CLICK, CLICK.
In the corner of the living room of Apartment 2084, cameras mounted on tripods flickered. Technicians from the Forensic Science Division bustled about, collecting evidence.
There was scarcely any room to stand indoors. Officer Wang Fengnian, his face grim, stood in the corridor discussing the case's progress with his colleagues.
"According to surveillance records from the elevator and hallway cameras, a man in a yellow and black delivery uniform arrived on the 20th floor at 15:43. He first knocked on the door of Apartment 2082 and, after speaking with a young man for about ten seconds, proceeded to Apartment 2084. Under the guise of delivering food, he got Zeng Weiming to open the security door," a young operative reported.
"After the security door was opened, the man quickly covered Zeng Weiming's mouth, entered the apartment, and closed the door. Until 19:24, when you, Officer Wang, opened the security door, no one else entered or exited Apartment 2084.
"The forensic team's onsite assessment indicates that the suspect likely murdered the two victims between 16:00 and 17:00. Around 18:30, he climbed down from the 20th floor using the water pipes on the side of the balcony and left through the complex gate at 18:48.
"There's no record of an order for Apartment 2084 in the delivery system. It's difficult to identify the suspect from the surveillance footage since he wore a motorcycle helmet with a fake license plate and a mask. We've contacted the traffic management department to see if they can find the motorcycle the suspect rode. As for the victims' families, we're trying to contact them as quickly as possible."
Officer Wang nodded, glanced at his own apartment number, and felt a chill of lingering fear.
The suspect had prepared a fake motorcycle license plate in advance and printed fake food delivery order notes. His methods were brutal, vicious, clean, and efficient. He made no noise and had clearly prepared anti-surveillance measures.
It looked like a premeditated crime of vengeance. However, before the suspect knocked on the security door of Officer Wang Fengnian's Apartment 2082, he specifically glanced at the delivery note. This meant the suspect was likely operating with a mindset of 'harm one more if I can,' intending to 'warm up' with 2082 before targeting Zeng Weiming and Wang Fangni in Apartment 2084.
Just by a hair's breadth, the utterly ruthless suspect had almost murdered his daughter...
"The only person who saw the suspect face-to-face was your daughter's classmate, Officer Wang," the young operative said. "The forensic artist is working with him now to create a sketch of the suspect."
Wang Fengnian nodded. "Let's go take a look."
Officer Wang opened his own security door and saw his wife and daughter huddled in the bedroom, whispering to each other for comfort—an acquaintance they had walked their dog with just the day before was gone the next. The reality was incredibly hard to accept.
Li Ang, however, sat in the living room. He wore a grey-brown deerstalker cap, had a yogurt bottle dangling from his lips, and had somehow found Wang Congshan's painting easel. He was pondering as he rapidly sketched with a pencil on the easel's drawing board.
The young technician, who was supposed to be doing the forensic sketch, sat beside him, watching Li Ang draw with a curious expression.
Wang Fengnian's eye twitched. "Xiao Zhang! What are you doing?!"
The technician jumped. "My apologies, Chief Wang! This young comrade can also sketch, and his skills are excellent. I figured I'd just let him do it himself."
"You know how to sketch?" Wang Fengnian cast a skeptical glance.
"Just a little," Li Ang said, slurping his yogurt. He smiled and turned the easel around. Even if Wang Fengnian knew nothing about sketching, he could tell that the lines of the portrait were clear, highly regular, and the details were perfect. It didn't look like a quick sketch; it resembled a piece of art from a gallery.
"This drawing is in the Academic style. I once studied sketch portraiture for a while, modeling my work after the French copperplate engraver Bernard Romain Julien's portraits,"
Li Ang explained casually. "If time permitted, I could also imitate Leng Jun and produce a version in hyperrealistic color oil paint."
Look at you, showing off.
Wang Fengnian took the sketch. The masked man in the drawing was large, with deep furrows between his brows and thick, long fingers on his gloved hands. He wore black boots caked with mud.
Next to the depictions of the helmet, clothes, gloves, pants, and boots, long lines pointed towards terms related to Taobao product listings.
"The suspect premeditated this crime, acted cleanly and efficiently, and possesses extremely high psychological fortitude. He's highly unlikely to be an actual delivery worker. His uniform, gloves, and boots all look quite new, probably purchased from an online shopping platform. Sales volumes for delivery worker uniforms on such platforms aren't typically very high. By collecting order numbers from the past six months and cross-referencing them with orders for similar styles of gloves and boots, we can significantly narrow down the pool of suspects."
Li Ang continued, "If the suspect, with his counter-surveillance awareness, genuinely took a job as a delivery worker beforehand, then we can also compare the movements of Yin City delivery workers on that day to identify everyone who had the opportunity to commit the crime. We could even look up lists of delivery workers fired over an extended period and investigate their co-renters who fit the profile.
Of course, the suspect has strong counter-surveillance awareness. It's also possible he bought the gloves and boots on different online platforms using different accounts and had them shipped to various out-of-town addresses before consolidating them and sending them to Yin City. That would make the search much more difficult."
Officer Wang Fengnian was taken aback. "Where did you learn all this?"
"It's a hobby," Li Ang replied earnestly. "Back in elementary school, our school often held various awareness assemblies. For instance, at the drowning prevention assembly, they'd invite the resentful spirits of drowning victims to speak. At the criminal law awareness assembly, they'd have the preserved bodies of executed prisoners, soaking in formalin, give speeches. Ever since then, I've wanted to become a glorious police detective."
Inviting resentful spirits and preserved corpses to give speeches? What the hell kind of elementary school did you go to? Was it a primary school in name but actually the Laoshan Taoist Temple in practice?
Wang Fengnian, feeling a mixture of awkwardness and unease, was starting to adapt to Li Ang's peculiar way of thinking and simply nodded without saying much.
Li Ang sighed inwardly. Despite the police slogan that "all murder cases must be solved," he remained pessimistic about Officer Wang Fengnian's chances of catching the suspect.
Whether the killer was a Monster Beast, a Ghost, or a player, their movements were too elusive and their methods too varied for Officer Wang to handle. If the killer was a player, their counter-surveillance skills would be maxed out too. Player forums even have threads dedicated to teaching counter-surveillance techniques, helping players learn to hide their identities and erase their tracks.
All he could hope for was that Officer Wang could use official resources to find more clues.
Li Ang thought, his gaze on Wang Fengnian so intense it made the officer shiver.
"...Let's go record your statement," Officer Wang instructed, having his subordinate put away the sketch.
After driving Li Ang to the police station to complete his statement, Wang Fengnian drove him back home. Upon learning that Li Ang lived alone, Wang Fengnian specifically cautioned him to be mindful of his safety in the coming days, noting that police officers would be covertly protecting him to prevent the deranged suspect from harming a witness.
Li Ang nodded compliantly, opened his door, and entered his house. Before he even turned on the light, he saw a long-haired head dangling from the ceiling.
Chai Cuiqiao, hanging upside down, stretched out her hand, her voice ethereal and wistful. "Didn't you say you'd be right back? Give me—the—phone—"
"Phone, my foot! Can't you think about anything else?" Li Ang then took out his smartphone, waved it in front of Chai Cuiqiao, and said firmly, "You're coming with me tonight; I have something to do. Once it's done, I'll buy you a new one."
"A new phone?" Chai Cuiqiao floated down from the ceiling, her cheeks reddening as she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "I don't have any experience, you know... but it's not impossible, as long as you don't mind the cold."
"What on earth are you thinking about all the time?" Li Ang said, his face stern. "We're going to catch a murderer."