Starting with dissecting ghost stories

"Hey, senior brother, it's me, Xiao Lu. Do you remember me?"

The voice that came from the other end of the phone was Lu Wenying's.

Shen Xing wasn't surprised that the other party knew his phone number; there were many ways to get it, the simplest being to ask Director Lu.

"Yes, I remember. You got off work?" Shen Xing replied.

"Not yet, how is Xiao Yuan?"

"She's probably asleep now, she's exhausted from crying."

Lu Wenying didn't get straight to the point. Instead, she talked to Shen Xing about Shen Yuan, as if she thought that using her sister as a topic would make Shen Xing more empathetic towards the case.

However, her attempts to get close to him from the very first meeting were too obvious, and Shen Xing didn't fall for it.

"You have something to discuss with me, right? It's about the case." Shen Xing didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "I've already prepared food for Xiao Yuan. I can have some time to talk. I need to go back and keep an eye on Xiao Yuan to prevent her from doing anything foolish."

"Have you thought it through? Where are you now, senior brother? I'll come pick you up." Lu Wenying's voice sounded somewhat surprised on the other end of the phone; she seemed not to have expected Shen Xing to agree so quickly.

Perhaps he had wanted to see the scene for a long time, but he had to prioritize arranging things for his younger sister—Lu Wenying thought to herself.

Perhaps it was because she often heard her uncle praising Shen Xing, or perhaps it was because of Shen Xing's attitude towards his sister, that Lu Wenying had a very good first impression of Shen Xing.

When people interact with each other, the first impression is the most important, as it will affect their attitude when they meet again later.

Some people can break the ice before they even meet, while others have to wait and see... Clearly, it's hard for Shen Xing not to make a good first impression in every way, which is the result of his years of cultivating his "persona".

"No need, I've already ridden my bicycle. Just tell me the place and time, and I'll come over." Shen Xing politely declined the other party's offer.

He was genuinely worried that the other party would come to pick him up in a police car, which would be too conspicuous in a school where few parents and teachers owned private cars.

After agreeing on a time and place with Lu Wenying, Shen Xing hung up the phone and began packing his things.

Just in case, he had to go home first, leave the notebook he used for recording experiments at home, and replace it with a new one.

What Shen Xing didn't know was that after he hung up the phone, there seemed to be some new arguments on Lu Wenying's end.

Old Zhang angrily found Lu Wenying and slammed the original transcript in front of her with a "bang".

"What did you say to the old lady? Didn't you say it would be best to let her sleep in the duty room tonight?! Did you tell her that you think there's someone else who's the killer?"

Old Zhang was furious.

He may not have much talent for solving cases, but as a qualified neighborhood police officer who is very familiar with the work in the neighborhood, he understands the special circumstances of Grandma Zhang's family very well.

Old Zhang was quite familiar with Granny Zhang when she was still in the old town, because they shared the same surname and were from the same town. He took good care of her in many ways, but they lost touch after Granny Zhang moved away from the old town.

Originally, Granny Zhang was in a daze and couldn't say anything when asked, but after Lu Wenying talked to her, she suddenly finished the statement and even went home.

An old woman, whose husband had died, raised her granddaughter alone, but in one day, her only granddaughter was killed by her only son, leaving her with no relatives left.

Are we just going to let her go home alone like this? We should at least wait until she calms down before doing anything else!

"I didn't tell her any of that. I just asked her normally if anyone had gone to see her." Lu Wenying felt confused. She knew that this kind of investigation shouldn't be revealed before the results were confirmed.

But what she didn't know was that some of the questions she asked made Grandma Zhang realize something.

Old Zhang grimaced, but ultimately didn't curse aloud. He just muttered a curse under his breath before riding away on his bicycle.

He was merely assisting in the investigation as a community police officer who was familiar with the specific situation of the streets under his jurisdiction. He was only there to help identify people and run errands; he had no say in the actual investigation.

More than whether the case was solved, he was concerned about the old lady's condition.

Lu Wenying wasn't angry at being scolded for no reason; she simply watched Lao Zhang leave.

She was now completely focused on the case. After telling the captain, she drove her car away from the compound.

Lu Wenying arranged to meet Shen Xing near a park in the old city, where parking was convenient and it was also close to the scene of the crime.

Although the body has been removed from the scene, it is still largely intact. She wanted to take Shen Xing to the scene first.

Although she really wanted to take Shen Xing directly to perform an autopsy, she had to ask for Shen Xing's opinion first and apply to her superiors.

Lu Wenying stepped on the gas and quickly arrived near the park.

After finding a place to park her car, she stood near the park entrance and waited.

She had arranged to meet Shen Xing at six o'clock, and it was still early, but this time was also a good opportunity for her to sort out her thoughts and prepare her words so as not to ask any embarrassing questions in front of Shen Xing.

At approximately 5:45, Shen Xing arrived at the Old Town Park fifteen minutes early, riding his bicycle.

Shen Xing spotted Lu Wenyin from afar. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and the cuffs of her sky-blue Type 99 police uniform were rolled up to her elbows, revealing her fair skin underneath.

Seemingly noticing a gaze upon her, Lu Wenying looked up and saw Shen Xing. She quickly stepped forward and said, "Senior Brother Shen."

"Just call me Shen Xing." Shen Xing got out of the car, locking it as he spoke, "The Li Ya family massacre case, right? I only heard you mention it briefly in the reception room. Is there a difficulty with the case?"

"Yes, I think there are some suspicious points. Can we go to the scene to take a look? I'll tell you about the case on the way." Lu Wenying pointed directly in the direction of the video store and said as they walked, "There are four victims, and three of the bodies were dismembered. Li Ya is the prime suspect..."

Shen Xing's efficient and direct questions gave Lu Wenying some confidence in the case. She led Shen Xing around while explaining the details of the case.

Lu Wenying's description of the case was similar to Shen Xing's imagined police investigation process, except...

"The case was originally supposed to be closed like this, but... the torso of the body has not been found yet, and the lacerations on the necks of the three bodies do not match the murder weapon. This at least indicates that the murder weapon used to dismember the body was not that sharp knife, and it was not capable of dismembering the body."

"And how did Li Ya manage to sneak out of the video store with the dismembered body all by himself? And where was the actual place where he disposed of the body...?"

Lu Wenying led Shen Xing to the police cordon at the entrance of the video store.

Even though the door had been open for so long, the outside still smelled of chloroform, mixed with a complex stench that made people frown.

Shen Xing smelled it, frowned, and muttered to himself, "Neoprene rubber or chloroform?"

Then, he looked at Lu Wenying, who had turned around, and said, "So, you think Li Ya has accomplices? That's why you don't want to close the case here?"

"right."

Lu Wenying nodded solemnly and said:

"If the real culprit is overlooked because of the hassle, it is a desecration of the victims, a dereliction of duty to the victims' families, and an indulgence of the perpetrators."

"So... even if it might be a waste of time, I feel like I'm doing the right thing."

Doing the right thing... Is there anyone within the police force opposing a thorough investigation?

Shen Xing looked at Lu Wenying in front of him and smiled appreciatively. He nodded in agreement and said, "You did the right thing. Case handling must be rigorous... Let's go and do the right thing."

Shen Xing skillfully bent down and opened the cordon, then walked into the video arcade.

Shen Xing's encouragement and recognition made Lu Wenying take a deep breath, seemingly finally feeling genuinely happy to have found a like-minded person.

She watched Shen Xing's retreating figure, straightened her back, clenched her right fist at her chest, took a deep breath, and then followed him into the crime scene.