Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?
Chapter 44 Suspicion

Chapter 44: Chapter 44 Suspicion

"Captain, aren’t you coming back with us?"

"No, I’m making a trip to Yuxiu Police Station up ahead."

"Alright, then we’re heading back."

Upon hearing this, a few of Xia Baokun’s team members got into the car behind, while naturally, the front car was reserved for Xia Baokun.

"Forensic Doctor Sun, we’ll have to trouble you tonight to get the forensic report out."

Forensic Doctor Sun nodded upon hearing the request: "Don’t worry, we will definitely have the results out tonight."

There have been three murders with similar modi operandi. It was obvious that this was a serial killing spree, and the city bureau paid great attention to this. Everyone was under pressure, and at such times, naturally nobody dared to slack off. They all hoped to catch the murderer as quickly as possible to prevent leaks and to avoid panic among the citizens.

Seeing them leave, Xia Baokun then drove to Yuxiu Police Station.

Perhaps because Lin Guoliang and others had notified them, Chief Guan Xueming of Yuxiu Police Station was already waiting at the door. When he saw Xia Baokun’s car drive in, he immediately went to greet him.

"Old Xia."

"Chief Guan."

Xia Baokun also hurriedly greeted him.

"I heard about it from Lin Guoliang and the others, seems like it’s serious enough to involve your team, so this must be a big case," Guan Xueming said, shaking hands with Xia Baokun.

"Yes, a serial murder case, with extremely negative impacts. The city bureau leadership is urging us to solve the case as soon as possible."

"It’s a lot of pressure," Guan Xueming remarked.

Sometimes, cases aren’t so easily solved, but the higher-ups don’t care about that.

"Isn’t that the truth," Xia Baokun acknowledged, taking out a cigarette and offering one to Guan Xueming.

It was fully dark by now, but the police station was brightly lit outside. They didn’t go in but stood at the door smoking, chatting casually.

However, Xia Baokun only broadly mentioned the three serial murders without revealing too much. Before solving the case, a lot of information needed to remain confidential.

"The murderer has a very high anti-surveillance awareness, and after each crime, they would call to notify us. It’s a provocation to our Bin Hai City police system..." Xia Baokun said somewhat indignantly.

"To stump Captain Xia, it seems this murderer is quite intelligent," Chief Guan joked.

Then he crushed the cigarette butt under the tip of his shoe.

"Isn’t that the truth? That’s why we haven’t been able to find any useful clues. But today, a young girl came to your station to report a crime, this might just be a breakthrough."

Guan Xueming nodded: "After Lin Guoliang and others came back and reported, I asked them to pull the surveillance footage, which should be ready by now. Let’s go have a look together."

Guan Xueming led the way into the station, with Xia Baokun quickly following.

The front part of the station was the public service hall, mainly for receiving visitors, where computers were used for queries and registrations.

All the surveillance control was in a machine room at the very back, which could access all traffic surveillance within the jurisdiction, including the surveillance equipment of Yuxiu Police Station.

But as Guan Xueming led Xia Baokun into the room, they were shocked to find three people inside sweating profusely with looks of horror on their faces.

The reason there were three was that besides Lin Guoliang and Jiang Xiyue, there was also the person in charge of the machine room.

"What happened?" Guan Xueming was surprised.

"Chief~"

Jiang Xiyue quickly walked up to Guan Xueming with panic written all over her face.

"What’s the matter?"

"I... I..."

Jiang Xiyue didn’t know how to explain; she even wondered if it was her mind that was flawed. If everything was just her imagination, but the bodies had indeed been found, how would that be explained?

"Old Lin, what’s going on?"

Guan Xueming turned his gaze towards the more mature and composed Lin Guoliang.

Lin Guoliang took a deep breath: "We didn’t see the young lady who reported the crime in the surveillance footage."

"What does that mean? The surveillance didn’t capture it?" Guan Xueming was somewhat taken aback.

Wasn’t it said that they encountered at the entrance of the police station? Are there blind spots in the surveillance at the entrance of the police station?

"Take it slow, no need to rush."

Xia Baokun tried to comfort Jiang Xiyue, stabilizing her emotions.

Jiang Xiyue took a deep breath, picked up the conversation, and said: "It’s not that, Chief, the surveillance recorded me, but in the footage, there was simply no one in front of me; it was just me talking to myself."

By the end of her explanation, Jiang Xiyue’s voice began to shake, seriously doubting if there was something wrong with her mind.

Upon hearing this, Guan Xueming felt the same astonishment, glancing at Jiang Xiyue, who was almost in tears, before quickly shifting his gaze back to Xia Baokun.

"Let’s watch the surveillance footage before we discuss further," said Xia Baokun.

The two approached the surveillance equipment, and at that moment, the computer was playing the surveillance footage, which indeed only showed Jiang Xiyue alone, speaking to thin air.

Guan Xueming frowned and said, "Xiao Mo, replay the surveillance footage from the beginning for us."

On hearing this, Xiao Mo immediately dragged the progress bar back to the beginning where Jiang Xiyue had ridden her motorcycle into the courtyard.

Then they saw Jiang Xiyue riding her motorcycle into the yard, seemingly noticing something, she slowed down her motorbike, and gradually approached the entrance of the police station, apparently talking to someone, then she turned off her motorcycle and took off her helmet.

"It happened right here; the young girl should have been in this spot."

Jiang Xiyue, who had followed along, pointed to a position just ahead of the motorcycle.

"I saw it was a little girl, about twelve or thirteen, so I asked her if she needed anything proactively."

"She called out to me as ’Officer Uncle’, and I told her I was a sister, asking her to take her time with whatever issue she had..."

Jiang Xiyue, standing by, followed the video’s progress, explaining what was said at the time.

The conversation wasn’t lengthy, and then it showed Jiang Xiyue suddenly getting off the motorcycle and running out of the courtyard, looking around the entrance, before running back.

Immediately afterward, Lin Guoliang appeared at the entrance of the police station.

Lin Guoliang, by her side, also took the initiative to explain: "I saw her blocking the entrance with her motorcycle, so I casually asked her, and Xiao Jiang told me, a little girl came to report a crime..."

The two soon left the police station; thus, the surveillance video ended.

"Xiao Jiang, have you been too tired recently? How about I give you a few days off so you can go back and rest properly?" Guan Xueming looked at Jiang Xiyue, face full of concern.

"Chief, I... I’m not tired; I’m fine," Jiang Xiyue hurriedly defended.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to rest, but she didn’t want people to think there was something wrong with her mind.

Beside them, Xia Baokun, stroking his chin and pondering, said: "If you really are having mental issues, then why was there actually a dead body in the abandoned building?"

On hearing this, everyone turned to look at Jiang Xiyue, whose face turned pale all at once.

"It wasn’t me; I didn’t kill the person, it really was a little girl who came to report a crime," Jiang Xiyue was so distressed she was nearly in tears.

"Alright, Xiao Jiang, don’t panic, we all believe in you," Chief Guan comforted her from the side, trying to steady Jiang Xiyue’s crumbling emotions.

"Xiao Jiang, don’t be nervous, we know it wasn’t you," Lin Guoliang, her mentor, also offered words of comfort.

"But at this moment, you’re the most suspicious," interjected Xia Baokun, out of the blue.

Chief Guan and Lin Guoliang both looked at him with displeasure.

Xia Baokun ignored their looks and continued: "If the killer isn’t you, then the situation doesn’t really make sense."

Jiang Xiyue, who had just managed to steady her emotions, felt as though she was collapsing again upon hearing this.

"Don’t panic just yet. You’re also a police officer, why is your mental fortitude so weak? Back in the day, when your dad had a gun pointed at his head, he was calm and composed."

"You knew my dad?" Jiang Xiyue asked with a hint of sobbing in her voice.

Then she remembered that Xia Baokun had asked her earlier if she was Jiang Haitao’s daughter; it seemed evident he knew her father.

However, Xia Baokun didn’t answer this question but continued: "Since there was no one on the surveillance, yet you claimed to have seen someone, can you still remember what she looked like?"

Jiang Xiyue nodded eagerly in response to the question, "Of course, I remember."

After all, she was a graduate of the police academy. Quickly memorizing the physical characteristics of a person was a basic skill.