Chapter 7

On November 27th, at 9:10 AM, at Che Wuchen's residence.

As a native of Linyi, Che Wuchen naturally had a home here, or rather... had once had a home.

A home is a home because of the presence of family, but Che Wuchen had no family left in this world, so now, this place was just a "residence."

Ding—Ding—

The doorbell rang just as Che Wuchen was lifting weights in the living room.

He put down the equipment and walked to the door in a few steps. He looked through the peephole and then opened the door.

"Nice to see you again, Detective Che." Outside the door stood Scram, smiling and dressed in a suit.

"Good morning, Lieutenant." Che Wuchen's attitude was still as cool and indifferent as ever, calm to the point where no emotion could be discerned.

Since Che Wuchen had already agreed to assist Scram's investigation at any time yesterday, the two of them almost didn't exchange any pleasantries; after greeting each other, they got straight to the point and set off together.

Twenty minutes later, the two arrived at the Sunshine Youth Behavioral Correction Center located in the suburbs.

At this moment, yellow tape had already been set up outside the building, and police officers were stationed around the walls. On the opposite side of the street, several interview vehicles with parking tickets were parked, and dozens of reporters and photographers from various media outlets were waiting silently in the cold wind, like a group of illegal workers squatting by the roadside, waiting for work that might never come.

The arrival of Scram and Che Wuchen undoubtedly excited these reporters, but their steps forward were blocked by the human wall formed by the police officers.

"Please stop. Are you related to the case?"

"Who are you? Which department are you from?"

"Could you share your thoughts on this case?"

Despite being blocked, the reporters still tiptoed, extended wireless microphones, and shouted questions loudly; the photographers, carrying their cameras, took a series of flash photos.

However, both Scram and Che Wuchen were used to such scenes and showed no reaction. They treated the reporters as if they were air and walked into the crime scene on their own.

"In a certain sense, your unexpected involvement this time has at least saved one person," Scram said to Che Wuchen in a conversational tone as they walked the short distance to the main entrance on the first floor.

"Who?" Che Wuchen asked, also thinking about the answer.

"Heh..." Scram smiled, "Of course, it's Officer Zhang."

Che Wuchen understood immediately what he meant.

The evening before, if it weren't for Che Wuchen, the "patrol officer," who requisitioned Officer Zhang's motorcycle and gun and immediately rushed to the scene to take the first action... then Officer Zhang would have surely arrived slowly, as he usually did.

If things had developed this way, the media would certainly have made a big deal out of the time difference between the report and the police's arrival. After all, such news that "easily causes taxpayer dissatisfaction" can easily become a hot topic.

In the end, to calm the public's anger, the authorities would have to find someone to take the blame; it goes without saying that this person would be Old Zhang...

In this highly developed information age, where past records and photos can be found everywhere, unless you reach a certain level and can encrypt your personal information, once something happens, not only your career but also your future life would be ruined.

However, due to the involvement of Che Wuchen, a senior detective of the FCPS, most of the details of this case became "confidential" to the public; the police could use this as a reason to not disclose any information to the public.

Even if the media fabricated some stories to attract attention and successfully stirred up public anger, this hot potato could be passed to the FCPS... at least the local officials in Linyi wouldn't have to worry about their careers being affected.

"Maybe," Che Wuchen responded after a few seconds, "But this can't be considered my achievement, as I didn't think of helping him. I just acted out of professional habit and personal principles, disliking the attitude of police officers who act as if it's none of their business when they receive a call for help from the public. I didn't expect to stumble upon a major case... I guess it's just Officer Zhang's good luck."

"Heh... No wonder you're an elite," Scram laughed, "Whether it's responsibility or execution... you're different from the grassroots who issue parking tickets."

"Two different things," Che Wuchen said, "This has nothing to do with hierarchy. It's just that in this particular incident, the differences between us and him were reflected in the outcome. We can also look at it this way... if this had been another false alarm, the result would have been that I meddled in something that wasn't my business and made a big deal out of nothing, right?"

As they spoke, they had already passed through the electronic door and entered the corridor on the first floor.

At this moment, the "bodies" in the corridor had all been dealt with; thirty-one heads were taken away in thirty-one empty body bags, and thirty-one buckets of "body fluid" were also labeled and transported to the morgue with the corresponding heads.

Fortunately, in this era, there were very advanced portable liquid extraction devices; otherwise, the police might have had to use mops and rags to collect the "bodies" on the ground.

In short, the filth in the corridor had been basically cleaned up, leaving only the chalk lines marking the positions of the bodies. If someone unfamiliar with the situation saw this, they would surely find it strange. In a normal crime scene, the lines would outline a person lying on the ground, but here, the ground was marked with irregular large circles, which might make one think that large slimes had died.

"One hundred and fifty patients and Professor Tang himself have all disappeared, and the police are conducting a city-wide search... I'm sure you've heard this from the news, so let's talk about something not reported in the news," Scram said as he led Che Wuchen further inside, "The identities of the deceased were all determined the night before; thirty-one people, regardless of gender, were all dorm supervisors... or, you could say, 'teachers' or 'doctors'..." He paused, glanced at Che Wuchen, and continued, "Heh... sounds a bit chaotic, right? Let me explain it simply... In this center, the 'positions' and 'titles' have no real meaning. Whether they are called 'doctors' or 'teachers' is mainly to deal with the outside world and for management convenience. From the information I got from the patients' families... this place is more like a miniature kingdom, where the people can be divided into three categories: 'king,' 'king's lackeys,' and 'commoners.'"

"You don't need to tell me this. I read reports about this center in the media a long time ago," Che Wuchen said, "Although they were all glossed-over propaganda, anyone with a bit of intelligence could see through the essence."

"Alright, I won't give you a lecture, let's continue with the case," Scram shrugged and continued, "Besides the thirty-one dorm supervisors, there were five people working in the cafeteria, one of whom was the boss, and the other four were the chef and helpers.

"After the incident, the police quickly found and controlled the four people except for the boss. According to their statements, the boss suddenly let the four employees take a paid day off the day before the incident, for unknown reasons... of course, they didn't ask many questions; it was a free day, and if they asked too many questions, the boss might have said, 'Why are you asking so many questions? If you're not happy with the day off, you can come back tomorrow'... which would have been self-defeating."

"Where is the boss?" Che Wuchen, not very interested in the latter part of Scram's words, interrupted before the topic drifted too far.

"Hmm..." Scram's eyes changed slightly, and he gave Che Wuchen a sly glance, "You hit the nail on the head..." He paused for half a second and continued in a mysterious tone, "According to the chef and helpers, the boss is named 'Zhang San,' yes... Zhang San's Zhang, Zhang San's San. We found the address of Zhang San's 'contract company' in the correction center's records, but when we went there, the address turned out to be fake; the phone number he left was also disconnected... following the registration of the number led to a dead end.

"As for his residence... no one knows, and no one can provide a photo of him; his employees said they were directly approached and hired by him at a job fair, had a brief chat, exchanged names and phone numbers, and started work the next day."

"What about surveillance footage?" Che Wuchen, quick to react, immediately proposed a possible breakthrough, "This center has surveillance cameras in all public areas, including the cafeteria, and there are also recordings on the nearby streets. He must have been captured on camera at some point, and as long as his employees can identify him..."

"The police have already done that," Scram interrupted before he could finish, "We did indeed confirm Zhang San's appearance from the surveillance footage and used facial recognition software to list all citizens with similar faces... but after comparison, we found that there is no such person in the database."

"In that case..." Che Wuchen pondered.

"You're right, it's a 'fake face,'" Scram said, "At least in the federal database, there is no such person; as for whether his name is 'Zhang San'... that's not important. We'll just call him that for now."

"A person without an 'identity'..." Che Wuchen said, "That makes sense... If this 'Zhang San' is a member of the 'resistance organization,' it wouldn't be strange if he's a 'power user,' right?"

"Yes," Scram replied, "At this stage, he is the primary suspect in this case, so the police's special task force is focusing its resources on investigating him."

By the time they finished talking, they had already reached the fifth floor.

On the way, they did not stop on any other floors, and the electronic doors along the way had been set to open freely.

Scram led Che Wuchen directly to the surveillance room on the fifth floor and stood in front of the control panel.

"Then... let's talk about the surveillance footage," Scram said, looking at Che Wuchen with a suspicious gaze.

"Say what you want to say," Che Wuchen said.

"Alright," Scram said bluntly, "I suspect you. I suspect you are an accomplice in this case."

"What do you mean by that?" Che Wuchen remained calm despite being accused.

"On the evening of the 25th, when the first police officers arrived at the building, it was 19:32, and you were already waiting at the entrance," Scram said, "According to your testimony, you immediately began searching the scene after arriving and called the police from the surveillance room on the fifth floor at 19:25, then returned to the entrance to wait for the police... up to this point, do you have any objections?"

"No," Che Wuchen replied.

"Good," Scram continued, "You also said that during the entire search, you only touched the toilet stall door and the phone in the surveillance room, and nothing else... right?"

After this statement, Che Wuchen... hesitated.

"No," Che Wuchen said, "I also touched... the control panel." He gestured towards the control panel behind Scram, "That control panel."

"What?" Scram's expression and tone became cold and aggressive, "Are you retracting your statement now?"

"No," Che Wuchen denied, "This isn't a statement. I don't need to provide any so-called 'confession' to anyone other than my superiors." He paused, "I'm only telling you this." He turned his head slightly and looked at the control panel, "The night before, I checked the surveillance footage before calling the police, and I wore gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints."

"Why didn't you tell the police about this?" Scram pressed.

"Because it doesn't follow the investigation procedures. If I had told the police, my actions would have been recorded in writing, giving others a handle to use against the FCPS," Che Wuchen remained calm, showing no signs of being pressured, while Scram seemed more anxious.

"Oh? Now you care about 'procedures'?" Scram sneered, "For someone who suddenly requisitioned police equipment on the street..."

"Requisitioning a police officer's gun and car and discovering a major crime scene is a commendable act," Che Wuchen interrupted, "But not strictly following procedures after arriving at the scene is leaving a handle. This has nothing to do with whether I care about 'procedures.' I've already said... the correctness of one's attitude sometimes depends on the outcome."

His response was logically sound, and Scram knew it, so he quickly put on a fake smile: "Heh... then, can I ask what you did at the control panel?"

"I already said, I checked the surveillance footage," Che Wuchen replied, "The purpose... was to find out what happened here." He exhaled through his nose, "The result was the same as what you know. All footage after midnight on the 25th was erased; I didn't see the footage of that day, just like the police. Therefore, I didn't need to specifically report to the police that I had seen the footage."

"Then how do you prove..." Scram continued, "that you only 'viewed' the footage and didn't 'erase' it?" He licked his lips, "If you were an accomplice, you and the perpetrator could have agreed in advance for the perpetrator to call the police at a specific time, and you... to intercept the nearest police officer using your patrol officer status, arrive first, check for any evidence left by your accomplice, cover it up, and then go upstairs to delete the footage, and calmly call the police again..."

"Frankly, your reasoning skills are a bit lacking, Lieutenant," Che Wuchen responded in a matter-of-fact tone, "First, if I were an accomplice and my task was to check the scene for evidence from a criminal investigation perspective... why would I need to intercept a police officer's task to get to the scene? I could just go directly and help him, right? This is the suburbs of Linyi, not Zurich. I can count the street cameras... do you think it would be difficult for me to avoid all the street cameras and enter the building?"

"..."

"Second, if I were an accomplice and responsible for the 'cleanup,' I wouldn't have let my accomplice use such a conspicuous method of killing, right? And why would I have my accomplice call the police?" Che Wuchen's rebuttal hit the mark, "This would definitely bring the EAS into the picture, wouldn't