Chapter 1060: Time Difference

Dawn.

Jiang Yuan, Liu Jinghui, and the others stepped across the transparent acrylic boards and exited the crime scene in the Ming-style courtyard.

Several people saw them and immediately walked up to greet them.

Soon, a man in a white shirt hurried down from a bus painted with "SWAT" markings parked nearby and walked over quickly.

Wang Chuanxing, worried that Jiang Yuan might not recognize him, whispered in his ear: "That's Lin Xunlei, Deputy Chief of the Detachment, Dai's deputy."

As they spoke, Lin Xunlei arrived at the police tape, smiling. "Chief Dai had to attend a meeting and left a while ago, leaving me to stand guard. Director Jiang, Section Chief Liu, you've worked hard."

"You're too polite," Liu Jinghui said with a chuckle, shaking hands with Lin Xunlei. "You really don't need to worry about us; just sending someone to lead the way would have been enough."

"That wouldn't do. Having the nation's top criminal investigation experts come to our Lan Yue City is a rare learning opportunity for us..." Lin Xunlei rattled off some polite formalities before adding, "It's just time for breakfast. Why don't you try some of our Lan Yue City specialties first? Then I'll have you taken to your hotel to rest. How does that sound?"

"We can just eat at the hotel," Liu Jinghui declined.

Lin Xunlei waved his hand. "Hotel food is just generic fare. It's not that it's bad, but it doesn't represent the true level of Lan Yue City's breakfast. If you go back and tell people Lan Yue City has no good food, that would be on us!"

After a few more polite exchanges, Lin Xunlei ushered them into a regular minibus.

The others who had been waiting nearby followed suit.

Seeing that Lin Xunlei and his team didn't object, Wang Chuanxing and the others didn't stop them, though they made sure Mu Zhiyang and Wen Ming stayed close to Jiang Yuan.

Once everyone was seated, Lin Xunlei introduced the men in plain clothes who had boarded after them: "Let me introduce you. This is Dong Xifeng, Vice President of the Film and Television City. He knows the situation here better than anyone. If you need any coordination or manpower, you can reach out to Vice President Dong. He will definitely cooperate fully."

Dong Xifeng, a man in his fifties with the air of a professional manager, dressed in a suit, stepped forward to shake hands with Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui. "Thank you to the Jiang Yuan Cold Case Task Force for coming all the way to Lan Yue Film and Television City to help us resolve this difficult case. During your stay, please feel free to make any requests, and we will certainly cooperate."

As he spoke, he handed out business cards, each featuring a QR code.

Jiang Yuan and the others had no choice but to accept them.

Lin Xunlei then introduced the others: the person in charge of the Baohe Film and Television Company, where the film crew was based, as well as the Li Song Culture and Entertainment Company, and the small-time producer, Li Jike.

They took turns speaking, each trying to distance themselves from the incident while expressing their cooperation, all looking incredibly sincere.

Jiang Yuan usually dealt with people who were genuinely sincere; he had less experience with those whose hearts and lungs were hidden behind masks. For a moment, he could only watch their hands, their feet, and the skin exposed on their bodies, his mind involuntarily analyzing them.

The men soon grew uncomfortable under his gaze. Being middle-aged men in their forties, they couldn't bring themselves to lose their tempers, and as they realized the nature of Jiang Yuan's work, a trace of fear began to creep in.

The car stopped.

They hurriedly took their leave.

Lin Xunlei found it amusing. As he led them into the restaurant, he explained, "They aren't just worried about criminal liability; they're mostly worried about how this will affect their film and whether it will be allowed to screen. The Film and Television City is a pillar industry for Lan Yue City, and maintaining transparency is part of building a good business environment..."

He offered his explanation, and Jiang Yuan and the others listened.

Once breakfast was served, Lin Xunlei shifted the topic to the local food scene with impressive speed.

"The most famous breakfast in Lan Yue City is actually the steamed buns. The local shops don't dare to cut corners; the meat filling is high-quality, and the dough is kneaded and proofed the day before, then steamed fresh the next morning..."

"The mutton soup looks simple, but it has its own character. If you look closely, you'll see it's a rich broth, much like the concentrated broth in Japanese ramen, but ours is fresher because it's paired with fish stock. 'Fish and lamb make fresh'—the ancestors didn't lie."

"Then there's this little side of pickles. You should try them. I'd say our pickles are the ancestors of Korean kimchi. We have several ways of making them, some spicy, some made to be eaten the same day. Try our spicy cabbage..."

Lin Xunlei hosted them through the meal with great enthusiasm. As they got back in the car to head to the hotel, he finally asked, "Director Jiang, is the case progressing smoothly?"

"We have some new leads, but we're still a distance away from solving it," Liu Jinghui said, keeping the details vague, even though he was speaking to a Deputy Chief of the Detachment.

Lin Xunlei laughed dismissively. "As long as there's anything we can do to help, just let me know... You must all be exhausted. Why don't you get some good sleep once you reach the hotel?"

"Waiting around isn't really an option, but we do need to wait for the interrogation results," Liu Jinghui explained. In major cases like this, it was common for officers to go two or three days without sleep. They had arrived in the middle of the night and were now being told to sleep after breakfast, which felt a bit too relaxed.

However, the Jiang Yuan Cold Case Task Force was so efficient that Liu Jinghui had long since stopped worrying about working hours.

Lin Xunlei wasn't in a position to lecture Jiang Yuan and his team on how to conduct their investigation. He smiled and said, "Sitting around doing nothing is indeed not the way. I'll mobilize more personnel to review all the surveillance footage and recordings as quickly as possible. If we find anything, I'll notify you immediately."

With less than a day having passed since the crime, reviewing the massive amount of surveillance footage would require significant manpower.

Jiang Yuan recalled the locations of the cameras and activated his Level 3 Technical Security Surveillance skill and Level 6 Image Investigation—Trajectory Analysis. "Are the cameras in the corridors running continuously, or are there pauses?"

"There are pauses during filming," Lin Xunlei replied, understanding his intent. "Because the camera positions might interfere with filming or cause continuity errors—like a red light showing up—the director would turn them off. But after the victim died, filming stopped, so they haven't been turned off since."

Liu Jinghui stopped in his tracks. "You mean to say, before the victim died, the surveillance had been turned off?"

Lin Xunlei said, "It's possible. I'll have to go back and check to be sure."

"So, before the victim died, someone might have entered the film set?" Liu Jinghui paused, then added, "Only, they might not have left."

Lin Xunlei looked at Liu Jinghui, confused.

Liu Jinghui turned to Jiang Yuan: "I think we should return to the crime scene and search it thoroughly once more!"