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

Chapter 908 Information about the Third Suspect

Li Ming and Officer Zhao sat opposite him, their eyes fixed intently on Song Chao's every move. Li Ming spoke first, his voice deep yet carrying an undeniable authority: "Song Chao, things have come to this point. You'd better confess your crimes truthfully and try to get leniency."

Song Chao raised his head, his eyes flickered for a moment, then quickly lowered his head again. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "I... I confess. Those six people in Wangjia Village were killed by me, Liang Benchao, and Sun Laosi."

Xiao Zhao slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Why did you kill him? Explain yourself in detail!"

Song Chao shuddered, swallowed hard, and began to confess: "Wang Fugui and his two brothers had been doing drug business with us. But later, they became greedy and wanted to take away our share, and even threatened to expose our business. We couldn't let them succeed, so... we decided to kill them."

Li Ming's gaze was fixed on Song Chao: "Tell me the details of the crime."

Song Chao took a deep breath and continued, "That night, we prepared diesel and gasoline in advance and lit them simultaneously in three different places, which were the three corners of the house in Wangjia Village. We originally planned to create an accidental fire to burn them to death without anyone knowing. Wang Fugui and the others were all inside the house at the time, and they were probably stunned by the sudden fire and had no time to escape."

Xiao Zhao pressed further, "What about those three people whose identities haven't been confirmed? What's their relationship with Wang Fugui and the others?"

Song Chao hesitated for a moment before saying, "One of them is Zhang Wei, a drug addict who has been following us to get drugs. The other two are accomplices Zhang Wei hired to help Wang Fugui and his gang deal with us. After we found out, we decided to go all the way and take them out as well."

Li Ming then asked, "Why did Zhang Wei help Wang Fugui and his group? What kind of interest do they have in common?"

Song Chao replied, "Zhang Wei owed Wang Fugui and his gang a lot of money. In order to pay off the debt, he agreed to help them. Moreover, Wang Fugui and his gang promised Zhang Wei that after the matter was settled, they would give him a large sum of money and let him live a life of luxury with them."

The atmosphere in the interrogation room was so heavy it was almost suffocating. Li Ming continued to probe: "Who is Sun Laosi? Tell me more about him."

Song Chao said, "Sun Laosi is my childhood friend. We grew up together. He's simple-minded but ruthless. This time, he was in charge of keeping watch outside and also helped prepare the tools for the crime."

Li Ming pressed further, "Where did Sun Laosi go after the incident?"

Song Chao shook his head: "I don't know. After we finished, he said he had to leave Dongchuan City, saying it wasn't safe here anymore. I didn't ask him where he was going specifically, I only know that he left in a hurry."

Xiao Zhao frowned: "After you committed the crime, did you discuss how to evade the police investigation?"

Song Chao said with a wry smile, "What can we discuss? We were in a panic at the time, and all we could think about was running away. I thought we could get away with it, but I didn't expect you to catch us anyway."

Li Ming stared intently into Song Chao's eyes: "We will verify everything you've told us. If we find that you've lied even a little, you know the consequences. Think carefully about Sun Laosi's detailed information, including his appearance and possible hiding places. Tell us any clues you have."

Song Chao nodded: "I understand, officer. I will tell you the truth. Sun Laosi is about 1.75 meters tall, thin, and has a black mole on his left cheek. He used to work as a stevedore at the docks and may go to some port cities to find a place to hide."

The interrogation lasted for several hours, and Song Chao gradually revealed more details of the case. Li Ming and Xiao Zhao walked out of the interrogation room and breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had grasped the main facts of the crime, Sun Laosi's escape remained a potential threat to the case.

"Captain Li, what do we do now? Old Man Sun is missing, we need to find him as soon as possible," Xiao Zhao said.

Li Ming frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Pass the order down to intensify the manhunt for Sun Laosi. Send his information to the police in the surrounding cities and request their assistance. At the same time, contact the progress squadron to see if we can find any clues as to where he might be hiding."

Inside the police station, the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive. The pursuit of Sun Laosi had reached a dead end, making no progress. Every officer was anxious, but they knew they couldn't afford to lose their composure. While waiting for leads on Sun Laosi, other aspects of the case still needed to be steadily advanced.

The next morning, as dawn broke, several police cars slowly drove out of the police station. Inside were Song Chao and Liang Benchao, who were to be taken to the crime scene for identification to reconstruct the entire crime. Sitting in the police car, Song Chao and Liang Benchao were pale, their eyes filled with fear and remorse. They knew that this identification would make their crimes even more undeniable.

The convoy arrived at the scene of the fire in Wangjia Village, where a pungent, acrid smell of burning still lingered. Song Chao and Liang Benchao, escorted by police officers, slowly stepped out of the vehicle. Gazing at the ruins, ravaged by the fire, their bodies trembled slightly.

Li Ming stood aside, his expression serious, his eyes fixed on the two men: "Now, you begin the identification process. Starting with the purchase of gasoline and diesel, recount in detail the entire process of planning the murder."

Song Chao took a deep breath and said, "We bought gasoline and diesel at a private gas station outside the town. The gas station was very lax in its management. We just made up a reason, saying we needed to refuel the machinery at the construction site, and the owner sold it to us." As he spoke, he pointed to a small road in the distance, "At the time, we drove that van along that road to the gas station."

The officers quickly recorded the information Song Chao provided and took photos for record-keeping. Then, Liang Benchao continued to point out: "After buying the oil, we started planning how to carry it out. We knew that Wang Fugui and his two brothers usually acted like tyrants in the village and had many enemies, so we thought of creating a fire to burn them to death and then making it look like an accident."

Song Chao continued, “We chose a night when everyone was home. Sun Laosi and I were responsible for lighting fires in three corners of the house, while Liang Benchao kept watch outside. We had prepared containers for the oil beforehand, using those plastic buckets that are easy to carry and pour.” He walked to one of the fire spots and gestured as he poured the oil and lit it, “I poured diesel fuel here and then lit it with a lighter. Once the diesel fuel caught fire, the fire was very big and spread very quickly.”

Liang Benchao added, "I was watching from outside, and I was terrified, but I didn't dare to run. When I saw the house on fire and Wang Fugui and the others shouting inside, I knew our plan had succeeded. But seeing that scene, I regretted it too; after all, it was six lives at stake."