid smell and knocked on the door to no avail.

Hou Yi looked down at the four corpses, the weather was too hot, the corpses had begun to rot and swell, and the smell was really not good. But it wasn't all the rancid smell that affected Hou Yi's mood, but also three suicides that happened almost simultaneously.

Yes, not far from Hong Dabang, there were two other families who committed suicide almost at the same time. At first, the bureau didn't pay attention to it, thinking it was a single incident, and it wasn't until the third case was reported that the person who received the police realized that something was wrong, and then transferred the case to the serious crime team.

Zheng Jialai, a newcomer under Hou Yi, leaned over with a distorted expression, pinched his nose and sneered, "Boss, those two have been checked, just like here, the doors and windows are intact, and the rest of the room is normal, and there is no sign of invasion." ”

Hou Yi had expected this result, but it was precisely because of this that he was even more unwilling.

"The old couple drowned, and the two of them fell together into a bathtub full of water. The other two had a knife in their chests, but the neighbors said they didn't hear the quarrel, and it looked like they were discussing martyrdom. ”

"How is the background on both sides?" Hou Yi's brows furrowed even deeper, like a raised hill, he vaguely guessed the result in his heart, but he still couldn't help but want to hear the exact answer.

"Clean. The two old couples, who are retired teachers and whose sons are engineers, have settled in District 4 and have not yet been notified. The little couple is also from an ordinary family, let alone a case record since they were young, and they haven't even memorized school punishments. The strangest thing is that the two families support their relationship, and the people around them can also prove that the two love each other very much, in fact, they are both engaged, and the wedding will be held in October this year, and it is a bit puzzling to choose to commit suicide at this juncture......"

Hou Yi slapped the information in his hand with a crackling sound, and his headache became even worse. Three households in the same neighborhood, with different backgrounds, equally ordinary and inconspicuous, died almost at the same time.

Although the methods of death seemed to be different, there was no trace of his killing at the scene, and it seemed that the Grim Reaper was passing by, reminding them that the time had come to end their lives.

"Boss, since it's all suicide...... Can we hand it over to other departments......" Zheng Jialai asked cautiously, these three cases were taken out separately, none of them was worth wasting their time here, but when they were put together, they were full of weirdness.

The 7th District has always been an area with a high incidence of vicious crimes in the Empire, and although he has been in the 7th District Serious Crime Unit for less than two years, he has already been exposed to many serious murder cases. But seriously, there is no case like this one, which makes people feel uncomfortable and uncomfortable. Zheng Jialai just talked about his girlfriend, and it was when he was like glue, and he really didn't want to waste his time on a date here.

Hou Yi didn't speak, of course he knew what the people below meant. It is indeed strange that three cases happened at the same time, but if it had to be said that it was a coincidence, with the information they have now, no one can say anything. Be relieved to the leaders, feel at ease with the people, and you can also settle down with peace of mind, and you can easily make mistakes.

But Hou Yi was unwilling, as an old criminal policeman, in the face of three well-organized but suspicious cases that occurred at the same time, he had to admit that his curiosity had been aroused. What's more, if there is really another real murderer in the case, his conscience will never allow a murderer to insult his profession like this, let alone give the murderer a chance and sit back and watch more cases happen.

"Boss?" The clock in Zheng Jialai's heart was spinning fast, he waited for Hou Yi's next instruction, and giving up the investigation meant that it would be difficult to get the next morning shift today.

Hou Yi came back to his senses, he looked back at the Zheng family, and did not speak, this matter, he had to report this matter to his immediate boss, Yan Su, the police chief of the seventh district.

"Master. Hou Yi walked to the window and made a phone call.

Yan Su was the leader of Hou Yi's entry into the police system, and when Hou Yi had just graduated from the police academy, he was assigned under Yan Su, who was still the leader of the fourth group of serious crimes.

Fifteen years have passed in the blink of an eye, Team Leader Yan has become Yan Bureau, and Hou Yi has also changed from a monkey to Hou Group, but the relationship between the two is getting closer and closer.

"Monkey, when I see that you are calling me, my heart will stop for half a beat," Yan Su's clear voice sounded, although he was over half a hundred years old, Yan Su's voice was still like a young man in his twenties and thirties, in the entire seventh district police station, only Yan Su could call the famous Hou Da team leader Monkey, "Say, what's the big case?"

"Master, you still know me. Hou Yi laughed at Yan Su's ridicule and roughly explained to Yan Su the circumstances of the three suicide cases he had mastered and analyzed.

"Master, judging from the situation at the scene, there are no signs of invasion and resistance, and our people have also asked the neighbors, and no one has heard or seen anything abnormal. As things stand, all three families committed suicide. Hou Yi hesitated for a moment, but decided to express his doubts, "However, we have checked the situation of these three families, the background is clean, the social relationship is simple, and there are no difficulties that cannot be overcome recently, and it is not at all like a person who will commit suicide." I suspect that there is still a murderer behind it, but the murderer's modus operandi is indeed beyond the norm. ”

"Hmm......" Yan Su answered over there, but didn't say anything.

Hou Yi looked downstairs, his subordinates had blocked the corridor, two people guarded it, and anyone entering and leaving needed to be interrogated and checked.

Curious onlookers came and went, and the residents of the building were pointing and pointing at the passers-by who were not scattered, talking about this battle, and the timid people would probably have to go somewhere else to sleep for the night. In addition to Hong Dabang's family, the other two families are in the next building, Hou Yi can't see the specific situation from here, but I believe that there will be no fewer onlookers.

"Master, do you think we want to file a case?" Hou Yi waited for a while, but couldn't get a response, so he had to take the initiative to ask.

Yan Su was silent for a while before he took a deep breath.

"Keep your people where they are, protect the scene, and there will be an expert in the moment. Yan Su gave a rare serious order, "This case is not under our control." ”

Hou Yi didn't react until he hung up the phone, what did the expert in Yan Su's words mean.

Those private detectives, they are indeed experts in staring at people and taking pictures to catch Xiao San, and it is really difficult for them to let them solve the case, not to mention that the police can't afford to lose this person if they cooperate with them.

Hou Yi shook his head, the people in the imperial capital boasted that they were royal attendants, and their eyes were above the top, even if they came to a remote area like the seventh district, they would not really come to the scene of the murder to guide the work. What's more, Hou Yi and Yan Su both know the skills of that group of people, and the level of patting Tai Chi and thin mud in the officialdom is indeed a master, but when it comes to investigating cases, Hou Yi doesn't believe that they can have three points for this group of police officers who have been on the front line for many years.

But if it's not someone from the imperial capital, who will it be? There is no master in the bureau that he doesn't know.

"Boss, what do you say?" Zheng Jialai asked beside him, unconsciously bringing a trace of expectation in his tone.

"Let everyone stand by and protect the scene," Hou Yi looked downstairs through the window, laughing in his heart, no matter who he is, he will naturally know when someone comes, "Someone will take over later." ”

"Yes!" Zheng Jialai agreed weakly, but he didn't hesitate, bowed his head and passed the word through the walkie-talkie.

Hou Yi turned his head to look at his back, this kid is good at everything, has strong ability, and has a lively mind, but he likes to be lazy, so that Hou Yi, who plans to cultivate him, loves and is helpless.

Young people now...... Hou Yi shook his head, it's not bad, how many young people are willing to come to the serious crime team to take on this kind of work with high pressure and poor salary, he can't ask for more.

That's four hours.

Hou Yi waited and waited, drank two cups of coffee in the middle, chatted with a few subordinates for a while, and checked the scene of Hong Dabang's crime again. There is really no suspicion, so that Hou Yi wonders if he is a little too nervous, and treats the real coincidence as a strange case, maybe this place is just bad feng shui.

Hou Yi thought about it and began to think that this possibility was the greatest, although the information showed that the three families lived safely and steadily, and the reason for the suicide could not be found, it did not really mean anything. After all, people's hearts are the most unpredictable, and he has not seen them for so many years. For example, just because of a test result, the gentle mother in the eyes of everyone injured the child, and the good student who was sensible in the neighborhood committed suicide.

This happens a few times a year.

Hou Yi and the others were really impatient, so they called Yan Su, and the answer they got was that they would not leave an inch, and they could only leave after the experts came, with the consent of the other party.

Hou Yi had no choice but to hide and squat on the stairs and sulk.

Fortunately, just when Hou Yi's patience was about to break through the critical point, the person he was waiting for finally arrived.