Upon returning to the police station, Yu Hanjiang quickly located the headquarters of Starlight Entertainment Company and its legal representative.
...It's actually Shao Qingge?!
That's good, no need to look for CEO Shao everywhere anymore, let's meet up with him first.
Yu Hanjiang immediately took action, driving a police car directly to the Starlight Entertainment building. When the security guards at the entrance tried to stop him, Yu Hanjiang coldly took out his police ID and said, "Police officer, please cooperate with the investigation."
The security guard, of course, dared not stop the policeman, let him in, and immediately notified the front desk.
The receptionist hurriedly called CEO Shao's assistant. A moment later, a tall woman came down in the elevator and respectfully led Yu Hanjiang to the president's office on the top floor.
Upon seeing Yu Hanjiang, Shao Qingge smiled and said to his assistant, "Pour this officer a cup of coffee."
He gestured to Yu Hanjiang to "please sit down." Yu Hanjiang sat down on the sofa opposite him, and his assistant brought in a cup of coffee before discreetly leaving.
Yu Hanjiang raised an eyebrow: "Are you the boss of Starlight Entertainment?"
Shao Qingge joked, "The identity I was assigned this time is more in line with my nouveau riche temperament."
Yu Hanjiang took a sip of coffee and said calmly, "You should be able to guess what happened when I came to your door, right?"
Shao Qingge stopped joking and lowered his voice, saying, "It's only the first day in the locked room, and someone's already dead? Are you here to investigate?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "I received a report less than half an hour after I entered the secret room. Xiao Lou and I just went to the scene. The victim was tortured and murdered in a private villa. Her name is Lin Yiyan, and she is a star in your company. Do you remember her?"
Shao Qingge was slightly taken aback.
In fact, ever since he ended the call with Ye Qi, he had been looking through celebrity information on his computer.
Starlight Entertainment has signed dozens of stars, and the singing group they are currently promoting is Ficve 505 Girl Group. The male star is the popular young actor Cheng Yu, and the female star is Lin Yiyan.
The moment Yu Hanjiang pushed the door open, Shao Qingge happened to open Lin Yiyan's folder.
Upon hearing Yu Hanjiang say that this person was dead, Shao Qingge felt a slight tremor in his heart and quickly turned the computer screen away.
He came over to show Yu Hanjiang: "I have her information here, but I haven't had time to finish reading it yet."
While reviewing the information, Yu Hanjiang asked, "Any news from the other teammates?"
Shao Qingge said, " Ye Qi is a signed singer of our company and will be participating in 505 Girl Group's concert in Binzhou City in three days. Liu Qiao, Teacher Qu, Lao Mo, and Long Sen... I had my secretary check and found that Liu Qiao is the assistant of Cheng Yu, a signed star of our company. Cheng Yu is going to the film and television city tomorrow. He has taken on a TV series called ' Twin Flowers,' which starts filming in three days. Liu Qiao should also be going there."
"Film and television city?" Yu Hanjiang frowned upon hearing this. "It seems that Teacher Qu and the others should be at the film crew's location."
Shao Qingge asked, "Have our people been scattered?"
Yu Hanjiang speculated: "Xiao Ye went to a concert, Liu Qiao went to the film and television crew with Cheng Yu, and Xiao Lou and I have already discovered a dead body—this locked room is similar to Turmoil of War, and there should be a Three of a Kind storyline."
The original Turmoil of War involved a treason case, the death of a royal lady, and an assassin from Yan State. These three storylines intersected and eventually connected, allowing the clues to be pieced together once the mystery was solved.
Hearts 9, also an A-level difficulty escape room, is not surprising to have three storylines progressing simultaneously.
Shao Qingge said knowingly, "It seems that Ye Qi's side, and Liu Qiao's film crew, may also encounter some trouble."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "So we need to quickly figure out the relationship between the first victim, Lin Yiyan, and other celebrities to see if we can find any clues. I'll go through the information on the victim, 505 Girl Group, and this popular young actor, Cheng Yu."
Shao Qingge said, "Okay, you can look at the information first. I'll call Xiao Ye and Lin Yiyan's manager over right away."
He first called Ye Qi, using the excuse of needing Ye Qi to come back to the company. Ye Qi had just finished getting his hair done, and upon hearing CEO Shao's words, he asked the manager to take him back to the Starlight Entertainment Company headquarters.
Upon opening the office door and seeing Yu Hanjiang there, Ye Qi's heart skipped a beat, knowing that something big must have happened. He immediately walked in and greeted him with a smile: " Hello, CEO Shao, hello, Officer Yu."
Shao Qingge: "..."
Yu Hanjiang: "..."
With his hair standing on end, he looks like the protagonist of a shonen anime who's entered battle mode.
Shao Qingge suppressed a laugh and touched his nose: "Your look... is quite unique."
Ye Qi blushed and explained softly, "It's a'Shamate' style, Tony the hairstylist did for me, and I'm not happy with it either."
Yu Hanjiang coughed lightly, ignoring Ye Qi's rooster-like hair, and briefly told Ye Qi about the deceased's condition.
Ye Qi's eyes widened: "The one who died was a top actress? This is too shocking!"
Shao Qingge said, "I will control the public opinion before the matter is fully investigated, and will not make any announcements to the public for the time being."
Yu Hanjiang nodded in agreement and instructed, "Xiao Ye, something might happen at the concert three days from now. The deceased, Lin Yiyan, might have had some grudge against the 505 Girl Group. You need to keep your eyes open at the concert and not miss any clues."
Ye Qi nodded seriously: "Understood."
Shao Qingge said, " I'm worried about Ye Qi going to the concert alone. I'll find an excuse to attend the concert three days later." He paused, then added, "As for Liu Qiao's crew, I'll try to contact them now so that Liu Qiao can join the others and keep a close eye on the crew's situation."
The entertainment company owner has the phone numbers of all the stars and managers here.
Although the assistant's number wasn't available, Shao Qingge could directly contact Cheng Yu's manager to ask for it. Although the manager was somewhat puzzled as to why the boss wanted the assistant, she complied with the boss's request and gave Shao Qingge Liu Qiao's number.
Shao Qingge made the call and said, "Xiao Liu, it's me."
Liu Qiao recognized the voice: " CEO Shao?!"
Shao Qingge handed the phone to Yu Hanjiang, who lowered his voice and said, "Xiao Liu, the first death has occurred. There may be more incidents on your film set. Keep an eye on the actor Cheng Yu you're working with. Also, notify the other teammates. Don't worry, Professor Xiao and I are still investigating the first case and will try to rejoin you as soon as possible."
Liu Qiao was taken aback and said, "The first case? Has someone already died?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "That's right. Starlight Entertainment Company's female star, Lin Yiyan, was murdered. Professor Xiao and I are investigating. Cheng Yu and Lin Yiyan were in the same company. You can try to find out if he knew this female star and what their relationship was like. Don't tell anyone about Lin Yiyan's death for now."
Liu Qiao replied, "Understood."
After hanging up the phone, Yu Hanjiang copied the data from CEO Shao's computer. Then he asked Shao Qingge to call Lin Yiyan's manager. It was so convenient to have CEO Shao around; the manager had to come back immediately no matter how busy he was, just one phone call from the boss.
Half an hour later, Lin Yiyan's manager hurriedly pushed open the door to the president's office.
Her manager was a man in his thirties named Qi Ming, the company's star manager who had mentored many popular idol stars. Upon hearing the news of Lin Yiyan's death, the man's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and he asked in disbelief, his voice trembling, "How is this possible?! You're saying she's dead? She just texted me last night!"
The man took out his phone and saw a WeChat message from someone whose contact name was "Xiaoyan". The message read: "Brother Ming, I was really tired from filming 'Red Dust'. I want to rest for a few more days and go on vacation abroad with my family. Please don't contact me for the next few days. Can you give me some space? I'll get back to work as soon as I get back."
Qi Ming replied, "No problem, you've worked hard all year, you deserve a few days off."
Take a good rest. I've canceled all your recent engagements. Have fun.
Last night's conversation consisted of only a few simple sentences; looking back, it was all about exchanging announcements.
According to Xiao Lou's speculation, Lin Yiyan should have been dead for more than three days. Why would she have sent a WeChat message to her manager last night?
Yu Hanjiang said coldly, "This was sent to you by the murderer."
Upon hearing this, Qi Ming shuddered: "You mean, Xiao Yan's phone is with the murderer, the murderer?"
The murderer sent the message to the manager to create the illusion that " Lin Yiyan is still alive."
The ice and low temperature at the scene would prevent the body from decomposing and smelling bad so quickly, so Lin Yiyan's death would remain a secret. Perhaps a few days later, when the manager looks for Lin Yiyan, the murderer could continue using Lin Yiyan's phone to chat with the manager and pretend that Lin Yiyan is still alive...
Just then, Yu Hanjiang received a message on his phone from Xiao Lou: "The autopsy results are in. Lin Yiyan's time of death was after 3 a.m. last Tuesday. She had been drinking heavily before her death; the bottles were covered in her fingerprints. Furthermore, we have examined and verified the genetic material from the skin and hair strands found under her fingernails against the gene bank; it belongs to her Manager." Qi Ming.
Yu Hanjiang put away his phone, his sharp gaze fixed on the man in front of him: "Where were you early Tuesday morning last year?"