Chapter 218: You Know Too Much

“Boss, what do we do with Xie Shasha?” 

Outside the interrogation room, Guo Qiang’s expression was grim. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Xie Shasha’s story had thoroughly disgusted him. Could it really have been human meat? If that were the case, this case was about to take a very dark turn—one that Guo Qiang didn’t even want to think about.

“Let her go,” Xiao Yu said with a shake of his head. “She probably doesn’t know much. You’ve been a detective for a while now, you should know not to jump to conclusions. Sometimes, even our eyes can play tricks on us.”

In his experience, it was highly unlikely that the meat Xie Shasha had eaten was human. Even if these criminals were complete idiots, who would be dumb enough to serve human meat to someone? What kind of low-level intelligence would it take to do something that reckless?

All of Xie Shasha’s claims were based on her own assumptions. The facts still needed to be verified.

“Got it.” Guo Qiang nodded, turning to go release Xie Shasha.

As Xiao Yu watched him leave, his mind raced through the case details. 

Another lead had been cut off—so what was the next step? 

“It looks like we’re going to have to tear that villa apart.”

Xiao Yu sighed. It wasn’t a decision he made lightly, but the villa held too many potential clues as the primary crime scene. If they had to start demolishing parts of it, there was a real risk of destroying crucial evidence.

By noon, Xiao Yu stood outside the villa, a group of detectives gathered nearby, awaiting his instructions.

“Follow my lead. Only break into the areas I point out,” he instructed, his voice firm.

Under Xiao Yu’s guidance, the team began working their way through the villa, tracing the wires left behind from the removed surveillance cameras, as well as the pipes that had been used to release gas. The search lasted all afternoon, and a fair bit of the villa’s interior had to be torn apart. Eventually, they followed the wires to the garage.

The garage appeared completely normal at first glance, but something felt off. And soon enough, even Xiao Yu was surprised.

After pulling back the waterproof carpet on the garage floor, an unexpected trapdoor came into view.

Beneath the trapdoor was a dark, hidden space. Flashlights in hand, they quickly located a power switch.

With a single flick of the switch, the underground space was flooded with light, revealing a massive underground room. 

The room was about a hundred square meters, with a ceiling four meters high. It was like a cross between a spacious living room and a bedroom. But that wasn’t all.

A wall was lined with multiple monitors.

What were they for?

Xiao Yu immediately thought of the fifty-three cameras. On another section of the wall, he noticed several pipe outlets with flexible hoses connected to them. 

He squatted down to examine the hoses. Xiao Yu saw some faint marks on the floor, likely indicating that some canisters had once been placed there.

“Could these have been the gas canisters used for anesthesia and stimulation?”

He stood up as the other detectives began thoroughly searching the underground room. After a while, they confirmed that all the surveillance wires in the villa were routed to this basement. The same was true for the gas pipes—everything led back here. However, the surveillance equipment and the items connected to the pipes, which were likely gas canisters, had all been removed.

Still, as the seasoned detectives combed through the area, everyone began to wear a strange expression. 

Why?

Because the underground room was brimming with traces of evidence—too much of it. Footprints, fingerprints, even hair samples could be found scattered throughout the space. 

Xiao Yu also picked up three distinct scents in the basement, all from different men.

“Investigate,” Xiao Yu ordered firmly. “This underground room was definitely built within the last ten years. A project of this scale, including those pipes and surveillance systems, couldn’t have been done in secret. Question the property management and the other residents. There’s no way we won’t find any leads. Even if we can’t pinpoint the timeline exactly, we know that the surveillance equipment was removed about three years ago. And those gas pipes—find out who visited this villa during that time.”

“Understood!” the detectives responded, immediately setting off to investigate.

About half an hour later, one of the officers returned, accompanied by an older security guard from the neighborhood. The man appeared to be in his fifties, looking a bit uneasy surrounded by so many police officers.

According to the detective’s report, this security guard had worked in the villa community since its inception, a total of twelve years. He was brought in because, during the questioning, it was revealed that the guard actually remembered when the underground room had been constructed.

Digging an underground room was not something one could do without permission. Special permits would have been required, and the work would have needed the property management’s approval. No changes could be made that would disrupt the original structure of the community.

So, back when the construction was happening, this older security guard had been assigned to monitor the site, ensuring the owner didn’t overstep the regulations.

“It was probably about eight years ago. Back then, the owner not only renovated the house but also started digging the basement. Initially, the property management didn’t approve the project, but the owner spoke with the property manager. I don’t know what they talked about, but somehow, the manager gave the green light.

“I still remember that the renovation of the villa took over three months just to finish the basement. Then, they spent another month renovating both the villa and the basement again. Once it was all done, I often saw that young owner bringing back some pretty girls.

“Why do I remember it so clearly? Because the owner was really young, probably in his twenties. He drove a red sports car. A Lamborghini. But after a while, that owner stopped showing up at the villa. Instead, a couple. They looked like students and would occasionally come by and stay for a few days.

“That must’ve been about five years ago. I even collected the property fees from them a couple of times. By then, the couple had been living there regularly, staying for one or two years. Oh, and that guy, I think he drove a taxi. I’d often see him driving it into the community. I remember thinking at the time, ‘How could someone who lives in such an expensive villa be driving a taxi?’

“Then, three years ago, no one lived there anymore… Wait, yeah, it was three years ago. One night, the original owner, the one with the red Lamborghini, came back to the neighborhood again. He only stayed for a night, and by the next afternoon, he drove away in his sports car.”

The old security guard finished speaking, his eager eyes fixed on the officers. “That’s all I know.”

Xiao Yu smiled, shaking the old guard’s hand. “Thank you.”

In his mind, he added, ‘Sir, you really know too much!’