Chapter 36: In Retrospect

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Come over and look at this,” Sun Fei paused the video, and the screen was focused on an elegant woman. She had an alluring demeanor and feminine grace.

“Uhm,” Xu Lan looked at the screen intently. Images of the woman started flashing across the screen when Sun Fei fast-forwarded the video.

“This woman made an appearance at Lanshan area before,” he said.

“Oh, it’s her! This woman always appears around Jingxin area as well. She made a deep impression because she’s always around and her looks are eye-catching. I thought she was one of the tenants there,” Zhu Jing exclaimed in astonishment and turned around.

“This means that she appeared in all three areas. Let’s check if the timing of her appearance coincides with when the crime was committed. Zhu Jing, go and look up information on her together with Xiao Xu. All of them,” Xu Lan frowned and said.

This case was knottier than he expected.

“In this case, the criminal suspect is a female? Does this mean that all of our previous deductions will be disregarded?” Despite having found a new lead, Sun Fei had an uneasy look on his face. They had to forgo all of their previous verdict at this critical juncture, which meant that all deductions made before this were to no avail.

“No, the criminal suspect is not a female. In fact, this is an organized crime,” Xu Lan concluded.

In their previous encounter, the killer was just a stone’s throw away from him. From what he gathered, with the skill and voice he had, as well as the reaction from the victim, the killer should be a charming male.

“An organized crime! This will be more complex as they are very well-planned and highly coordinated. If this was done by an organized crime group, we will not be able to get custody even if we caught one of them,” Li Xiu voiced out his own queries aptly, speaking for everyone else who was present.

“Indeed, which is why our tasks would be more arduous from now onwards,” Xu Lan pinched the skin between his eyebrows. He intended to go out for a smoke to clear his mind, but when he reached into his pocket, he had no other choice but to smile wryly.

“Lao Hu, do you want to come over to see this?” Xu Lan looked at Hu Cheng and asked, “Have you made up your mind?”

Time waits for no man, the opportunity was now or never. Especially with the criticality of the current situation.

“Yes, you can go ahead with it. I will bear the responsibility should there be any problems,” Hu Cheng finally chose to compromise after thorough consideration.

“Great! Miss Wu, can you call that reporter from the press to come over right now? We need him to release this information to put some pressure on those criminal suspects and to prove that we are not empty-handed. I’ll leave the copywriting to you if you don’t mind,” Xu Lan called over to Wu Wendi immediately.

“Okay, I will call her at once,” Wu Wendi answered with an overwhelming feeling of flattery. She did not expect her proposition to be adopted.

“Sun Fei, you’ll be in charge of the video, look out for any new clues. I am going to Jingxinyuan. I’ve always felt that there is something that we missed, something really important,” Xu Lan told Sun Fei while he retrieved his topcoat from the rack.

“Okay, go ahead. I’ll need Xiao Li’s help since you already sent Xiao Xu away. I could use an extra pair of hands,” Sun Fei answered.

“Sure, I’m leaving,” Xu Lan laughed while he shook his head. Section Chief Sun never let others take advantage of him.

“Hey Brother Lan, I want to come along too,” Li Xiu requested on his own accord as he noticed Xu Lan was almost leaving but did not seem to have intentions of inviting him.

“Well…” If he left Xiao Li here, Bai Wu would definitely want to come with him. The little guy even told him he disliked Li Xiu this morning.

‘Forget it, I will explain to him later’ he thought.

“Okay, let’s go together.” With Li Xiu around, they might discover clues that they had not uncovered before. His capabilities should not be underestimated.

As expected, Bai Wu was like an angry cat with raised hackles when he saw Li Xiu. He was ready to rush forward and claw him with his sharp teeth but he was stopped just in time by Xu Lan.

The three of them drove in one car and arrived at Jingxinyuan. This was the first time Xu Lan set foot on this compound in this dimension.

Not only did he hear a real-life Shunga here, but he also witnessed a murder scene. However, such testimony was useless. Sometimes, flashbacks of this event made Xu Lan hate himself for letting the killer get off scot-free even though he was so close to him.

This place was in the same condition as they left it – a disorganized, hopeless mess. The victim’s body was sent to the police station and the blood stains on the floor were washed clean. There was only a chalk outline of the body drawn with spray paint.

Xu Lan held Bai Wu’s hand and walked over to sit down beside the chaise lounge. He then took the child into his arms.

“Xiao Xiu, can you play a clip of the video with this?” Xu Lan took out his mobile phone and passed it to him.

There has to be something that he overlooked. He wanted to reenact the crime scene, hoping to find any slip-ups from the killer.

“Okay,” Li Xiu took the mobile phone and walked into the bedroom.

Suddenly, loud moans permeated through the door into Xu Lan and Bai Wu’s ears. Xu Lan was startled and covered the child’s ears immediately.

“Hold on, play it only when I tell you to,” Xu Lan said awkwardly.

Li Xiu was just as surprised by the video. He fumbled with the mobile phone between his hands and it slipped out of his hands, dropping onto the floor with a thump.

“Yes, alright!” Li Xiu picked the phone up with a bright-red face. The person in the video was his type, prudent and matured, glamorous yet aloof.

Recalling the situation that night, Xu Lan felt a heavy weight upon him.

He carried the child and hid behind the chair hurriedly. All kinds of noises were heard from the hallway. There were sounds of fabric ripping, thumping of knocks against the closet doors, squelching, panting and stilettos dropping onto the floor.

Then, both of them stumbled into the bedroom.

“Okay, you can play the video now,” Xu Lan informed him with his eyes shut. This time he was prepared by covering Bai Wu’s ears beforehand.

‘Should not have brought him along, it’s not very convenient,’ Xu Lan thought to himself.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep