Chapter 11

"My mother absolutely could not have killed anyone!" Meng Changshou said with great certainty: "The forensic doctor also concluded that my mother was basically impossible to be the murderer. And on the same day, my mother and my child, Meng Chen, went missing together."

Leaning against the sofa, Meng Changshou seemed to have lost all his strength as he recalled these events. He spoke with some difficulty: "A few days later, the police found my mother and Chenchen in a refrigerated cabinet at an old district. From their final positions, it was clear that my mother had been protecting Chenchen. This means that there was a third person present, and that person was the real murderer."

"The old lady wasn't the murderer, but she knew that there were bodies in her store's freezer and deliberately concealed it. This suggests that she definitely knew the murderer and was very familiar with them," Li Xue quickly grasped the key points: "From what you've said, I can sense that the old lady was a very kind person in your heart. For such a person to violate her principles, the murderer must be a close relative of the old lady. Narrowing it down further, the murderer might be one of the three brothers."

"If the old lady only wanted to conceal the truth, she shouldn't have been killed in the end," Han Fei signaled Li Xue not to jump to conclusions so quickly: "I feel that the old lady was more like giving the murderer a chance to reform, hoping the murderer would turn themselves in. She gave the murderer a week, but she completely underestimated the evil in the murderer's heart."

"The police had thought of these things before, but they didn't find any evidence. However, not long after my mother's death, the second son, Meng Changxi, went missing. No one knows where he went, and there's no sign of him, dead or alive. The neighbors all speculated that he was the murderer." The middle-aged man shook his head in pain: "Although the second son was introverted and gloomy, I know he absolutely could not have done such a thing. In fact, none of the three brothers could have done such a thing! We lost our closest loved ones, yet we are still the ones being suspected!"

The middle-aged man's emotions became agitated, and after speaking, he started coughing violently, reaching under the coffee table to grab a large packet of medicine.

"If we could find Meng Changxi's body, the suspect pool would be further narrowed down. If we can't find his body, he will likely continue to bear the name of murderer," Li Xue saw the middle-aged man about to take his medicine and poured him a glass of water: "I actually don't think Meng Changxi is likely to be the murderer. What do you think?"

"I don't know." Han Fei had a second thought he didn't voice, planning to ask the old lady himself tonight.

Looking at the old lady's black-and-white photo on the altar, Han Fei's mind drifted to that game.

He couldn't simply label Meng Shi as good or bad; at this moment, he deeply felt the complexity of human nature.

Meng Changshou's health wasn't good, so Han Fei and Li Xue didn't continue to disturb him. They tactfully left.

A decade-old cold case was brought up again, a major case that had once caused a stir. Now, apart from the victims' families and the investigating police, few people still remembered it.

Lost in thought, Han Fei walked a few steps before realizing that Li Xue was still standing on the steps, not following him.

"Do you have something else?"

"While helping you screen the data today, I found a very coincidental point. The residence of the victim, Meng Shi, and the residence of another victim in a different case are in the same building. Even more coincidentally, both murders happened ten years ago." Li Xue said as she walked upstairs.

Meng Shi lived on the third floor, and Li Xue led Han Fei to the fourth floor: "Have you heard of the Human Jigsaw Case from ten years ago?"

"Can it be that coincidental?" Han Fei suddenly remembered Director Jiang's words. The production team had originally wanted to film at the crime scene, but the homeowner refused, so they changed to No. 15 North Street.

"The murderer in the Human Jigsaw Case has never been caught. The first two victims of that case were found on the fourth floor of No. 15. The victims were a very loving couple." Li Xue stopped in front of a door: "Ten years ago, the police suspected that the murderer in the Human Jigsaw Case and the murderer in the freezer body case were the same person, but the methods used in the two cases were completely different. If the murderer in the freezer body case was a psychologically twisted person, then the murderer in the Human Jigsaw Case was a complete demon."

Knocking on the door, it took several seconds before the security door opened a crack.

A thin, frail old man appeared behind the door, frowning at Li Xue and Han Fei: "Who are you looking for?"

"I'm a police officer." Li Xue showed her temporary community police officer ID, which actually had no authority to conduct a search, but the old man didn't seem to understand this and reluctantly opened the door.

In the seventy-square-meter room, everything was neatly arranged, and the old man seemed to clean every day.

Entering the room, there were many photos on the living room walls. The old man in the photos looked healthy and had a cheerful smile, making it hard to believe he was the same person as the frail old man in front of them.

In addition to the old man, the most frequent appearance in the photos was a young couple. The man was honest and simple, and the woman was kind and gentle. They were very much in love, and every photo exuded happiness.

Next to the photo wall was a display cabinet, with many Lego toys inside the glass windows.

"Every year, I go to the police station to ask, and I've made countless trips over the past decade. Have you caught the murderer?" The old man's voice carried a hint of despair as he touched the photo frame, seemingly still unable to accept the harsh reality.

"I actually have a few questions for you." Li Xue took out her phone and opened several police apps.

She was skilled in her actions, continuously asking questions, guiding the old man to recall without causing him too much pain. Her questioning style and techniques were far superior to those of Zhang Xiaotian and Zhao Ming.

While Li Xue was questioning the old man, Han Fei quietly stood to the side, silently looking at the photos on the wall.

The people in the photos were Wei Youfu, the person he was going to portray.

In the game "Perfect Life," the old lady lived on the third floor, and Han Fei lived on the fourth floor.

In reality, the old lady also lived on the third floor, and the house where Wei Youfu and his wife were murdered was on the fourth floor.

Although the building layout was slightly different, this astonishing coincidence made Han Fei more cautious. He now strongly suspected that the ghost he met in the game last night was Wei Youfu's wife, the woman who was murdered in the bathroom.

Seemingly unrelated clues intersected at this moment, and the point of intersection was Han Fei himself.

Through Li Xue's questioning, Han Fei learned about Wei Youfu and his family. They could be described as decent, good people.

If they hadn't met with an accident, they would have lived happily ever after.

"They were not people full of malice in life," a bold idea slowly formed in Han Fei's mind: "To survive in that ghost and monster-filled game, I first need a safe home. If I can gain the approval of Wei Youfu and his wife, I can live with them in the haunted house! That would give me a way out of the certain death I face!"

Already dead people reappeared in the game, whether they were human or ghost, Han Fei decided to integrate with them.

His eyes lit up, and Han Fei sat down next to the frail old man.

Under the puzzled gazes of the old man and Li Xue, Han Fei said to the old man: "Old man, actually, Youfu and I were very good friends. Can you tell me if he had any unfulfilled wishes?"