Chapter 273: The Deceased Is a Cao Ze

"How about trying to investigate the deceased's social connections to see who he might have offended? The killer must have had some grudge against the deceased; his motive is too clear, and he clearly planned the murder beforehand, so it could very well be a revenge killing."

After hearing Xu Mo's words, Han Fei nodded.

"I thought the same, so I already assigned Xiao Zhang to probe the deceased's social connections."

What Xu Mo, as a newcomer, could think of, Han Fei could of course think of as well.

So he had people start the investigation early in the morning.

After a pause, Han Fei continued.

"But we still need to check the surveillance; let's go double‑track: investigate the deceased's social ties on one side and the footage on the other, which saves the most time."

Having said that, Han Fei called over the Technical Team.

He ordered them to retrieve all surveillance within a one‑kilometer radius of the Weishi Building.

According to Xu Mo, the front of the Weishi Building faces a plaza that has no cameras, so after the killer left through the main entrance, he briefly vanished from the surveillance.

But the Police are not completely powerless.

The plaza lacks cameras, but other areas do have them!

Within a kilometer of the Weishi Building, could there really be not a single camera? With so many cameras, could they still fail to capture the killer?

Pulling up every camera in that one‑kilometer perimeter and reviewing them should definitely reveal the killer's trail.

As soon as they find him, they can dispatch officers to make the arrest.

Of course, this needle‑in‑a‑haystack search is more troublesome and will consume time and police resources.

But there's no alternative.

The killer never appeared on any footage, so the Police have no idea who he is and can't use the sky‑eye system.

They can only rely on human eyes to hunt him down.

…

The Technical Team quickly retrieved all the surveillance within a kilometer of the Weishi Building.

Han Fei immediately organized all the officers to go through every camera in that area one by one.

Xu Mo also joined them.

The difference from the other officers is that they each can watch at most four feeds simultaneously.

Xu Mo, however, with his abnormal eyesight and transcendent intellect, can handle forty feeds at once without issue!

The one‑kilometer radius around the building isn't actually that large.

But the number of cameras in that area is massive.

So that all the officers at the Police Station stared at the computer screens for over half an hour yet still couldn't locate the killer in the cleaning uniform.

Just then, Xiao Zhang, who had been sent out by Han Fei to investigate the deceased's social ties, returned.

"Han Team."

Seeing Xiao Zhang back, Han Fei stopped what he was doing and rubbed his temples.

"Any findings?"

Xiao Zhang nodded and then gave a brief report.

"The deceased, Zhang Guodong, was a minor leader in their department. I made a quick round of his colleagues, family, friends, and neighbors… Zhang Guodong hasn't held grudges with anyone, but his reputation is poor; he's lecherous, habitually flirts with and harasses subordinates, and is said to frequently lure them into sexual relations."

"The killer is a man, though," Xu Mo suddenly interjected. "What the hell? Does Zhang Guodong like men?"

Xiao Zhang was taken aback.

"That can't be right; the subordinates he harassed are all women, and I haven't heard of any man being targeted."

"He doesn't like men? Then maybe this Cao Ze was messing with someone's wife… When the affair was exposed, the husband, in a fit of anger, took his life," Xu Mo continued his analysis. "No wonder we didn't find any grudges; being caught with a green hat is too humiliating, a man wouldn't publicize such a thing."

Han Fei: "…"

The officers: "…"

Even though their minds were surprised.

But whether to say it or not, Han Fei thought Xu Mo's analysis still made a lot of sense!

The deceased Zhang Guodong had no enemies, so a revenge killing simply didn't exist.

Yet the killer's method was swift and decisive, and it was pre‑planned, making it highly likely to be a revenge killing.

That's contradictory.

Unless there's another hidden factor!

For example, Zhang Guodong slept with someone else's wife…

And then the husband, upon learning it, in a fit of anger wanted to kill him.

Messing with another's wife—this is a blood‑deep grudge!

In that case, the revenge killing is established.

As for why Xiao Zhang couldn't find any grudges involving Zhang Guodong, that's easy to explain.

Because the killer and the deceased didn't know each other at all; the only link between them is a woman, and they're strangers, so it's normal that a quick investigation can't uncover it.

And being caught with a green hat… which man would have the face to broadcast that?

The parties involved know the matter, but outsiders certainly don't know the underlying reasons!

Thinking that, Han Fei gave Xiao Zhang a glance.

"Did you find any subordinates who had relations with Zhang Guodong?"

Xiao Zhang quickly nodded and produced a list.

"Found them—seven in total… five are single, and two are married."

"Then we can ignore the five singles; which two are married?"

"These two."

"……"

After some communication.

Han Fei shifted the focus of the investigation onto these two married people.

Their husbands are the biggest suspects!

Both of them have a certain murder motive.

Han Fei decided to summon the two to the police station for questioning.

"Xiao Zhang, you now summon the husbands of these two to the police station; the rest continue with me to check the surveillance."

"Yes!"

"……"

After another half hour of checking the surveillance, they found nothing.

There are simply too many surveillance cameras in the area, and the police are clearly short-staffed.

Even with Xu Mo present, they couldn't finish checking all that surveillance in a short time.

Just then, Xiao Zhang returned with the two suspects.

Han Fei immediately stood up, temporarily set aside checking the surveillance, and prepared to question these two people.

Before the questioning, he also summoned Xu Mo.

"Xu Mo, pause for a moment; let the other officers continue checking the surveillance, and come with me to the interrogation room."

Xu Mo stood up and followed Han Fei to the interrogation room.

Chen Ke, Li Chen, Wang Dachuan, and the others beside them instantly felt they had fallen out of favor.

You should know that before Xu Mo came, whenever Han Fei questioned suspects, it was always they who accompanied him!

After Xu Mo arrived, everything changed……

The reason Han Fei summoned Xu Mo.

It's because he feels Xu Mo indeed has a talent for questioning, and is even considerably stronger than him in that regard.

Bringing Xu Mo along might actually help with the interrogation.

Interrogation Room No. 1.

"Where were you around 5:40 this afternoon?" Han Fei asked.

"I hadn't gotten off work yet at 5:40; I was at the workplace."

"Can anyone vouch for you?"

"Yes, my colleagues are all there."

"……"

After some questioning and verification, this person's suspicion was cleared.

At the time of the incident, he was at work, not leaving until six; his colleagues could vouch for him, and the workplace also had surveillance, which could provide him with a solid alibi.

"You can go now, thanks for your cooperation." Since the suspicion was lifted, Han Fei directly let him go.

Immediately afterward, Han Fei again brought Xu Mo to the neighboring Interrogation Room No. 2.

The person sitting here is another suspect.

"Where were you around 5:40 this afternoon?"

Unlike the previous suspect.

This suspect's tone was obviously unnatural when answering questions, his speech was halting, he didn't dare to look directly at Han Fei, and his eyes darted away.

"Five forty…… I was…… at home……"