Chapter 16: The One Called a Monster

Upon returning to the Criminal Investigation Brigade, Xiao Yu received unsettling news. There had been no progress in the investigation into the warehouse murder victim’s past. 

This revelation struck Xiao Yu hard, instilling a sense of exposure under the murderer’s watchful eye, leaving him nowhere to hide.

This brought a wave of panic, threatening to overwhelm him. Why would he feel observed by the murderer? Xiao Yu speculated that the murderer had anticipated the police’s move to probe into the victim’s background. But how could this be possible?

Regaining composure, Xiao Yu’s expression darkened. 

As a person who had transmigrated with the wisdom of his previous life, he had expected to excel effortlessly in the police force, standing out as the brightest star. However, the harsh reality of his first case was a brutal wake-up call.

“This murderer is a bit incredible,” Guo Qiang remarked, noticing his apprentice’s troubled look. “Don’t lose heart. We still have a chance.”

But Xiao Yu thought bitterly, ‘So incredible? Please don’t insult the word. Does he even deserve it?’

Xiao Yu was frustrated, though he didn’t know how bad the consequences would be.

When Xiao Yu got serious and unleashed his full intellectual capacity, it was scary.

Why did Xiao Yu become a celebrated policeman in his previous life? It was due to his exceptional case-solving skills and high IQ. However, few people genuinely liked him then.

Why? His intelligence was so extraordinary that it was almost monstrous.

Being highly intelligent meant struggling with common sense. He often focused on only one aspect of a problem, making it hard to engage in meaningful thought exchanges with most people. So, he frequently resisted blending into various groups.

Xiao Yu recognized his previous self’s flaws. After transmigrating, he worked hard to change, trying not to think in ways that exceeded common understanding.

It took him a whole decade to change some of his bad habits.

But at that moment, Xiao Yu’s expression shifted. His face became cold and devoid of emotion, his eyes reflecting a chilling numbness. Xiao Yu’s brain was operating at a level beyond ordinary comprehension.

With Guo Qiang looking on in shock, Xiao Yu spoke. Each word fell with the chilling cadence of a cold wind from hell, piercing and icy.

“If… I were the murderer.”

“There are countless ways to kill a victim, aren’t there?”

“Many indeed.”

“Why opt for the most straightforward and brutal method?”

“To obscure the truth.”

“I’m well aware that sometimes the simplest method is the most flaw-free.”

“Like darkness under a lamp, simplicity diverts attention from understandable details.”

“People don’t ponder the length of their chopsticks or the force used to pick up food, they just use them. That’s inertia.”

“Similarly, people don’t count how often they blink per minute or how many times they touch their phones each day. When inertia becomes second nature, it’s overlooked as trivial and automatically ignored.”

“I understand that committing a crime inevitably leaves clues. Yet, when these clues are too simple, they are more likely to be overlooked by people.”

“So, in the process of committing murder, what must I do?”

“How do I act so that all the police overlook me, without casting any suspicion my way?”

“No, it’s impossible to achieve that. No matter how flawlessly I execute the plan, considering every possibility, the very act of murder will inevitably leave traces on the victim.”

“What aspect of the victim is most likely to reveal clues? Their words? Identity? Cell phone? Clothes? Family… No, none of these. I can control all these factors. Except for… emotions!”

“Now I understand!”

Xiao Yu’s expression softened, his eyes regaining their usual alertness, and a slight smile curved on his lips. He murmured to himself, “It seems I had guessed it right from the start but overlooked it. You can plan for everything, but you can’t plan for a person’s emotions. That means the victim… he indeed cheated on you, didn’t he?!”

***

“A second phone?”

Zhao Changshan, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, gazed at Xiao Yu, astonished, “You suspect that the victim had a second mobile phone?”

“Yes,” Xiao Yu confirmed with a nod. “Based on the investigations and interviews conducted by our team with the factory employees, the victim occasionally went out alone over the past six months, sometimes not returning for the night. Considering that he has no relatives in this city and a dormitory to stay in, why would he need to stay elsewhere? I suspect the victim had a woman in his life. Whether she was his girlfriend remains unclear, but she is definitely connected to the murderer.

“Furthermore, I request the team to thoroughly investigate all social media accounts and phone numbers registered under the victim’s ID. My suspicion of a second phone stems from the likelihood that this woman is linked to someone inside the factory. The victim didn’t want their relationship to be discovered.

“I also suspect that this woman should be richer, in other words, the murderer is relatively wealthy. This is evident from the victim’s clothing. In his luggage, colleagues found two luxury garments and a pair of limited-edition basketball shoes. For someone with the victim’s income, such purchases would be extravagant, yet his coworkers described him as frugal.”

Pausing, Xiao Yu observed the captain, who appeared shocked and deep in thought.

“If we can locate this woman, we will be able to find the murderer.”