Courtyard House: I, the eldest son of the Jia family, have returned from the battlefield.

Zhou Jin led him inside, explaining, "Yesterday, due to a delay in the warehouse inventory, I was home alone late at night."

Jia Dongming listened and nodded, then asked, "Where is the body located?"

"In the forensic room."

I'll take you there.

The two walked through the corridor and into a dimly lit room.

Xie Jian was already waiting inside. He pointed to the body covered with a white cloth on the platform.

"Deputy detachment leader, this is Wang Qiuyan."

We found skin flakes and blood under her fingernails, indicating she had scratched the assailant while resisting.

Jia Dongming gently lifted a corner of the white cloth.

The woman's neck was marked with shocking purplish-black strangulation marks, and there were also minor cuts on her knuckles.

He stared intently for a moment, then covered the white cloth again.

"How are her interpersonal relationships usually? Have she had any conflicts recently? Is she dating someone?"

Xie Jian opened her notebook. "According to the investigation, she had close contact with Shen Fang from the finance department, and usually had the most contact with several colleagues from the logistics department."

Everyone around her says she has a good temper and they've never heard of her arguing with anyone.

"I do have a potential partner, a seafood bureau employee I met on a blind date a while ago. He's currently on a business trip in Tianjin and hasn't returned yet."

Jia Dongming remained silent for a few seconds before closing his notebook.

"Let's go and see for ourselves."

Xie Jian immediately summoned two team members.

The four rode their bicycles through the streets and alleys, and soon arrived at a desolate place in the west of the city.

Amidst the ruins stands a half-collapsed mud house, its courtyard walls long since crumbled.

"This is it."

Xie Jian pointed to that room.

Jia Dongming stepped over the broken bricks and stopped in front of the house.

His gaze slowly swept across his surroundings, then he held his breath and focused—a certain keen insight awakened in his eyes, and all the subtle traces around him gradually became clear.

Several rows of footprints were interspersed among the dust.

He examined them one by one, and finally focused his attention on a set of shoe prints near the doorway.

The shoe treads were deep and messy, the stride was rapid, and one of the imprints had a dark brown stain on the edge.

He crouched down, his fingertips hovering about an inch above the mark.

"These shoe prints,"

He whispered, "It must have been left by the murderer."

Based on the shoe prints, the perpetrator was estimated to be between 1.65 and 1.68 meters tall, around 35 years old, and thin.

After deducing the approximate physical appearance, Jia Dongming followed the trail of footprints towards the outside of the courtyard.

Seeing that he was staring intently at the ground and looking straight out, everyone followed closely behind.

With his exceptional eyesight, Jia Dongming followed the blurry footprints, winding his way to a narrow ditch.

He looked up at the brick wall across the ditch and turned to ask, "Old Xie, what's that on the other side of the wall?"

Xie Jian observed the deputy detachment leader's actions the whole way.

When the group stopped in front of the wall that belonged to the machine repair shop, a look of surprise flashed across his face, and he replied, "Team Leader Jia, the machine repair shop is inside."

Jia Dongming nodded, his gaze still fixed on the wall: "The suspect probably used this route to enter and exit the factory area."

He turned around and said decisively, "Let's go inside the factory and take a look."

Before long, the four of them were standing outside the gate of the machine repair shop.

The factory security personnel recognized Xie Jian immediately and quickly came to greet him: "Captain Xie, what brings you here? Is there any progress in Wang Qiuyan's case?"

Xie Jian stepped aside and introduced: "This is Jia Dongming, the deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the branch bureau."

We've come to the factory to learn more about the situation.

The security guard quickly extended his hand to Jia Dongming: "Hello, Captain Jia! Welcome to our factory for guidance!"

Jia Dongming shook his hand briefly and asked with a smile, "Is your section chief at the factory?"

"They're in the office. I'll take a few over there now."

The head of the security department was writing something at his desk when he looked up and saw the person who had arrived. He immediately stood up with a smile: "Captain Xie! What brings you here? Has there been a breakthrough in Wang Qiuyan's case?"

Xie Jian stepped forward and introduced, "Section Chief Liu, this is Jia Dongming, the deputy head of our branch's Criminal Investigation Detachment."

He then turned to Jia Dongming and said, "Team Leader Jia, this is Liu Xianjin, the head of the security department of the machine repair factory."

Liu Xianjin quickly stepped forward to shake hands: "Captain Jia, welcome, welcome!"

Jia Dongming got straight to the point: "Section Chief Liu, I've come to ask you a few questions."

"Please feel free to ask, I will do my best to cooperate."

How many security guards are typically assigned to the factory for the night shift?

Liu Xianjin pondered for a moment: "Seven people each night."

Two men guarded the main gate, and five patrolled the factory grounds.

Jia Dongming then asked, "Among the personnel on duty last night, were there any comrades who were approximately 1.65 to 1.68 meters tall, around 35 years old, and of slender build?"

Liu Xianjin pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "There really is one who fits these characteristics."

"What's your name? Are you at the factory now?"

"Call him Lin Xianfeng."

He worked the night shift last night and should be resting at home at this time.

Liu Xianjin replied, then added, "But Xiao Peng, who was on duty last night, is at the factory right now; he's the one who led the way earlier."

Jia Dongming turned to Xie Jian: "Please ask that security guard to come over here."

Xie Jian immediately gestured to the young police officer beside him: "Go and invite Comrade Peng over."

After Xiao Zhang left, Jia Dongming turned to Liu Xianjin: "Section Chief Liu, what address does Lin Xianfeng, whom you mentioned, live in? Who else lives in his family?"

Liu Xianjin immediately replied, "Deputy Captain Jia, Lin Xianfeng lives in our machine repair factory's residential compound. He has a wife, a son, and a daughter."

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Deputy Captain Jia, is this Lin Xianfeng... related to Wang Qiuyan's case?"

Jia Dongming just smiled and said, "It's too early to draw conclusions about whether it matters or not."

I'll tell you once I've figured things out.

Before long, Xiao Zhang and the security officer who had led the way returned to the office together.

Seeing the scene inside, the clerk asked with some confusion, "Section Chief, Deputy Chief Jia, what can I do for you?"

Jia Dongming asked in a calm tone, "Comrade Peng, I heard you were on night shift last night."

I'd like to know if Lin Xianfeng ever left his post during his shift?

Upon hearing this, the officer surnamed Peng was taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing across his face, but he still told the truth: "Deputy Captain Jia, around eight o'clock last night, Lin Xianfeng said he had a stomachache and left for about half an hour."

But... how did you know?

After hearing these words, Jia Dongming felt somewhat confident.

He turned to Liu Xianjin and said, "Section Chief Liu, would it be convenient for you to take us to Lin Xianfeng's house now?"

When Liu Xianjin heard the question Jia Dongming asked the security officer, even the slow-witted man could guess seven or eight parts of it.

He immediately stood up: "Of course it's convenient, Deputy Captain Jia, I'll lead the way."

The group of five soon arrived at the factory's residential compound.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, several women who were chatting there saw Liu Xianjin, who was leading the way, and greeted him warmly.

"Section Chief Liu, what brings you here today?"

"Section Chief Liu, are you here to see someone?"

"Section Chief Liu, are you looking for my son Xianfeng? He's still resting inside. Should I go and call him?"

Liu Xianjin nodded and smiled the whole way in response.

He stopped walking when a young woman asked him a question, and said gently, "Xianfeng's wife, could you please go and call Xianfeng?"

There are some police officers here who want to ask him some questions.

Upon hearing this, the young woman quickly nodded, "Okay, Section Chief Liu, please wait a moment, I'll go and call him right away."

She hurried back to her house and called out into the room, "Frontline! Frontline! Get up quickly, Section Chief Liu is here with the police. They say they have something to ask you!"

Lin Xianfeng, who was fast asleep in bed, was startled awake by the shout. He sat up abruptly, his face filled with surprise and doubt: "Da Ya, did Section Chief Liu say what happened?"

The woman called Daya shook her head: "She just said she had something to discuss and told you to leave quickly, but she didn't mention anything else."

Lin Xianfeng's eyes flickered, and he lowered his head to reply, "Understood, I'll go out now."

A moment later, Lin Xianfeng came out of the house, a smile plastered on his face, and approached Liu Xianjin: "Section Chief Liu, you wanted to see me?"

Liu Xianjin's expression turned serious, and he pointed to Jia Dongming and the others beside him: "Lin Xianfeng, these are comrades from the Dongcheng Branch Bureau."

There are some things we need your cooperation to understand, so please come back to the factory with us now.

Lin Xianfeng glanced at the police officers in uniform and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I'll tell my family and go with you right away."

From the moment Lin Xianfeng stepped out of the room, Jia Dongming's gaze subtly swept over his entire body.

However, the expected scratch marks did not appear.

Jia Dongming paused slightly, wondering: Could it be that we're going in the wrong direction?

The group returned to the security office of the machine repair shop.

Jia Dongming sat down behind the table, looked at Lin Xianfeng who seemed somewhat uneasy, and slowly said, "Comrade Lin Xianfeng, do you know why we invited you here?"

Lin Xianfeng raised his head, his eyes slightly unfocused, but he tried his best to keep his voice steady: "Sir, how would I know if you didn't tell me?"

Jia Dongming studied Lin Xianfeng's calm face, tapping his knuckles lightly twice on the table. "Lin Xianfeng,"

He spoke, his voice calm yet carrying a certain weight, "You were on duty last night, and you left for thirty-seven minutes in the middle."

The reason given was an upset stomach.

Where were you during those thirty-seven minutes? Who did you see? What did you do?

Lin Xianfeng's back straightened almost imperceptibly for a moment, then relaxed, and he gave a helpless smile: "Officer Jia, I really have an upset stomach, I'm going to find a place to relieve myself."

Where else can we go?

"It takes thirty-seven minutes to relieve oneself? And..."

Jia Dongming's gaze was sharp as a needle, fixed on his face. "I found your shoe prints by the ditch outside the machine repair shop's wall."

How do you explain that?

"Ditch"

The two words were like a cold nail, suddenly hammering into the air.

A crack appeared in Lin Xianfeng's composure, and his speech quickened unconsciously: "Patrol, you know! Inside and outside the factory, it's inevitable to walk around and leave footprints, isn't that unusual?"

This eagerness to defend oneself backfired, making one look worse.

Jia Dongming's eyes suddenly darkened.

Even if he didn't kill the person, he must know something.

The timeline last night was too coincidental—Wang Qiuyan had just left the factory when this person disappeared without a trace.

Jia Dongming stopped beating around the bush and his cold voice went straight to the point: "Lin Xianfeng! Wang Qiuyan was murdered on her way home last night."

"Tell me honestly, did you do it?"

"Wang Qiuyan...is dead?"

Lin Xianfeng suddenly looked up, his pupils contracting sharply. The expression of shock and bewilderment he wore seemed genuine.

He even leaned forward unconsciously, his voice hoarse, "This...how is this possible!"

Jia Dongming took in every subtle reaction he made.

There were no scratches, and the emotional reaction was closer to the shock of suddenly hearing bad news than the panic of the murderer being exposed.

Suspicion was decreasing, but another fact was also emerging: the relationship between him and Wang Qiuyan was by no means simple.

That footprint by the wall became a silent yet undeniable witness at this moment.

Taking advantage of the other party's momentary shock, Jia Dongming immediately increased the pressure, his words sharp as knives: "Multiple footprints were extracted from the scene, and one set matches yours perfectly."

Based on this alone, we have ample reason to detain you!

"It wasn't me!"

Lin Xianfeng nearly jumped up from his chair as if he'd been burned, his voice filled with the fury of someone who had been wrongly accused, "I admit... I saw her last night! But her death has absolutely nothing to do with me! I swear!"

"The reason for the meeting?"

Jia Dongming pressed on, giving him no chance to catch his breath, "What exactly is your relationship?"

Lin Xianfeng opened his mouth, but the words got stuck in his throat. His face turned pale and then flushed, and his eyes darted around. In the end, he fell into an awkward silence.

The silence itself is an answer.

Jia Dongming leaned forward slightly, exerting invisible pressure: "The irrefutable evidence of footprints at the scene is enough to convict you."

This is your last chance.

Let's clarify this here, or we can discuss it further back at the station.

The scales of decision swayed violently in silence.