Starting with dissecting ghost stories

"Xiao Yuan, do you remember what happened on May 15th?"

"Remember......"

"On the 15th, when Li Ya picked up Li Xiaohua, what did you think of him? Did he say anything strange? Did he seem happy?"

In the police station's reception room, Lu Wenying sat next to Shen Yuan and asked softly.

There are no frightening one-way windows or bright lights here. The lower half of the walls is painted green, while the upper half is a slightly yellowish white wall with a plaque that reads "Serve the People" hanging on it.

The window was deliberately opened so that the noise of the street outside could be heard, making the environment more homely and reducing Shen Yuan's tension.

Lu Wenying's words just now silenced Shen Yuan.

"Pat-pat, pat-pat."

A few tears fell onto Shen Yuan's blue jeans. With her head down, Shen Yuan seemed to have been completely overwhelmed by Lu Wenyin's question.

She started sobbing, frantically wiping her tears with the back of her hand: "It's all my fault, I shouldn't have let Xiaohua meet her father, it's all my fault..."

Lu Wenying reached out her left hand and grasped Shen Yuan's hand directly, while her right hand picked up a water glass from the table next to her and handed it to Shen Yuan.

"Don't get agitated, drink some hot water."

"I know you're confused and scared right now. Let's just talk. Tell me everything you saw and heard that day, so we can get justice for Li Xiaohua, okay?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, you did the right thing, it's just that there are too many wrong people in this world..."

With Lu Wenyin's gentle comforting words, Shen Yuan finally stopped her trembling shoulders, sniffed, and began to recount what happened that day.

When Lu Wenying heard that Li Xiaohua's biological father had come to pick her up with a kind and benevolent expression, she frowned noticeably. Upon hearing that Li Xiaohua had been taken away, she sighed inwardly.

You can't trust what gamblers say. Once you're addicted to gambling or drugs, you're a completely different person. You can be any kind of person, but you won't be family.

"I should have listened to my brother back then... You can't trust a gambler's words..."

I really can't trust... my brother?

"Was your brother present when Li Ya came to pick her up?" Lu Wenying pressed. "When Li Xiaohua returned on the 14th, did he also see her?"

One more person has come into contact with Li Xiaohua on the 14th.

"What's your brother's name?"

My brother's name is Shen Xing.

"When was the last time you and your brother saw Li Xiaohua?"

"On the 15th... I ate breakfast and lunch at Grandma's place that day. I saw Li Xiaohua and we even talked. My brother also went out in the morning, so he should have seen her too... He had a fever and a cold that night and didn't get better, so he didn't go out. We didn't see Li Xiaohua that night."

Are you sure that the person you saw on the morning of the 15th was Li Xiaohua herself?

"...It's her voice, it's her face, I can't mistake her."

Lu Wenying suppressed her doubts, gently told Shen Yuan to wait there for her family to pick her up, and then got up and went outside.

They had all seen Li Xiaohua on the 15th... This contradicts forensic doctor Lao Wang's deduction...

Let's wait for the official autopsy report; even an experienced forensic doctor can make a mistake.

If it's possible that Granny Zhang's eyesight is failing and she's mistaken, then Shen Yuan's testimony proves that Li Xiaohua, number 15, is still alive.

So how exactly did Li Ya take Li Xiaohua away? Bringing a little girl back to the video store, and there weren't a single witnesses? And the security cameras didn't capture it either?

She knew there would be a reasonable explanation for all of this, but the feeling that the more she investigated, the deeper she sank into the swamp of mystery left Lu Wenying somewhat bewildered.

The difficulties stemmed not only from the case itself, but also from within the police department.

Although the team leader assigned her to take charge, the other colleagues were very negative about the investigation. Most of them believed that this was a case with clear facts and that there was no need to go to such lengths.

Moreover, she also developed some distrust of the team's experienced forensic doctors.

Li Xiaohua's body was recently deceased. In theory, an experienced forensic doctor should be able to determine the approximate time of death through observation.

However, the judgment of the veteran forensic doctor, Lao Wang, contradicted the testimonies of the close contacts.

Even if Granny Zhang might be protecting her son, Shen Yuan has absolutely no reason to lie.

In the corridor, Lu Wenying paced back and forth, hesitating.

The investigation was fraught with difficulties from the very beginning, and continuing down this path seemed to lead to a dead end.

It's better to close the case early. At most, it will just become a laughing stock among other colleagues. That's what losers deserve. Lu Wenying accepts defeat.

but......

Lu Wenying recalled the numb and desperate face of Granny Zhang when she heard about her granddaughter's death, and the incredulous and self-reproachful expression on Shen Yuan's face after learning of Li Xiaohua's death.

She accepted the failure, but she couldn't give an explanation to the victim's family and friends.

This is not what she understands as right or justice.

Lu Wenying took a deep breath.

At the very least, I should do my best.

She picked up her phone, leaned against the wall in the hallway, and made a call.

He made call after call, but finally, with no other choice, he gritted his teeth and dialed the number he least wanted to call.

The phone was answered after three rings.

"I want to report to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Provincial Public Security Bureau and request technical support... technical guidance."

After a moment of silence on the phone, he finally spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"Sending people from higher levels? Little Lu's gone astray too, huh? What about the city's technical department? Didn't they go to them? Can't they handle it?"

Lu Wenying opened her mouth, but in the end, she gave a brief description of the case.

"Oh?"

The person on the other end of the phone seemed interested in this bizarre and heinous case, but after a while, they said, "This is a big case. If the local authorities can't handle it, report it up the chain of command... I doubt you can handle it over there, right?"

Upon hearing about the horrific state of the body and the scene's setup, the person on the other end of the phone was almost certain that the local authorities would be unable to handle the case independently.

"What, are you waiting for the expert team to arrive?" The voice on the other end of the line carried a hint of amusement. After a long pause, it continued, "Or do you want to continue?"

A locked room, dismembered body, main suspect dead, murder weapon cannot be matched, time of death unknown...

"I want to investigate further... Sorry, let's move on."

As Lu Wenying spoke, she made way for a handsome, quiet-looking man who walked past her, smiled and nodded at her before entering the reception room.

"It's definitely not possible to second someone to you, but I can recommend an external expert to help you in a private capacity... Of course, that depends on whether he's interested in the case."

"Okay, Uncle, I have confidence with someone's help." Lu Wenying straightened up as she listened to the voice on the other end of the line.

"Although he has already left the company, you must have heard about his achievements and the big cases he handled. Didn't you used to analyze his cases and praise him? He's a real genius. Write down his address, name, and phone number... This guy just called me a moment ago, asking for some kind of proof."

"Name: Shen Xing; water radical: Shen; two people walking together; phone number..."

Lu Wenying was taken aback.

My brother's name is Shen Xing.

Shen Yuan's words seemed to echo in her mind. She suddenly turned around and looked in the direction of the reception room, where she saw the kind-hearted man who had just passed her and was handing her sister a tissue.

Not just someone with the same name?

Is he Shen Xing?