Chapter 26: We Support You with Everything We've Got

That's right, exactly!

Like a bright lamp lit up in the dark night, everyone present had their eyes light up.

Just as he said, both clues pointed to this.

Qian Cheng was even more excited—he had personally watched Yu Dazhang search for clues at the scene.

So he had already worked all this out back then.

Otherwise he wouldn't have said something like "should have appeared, but didn't."

Finding new clues is already hard enough.

Not only did he find them, he linked the two clues together and arrived at a new conclusion.

What kind of brain does it take to pull that off?

But this also meant the case had gotten more complicated.

The faces of everyone present couldn't help but turn grim.

They had thought it was a pretty simple case, but now look—it's almost turning into an unsolved one.

The meeting room fell silent.

Lu Zhongxin took out a cigarette and lit it, silent, no one knew what he was thinking.

Then one after another, the "click" of lighters flicking rang out through the meeting room.

In no time the room was wreathed in smoke.

Doing criminal investigation work, you basically smoke.

Long stakeouts, analyzing cases, constantly under high pressure.

Without some way to vent, taut nerves easily cause the body to break down.

And smoking is the most direct, effective method.

How did they end up smoking too… watching everyone puffing away, even Yu Dazhang felt like having one.

In his past life he was an old chain-smoker too, the cigarette almost never left his hand.

After his rebirth he had smoked a few times, but his lungs just couldn't take it, so he simply quit.

Seeing everyone silently smoke without a word, Yu Dazhang had no choice but to keep talking:

"Master, I suggest…"

"Hold it!" Lu Zhongxin raised the hand holding his cigarette and cut him off:

"Just tell us straight—what's the next step."

This is… handing over the reins?

Reading between the lines, everyone in the room was an old hand; the moment they heard it, they guessed Lu Zhongxin's intention.

The one who first suggested searching the small hotel was this fatty—and sure enough, the suspect was caught.

Now he had found new clues again, steering the whole case in another direction.

That—is ability!

That kind of thing isn't talked into existence; you have to deliver, solidly, in practice.

At the same time they also realized that if it weren't for this fatty, their whole team might well have ended up in trouble.

If they had actually closed it as a wrongful case, the consequences…

Everyone present was an experienced criminal investigator; even Qian Cheng from the tech division was no pushover.

Now they could see it too—the suspect Kong Lingjie had been deliberately digging traps for the police.

That interrogation just now had actually been his opening performance.

"Yu Dazhang, right?" one of the team members, seeing Yu Dazhang hesitate, immediately urged:

"Just listen to your master—whatever you've got in mind, say it, we're all willing to cooperate with you."

That was almost an outright tell to Yu Dazhang: don't feel any psychological burden, we're convinced.

The other team members hurriedly chimed in too.

"Yeah, as long as it breaks the case, whatever you want us to do just say it straight, no need to be polite."

"Just go all out and do it—we'll support you with everything we've got."

"I know the tech division well, just tell me anytime if you need anything."

"…"

Not a single person in the room was a fool.

If they wanted to crack this increasingly complex case, the best way was: whoever has the ability steps up.

This concerned everyone's rice bowl in the room.

Botching a homicide case isn't as simple as taking a disciplinary demerit—losing the uniform would be the light punishment.

Among them, those who had come to gild their resumes were especially panicking. Pulling out of the task force was no longer possible; now they could only hope this fatty would see the case through to a successful close.

Yu Dazhang stole a glance at Lu Zhongxin; seeing his master show no sign of displeasure, he finally nodded:

"We'll keep interrogating Kong Lingjie in a bit, but the direction of the interrogation has to change."

"Change how?" Lu Zhongxin asked.

This had to be clarified—he found he was having a bit of trouble keeping up with this disciple's train of thought.

Yu Dazhang looked at Lu Zhongxin with a serious face:

"Interrogate toward innocence."

Lu Zhongxin:!!!!

Not just him—everyone was dumbfounded.

Is that even by the book?

He'd never heard of interrogating a suspect like this before.

If he's not guilty, what's there to interrogate? Isn't that self-contradictory?

Please... save... your... 6... 9... book...!

"Well…" Lu Zhongxin hesitated, then spoke up:

"I don't know how."

This was Lu Zhongxin — anyone else would have been too embarrassed to say it out loud.

Only someone extremely dedicated to his work could set personal dignity aside like that.

At the same time, he guessed Yu Dazhang's intention.

Now that they knew the suspect was setting a trap, the simplest method was to go against the suspect's expectations.

You want to confess on purpose? We're not going to let you have your way.

"That's easy."

Yu Dazhang reached out and wiped the footprints off the chair, then sat down beside Lu Zhongxin:

"Here's the plan — during the interrogation later, you keep following his line of thinking like before, but raise doubts at the key moments."

Lu Zhongxin thought it over, still not quite getting it, and humbly asked:

"For example?"

I'll go interrogate him then… Yu Dazhang said helplessly:

"Use the new leads."

"If he says he abducted Zhang Yan and took her into the rental apartment, you ask him why there are no footprints from the victim."

"If he says Zhang Yan was strangled to death by his bare hands, you ask him why there's no sign of the victim struggling at the scene."

"Finally…"

At this point Yu Dazhang paused, as if even he hadn't figured out what to do next.

Including Lu Zhongxin, no one in the room made a sound; even their breathing became cautious, afraid of disturbing his train of thought.

After a brief pause, Yu Dazhang continued:

"Try to get him to reveal the scene of the first crime."

"What if he stubbornly refuses to talk?" Lu Zhongxin felt this possibility was very likely.

Since the suspect dared to set a trap for the police, it meant he was dead set on fighting to the end.

This was a homicide case — barring any surprises, it would carry the death penalty.

In other words, this was a man who wasn't even afraid of dying.

Getting someone like that to cooperate was almost impossible.

"If he won't talk, then he won't talk." Yu Dazhang, on the other hand, looked quite relaxed:

"I wasn't counting on getting the truth out of him anyway."

"Then why are you still telling me to ask?" Lu Zhongxin felt his temples throbbing, his brain struggling to keep up.

"Master…" Seeing Lu Zhongxin growing more and more irritated, Yu Dazhang immediately explained:

"Refusing to talk and not knowing at all are two completely different things — you just need to figure out which one he falls under."

Why does the top of my head itch so much~

Several people in the room unconsciously scratched their heads at the same time.

"What's the point of knowing that?" Lu Zhongxin couldn't help but ask.

Yu Dazhang smiled:

"If he's just being stubborn, then this case might really be his doing — but if he genuinely doesn't know…"

Lu Zhongxin immediately cut in: "Then he's taking the fall for someone else!"

Why is your mouth so fast~

Several people in the room had all thought of it — they had just opened their mouths, only to have Lu Zhongxin beat them to it.

Why are they glaring at me? Lu Zhongxin realized that his authority as deputy team leader was gradually fading away.

(End of chapter)