Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 421 A sudden turn of events
"Haha~ Mimi asked me for help? Hmm... Hangzhou City? No problem, I have a few old classmates working in the public security system there. Okay! I'll urge them later to make sure they protect the items intact. Um! Give my regards to Mimi and Chief Nie! Haha... No need for dinner, I'm in Hankou right now, dealing with a rather complicated case. Okay! I'll definitely help if you need anything..."

Through Luo Jue and Xie Tailong, Lin Ge finally got Xie Changjun's phone number.

The rest of the conversation was left to Nishige City alone, and Lin Ge didn't interrupt. He continued to worry about Luo Jue and decided to go home as soon as the case was finished.

Xie Changjun and Tang Xu's communication went smoothly. Xie Changjun said that he would definitely help out for Mimi's sake. He promised to have his friend in Hanghai intercept the package and keep it safe for their colleagues in Sichuan Province to pick it up.

This result relieved Tang Xu and the others in the room, and their eyes were filled with wonder and amazement when they looked at Lin Ge.

Xie Changjun made it very clear on the phone that he owed this cat a favor! Not a favor to the Zhanghe Police Station or Chief Nie, but a real, substantial favor to this cat! So he couldn't refuse the cat's request.

This sounds... truly unbelievable! What exactly did this cat do for this policeman named Xie Changjun in the past that he still remembers it so fondly, even guaranteeing that the cat would handle things perfectly just by acting as an intermediary.

This is outrageous!

However, looking back on what they've seen over the past few days, everyone has to admit that this cat is indeed an extraordinary creature.

It's so reliable!

The fact that this case was solved so quickly is all thanks to this seemingly inconspicuous furry creature.

It was it that discovered Xu Xiaochong's DNA, and it was also it that narrowed down the suspect pool by tracking tire tracks. Similarly, it was its incredible sense of smell that led it to the courier station where Xu Xiaochong was transferring evidence. It was it that contacted Zhangzhou City, successfully intercepting the important evidence tent, and even getting the Zhangzhou City Technical Center to help analyze it, saving them the trouble of traveling back and forth.

And now... it inexplicably contacted the police in Zhejiang Province again, helping to preserve another crucial piece of evidence, leaving Xu Xiaochong with no way to defend himself or escape punishment for his crimes.

Thinking about it carefully, it's only been two days, and this cat has already done so much!

Without it, while the case wouldn't have been unsolvable, no one was truly confident that it could have been solved as easily and quickly as it has now. In other words, we really owe a debt to Mimi this time!

A cat that can do this much is practically a miracle cat, isn't it?

The crowd exclaimed in amazement and showered Li Siyu with compliments, including a good dose of praise for her. These shameless men, with their utterly insensitive and exaggerated compliments, left Li Siyu feeling both helpless and somewhat embarrassed.

Tang Xu made a quick decision, found two shrewd-looking men at the scene, and ordered them to set off for Hangzhou immediately.

Evidence is prone to accidents when carried back and forth, so it's best to have it examined and analyzed by the technical center in Hangzhou. The cost will definitely be borne by Xizhong City; as long as the case is solved within the deadline, this amount of money is negligible.

Just then, Nie Guoqiang called again.

"What? The analysis results are in?"

The crowd was stunned. How could the Zhangzhou police be so efficient?
"An outcome that's hard to say whether it's good news or not."

Nie Guoqiang spoke slowly and seriously, “We extracted three different samples from this tent. Comparing them with the data you entered into the database, we determined that the most diverse and complex sample belonged to the suspect, Xu Xiaochong. Another sample was a male's fingerprints, mainly concentrated on the outside of the tent and the area near the entrance. The third sample belonged to the victim in your case. However, her fingerprints only appeared in two or three places, such as the door curtain and the inner ceiling. So don't be too happy yet! Judging from the location of these fingerprints, we can only confirm that the victim had contact with the suspect. To definitively prove Xu Xiaochong's guilt in the assault and murder, we need more evidence.”

“Yes! If they insist that the victim only went over to talk to him for a few minutes, gave him a gift, and left, we really wouldn’t be able to refute it. But thank you anyway, at least we have successfully confirmed one thing: Xu Xiaochong has been lying all along! Hehe… With this evidence, we might get some unexpected surprises during the interrogation. Director Nie, thank you so much for your help this time. You and Mimi are both great contributors to this case.”

Tang Xu spoke with a smile, showing no regret about the lack of evidence, particularly the tent. Investigating cases is never a matter of wishful thinking; it often requires a great deal of patience. Therefore, Tang Xu was neither anxious nor angry about the outcome.

"Hold!"

He slammed his hand on the table, his face extremely grim.

The people nearby exchanged glances, none daring to utter a word. Anyone who dared to provoke Captain Tang at this moment would face dire consequences.

"Now we can only hope that things will turn out better in Hanghai, right? We expected that we would only find fingerprints in the tent. But on the sleeping mat... we can't have put sheets and blankets on top of it, can we?"

Ji Wenjie stroked his chin, pondering to himself, "According to the video footage, Xu Xiaochong's tent only had a sleeping mat, and he rested on a sleeping bag on top of that. Logically speaking, it's impossible for him not to leave traces around during the assault. So now I'm only wondering about one thing: why are there no traces of the victim on the tent mat? Even if he was unconscious or incapacitated at the time, it's impossible that he wouldn't have been touched at all, right? With Director Nie's help, it's unlikely that Zhangzhou City would have handled it perfunctorily. So the biggest problem must still lie with Xu Xiaochong; he may have taken similar measures to leave no trace beforehand."

"For example?"

Tang Xu raised his eyelids slightly and glanced at Ji Wenjie expressionlessly.

"For example, modifying the sleeping bag to completely bind the victim inside?"

Ji Wenjie made a gesture of crossing his arms, and continued to speculate: "The forensic doctor said that the victim had a lot of abrasions on her knees and buttocks. Could it be because of the kneeling position? She was completely tied up in a sleeping bag, with only her private parts exposed..."

Ji Wenjie stopped there, but everyone present already understood what he meant.

To be honest, that scene wasn't impossible, but why would Xu Xiaochong do it? Was it a peculiar hobby, or was it his perverse interest in randomly giving these pieces of evidence to innocent people?

Psychological profiling of Xu Xiaochong is underway. Some analysts believe that Xu Xiaochong's motive may not have been solely based on sexual desire. Part of it was to complete the subsequent, heinous task of sending items bearing traces of the deceased to fans in various locations.

He seems to treat this as a way to interact with his fans, and whenever he reaches a certain destination, he will give away his personal belongings.

According to the bureau's analysis, Xu Xiaochong's murders may not be limited to the two incidents in Xizhong City. If every time he says in a video that he will give away his personal belongings to fans, it can be linked to a murder case that occurred in the area, then Xu Xiaochong becomes terrifyingly dangerous.

The room suddenly became somewhat cold and gloomy, and not only Li Siyu, but all the other police officers also shivered.

A serial killer?
"You think too much!"

Tang Xu waved his hand, stopping Ji Wenjie from continuing: "The two cases in Xizhong City were determined to be committed by the same person because the victims' conditions, injuries, and the crime scenes and environments all showed similarities. With the same perpetrator, his modus operandi wouldn't change much, because some habitual actions are impossible to completely avoid. The Xizhong City case has already been added to the database; if similar cases occurred elsewhere, the correlation would have been discovered long ago. Add to that his identity as a travel blogger and his daily behavior analysis—don't overthink it. Xu Xiaochong might indeed have the ability to use a sleeping bag to avoid leaving traces, but he definitely doesn't possess a socially destructive personality."

"I was just saying! When it comes to reasoning, you have to consider all sorts of possibilities."

Ji Wenjie wasn't ashamed at all, and he ignored the disdainful looks from others. Deduction, after all, is simply about unraveling the mystery from all possibilities, right? Whether Xu Xiaochong had antisocial personality disorder was irrelevant; the probability of the sleeping bag being problematic was high enough.

"How is the search for the relevant packages going? Besides the tents and sleeping mats, have any other items that Xu Xiaochong sent out been found at the scene?"

Tang Xu then asked the other person in charge of the matter, "We also found a pressure cooker that was sent out and a tire repair kit. If the sleeping bag is the problem, then we need to consider whether he had other sender identities. Hmm... I'll review all the video footage from every courier station in the city!"

The person in charge did not expect that the focus of the case would be on him, but he still nodded without hesitation.

"We also need to consider the possibility that he destroyed the sleeping bag! After all, there must be a lot of evidence in it, and Xu Xiaochong would never take such a risk unless he was stupid."

Ji Wenjie interrupted again.

Just as he finished speaking, a policeman knocked on the door and came in, whispering a few words in the ear of the task force member in charge of the package search.

"what?"

The person in charge was taken aback.

Seeing everyone looking up at him, the man swallowed hard and said, "The sleeping bag has been found! Xu Xiaochong gave it to another blogger who was doing heavy cycling. That person found bloodstains in the sleeping bag and, upon hearing the news of Xu Xiaochong's arrest, voluntarily came to turn himself in."

"Confess?"

Tang Xu was stunned. Was there an accomplice in this case?

The person in charge didn't know the specifics either, so he looked at the policeman next to him and gestured for him to talk to the leaders himself.

"This blogger was a novice cyclist who discovered that creating content for social media was more lucrative than a regular job. He contacted Xu Xiaochong online and became his apprentice. Xu Xiaochong charged him 20,000 yuan to teach him how to make videos and build a persona. The two even traveled together for a while, with the cyclist helping Xu Xiaochong carry his luggage. During this time, Xu Xiaochong also taught him some illegal activities, such as illegally breaking into private residences, shoplifting, and fabricating stories to elicit sympathy from his followers. Lacking funds for solo cycling, Xu Xiaochong also taught him how to exploit illegal online loans. After all, people like him are homeless, and debt collectors can't find them..."

The policeman spoke somewhat nervously, and his words caused the people in the room to exchange bewildered glances. Xu Xiaochong was actually quite adept at exploiting illegal online loans?

Even Lin Ge was astonished and had to admit that Xu Xiaochong was truly an extraordinary guy. He really knew how to navigate cycling and social media thoroughly, even taking on apprentices and treating them like free laborers?
Didn't they say their cycling trips emphasized authenticity and that they had absolutely no team behind them? Xu Xiaochong's videos emphasized loneliness and freedom, so all the praise he received online was fake!
"So, this person's so-called surrender wasn't because they participated in Xu Xiaochong's murder, but because they were instructed by Xu Xiaochong to do some illegal things? Hmm... unable to find a place to sleep at night, they broke into a burglar's house?"

Ji Wenjie also became interested in this person.

"This isn't the time to talk about this! What about the sleeping bag? Is it still as it is? Don't tell me he's already washed it?"

Tang Xu interrupted Ji Wenjie once again.

Upon hearing this, the police officer immediately became embarrassed.

He nodded and said cautiously, "The 'Sloppy Guy' is all about being sloppy, so he not only washed his sleeping bag in the roadside ditch, but he's even used it for two days. People like him basically don't take off their clothes to sleep, and they don't change their clothes for days, even half a month or a month, so the sleeping bag is very likely to be contaminated. Moreover, when the sleeping bag was brought here, it was already crumpled up. It was extremely dirty inside, and the technical center is slowly processing it..."

"Phew... It's alright. Ordinary dirt can't completely destroy all the traces. Even if we clean it, there's still hope of finding traces in the inner down. In any case, let's get it done first. Tell the technical center to be more thorough..."

Tang Xu took a deep breath and told himself that he absolutely could not be defeated by the setbacks of reality.

Isn't this how police work? When has anything ever gone smoothly? Criminals go to great lengths to destroy evidence, while the police painstakingly search for it like looking for a needle in a haystack. Forget about cleaning; even burned evidence is a futile struggle, risking only a one percent chance each time.
It's okay to work hard, but even if there's only a one in a thousand chance of finding a clue, it's all worth it.

Sure enough, good news came soon: the technical center found a long hair in the sleeping bag! It definitely couldn't have belonged to Xu Xiaochong or the slovenly guy; it was very likely the victim's.

After the sleeping bag was disassembled, technicians extracted saliva and tear secretions from the goose down lining inside. These substances, found amidst strong foot odor and sweat, were quickly sent to a testing center.

Good news kept coming. The next day, two policemen who arrived in Hangzhou received the well-preserved moisture-proof mat from Xie Changjun's friend.

With the help of this friend, they cut in line to enter the Hangzhou Municipal Technical Inspection and Appraisal Agency and successfully obtained the victim's skin flakes, bloodstains, and trace amounts of bodily fluids from the moisture-proof mat.

At this point, the basic evidence for the case is complete, and the reconstruction of the crime scene is logically sound. Even if Xu Xiaochong continues to stubbornly resist criminal interrogation, the Xizhong City police can submit the case to the prosecution based on complete physical evidence and clear logical reasoning.

Xu Xiaochong is definitely going to jail!
"They won't be sentenced to death?"

Li Siyu covered her mouth in surprise, never expecting that such a vicious murderer would have a chance to escape the death penalty.
"Given the current situation and its social impact, the possibility of a death sentence is very high. But no one knows what other tricks Xu Xiaochong has up his sleeve. If he manages to redeem himself through meritorious service after the verdict, he might actually get himself a suspended death sentence."

Li Yiduo was very unwilling to accept this outcome, but he knew that such a thing was highly probable. The main purpose of the law is to protect the weak, not to punish the murderer. If Xu Xiaochong could gain merit in other cases, the law would, in principle, support such behavior. This would not only ensure that more cases could be solved and more victims could be exonerated, but it could also put pressure on more criminals, potentially causing them to abandon their criminal activities.

The law is cold and indifferent; the rule of law does not change according to people's will, and this is also an important cornerstone of national stability.

"How can you do this!"

Li Siyu clenched her fists. That poor girl was killed, and yet the murderer still has a chance to escape the death penalty?

"Of course, it's not that there's no way!"

Li Yiduo shook his head, then looked at Lin Ge, who was also in a bad mood, and said, "This year's case was solved promptly and definitively. However, there is currently no evidence linking Xu Xiaochong to the murder case at the same location last year. Too much time has passed, and unless Xu Xiaochong himself makes a mistake or new discoveries are made at the scene or on the victim, that case still cannot be attributed to him. Of course, to put it another way, murder may have a chance to avoid the death penalty, but serial killings, a more heinous crime, absolutely warrant the death penalty! If we can find clues from last year's case again and pinpoint Xu Xiaochong to the line, he's doomed!"

Lin Ge looked at Li Yiduo speechlessly. If you have something to say, just say it directly. What's the point of implying it to me like this?
"Mimi?"

Li Siyu understood and quickly turned around to look at Lin Ge expectantly.

"But what can I do? I'm not a god! After a year, all the smells and biological traces there must have completely decomposed! There are naturally a lot of microorganisms in the mountains and forests, especially in an environment like that by the river..."

Lin Ge looked at Li Yiduo and Li Siyu. He really wanted to help with the case, but this time he was truly powerless to do so.

He wasn't omnipotent; even his sense of smell had its limits. Things that had been broken down and vanished without a trace by nature couldn't be found by Lingo no matter how hard he smelled.

"How about we go take a look first?"

Lin Ge ultimately backed down, after all, he himself was extremely unwilling to see Xu Xiaochong escape the peanut punishment.

(End of this chapter)