Right now, the silent Shen Ting was unconsciously drawing circles on the body-dumping case file with his pen.
The line stating [Surveillance cameras near victim Chen Feng's home unexpectedly malfunctioned, no relevant surveillance footage available] had already been heavily traced over and over by him.
The group held their breath, waiting to hear Shen Ting's judgment.
But when he looked up, he asked a question completely unrelated to their previous discussion: "Were there any diaries or electronic devices used for journaling found in the victim's home?"
"Huh?" Wen Di's face was full of question marks.
"The victim should have maintained a long-term habit of keeping a diary."
Shen Ting remembered that Chen Feng, just like his father Shen Zhi, had kept the habit of writing a diary since his school days.
Although a diary wasn't as explicit as surveillance footage, it could record many things that cameras couldn't capture.
Where did this come from?
Shen Ting's last sentence left the already bewildered Wen Di even more confused.
Chen Cong, who was gradually getting used to his unique thought process, immediately flipped open the evidence inventory for the cop-killing case. After repeatedly checking it twice, he answered: "We did not find the victim's diary."
A diary can usually reflect a person's social connections and even details of their daily life. Therefore, if there was a diary belonging to the victim at the scene, the technical investigators would definitely have listed it on the inventory. But Chen Cong checked repeatedly and couldn't find any words related to "diary" on the list.
Chen Feng did have a clunky old desktop computer in his house, but it was covered in thick dust and couldn't even power on.
After answering Shen Ting, Chen Cong, just like Wen Di, looked up at him with a face full of confusion.
No matter what kind of deductive genius he was, it was impossible to draw the conclusion that "the victim has a habit of keeping a diary" from the case information they just discussed.
How did Shen Ting know there should be a diary in the victim's house?
"Captain, how did you know the victim had a habit of keeping a diary?" Wen Di was always straightforward, and his question voiced the thoughts of everyone present.
Under their baffled gazes, Shen Ting said frankly, "Because he watched me grow up." He fell silent for a moment. A rare, bitter smile surfaced on his lips. "We even spoke on the phone last month."
Perhaps he was used to enduring it, or perhaps this level of pain was nothing to a "hard-hearted" First-Class Police Inspector.
He quickly adapted to that bout of suffocating, sudden pain and said calmly, "The victim Shen[Name Withheld] in the 2005 Li Guangqiang case—his full name was Shen Zhi. He was Chen Feng's best friend, and he was also my father."
Shen Ting's heart trembled in his chest like a sparrow held tightly in a stranger's palm.
Yet his face had returned to its unruffled calm, as if he truly had just added a supplementary case detail that had nothing to do with him.
The air instantly froze. Everyone became very quiet, their breathing careful and cautious. No one knew how to respond.
Everyone sitting there was an elite criminal investigator who had seen all sorts of bloody, insidious cases.
Their nerves were tough, and their tolerance for misfortune was extraordinary. No matter how bizarre or tragic the motive for murder, or how cold-blooded and cruel the method of the crime, it couldn't easily shock or depress them.
Due to the nature of their work, dealing with various vicious cases all day, they naturally felt that killing and being killed was actually commonplace.
The line between life and death was merely separated by a few seconds of impulse, or a knife that didn't even need to be too sharp.
But perhaps because the cases didn't involve them personally, or perhaps out of fear that excessive compassion would destroy their ability to face harsh realities... these elites never thought deeply about what the occurrence of those cases truly meant to the victims' families.
In the analysis just now, the "Shen [Name Withheld]" they had casually mentioned in passing was once a vibrant, living life. He was a woman's husband and a child's father.
Death is not merely the burying of youth, the rotting of a physical body, or the perishing of a soul. What it brings is far more than just a funeral.
Behind every parting caused by death, there is a name that someone desperately tried to keep through bitter weeping, countless dark nights soaked in tears, and a shattered family forever shrouded in shadows.
No case truly exists in isolation in this world. All things in the universe are continuously interconnected; when sentient beings commit all sorts of evil, there is inevitably a thread that pulls it all together.
To bystanders, a case will always eventually pass, and everything will ultimately return to peace. But for the victims who lost their closest family members in the case, they will forever live within it.
Compared to the sudden heaviness that fell upon the others, Shen Ting's expression seemed completely normal.
Ignoring the heavy, hesitant expressions on his teammates' faces, he addressed the previous discussion calmly: "The discoveries mentioned earlier are all very valuable. Although we cannot immediately determine the killer's identity and motive, there aren't many investigation directions available right now. Even if there's only a sliver of a possibility, it's worth investigating. I recall that An Kang should have a wife and son. Where are they now? This is something we can look into."
Everyone had parents, and everyone was someone's child. Naturally, they understood what kind of unbearable pain was hidden beneath Shen Ting's composed expression.
Amidst the silence, Chen Cong was the first to react. He immediately agreed with Shen Ting's judgment and swiftly assigned new tasks: "Jiang Zhi, when you go back, sort out An Kang's social connections and investigate whether his wife, son, or other relatives and friends could possibly have committed the crime."
Saying this, he patted the heavily preoccupied Wen Di on the shoulder: "Tomorrow, go to the victim's house again. Search carefully to see if we missed the victim's diary previously. If you find it, log it into the evidence inventory immediately!"
The new team members all felt heavy-hearted. But seeing Shen Ting rapidly entering work mode right before their eyes, they tacitly controlled their expressions, unable to bear showing even a hint of pity.
Everyone silently braced themselves, pondering how to crack the case quickly.
At a time like this, any words of comfort were too thin, and saying too much would only seem fake.
No matter how touched or sad outsiders might feel, without personal experience, it was very difficult to truly empathize.
Catching the killer and uncovering the truth as quickly as possible was the absolute best effort they could make as criminal investigators for the victim and the victim's family.
However, the more Shen Ting acted as if nothing was wrong, the worse the others felt.
There was one aspect of this world that was truly, incredibly detestable.
Shen Zhi, who had fought the thug while injured and sacrificed his life to buy a chance of survival for the masses, was being cursed worse than a beast by the overwhelming rumors on the internet. And Shen Ting, not wanting his emotions to affect the progress of the case, hid the dripping blood brought by this suffering flawlessly.
But emotions are poisoned thorns; the deeper they are buried, the worse they wound.
Life always forced the most sensible people to bear the worst feelings and consequences.
A ringing phone broke the depressing atmosphere.
Taking advantage of the phone call, Wen Di organized the turbulent emotions caused by learning of Shen Ting's past. He cleared his throat and shared the new information he had just received with everyone: "Let's sync up on a few pieces of news! First is regarding the identity of the poster."
He casually placed the phone on the coffee table: "The detachment said the cyber security department replied about the poster we asked them to investigate. They can't trace them."
"Cyber security said they can't trace them?" Pan Xiaozhu looked shocked, as if she had seen a ghost. "Why?"
"The poster used a lot of technical methods to hide their tracks. It's completely impossible to trace their physical address through the IP."
The poster intentionally covered their tracks when making the posts.
This directly corroborated Shen Ting's previous judgment. —This wave of rumor-mongering was organized and premeditated.
Wen Di added, "Those rumor posts described the Chu Zhentang couple, who historically presented a deeply loving image to the public, as sharing a bed but having different dreams✦ translator's noteSharing a bed but having different dreams (同床异梦): A Chinese idiom meaning two people appear close on the surface but have different goals, intentions, or emotional worlds., each harboring their own ulterior motives. The Yuannan Group was already investigating the poster's IP a step ahead of us. I heard Chu Huainan himself is keeping an eye on this matter. They made a huge fuss, and all the professor-level experts from the cyber police department mobilized, but they're still completely in the dark. Sigh, they lost a lot of face!"
He sighed in admiration before continuing: "Although we couldn't trace the poster's IP, our detachment has already confirmed the reason for the cancellation of Li Guangqiang's son Li Songyuan's household registration. It was due to disappearance."
Jiang Zhi raised an eyebrow. "Disappearance?"
"Yeah. Shortly after the 2005 incident occurred, Li Songyuan vanished into thin air. In 2009, Li Guangqiang's cousin's son—meaning Li Songyuan's distant younger cousin—reported his death to the local precinct."
When a person's whereabouts are unknown for four full years, they can be directly declared dead. There was nothing inherently wrong with this.
But Shen Ting faintly felt that this declaration was somewhat unusual.
Wen Di continued: "Li Guangqiang is dead, and Li Songyuan has been missing for over a decade. Yet Li Guangqiang's fingerprint still appeared on the note the killer used to provoke the police. This case is truly fucking wild!"
He scratched his hair, then looked at Chen Cong, who also sported a bird's nest on his head: "Other field colleagues tracked down the media outlet that first released the fingerprint information based on your instructions, Captain Chen. And guess what?" He rolled his signature dramatic eyes in exasperation and said, "The media outlet that first publicly announced 'the fingerprint belongs to Li Guangqiang' is a fashion and gossip account that broadcasts entertainment news!"
Everything was so incredibly unusual!
Wen Di used the OA system on the internal police platform to forward the information of the writer who penned the very first article about the fingerprint to everyone.
"'We Fashion, Entertainment Gossip Publication Editor-in-Chief Xiao Xiao,'" Jiang Zhi muttered to himself. "Why is an entertainment gossip editor meddling in a murder case?"
Shen Ting hadn't yet joined the online system. After reading the email, Chen Cong handed his phone to him so he could look at the contents. The girl smiling brightly in the ID photo looked like an ordinary white-collar worker you could grab by the handfuls at any subway station in Jianghu City.
Shen Ting thought it would probably be easier for girls to communicate with each other. Turning his head, he said to the wide-eyed Pan Xiaozhu: "Pan Xiaozhu, tomorrow go directly to We Fashion's office and ask this Xiao Xiao exactly where she got the fingerprint information from!"
The usually sharp and responsive Pan Xiaozhu was completely distracted right now. She didn't even realize Shen Ting was talking to her. She just kept her head down, staring blankly at Xiao Xiao's ID photo on her phone screen.
"Pan Xiaozhu? Pan Xiaozhu!"
Chen Cong called her name loudly twice. Only then did Pan Xiaozhu snap out of it, her face flushing crimson: "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about the case and got distracted!"
Shen Ting wasn't as easily irritable as Chen Cong. With a good temper, he repeated what he had just said.
Pan Xiaozhu immediately agreed, but her heart was filled with unprecedented conflict and panic.
She suspected that this Xiao Xiao from We Fashion was someone she knew.
Furthermore, just before she walked through the door earlier, they might have even communicated!
Pan Xiaozhu silently opened her messaging app, found her group chats, clicked into the "Moments" feed of the contact named "wefashion Xiao Xiaoxiao," and found her latest post:
[Using work as an excuse to openly chase stars is so wonderful! I just witnessed a super sweet moment between our male god couple live! Ahhhh! Handing out candy✦ translator's noteHanding out candy (发糖): Fandom slang used when a shipped couple interacts sweetly or does something that delights fans and fuels their romantic fantasies. on site! So sweet it'll give you cavities! Lu Xinghe x Lin Youfei is truly a god-tier CP✦ translator's noteCP (Couple): Internet slang for “shipping” two people—fictional characters or real celebrities—as a romantic pairing.! Daily reminder: XinFei couple, please get married on the spot!!!]
And the girl in the attached photo—smiling brightly like the sun while pointing at a sign that read "Lu Xinghe's Dressing Room"—was exactly the entertainment publication Editor-in-Chief from the ID photo just now.
It wasn't that she "suspected" she knew her...
She had completely confirmed it! This Xiao Xiao was her "internet good sister" who chased stars and shipped real-life CP✦ translator's noteCP (Couple): Internet slang for “shipping” two people—fictional characters or real celebrities—as a romantic pairing.s with her.
Pan Xiaozhu was in despair.
If she openly told everyone right now: I've known that gossip editor for a long time! But I absolutely did not leak the fingerprint news!
Would anyone believe her?
If no one believed this coincidence, would she be treated as the suspect who leaked the information? If that happened, would she be kicked off the mission?!
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Pan Xiaozhu's mind was in utter turmoil.
The four male teammates, currently deeply immersed in case analysis, clearly hadn't noticed that the only female member was undergoing a grueling internal struggle.
With a conflicted expression, Pan Xiaozhu anxiously scratched the shiny rhinestones on her phone case with her fingernail. She tried to comfort herself with self-deception: It's fine! We're just internet friends anyway. I never post selfies on my Moments! That Xiao Xiao doesn't even know what I look like in person! As long as I pretend not to know her, who will ever find out we're in the same group chat?
But then she thought again: But does this count as knowing something and not reporting it? If they find out I actually know her, and that I maliciously concealed the truth, won't I be completely unable to clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River✦ translator's noteUnable to clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River (跳进黄河也洗不清): A Chinese idiom describing a situation where someone is so deeply misunderstood or falsely accused that no amount of explanation can remove the suspicion.? This will severely damage my glorious image of justice and beauty!!!
...
Until the operations squad's case discussion meeting concluded, Pan Xiaozhu, with ten thousand horses stampeding through her heart, still couldn't bring herself to speak up.
See you tomorrow at midnight! Tomorrow, the Capitalist and Ear are officially 'getting in the car'! Double-update warning!! Love you all~
Sharing a bed but having different dreams (同床异梦): A Chinese idiom meaning a couple is physically close but emotionally distant, each having their own hidden agendas or desires.
CP (Couple): Internet slang for shipping two people (fictional characters or real celebrities) together.
Handing out candy (发糖): Slang used when a shipped couple interacts sweetly or does something that feeds the fans' fantasies.
Unable to clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River (跳进黄河也洗不清): A famous Chinese idiom meaning a situation where one is so deeply misunderstood or framed that it is impossible to wash away the suspicion, no matter how hard they try.