Chapter 499: Surveillance in the Restroom

After the police car left the campus, the atmosphere in the car was unusually heavy.

They had just ruled out the most suspicious individual; the missing boy wasn't closely related to Zhang Hui.

"Han Team, what's the next step?" Chen Ke, who was driving, turned his head and asked.

You ask me, who the hell am I supposed to ask? Han Fei was also worrying about it.

This case is truly too odd.

Surveillance shows that the missing boy never came out after entering the Restroom, but the crucial point is that the Police have already turned the Restroom upside down and still haven't found the child.

Furthermore, Zhang Hui, who they regarded as the prime suspect, has now been cleared.

Han Fei has no idea where to look next!

Come to think of it, this is almost one of the most outrageous cases he's encountered in his career.

Even this veteran detective, Lao Xingzhen, is clueless.

"During that time, the surveillance only captured seven people; six of the seven were empty‑handed, only one was dragging a suitcase. The one dragging the suitcase has just had his suspicion cleared, so it can't be the remaining six, can it?"

"They were all empty‑handed, not even carrying a bag, so they couldn't have taken the child out of the Restroom, and Xu Mo also reviewed the surveillance and saw no tampering."

"Could it be that the child never actually came out?" Han Fei muttered to himself, "No, that's not right; we also went in to look, but didn't find him."

"Out through another passage? That doesn't fit either; there's only one route to the Restroom, all entry and exit must go through it, and other areas are completely inaccessible..."

The more Han Fei reasoned, the more bewildered he became, with no clue whatsoever.

In short, Han Fei kicked this ball over to Xu Mo.

"Team Leader Xu, do you have any thoughts?"

Xu Mo was even more straightforward, shaking his head: "None."

Like Han Fei, he also found the case puzzling.

Surveillance shows the boy never came out after entering, yet they searched the Restroom and found no boy inside; these two facts are contradictory.

If only the Restroom had surveillance, they'd be able to see what actually happened inside... Xu Mo thought.

But that's impossible—how could a Restroom house surveillance? Don't people value privacy?

"Surveillance?! Hold on, who said the Restroom doesn't have 'surveillance'?" Xu Mo suddenly had a flash of inspiration; he recalled a reward he had just obtained.

Upgraded Language Master!

He can communicate effortlessly with small animals and insects; the mosquitoes in the Restroom become Xu Mo's 'surveillance', and whatever occurs inside can be known with a single query!

Of course, that assumes the mall's Restroom actually has mosquitoes; otherwise it's pointless.

"Chen Ke, go back to the mall," Xu Mo suddenly said.

Han Fei was startled by the words: "Got a method?"

Xu Mo smiled and offered a casual excuse: "I just have a hypothesis that needs testing."

Chen Ke immediately turned the vehicle around and sped toward the mall.

After a drive of several tens of minutes, the party returned to Wan Da Mall.

Third floor.

Restroom.

Xu Mo carefully examined every corner of the Restroom, not searching for anything else but for mosquitoes and similar creatures.

The mall's Restroom is far cleaner than the public Restrooms outside, making the presence of mosquitoes unlikely.

But Xu Mo was lucky; after some searching, he indeed discovered a tiny black flying insect in the corner.

The little flying insect looked somewhat dazed, lying motionless on the floor.

"Team Leader Xu, what are you looking for? You've been pacing around in there for ages," Chen Ke asked, unable to hold back.

Xu Mo, once inside the Restroom, glanced left and right, still unsure what he was actually seeking.

"Nothing." Xu Mo shook his head, then dismissed Chen Ke and the others: "Go check elsewhere for any way to leave here without being seen."

"Huh? We already saw that; there's only one exit from the Restroom," Wang Dachuan said, scratching his head.

"If I tell you to go, then go. No more chatter, hurry up."

"Fine, then we're off, Team Leader Xu."

After dispatching Chen Ke, Wang Dachuan, and several other officers, Xu Mo looked back at Han Fei.

"Han Team, please go find the mall manager and make a copy of the surveillance."

Han Fei, though unaware of what Xu Mo was really after, nodded: "Okay."

He then turned and left the Restroom.

After everyone was dispatched, Xu Mo looked at the little flying insect and activated his ability to converse with it.

"Did you see a child that tall come in?"

"Did you see? How did he leave?"

"From here?" Xu Mo was taken aback, pointing at the window.

"Thrown down? Did he not shout when he was thrown?"

The ability to communicate effortlessly with any small animal or insect is truly useful; after the inquiry, Xu Mo already understood the suspect's method.

The missing boy was thrown out of the window by the suspect!

Initially, Xu Mo didn't suspect the suspect exited through this window, for a simple reason.

The wall outside the window is stark, lacking even a drainage pipe, and this is the third floor—mall third floors differ from residential ones, being much higher than a typical building. Jumping from this height would almost certainly be fatal unless aided by a rope.

But he observed that the windowsill bore a fine layer of dust, with no rope or shoe‑sole marks, showing the suspect didn't descend via rope.

"So that's it..."

Realizing the boy had been rendered unconscious with a cloth and then thrown out the window, Xu Mo walked to the window and leaned out to look down.

Below lay an open area, bearing a few shallow tire tracks; judging by their shape and size, it was easy to infer that a small cargo van had once been parked there.

"Knocking the child unconscious, throwing him out the window, dumping him into the truck bed below, then exiting through the Restroom's front door? No wonder the surveillance didn't capture the child leaving, and nobody was found in the Restroom… According to the information we have so far, Xu Mo has roughly reconstructed the suspect's method."

"Of course, Xu Mo can't infer these out of thin air; he needs a starting point."

"The next second."

"\"Sorry about that. \" Xu Mo gave the little flying insect a slap, knocking it unconscious."

"Just then, Han Fei returned to the Restroom: \"The surveillance copy is ready. \""

"\"Han Team! \" Xu Mo pretended to be excited, \"I know what's going on. Look, there's a stunned insect here. \""

"Han Fei was startled, \"Insect? What's wrong with the insect? How does a stunned insect relate to this case? \""

"\"Ether. The killer used Ether to knock the little boy unconscious, then threw him out the window. Look at the tire tracks on the vacant lot below; those should be the accomplice waiting beneath to receive the child. This insect, if nothing unexpected, was knocked out by the Ether vapor released when the killer used Ether on the boy. Ether is highly volatile, and the ventilation here is good, so we didn't smell it at first, but this stunned insect is evidence that the killer used Ether. \""

"ωωw.. net"