Chapter 26: We Fully Support You

That’s right, exactly like that!

Like a lamp lighting up in the night, everyone in the room suddenly brightened.

As he said, both clues point to this.

Qian Cheng was even more excited—he had watched Yu Dazhang search the scene himself.

So he had figured all this out back then.

Otherwise he wouldn’t have said something like “it should’ve been there, but wasn’t.”

Discovering a new clue is already hard enough.

He not only found it, but connected the two clues and drew a new conclusion.

What kind of mind could do that?

But this also means the case has become more complicated.

The faces of everyone in the room darkened involuntarily.

We thought this was a simple case, but now it’s turning into a cold case.

The conference room fell silent.

Lu Zhongxin pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and said nothing, lost in thought.

Soon after, the clicking sound of lighters igniting echoed one after another.

Within moments, the room was thick with smoke.

Almost all detectives smoke.

Long stakeouts, case analysis, constant high pressure.

Without an outlet, tense nerves easily damage the body.

Smoking is the most direct and effective method.

Why are they smoking now… Seeing everyone puffing away, Yu Dazhang suddenly wanted a cigarette too.

In his past life, he was a heavy smoker—almost never without one.

After his rebirth, he smoked once or twice, but his lungs couldn’t take it, so he quit.

Seeing everyone silently smoking without speaking, Yu Dazhang had to continue:

“Master, I suggest…”

“Stop!” Lu Zhongxin raised his cigarette-hand and interrupted:

“Just tell us what the next step is.”

Is he delegating authority?

Hearing the tone, everyone in the room—seasoned veterans—immediately guessed Lu Zhongxin’s intent.

It was this fat guy who first suggested searching the small inn—and they caught the suspect.

Now he’s found a new clue, steering the entire case in another direction.

This is ability!

This isn’t something you talk about—it has to be proven in action.

They also realized that without this fat guy, the whole team might’ve ended up ruined.

If they’d solved a wrongful case, the consequences…

Everyone here was an experienced detective—even Qian Cheng from the tech unit wasn’t useless.

Now they saw it clearly: the suspect Kong Lingjie was deliberately setting traps for the police.

That interrogation earlier was his opening performance.

“Yu Dazhang, right?” One team member, seeing Yu Dazhang hesitate, immediately urged:

“Just listen to your master—say what you think. We’re all willing to cooperate.”

This was practically telling Yu Dazhang outright: Don’t feel burdened—we’re behind you.

The other team members quickly chimed in.

“Yeah, as long as we solve the case, just tell us what to do—no need to be polite.”

“Go ahead and do whatever you need—we fully support you.”

“I know the tech unit well—call me anytime you need help.”

“…”

No one in the room was a fool.

If they wanted to solve this increasingly complex case, the best way was to let whoever had the ability take charge.

This was about everyone’s livelihood.

Messing up a murder case wasn’t just about getting reprimanded—getting fired was the least of it.

Those who’d joined just to pad their resumes were now panicking. There was no way out of the task force now—they only hoped this fat guy could solve the case.

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

“Let’s continue interrogating Kong Lingjie, but change the direction.”

“How?” Lu Zhongxin asked.

He had to clarify—his own thinking was starting to lag behind his disciple’s.

Yu Dazhang looked seriously at Lu Zhongxin:

“Interrogate him as if he’s innocent.”

Lu Zhongxin: !!!!!!

Not just him—everyone froze.

Is that even legal?

No one had ever heard of interrogating like this.

If he’s innocent, why interrogate him at all? Doesn’t that contradict itself?

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“This…” Lu Zhongxin hesitated, then said:

“I don’t know how.”

Only Lu Zhongxin could say that without shame—anyone else would’ve been too embarrassed.

Only someone utterly dedicated to their work could set aside personal pride.

He also understood Yu Dazhang’s intent.

Since they now knew the suspect was setting traps, the simplest way was to do the opposite.

You want to confess? We won’t let you.

“It’s simple.”

Yu Dazhang wiped the footprint off the chair, then sat beside Lu Zhongxin:

“Here’s how: during the interrogation, follow his train of thought as before, then raise doubts at key moments.”

Lu Zhongxin thought for a moment, still confused, and asked humbly:

“For example?”

I’ll do the interrogation myself… Yu Dazhang sighed:

“Use the new clue.”

“When he says Zhang Yan was taken into the rental apartment, ask why there are no victim footprints.”

“When he says he strangled Zhang Yan with his bare hands, ask why there are no signs of struggle.”

“Finally…”

Here, Yu Dazhang paused—as if even he hadn’t decided what came next.

Everyone, including Lu Zhongxin, stayed silent, breathing carefully, afraid to interrupt his thoughts.

After a pause, Yu Dazhang continued:

“Try to get him to reveal the first crime scene.”

“What if he refuses to talk?” Lu Zhongxin thought this was very likely.

The suspect dared to set traps for the police—he was determined to resist to the end.

This was a murder case—death penalty was almost certain.

Meaning this guy wasn’t even afraid of dying.

Getting him to cooperate was nearly impossible.

“Then don’t make him talk,” Yu Dazhang seemed relaxed:

“I never expected him to tell the truth.”

“Then why ask?” Lu Zhongxin felt his temples throb—his brain couldn’t keep up.

“Master…” Yu Dazhang, seeing Lu Zhongxin growing more agitated, quickly explained:

“Refusing to talk and not knowing at all are two different things—you just need to determine which one he is.”

Why is my scalp itching so much?

Several people in the room instinctively scratched their heads.

“What good is knowing that?” Lu Zhongxin couldn’t help asking.

Yu Dazhang smiled:

“If he’s just refusing to talk, then he might be the killer. But if he genuinely doesn’t know…”

Lu Zhongxin immediately finished: “He’s taking the blame for someone else!”

Why are you so quick to speak?

Several people in the room thought of it at once, mouths already open, but Lu Zhongxin beat them to it.

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

(End of chapter)