I Return From Hell

Chapter 33: Chapter 31: Citywide Manhunt

The White Building.

The massive fire had been extinguished.

However, the entire White Building was a charred mess. The scene was so severely compromised that the investigation and evidence collection proved extremely difficult, taking a considerable amount of time before it could even enter the final stages.

”The White Building is an establishment controlled by Nian Dali, also known as ’Brother Li.’ It served as a tool to corrupt officials and make money on the side. Only people from a specific, exclusive circle could frequent the place. These individuals all had dirt on each other, so it was highly secretive and was never exposed.”

”This time, in Nian Dali’s office, we found undamaged ledgers and numerous saved video files. They all feature regulars of the White Building who had financial dealings with Nian Dali. We are currently bringing these people in for questioning, hoping to get more leads.”

”Bullet holes were found in multiple locations at the scene, but no firearms were recovered.”

”The internal surveillance system at the White Building was destroyed. We pulled footage from the surrounding cameras and found that from last night until now, aside from firefighters and our own investigators, there were 521 recorded entries and 488 recorded exits on this street. Screening them one by one will be an enormous undertaking.”

The clues were compiled one by one.

”Three Mist Events, three major fires. How could there be such a coincidence in the world? Especially this time—the evidence of arson is overwhelming.”

Chen Xiao spoke up. ”The mysterious person Zhao Group mentioned before might actually exist and was likely involved in this Mist Event.”

Her attitude had shifted.

She was growing to appreciate Zhao Guohui’s ability.

Qian Yihao opened his mouth, but ultimately had to admit that what once seemed impossible was now a possibility. Of course, the probability was still extremely low.

”Send people to find out who has been in contact with members of the White Building over the past few days, especially Nian Dali.”

”The more detailed, the better.”

Chen Xiao ordered, ”Focus on those who have entered or left this street.”

The team was just about to start the investigation.

”Also...”

Zhao Guohui added, ”Filter the list for new faces—people who don’t frequent this street.”

Upon hearing this, looks of understanding dawned on everyone’s faces. They understood Zhao Group’s objective.

「Over half an hour later.」

The investigations from various channels had all made progress, and the information was compiled: ”Work on restoring Nian Dali’s phone is complete.”

”Suspect 1: A seventeen-year-old youth named Xie Shaokun. He was in contact with Nian Dali yesterday and followed him to this street this morning. He never came back out. This was his first time on this street recently.”

”Suspect 2: A woman named Ye Zilan. She submitted a resume to the White Building eight days ago, had a phone call with their staff yesterday, and entered this street this morning. She never came back out. This was also her first time on this street recently.”

”Suspect 3: Named...”

...

”Suspect 17: Named Xia Yu. She submitted a resume to the White Building seven days ago and had a phone call with their staff yesterday. She did not enter this street this morning, nor was she seen leaving. She has not been to this street recently.”

”The above list is ranked by level of suspicion.”

The team began their analysis.

One of them asked, ”Ye Zilan was probably going to the White Building for an interview, right?”

Qian Yihao shook his head. ”No! Xia Yu also received a call from the White Building’s staff but didn’t go. Why? I think the phone call itself was the interview. Ye Zilan passed, so she went to the White Building the next day to start work. Xia Yu didn’t pass, so she didn’t need to go.”

Another person nodded in agreement. ”The White Building’s online job posting clearly stated they were only hiring one person.”

Everyone nodded, agreeing with Qian Yihao’s analysis.

Just then, Zhao Guohui hung up his phone. The information Little Song had provided over the call surfaced in his mind, and his brow furrowed.

’Just got home?’

’And went grocery shopping?’

”Help me pull the surveillance footage from around Xia Yu’s residence.”

Still harboring doubts, he decided to verify it further.

’He’s focusing the investigation on the least suspicious suspect?’

The team was bewildered.

Qian Yihao frowned and said, ”Zhao Group, our manpower is limited and time is of the essence. We should investigate Xie Shaokun first.”

’Whose orders do we follow?’

The subordinates were in a difficult position.

Chen Xiao was about to ask Zhao Guohui why he was investigating Xia Yu.

”I’ll investigate it myself. The rest of the team can work with you.”

Zhao Guohui turned and left.

No one asked any more questions, and they immediately threw themselves back into their work.

This time, only ten-odd minutes passed.

Qian Yihao’s side had a major breakthrough. ”Ye Zilan’s body was found inside the White Building. Death confirmed. We can rule her out as a suspect.”

”Additionally, we’ve found traces of Xie Shaokun. He was seen entering and leaving properties owned by Manager Ma and Nian Dali, then he went to various gold shops to sell a batch of gold bars, and then he disappeared.”

’The mysterious person is Xie Shaokun!’

Looks of delight appeared on everyone’s faces.

”That guy finally slipped up!”

Qian Yihao was thrilled.

Chen Xiao reminded them, ”He’s skilled and is deliberately avoiding surveillance cameras. His counter-surveillance ability is strong. He probably won’t be easy to apprehend.”

”All the more reason to believe he has something to hide,” Qian Yihao grew even more excited. ”I’d like to see for myself just how formidable this ’expert’ who participated in and survived three Mist Events really is.”

”What are we waiting for? Let’s arrest him immediately!”

Chen Xiao nodded.

However, she still looked toward Zhao Guohui and asked, ”Zhao Group, how is your investigation going?”

Playing in front of Zhao Guohui was the only surveillance footage that captured Xia Yu: dressed in a pure white down jacket, she appeared at 10:45 AM, carrying a bag of green vegetables and 1 kg of pork.

According to the investigation, the Mist Event ended at around 10:05 AM. In the market, the vegetable stalls and the butcher stalls are quite far apart.

In 40 minutes, to get from the White Building back to Xia Yu’s home while avoiding all surveillance cameras and without using any transportation, plus stopping at a crowded market to buy vegetables and meat, and then to appear not out of breath or sweaty when meeting Little Song... the difficulty was immense.

Even a younger Zhao Guohui wouldn’t have been able to do it.

Unless Xia Yu’s physical constitution had undergone a massive Enhancement. However, according to national statistics, the physical improvements in people who survived a Mist Event are generally not significant.

Therefore...

Zhao Guohui shook his head and said, ”The probability of it being Xia Yu is almost zero.”

Hearing this, the corner of Qian Yihao’s mouth twitched. His judgment had been correct this time. However, he didn’t act smug. Instead, he took the initiative to say, ”Zhao Group’s experience is still invaluable. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to lock onto Xie Shaokun so quickly.”

”We’ll still need your full cooperation for the upcoming manhunt.”

Zhao Guohui nodded.

While the manhunt for Xie Shaokun was underway, he also led people to conduct a further investigation: 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Xie Shaokun: known for being aggressive and getting into fights, with violent tendencies. He was seen as a bad student by teachers and peers alike.

He had skipped class during the first Mist Event, and his whereabouts were unknown. During the second Mist Event, he had snuck out of his dorm, and his movements were unaccounted for.

Based on these clues, they could basically confirm that the mysterious person involved in all three Mist Events was...

Xie Shaokun!