Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“He’s here!”
Speak of the devil!
Cheng Zheng led his disciple, Mei Xin, and they entered the room together.
Tang Yuanchu looked like he’d seen his savior when he spotted Cheng Zheng. He rubbed his hands and grinned at him. “Captain Cheng, we were waiting for you.”
Cheng Zheng frowned when he looked at the messy state of the room. “What happened? Why wasn’t the scene preserved and protected?”
Preservation of the crime scene was the most important task for detectives.
As Bai Muchuan was the one who’d stayed at this hotel, he should’ve been the first one to arrive at the scene. Therefore, the one that Cheng Zheng was reprimanding was him.
Tang Yuanchu laughed awkwardly. “Miss Xie didn’t know about this…”
Xie Wanwan chimed in before Tang Yuanchu finished his words.
“This is where I’m staying for now,” she said with a snort of contempt, “I can do whatever I want to this room, so it’s none of your business.”
Cheng Zheng: “Since it’s your thing that got stolen, then why did you look for the police? You should just get it back yourself!”
Xie Wanwan raised her chin up haughtily. “I’m exercising my right as a citizen by looking for the police. It’s your duty to come and help me with my case.”
Cheng Zheng stared at her coldly. “If this sentence were to leak out on the internet, your image would collapse in an instant!”
Xie Wanwan acknowledged his remark with a condescending sneer. “Why not give it a try?”
This battle seems really intense?!
They were clearly at daggers drawn, but it was surely puzzling for the outsiders.
Did Xie Wanwan know that both Cheng Zheng and Bai Muchuan didn’t get along with each other, so she was helping him diss Cheng Zheng?
Or maybe, they already knew each other from way back?
Otherwise, why didn’t Cheng Zheng react after seeing such a beautiful celebrity? His attitude was completely calm unlike Tang Yuanchu and Mei Xin.
Xiang Wan was just a bystander who sat back and observed; she watched the show and pondered over it.
However, Cheng Zheng obviously didn’t want to continue this meaningless argument.
He was a man, after all. He shouldn’t bicker with a woman the entire time.
Thus, he ignored Xie Wanwan and asked Bai Muchuan directly. “What is the stolen item? Where was it when it got stolen?”
Bai Muchuan looked at him and motioned Tang Yuanchu with a sideway glance to give an account of what happened.
…
The hotel room suite was now quiet.
When Tang Yuanchu disclosed that the stolen item was a doll, Cheng Zheng’s eyes showed a glint of impatience. When he finished speaking, Cheng Zheng took his toolbox and moved to leave.
“Mei Xin, you stay and coordinate with Captain Bai on this case. I have something to do—”
“Stop right there!” Bai Muchuan’s face was as black as thunder. The atmosphere started to get colder as he said, “Who’s the one in charge of the whole team?”
“…”
In terms of rank, they were actually the same.
But Bai Muchuan had more authority as he was the one who coordinated and oversee the tasks of every team.
Cheng Zheng halted his steps and turned around slowly. “Captain Bai, what else do you need?”
The two of them met each other’s gaze. Bai Muchuan didn’t say anything.
That continued for a while before he narrowed his eyes and walked towards Cheng Zheng.
“Come with me!”
…
The two of them walked out of the room to the corridor.
No one knew what they talked about in private.
When they returned after two to three minutes, their expressions were back to normal.
Yes, they were back to their working modes.
No one spoke a word. Cheng Zheng opened his toolbox, put on his gloves and started to get to work.
Xiang Wan looked at Bai Muchuan.
He stood by the door, hands in his pockets, looking like a wolf patrolling his territory; his sharp eyes scrutinized the room as if he were mulling over something…
A while later, he suddenly walked towards the window.
Swoosh! He pulled the curtains open and called for Xiang Wan.
“You! Come over here!”
Xiang Wan walked over to him without a word; she had no idea what he wanted.
Bai Muchuan looked at her and asked, “Try and see if you can reach it?”
There was a small windowsill outside this glass window, about 20 centimeters in width that could allow a person to stand on one foot. The glass window was divided into two parts, upper and lower. The lower part was the main window which was a “push and pull” type. There were steel bars installed outside, presumably for safety reasons. Therefore, one couldn’t get to the windowsill outside from the lower window. The upper row of glass windows could also be pushed and pulled open but wasn’t protected by steel bars. However, the height of the glass window was very high—without the aid of tools like a stool or ladder, average people definitely wouldn’t able to climb out from such a height.
At the moment, Bai Muchuan’s hands were placed on top of it, and he was looking at Xiang Wan lazily.
So is he mocking how short I am?
Xiang Wan kept quiet, raised her hand and touched the lattice window.
“Can you climb up?” Bai Muchuan asked again.
Xiang Wan looked at him from the corner of her eyes. “Why should I climb up?”
“Let’s say you’re a thief; you stole something and you don’t want to be caught by the surveillance cameras, so you decided to take a risk—”
“Assumption invalid,” Xiang Wan interrupted him casually. “I’m not a thief, and I wouldn’t steal someone else’s things.”
“…”
Bai Muchuan continued to look at her. “Do you need to react like that? I only asked you to make an assumption. I’m hoping you can set a limit on the height of the killer, then when we get hold of other material evidence, you’ll be able to do a clear profiling analysis.”
“I’m not Conan. I can’t do it.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
No, what the hell is wrong with you ?
Although Xiang Wan was talking back to him inside her head, there wasn’t a hint of anger on her face. “I’m just taking the matter by its merits. First, let’s not mention whether this alone can be an argument for the height of the criminal. Captain Bai, I want to ask you, do you know which floor this is? More than thirty floors from the ground…”
“Which floor are we in now?” Bai Muchuan asked.
“… I’ve forgotten.”
“Thirty-eighth!”
“Hmph, of course I wouldn’t remember as well as you do.” Xiang Wan smiled faintly and continued to say, “I just want to ask you: since we’re on the thirty-eighth floor, who can come and go freely through the windows at this height? I mean, he’s not Spider-Man! I’m afraid only a fool would throw his life away just to steal a doll.”
Bai Muchuan looked at her without much emotion.
“I’ve checked. There are no traces to suggest the door lock was pried open.”
“How about with a room card…?”
“She locked the door from the inside before she went to sleep.”
“What if she didn’t lock it from the inside?” Xiang Wan laughed, “A human’s memory can have deviations. Miss Xie said she did that, but that might not be the case. It’s common to forget the things that one might have done…”
Bai Muchuan narrowed his eyes.
After mulling it over for a while, he said with confidence, “She wouldn’t.”
“You’re so sure?” Xiang Wan felt somehow nettled by the certainty he displayed.
“Positive!” Bai Muchuan’s eyes were cold and allowed no room for doubt.
“…”
Well, since he’d said so, what else can I say?
“If that’s the case, then I really don’t know who would want to risk their life—”
“Xiang Wan, not everyone fears death.” Bai Muchuan’s voice sounded colder than ever. “To some people, living is tougher than death. There are people who not only experience pleasure when they’re committing a crime, they can also feel relief and happiness when they’re dying…”
Huh?
Xiang Wan wanted to laugh.
But when she saw Bai Muchuan’s indifferent face, she managed to suppress the urge to do so.
“You sound as if you’ve died before!”
Bai Muchuan pursed his lips slightly. “Perhaps…”
“Excuse me!” A clear voice sounded from behind.
Xiang Wan turned around and saw Cheng Zheng holding a strange-looking camera.
“Fingerprint records!” he explained.
The study of forensic science was very complicated. Gathering and collecting evidence could be a solemn scientific affair. Xiang Wan knew nothing about this, but with feelings of worship, she swiftly moved away to give Cheng Zheng her position by the window.
Bai Muchuan moved slightly aside. “Did you find anything?”
When they first came in, they had put on gloves and shoe covers in order not to damage the scene further. However, because Xie Wanwan had kicked up a fuss, there was hardly anything of use. From the moment they started to gather evidence, Cheng Zheng and Mei Xin hadn’t found anything useful yet.
“I can only say this is not an ordinary case of theft. As for the rest, just wait for the report…”