Chapter 303: The Most Tragic Thing in Life

“The victims’ assets and family members… no issues, all normal.”

Walking out of the autopsy room, Wang Dong checked some documents on his phone provided by the police investigation. “It seems to be just a straightforward case of murder.”

“Quite tragic,” Xiao Yu sneered.

“Tragic?”

Wang Dong looked slightly confused by Xiao Yu’s remark.

“Committing crimes for the sake of money.” Xiao Yu mocked, “Isn’t the most tragic thing in life when someone dies, but the money remains?”

Wang Dong couldn’t help but laugh at Xiao Yu’s dark humor.

These criminals broke the law to earn dirty money. In the end, they got the money but lost their lives. Not only that, but the state would also confiscate their ill-gotten gains.

Wasn’t that tragic?

“Of course, there’s something even more tragic than dying,” Xiao Yu added, blinking. “Brother Wang, what if one day someone dies, and there’s a terabyte of wife material left on their hard drive that they forgot to delete? Wouldn’t that lead to social death if discovered?”

“Haha!”

Wang Dong burst into laughter, giving Xiao Yu a peculiar look. 

“Should I report you now and let you experience social death firsthand?”

“What are you even thinking?” Xiao Yu tilted his chin upward, acting indifferent.

Inside, however, he felt a pang of guilt, ‘Didn’t this happen to me in my previous life?’

What a sad story!

After examining the bodies, Xiao Yu and Wang Dong returned to the crime scene. Some cases couldn’t be solved with just one visit to the scene. Xiao Yu remembered a case in his previous life that required revisiting the scene fourteen times before he found a clue.

However, back then, he only had his intelligence. Now, he had something better—cheats.

Activating Falcon’s Eyes vision, Xiao Yu adjusted to the heightened perception and began scrutinizing the crime scene.

Thanks to Monarch Botherfly’s Nose, Xiao Yu’s sense of smell was now sharper than that of a canine.

No clues?

Not within the range of human capabilities, perhaps. But with enhanced senses, the number of clues was abundant.

First, how had the killer entered this peculiar residential building?

The unit door showed no signs of forced entry.

Did the killer have a key? Or were they skilled in lock-picking?

The possibility of a key was slim.

As for lock-picking… Xiao Yu himself had the Lock-Picking Expert ability. He knew better than anyone that picking a lock wasn’t simple. It was impossible to master in a short period unless the killer was truly an agent.

Was the killer an agent?

Xiao Yu smirked coldly, lifting his head to observe the old building’s exterior walls.

The building’s windows were all fitted with protective bars. Without breaking the bars, entering would be nearly impossible. But not entirely impossible.

Xiao Yu studied the protective bars on the windows. These metal structures, fixed to the exterior walls, inevitably accumulated rust and dust from exposure to the elements.

Shifting his gaze, Xiao Yu carefully inspected the bars on the first floor and then moved to the back. 

He found it.

Standing before a section of protective bars, Xiao Yu used Falcon’s Eyes to identify traces of gripping and stepping.

“This is it… to the rooftop.”

With a word to Wang Dong, Xiao Yu leaped lightly.

Like a nimble civet cat—or a dexterous monkey—he landed on the bars effortlessly.

“Uh?!”

Wang Dong frowned, shaking his head in resignation before heading into the building through the unit door.

As a veteran in criminal investigation, he immediately grasped Xiao Yu’s meaning.

The killer likely climbed the bars to reach the rooftop and entered the building from there. However, Wang Dong couldn’t emulate Xiao Yu’s agility. His age and declining physical condition made such feats impossible.

‘Forget it, I’ll take the stairs.’

Outside, Xiao Yu followed the traces from the bars.

From the first floor, he climbed to the second, then to the third…

Above the sixth floor was the rooftop, a flat-topped design.

With a slight exertion of his arms, Xiao Yu pulled himself up effortlessly, landing on the rooftop with light steps. His eyes scanned the surface.

Despite the killer’s ability to conceal themselves, the dusty rooftop revealed clear traces.

Whether the killer was an agent or not, Xiao Yu couldn’t yet determine. What he could confirm was that the killer was in excellent physical condition.

From the footprints, Xiao Yu deduced the shoe size to be between 42 and 43.

Male?!

Women with such shoe sizes were rare, though not impossible.

Rising, Xiao Yu walked to the rooftop access point.

It was covered by a metallic lid resembling a pot cover, designed to prevent rain and snow from entering the building. The access was elevated by several centimeters to facilitate drainage, a common design in residential buildings.

Lifting the heavy metal cover, Xiao Yu peered inside to see a series of steel rungs fixed to the wall.

The first rung was over 4 meters above the ground. At 2.5 meters, the rungs stopped entirely to prevent unauthorized access to the rooftop by children or others.

As Xiao Yu observed, Wang Dong appeared below.

“This is it,” Xiao Yu confirmed.

Wang Dong didn’t need further explanation. With a frown, he asked, “Then how did the killer get down to the first floor?”

Why such a question?

Because the first floor had two large iron doors.

The gang members managing the women would undoubtedly lock these doors at night. Even if the killer climbed to the rooftop and entered the building, how did they get past the iron doors to kill the three victims?

“Who called the police?”

Descending from the rooftop into the building, Xiao Yu smirked as he looked at Wang Dong.

“The prostitutes… uh?” Wang Dong froze.

An intriguing question arose.

According to the investigation, the thirty-odd women inside were only allowed to use tablets for entertainment. They had no internet access or phones. They, too, were confined within the building.

The police report showed the call came in at 3:51 a.m.

At that time, most people would have been asleep, and the killer had already completed the crime.

How had the caller stayed awake at that hour, discovered the victims, and reported it?

Most critically, how did they get through the locked iron doors?

“Is it possible,” Xiao Yu said calmly, “that the killer used one of the women to make the victims unlock the door and then…”

Wang Dong sneered.

Highly possible. Which meant one of the women cooperated with the killer.

But who?

The first person to report the crime.

“It’s clear now,” Xiao Yu said, shaking his head. “The killer’s methods were too crude. Definitely not an agent.”

Such clumsy methods—how dare they call themselves an agent? Don’t disgrace the profession!