Snap, snap.
In the corner of the living room in Unit 2084, the camera on the tripod flashed. The forensic team was busy collecting evidence.
There was almost no empty space in the room. Officer Wang Fengnian stood in the corridor with a ghastly face and talked to his colleagues about the progress of the case.
“According to the surveillance footage in the elevator and hallway, a man in a yellow-black food delivery uniform took the elevator to the 20th floor at 3:43 p.m. After he knocked on the door of Unit 2082 and talked to a young man for ten seconds, he went to Unit 2084 and asked the victim, Zeng Weiming, to open the security door so he could deliver food.”
A young officer reported, “After the security door was opened, the man quickly covered Zeng Weiming’s mouth, entered the house, and closed the door. Nobody entered or left Unit 2084 before Officer Wang opened the security door at 7:24 p.m.
“The evaluation of the crime scene by the forensic team showed that the suspect must have murdered the two victims between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m, climbed down from the 20th floor by using the water pipe beside the balcony at 6:30 p.m, and left the estate gate at 6:48 p.m.
“There was no order for Unit 2084 in the food delivery system, and the suspect was wearing a fake licensed motorcycle helmet and mask. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the suspect based on the footage. We have contacted the traffic management department to see if we can find the motorcycle that the suspect used.
“As for the victims’ daughter, we are trying to contact her as soon as possible.”
Officer Wang nodded, glanced at his house unit number, and felt afraid for a while.
The suspect had made a fake motorcycle license in advance, printed a fake delivery bill, and signed it. His methods were cruel and vicious. He had carried out his plan neatly and cleanly, without making any noise, and had even prepared counter-surveillance means.
This seemed to be a vendetta-related premeditated crime, but the suspect had deliberately signed the delivery bill before knocking on the door of Unit 2082, which was Wang Fengnian’s house. In other words, the suspect was capable of harming anyone. Before he’d tried to murder Zeng Weiming and Wang Fangni in Unit 2084, he had tried his hand on Unit 2082 as a warm-up.
It had been a close call. The cruel suspect had nearly murdered his daughter…
The young officer said, “The only person who had seen the suspect is your daughter’s classmate. The forensic team is now sketching and reconstructing the suspect’s face with his help.”
Wang Fengnian nodded. “Let’s go and take a look.”
Officer Wang opened his security door, only to see his wife and daughter hiding in the bedroom and whispering to comfort each other. The day before, they had walked their dogs with their neighbors. The next day, they had died. This was really unacceptable.
Li Ang, who was sitting in the living room, was wearing a grayish-brown deerstalker on his head and had a bottle of yogurt against his mouth. Somehow, he had found Wang Congshan’s easel stand. While pondering, he quickly sketched with a pencil.
The young forensic staff member who was supposed to be doing the criminal sketch was sitting next to him and curiously watching Li Ang sketch.
Wang Fengnian’s eyes twitched. “Little Zhang! What are you doing?”
The forensic staff member was startled. “Sorry, Leader Wang. This young comrade can sketch by himself, and his technique is very good. I’d rather let him sketch.”
“You even know how to sketch?” Wang Fengnian cast a suspicious look at him.
“A little.” Li Ang took a sip of his yogurt and turned around the drawing easel with a smile. Even though Wang Fengnian didn’t understand much about sketching, he could roughly see that the sketch’s portrait lines were clear and very regular and the details were perfect. Unlike a quick sketch, this was like a piece of art that belonged in a gallery.
“This painting follows the style of the Academic School. I used to study it for some time based on the sketch portraits of French painter Bernard Romain Julien, who made copper plate etchings.”
Li Ang explained indifferently, “If time permits it, I can also imitate Leng Jun’s hyperrealism to produce a color oil painting version.”
How impressive.
Wang Fengnian took the sketch, which depicted a huge man with a mask, deep brows, wrinkles, slender fingers in a glove, and black muddy boots.
His hat, clothes, gloves, pants, and boots had all been drawn with a long line that indicated some Taobao merchandise.
“The suspect has committed a premeditated crime. He carried it out cleanly with an extremely high mentality. He is probably not a food delivery man, as his uniform, gloves, and boots are quite new. He most likely purchased them online. The sales volume of delivery uniforms online is not too high. If we collect the order numbers of the past six months, combined with the order numbers of gloves and boots of similar styles, and compare them, we can reduce the scope of our investigation a lot.”
Li Ang said, “If the suspect has counter-surveillance means and was a food delivery man before this, then you can also compare the situation of Yin City’s food delivery men that day and find out all the people who have criminal capacity. You can even check the list of food delivery men who have been dismissed recently to find the ones that meet the requirements.
“Of course, the suspect’s counter-surveillance awareness is very strong. It is also possible that his gloves and boots were purchased from different online shopping platforms through different accounts and were mailed to different foreign addresses before they were all sent to Yin City. In that case, the search will become more difficult.”
Officer Wang Fengnian was stunned. “Where did you learn all these things?”
“It’s my hobby and interest,” Li Ang replied seriously. “In elementary school, our school often held various propaganda conferences. Drowning prevention awareness campaigns invited drowned souls to give a speech, while criminal law awareness campaigns invited death penalty prisoners, whose corpses had been soaked in formalin, to give a speech. I’ve wanted to be a glorious police detective ever since.”
Your school invited drowned souls and corpses to give a speech? Is your school reading an elementary school composition on the Laoshan Daoist rite?
Wang Fengnian, who vaguely felt awful, had begun to adapt to Li Ang’s brain circuit rhythm. Thus, he nodded and said nothing.
Li Ang sighed internally. Despite having to solve this murder case, he was still pessimistic about the possibility of Officer Wang Fengnian being able to catch the suspect.
Regardless of whether the murderer was a demon, a ghost, or a player, his whereabouts were strange and he had a variety of means. This was not something that Officer Wang could deal with. If the murderer was a player, his counter-surveillance skills would be full. There were forum posts teaching counter-surveillance skills to help players learn how to hide their identity and trails.
He only hoped that Officer Wang could use official resources to find more clues.
Li Ang secretly thought as he looked at Wang Fengnian with fiery eyes, scaring the other man.
“Let’s go record your statement.” Officer Wang asked his subordinate to put away the sketch.
After driving Li Ang to the police station to record his statement, Wang Fengnian took Li Ang home again. Upon learning that he was living alone, he reminded him to pay attention to his safety these days. He would be secretly protected by police officers, who would prevent a deranged suspect from making a move on the witness.
Li Ang nodded and opened the door to enter his house. Before turning on the light, he saw a head with long hair hanging from the ceiling.
Chai Cuiqiao, who was hanging upside down from the ceiling, reached out with her hands and said in an empty, bitter voice, “Didn’t you say that you would be back right away? Let me play with your… cell… phone…”
Li Ang took out his smartphone and shook it in front of Chai Cuiqiao. He then said in a deep voice, “Go out with me tonight. I have something to do, but I will buy you a new one when everything is done.”
“A new cell phone?” Chai Cuiqiao floated down from the ceiling, blushing and kneading the corner of her skirt. “I am not experienced yet, but I can do that as long as you’re not afraid of the cold.”
“What have you been thinking about the whole day?” Li Ang said with a darker expression. “Catch the murderer with me.”