novelSorting Out the Facts
| ← Ch.027 | Ch.029 → |
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The young and adorable female reporter stood outside of the glass door, facing Zhu Jing's wrath directly.
"I, I think the media is being unfair! I've decided to join forces with everyone to uncover the truth behind this incident!"
Wu Wendi spoke with determination and was completely unshaken by the angry gazes.
"Don't you think that we are going to let you off the hook just because of what you've said, someone like you..."
"Xiao Jing, let her in." Zhu Jing was planning to shoo her away. She did not expect Hu Cheng to invite her in. Could it be the director general had forgotten about that incident?
Zhu Jing turned and looked at Hu Cheng with an incredulous expression, the people around her had a similar expression on their faces. No one could believe that those words came from Hu Cheng's mouth.
"Let her in, " Hu Cheng continued, "We need to sort this out sooner or later. Since she made the first move, why can't we take a step back and hear her out?"
As an attempt to be more convincing, he tried to smile. However, he found it hard to lift the corner of his mouth.
Xu Lan went over and pet him on his shoulder as a sign of consolation. Even though he was unsure of what happened between the police station and the media, it definitely had something to do with Hu Cheng, who was still suffering from the consequences to date.
Zhu Jing glanced at Hu Cheng worriedly before deciding to obey his order and let Wu Wendi in.
"Hello everyone, nice to meet you. I'm Wu Wendi from the press. Even though I'm a reporter, I've come out of my own accord and this has nothing to do with the press. I would like to contribute in whatever way I can."
Wu Wendi walked in and announced with determination.
"Haha, we could always use an extra pair of hands. Lao Xu, what do you think?"
Hu Cheng smiled and bared his mouthful of yellow teeth. He tapped Xu Lan on his shoulder and walked into the conference room. Although he did not want to deal with someone from the press, Hu Cheng agreed to Wu Wendi's proposal. Hu Cheng trusted Xu Lan, knowing that he would not bring just anyone to the station.
This time around, Hu Cheng might have overestimated him on trusting the female reporter. Only Bai Wu saw through Xu Lan's true intention - it was to get closer to her. On the other hand, he also wanted to know the story behind the strained relationship between the media and the police.
"There's nothing much for now. You can join us at our meeting. As you've run into Li Kui earlier today, maybe you can come up with a few suggestions, " said Xu Lan as he rubbed his neck.
Meanwhile, in the conference room, Xiao Xu and Sun Fei worked together to set up the projector. They had also arranged the information they possessed across the blackboard.
"Director General, " Xiao Xu said calmly as Hu Cheng walked into the room.
"Hmm, is everything ready?" His question was directed at Sun Fei.
"Alright, let's look at these few cases. Combining information such as the perpetrator's modus operandi, the victim's occupation, and the time of crime, we are sure that the perpetrator in all three cases is the same person."
Sun Fei let everyone take a seat before elaborating on the aforementioned issues with his PowerPoint presentation.
"Ah!" Upon seeing the photo of the victim being projected on the screen, Wu Wendi let out a loud gasp and bumped into Xiao Li who was behind of her.
"Why are you here again? Is this something fit to be seen by a girl like you?" Xiao Li voiced his thoughts subconsciously.
"Li Fei! How could you say such things? Why can't a girl look at it? How am I different from her? There's Qingyan from forensics."
Zhu Jing was being her usual hot-headed self as she voiced her displeasure.
"Uh, we're bros, right? Let's not bother with menial remarks, " Xiao Li mumbled under his breath unhappily.
"You!" Zhu Jing was infuriated. She stamped her feet as she found herself at a loss for words.
"Alright, let's get back to business. Sun Fei, please continue."
Xu Lan was in charge of the case. As Xu Lan was at home earlier, Sun Fei stood in for him and organized the information into PowerPoint slides for everyone's ease of understanding.
"In all three cases, the victims are all females working in peculiar professions. After raping them, the murderer cut off their breasts and sewed up their private parts. All three victims bled to death. Of course, due to the nature of their profession, there might be money involved in their relationship."
Sun Fei also highlighted the fact that these victims were young and energetic girls who seemed cheerful.
"According to our on-site investigation, the murderer is experienced and has strong counter-surveillance capabilities. He should be a male with psychological illness within the age range of twenty to fifty."
"Psychological illness? How so?"
Li Xiu who was sitting at the corner voiced his question. He was dressed casually in light brown and had his gold-framed glasses on. He did not seem like a police at all. If anything, he looked more like a soft-spoken manager from a corporation.
"Firstly, he targets a specific group of people. Secondly, he doesn't take a break. Lastly, he practices a peculiar modus operandi." Sun Fei was drawing circles on the screen with his Infrared pen.
Li Xiu crossed his legs and tapped on the table with his left index and middle finger.
"Hmm, it does seem like this person has a psychological issue, " he sighed and affirmed the conjecture.
"Moreover, we have confirmed that the fluids found in the victims were all from the same person. Our conjecture is validated. However, we did not discover any fingerprints or surveillance cameras from the crime scene. The murderer brought his victim into the room before killing them without leaving a trace behind. This is why the investigation was at a standstill during the previous case."
After offering his explanation, Sun Fei struck the table in disappointment.
"Cough, cough!" Li Xiu was coughing back when Sun Fei mentioned about the fluids. He launched into a coughing fit and only managed to recuperate when the burly man who was standing behind of him gave him a few pats on his back.
"Cough, this is my driver-cum-doctor. Sorry for the disruption, hope that didn't bother you all, " Li Xiu spoke with his left fist pressing against his lips.
"Mmhmm? Don't worry about it. However..." Xu Lan and Hu Cheng looked at each other as they spoke.
"Ah, if that's the case, I shall get him to leave now." Li Xiu smiled bitterly and spoke to the burly man, who then glanced at Xu Lan and Wu Wendi before leaving the conference room.
"Let's not bother ourselves with this and continue with our discussion, " Li Xiu spoke as he straightened his glasses.
"Alright, these are the similarities between the three cases. Do note Li Xinyi's father has been stirring up trouble over the past two days. However, these two were not exactly on good terms. On top of that, no one came for the other two victims. I wonder if this is one of the characteristics that the murderer singled out as well?"
Sun Fei replayed both the video clip 'starring' Li Kui earlier today and the video clip recorded in the interrogation room. The conference room was bombarded with loud cries immediately.
"Seeing how he said that he only came after receiving a letter, Section Chief Sun's hypothesis isn't unfounded. One other important point would be the two words that appeared on the victim's body this morning, " said Xu Lan.
"We still don't have any lead at all!" Hu Cheng tapped his tobacco pipe on the table repetitively.
"Wait a minute, we do have a lead!" Sun Fei exclaimed as Xu Lan smiled at him, taking notice of his impressive analysis.
| ← Ch. 027 | Ch. 029 → |