Chapter 42: You Must Be Suffering

Yu Dazhang felt somewhat surprised; this was too smooth.

He had thought at least three vehicles would remain.

His next step was originally to investigate the specific reasons these external vehicles entered the residential area, thereby determining the final target.

Now, that step was directly skipped.

"Are you sure nothing was missed?" Yu Dazhang still felt uneasy.

"Rest assured, before calling you, I specifically reviewed it from the beginning." Lu Zhongxin's voice sounded very confident:

"Since the incident occurred on a Tuesday, vehicle entry and exit was naturally low."

"You also narrowed the timeframe to within half an hour; during that period, only two vehicles entered and exited the residential area."

"One of them was a taxi, so only that one vehicle meets the criteria."

"I have already retrieved the vehicle owner's information; should I go arrest him now?"

Then there was no mistake... Yu Dazhang breathed a sigh of relief.

He still trusted Lu Zhongxin's work; there would absolutely be no slacking.

As for arresting him...

It was not yet the time.

"Bring the files back to the detachment first." Yu Dazhang spoke in a commanding tone:

"Wait for my news regarding the next action."

The vehicle owner was not the true culprit; he could not be arrested yet... He would not do something akin to startling the snake by striking the grass.

The true culprit and this outside helper must have some intimate relationship; once they moved to arrest, the murderer would certainly notice.

If they startled the other party and he escaped, it would be troublesome.

Twenty minutes later, Yu Dazhang waited for Lu Zhongxin at the detachment.

"Here are the vehicle owner's files."

Upon meeting, Lu Zhongxin immediately handed over a document.

Yu Dazhang took it and flipped through it quickly.

Zhou Hongfu, male, 44 years old, occupation: engineering contractor, resides in Building 7, Shanshui Yicheng Residential Area, Hongkou District...

"Shanshui Yicheng?" Yu Dazhang felt he had seen these four characters somewhere.

Lu Zhongxin also said:

"It feels a bit familiar."

Yu Dazhang recalled the places he had visited over the past few days in his mind.

He could confirm he had definitely seen the four characters "Shanshui Yicheng" somewhere.

"I really have a pig brain." Yu Dazhang slapped his thigh.

Why think about it? Just search the residential area name online.

Arriving at the office reserved for the task force, Yu Dazhang typed the four characters "Shanshui Yicheng" into the webpage.

A residential area with a luxurious, imposing entrance and an elegant, antique exterior appeared on the screen.

Seeing those four characters in the picture, Yu Dazhang finally remembered.

Yesterday, on the way to Zhang Yan's home, they had seen this residential area.

Because he had something on his mind at the time, Yu Dazhang had only glanced at it and paid little attention.

Now that he thought about it, that residential area was from Zhang Yan's home...

Only one street away!

This matched up; Zhou Hongfu was that outside helper.

"Master, go immediately to the detachment leader and arrange someone to watch this Zhou Hongfu." Yu Dazhang said quickly:

"He is a major suspect."

"Alright, I will go right now." After walking two steps, Lu Zhongxin turned back:

"Why not arrest him directly?"

He believed bringing the person back for direct interrogation was simpler and faster, and this would also prevent complications.

Lu Zhongxin understood the principle that a long night breeds many dreams better than anyone.

"Because he is not the true culprit." Yu Dazhang explained:

"You haven't seen the new crime scene investigation report yet; besides Zhang Yan's family of three, there are footprints of two other people."

"The one who truly committed the crime is another person."

Lu Zhongxin unconsciously scratched his head.

Why is it so itchy~

Just by looking at a crime scene investigation report, you can determine which one is the true culprit and which is an accomplice?

If not for the tight schedule and heavy workload, he really wanted to ask Yu Dazhang properly: where exactly did you learn this skill?

Another day passed.

Only Yu Dazhang and Qian Cheng remained in the task force office.

Lu Zhongxin and another team member had taken people to monitor Zhou Hongfu.

The two team members investigating out of town were driving back and were expected to return to the detachment before noon.

The two team members staking out opposite the victim's home had only called him once in these two days: a man who appeared to be in his thirties had entered Zhang Yan's home.

Hearing their description of that man's appearance, Yu Dazhang immediately deduced this was Zhang Yan's mother's younger brother she had mentioned.

That is, Zhang Yan's maternal uncle.

Because he had visited once before, Yu Dazhang had previously suspected him.

For this reason, he had specifically asked Qian Cheng to pull up his records, but Yu Dazhang eliminated him after just one glance.

Zhang Yan's uncle's social connections and personal information were extremely simple; the only complex thing was... his medical history.

Diabetes, glaucoma, arteriosclerosis, polyneuritis, recurrent urethritis, and so on and so forth~

It took Yu Dazhang two minutes just to read through these disease names.

For a person like this to be alive and able to walk on his own was already a medical miracle.

He even felt that if a fight really broke out, this uncle wouldn't be able to beat his niece.

Besides, Zhang Yan's uncle had no motive for murder.

Illogical, no motive, weak and sickly... after weighing all these conditions, Yu Dazhang concluded he had come to the house solely out of concern for his sister.

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

Without Zhang Yan's mother's usual care and financial support, this uncle would probably have passed away long ago.

Now, all Yu Dazhang could do was wait.

"I've done everything I can."

Standing by the window and gazing toward Zhang Yan's house, he muttered to himself:

"Counting from the day you acted, it's been twelve days today."

"You must have heard the news that Kong Lingjie failed to take the blame."

"Right now, every minute must be torture for you."

"Even every cell in your body is reminding you not to show up, yet you still want to go see."

"Even if it's just a glimpse."

"These past two days, you've been calculating, calculating exactly where your plan went wrong."

"You are terrified and uneasy because you know that was your only chance to escape legal punishment."

"You aren't afraid of the police coming to your door; you've even thought through how to handle their questioning."

"By the way, you'll also forge an alibi for yourself, just like Kong Lingjie did in the previous life."

"In your heart, the only thing you can't let go of is the crime scene."

"Because time was short, you couldn't clean it up completely; you could only wipe away the fingerprints."

"With your professional knowledge, you know the forensic team will definitely find clues when they arrive at the scene."

"So... you can't hold out anymore."

"In the previous life, you drove a diligent old detective to jump off a bridge."

"In this life, I will just outlast you, making you restless, making you unable to eat or sleep, keeping you awake at night..."

"Seems a bit against the rules~"

"Whatever. Let me be willful just this once."

"Consider it for my master from the previous life, and for myself who was filled with regret in the previous life."

"I'm going to snap that string in your brain!"

Qian Cheng sat in front of the computer, occasionally turning his head to glance at Yu Dazhang standing by the window.

He could vaguely hear him murmuring something.

The content was inaudible, but from his profile, one could clearly sense relief, joy, and anticipation.

What was he thinking?

Why would he make such a strange expression?

"What were you mumbling just now?" Qian Cheng couldn't help but ask.

He felt that Yu Dazhang was acting very strange right now.

Clearly the case wasn't solved yet, and everyone was busy and stressed out.

This Fatty actually had the mood to enjoy the view, and his mood seemed quite good.

"Nothing," Yu Dazhang replied perfunctorily.

He was indeed very relaxed right now.

Every minute of delay meant another minute of torment for the other person.

Yu Dazhang even enjoyed this moment, because he was experiencing the thrill of a victor and the satisfaction of watching an enemy suffer a fate worse than death.

The phone rang; he glanced at the screen and a faint smile appeared on his face.

He answered the call, and an anxious voice immediately came through the receiver:

"Someone just entered Zhang Yan's house, a young man..."

Yu Dazhang immediately cut in:

"Keep an eye on him!"

"No, listen to me finish first." The teammate on the other end spoke with a hint of hesitation and uncertainty:

"That person is wearing a police uniform."

(End of Chapter)