Wei Hongbo pondered for a moment, flipped through the list of the first criminal investigation officers to arrive at the scene, found the phone number of the lead officer, and called to ask in detail about Peng Jun's mental state from dinner until just before his fatal fall.
According to feedback from people who had seen Peng Jun during that time, there was no noticeable difference from his usual self. He had a rather lavish dinner, and while smoking on the terrace, he even told his colleagues a dirty joke.
For someone planning to commit suicide, such behavior was far too calm.
Before Peng Jun fell, he was the only person on the terrace, which had already been confirmed. If it wasn't suicide, considering the terrace guardrail was over 1.4 meters high and his height, it couldn't possibly have been an accidental slip, could it?
Wei Hongbo hung up the phone, thought for a moment, and said, "Brigade Head Yu, I suggest we immediately launch an investigation into Li Yunxiang and Peng Jun, including their personal financial situations."
Yu Zhen said, "I have no objections. You handle the specific investigation arrangements, and I'll coordinate with the branch to issue the 'Investigation Assistance Notice'."
Wei Hongbo immediately made calls to deploy personnel and arrange the relevant operations.
Earlier at the restaurant, after listening to Wu Wenjun's briefing on the situation, they hadn't dismissed it, but they also didn't feel an overwhelming sense of urgency.
Because the most crucial Plan B had already been exposed, meaning the so-called tens of billions involved in the case no longer existed.
Furthermore, based on Wu Wenjun's description and the meeting video, Li Yunxiang's death seemed more like an accident, and there was no evidence linking her to Plan B.
Having handled numerous cases on the criminal investigation front, they had encountered this kind of situation more than once or twice. A key figure dies at a critical moment, investigations go round and round, and in the end, it's determined to be a pure accident, with no logic to be found.
But with Peng Jun's death, the situation changed.
This person was directly linked to Plan B. Just as the police were planning to list him as a key person of interest, he died in a highly suspicious manner. This, to some extent, corroborated Zhiwei Technology's inferences and also connected Li Yunxiang's death.
Now, they were more inclined to believe that these two seemingly accidental deaths were actually meticulously planned murders.
This indicated that the hidden mastermind behind the scenes had long been prepared to sacrifice their pawns and acted with extreme decisiveness. If they didn't act swiftly, some evidence and clues would likely vanish for good.
Moreover, no one could guarantee whether a third "accidental" death would occur in this case. To prevent that, they had to stay ahead of the murderer.
As Wei Hongsi listened to his older brother on the phone, two lines of red ghost text suddenly appeared before his eyes—two new timed tasks.
He pondered for a moment. The ghost text before his eyes had already vanished, so he leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and with a thought, summoned the "System" panel. Several lines of softly glowing text immediately appeared in his dark field of vision.
The ghost text's display wasn't blocked by his eyelids—he had tested this long ago—indicating it acted directly on the occipital visual cortex or was simply a product of his brain's imagination.
The previous information wasn't important. He focused on the three tasks at the very bottom of the panel.
[Task: Find the mastermind behind the Paradise Beverages advertising trap (Completing this task will grant a System level increase)]
[Task: Assist the police in finding the true cause of Li Yunxiang's death (Countdown: 35 hours, 59 minutes)]
[Task: Find the clues hidden within Plan B (Countdown: 35 hours, 59 minutes)]
Comparing them, it became clear. The first task with a reward was likely the main quest, while the latter two timed tasks were side quests.
Whether it was finding the true cause of Li Yunxiang's death or uncovering the hidden clues within Plan B, the ultimate goal was to find that mastermind.
So, was the "System" using task assignments to point out the critical path and necessary steps?
Lost in these thoughts, Wei Hongsi soon realized they had arrived at their destination.
The Criminal Investigation Brigade and the district branch shared the same location but operated in relatively independent office areas. There was a separate entrance facing the main road and a standalone office building.
Liu Zhifeng parked the car in front of the building, and everyone got out and headed inside. The sky wasn't dark yet, and officers in a hurry could be seen everywhere along the way.
Wei Hongsi had been here several times and was familiar with the environment. It seemed every time he came, he saw this same scene—his brother and his colleagues always seemed to have endless work.
After entering the building, Yu Zhen went directly to the command center. Wei Hongbo led Wu Wenjun and the other two into a discussion room on the first floor, where several officers were already waiting.
Within a few minutes, Jiang Kai and the others arrived, and Liu Zhifeng brought them over.
Jiang Kai's group also consisted of three people: himself, Miao Rui, the Director of Department Eight, and Lu Jiaqi.
After the afternoon meeting concluded, Jiang Kai had reported to Ji Yongsheng and transferred Lu Jiaqi into the Emergency Response Team.
Paradise Beverages was Lu Jiaqi's client, and the two commissions related to Plan B had been handled by her. Ji Yongsheng naturally had no objections. The senior management of both sides hadn't been in contact before, and communication required a liaison. Lu Jiaqi was undoubtedly the most suitable person for that role.
Lu Jiaqi had spent the entire afternoon waiting for Wei Hongsi's analysis report. Ji Cheng had even asked about it twice during that time, but she hadn't pressed Wei Hongsi.
It wasn't until Jiang Kai called her to his office and briefed her on the situation that she realized the matter was far more serious than anticipated. She immediately called Ji Cheng as Jiang Kai requested.
Upon hearing the news, Ji Cheng was also quite shocked and hurriedly reported it to his direct superior, Pang Weizhi.
He had spent the previous evening verifying Plan B and already knew this advertising plan couldn't be used.
Since the launch of this new product involved the company's major strategic decisions, he didn't dare hide anything and reported the relevant situation to Pang Weizhi that morning.
Pang Weizhi was the Vice President of the Paradise Beverages Group, in his early fifties. Initially hearing Ji Cheng's report, he hadn't fully believed it, even after practical verification.
Ji Cheng understood Pang Weizhi's concerns. A plan that had passed expert team review and gained approval from company leadership was the result of collective decision-making, not something easily overturned. Verification by over a hundred people couldn't conclusively prove the issue, at least not enough to convince everyone.
He was waiting for Zhiwei's analysis report precisely to obtain more substantial evidence to persuade senior management to halt the deployment of Plan B.
However, the content relayed by Lu Jiaqi was even more explosive than the analysis report itself, and it had even resulted in a loss of life.
This time, after hearing Ji Cheng's report, Pang Weizhi realized the severity of the situation. He immediately halted all advertising placement matters and prepared to meet with the people from Zhiwei.
The two sides met at the agreed-upon teahouse. Just after finishing their introductions and briefing each other on the situation, they heard the news about Peng Jun's death and were greatly shocked.
This was especially true for Ji Cheng and Pang Weizhi. Due to business relations, they had met Peng Jun before, making this feel entirely different from merely hearing about Li Yunxiang's death secondhand.
Thus, the five of them immediately headed to the district branch's Criminal Investigation Brigade in two separate cars.