Half an hour later, the sound of police sirens broke the tranquility of Anhui Community.
The policemen knocked on the doors of the residents one by one. Nearly 90% of the people in the whole building had drunk the tap water and fallen into a coma. It could be described as a rather serious large - scale poisoning incident. Fortunately, the suspect had only used an anesthetic, which, after dilution, was almost harmless to the human body.
Due to the large number of people, it was unrealistic to send them all to the hospital. So the medical staff examined the residents one by one. After confirming that they were fine, they let them rest at home.
Inside the duplex apartment on the top floor, the forensic science expert and his assistant were taking pictures and collecting samples. Gong Jingfan, with a band - aid on his mouth, reported the situation to the captain: "… That guy might be the killer. He killed two people and made it seem like they'd offed each other."
"What did he look like?" the captain asked.
"I didn't get a clear look. He knocked me out after I chased him to the rooftop," Gong Jingfan said, shaking his head regretfully.
"Is this a pen?" the forensic science assistant came over with a golden pen.
The captain took it, weighed it in his hand, unscrewed it and took a look. "This is a pen - dog, evolved from a pen pistol. Huang Jinrong, a gangster tycoon in the Republic of China era, had one. It has a chamber structure driven by air pressure and can shoot steel balls."
A police officer came in to report, "The surveillance footage in the compound has been deleted."
"What!? Who deleted it? What did the security guard say?"
"He said he knew nothing and didn't remember anyone coming in, but all the surveillance footage from today has been deleted."
The captain scowled silently. Another cunning killer. And just when a murder case happened. The cops were already up to their necks dealing with the "Smiling Face Killer". How could they spare the time to investigate this case?
What they didn't know was that the unidentified male body being put into a body bag at the moment was the very person they were looking for.
Considering that buying medicine might get him noticed by the police, Di Zhen "stole" some painkillers and anti - inflammatory drugs from a pharmacy and then quietly left the money on the shelf.
Back at the hotel, he ripped open his pants to check the wound. The blood had clotted, but the artery wasn't damaged. After he cleaned and dressed the wound himself, popped the pills, and then plopped down on the bed.
Closing his eyes, his consciousness came to Di Gong's old house, of course, created by his mental tool. Sitting in the familiar environment, he felt completely relaxed.
He reached out his hand to the table, and a red soda can covered with beads of water appeared. Di Zhen opened it and took a big gulp. The ice - cold and stimulating cola went down his throat, making him feel extremely refreshed. The saturated sugar also helped relieve the pain.
Di Zhen stood up and paced around, trying to reorganize the case in his mind. That man's behavior and demeanor were not normal and he was very aggressive. He might really be mentally ill.
But Fan Yi wasn't innocent either. It was very likely that she secretly incited that man to kill Wei Xiang. But she didn't expect Guo Pu to take it so far and turn it into a serial killing case, and finally get herself involved.
Di Zhen retrieved Guo Pu's photo from his camera, and with a thought, a photo frame materialized around it.
He hesitated for a moment, holding the heavy photo frame, and then walked towards the basement. The original intention of creating this old house was a bit childish. He couldn't sleep on his first night in the hotel, so he constructed the appearance of the old house in his mind. Many parts were still incomplete, so it could only be regarded as a "rough draft" of his mental tool.
Why not turn it into an archive to store these important events?
When he walked into the basement, the lights immediately came on. Di Zhen hung the photo frame on the wall, stepped back to take a look, and thought it looked good.
This place is like a memory palace. Whenever he needs to retrieve information, he can come back and review it at any time.
Before Guo Pu died, he said that the "Smiling Face Killer" was not his father. Regarding this matter, Di Zhen had two speculations. The first was that Guo Pu deliberately said so to plant a seed of doubt in Di Zhen's mind; the second was that it was true.
Although rationally Di Zhen was more inclined to believe the first speculation, his emotions uncontrollably leaned towards the second.
What did he think of his father? Hatred, disgust, and contempt. He hated that man for bringing him into this world and then abandoning him.
He could only live under the name "Qiu Yun" forever because "Di Zhen" was the son of a murderer, a symbol of disgrace.
But what if Qiu Qiang was really framed? Did it mean that he could then walk in the sun openly?
He decided to find out what was going on in that policeman's mind. Maybe he could use this as a breakthrough point to investigate Qiu Qiang's murder case. At least, he wanted to take a look at the police files.
Okay, it's decided! He'll stay in Jiangxia for a bit!
Having made up his mind, he returned to the bedroom in the old mansion and lay on his bed. He used his memories and imagination to fill in the texture of the quilt and the bed. After lying down, he felt something was missing. Oh, right, the sandalwood scent in the air. So he added it.
He tucked the quilt in and fell asleep peacefully in the environment he had created.
The next day, at the Jiangxia Criminal Investigation Brigade.
The captain urgently called a meeting. "We've made new discoveries about last night's deceased. His name is Guo Pu. He's a distant relative of Wei Xiang and worked in his factory for a while. Later, he was fired for some unknown reason. Guo Pu suffered from severe aggressive personality disorder and delusions. Additionally, the DNA found in several previous murder cases belongs to him!"
There was a commotion below, and someone blurted out a conclusion. "Is Guo Pu the 'Smiling Face Killer'?" "Who killed him?"
"Based on the evidence and traces at the scene, Guo Pu killed Fan Yi, and Fan Yi killed Guo Pu. They killed each other."
Gong Jingfan stood up and said, "How could it be such a coincidence? Did the stranger who fled the scene really do nothing?"
Forensic scientist Gu Qingming said, "I examined the bodies carefully. Their postures were natural, not arranged after death. The pen-dog had been fired, but we couldn't find the steel ball at the scene. Instead, there was the stranger's blood, so it's likely the steel ball hit the stranger. There were only Guo Pu's fingerprints on the pen-dog, and we found the stranger's DNA on Guo Pu's teeth. The stranger probably punched Guo Pu. In fact, the stranger didn't kill anyone; he was just at the scene when the crime happened."
The captain continued, "Fan Yi was a weak woman. If she confronted Guo Pu, it's unlikely that they would end up killing each other. Coupled with the fact that Guo Pu fired the pen-dog at the stranger, it shows that the stranger was helping Fan Yi at that time."
The stranger was actually a good guy!?
Gong Jingfan found it unbelievable, even a bit surreal. But thinking carefully, that person didn't hurt him too much and didn't touch his police gun.
The captain said, "The DNA database test results show that this person has no previous criminal record. He might have just accidentally wandered in, witnessed the two killing each other, and fled in a hurry out of fear of getting involved in the case. Anyway, we've solved the [b]Smiling Face Murder[/b] case!"
Everyone cheered. Finally, the hard work of working overtime for nearly a month was over. Someone suggested going out for a dinner tonight.
However, Lao Gong frowned, not satisfied with such an outcome...