Chapter 33: A Direct Challenge?

In a flash, Xiao Yu delved into a state that helped him emulate a criminal’s mindset.

“If I were the perpetrator, what would be my steps to orchestrate this premeditated, twisted homicide?”

“I’d need to draft a flawless crime plan, gather the necessary tools, familiarize myself with the victim’s residential area, pinpoint the optimal time to act, and craft a strategy to frame He Xiao. This would take at least three days to a week. Scouting the location is an essential yet most time-consuming step.”

“Hold on, how would I know He Xiao’s phone number, and manage to mimic the female victim’s style in that text message?”

“Is it because I intimately know both the victim’s family and He Xiao? What relation do I have to them?”

“Classmates, friends… No, such clues are far too conspicuous, I wouldn’t leave behind evidence so easily traceable.”

“Then, what’s the motive behind sending that particular message? Merely to entice the suspect, or does it serve a deeper objective?”

“Indeed, the text messages served two purposes. Not only did they incite He Xiao to visit the victim’s home in anger, but they also steered the police towards a false narrative. Even if there are suspicions that another murderer might exist, investigations would likely focus on those close to the victim’s family and He Xiao. That’s a good plan, kill two birds with one stone.”

“Then, I brutally and sadistically murder the family and frame He Xiao. What is my motive?”

“Police investigations have shown that neither the family of three nor He Xiao had significant enemies in their past, certainly none that would escalate to slaughter an entire family, reducing their bones to ashes, and creating artwork from their blood.”

“Just a perverse thrill? Impossible!”

“I’m so calm, able to meticulously set up and execute such a scheme and methodically erase all traces of the crime. With this kind of mentality, this level of cold-bloodedness, such twisted actions would definitely not be in my sight, just like a child’s play, too low-level… But I did it anyway. Why?”

“I can’t make sense of it; I’m certainly not that type of person. This approach is a dead end.”

“If this path is and dead end, then let’s pivot to the murder tools.”

“Murder tools, skinning tools, bone-breaking tools, drying tools, grinding tools… Although it’s conceivable the victim’s home tools could suffice, completing the task in 33 hours is implausible. Therefore, additional tools must exist.”

“So many tools would be burdensome.”

“After committing the murder, mutilate the body, and create the artwork. I would be exhausted. How could I possibly take away so many tools? If left behind, they could lead the police straight to clues.”

“No, there’s no need to remove them, I only have to hide them where the police wouldn’t normally look, wouldn’t find, and wouldn’t think to check.”

“Where, then?”

“The community’s septic tank? No, moving them out would be too captured by community surveillance.”

“Renting a room within the residential building? No, that would surely leave a trail of identity information.”

“Or… none of these, these places are too predictable, they can’t be it.”

“So, where could it be…”

Suddenly, Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up, as if he had seized upon something, yet the insight wasn’t fully formed. Abruptly, his face twisted into a peculiar smile. 

Eureka! Was the most dangerous place indeed the safest?

Xiao Yu looked up, directing his gaze toward the hall’s ceiling. The task force sprang into action, turning over every drop ceiling in the victim’s home, from the bathroom to the attic’s drop ceiling.

Nothing!

Was there really nothing?

Xiao Yu glanced at the floor, stomped his foot, and smirked.

The flooring of the victim’s house was dismantled, piece by piece. Until, when the attic floor was finally lifted, an assortment of disassembled tools and blades was revealed to all.

Those unfamiliar with construction would naturally ask–wasn’t the flooring directly attached to the ground?

Not necessarily.

Some types of flooring, such as genuine wooden solid floors, required a wooden frame underneath before installation. This served two purposes, to protect against high temperatures from underfloor heating and to prevent moisture. Additionally, it stabilized the floor to prevent expansion and cracking. Though the space between the floor and the frame wasn’t large or tall, it was ample enough to hide disassembled tool parts.

The crime tools were found.

As each murder weapon and tool were displayed, and the forensic team arrived to examine the items for fingerprints, the outcome caused Xiao Yu’s expression to subtly shift.

The task force members were dumbfounded, unable to believe what they were seeing. Not only were fingerprints found on these items, but they all matched those of the suspect, He Xiao.

Why were He Xiao’s fingerprints on them?

Through various signs, investigations, and deductions, it was impossible for He Xiao to have committed the crime. Merely the timeline was implausible. It was impossible to execute such a crime within 33 hours.

There wasn’t enough time.

Could this be a setup by the murderer? Or perhaps, was it all a joke?

The murderer anticipated that the police would discover these items and intentionally planted He Xiao’s fingerprints on them as a form of provocation, a direct affront to the investigative team.

Was he… mocking them? Challenging their competence?

In an instant, anger flashed across the faces of the task force members, feeling as though their intelligence was being scorned.

At that moment, Xiao Yu interjected, his expression severe and his gaze piercing, “This isn’t about the murderer mocking us, but we’ve fell into a fallacy and overlooked a crucial possibility.”

“What possibility?” The team members turned to him, visibly startled.

Xiao Yu inhaled sharply, his voice cold and deliberate with each word, “Who says that the least likely suspect couldn’t possibly be the criminal?”