Chapter 218: Alibi

Qinghe City.

Bar Street.

Its location adjacent to the city center and Qinghe College of Arts and Sciences is the main reason Maishan Road became a bar street.

Every month, new bars are renovated here, and some owners quietly exit the scene. But most of the time, owners and shareholders who make money reinvest it into renovations.

Of course, the street isn't just bars—there are also various dining bars, music bars, hot pot restaurants, new-style fast-food outlets, bubble tea shops, and coffee shops, all abundant and diverse.

Walking along Maishan Road feels like walking through a first-tier city from one or two years ago. All the trendy things are dazzling.

Wu Junhao, in civilian clothes, walked boldly down the middle of the street with two team members, ignoring the stares of others.

He was here to arrest Bai Yuequn, the suspect in the murder of Yuan Yutang.

The third son of Jianyuan Company, his every move during the inheritance war was watched. All his romantic escapades, lovers, and rivals had long been thoroughly investigated.

Of course, the third son Yuan Yutang didn't care much about such moral gossip—his public image was always the prodigal son returning to the fold. As long as he was willing to do legitimate work and leave the underworld behind, his father was already satisfied.

Rarely, Yuan Yutang was bisexual, and his regular parties helped him meet many like-minded people, which made Yuan Jiansheng even happier—this laid the foundation for the third son's bid for inheritance.

Bai Yuequn was Yuan Yutang's longtime lover; they had been inseparable for years, weathered the toughest period of coming out together, and Bai Yuequn's only demand of Yuan Yutang was to be each other's sole partner.

Yuan Yutang always promised Bai Yuequn, then quickly broke his word, leading to fierce arguments, frantic outbursts, sweet reconciliation, and solemn promises again…

This cycle repeated endlessly, until outsiders came to believe they simply enjoyed the ritual.

Bai Yuequn's height, his habit of wearing height-increasing shoes, his weight, and his age all matched Jiang Yuan's profile—and he was the only suspect fitting it.

After confirming his location with technical investigation and cyber security units, Wu Junhao immediately led his team there.

Three people felt a bit few, but in a chaotic, densely populated, and unpredictable place like Bar Street, Wu Junhao preferred a lean team with plenty of backup.

So he stationed ten men outside the bar street, with three teams of ten more behind him, but only brought two teammates beside him—both weighing ninety kilograms and bench-pressing 120 kilograms, fierce and formidable.

For an ordinary person, training to bench-press 1. times their body weight might only be for gym bragging rights.

For members of the First Platoon to reach this level, you're already a top-tier combatant—one man equals two.

What does "one man equals two" mean? It means when arresting suspects, one person can pin two suspects against a wall and render them immobile.

Wu Junhao once even single-handedly clamped one suspect under his arm while using his other hand to lift another suspect off the ground, making him scream.

Wu Junhao and his teammates stood out in appearance, and as they walked down Bar Street, several girls quickly took notice.

The girls followed behind Wu Junhao and his group, considering how to approach them, when suddenly the three turned into a bar called Blue Star Alliance.

This was a famous gay bar in Qinghe City.

Several girls were heartbroken and frantically texted each other:

"What happened to all the good men?"

"Do all the guys who work out end up liking the same sex?"

"People used to say the end goal of a bar is a gay bar—I didn't believe it, but now I do…"

…

Wu Junhao didn't know about the scene outside; the moment he entered Blue Star Alliance, he headed upstairs according to the information he had.

According to his intel, Bai Yuequn had been in the bar all day.

He spent part of the time in his office and part moving around inside and outside the bar—many people had seen him.

Wu Junhao didn't know his psychological state, but his current mission was to arrest him.

The three walked straight up to the office floor, where a handsome, muscular bodyguard in a suit stopped them and asked questions.

Wu Junhao showed his credentials, then casually pulled off the guard's earpiece and said: "If you want to go to jail, go ahead and tip him off—you're just an employee. Want to end up sewing in prison?"

The good-looking, imposing bodyguard instantly caved and stepped aside: "I didn't mean to tip him off."

"Hmm, what's your name?" Wu Junhao, now in control, didn't rush in.

"Wang Yan."

"Good, Wang Yan, how many people are inside?"

"There are dozens in the office area."

"Where's Bai Yuequn? Draw it for me…"

Wu Junhao pulled out a notebook and questioned the guard right there, in the blind spot of the stairwell camera.

After a while, someone came out, impatiently calling: "Wang Yan! Wang Yan!"

Wu Junhao stepped forward, easily wrapping his arm around the man and pulling him close to check his ID, then asked: "Did you see clearly?"

"Clear."

"We're police. Don't make trouble for yourselves. Stay right here."

Wu Junhao said no more and led his two teammates straight in.

The office area of the bar was no different from a regular office building—people in shirts were typing, calculating, making calls, or holding meetings. Those who saw Wu Junhao in civilian clothes barely glanced twice.

Only when they neared Bai Yuequn's door did someone ask: "Who are you looking for?"

"Found him." Wu Junhao answered without turning, opened the general manager's office door, and walked in.

Bai Yuequn sat calmly, looking at them with mild surprise and expected recognition.

"Bai Yuequn?" Wu Junhao asked.

"Yes." Bai Yuequn stood up.

"We're from Ningtai County Public Security Bureau. We're here to legally arrest you…" Wu Junhao showed his credentials and documents while watching Bai Yuequn closely; his two teammates flanked him, moved to his sides, cuffed him, and only then did everyone exhale.

"Tell everyone I'm fine, I'll explain everything and be back soon—keep running operations here," Bai Yuequn turned to give instructions, as if nothing had happened.

Wu Junhao didn't care. He'd seen many like him—calm when cuffed, pretending to manage work, but once locked up in detention and forced to eat the first meal there, they'd finally break down and cry. As they say: you don't shed tears until you see the coffin.

Wu Junhao casually checked Bai Yuequn's arms and other areas for injuries, but found none.

Bai Yuequn let him check, then said: "You're here about Yuan Yutang, aren't you?"

"The investigating officers will explain everything once you're back at the station," Wu Junhao replied. He didn't want to discuss the case with a suspect now—it was too risky, prone to leaking information and triggering uncontrollable emotions.

But Bai Yuequn said: "I know Yuan Yutang died last night. If it's about him, I have an alibi."

Wu Junhao turned to look at Bai Yuequn.

In criminal cases, an alibi is extremely powerful evidence—if confirmed, it can effectively eliminate a suspect.

And the fact that Bai Yuequn could name an alibi witness meant he had clearly prepared for this.

Regardless of whether the alibi was valid, this suspect had to be handled with caution.

…

One hour later.

Huang Qiangmin, Jiang Yuan, and the others all arrived at the district criminal investigation unit's case center in Qianjin District, Qinghe City.

Lei Xin, the chief of the district criminal investigation unit, briefed them:

"So far, Bai Yuequn's alibi appears highly credible. At the time of the crime, he was watching a movie with a boyfriend, with ticket purchase records and surveillance footage of their entry and exit."

"The movie theater's internal surveillance was broken."

"After the movie, they checked into the Wanda Hotel next door, with front desk records and surveillance footage."

"Also, no obvious skin injuries were found on Bai Yuequn's body—this contradicts our earlier assessment."

"Shouldn't we expand the suspect list? Yuan Yutang knew a lot of people. At his position, making enemies was normal. Shouldn't we include people he interacted with at work?"

Lei Xin's suggestion was reasonable. A suspect list for a murdered heir that only included lovers and rivals was absurd.

Even if the killer acted in a fit of passion, it could have stemmed from workplace grudges.

Haven't many people suffered deeper psychological trauma from workplace oppression than from a breakup?

Lei Xin even thought he had a few potential targets he could fantasize about eliminating.

Huang Qiangmin had to admit the man had a point and began whispering with him.

Yuan Yutang's life was remarkably complex.

Setting aside the possibility of a love-related killing, his early underworld history was a tangled mess of enemies and victims, many of whom could never be traced.

But from past records of brawls and fights, Yuan Yutang's early life was full of violent conflicts.

If we factored in all these elements, we'd need a large team to investigate and verify the relevant names.

Jiang Yuan listened for a while, heard nothing new, then said: "I think Bai Yuequn still has areas worth investigating."

Everyone unconsciously stopped and turned to Jiang Yuan.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan still carried a certain aura of authority.

Jiang Yuan continued: "First, I carefully studied Bai Yuequn's footprints—they still perfectly match the crime scene."

"Second, Bai Yuequn has no wounds, but his finger joints are calloused—he must have trained in martial arts."

"Also, according to the earlier interview with the cleaning staff, no towels or similar items were missing from the crime scene, suggesting the killer likely killed without sustaining injuries—this implies the killer has some combat ability."

"Third. The murder occurred precisely during the movie screening. Though coincidental, the theater's surveillance was also broken—this coincidence is too extreme."

Lei Xin said: "We questioned his boyfriend—he confirmed Bai Yuequn was with him during the crime."

Jiang Yuan fell silent. The witness's testimony did weaken his suspicions.

Huang Qiangmin said: "We should question the boyfriend more thoroughly—did he fall asleep? Did he leave at any point? Check their financial transactions. Also, investigate their relationship from the side. There's still a chance of false testimony."

He'd handled too many cases, heard too many absurd stories.

Lei Xin nodded: "He's still being interviewed—I'll have them press harder."