Shao Zhixin suddenly shivered inexplicably, scratched his head, and held back from making a sound.
The forensic investigator inside helplessly said, "There are fresh footprints on the ground, and they are
all over the place."
The police officer hurriedly explained, "It wasn't us. When we arrived, the security guard had already been
inside. We found the scene's traces strange and immediately closed off the area." He pointed to the man on
the other side of the corridor who was giving a statement.
He Chuan Zhou asked, "What time did you receive the call?"
The police officer reviewed his records and presented them to He Chuan Zhou, explaining, "We received the
report at 7:23 and promptly arrived at 7:34, only to find that the security guard had already conducted a
search inside."
He held the pen in his hand and drew a route in the air for them.
"The security guard said that after passing through the entrance, he saw the body, went to the study on the
right side first, then went around the living room to the bedroom, and finally went to the bathroom."
He Chuan Zhou said, "So the wet stains on the sink were made by him."
The police officer nodded, "Yes. He said it was the first time he saw a corpse and was very nervous.
Although he didn't touch anything, he couldn't resist the urge to wash his hands."
Brother Huang leaned against the door and chuckled, "Nervous and wandering around at a murder scene? What was he
looking for?"
"He said he was a bit confused at the time, just habitually looking around the scene, without thinking too
much," the police officer calmly recounted, "The house was indeed very empty, with hardly any clothes. And
the cleaner said they generally don't keep valuable items in the house, otherwise Tao Xianyong wouldn't have
allowed her to come in to clean casually."
There was no more information for the time being. The police officer was about to supplement the cleaner's
statement when He Chuan Zhou, staring straight ahead, suddenly asked, "Did he also close the windows?"
"The windows?" The police officer looked puzzled at the closed glass windows in the living room and shook
his head. "I don't know about that. I didn't ask."
A colleague came over with an evidence bag and handed it to He Chuan Zhou. "Captain He, this should be Tao
Xianyong's phone. It's quite lucky, still has 4% battery. But when I lit up the screen just now, it dropped
to 2%."
He Chuan Zhou nodded without reaching for it. Instead, he turned his head and gestured for Brother Huang to take
it, saying, "Brother Huang, you oversee the scene. I'll go get a statement."
Brother Huang was slightly surprised, took the item, saw He Chuan Zhou heading towards the security guard's
position, and gave Shao Zhixin a meaningful look, indicating he should follow to learn more.
In fact, they had already asked about the security guard's situation enough. The police officer repeated
similar questions for confirmation.
There was still a hint of panic in the young man's expression, his right hand tightly gripping his left
forearm as if he hadn't yet escaped the fear of facing a dead person. Due to the long questioning by the
police, his mood gradually became impatient. He kept changing his posture, showing signs of restlessness.
The police officer called out, "Captain He."
He Chuan Zhou nodded, "I'll talk to him for a bit."
The security guard, who looked quite young, under thirty, took a deep breath upon hearing this, then exhaled
heavily, sounding defeated and powerless, "Officer, I've told you everything I know, I'm just a security
guard, I really..."
He Chuan Zhou raised her hand to interrupt his plea, speaking calmly, "I'll ask about some other things, just
to fill in some details."
The young man rubbed his face vigorously, suppressing the impatience, and said weakly with lowered head, "Go
ahead, ask."
"I noticed that all the houses in this neighborhood have fingerprint locks, but this one uses keys."
The young man tapped his shoe on the ground, sliding along the black seams of the pavement, and replied,
"Yes, it's a high-end neighborhood. Originally, it was equipped with fingerprint access control systems, but
Mr. Tao didn't like it. He didn't trust these smart technologies, saying they weren't secure."
He Chuan Zhou glanced over his notes, observing his expression from the corner of his eye. "It sounds like you
were quite familiar with him."
The young man stood up a little straighter, hands hanging down, "He's the homeowner, I'm the security guard,
there's nothing particularly familiar. Sometimes when passing by the entrance, we would exchange greetings."
He Chuan Zhou didn’t react much, quickly writing on the paper, "When you entered, were the windows closed?"
The young man, surprised by the sudden change of topic, recalled, and said, "I think they were closed? I
don't know, I didn't touch them. The man was dead, why would I touch the windows?"
He Chuan Zhou said, "The doors in the rooms were open."
"They were already open when I entered!" The young man suspected she was nitpicking, "Officer, does this
have anything to do with the case? Are you testing me? Isn't it obvious that Mr. Tao died from a fall?"
Tao Xianyong's body lay twisted on the edge of the sofa in the living room, with a little blood stain on the
corner of the coffee table in front, and his slippers were thrown off.
Based on the rough judgment of the scene, it seemed he accidentally fell and hit his head, resulting in
unexpected death.
"The cause of death is determined by the police. Just cooperate," He Chuan Zhou said without changing her
expression, "We need to reconstruct the scene now because you were there."
The young man muttered to himself, "Are these details really important?"
He Chuan Zhou tapped her pen on the notebook, "Do you know the cleaner who reported the case well?"
The young man instinctively said, "Not really."
Then, with a hint of hesitation, he added, "We're just workers, sometimes we chat when we meet at the
entrance. More than with Mr. Tao, but it's not like we're close. Officer, I don't know what your standard
for 'familiar' is?"
He Chuan Zhou lifted her eyelids, her gaze chilling as she looked at him, and said calmly, "Calling you first
after discovering a body instead of calling the police, that's what I call 'familiar.'"
The young man pursed his lips, hesitated, didn't answer quickly this time, and only spoke after considering,
"I was panicked, you know, in a state of confusion. Basically, whenever there's a problem in the house, or
if there's any big garbage to clean up, she calls me first, and I get someone to help her. So, I got used to
it."
He felt uncomfortable under He Chuan Zhou's scrutiny, looked away, and noticed Shao Zhixin squinting at him
nearby.
Shao Zhixin's round face lacked intimidation, which made the young man feel more at ease. He calmly said to
He Chuan Zhou, "It's not related to me. I'm usually either on duty at the entrance or resting at home, and the
surveillance cameras can confirm that."
He Chuan Zhou's expression remained unchanged throughout, as if she were conducting a mechanical inquiry,
"Noted. We'll contact you if necessary for further investigation. Let me see your ID card."
"I didn't bring it, it's in the security office. Can I use the ID on my phone? The officer just checked it."
"Where do you usually work? Is it fixed or rotational?"
The young man said, "Northeast entrance. I'm usually there."
He Chuan Zhou nodded. "Just sign here."
The young man didn't react immediately upon hearing this, then asked tentatively, "Can I go now?"
He Chuan Zhou waved her hand, "You can go. Keep your phone on."
The young man left in a hurry.
Seeing him leave, He Chuan Zhou clipped the pen onto the notebook and asked, "What about the cleaner?"
"She was scared, felt a bit unwell in her heart. She nearly fainted, so we sent her to the nearby hospital
for a check-up." The police officer said, "Her reaction doesn't seem fake, and there's nothing special about
her statement."
He Chuan Zhou acknowledged and said, "Thanks for your hard work, you can go."
Shao Zhixin leaned in close to He Chuan Zhou's ear and whispered mysteriously, "Captain He, I think those two
have some issues. It's not that simple."
His implication was whether they should bring them to the police station for questioning or have someone
keep an eye on them to prevent them from fleeing.
However, He Chuan Zhou turned back with a complicated expression, glanced at him without making any comments,
and walked straight ahead.
Shao Zhixin innocently stood in place, feeling that there was something he couldn't understand in her gaze
just now. So, he quietly repeated what happened to Xu Yu, who happened to pass by.
Xu Yu's figure slightly leaned back, and he whispered back, "Captain He's meaning should be clear, don't say
obvious nonsense at an unsafe scene."
The body was taken away by the forensic examiner. After the scene was investigated by everyone and a few
neighbors were interviewed, it was already too late, so they hurried back to the branch for a meeting.
Shao Zhixin sat in the back seat of the car, closing his eyes and carefully reviewing the questioning from
tonight, analysing He Chuan Zhou’s intentions behind each question.
When the vehicle entered the garage of the branch, it made him realize that something was wrong.
Tao Xianyong's house was near the main entrance of the neighborhood, which is the west side. The road there
was spacious, leading to the city area, with a relatively large flow of traffic.
In contrast, there were rarely any vehicles passing through the northeast exit, mainly leading to the
highway intersection and the ring road.
Tao Xianyong's permanent residence was in City A. Generally speaking, it was more convenient to enter the
neighborhood from the main entrance. So, why would the security guard enter from the northeast area ?
He suddenly realized and exclaimed, which drew the attention of colleagues on both sides.
Brother Huang patted his shoulder and said in surprise, "Zhixin, what world were you immersed in? We've been
talking all the way without any reaction from you."
Shao Zhixin coughed awkwardly and said, "No, nothing. I was just lost in thought for a moment."
Brother Huang joked, "Looks like you made an important discovery."
Shao Zhixin hurriedly said modestly, "No, no. I just feel... Captain He is quite imposing. I stood next to
her today and didn't see her lose her temper. I just felt that she was very dignified."
"Of course!" Brother Huang suddenly raised his voice, sounding solemn, "Let me tell you, whether it's in our
branch, going up to the detachment, the entire city bureau, or even the provincial department, the last
person you want to offend is Captain He!"
Shao Zhixin's face changed drastically, "He... Where does Captain He come from? Is she even more powerful
than the leaders of the provincial department?"
Brother Huang chuckled and patted his shoulder meaningfully, "Silly kid, no matter how powerful the bigwigs are,
you won't provoke them. Your immediate superiors are the ones who can control you. And you know, the
previous leaders who led Captain He, do you know what happened to them in the end?"
As Brother Huang spoke, he nodded towards the car in front, his expression serious and solemn, filled with silent
advice to the newcomer.
The car ahead stopped, and He Chuan Zhou pushed open the door and got out.
The dim light in the garage blurred her slender silhouette. He Chuan Zhou seemed to sense something and looked
in their direction.
It might have been Shao Zhixin's imagination, but he felt like Captain He was looking at him. A daunting
pressure seemed to envelop him, making him involuntarily shiver.
Shao Zhixin's Adam's apple rolled, swallowing hard. He was about to ask Brother Huang for an answer, but Brother Huang
had already hurriedly walked to He Chuan Zhou's side and started discussing specific details with her.
Outside, Xu Yu knocked on the car window, urging, "What are you doing? Hurry up and get out."