Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 102 The Army of Justice 4
The Xiangfu residential community only has surveillance cameras at the main gate. The video captured the same tall, thin, dark figure sneaking into the community at 3:07 a.m. and running out of the community about 40 minutes later.

When he went in, his pockets were flat, but when he came out, he had a large, bulging bag slung across his body. He was always walking with his head down, in a hurry, wearing a hat and mask, so you couldn't see his face at all.

They clearly have a lot of experience in hiding from surveillance cameras.

Upon seeing the video of the murderer appearing, Zheng Yan paused the video and pointed at the murderer's figure on the screen, saying, "Isn't that bag he's carrying a bit too big? Several thousand yuan in cash and some jewelry, all combined, make up such a big bag?"

“It’s probably a storage box,” Tan Jia said based on her experience. “You can’t just throw gold and silver jewelry worth 30,000 or 40,000 yuan into a drawer. A single necklace box can be as big as a book. If you put several or a dozen boxes together, it will fill up the bag to that size.”

However, she then said thoughtfully, "It seems the murderer was well-prepared, even more brazen than packing up leftovers from the banquet, bringing large bags to fill them. Did he know the Jin family would have so many boxes, or did he have another purpose? Or is this how it is in this line of work now, preferring to bring large packages that aren't full rather than small packages that can't hold everything?"

Zheng Yan: "It's likely that they were prepared in advance. There's a higher chance that the murderer was someone they knew."

After saying that, click to continue playing. In the surveillance video, the murderer, dressed in all black, darted out of the community gate like a mouse and disappeared on the convenience road in front of the community.

Xiao Chen shook his head and said, "There are no shops or transportation hubs outside the community, and we haven't found any other surveillance footage yet, so we really don't know where he ran off to. But we're sure this person scouted the area for a long time and knows there aren't many surveillance cameras here. However, I checked, and some shops outside this street have installed their own surveillance cameras. I'll take some people to reconstruct the murderer's escape route and see if we can find anything."

“Okay,” Zheng Yan straightened up. “Although the murderer is very experienced in theft, this should be his first murder. He will leave a lot of traces. Even without the help of surveillance footage, the forensic team can still find a lot of clues. Don’t worry.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, "But right now there's no one to suspect Jin Xiangyuan. We don't know how long it will take for the forensic examination to find any useful clues. While we're waiting, we should visit people around us to see if he, his mother, or his son have had any conflicts with anyone."

"However, we still have a leading clue: the murderer is a habitual thief, and there was something stuck in the sole of his right shoe. If we check the information of all the thieves in the area in the system, we might be lucky enough to find one who is related to the Jin family."

Tan Ming and his team nodded and quickly got to work.

Only Tan Jia followed behind Zheng Yan, not paying attention to what she needed to do.

She sculpted a human-shaped clay figure, without facial features or distinctive characteristics, just like the murderer who is now without any clues.

Looking at the clay figure, her expression turned serious. Suddenly, she asked, "Captain Zheng, do you think this matter could be related to the person who sent the postcards before?"

Zheng Yan: "The killer's behavior doesn't seem to fit. Why do I ask this? Because the two events happened very close together."

"No. The killer was very well disguised in the surveillance footage, just like the deliveryman who delivered the postcards."

After saying that, he denied it again: "It's hard to say. Most people who want to avoid surveillance dress like this. Also, the murderer in the dream didn't have a very good mental state, unlike the mysterious person we profiled."

But she always had a bad feeling, and she didn't know where this bad feeling would come true, so whenever a murder occurred, she would always try to think about the two things together.

Zheng Yan reassured her, "It's good to be aware of potential crises, but don't worry too much. If that person is related to this case, we'll eventually find some clues if we keep investigating."

"I'm not worried, I'm just annoyed."

She disliked having rats lurking in the gutter, silently watching her. It would be better if this case was related to the mysterious person who sent the postcards; it was better to deal with it once it surfaced than to be constantly distracted and waiting for the other party to make a move.

The faceless clay figure stared at her. Tan Jia thought for a few seconds and said, "Assuming this matter is related to the mysterious person, he shouldn't be the murderer in my dream, but perhaps the mastermind. He thinks he's a righteous force, and then he hires people to murder the Jin family. Doesn't that mean the Jin family has a problem in some way?" "We can investigate during our visits. If the Jin family's misfortunes are the same things the mastermind wants to punish, then the problem lies in three areas—the Jin family's money, Old Madam Jin, and Jin Xiangyuan's son." Zheng Yan analyzed along with her words, and then naturally tricked her into becoming a full-time employee.

"Let's go, let's make the visits."

The workload of the visits was so heavy that it was exhausting. The Jin family's relatives, friends, neighbors, classmates, children's walkers, customers who bought buns, raw material suppliers... all had to be asked and recorded. Even strangers who were occasionally encountered had to be asked a few questions.

What those people say may be half true and half false, requiring cross-referencing and careful identification.

Tan Jia finally understood what it was like for Xiao Chen and Tan Ming to have their mouths dry and frantically gulp down cold water. When they ate lunch at a roadside stall, they would first grab a bottle of mineral water and drink it all in one gulp.

On a hot day, her back was soaked with sweat, so she simply tied her hair up, the green ends of which were tied into a small bun, revealing the full lines of her face.

"It's more tiring than practicing boxing," she said while eating.

Zheng Yan paid for a deluxe meal for her out of his own pocket, as a reward for the cattle and horses.

Then we continued in the afternoon.

Fortunately, their busy day was worthwhile; when they got together, they came up with several interesting clues.

"Some people say that Aunt Jin has a very bad temper. Half of the reason why Jin Xiangyuan divorced his ex-wife was because of her. Later, when his ex-wife ran away with a rich man, she chased after her to his new home and cursed at him, causing them to not get married. So he had to find a third man."

"Jin Xiangyuan's son also has a bad temper. His classmates and teachers have all hinted that he is spoiled too much at home and likes to compare himself with others. It is probably because Jin Xiangyuan is busy selling steamed buns and rarely has time to spend with him, so he spoils him materially."

"Furthermore, several people believe that Jin Xiangyuan was originally very arrogant. After making money by selling steamed buns, he bought a house and a car and then looked down on his former friends. He only wanted to associate with rich people, such as the parents of one of his son's classmates and the doctors on the medical street."

After reading the third item, Tan Jia asked, "Is selling steamed buns really that profitable? You can buy a house, a car, and jewelry worth 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. Your son wears high-end clothes, and your mother wears a gold bracelet."

Tan Ming: "Maybe. If we keep costs down, make the food taste good, and sell enough, it should be possible?"

A question immediately popped into her head: "Could there be something wrong with the steamed buns Jin Xiangyuan made? Is the money coming from an irregular source?"

Xiao Chen exclaimed, "It can't be the kind my mom was talking about, can it? Using expired flour, rotten leaves from the market, and scraps of lymph nodes that the butcher didn't want?"

"Go ask Jin Xiangyuan, and ask a few customers who have bought his steamed buns," Zheng Yan said.

But to everyone's surprise, Jin Xiangyuan wasn't home; the neighbors said he'd gone to the steamed bun shop.

Tan Jia was surprised: "At a time like this, he still has the mood to do business?"

(End of this chapter)