Han Daring and Mei Ruohong were eating at DD Western Restaurant, and after the appetizer was served, the waiter had just brought the steak up, and someone behind him came over and said:

"Brother Han, Miss Mei! How are you together? ”

Han Daring looked back and saw a young man, dressed in a white suit with shiny hair, standing behind him and greeting him. It's none other than the brother-in-law of the police chief who was once saved by Han Daring'er, who went to Shanghai to "Bai Chongwei" before.

Bai Chongwei jokingly said:

"Brother Han, you really let me wait, I made an appointment last time, see you at the Majestic Hotel in the evening, I can wait for you for half a night!"

Han Daring was looking for him, but he didn't expect that he had returned from Shanghai. Hearing him mention that he missed the appointment last time, he got up to greet him and said sorry.

Bai Chongwei came over to say hello, it was not new to know Han Da'er, but the strange thing was that he also seemed to know Mei Ruohong. Han Daring felt a little surprised, but saw Mei Ruohong seemed to be stunned, as if he couldn't remember where he had met Bai Chongwei.

When Bai Chongwei saw Mei Ruohong, he didn't recognize himself, so he reminded:

"Miss Mei forgot? Some time ago at Zhao Gongzi's birthday party, we met, there were more guests that day, you may not remember me very much! ”

Mei Ruohong heard him mention Zhao Gongzi's birthday party, as if he suddenly remembered Bai Chongwei, just like he nodded slightly.

Bai Chongwei said:

"It turns out that Brother Han and Miss Mei also know each other!"

Han Daring didn't know who Zhao Gongzi Bai Chongwei was talking about, so he just replied politely:

"Our family is a world friend, and we have known each other since childhood!"

Bai Chongwei seemed a little surprised when he saw Han Dada'er and Mei Ruohong eating together just now, but after Han Dada'er's introduction, he understood. It's just that the expression on his face is slightly strange, and it seems that there are some things that are inconvenient to say directly.

Mei Ruohong is so smart, and instantly understood what he was thinking in his heart from Bai Chongwei's eyes, with her character, there was no need to explain to the people she was not familiar with. But seeing that Han Daring deliberately looked in other directions, and didn't pay attention to the content of her conversation with Bai Chongwei, she seemed to be indifferent, and she was a little unhappy in her heart.

So he spoke:

"Jingsheng and I met while studying abroad......"

Han Da'er seemed to be intentional or unintentional at this time, his eyes skimmed to the two people who were talking, but his eye movements were very subtle, and if he didn't pay attention, he would think that he was looking at the scenery outside the restaurant window. Mei Ruohong saw his move, so she continued:

“…… Just ordinary friends! ”

When Bai Chongwei heard her say this, he secretly glanced at Han Da'er again, and seemed to be a little suddenly enlightened, but there was something else incomprehensible in his eyes.

Mei Ruohong didn't explain anything, anyway, he didn't know Bai Chongwei very well, so there was no need to pay attention to his thoughts. In fact, those words just now were just an excuse to say to Han Da'er.

But Mei Ruohong was really a little mistaken, of course Han Daring was not looking out the window, but she didn't deliberately pretend to be indifferent. It's just that he just saw that there was a foreigner at a table in the distance, walking back to his table from the direction of the bathroom, and then seemed to look around looking for someone, and then he kept looking at his side, he felt a little puzzled, so he looked over there twice.

When I came back to my senses, I heard Mei Ruohong's words. According to what they said, it seemed that they had met at a birthday party of "Jingsheng", and Bai Chongwei had some misunderstanding. At this time, he remembered that he had seen Mei Ruohong sitting in a car on the Hanzihe Bridge before, and next to him sat a very attentive young man with gold-rimmed glasses. Come to think of it, that young man may be the Zhao Gongzi mentioned by Bai Chongwei, Zhao Jingsheng.

Although Mei Ruohong said that they were just ordinary friends, Han Daring did feel a little happy in her heart after listening to it, but she turned a little melancholy, and always felt that there seemed to be a sense of difficulty in her heart, and in a trance, she felt that if Mei Ruohong could wear a good couple, it would be a blessing for herself.

However, this thought was fleeting, and it did not leave the slightest strangeness on Han Daring's face. It's just that Bai Chongwei saw Han Daring looking at the foreigner at the other table, so he opened his mouth and introduced:

"The Englishman who is looking here is my friend, and he is still walking with Brother Han! He was the superintendent of the Detective Section of the Bureau of the British Concession Works, and his name was Martin G Foxx! ”

After the opening of the port of Tianjin, the land was divided by the foreign powers, in addition to the surrounding areas of the old city, as well as to the west, north and the edge of the border, all became the concessions of various countries, the earliest of which was the British concession.

This Ministry of Industry is actually a municipal department, which belongs to the administrative body within the concession. It was pioneered by Shanghai when it opened up the concession, because its initial function was management and planning and construction, and it was a bit similar to the Ministry of Industry of the Qing government, so it was named the Ministry of Industry Bureau.

The Tianjin British Concession Bureau Building was built in the central green space of the British Concession, on the north side of Victoria Garden, and the building was named "Gordon Hall". It was proposed by the chairman of the Ministry of Industry and the British-German "De Xuanlin" to build a two-story building in the style of a castle in the Middle Ages. The overall blue brick exterior wall of the building is large-scale, with the door of the middle building protruding forward, and the octagonal towers at both ends, which are open and majestic. (It's a pity that the original building was damaged in the Tangshan earthquake after liberation, and it was demolished soon after.) ）

The Ministry of Industry Bureau has a number of departments such as security, public works, finance and taxation, public utilities, health, transportation, and education, among which the security is equivalent to the police department.

Bai Chongweier remembered at this time that the last time he and Han Da'er met at the Majestic Hotel, he wanted to ask about Xinghe Trading Company and "George Brown".

said to Han Da'er:

"By the way, don't you want to ask about George Brown, my friend Martin from the Ministry of Industry knows George Brown, come and I'll introduce you!"

This Martin G Fogx, in his early 40s, with brown hair and brown eyes, is tall and sturdy, about the same height as Han Da'er. He has served in the British police for more than 15 years and is a veteran police officer. It is said that in his early years in London, he solved many strange cases.

Many years ago in London, because of this case and the boss discord, he voluntarily asked for transfer, came to China thousands of miles away, in the British Concession Bureau of the Ministry of Industry in Tianjin, as a small inspector, and later in the British Concession also cracked a lot of cases, a few years ago when the prisoner was arrested and was seriously injured, won a concession contribution medal, in fact, with his qualifications can already be a superintendent.

But this is not the first time he has been to China, he has been in China since he was a teenager, and his father, who loves archaeology and is obsessed with Chinese culture, has been to China for three or four years.

Martin's father was a kind man, one year his father returned to China, and when he stopped the ship to replenish the ship through Nanyang, he also saved a Chinese worker who almost drowned, but because he contracted pneumonia in the sea, he returned to England and fell ill, and died soon after. Martin came to China to help his father change his wish.

After the death of his father, he lived with his mother, who was Italian and a Latin teacher. But the teacher's salary is quite Weibo, and later, in order to make a stable life, Martin applied for the police officer and worked for more than ten years.

One of Martin's mother's students was George Brown, George Brown had come to his house a few times before, and George Brown had some enlightenment in antiquities, and was also influenced by Martin's father, so Martin also knew a little about this George Brown.

Han Daring'er had this problem, as soon as he encountered something related to the case, all his attention was attracted, and he followed Bai Chongwei to the table in the distance, but left Mei Ruohong aside.

Mei Ruohong and Han Daring have known each other for so long, and they know his temperament and temperament, what he cares about is Han Daring's heart for him, and he doesn't care much about others, so he has to wait while eating.

At this time, at a table not far from the left hand, there was a very fat foreign man, wearing a neat suit, he was smiling, looking happy, enjoying the food on the table.

The table in front of him was covered with all kinds of Western delicacies, including steak with black pepper sauce, lamb lobster drizzled with sour apple juice, lobster with cheese gratin, vegetable and fruit salad, cakes and soup cakes, appetizers, main dishes, and desserts, all in order.

Although this man is very fat, his back is very straight, his hands are full of knives and forks, and his mouth is full of food, but the knives and forks do not make a sound, and his polite movements are very different from the way he eats.

At the table on the right-hand side, there was a young Chinese couple, but it seemed that the fashionably dressed woman did not seem to be very happy. The man on the other side was taking a small, beautifully packaged box from his bosom and trying to please the woman with a smile on his face.

It is estimated that the box was jewelry, because the woman opened the packaging of the box with contempt in her eyes, and when she saw the contents of the box, she immediately changed from surprise to joy.

Looking at a table in the distance, there were three men sitting at the table, two Chinese and one foreigner, talking happily. The foreigner seemed to be gesturing and saying something. One of the tall Chinese men listened very attentively, and even the waiter passed by and knocked over the cup, he didn't care, this person was Han Da'er.

The table was too far away from Mei Ruohong, and Mei Ruohong couldn't hear what they were talking about at all, but judging from Han Da'er's expression when she left the table, she looked very happy, maybe not only to inquire about the news she wanted to know, but also to gain something bigger.

Han Daring, Bai Chongwei and the foreigner waved goodbye, and when they returned to Mei Ruohong's table, the main course had already been served, and the dessert ice cream had been on the table for a long time.

Han Daring happily returned to the table and sat down, just wanting to tell Mei Ruohong about the news he had just heard......

At this time, there was a sudden sound of tables and chairs toppling over, followed by the crisp sound of cups, plates, knives and forks falling to the ground, and the crisp sound of metal impacting, mixed with the scattered sound of broken ceramics.

Mei Ruohong looked at it, it turned out to be the fat man in a straight suit just now, pulling the tablecloth and falling to the ground, the chair he was sitting on, and the cups and plates of food on the table were all overturned.

The fat man's expression was very painful, and he didn't know if he was stuck or choked. I saw that he seemed to want to make a sound, but it was like his throat was blocked, and he couldn't make a sound when he opened his mouth.

Han Daring was the closest, and he was about to step forward to check, but the fat man's stomach suddenly swelled, and it exploded with a "bang", and the intestines, stomach, and internal organs flew to the ground, killing him on the spot in an instant.

At first, Han Daring thought that someone was shooting, so he hurriedly leaned down and looked around. At this time, all the guests were stunned, and some of them were close to each other, so they quickly avoided from afar. Others saw such a tragic scene that they even vomited the meal they had just eaten.

Han Daring has also seen a lot of strange cases, he has heard of the phenomenon of spontaneous combustion of the human body before, but he has never seen it, let alone the explosion of the human body. He couldn't figure out for a moment what kind of power could make people explode in an instant.

If it was an artillery detonator, it would be easy to cause such an injury, but Han Daring clearly saw that he suddenly exploded from the inside out, unless he ate the artillery detonator. But the cannon battle will be extinguished when it gets wet, and the detonator thing is thicker than a finger in the cigar smoke race, who would be stupid enough to swallow that thing in the stomach, and it can't be detonated if swallowed. For a while, Han Daring was puzzled.

At this time, a person came from behind, and it was the Englishman who was chatting with Han Daring Bai Chongwei just now, Martin G Fosx.

This case occurred at the junction of the British and French concessions, and it was a foreigner who died, and it was not the turn of the Chinese police to intervene.

As for whether the final case will be returned to the British Concession or the French Concession, it has nothing to do with him, so Han Daring can only stand aside and watch Martin examine the body.

This Martin was also unlucky, he came to dinner with Bai Chongwei, he went to the bathroom, Bai Chongwei led a big man over, asked questions, and the knives and forks didn't move, and there was such a disgusting person's sudden situation.

The British talk about etiquette, and they often wear gloves when they go out, which is just right this time, and the gloves have not been taken off yet, so they will be directly autopsied, and the expression on Martin's face is also disgusted.

With a bloody breath, he examined the belly of the corpse. Han Daring looked at his movements, he was also a veteran of the autopsy, and after listening to Bai Chongwei's introduction just now, he said that he was also a well-known detective, although he didn't know if there was any element of bragging, but just by looking at his movements, he knew that this person was indeed professional enough.

Martin looked at the corpse, his brow furrowed slightly, and there was an incredible expression on his face. The self-talking:

"It can't be...... The flesh of the corpse turned outward, like a ...... burst from within."

Han Daring listened on the side, nodded secretly, and listened to Martin say:

"But there is not a trace of cautery or gunpowder inside......"

He leaned over to check the spilled food, hot and cold, meat, everything, but it was all ordinary food, and there was nothing unusual about it.

At this time, Bai Chongwei also covered his nose to avoid the bloody gas, approached a closer place, and tapped Martin's shoulder with a finger.

What Martin had just said to himself, he had heard. Seeing that the fat man died strangely, he asked casually:

"Wouldn't it be the descendant of that incident back then, could it be Lin Hei'er? ……”

Martin was noncommittal and silent, while Han Daring leaned in and asked:

"What are you referring to by that?"

Bai Chongwei's face was solemn, and he said to Han Daring:

"You're a police officer from the National Police Agency, haven't you heard of the recent legend of evil spirits seeking revenge in the concession?"