I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 216: Chapter 214: It’s Really Related to Him

Lu Zhishen was a valuable asset, shuffled from Xie Lili to Kang Hong’s parents, and now to Mrs. Xie.

While he was sketching the portrait, Yan Cheng got the results of the fingerprint comparison.

”Captain Zhuang, we have a result on the fingerprint comparison.” Yan Cheng then added, ”Guess who.”

Su Miaoyi and Zhuang Yanzheng looked at him, then said a name in unison: ”Kang Hong?”

Yan Cheng raised an eyebrow. He had expected them to guess who it was.

Su Miaoyi and Zhuang Yanzheng both fell silent for a moment.

Why were they so certain?

Because if the person hadn’t already been arrested, Yan Cheng wouldn’t have made them guess. He would have just told them quickly so they could go bring the suspect in.

The three of them were silent for a while before Zhuang Yanzheng finally tsked. ”So it really is related to him.”

”Wanxiang Village,” Su Miaoyi said. ”Everything points to Wanxiang Village.”

”We can’t trace the source of Liu Shitang’s money for the house, and we don’t know where Kang Hong got the money for his watch,” Yan Cheng said.

”Liu Shitang lived in Wanxiang Village, and Kang Hong rented a place in Changyue Garden, which is very close to Wanxiang Village. Why was he living so close? What did he want to do in Wanxiang Village?” Su Miaoyi asked.

Zhuang Yanzheng and the others exchanged glances, a shared suspicion forming in their minds.

”Qi Feng went to Wanxiang Village overnight. He met the village chief and many of the villagers, even visited a few of their homes. He didn’t find anything out of the ordinary,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

”There’s another crucial point: Wanxiang Village’s geographical location. It’s on the border between Jinghai City and Qin City.” Su Miaoyi looked at Zhuang Yanzheng.

It was highly likely that Qin City was involved.

Zhuang Yanzheng nodded, perching on the edge of the table. ”If this really is related to Kang Hong’s dealing network, we can’t investigate Wanxiang Village openly. If we alert them, the trail will go cold.”

”Kang Hong has been in custody for a while now, and Qi Feng has already been to Wanxiang Village. If our guess is right, wouldn’t they have run off by now?” Yan Cheng said.

The three of them fell silent again.

First, Kang Hong was arrested. While he was still being interrogated, Su Miaoyi led them to Liu Shitang’s body.

That same night, Qi Feng took his team to Wanxiang Village.

Yan Cheng’s worry was justified. Although the trip to Wanxiang Village was to ask about Liu Shitang, Liu Shitang’s death was connected to Kang Hong.

They had likely already pulled out.

Zhuang Yanzheng tsked. The problem was that they’d gone to Wanxiang Village too quickly.

The jacket with the fingerprints had been frozen solid in the chest freezer, pinned beneath the victim’s body. They worried about damaging the clothes, the body, and the evidence, so they waited for the ice to melt before carefully removing it.

”Regardless, we need to pay special attention to Wanxiang Village. Investigate it covertly,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Su Miaoyi nodded. ”Right now, the evidence is incomplete. We don’t know the specifics of what’s going on; it’s all just speculation on our part.”

”Let’s start by studying Wanxiang Village.”

The three went to the conference room, turned on the screen, and studied a map of Wanxiang Village and the surrounding terrain.

After finishing the sketch, Lu Zhishen came to the conference room to find them.

After they all looked at the sketch, Lu Zhishen went to search for the person in the information system, and Zhuang Yanzheng went to meet with Xie Lili’s parents and other relatives again.

He sent them all home for the time being.

It was a while before Lu Zhishen returned. Su Miaoyi was leaning back in her chair, nearly asleep.

”Found him. Zhang Bai, from Qin City, male, thirty-five years old. His file has an address...” Lu Zhishen said, entering the conference room. He took a breath, having rushed over. ”Captain Zhuang is already contacting the Qin City police.”

Su Miaoyi’s eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion. She felt like her brain was about to shut down.

She took the information file from Lu Zhishen’s hand and looked it over with Yan Cheng.

The file had no information on Zhang Bai’s mother, only his father.

Zhang Bai’s education was listed as ”junior high school dropout.”

After that, there were no other educational or work experiences listed.

It was completely blank.

The file only contained the most basic information.

There were almost no records for Zhang Bai from the time he dropped out of junior high until now.

”I feel like HR would kick you out of an interview if you showed up with this,” Su Miaoyi commented, holding Zhang Bai’s empty record.

”I’ve already contacted the police in Qin City. Let’s wait for news,” Zhuang Yanzheng said, pushing the door open. ”Everyone, find some time and a place to get some sleep.”

After saying his piece, he didn’t come in but closed the door and went back to work.

”I’m heading back to the forensic center.” Yan Cheng looked at Su Miaoyi and Lu Zhishen. ”Want to come with? The autopsy room is nice and cool.”

Lu Zhishen glanced at him. ”As if I don’t have an office. The AC in my sketch room is cool too.”

Su Miaoyi sat in her chair, looking speechlessly at the two of them.

They were both standing and, feeling her gaze, looked down at her.

”Oh, right. Here’s one without an office,” Lu Zhishen said.

Su Miaoyi glared at him.

Yan Cheng said, ”My office is big. I can lend you a sofa.”

”I thought you were going to offer me a spot on an autopsy table in the autopsy room,” Su Miaoyi joked offhandedly.

Yan Cheng suddenly fell silent. The hand hanging at his side curled unconsciously into a fist.

Su Miaoyi, with her sharp intuition, immediately sensed the strange and heavy silence that had fallen.

Lu Zhishen also fell quiet, his brow furrowing slightly.

Su Miaoyi looked at Yan Cheng.

’It suddenly occurred to her... Yan Cheng was most likely the one who performed Qin Leyan’s autopsy.’

”Ahem, well...” Su Miaoyi tried to break the mood, but she’d been up for so long that her brain was struggling to keep up.

She raised a hand to scratch her cheek, but after just two scratches, Lu Zhishen grabbed her wrist.

He then pressed her hand down onto the long wooden conference table in front of them.

Su Miaoyi looked up at him, stunned for a few seconds.

Lu Zhishen jutted his chin at her.

Su Miaoyi caught on and obediently said, ”Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey.”

Lu Zhishen released her wrist. ”There, all better. Time for sleep. Want to borrow the sofa in my sketch room?”

”I can just go sleep on a bed in the break room,” Su Miaoyi said. ”Why should I sleep on a sofa? Chu Xingrou is here today, so we can share a break room.”

Lu Zhishen thought for a moment. ”You and Chu Xingrou can squeeze onto the sofa. I’ll go sleep in the break room.”

”How about being a decent human being?” Su Miaoyi said. ”Be a good person.”

Lu Zhishen chuckled. ”I’m off.”

Su Miaoyi watched him go, noticing his hair wasn’t greasy yet. It still looked fluffy, like it would be soft to the touch.

’As for her own hair... she didn’t even want to touch it.’

Only she and Yan Cheng were left in the conference room. She looked at him.

Yan Cheng looked back at her.

”You performed the autopsy back then?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”In this line of work, your greatest fear is seeing a colleague on your table.” Yan Cheng’s fingers twitched.

Su Miaoyi was silent for a moment. ”I promise it won’t happen again.”

A hint of a smile appeared in Yan Cheng’s eyes. ”Go get some sleep.”

Su Miaoyi stood up and followed him out. ”I really need to sleep. I can’t stay up any longer...~”

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