The place where the camera was pointing was not exactly the entrance of the building, but rather a small
path leading to the target building. This supplemented a critical blind spot in the Guangyuan Community's
surveillance system.
By combining the footage from several other exit points, they could identify all the people who had entered
or left the crime scene.
March 18th was a Monday, around noon, and most residents were at work, so there was little movement within
the community. Apart from delivery personnel, there were only a few elderly people taking their children out
for some fresh air.
Several people gathered around the computer, staring intently at the screen.
The footage played at double speed, showing only a few people passing through and turning into the small
path, which made everyone on the team feel a genuine sense of relief.
At 12:36, the hotel staff appeared. At 12:45, a young man left the community. This matched the testimony he
had provided.
Apart from that, there was nothing noteworthy in the footage.
Xu Yu quickly glanced at He Chuan Zhou, displaying enthusiasm and positivity. With a thumb pointing at the
screen, he boldly asked, "Should we check all these people?"
This was a bit of a joke.
Only those who appeared before the hotel staff and stayed longer at the scene had the conditions to commit
the crime. There weren't many such targets.
The team's luck was indeed good. Just as they divided the tasks to count the people at different exits, He
Chuan Zhou called for a pause.
She stood behind Xu Yu, bent over, and extended her right hand over Xu Yu's shoulder, indicating for her to
rewind the footage.
"There's a delivery guy on a black electric bike. It seems like he never left after entering. Can you
confirm that?"
Xu Yu immediately rewound the footage, searching for the moment the delivery guy appeared.
11:42.
He had entered almost simultaneously with Zhou Tuo Xing, with only about a ten-minute difference.
Two other colleagues also rewound to this point, fast-forwarding to confirm. A quarter of an hour later,
they raised their hands to report, "It's been half an hour, and I still haven't seen him leave."
"Neither have I on my route."
Not long after, Xu Yu forcefully clicked the mouse and excitedly slapped the table with her other hand,
exclaiming, "I found him! He came out from this side at 12:56. So, he stayed inside for a full 1 hour and 14
minutes."
Everyone crowded around to examine the enlarged face on the screen.
Since the person was wearing a hat with their head down, and dressed in a high-collared winter coat, the
camera only captured a small part of his side face, making it impossible to clearly identify his features.
However, the license plate of the electric bike was clearly visible as he turned the corner.
"Ah..."
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, ending the seemingly endless monitoring. Simultaneously, their
goodwill towards Zhou Tuo Xing subtly grew.
They suspected that Zhou Tuo Xing might have known about the surveillance blind spot in the Guangyuan
Community beforehand, which was why he had placed a wireless camera on his car, adjusting the angle so
perfectly.
It was likely that a reporter who had investigated Tao Xian Yong told him.
The people under Captain He were indeed as reliable as him.
Of course, it would have been better if he had provided this footage during yesterday's questioning.
The team hurriedly went out to investigate, but when they found the owner's information, it did not match
the suspect.
Even if they couldn't see the suspect's full face, they could at least determine that the person was a tall,
muscular man around 1.85 meters in height.
But the registered owner of the electric bike was a slightly overweight young man only 1.75 meters tall.
The stumbling progress and the exhaustion from sleepless nights quickly dispelled any initial joy.
A group of people with gloomy faces and dull eyes gathered together, creating an intimidating atmosphere
like a group of grim reapers.
The bike owner opened the door to this grim scene, and upon seeing several people showing their IDs, visibly
panicked and stammered, "My bike... I lent it to a colleague a few days ago. My wife just had a baby, so
I've been at home with her. I didn't have time to commit any crimes! What did he do with my bike?"
Seeing his trembling hands, Xu Yu reflected for a moment, then forced a smile and asked, "Who did you lend
it to?"
The man, shivering despite her friendliness, meekly answered, "Liu Guang Yu."
He hurried to explain himself, trying to distance himself from Liu Guang Yu: "We came to work here from the
same place. He couldn't afford an electric bike. He used to rent one at his old place, but after moving out,
his new place didn't offer rental bikes. He wanted to switch to delivering packages, so he borrowed—rented
my bike for a month, saying he would manage for now."
Seeing Xu Yu's increasingly stiff expression, with a grin that could almost be called sinister, the man was
on the verge of tears, asking, "Officer, is this illegal too? Surely not?"
Xu Yu rubbed her face, trying to control her muscles, and asked, "Which characters for Guang and Yu? Do you
have his contact information and address?"
The man nodded quickly: "Yes, he told me where he lived. I'll check our chat history."
Thirty minutes later, Xu Yu and her team drove to Liu Guang Yu's residence. There was no response to their
knocking, and when the landlord unlocked the door, they found the place empty.
The thirty-square-meter cramped space was littered with colorful packaging, with several eaten instant
noodle cups on the table.
There was no bed, only a mattress on the floor. The makeshift wardrobe was open, holding a few old clothes.
Xu Yu walked to the balcony and found that Liu Guang Yu had been growing a row of plants there. They weren't
in proper flowerpots, but in some foam boxes and bathtubs, all filled with plants. The leaves were wilted
from not being watered for days.
Xu Yu recognized only a strawberry plant among them. A colleague came over and identified the others: "This
is a chili plant, and that's a bougainvillea. It looks barren now, but with some water, it could thrive.
This one seems like a tomato seedling. What a shame, the strawberry's already spoiled!"
Xu Yu found a quiet spot to call He Chuan Zhou. Once connected, she squatted unceremoniously on the steps,
scratching her head as she reported.
"Captain He, good news. We may have found our suspect. His name is Liu Guang Yu, 26 years old, from C City.
Currently, he works as a delivery man." Xu Yu continued bitterly, "And the bad news is, he might have
already fled."
Forty minutes later, He Chuan Zhou arrived at the scene.
She looked at the mess, frowned slightly, and asked, "Did you guys turn the place over?"
Xu Yu couldn't stand the injustice and shouted, "Are we that kind of people? It was already like this!"
They searched the entire room, finding nothing but garbage and everyday items, with no useful clues.
Xu Yu said, "There are no valuable items left in the room. Liu Guang Yu should have taken only the essential
valuables and some clothes."
Liu Guang Yu seemed to have lived a nomadic life here, ready to leave at any moment without leaving any
significant traces.
Apart from gardening, he didn't seem to have any other hobbies. He didn't clean much but didn't smoke,
drink, or have any other bad habits.
The clothes left behind were old and oversized, indicating they were either worn out by him or bought
second-hand.
He lived frugally, even using strong glue to repair a pair of flip-flops discarded by his bedside.
He Chuan Zhou walked over to the only wooden desk in the room, opened the drawer, and found a stack of
colorful flyers, most likely thrown in by Liu Guang Yu.
She pulled them out and started examining them one by one.
For many people, the city of A felt like this stack of flyers—colorful and full of temptation. But for some,
it felt alien, dull, and distant, isolating them from the rest of the world with its hustle and
entertainment.
Xu Yu, following closely behind her, flipped through her notebook and explained, "Liu Guang Yu's life was
quite difficult. The owner of the electric bike, his friend, is also from C City. They were middle school
classmates. The bike owner came to A City five years ago and later heard that Liu Guang Yu wanted to come
and work too. He told him that A City was decent enough, so Liu Guang Yu came here in August of 2017. He
worked honestly, delivering food and running errands. Though tough, it was enough to make a living. He had
no interaction with Tao Xian Yong, so he had no motive to kill him."
He Chuan Zhou nodded noncommittally.
Seeing her focused on the flyers, Xu Yu leaned in to look as well but didn't notice anything unusual. She
asked in confusion, "Captain He, is there something wrong with these?"
He Chuan Zhou shook the flyers and pulled one out, holding it up to Xu Yu. "There's nothing majorly wrong.
All the addresses on the promotional flyers are near the mall up front, probably picked up by Liu Guang Yu
while delivering. Only this flyer has an address near A University, which is 20 kilometers from here."
She flipped through the flyers again and pulled out another. "Two of them, actually. For different event
dates."
One was for a spring opening in 2018, and the other for a big sale during the start of the school year last
September.
"Hey?" Xu Yu recalled and nodded. "Right. I heard he used to deliver food near A University. The landlord
raised the rent twice in three months, so he couldn't afford it and moved here. Probably brought these
along."
He Chuan Zhou asked with a smile, "When you move, do you specifically pack a couple of flyers?"
Xu Yu: "Hmm?"
She took the flyers and read them thoroughly.
The flyers were for a second-hand bookstore near A University's campus that also sold stationery and some
sports equipment. From the slogans, it seemed to be run by an alumna of A University.
The design wasn't particularly special, with a silhouette of a girl reading in the background.
He Chuan Zhou examined the room again and, finding nothing else, glanced at her phone screen and said, "Pack
up anything useful and let's head back to the station."
Brother Huang had already arranged for someone to apply to access Liu Guang Yu's relevant information, and
the office was mostly empty at this moment.
He Chuan Zhou sat at her workstation and used her phone to scan the QR code on the flyer.
Shao Zhixin, passing by several times, couldn't hold back anymore. He cautiously asked, "Captain He, don't
you want to check on Mr. Zhou?"
He Chuan Zhou was taken aback and then understood. "Is he still here?"
Shao Zhixin replied, "Yes!"
Brother Huang overheard and exclaimed, "Didn't you ask him to stay?"
He Chuan Zhou was puzzled. "When did I ask him to stay?"
"I heard it!" Brother Huang stood up for Zhou Tuo Xing, criticizing He Chuan Zhou sternly, "He Chuan Zhou,
you're too much!"
He then turned dramatically, slowly tilting his face and raising an eyebrow seductively, "Wait for me."
He Chuan Zhou: "…?"
Xu Yu, the little tag-along, immediately mimicked the pose beside him, blinking flirtatiously, "Wait for
me."
He Chuan Zhou felt a vein throbbing on her forehead.
Brother Huang wasn't done, pointing at Shao Zhixin, "Zhixin, you do it too."
Shao Zhixin was ready but, intimidated by He Chuan Zhou's threatening glance, quickly retreated to the
back.
Xu Yu scoffed, "Coward!"
Shao Zhixin couldn't understand how she managed to survive till now.
But Xu Yu was the heir apparent to the team's flower, whereas he was just a screw, not firmly fixed and
unable to act out.
He Chuan Zhou laughed at their antics, "I meant for him to wait until I was done, implying we'd arrange
another time. How could I solve a murder case in just a few hours?"
"That's not impossible," Brother Huang teased. "And he's not a cop. It's reasonable for him to misunderstand
with just that one sentence. Can you blame him?"
Xu Yu, indignant, echoed, "Exactly! He's a concerned citizen!"
He Chuan Zhou was left speechless, putting down her phone and giving the group a cold smile.
Things were getting out of hand.
Whose side were they on anyway?