The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 949 Scene Identification, the Skeleton Case Concluded

"Zhou Dehai, now that things have come to this, are you still going to try to deny it?" Li Ming's voice was low and cold, his gaze piercing the other man's heart like a sharp sword.

Zhou Dehai's Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his obese body shifted uneasily in the iron chair. He reached out to adjust his glasses, but the handcuffs made him appear clumsy and awkward. After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing against a rusty iron plate: "I...I admit it, I orchestrated all of this."

Zhou Dehai was no longer the same person he had been during the previous two interrogations. Now that Li Houde had already hired him, there was no point in him continuing to hide and make excuses.

His thoughts seemed to drift back to that night fifteen years ago when crime took root. "After Zhang Yun discovered I was dealing in dyes, he became an inescapable nuisance. I gave him 50,000 yuan, thinking it would shut him up, but even after taking the money, he kept asking around and even threatened to call the police." A twisted expression appeared on Zhou Dehai's face. "I can't let him ruin me! If the dye business is exposed, my life is over!"

He recalled the scene of his secret plot with Li Houde in the small restaurant. Under the dim light, cheap liquor swirled at the bottom of the glass as the two men discussed in hushed tones how to deal with Zhang Yuncai, this "hidden danger." "Li Houde was scared at first, but I promised him 100,000 yuan and would help him open an oil press. He's the kind of person who's greedy for money, and he quickly agreed." Zhou Dehai sneered, his laughter full of contempt for his former accomplice.

“That night, I hid in the abandoned workshop beforehand. Li Houde lured Zhang Yuncai there, and as soon as he walked in, I grabbed an iron bar and smashed him down.” Zhou Dehai’s eyes were vacant, as if he could see that bloody scene again. “The first blow didn’t kill him; he struggled and cried for help, so I hit him several more times until he was completely still…” His voice began to tremble. “Blood was splattered everywhere, on my body and face, and on Li Houde’s. I still can’t forget that smell…”

The process of disposing of the body was even more horrifying. "We stuffed Zhang Yuncai into an iron drum that contained dye and sealed the opening with mud." Zhou Dehai's hands unconsciously gestured in the air. "To be on the safe side, I also poured half a drum of linseed oil into it. Under the cover of night, we buried the iron drum at the base of the textile factory's basement wall. I thought that as long as the basement wasn't discovered, this secret would rot there forever."

When Li Xiulan was mentioned, a hint of unease flashed across Zhou Dehai's face. "She came to the factory to cause trouble a few times, and I had the security guards kick her out. Later, she brought the police with her, so I prepared fake ledgers in advance and had someone scare her." He sighed, "I know she won't give up easily, but I can't let her find out the truth."

The interrogation lasted the entire morning, during which Zhou Dehai confessed to every single detail. From the dye resale route to the transaction process with the buyers; from the hush money given to Li Houde to the profit sharing of the oil mill, all the criminal facts were revealed one by one.

“Over the years, I have lived in fear every day.” Zhou Dehai’s voice gradually weakened. “I often wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares, dreaming that Zhang Yuncai is standing in front of me covered in blood. I thought time could heal everything, but I didn’t expect that what was bound to happen would still happen.”

When the interrogation ended and Zhou Dehai was led away from the interrogation room, he walked with a faltering gait, as if he had aged decades in an instant. The once imposing security chief of the textile factory was now a prisoner with blood on his hands. Outside the interrogation room, Li Ming looked at the complete confession in his hand, his heart filled with mixed emotions. The fifteen-year-old cold case had finally been solved; justice, though delayed, had not been absent.

Following that, Zhou Dehai and Li Houde identified the individuals on site, respectively.

A light drizzle fell from the overcast sky as the police convoy slowly drove into the abandoned textile factory. Zhou Dehai sat in the police car, gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar scene outside the window, his cloudy eyes rippled with fear. That heinous night fifteen years ago seemed like yesterday; every detail replayed endlessly in his mind.

When the police car came to a stop, Zhou Dehai was escorted out by two officers. His legs felt like lead, and every step was incredibly difficult. The once imposing head of the security department had lost all his former swagger, and his hunched figure trembled in the cold wind.

"Zhou Dehai, take us to the crime scene." Li Ming's voice was cold and firm.

Zhou Dehai nodded mechanically and walked heavily toward the old workshop. The workshop's iron door was already rusty, and it made a harsh creaking sound when pushed open, as if telling the story of the tragedy that had once taken place here. Zhou Dehai stood at the door, his eyes glazed over, and after a long while he finally spoke: "That night, right here, Li Houde and I tricked Zhang Yuncai into coming here."

He slowly walked into the workshop, his footsteps stopping at a depression in the ground. "At that time, there were several iron barrels of dye piled up here, and the light was very dim, with only an old flashlight for illumination." Zhou Dehai raised his hand and pointed to the corner, "After Zhang Yuncai came in, before he could react, I picked up the iron rod that I had prepared beforehand from behind..." His voice began to tremble, "I...I smashed it down on his head."

Zhou Dehai closed his eyes, a look of pain on his face, as if he were reliving that bloody moment. "The first blow knocked him to the ground, blood streaming from his head. But he was still struggling, crying for help. I was terrified, afraid of being discovered, so I hit him a few more times until he stopped moving..."

The ground still seemed to retain the stench of blood from that year. Although time had washed away the bloodstains, Zhou Dehai could never escape the guilt in his heart. "After he fell, Li Houde turned pale with fright, and his legs trembled uncontrollably. I asked him to help dispose of the body. He hesitated at first, but under my coercion, he did as I asked."

They stuffed Zhang Yuncai's body into an iron bucket. Zhou Dehai walked to the bucket and gestured with his hands: "This is the bucket, just the right size to fit a person. We scooped flaxseed oil from the oil can next to it, poured it on the body, then shoveled some soil from the ground, mixed it with the oil, and sealed the body inside." His hand rubbed the iron bucket, as if he could still feel the sticky texture from back then.

"By the time we finished all that, it was already past midnight," Zhou Dehai continued. "We drove Li Houde's truck and transported the iron drums to the textile factory's basement. The basement hadn't been there for a long time; it was dark and damp, a perfect place to hide a corpse."

The group followed Zhou Dehai to the basement. The basement reeked of mildew, the walls were covered in moss, and the floor was damp. Zhou Dehai stopped at a corner. "Right here," he said, "we dug a hole and buried the iron barrel in it. To keep it from being discovered, we covered it with a layer of wooden planks and piled some other things on top."

Recalling the process of hiding the body, Zhou Dehai became even more agitated. "After burying the body, we collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. I thought that as long as we took this secret to the grave, no one would know. But I was wrong. I live in fear every day. Every time I close my eyes, I see Zhang Yuncai's face covered in blood."

After the on-site identification was completed, Zhou Dehai was escorted back to the police car.

After Zhou Dehai finished identifying the suspects, Li Houde's identification process was similar to Zhou Dehai's.

The investigation into the case of the remains found at the old textile factory has been completed.