Chapter 444: Ironclad Proof: The Murder Case Solved

Since the killer had already been identified as Li Linjun, for Yu Dazhang, reconstructing the sequence of events was no challenge at all.

Besides, in his previous life he already knew what Li Linjun's motive for murder was.

So all he had to do was piece things together based on the known information—no real brainwork required.

Facing Li Linjun's questioning now, Yu Dazhang replied with a cold expression:

"The net of justice is vast; paper cannot wrap the fire."

Saying so, he pointed at his own head:

"The wound on your head hasn't healed properly yet, has it? Shall we call a doctor to examine you?"

By this point in the interrogation, the case was essentially solved.

Li Linjun's question just now had, in effect, already been a confession.

"She hit me first," he said softly.

Hearing this, Yu Dazhang didn't respond, just watched him quietly.

"I didn't mean to kill her, really I didn't."

Li Linjun's voice was very soft, as if talking to himself, or perhaps explaining:

"I was furious at the time, but I really didn't mean to do anything to her. She suddenly grabbed the hammer on the table and smashed me with it."

"After she hit me once, I snatched the hammer from her hand, lost my head, and struck her a few times. By the time I calmed down, it was already too late."

It wasn't a crime of passion, nor a grudge killing, nor was it for money.

Li Linjun had been living a happy life, yet purely because of his own baseless delusions, he had killed an innocent person and pushed himself into a hopeless situation.

Such an unusual case was truly rare, which explained why the task force had failed to find any valuable leads at the time.

But once the murder motive was confirmed, everyone felt such a thing wasn't so strange after all.

After all, in real life, cases of killing triggered by unrequited love were far too common.

Next, Li Linjun confessed without reservation, laying out the entire murder case from start to finish in full detail.

Mainly because not confessing was no longer an option.

The sweat stains left on the bloodstained clothes, the wound on his head from the small hammer, the footprints at the reserved spot…

These pieces of evidence were more than enough to prove he was the killer.

With ironclad proof, even staying silent wouldn't change anything.

Just as Yu Dazhang had said, coming clean might still leave a slim chance of survival.

That evening, he returned home.

The more Yu Dazhang looked at his family's TV background wall, the more it grated on him.

Over dinner, he finally couldn't help but make a suggestion:

"Mom, our home decor is way too dated—especially the living room. It screams eighties style."

"Nonsense." Li Xuehe glared at him:

"Was there even interior design in the eighties? Our place was decorated ten years ago, it's not out of style yet."

The generation gap mainly showed in differing tastes.

Looking at the four characters "Bloom and Prosper" on the background wall, Yu Dazhang always found them especially jarring.

"How about we change the style of the living room background wall?" he proposed:

"Switch to a simple, modern style. I'll cover the renovation costs."

As long as those four characters on the wall could be removed, he'd be willing to fork out a whole month's salary.

"Stop being ridiculous." Li Xuehe said irritably:

"Who ever renovates just the background wall?"

Looks like I'll have to play a dirty trick… Yu Dazhang quickly chose his words in his head, then gritted his teeth:

"Here's the thing. In that case I handled out of town before, the main culprit's family really loved this kind of 'Bloom and Prosper' decor."

"The whole family ended up behind bars, probably all facing execution, so I just…"

Before he could finish, Li Xuehe hurriedly cut him off:

"Change it! Absolutely changing it!! Tomorrow I'll find someone to come measure the place."

Two more days passed. The background wall at home had been changed.

The December 8th home invasion murder case was also successfully solved, and officially entered the case-closing process.

First Brigade.

"Dazhang, you're really getting more and more impressive. You've only just joined the brigade and already made a big contribution."

A brigade officer said, looking at Yu Dazhang with envy:

"Next time there's a case like this, take me along with you."

Hearing this, several other officers also crowded over.

"Yeah, you originally came from First Brigade. Coming back now is like coming home."

"Next time there's a tough case, set up your own task force—we'll all follow you."

Everyone chimed in, all looking ready to follow him to the death.

"No, no, no, don't say that."

Yu Dazhang didn't dare put on airs in front of these people, and quickly refused:

"I just got lucky. Compared to you all, I'm still very green. I'll need your guidance in the future."

In terms of seniority, these First Brigade officers were all his predecessors.

Although criminal police work emphasized actual performance and work results, seniority was also an aspect that couldn't be ignored.

Moreover, none of the officers who could work in First Brigade were ordinary people.

"You little punk, you're deliberately mocking us, aren't you?" Someone immediately took offense:

"When it comes to solving cases, who around here still has the standing to lecture you?"

The more he explained, the worse it got… Yu Dazhang gave a helpless smile and couldn't be bothered to explain any further.

Sometimes solving a case too smoothly isn't necessarily a good thing.

As he saw it, his performance this time had already exceeded his own capabilities.

Without the memories of his past life, even if he could crack this case, he absolutely wouldn't have done it this fast.

I want to keep a low profile too, but my ability won't allow it… Yu Dazhang discovered that playing dumb was itself a skill.

Just then, a police officer suddenly rushed in through the door, looking flustered.

Entering the room, he swept his gaze around, finally fixing his eyes on Yu Dazhang.

"Dazhang, someone's outside looking for you."

He stepped up close to Yu Dazhang and said quickly:

"There are more than ten people, each one's holding a bag in their hands. They've been stopped by the officer on duty at the front desk."

Before Yu Dazhang could react, another officer immediately spoke up:

"You'd better hide for a bit. I'm guessing it's the Yu family relatives coming to give you trouble."

That can't be right… Yu Dazhang felt the likelihood wasn't very high.

The Yu family could barely look after themselves right now — where would they find the spare energy to come after him?

Still, in this stretch of Songhai, Yu Dazhang couldn't think of anyone else who'd come in a group to find him.

No end to it, this… Just as he was about to find a place to hide, his phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the caller ID and froze.

Captain Xu?

When he was handling the severed-finger case in S Province, he and Captain Xu had exchanged contact info, but they hadn't been in touch since.

After picking up, Yu Dazhang asked directly:

"What made you think of calling me?"

"I came to Songhai specifically to find you." Captain Xu's voice sounded a bit urgent:

"I'm right downstairs at your branch bureau. I don't know why — the moment I said I was looking for you, several people came out and blocked me, wouldn't let me go up."

Yu Dazhang replied, a little embarrassed:

"Your timing really couldn't be worse — you've come right when someone's about to give me trouble."

After all, having people show up at your door to cause trouble wasn't exactly something to be proud of, so he didn't go into specifics.

"Someone's looking to give you trouble?" Captain Xu hesitated for a moment, but quickly caught on:

"You mean those dozen-plus people downstairs? They came with me."

(End of chapter)