Chapter 329: Vanishing into Thin Air

Could they still access the surveillance footage from five years ago?

Yes.

Any surveillance related to an open case would have been extracted and archived. In modern criminal investigations, all relevant footage was preserved until a case was solved.

There was no need to worry about video deterioration either. Each recording was backed up in triplicate. If one copy was damaged, the other two remained intact and could be perfectly restored.

The idea that once a video was deleted, all evidence was lost—like in the movies—was laughable. That kind of plot insulted both the intelligence of police officers and the audience.

Did they really think investigators didn’t understand computers and only knew how to use old-school flip phones?

Xiao Yu stood in front of the projector screen, laying out the case details.

“At the time, three separate sets of surveillance footage were extracted, corresponding to the three incidents five years ago. March 14th, May 28th, and September 19th. On the day each victim disappeared, the police retrieved surveillance footage covering five days before and after the incident. Ten days in total for each case.

“Each crime scene had between six and eleven surveillance cameras in operation. And in all three cases, the victims vanished within blind spots that weren’t captured on camera.

“This suggests that the perpetrator was highly familiar with the placement and coverage of the surveillance system. They deliberately chose blind spots to commit their crimes, ensuring the victims disappeared without a trace.”

As Xiao Yu finished summarizing the case and the surveillance situation, the previously silent meeting room finally stirred.

Aside from the sound of breathing, the occasional flick of a lighter and the soft crackle of burning tobacco filled the air.

The conference room of the Criminal Investigation Brigade was soon thick with smoke—denser than before, almost suffocating.

Everyone in the room, except for forensic expert He Li, was a seasoned investigator with years of experience.

After listening to Xiao Yu’s breakdown, their minds were all running through possible scenarios, analyzing and deducing. But in the end, they all reached the same conclusion. This wasn’t something a normal person could pull off.

Why?

Just as Xiao Yu had reasoned, the victims walked into surveillance blind spots and vanished.

Then, for the next two to three days, they endured unimaginable torment before being discarded in areas with no surveillance.

The drop sites were often several kilometers away from where they had originally disappeared.

How was that possible?

A living, breathing person vanishing into thin air from a blind spot?

If that wasn’t the case, then the perpetrator had to have taken them out of the blind spot at some point, right?

Unless they could open a portal and teleport away?

Fantasy? Supernatural?

No.

The last person who suggested that theory was quickly shut down.

Everyone knew this wasn’t some mystical phenomenon, it wasn’t magic or a ghost story. There had to be an explanation, something they hadn’t yet uncovered.

Their job was to figure out how it was done and reconstruct the truth.

Speculation alone wouldn’t solve the case.

“I’m heading to the site of the first disappearance,” Xiao Yu said, turning to Zhao Changshan. “Boss, take your team to the second scene. Chief, you’ve got the most experience, don’t just sit around. Check out the third site.”

“Got it!”

Zhao Changshan and Zhou Tinghu stood up, and the team from the Criminal Investigation Brigade moved out.

***

Inside the car near the previous crime scene.

“Why not start by investigating the woman in red?”

Sitting in the back seat, He Li glanced at Xiao Yu beside her.

“How?” Xiao Yu, eyes closed, smirked. “All we have is a three-year-old video. Identifying someone just by their body shape is unrealistic. Besides, the surveillance from that residential area was erased long ago. There’s nothing to check.”

Unlike the police, who archive case-related footage, regular security cameras automatically overwrite recordings, often within a month or two.

A three-year-old recording? There was no way to recover that.

He Li, though a police officer, had spent too long as a forensic pathologist. It was normal for her not to be familiar with these details.

“I see,” He Li nodded, frowning. “But couldn’t we find a lead from her killing methods or her connection to the victim?”

A regular woman wouldn’t have the skill or physical ability to kill the way the woman in red did.

The fact that she entered the victim’s home so easily and knew exactly where the surveillance cameras were positioned strongly suggested she was familiar with him.

“Won’t work,” Xiao Yu shook his head. “If you were her, would you leave such an obvious trail?”

“Good point.” He Li sighed, shaking her head. “I’m an idiot. A forensic pathologist can’t compare to you detectives after all.”

“Everyone has their specialty,” Guo Qiang said from the driver’s seat with a grin. “When it comes to crime scene investigations, we rely on you forensics experts.”

‘A smooth talker, this kid.’ 

He Li was pleased with the compliment.

But when she glanced at Xiao Yu beside her, she couldn’t help feeling frustrated.

Who said detectives couldn’t handle forensics?

The police vehicles came to a stop at the crime scene.

Stepping out, the team made their way toward a residential complex, heading to the alley behind the apartment buildings.

Five years had passed. Yet, compared to the surveillance footage, not much had changed. That was normal. Some neighborhoods remained untouched for over a decade. Ordinary people wouldn’t alter them. City planning rarely maintained them.

It was called an alley, but in reality, it was just a narrow pathway between two adjacent residential complexes.

On one side stood a concrete wall, on the other, a metal fence. And this was a blind spot in the city’s surveillance system.

Five years ago, on March 14th, at night, a woman, walking home, entered this alley and vanished.

The alley wasn’t long, barely thirty meters.

At a normal walking pace, it took between twenty to thirty-five seconds to cross. Running? Six to ten seconds. It was more than enough.

Xiao Yu walked through the alley, scanning his surroundings while his mind raced through possibilities.

Scaling the walls into either residential complex?

No—both had surveillance cameras.

Escaping through a sewer drain?

Also no—police had investigated that possibility years ago.

He walked the alley twice.

Nothing.

Could the suspect really have teleported?

A chill crept up his spine.

Rolling his eyes, he scoffed at himself. Humans truly feared nothing more than their own imagination. His thoughts were going off the rails.

Which left only one possibility.

Xiao Yu looked up.

The only way to evade surveillance was to leave from above.

Why?

Common sense.

How many security cameras pointed toward the sky?

Five years ago, before cameras specifically monitored for falling objects, hardly any did. That meant only one thing. The suspect had left through the air.

Flown away?

Not necessarily. There were plenty of ways to disappear into the sky.