Chapter 223: Private Island

Xiao Yu closed the car door, waving at Mu Qingwu inside. He watched the Rolls-Royce slowly drive away. A gentle smile lingered on his face long after the car had disappeared. Only then did the smile fade, and he turned, heading back into the Criminal Investigation Unit, straight to the meeting room.

Zhao Changshan, Zhou Tinghu, the deputy team leaders, and most of the field officers were already gathered inside.

“This case is huge.”  

That was the first thing Xiao Yu said as he sat down. Instantly, the expressions around the room turned serious. He didn’t have to explain much. Everyone had already heard about the interrogation of Peng Junlong earlier that evening.  

This case wasn’t just big. It involved at least five murders.  

And the nature of the case was far worse. It likely involved severe torture and possibly cannibalism.  

This kind of case was beyond the typical scope of the Criminal Investigation Unit. Normally, the case would be escalated from the Unit to the municipal police, and then from the municipal level to the provincial authorities. From there, the provincial office might request intervention from national security.

However, something strange happened when Zhao Changshan reported the case. 

Not long after, the municipal authorities calmly responded, “The Criminal Investigation Unit will handle the case. Whatever support you need, both the municipal and provincial offices will fully cooperate.”

Unusual, right?

What made it even stranger was the phone call Xiao Yu received from Wang Dong shortly after.

Wang’s first words were, “Hey, little brother, I’ve got a lot on my plate here. Want me to send over some people?”

Even though the case was big—so big that national security could easily step in—the local team could handle it. They just needed to catch two individuals, after all, not face down an entire assassin network.

Knowing Xiao Yu as well as he did, Wang Dong was sure he could handle this case without needing outside help or causing a major fuss.  

“Send a couple of people over. We might have to cross city and provincial lines,” Xiao Yu said, already frustrated, knowing exactly what Wang Dong was thinking.

“No problem,” Wang Dong chuckled. “You keep working the case, the reinforcements are on their way.”

He knew exactly why his little brother wanted those two national security officers on the team. Having them around would make things a lot smoother, especially when it came to working across different cities or provinces. Regular police officers would have to deal with all sorts of formalities—filing reports, getting approvals—which would waste too much time.

“So, what’s the plan?” Zhao Changshan was clearly excited. 

After years on the force, this was his first time handling a special case—and being in charge of it, no less.

The case had officially been classified as a special case. The nature of the crimes was too severe, and there were too many dead bodies for it to be treated as anything else.

The other officers were just as excited. Being put in charge of a special case investigation was the kind of thing they’d dream about, but never dared to imagine would actually happen.

On the surface, the case seemed simple enough. Find the three crime locations and apprehend the suspects. But the truth was, it was much more complicated. They didn’t know the exact locations of the three hideouts, and they had no concrete identification for the two main suspects.

Peng Junlong hadn’t seen Second Brother and Third Brother in over three years. So how were they supposed to crack this?

“We’ll start with Peng Junlong,” Xiao Yu said after some thought. “First, we need to get composite sketches made.”

Peng Junlong had spent a lot of time with Second Brother and Third Brother. He should be able to give detailed descriptions. 

While the sketches wouldn’t be exact, they could still be crucial.  

Also, the tattoo of the multicolored dragon on Second Brother was a key detail. But even with these leads, finding them wouldn’t be easy.

Xiao Yu decided to focus on the three crime locations. Based on Peng Junlong’s account, he had been blindfolded whenever he was taken to those places, so he had no idea of their exact locations. It seemed like a dead end, but actually, the clues were quite clear.

One of the locations was an island.

In China, access to islands was strictly regulated. But private islands—with usage rights but no land ownership—did exist. These rights could be renewed upon expiration, just like the 70-year land usage rights for property.

So, how many private island owners were there in China?

Over 600.

In other words, the number of people who own private islands was much higher than most would imagine. Among the most famous was “Lin Dong, the Island Owner,” who owned over 20 private islands across the country.

But how did this help? 

With over 600 private islands nationwide, how could Xiao Yu pinpoint which island Second Brother and Third Brother were using?

The answer: regional investigation.

Based on Peng Junlong’s testimony, he boarded a speedboat at a certain dock in Bencheng and traveled to an island. 

The island had to be within the Bencheng sea region.

Next, they could estimate the travel time. Peng Junlong gave a rough time frame of about one to one and a half hours. Of course, that was just a guess, as he had been blindfolded at the time and couldn’t accurately gauge the duration.

After that, they could focus on the private islands within Bencheng’s jurisdiction. There were 31 private islands in the Bencheng sea region. Using the distance and travel time, they could eliminate the islands that were too far. This left them with 19 islands.

Of those, seven had been developed into tourist resorts. 

Would it be likely for crimes to happen in places filled with tourists?

That left 12 private islands, of which nine had been leased out for years but remained undeveloped due to high investment risks. That left only three islands to investigate.

Now the trail seemed a lot clearer, didn’t it?

***

6 a.m.

A speedboat departed from the dock.

For Xiao Yu, this was the first time in his life that he’d been on a boat. 

Quite normal, really. Many people who live in coastal cities go their whole lives without ever stepping foot on one.

The sea breeze was strong.

Xiao Yu squinted his eyes, feeling the jolts of the speedboat as it sped across the water. After over an hour, the boat arrived at the shore of a small island. 

Upon landing, he scanned the surroundings. The island wasn’t very large, and there was no sign of human presence—just a single portable building. Xiao Yu and three police officers searched the area but found no trace of anything significant. They got back on the boat and headed to the second potential island.

The result was the same—no one was on the island, and there was no evidence of the large underground structure mentioned by Peng Junlong.

Finally, they headed to the third island, known as Crawling Shrimp Island. According to the records, the island covered about four square kilometers, and the owner had given it a quirky name. 

Crawling Shrimp was local slang in Bencheng for mantis shrimp, also known as “pi-pi shrimp.”

The island had hills and water, and halfway up one of the hills was a large compound. 

As soon as Xiao Yu stepped onto the island, he felt the distinct sensation of being watched. It wasn’t a close-range feeling, but more like being observed from a distance.

A telescope, perhaps?

Frowning, Xiao Yu looked toward the compound. 

Using his Eagle’s Eye, he spotted someone inside the compound—a middle-aged man watching him from afar.