Chapter 127 - 126: Inspector Li, Truly a ’God’!

Just as Su Siliu was talking, two staff members from the Forensics Department, seemingly under instruction, left what they were doing and began to clean and gather evidence near the float.

Seeing this, Li Jing moved away using his Sky Control ability.

Su Siliu retreated as well, glancing at a certain person, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating.

Li Jing noticed her demeanor and smiled.

"Just now, I privately questioned some workers from Yun Dian Paradise who participated in the parade to gather information, and learned some valuable things."

Su Siliu still felt that she might have unintentionally offended someone previously, and was troubled, considering if she should apologize for it.

Li Jing presented two reconstruction models from his trips, fully demonstrating his "capabilities".

Depending on the methods of the Forensics Department, it would take several days at least, and most likely, they wouldn’t be able to make any noticeable breakthrough.

A case that initially seemed without any clues suddenly had a direction, and the possibility of solving a series of murders that had gone unsolved for more than a decade was now possible. Wasn’t this putting her in an awkward situation?

As for credit, Su Siliu didn’t care about that.

What she cared about was...

After reporting to Shen Quan, not only did he give instructions, but he would also be coming over personally later.

If she wanted to apologize, she had to seize the chance to do so now.

Once Shen Quan arrived, she might be out in the cold.

All of a sudden, hearing from Li Jing that he had gathered valuable information from the workers of Yun Dian Paradise who participated in the parade, Su Siliu was momentarily stunned, almost bursting into tears.

Details of Li Jing’s "achievements" were only known to the temporary head of the Shangcheng bureau and Shen Quan.

What others knew was simply that he was a "Godlike crime solver".

Originally, Su Siliu hadn’t made much of it.

No matter how godlike he was, he was still a patrolman.

Without any clues, Li Jing would be just as blind as everyone else, no matter how capable he was.

Who would have thought that he was genuinely a "God"!

In the past, Su Siliu would have waited for Li Jing to give her details, and then weighed them before believing him.

But now, after seeing two scene reconstruction models that might have been made by a supercomputer from the Research Institute, she dared not say that she did not believe him.

She pursed her lips quietly, Su Siliu murmured.

"Inspector Li, I was wrong before, and I apologize to you."

?

Li Jing.

Like before, this sudden apology left him confused.

Seeing the sincere look on Su Siliu’s face, Li Jing asked in a strange tone.

"I wanted to ask this before, Inspector Su, do you have some misunderstanding about me?"

Hearing these words, Su Siliu quickly shook her head.

"I don’t, I..."

Mid-sentence, she saw the helplessness in his expression that didn’t seem fake and frowned.

Observing him, Su Siliu gradually became aware.

She might have indeed...

Misunderstood him...

Staring intently at Li Jing’s expression to confirm once again, Su Siliu’s cheeks gradually reddened as she silently looked down.

At this point, she really didn’t know how to make amends.

She had apologized pointlessly to someone and then realized that things weren’t as she thought they were. Didn’t that make her look like she was overreacting?

She had really lost face this time.

Seeing Su Siliu’s embarrassed face and her unwillingness to look at him, Li Jing smiled and prevented the topic from continuing.

"Back to the main point, two of the parade’s participants from Yun Dian Paradise told me that they vaguely heard a very slight sound of something tearing through the air at the time of the incident. They sounded like something was being hurled. They weren’t sure of the details. At the time, I was quite distant from the scene, and did not notice any strange noises, nor did I see any physical object getting closer from a distance and hitting Zhang Suya."

As he spoke, Li Jing continued.

"According to the way Zhang Suya was injured and the angles of the impacts as depicted in the reconstructions, I speculate that the object that took her life was most likely hidden in the backseat of the float. The subtle swooshing noise was probably emitted when it was activated."

Seeing that Li Jing diverted the topic and shared the information and his speculations, giving her room to back down, Su Siliu perked up a bit.

After listening to Li Jing’s recount, she was amazed that he had actually obtained valuable information from the workers at Yun Dian Paradise. She expressed her doubts.

"Assuming your understanding and speculation are correct, it’s quite likely that the killer was on the scene at the time of the crime. The killer apparently had a means to completely shatter a human body with a single close-range strike also possibly having a delayed function. However, before taking action, they must have made sure that they were not killing the wrong person."

After thinking it through, she whispered,

"Moreover, judging from the manner of Zhang Suya’s death, the killer intended to kill her publicly, which indicates a certain morbidity in his psychology. Killers in such cases usually ’watch’ their crimes at the scene to satisfy their morbid psychologies."

"Hm."

Li Jing nodded in agreement.

He had similar speculations.

And he deeply suspected, that the one who killed Zhang Suya was the Pig Monster she had been physically involved with.

However, there were too many people along the street at the time, and his attention was focused on the dozen or so Health Bars in the parade. He hadn’t paid attention to whether there were any other Health Bars around.

There are many methods that could completely shatter a human body with a single close-range strike.

But if it was done in such a way that it left no obvious traces and was undetectable, that was a different story.

Li Jing had never seen a Pig Monster before.

However, he was familiar with what a baboon pig was.

The cultivation of Monsters was far more difficult than human cultivation.

Consequently, their inherent gifts as beasts underwent unimaginable changes, turning into their means of attack and defense.

Take Meng Chengfeng as an example.

As a Scorpion Demon, the poison in his venomous stinger pancake was explosively potent.

A single drop could take a life, not to mention that the poisoned Meng family father and son exploded completely, not leaving a single piece of intact skin.

It was hard to imagine what type of deadly poison could cause two individuals with at least a Three Realm late-stage cultivation to die such an uncertain and miserable death.

Also, Meng Chengfeng’s poison had clear control. Without her personal presence, the victims’ life or death was at her whim, even if they were a thousand miles away.

This unique talent was quite terrifying.

Quills covering the entire body were a unique means of attack and defense for beasts like the baboon pig.

Once it became a Monster, its quills would definitely have changed and become specialized, possessing a special deadly force.

The Pig Monster that had contact with Zhang Suya was under great suspicion.

So...

How should he find it?

After some thought, Li Jing turned to Su Siliu and said,

"Inspector Su, has your Intelligence Department in Shangcheng collected the online social media information of the victim, Zhang Suya?"

"Yes, we have."

Su Siliu responded, taking out her tablet and preparing to operate.

Before she could, Li Jing also took out his own tablet and said,

"Could you upload the relevant information to the Patrol System? It would be more convenient for me to view it directly. I need this information for some other purpose as well."

Hearing this, Su Siliu was slightly stunned. She nodded her head, submitting the information to the Patrol System.

Once bitten twice shy.

When Li Jing mentioned another use, she knew immediately that he wanted to use his powerful "capabilities". She would just do as told.

The relevant information had to be uploaded to the Patrol System after being sorted out later anyway. Doing it a bit earlier did not make much of a difference.

As for how Li Jing planned to use it, she didn’t care.

As long as it could solve the case, she didn’t mind however it was done.

With Su Siliu packaging and uploading the relevant information, Li Jing quickly found Zhang Suya’s social media information in the Patrol System.

The moment he opened it, good God.

The screen was filled with various pictures.

In the Immortal Message feed alone, Zhang Suya enjoyed showing off her selfies, designer bags, lavish cars--all sorts of things, but never men.

Li Jing didn’t expect to see Zhang Suya showing off men, anyway.

Among these "well-off" individuals, it’s unlikely for them to show off the opposite sex.

Otherwise, their other lovers might get jealous or stir up trouble.

What Li Jing was after were Zhang Suya’s various selfies taken in the past.

Selecting selfies with different makeup looks that Zhang Suya posted on various social media platforms within the past month, he sent them to himself in a compressed file. Then, he pulled out his mini tablet to type in an empty document.

"Mini Tablet, scan the surveillance footage from Yun Dian Paradise and around Zhang Suya’s residence, focusing on all forms of entertainment venues, and see who she has had contact with in the past month."

As soon as he finished typing, a message popped up on the screen.

"Accepted. This will take some time. She puts on different makeup every day, and most photos have a beauty filter. I have to remove the beauty effect to make an accurate comparison."

"Sure, let me know when you have something."

After typing, Li Jing put his mini tablet away.

Watching Li Jing maneuver the tablet and the mini tablet intrigued Su Siliu throughout the process.

But she didn’t want to ask abruptly, though her curiosity was rampant.

Spotting her staring eagerly at him, the corner of Li Jing’s mouth curled up into a smile.

"I asked a friend to conduct a private investigation. It might not yield much, but it’s worth the attempt."

Upon hearing Li Jing’s explanation, an enlightenment came across Su Siliu’s face.

Instead of prying further, she asked.

"Regarding the perpetrator, what’s your personal opinion, Inspector Li?"

"I can’t say for sure, given we still lack some information."

Li Jing shrugged, saying.

"But if he’s indeed the one who has been committing crimes for more than a decade, I suspect he’s inclined towards ’impressive beauties’, yet fails to get in touch with real ones. Thus, he has to settle for second best, seeking women who are unattainable for ordinary people but easier for him to approach in various entertainment venues."

Continuing, Li Jing said.

"The criminal ’isn’t picky’, but possesses intense possessiveness. He doesn’t mind the past of the ’impressive beauties’ he seduces, but can’t stand them being promiscuous after meeting him. If I’m not mistaken, the criminal should be wealthy; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to reach these ’impressive beauties’. Afterwards, he becomes conceited, believing he can give his desired women anything they want and can change them."

Listening to Li Jing’s analysis, Su Siliu nodded silently.

Speculations similar to this were not unprecedented in the Serious Crime Team II.

They’ve even suspected whether the murderer in cases from years back had any contact with the victims, or even physical relations. However, these suspicions were ruled out after several investigations.

While the two of them were conversing, two members from the Forensics Department had quickly collected the remains of the deceased and any potentially useful evidence. They cleaned the backseat of the flower car, then began a detailed examination of it.

Seeing this, Li Jing stepped forward.

"Does anyone have an ultraviolet scanning imaging device? I’d like to borrow it."

The two members of the Forensics Department turned their heads and looked at each other.

Su Siliu, who had followed Li Jing over, was also somewhat puzzled.

The device was used to detect blood, sweat, and other body fluids. The backseat of the flower car was covered in blood - wouldn’t scanning it just cover the entire area?

Assuming Li Jing might have another use for it, Su Siliu interjected.

"Do as Inspector Li says."

Compared to Li Jing who was not an official member of the Shangcheng Division, Su Siliu’s words held more weight.

Thus, one of the Forensics Department members went to get the hand-held ultraviolet scanning imager and handed it to Li Jing.

Li Jing accepted the device, turned it on, and proceeded to run a full scan of the flower car seat.

"Beep."

A soft chirp, and a complete scan of the flower car seat appeared on the imager’s display.

Su Siliu craned her neck in curiosity.

As she had predicted, the seat, completely stained with blood and covered with traces symbolizing the residue of blood, made this scan meaningless.

So, why did Li Jing insist on scanning?

Just as she was puzzled, Li Jing zoomed in on the scanned image on the imager. After enlarging, two darker spots appeared at the base of the blotchy blood-stained seat.

!!!

Su Siliu’s eyes widened.

These darker spots, also covered with blood traces, would ordinarily only indicate that the leather seat cover was not complete, flawed, and that blood had seeped in.

But the two dark spots in the scan were very symmetrically placed, one on top of the other.

This was highly suspicious.

Even more suspiciously, the two dark spots were right where someone’s waist would rest when seated normally.

Given this discovery, how could Su Siliu not be shocked?

Li Jing, this...

This was incredible!

Such a subtle clue, even Professional Forensics Department personnel may not discover it after careful examination.

Unless they take the entire seat back for a meticulous scan.

Would they do that?

No.

A seat full of bloody stains, what could there be to scan?

If it wasn’t for Li Jing’s suggestion, they wouldn’t even scan it with an ultraviolet imaging scanner.

Seeing the tiny dark spots appearing on the scanning image, Li Jing squinted.

He was not the "case-solving god" Su Siliu imagined, but he knew that the culprit was likely the Baboon Pig, so from the very beginning he had a rough idea of what to look for.

A seat full of blood was perfect.

The blood stains all over the seat was precisely a stark contrast of reference.

As it turned out, he was right.

The tiny dark spots on the scanner nearly confirmed that the Baboon Pig involved with Zhang Suya was suspicious.

The two dark spots, one on top of the other, were probably the traces left by two slender spikes hidden in the seat, launched from different directions, and piercing into Zhang Suya’s body from behind her waist.

The spikes were very powerful and tore into Zhang Suya’s body, splitting her upper and lower body, and exploding as a whole.

In this way, it was understandable why Zhang Suya screamed at the time of the incident.

Anyone whose waist is pierced by a spike, shouting out in pain when a foreign object enters the body wouldn’t be strange?

Exhaling a breath, Li Jing handed the imager to Su Siliu.

"How to preserve the evidence, leaving it to you."

"Oh, okay."

Su Siliu quickly agreed, took the imager forward, and communicated with the two bewildered Forensics Department personnel.

Now she honored Li Jing as a "god."

Having patrolled for so many years, she felt as if she had done it for nothing.

Watching Su Siliu go forward, Li Jing stepped back, planning to gather his thoughts, when he felt a vibration in his pocket.

There’s a result!?

Li Jing was taken aback and took out his device.

The screen automatically lit up, revealing a message.

"Master, after investigation, Zhang Suya has been in contact with a total of forty-two men in the past month. Among them, there are sixteen men that have been seen with her on the Yun Dian Paradise’s surveillance cameras. The remaining twenty-six men are from nightclubs, bars, and other entertainment venues near her residence."