Chapter 60: Deliberate Collision, Who Is the Culprit?

After hearing what Chen Bing had to say, Qin Chuan let out a long sigh of relief.

"Old Chen, thanks."

"Don't mention it. Have a few extra drinks at the gathering the day after tomorrow. Oh, by the way, I have some things to attend to; you should go check on Auntie."

"Right, I saw you in the Linjiang Daily a few days ago. You're doing quite well for yourself now, a regular people's hero."

"Hero my foot. Just got a bit lucky. If I hadn't been, that day I jumped off the building to save someone probably would have been my final farewell."

"Bah, bah, bah! Alright, hurry up and go see Auntie."

After Chen Bing left, Qin Chuan gently pushed open the hospital room door.

Having connections made a difference; Chen Bing had arranged for a private room.

Jiang Huizhen thought it was the doctor coming in, but when she turned around, it was her son.

"Mom!"

At that single word, tears nearly welled up in Qin Chuan's eyes. Separated for a decade!

The mother before him still looked as she had in middle age.

She bore no resemblance to the image from his previous life when he was in prison—her hair completely white, her eyes filled only with exhaustion and despair.

"Xiaochuan? Why are you back?"

A look of pleasant surprise crossed Jiang Huizhen's face. "Did Aunt Chen tell you?"

"I told her it was nothing, just a fracture. Look, aren't I doing just fine now?"

Qin Chuan walked over to the bedside and took his mother's hand. Unlike in his previous life, her hands lacked the abundance of calluses and wrinkles.

"Mom, does it hurt?"

"No, it doesn't. They gave me a local anesthetic, doesn't hurt at all."

"Such a small matter, and you rushed back from so far away. What about your work?"

"I'm completely fine here. Hurry back this afternoon, you hear me?"

"It's fine, I've already asked for leave at the unit, and there's an event here on Saturday. I'm not going anywhere these next few days; I'm just staying here to take care of you."

"Why do you need to take care of me? I'm already healing up fine."

"Look at you, pay attention to safety when you're working! Buildings are so tall, how could you dare to jump like that!"

In Jiang Huizhen's eyes, rather than wanting her son to be a high-ranking official, she wished even more for him to live a safe and peaceful life.

Qin Chuan did not stay with his mother for too long.

Because he needed to find out more about the circumstances surrounding his mother's car accident.

Once outside the hospital, Qin Chuan made a phone call.

"Old Lu, what's the situation?"

Lu Tao was Qin Chuan's classmate from high school and university, who stayed to work in Xing'an City after graduating from the police academy.

Unlike Qin Chuan, Lu Tao's father worked within the Xing'an City public security system, allowing Lu Tao to enter the bureau headquarters directly after graduation.

"I asked a friend to check it out. The driver who caused the accident fled, and the traffic police detachment has people investigating, but there are no results yet."

Hit-and-run?

"Are there surveillance cameras?"

"Yes. Chuanzi, this car accident is a bit unusual. Come straight over to my place."

***

Unusual?

After hanging up the phone, Qin Chuan had Lu Zhiguo drive him directly to the Xing'an City Public Security Bureau.

Half an hour later, Qin Chuan finally learned why this car accident was unusual.

The accident had occurred at an intersection not far from Qin Chuan's home.

Pedestrian and vehicular traffic were both light.

At the time of the accident, Qin Chuan's mother and their neighbor, Aunt Chen, were returning from buying groceries and crossing the street.

The two of them were walking one behind the other on the pedestrian crossing, and the traffic light was green.

The offending vehicle came speeding through without slowing down at all, heading straight for Jiang Huizhen.

Fortunately, Aunt Chen noticed the vehicle in the nick of time and yanked Jiang Huizhen back.

The vehicle grazed Jiang Huizhen's right leg, which was the only reason she suffered merely a fracture.

Lu Tao pointed at the surveillance footage: "If Aunt Chen hadn't pulled her back that second, the vehicle would have struck Aunt Aunt squarely. In that case..."

Having watched the video, Qin Chuan broke out in a cold sweat!

So close!

Just a fraction away!

He would never have seen his mother again!

Who could it be?!

A few names instantly flashed through Qin Chuan's mind.

Gao Qingshan, Dou Sihai, Zhao Junhao, Wu Jianzhong, Song Yaozong, Zhao Yunhu, Liang Guofa...

His mother was already retired and spent her usual days doing square dancing with a few neighbors; she had no enemies.

As for the people who orchestrated his own demise in the past life, since they hadn't touched his mother for all those years, there was no reason to suddenly do so now.

Among the remaining people, Zhao Junhao, Wu Jianzhong, and the others had already been arrested, making revenge impossible for them.

As for Song Yaozong, if he wanted to keep his secrets, he should have targeted Qin Chuan himself; there was no motive to harm his mother.

The only ones with the capability to hire a killer and still remain at large were Gao Qingshan and Dou Sihai.

Both of these men had been thoroughly alienated by him.

Gao Qingshan's white glove, Zhao Junhao, had been arrested by him.

On the night of the vocational high school playground corpse burial case, Gao Qingshan had also been confronted and rebuked by him.

However, would Gao Qingshan hire a killer, and target his mother?

No, impossible. Gao Qingshan was the county party secretary; he had plenty of legitimate ways to deal with Qin Chuan and wouldn't stoop to hiring a hitman, let alone targeting a family member.

Therefore, it could only be Dou Sihai!

Qin Chuan had dismantled Xinhai Mining's criminal stronghold in Changning Town and arrested over a dozen of his men, a blow that had severely crippled Dou Sihai's influence.

Added to the closure of the Red Pavilion, Dou Sihai's two right-hand men being arrested, and the downfall of former Criminal Investigation Brigade Captain Song Hui and County Committee Secretary Sun Tao.

Dou Sihai harbored a deep-seated hatred for him.

He had every motive to exact revenge.

And he had the capability to do it!

Damn it!

***

Qin Chuan had originally intended to stabilize the situation within the Criminal Investigation Brigade first. As for dealing with Dou Sihai, he had planned to take it step by step.

After all, the other party possessed deep roots in Zhilin County and intricate ties with Gao Qingshan.

To uproot him entirely, Qin Chuan needed to be prepared to face the two most powerful and wealthiest men in Zhilin County.

With his current status as a mere deputy captain of the criminal investigation brigade, attempting that was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Yet Qin Chuan never expected Dou Sihai to dare lay a hand on his mother!

Damn it!

Ring, ring, ring!

At that moment, Lu Tao's phone rang.

"Found the car? Good! I'm heading over right now!"

Hanging up, Lu Tao pulled Qin Chuan along: "Chuanzi, the driver hasn't been caught yet, but the vehicle involved has been found."

Half an hour later.

In the self-built housing district of Qingfeng Village.

In a secluded alley, Qin Chuan saw the offending vehicle.

Personnel from the Xing'an City High-Tech Zone Traffic Police Detachment were present at the scene; they had tracked down the vehicle using surveillance footage.

However, the driver was nowhere to be found.

While Lu Tao was communicating with them, Qin Chuan put on a pair of gloves and pulled open the car door.

Sniff.

However, the moment he inhaled, Qin Chuan detected something amiss.

There was a faint scent of blood inside the car, along with an odor that felt somewhat familiar to him.

Endowed with enhanced olfactory skills, Qin Chuan was exceptionally sensitive to various scents.

Criminal investigation on-site forensic skills activated!

Visual enhancement activated!

Finally, bloodstains were discovered inside the glove box on the passenger side.

With his white-gloved fingers lightly pinching the trace, the blood was fresh!

Qin Chuan had just inspected the exterior of the car; the front right side bore obvious collision marks with blood adhering to it, but it had long since dried.

That should have been the blood left behind when his mother was struck.

Yet why was there blood inside the car as well? And fresh blood at that?

Furthermore, that familiar scent...

A thought stirred in Qin Chuan's mind. He backed out of the cabin and vigilantly scanned the surrounding buildings.

Under visual enhancement, every spot his gaze swept across seemed magnified.

Suddenly, the iron gate of a self-built house caught Qin Chuan's attention.