Chapter 553: This Smell Seems Familiar

Actually, he didn't really want to know, but out of professional duty, he asked anyway.

Judging from the gruesome scene before him, the child's condition couldn't have been much better.

A police officer from the main squad, hearing this, stepped forward and answered:

"The child had just turned one. After being killed by the murderer, he was stuffed into the washing machine."

Then a colleague in charge of the scene investigation stepped forward:

"Both victims' fatal wounds are on the head—their skulls were smashed by what appears to be a hammer or similar weapon. The murder weapon has not yet been found at the scene."

As he spoke, he flipped open the notebook in his hands:

"Based on the footprints at the scene, the murderer is one person, male, around 30 years old, height…"

Yu Dazhang, hearing this far, raised his hand and cut in:

"What about the time of death?"

He had already decided this was a revenge killing.

The murderer was Cheng Wenhao.

Compared to detailed data analysis, what he wanted to know more right now was the time of death for this family of three, so he could roughly deduce Cheng Wenhao's movements.

"Initial estimate: the male victim's time of death is between 2:30 and 3:00 AM."

The investigator answered:

"The female victim's time of death is about half an hour later, and the child was the last to die."

Yu Dazhang had wanted to ask how the murderer got inside.

But on second thought, asking such a question now was pointless.

He then looked again at the people from the criminal investigation main squad:

"How's the check on the city's Sky Net coming along?"

His voice was low and grave, carrying an unquestionable tone.

The main squad officer was clearly prepared for this question and answered immediately:

"Based on facial recognition, we locked onto Cheng Wenhao pretty quickly, but his counter-surveillance skills are also strong—he dodged the cameras' tracking multiple times."

"In the end, we confirmed Cheng Wenhao's movements were indeed heading this way."

"Timing-wise, it also matches this family's time of death."

Then there's no doubt about it… Yu Dazhang made his judgment inwardly.

Cheng Wenhao was dead set on taking revenge on society.

In the realm of criminal cases, if it's for money, people rarely kill to the point of death, and even when they do, it's usually manslaughter.

But once emotions are involved, that's a whole different story.

Especially in cases of love turned to hatred—the fatality rate is very high, and it's almost always intentional murder.

Like the family annihilation case before them.

No matter who looked at it, no one could possibly steer it toward manslaughter.

After the scene investigation ended, the three bodies were carried away. Yu Dazhang walked another lap around the house, wanting to see if anything had been missed.

Lu Zhongxin and the other two followed behind him the whole time, also searching for clues.

His steps were light and cautious as he carefully examined every detail—the walls, the floor, the windows, even the ceiling.

But after a thorough search, he didn't find any particularly valuable clues.

Just as Yu Dazhang was feeling a bit disappointed, he noticed the apartment also had a balcony.

The balcony was open-air, forming a sharp contrast with the gloom inside.

By now it was already nine in the morning; sunlight poured onto the balcony, giving a warm and comfortable feeling.

Yu Dazhang thought it over, decided to go take a look on the balcony—maybe there'd be some unexpected discoveries.

He pushed the door open, and a breath of fresh air rushed in, making him feel a pleasant rush.

He had to admit, having a balcony like this at home was quite comfortable—stepping out now and then to breathe the fresh outside air was a real pleasure.

Especially now, with the smell of blood inside so heavy.

After a while, it made a person a bit dizzy, and even breathing wasn't quite smooth.

Yu Dazhang took a deep breath, then carefully observed every corner of the balcony—the railing, the flower pots, the floor.

After about five minutes, having found nothing amiss, he turned and went back inside.