Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 24 The Crime of No Proof
After calling Shi Feng, Ai Liang and Xu Zhihai sat quietly on a nearby public bench and waited.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the two of them.

Ai Liang bent forward, supporting her face with her right hand, while Xu Zhihai leaned back on the bench, crossed his arms over his stomach, and looked up at the sky.

This behavior is nothing like that of a murderer going to the police station to turn himself in; it's more like he's out for a spring outing.

Ai Liang was still somewhat confused. Why did Xu Zhihai choose to turn himself in so easily?

He had planned and orchestrated a coincidence for two whole years in order to lead Wang Zi to kill Gao Jiajia.

If it was just to get revenge on Gao Fuye and Wang Qiang, wouldn't it have been simpler to just find an opportunity to kill Gao Jiajia and Wang Zi?

If the goal is to commit the perfect crime and evade legal punishment, then there's no need to accompany Ai Liang to turn herself in now.

Ai Liang turned her head to look at Xu Zhihai.

Forget it, I'm not some superhero, why should I meddle in so many other people's business? These things are none of my concern.

Ai Liang ultimately gave up the idea of ​​reading Xu Zhihai's memories.

Buzz, buzz.

Ai Liang picked up her phone and pressed the answer button.

"Where are you now?"

Shi Feng's tone was somewhat hurried.

"The bench at the school gate."

As soon as Ai Liang finished speaking, a black civilian riot control vehicle appeared at the corner with a drift.

This is Shi Feng's car.

Shi Feng got out of the passenger seat with his phone in hand, and only hung up after seeing Ai Liang in person.

Shi Feng pulled out a stun gun, pointed it at Xu Zhihai, and asked Ai Liang, "Is he a suspect?"

"Yes, he instigated Wang Zi to kill Gao Jiajia, and Wang Qiang's death was also related to him."

Before Xu Zhihai could answer, Ai Liang offered an explanation for him.

Even with a gun pointed at him, Xu Zhihai showed no fear, greeting Shi Feng with a smile: "Yes, just as he said."

Before Shi Feng could shout to cover his head with his hands, Xu Zhihai proactively stretched out his arms.

Xu Zhihai said with a smile, "I'm here to turn myself in."

Shi Feng emphasized his warning: "Think things through before you speak. If you say you're joking later, I'll still arrest you!"

Xu Zhihai remained unmoved, maintaining the posture of extending his arm.

"Gao Bin, handcuff him."

Seeing this, Shi Feng didn't waste any more words and directly ordered Gao Bin to handcuff the man.

Shi Feng himself kept his gun pointed at Xu Zhihai the entire time without letting up for a moment.

"Ai Liang, you go sit in the passenger seat."

After Shi Feng opened the back door and helped Xu Zhihai inside, he spoke to Ai Liang.

He wasn't so careless as to let a student sit in the back row with a criminal suspect, even though the person was already handcuffed, there was still some danger.

As a precaution, Shi Feng not only helped Xu Zhihai fasten his seatbelt before getting into the car, but also took out a second pair of handcuffs and connected them to the door handle.

Silence remained inside the car; no one spoke.

As they approached the criminal investigation team, Xu Zhihai suddenly asked, "Ai Liang, what's your reason for working so hard? Logically speaking, these things have nothing to do with you, right?"

Ai Liang didn't turn around, but he was certain that Xu Zhihai was staring at him.

“A father’s love touched me, it’s that simple.”

Ai Liang tilted his head so no one could see the expression on his face.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, everyone on the bus knew that Ai Liang was referring to Gao Fuye.

But no one knows that if Gao Fuye knew that Gao Jiajia died because of him, he would rather be torn to pieces than let Gao Jiajia suffer any harm.

Unfortunately, it's too late to say anything now; this good father has lost his daughter forever.

"He really loves his daughter."

Xu Zhihai couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Hehe, it seems I didn't pick the wrong person."

"Tell us your story in the interrogation room!"

Shi Feng spoke up to stop Xu Zhihai.

Xu Zhihai shrugged and obediently shut his mouth.

Xu Zhihai's hands were handcuffed to the table, while Shi Feng and Gao Bin sat opposite him.

"Name."

"Xu Zhihai".

"gender."

"male."

"Home address."

"I don't have a house."

Unlike his interrogation of Wang Zi, Shi Feng started by asking a bunch of irrelevant questions, and occasionally asked the same question repeatedly.

These questions had actually been asked to Xu Zhihai a few days earlier when he was brought in.

The reason for asking this question again now is because Shi Feng is building Xu Zhihai's EAC model.

The so-called EAC model is actually a combination of sensory and cognitive processes when a person is being questioned.

Looking upwards activates the brain's visual memory; looking to the upper right indicates the creation of an image, while looking to the upper left signifies memorizing an image.

When your eyes are looking straight ahead, your auditory memory is being activated; looking to the left is recalling sounds, while looking to the right is creating new ideas, such as imagining what others might say next.

Looking to the lower right activates the brain's kinesthetic memory and senses, but it doesn't distinguish whether it's a memory or a lie.

Looking to the lower left indicates logical thinking, or organizing one's thoughts.

The more questions were asked, the more troublesome it became for Shi Feng, because Xu Zhihai showed no change in expression or fidgeting, and stared straight into his eyes the whole time.

This model is not applicable to everyone, and Xu Zhihai is clearly included in it.

It is obvious that he has undergone corresponding lie detector training and will not reveal any flaws.

This made Shi Feng begin to believe that he was indeed involved in the two murder cases.

"Did you write the novel that Wang Zi is holding?"

Since it was impossible to determine whether Xu Zhihai was lying from micro-expressions, Shi Feng decided to follow the usual procedure and ask all the necessary questions first, and then slowly look for clues and evidence.

Micro-expression interrogation only speeds up the process; it is not the key method.

"That's right, I printed it out using the printer at the recycling center and put it in the community."

Xu Zhihai admitted directly, "I deleted all the records on the computer, but the printer's memory card is still there, and it contains backups."

So cooperative?

Shi Feng asked with some doubt: "Are you so sure that Wang Zi will kill Gao Jiajia according to your plan?"

"I've observed him for half a year, and I know his personality better than anyone. In reality, I've also created a series of coincidences that happened in the novel. I believe he will follow the script. As for whether he will kill someone in the end, that's entirely up to his own decision."

When Xu Zhihai said this, he showed no smugness or pride in controlling other people's lives, and his voice was completely flat, as if this outcome was only natural.

This composure convinced Shi Feng that the novel must have been written by this person.

Xu Zhihai is terrifying for secretly manipulating someone's life and guiding them to kill for him. Only someone with such meticulous thinking could write such detailed descriptions of the crime and the aftermath.

Shi Feng stared intently at Xu Zhihai, his fingers interlaced: "Is Wang Qiang's death related to you? What role did you play in it?"

“I wasn’t planning to kill that guy right now, but my friend didn’t want me to take my time and killed him for me.”

"Your friend? You have accomplices? Who is he? What's his name? Where is he now?"

Upon hearing that Xu Zhihai had accomplices, Shi Feng immediately launched a barrage of urgent calls.

Xu Zhihai chuckled softly and said, "He told me the truth about my sister's death three years ago and produced the surveillance footage that should have been deleted at the time, but he only gave me that footage recently."

Shi Feng did not interrupt Xu Zhihai's statement and waited quietly for what was to come.

"As for who he is and what his name is, I don't know. I'm not lying, I really don't know. He's always the one who contacts me directly, and when we meet, he's always wearing a hoodie and a mask. If I knew, I would have stolen the car accident video from him long ago."

"Since someone still has the video of the car accident, why didn't you report it to the traffic police? Why did you do these things?"

Gao Bin couldn't help but interject with a question.

"He made a bet with me using a memory card."

Xu Zhihai's face showed a mocking expression.

"The bet is simple: he doesn't mind if I tell others about it, and we'll see if anyone other than him is willing to help me seek justice. If so, he'll give me the memory card to complete the chain of evidence."

This appears to be a bet that is unilaterally advantageous to Xu Zhihai.

Upon hearing this, Shi Feng and Gao Bin immediately fell silent.

This time, Xu Zhihai stared intently at the two of them: "As you can see, because there were no leads, a few months after the car accident, Wang Qiang was fired for dereliction of duty. Out of humanitarian spirit, he compensated me with tens of thousands of yuan in cash, and the matter was dropped and no one brought it up again. The case was also put on hold."

Gao Bin's hands paused for a moment, then quickly resumed their rapid writing in the notebook.

Shi Feng had no intention of playing any psychological games with Xu Zhihai, and directly pointed out the suspicious points of the bet: "If he will give you the memory card if you win, what if you lose?"

Xu Zhihai raised an eyebrow: "If I lose, I'll do his bidding."

"What to do?"

Shi Feng continued to ask.

Xu Zhihai spread his hands: "I don't know."

Shi Feng rubbed his temples; the aftereffects of not getting much sleep for two days were still showing.

While battling drowsiness, he also had to ponder Xu Zhihai's confession, and his head began to throb slightly.

"Were the series of things you did afterwards related to him?"

"It's irrelevant. He doesn't intend to interfere in my revenge, and I don't intend to let him interfere either."

Xu Zhihai frowned slightly and said, "But he couldn't wait any longer, so he killed Wang Qiang and then put the wooden box with the words I had carved in advance into Wang Qiang's hands."

Shi Feng pinched his thigh under the table, using the pain to suppress his sleepiness, and continued to ask, "What do the words on the wooden box mean?"

“Ai Liang has already solved this problem; you can go ask him.”

Xu Zhihai was too lazy to explain to Shi Feng.

"Get your stance clear! I ask, you answer!"

Shi Feng slammed his hand on the table, making a loud noise.

This was both a warning to Xu Zhihai and a way to suppress his increasingly strong drowsiness.

Xu Zhihai remained completely unfazed and calmly said, "These are the clues I've left for you. Since the car accident three years ago left clues, I naturally want to give you some hope. It's just a pity that I don't have much time left and don't have time to continue the game."

"What are the clues? And what does 'not much time left' mean?"

"I'm slowly coming to my senses," Shi Feng asked.

"Wang Zi's novel is called Narcissus; I carved Eris on the jump rope that strangled Gao Jiajia; I carved Pandora on the wooden box in Wang Qiang's hand; as for the time running out, it means that person is going to take me away, but as for where to go, I don't know."

Again, I don't know. Whenever it comes to that unidentified guy, the answer is always the same: I don't know. Is that guy hiding himself very well, or is Xu Zhihai lying?
What's the difference between giving this clue and not giving it at all?
Shi Feng was very troubled.

He looked into Xu Zhihai's eyes but saw no sign of tension.

All inner thoughts were concealed by a calm exterior.

Xu Zhihai raised his handcuffed arm and said, "I've said everything. Can you two officers take me to rest now? If there are no problems, it would be best to release me tomorrow morning. I still need to collect scrap tomorrow, so I'll just have to spend the night in the detention center."

This nonchalant attitude is infuriating.

"You think you can just leave after all these mistakes?"

Gao Bin really couldn't understand how Xu Zhihai's thought process worked. After turning himself in at the criminal police team, he wanted to leave immediately. Did he really think that turning himself in meant he wouldn't have to take responsibility?
"What did I do wrong? I don't think I did anything illegal or disorderly. I don't think I'm breaking the law."

Xu Zhihai countered with a question.

Gao Bin only realized this after Xu Zhihai said that although Xu Zhihai was at the center of the two murder cases, none of the cases were directly related to him.

"Your novel contains illegal content, and Wang Zi is a minor. You can't escape the charge of instigation."

"The novel was not published. I just put the manuscript in a certain community for someone to see. Even if the series of coincidences above were arranged by me, the most crucial one that led to the murder had nothing to do with me. I couldn't possibly control Gao Jiajia to confess to someone and control Wang Zi to strangle someone because of love turned to hate, could I? This is something that cannot be predicted objectively."

Xu Zhihai looked at Gao Bin with confidence: "As for Wang Qiang's death, it has nothing to do with me. I was collecting garbage at the recycling station from yesterday afternoon until after 10 p.m., so I have a perfect alibi. You can't just say I killed someone just because he's holding my box. If someone kills someone and says they killed him for me, does that make me guilty? At the very least, you have to produce some evidence."

Gao Bin was completely speechless after being rebuked.

Whether it's Shi Feng's current silence or Ai Liang's urging Xu Zhihai to turn himself in, both are hampered by a lack of evidence. Both are well aware that the law cannot prosecute Xu Zhihai, at least not at present.

Xu Zhihai appears to be confessing, but his wording actually absolves him of all responsibility. For example, when he arranged for Wang Zi to commit murder, he said, "Whether he actually does it or not depends entirely on his own decision."

Adding these few words would render the charge of instigation untenable.

That's why Xu Zhihai followed Ai Liang to the criminal police station to make a so-called 'surrender' without any fear; he was just there to watch the spectacle.

Even if we know that Xu Zhihai orchestrated all of this behind the scenes, without evidence, we simply cannot convict him.

"I will find the 'friend' you mentioned."

Shi Feng bluntly stated, "I hope he can handle everything as cleanly as you do."

"Then I'd like to thank you in advance, because I also want to find him."

Xu Zhihai said with a smile, "By the way, the video of the car accident three years ago is in my glasses case. Remember to bring it. Gao Fuye has been at large for so many years, it's time for him to be punished."

After he finished speaking, he was taken away by other criminal police officers and temporarily detained.

"Team Leader Shi, don't you have anything to say?"

Gao Bin asked while tidying up the file folder.

"There's nothing to say. Xu Zhihai is doing the same thing as Wang Qiang did three years ago. Even though everyone knew he deleted the surveillance footage back then, there was no evidence, so there was nothing that could be done about him except to treat him as negligence."

After saying that, Shi Feng took out a piece of chocolate and popped it into his mouth to perk himself up.

"So we're really going to let him go?"

Gao Bin was, after all, a newcomer who had only been parachuted in for less than two years, and he knew absolutely nothing about this area.

"What else can we do? Let him go, and then send someone to follow him. Maybe we can find something. Even if we detain him for violating the rules and causing a bad influence, he'll only be detained for a few days at most."

Shi Feng sighed and walked towards the door of the interrogation room.

Gao Bin was left alone inside, lost in thought.

(End of this chapter)