Chapter 284: With Xu Mo around, do we still need to find a locksmith?

Xinhewan.

Two police cars stopped, one in front of the other.

Looking at the seemingly luxurious villa district before them, Chen Ke exclaimed in surprise.

"Damn… Xu Mo really knows how to enjoy himself, driving a luxury car and living in a villa. Looks like he scooped a lot of cash from the Program Crew," he said.

It's not just the luxury car and villa; he was even holding a beauty last night! Han Fei thought.

The group arrived at the entrance, explained their purpose, and showed their IDs to the guard.

The guard at the door immediately opened it and let them through.

They followed the detailed address Xu Mo had given and went there.

The party arrived in front of one of the villas.

At that moment, Xu Mo was waiting in front of the villa where he had discovered the corpse.

Seeing Han Fei arrive with her group, he immediately waved his hand twice: "This way!"

Han Fei quickened her pace by two steps, bringing the remaining four people to Xu Mo's side.

"It's this one; the body is inside. If you look through the third glass pane on the left, you'll see it," Xu Mo said, pointing to the villa directly opposite him.

Chen Ke glanced in the direction Xu Mo indicated, spent about ten seconds peering through the window, and finally made out the corpse Xu Mo described.

His eyesight, however, wasn't as sharp as Xu Mo's.

Yet with careful observation, he could still see clearly.

At this point, the other four also saw it clearly.

Xu Mo was right… there really was a dead body!

Han Fei stepped forward and rang the villa's Doorbell.

But after waiting a little over half a minute, there was still no response.

"Looks like there's no one else in the room; probably just the deceased," Han Fei said. "Let's get a locksmith to open the door so we can take a look."

Chen Ke pulled out his phone, ready to call a locksmith.

"Why bother calling a locksmith? That's unnecessary trouble; waiting for a locksmith would take forever, a waste of time. I can open this door myself," Xu Mo suddenly interjected.

In the next second, Xu Mo reached into his pocket, fished around, and produced a piece of wire.

This password lock has two unlocking methods.

One is to enter the code; if correct, it opens.

The second uses a key, primarily to handle situations where the password lock loses power and can't open the door.

Xu Mo doesn't know the code, so the unlocking method is naturally the second one.

He twisted the wire twice into the needed shape, jabbed and turned it in the keyhole, and the door swung open.

The whole process took no more than two seconds!

The few people watching were left staring in amazement.

Those who knew understood that Xu Mo is a police officer.

Those who didn't think he might be some regional king of thieves!

This lock‑picking technique is perhaps a bit too proficient...

Earlier, when they participated in the program, Han Fei and Chen Ke only knew that Xu Mo could pick locks.

But no one expected Xu Mo's technique to be so deft, opening a door in two seconds!

It's thanks to Xu Mo now being a police officer.

If he were a thief, he certainly wouldn't be some obscure petty burglar.

The Sheer Cliff is at the level of a notorious ocean‑roving bandit!

At Xu Mo's lock‑picking speed, he could probably rob an entire residential complex in one night…

Xu Mo didn't notice the odd expressions on their faces; he slipped on shoe covers and walked straight into the villa.

The corpse wasn't in the first‑floor living room but in the main bedroom on the first floor.

That's what they had seen earlier through the window.

Without a hint of hesitation, Xu Mo headed straight for that bedroom.

At this moment, Han Fei squinted, sizing up Xu Mo's silhouette.

She had thought Xu Mo's lock‑picking skill was only superficial, the kind that would take half a day to open a lock.

But she didn't expect that Xu Mo's lock‑picking was as casual as a game.

Less than two seconds to open; this speed even surpasses the so‑called lock‑picking experts she had seen.

She knew that Xu Mo's abilities extended far beyond lock‑picking: Disguise, Hacker Technique, street racing, boxing, autopsy, and more—he practically knows everything, and excels at each.

Han Fei was puzzled.

Where did Xu Mo find the time to learn so many skills?!

And he mastered them all well!

Standing beside that bedroom, Xu Mo reached out and twisted the door knob.

He discovered the door was deadlocked… it couldn't be opened from the outside.

Someone was dead inside, yet the door remained closed.

Suicide?

No, when they looked in through the window earlier, the scene indicated it wasn't suicide but homicide.

"Locked‑room murder?" those four words instantly sprang to Xu Mo's mind.

"What's the matter, open the door," Han Fei, who was following, saw Xu Mo's hand on the door handle but not opening it and was momentarily puzzled.

Xu Mo released the door handle, stepped back, and said, "It's not that I don't want to open it; I just can't!"

"The door is deadbolted."

"\"Deadbolted? \" Han Fei didn't believe it, and he went up and twisted it twice to try, but it wouldn't open: \"Seems like it really is deadbolted... \""

"\"The door is deadbolted? Is it suicide? \" Wang Dachuan asked instinctively."

"Han Fei didn't answer his question; instead, he glanced at Chen Ke beside him, then looked at the bedroom door."

"Chen Ke immediately understood what Han Fei meant."

"He took a small step back."

"Then he kicked the door hard a few times, forcefully kicking the deadbolted door open."

"After kicking the deadbolted door open, the few of them entered the room."

"Xu Mo put on gloves, turned the corpse over, and gave it a quick glance."

"\"The deceased is female, about fifty years old. Based on the distribution of livor mortis, body temperature, and Rigor Mortis, the time of death is roughly four to five hours, which aligns with my earlier estimate. So far I haven't found any fatal wounds on the body. The cause of death could be poisoning, but we need a toxicology test to determine what poison, as it can't be seen with the eyes alone. \""

"\"Four to five hours ago... It's 8:20 now, \" Han Fei said. \"That means the time of death was around three to four in the early morning. \""

"\"Han Team, could this be a suicide by poison? \" Chen Ke looked at Han Fei, uncertain."

"Han Fei pinched his chin, looking at the corpse on the floor: \"There are no fatal wounds. If the cause is truly poisoning, both suicide and homicide are possible. \""

"After that, he asked Xu Mo, \"Xu Mo, what do you think? \""

"Xu Mo answered without hesitation, \"It's not suicide; it's homicide. \""

"Han Fei's eyes lit up the moment he heard that."

"He thought that since Xu Mo answered so decisively, he must have discovered something!"

"\"Why so certain? \""

"\"My intuition, \" Xu Mo replied."

"Han Fei: \"... \""

"Chen Ke: \"... \""