Chapter 61: He Is the Murderer!
That figure, those blurred yet familiar facial contours!
He... It’s him!
Boom!
A tidal wave surged through Chen Yu’s mind, shaking even his soul. He stood frozen, his face drained of all color in an instant, as if witnessing the most incomprehensible sight in the world.
His expression was so grim it seemed to thicken the air around him.
“Chen Yu?”
Yan Zheng’s deep voice sounded, immediately sensing Chen Yu’s abrupt, one-eighty degree change in demeanor.
If the Chen Yu just moments ago was still the roguish playboy joking and bantering among women,
Then now, he was a beast who had caught the scent of blood, baring its fangs, a peerless predator!
The chill that seeped from his very bones made even Yan Zheng, an old detective accustomed to life and death, feel an uneasy shudder.
“What... did you discover?” Su Qingzhu instinctively clenched her fists, her expression grave and taut.
Chen Yu gave no answer.
He slowly raised his head, scanning the faces around him, his gaze finally settling on Yan Zheng.
He swallowed hard, then spoke.
“We... need to go to the crime scene.”
...
Half an hour later.
The first light of dawn had crept across the sky.
Inside the special operations vehicle dispatched by the city’s investigation unit, the air was so suffocatingly tense, it felt as if one could barely breathe.
This spacious seven-seater van was now packed with the central figures of Jiangcheng’s unfolding storm.
Yan Zheng sat in the front passenger seat, eyes closed in feigned rest, but his tightly knotted brows betrayed his inner unrest.
Su Qingzhu drove, her beautiful face cold as frost, as though someone owed her millions.
But the rear seats held the real drama.
Chen Yu was wedged in the middle. On his left, Li Qing was practically draped over him; on his right, Lin Bing sat with arms crossed, her face icy.
The battlefield of affections had stretched from the morgue all the way into this cramped vehicle.
“Brother Chen Yu,”
Li Qing leaned her head gently on his shoulder, her voice sickeningly sweet. “Did you discover something astonishing in the evidence room just now? You looked so handsome—like... like a god who controls everything.”
Her words, seemingly innocent, were in truth barbed needles, each one piercing Lin Bing beside them.
Lin Bing’s eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
She gave a cold laugh, leaning forward slightly to look past Chen Yu at Li Qing.
“Little sister Li Qing, isn’t it? You’re so young, yet already so worldly—truly impressive.”
Her tone was mild, but her gaze was sharp as knives.
“Unlike those of us working at the TV station, always surrounded by simple people and things. I’m still naive enough to believe others too easily.”
She glanced meaningfully at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu, lips curled in a smile, watched the exchange with amusement.
Come on, keep going. Turn up the heat!
He loved every moment of it.
Li Qing blinked her big, innocent eyes, seemingly oblivious to the barbs, pressing herself even closer to Chen Yu in a display of pride. She replied softly, “Sister Lin Bing, you’re being funny. I have no real life experience—my only expertise has always been taking care of my brother.”
She paused, lowering her voice further, yet ensuring everyone in the car could hear:
“After all, my brother... has so much energy at night.”
“Pfft—”
Su Qingzhu, behind the wheel, nearly snapped the steering wheel in half.
She slammed the brakes, then quickly regained control, causing the vehicle to lurch violently.
“Shameless!”
The word squeezed out from between the ice-cold policewoman’s teeth, her gaze slicing through the rearview mirror at Chen Yu and Li Qing like a blade.
“Oh dear, Captain Su, mind your driving!” Lin Bing giggled, seizing the opportunity to strike. “With so many contestants and investigators in the car, who’d take responsibility if we crashed? Or... has Captain Su’s professional judgment been affected by someone else’s shameless remarks?”
Her words struck both Su Qingzhu and Li Qing.
“Hmph!” Su Qingzhu snorted coldly, saying nothing more, but her speed noticeably increased.
The atmosphere in the car was thick with the scent of gunpowder, ready to explode.
---
“Cough!”
Yan Zheng, who’d been pretending to sleep in the front seat, finally couldn’t take it anymore. He coughed heavily, opened his eyes, and spoke with an unmistakable warning in his voice.
“Enough! Quiet down! We’re here to work!”
The old captain’s authority prevailed; the battle in the back seat subsided—for now.
But the silent electricity still crackled furiously on either side of Chen Yu.
He could almost see Lin Bing’s approval rating for him drop a few more points.
Interesting.
Damn interesting.
...
A little after six in the morning, the broadcast vans followed the special operations vehicle into the elite villa district on the eastern outskirts of Jiangcheng.
Zhang Luoluo’s home was already besieged.
TV station vans, production crew, investigation unit officers, and even several black funeral cars adorned with white flowers blocked the entrance. The scene was noisy and eerie.
Chen Yu stepped out, instantly becoming the focus of every camera.
He straightened his collar, naturally allowing the “White Moonlight” Li Qing to cling to his arm, striding confidently toward the villa, watched by eyes filled with curiosity, awe, and jealousy.
Before he reached the door, a middle-aged man approached.
The man was extremely short—barely above five feet—wearing a tailored designer suit that only made him look more comical than distinguished.
This was the long-standing top-ranked detective from Sakura Country, Sanada Gouichiro.
“Hello, Mr. Resurrection!”
Sanada Gouichiro wore a formulaic smile, extending his hand and greeting in heavily accented Mandarin, “It’s our first meeting. I am Sanada Gouichiro. I’ve heard much about you.”
Chen Yu paused, eyeing him up and down.
He did not extend his hand.
Instead, he flashed a bizarre smile, his voice low but clear enough for every microphone in range.
“Oh, so you’re Mr. Obsequious, huh? Well, well, I’ve heard plenty!”
The air froze.
Even Li Qing, still holding his arm, couldn’t suppress a twitch at the corner of her mouth.
Sanada Gouichiro’s smile stiffened, but his composure held as he withdrew his hand and bowed slightly. “Mr. Resurrection, you’re quite the joker.”
“A joke? I’m not joking.”
Chen Yu shook his head solemnly, stroking his chin as if searching his memory.
“Back home, we have a tradition. When meeting such a ‘distinguished’ international guest as yourself, we don’t shake hands.”
Sanada Gouichiro paused, curiosity piqued. “Oh? What is your custom then?”
“Hmm...” Chen Yu pondered, then slapped his thigh in sudden realization. “My mother always said that when you meet someone like you, you should have him kneel and knock his head three times! Yes, that’s the highest form of respect from where I come!”
He grinned at Sanada Gouichiro, showing his white teeth.
“Come on, Mr. Obsequious, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Give me a bow?”
“Pfft!”
Li Qing couldn’t hold back any longer, bursting into laughter and drawing all eyes.
Sanada Gouichiro’s face went from stiff to ashen, a vein throbbing at his temple.
“What’s this? Not willing to respect local customs?” Chen Yu raised his eyebrows, disappointment thick in his tone. “We haven’t even started competing and you disrespect our traditions? Lame!”
With a contemptuous “tsk,” he turned away, arm-in-arm with the giggling Li Qing, heading straight into the villa.
Sanada Gouichiro was left alone in the morning breeze, his face shifting from blue to white like a painter’s palette.
The livestream exploded.
“Damn! He can do that? Chen Yu’s mouth is blessed!”
“I’m dying! He’s bullshitting with a straight face, and that Japanese guy actually played along. Awkward!”
“That’s what you call cultural dominance! (Leans back tactically)”
“Chen Yu, glorious as ever! Destroy that Japanese guy!”
Chen Yu ignored the outside world. The moment he stepped into the crime scene, his roguish smile vanished.
The villa, as Su Qingzhu had said, had been meticulously cleaned—so spotless it hardly resembled the scene of a recent murder.
The air held a faint trace of incense, attempting to mask the lingering scent of blood.
Only in the corner of the living room, the abandoned sofa, stained with dark red blood, stood like a silent tombstone, testifying to the tragedy that had unfolded here.
“As you wished, here’s the scene.” Chen Yu patted Li Qing’s hand, murmuring, “Take a look around. I need to get to work—let’s not interfere with each other.”
“Hehe, you’re alright!” Li Qing gave a syrupy smile, releasing him, her expression instantly shifting to serious and professional as she began to examine the surroundings.
---
Chen Yu’s goal had been clear from the start.
The sofa!
Seizing the moment when Sanada Gouichiro entered and drew all camera attention, Chen Yu slipped like a ghost to the living room corner.
He looked around, ensuring no one was watching him.
He appeared nonchalant as he sat down, but his hand, seemingly absent-minded, gently touched the hardened, dark red bloodstain.
Buzz—
Rewind!
This time, the vision was clearer and longer than ever before!
In the scene, Zhang Luoluo faced off with a man in a black tracksuit and a balaclava exposing only his eyes and mouth, right in front of the sofa.
Her expression was taut with anxiety and terror, gripping the sofa armrest tightly.
Both their lips moved rapidly, as if locked in a heated argument.
Damn! Did the system mute the sound?
Chen Yu cursed silently, forcing himself to focus.
Suddenly!
The man in black launched a sudden attack!
He threw Zhang Luoluo onto the sofa, his movements lightning-fast!
A thin steel wire, glinting with cold light, appeared in his hand, wrapping tightly around Zhang Luoluo’s pale, slender neck!
Her face visibly changed from flushed to purple, her beautiful eyes filling instantly with despair and agony.
Her body struggled violently, legs kicking, but the man pinned her down, stifling any sound.
The vision flickered.
Time seemed to fast-forward several minutes.
Zhang Luoluo now lay motionless on the sofa—her life extinguished.
The masked man stood, slowly lifting her white dress, exposing her flat, pale, still-warm abdomen.
Then, a gleaming, professional scalpel appeared in his hand.
The gruesome scene unfolded in Chen Yu’s mind like the most terrifying movie, frame by frame, crystal clear.
Whoosh!
The rewind ended.
Chen Yu jerked his hand back, gasping for air, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.
The sequence matched his earlier deductions almost perfectly.
But the details...
Those damn details!
The two did know each other! And before the attack, they had a fierce argument!
What were they arguing about?
Chen Yu’s brow furrowed into a knot.
His mind flashed back to the shadowy figure he’d seen when touching the recorder in the evidence room.
That figure, and the masked, black-clad man in the vision...
That build, that posture, that damned familiarity...
The two figures slowly overlapped in his mind.
Chen Yu’s heart sank.
The murderer...
Was it him?
No.
Chen Yu’s pupils dilated suddenly.
Not a question.
A certainty.
The murderer—was him!!!