Chapter 377

"Third person? This…"

Outside the granary, the sun hung high, a gentle breeze brushed by, and Team Leader Zheng Tianxin's forehead glistened with beads of sweat, as if he'd just eaten a scorching-hot Qingzhong noodles.

At this moment, facing Liu Jinghui, Zheng Tianxin truly wished he'd been choked to death by that scorching-hot Qingzhong noodles.

The sweat on his head wasn't just from surprise at the case's development—it was a deeper, bone-deep sense of guilt.

Phrases like "protecting local peace" often sound hollow and empty, but as the mid-aged Team Leader of the Luyang City Bureau's Criminal Investigation Brigade, Zheng Tianxin had no hope of promotion or desire to transfer; his life had been a series of ups and downs in the police force. If he had any career, any achievement, any shining moment in his life, it was all summed up in this: "Protecting the borders and securing the people" nearly covered every bright part of Zheng Tianxin's life.

But the perpetrators of Case 805 had shattered, again and again, these real, illusory, true, and imagined lights.

"These bastards!" Zheng Tianxin growled, then looked up and asked Liu Jinghui: "What do we do?"

He now saw clearly: in criminal investigation and case-solving, he was far inferior to Liu Jinghui; in Luyang City Bureau or even across Shannan Province, few could match Liu Jinghui—otherwise, Liu wouldn't be traveling nonstop across the province day after day.

At this point, Zheng Tianxin didn't care about anything else—he just wanted to solve Case 805 and bring back every single perpetrator, no matter how many there were.

Liu Jinghui paused, then said: "We can ask Technical Investigation to compile the call records of Zhang Hai and Chen Youdi; anyone who communicated with both should be a key suspect. Social media channels should also be investigated further. Also, can we extract anything from Chen Youdi's interrogation?"

"The prosecution is handling the interrogation; no updates yet," Zheng Tianxin replied, then added: "I'll contact Technical Investigation again—should get results soon."

Case 805 initially seemed shrouded in murky shadows, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't complex. Especially the two currently involved—neither had strong anti-investigation skills, nor were they careful in their actions…

Liu Jinghui's plan was similar to the previous one, which had worked smoothly; Zheng Tianxin felt reassured continuing with it.

Zheng Tianxin immediately gave orders on the spot.

Liu Jinghui continued: "I think we should send another team to Pan Yuan Village for a thorough investigation. Check with Chen Youdi's neighbors—did anyone hear unusual noises or rumors? Also, if a third suspect came by, they'd have to pass through the village entrance every time they drove—check the surveillance cameras along the national highway and the village."

"That's a great idea! They'd need a vehicle to transport the victims," Zheng Tianxin nodded vigorously—this investigative approach aligned with his own thinking.

Zheng Tianxin picked up his phone and began coordinating with all parties.

Zhou Yuanqiang was also rushing back to the bureau nonstop. For technical investigation tasks, countless forms needed filling out; since Zheng Tianxin had to stay on-site, it fell to him, the Political Commissar, to handle it.

Dozens of detectives were mobilized, interviewing villagers throughout the village.

Pan Yuan Village's natural conditions were decent, but like Jiang Village, after demolition, most residents moved to government-provided resettlement housing; those who returned to the village were mostly elderly people in their sixties or seventies—fifty was considered young and strong.

These people could manage basic daily tasks, but when questioned by police, they all became flustered and incoherent.

The officers on duty weren't surprised—they could only calmly reassure them and ask repeatedly, often needing to question them two or three times to get accurate answers.

Checking surveillance at the village entrance and national highway required multiple teams, visits to traffic police headquarters, and meticulous searches through the system… Meanwhile, interrogation work was also accelerating.

Zheng Tianxin could see Chen Youdi wasn't a seasoned, resilient criminal mastermind—he was even a bit cowardly, like an ordinary farmer who had merely amplified greed, selfishness, and lust until he became an aberration among humans.

But in the interrogation room, Chen Youdi stubbornly refused to speak. He appeared timid and terrified, like a captured mouse, curling into a ball as if trying to vanish.

Yet no matter what the interrogating officers said, he ignored them completely, mumbling words no one could understand, as if he were a native from some primordial forest.

"This guy seems mentally shattered," the officer in charge, after shouting for over an hour, finally gave up, slammed the table, and stormed out of the interrogation room.

Zheng Tianxin looked at him, limp and trembling with fear, then recalled the scene inside the granary—he felt nauseated: "This thing isn't even human. We're treating it like a person, and it's pretending."

"His mental state seems to have collapsed. The fear is real," sighed the interrogating officer—he'd seen this before. It was essentially a psychological breakdown; normal thinking had ceased. He heard nothing, understood nothing.

Or perhaps he truly understood the consequences.

Committing a crime like this, with evidence and suspects caught red-handed, execution was inevitable. His fear might stem precisely from the terror of facing that.

The prosecutor assigned specifically to Case 805 also wore a grim expression.

Having seen the photos, he found it impossible to feel any sympathy for the suspect, yet the case was progressing so poorly.

"We can't let him fully break down—try to ease up a bit," the prosecutor had to advise. No matter how brutal the murderer, when facing his own pain and death, his spirit remained fragile.

Zheng Tianxin grunted disapprovingly: "The key now is identifying the third person. That third person might still be holding kidnapped women. Every minute we delay, they're more likely to kill the victims and flee."

"Think of other ways," the prosecutor urged. "I'm not siding with the suspect, but if he dies, won't the case become even harder to solve?"

Zheng Tianxin thought of the past two years' suffering and reluctantly nodded.

This case had drained nearly all of Luyang City Bureau's resources—and his own energy and spirit over the past two years. If the murderer died now, all those years of hardship would be meaningless.

Whether the murderer stood in the defendant's seat sometimes mattered a great deal.

"How's the surveillance search going? Any license plates identified?" the prosecutor asked gently, sensing Zheng Tianxin's mood.

"Fake plates," Zheng Tianxin spat through clenched teeth.

Fake plates could still be traced, but it would take considerable effort.

"What about Technical Investigation?" The prosecutor had already followed up closely and understood all aspects of the case.

Zheng Tianxin sighed helplessly: "The SIM cards were bought anonymously and can't be traced. The last cell tower connection was near Pan Yuan Village…"

Disposable phones, common in American dramas, weren't popular in China, but some still used them. Normally, police would suspect such devices immediately—but when actually investigating, they did effectively obstruct detection.

The prosecutor thought for a moment: "So no leads from social media?"

"None," Zheng Tianxin replied, growing weary. "Some villagers in Pan Yuan Village claim they saw someone visiting Chen Youdi, but they couldn't describe his appearance. Chen Youdi had little contact with anyone—he was isolated, had no friends since youth, just a village loser…"

Zheng Tianxin himself grew tired of saying it.

At this stage of the case, so many leads had all abruptly ended. Of course, if we pursued any single lead with deeper investigation and expanded the scope, there was still a chance to follow up—but time…

Disposable phones, common in American TV dramas, aren't popular in China, but some still use them; if police encounter one during normal times, they'd suspect it twice, yet when actually investigating, it does indeed hinder surveillance.

"I'll take this call," Zheng Tianxin said to the prosecutor.

He gave an apologetic smile, pulled out his phone—and saw it was Jiang Yuan calling.

This could only be about the case.

Zheng Tianxin hesitated for a second, then answered, switched to speaker, and said: "Dr. Jiang, I've turned on speaker. What is it?"

"I found a fingerprint inside the granary," Jiang Yuan's calm voice came through the phone. "I've now identified a suspect with a prior record for indecent assault—a local of Luyang, employed at a property management company. Details are being sent to your phone. I suspect this person is the third suspect."

Zheng Tianxin stared, stunned: "You just found that fingerprint?"

Zheng Tianxin checked his phone—the time since the discovery of the bodies in the granary was at least four hours.

Jiang Yuan hummed: "Took over three hours. Found it along the edge of the bedside table. Separating latent prints takes time, Team Leader Zheng—I recommend immediate arrest…"

"Got it, got it," Zheng Tianxin replied, gesturing to nearby detectives to make calls, then couldn't help asking: "Was this fingerprint hard to find?"

Laughter came from the other end of the phone—Zheng Tianxin guessed it was his own forensic team.

Jiang Yuan said: "It was somewhat difficult—the killer has a habit of wiping fingerprints. But he stayed in that granary too long."

Zheng Tianxin checked his phone; at least four hours had passed since the body in the barn was discovered.

Jiang Yuan grunted and said, "It took over three hours to find it along the edge of the bedside table; lifting the fingerprints took even longer, Branch Chief Zheng, I recommend arresting the suspect immediately…"

"Alright, alright," Zheng Tianxin replied, gesturing to the detective beside him to make the call, then couldn't help asking, "Are these fingerprints hard to lift?"

Laughter came from the other end of the phone; Zheng Tianxin guessed it was his own trace evidence team.

Jiang Yuan said, "There's some difficulty—the killer has a habit of wiping fingerprints, but he stayed in that barn too long."