Chapter 330: The Spider Lift

How could someone escape unnoticed?

Simple—stay above the cameras.

Everyone knew security cameras were mounted high, angled downward. If you moved above their field of view, the cameras were as good as blind. You could walk right over them, and they wouldn’t see a thing.

So how was it done?

Cranes, lifts, spider lifts, aerial work platforms—too many possibilities.

What if, at the time of the crime, a vehicle like that was parked in the surveillance blind spot?

What if the perpetrator incapacitated the victim first, then used the mechanical lift arm to transport them out?

The theory held up.

Xiao Yu had seen a case like this before.

A suspect had used an aerial work lift to dangle a corpse outside an apartment bedroom window. It was a psychological terror tactic. The height kept it completely out of the security cameras’ view. In the end, Xiao Yu only cracked the case because he found tracks from the lift on the road nearby.

But back then, the crime scene was fresh.

Here? Five years had passed. Any traces were long gone.

So what was the point of figuring this out?

A huge one. Once they knew the perpetrator’s method, they could trace it back.

Xiao Yu, Guo Qiang, and He Li moved to the second crime scene, where Zhao Changshan’s team was investigating.

After that, they went to the third site, where Zhou Tinghu was stationed.

Piecing together all three locations, there was only one conclusion. The suspect had used aerial work equipment.

***

Feng Xiuyun was brought to the third crime scene.

Why here?

Because this was her home.

Three years ago, she had gotten her period unexpectedly. There were no sanitary pads at home, so her sister went out to buy some. And never came back.

Now, standing in front of the place where everything began, Feng Xiuyun broke down. Tears streamed down her face as she fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Even hardened veterans like Zhao Changshan and Zhou Tinghu—men who had seen countless tragedies—felt a pang of sympathy at the sight.

He Li, who spent her days around corpses, let out a quiet sigh and stepped forward, gently comforting Feng Xiuyun.

Everyone present understood.

Feng Xiuyun hadn’t killed her sister out of malice. She had simply wanted to follow her.

The only difference was who turned off the ventilator.

One was legal euthanasia. The other was murder.

Three years ago, she had attempted to take justice into her own hands.

She failed. She wasn’t even charged with a crime, but she nearly lost everything trying.

Feng Xiuyun was just a pitiful woman. That was why, from the moment Xiao Yu removed her handcuffs, no one put them back on.

They all knew she wouldn’t run.

***

“It’s been five years… too long. I can’t remember much about that night.” Sitting outside the residential complex, Feng Xiuyun stared blankly at an apartment building, her gaze fixed on a familiar window. “I just remember… I had my period. It was bad. There were no pads at home, so my sister went downstairs to buy some. And then…”

“It was September 19th.” Xiao Yu looked at her and asked, “The temperature that night was between 19 to 25 degrees Celsius. In that kind of weather, you probably had the windows open, right?”

Feng Xiuyun thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah… I think so. I remember opening them.”

Xiao Yu glanced at the case file on his tablet. “According to your statement back then, your sister left between 11:00 and 11:30 PM. That’s late. The area must’ve been pretty quiet. Do you remember hearing any unusual noises? A car engine? Machinery? Maybe a faint buzzing sound?”

Feng Xiuyun furrowed her brows, trying to recall. She knew Xiao Yu was looking for something important. Anything she remembered could be a clue about her sister’s case.

After a long silence, her eyes suddenly lit up. 

“Wait, I did hear something. First, there was a loud clang, like metal hitting something. Then, a whirring sound followed. It lasted for maybe half a minute or a minute?”

“Oh?” Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes. “Why do you remember it so clearly?”

Sounds were the hardest details to recall. They weren’t images. They weren’t words. Most people wouldn’t even register them, let alone remember them years later.

Was it a problem that she did?

Not necessarily.

But in some cases, a single wrong detail could send an investigation in the wrong direction, wasting time and effort.

He had to be sure.

Feng Xiuyun’s face turned slightly red. “Because I had my period.”

Xiao Yu, “???”

Feng Xiuyun exhaled and explained, “Women get irritable during that time. Everything feels annoying. I remember that night clearly because it was quiet, and then suddenly—BANG! It startled me. Then came that weird whirring noise. It lasted for a while, and I got really pissed off. I actually walked to the window to see what was going on but there was nothing there.”

Xiao Yu turned to look at He Li.

He Li nodded.

She understood. As a woman, she knew Feng Xiuyun wasn’t lying.

That night had been burned into her memory—her period, her frustration, her sister’s disappearance.

She wouldn’t forget it.

Xiao Yu let out a slow breath and turned to Zhao Changshan.

“Boss, get me a few vehicles, a boom lift, a spider lift, and a scissor lift. One of each.”

Zhao Changshan, “???”

What was this kid planning?

A few hours later, the requested vehicles were lined up before them. They waited until nightfall. The air was still. The streets were quiet.

“Close your eyes and listen carefully,” Xiao Yu instructed Feng Xiuyun.

Feng Xiuyun nodded and shut her eyes.

Xiao Yu raised a hand, signaling toward the road.

First up—the boom lift. The hydraulic outriggers extended, pressing into the ground with a deep thud. The stabilizers locked into place. The work platform began to rise, accompanied by a low, whirring sound.

“Is this it?” Xiao Yu asked.

Feng Xiuyun frowned, straining to remember. “It sounds close, but not quite.”

“Next.”

Xiao Yu gestured toward the spider lift.

The machine’s four legs extended. A sharp, metallic impact rang out.

Feng Xiuyun’s expression shifted. Her brows knitted together, but she said nothing.

Then, the mechanical arm began to rise.

Her face tensed. Muscles twitched.

“This is it. No doubt about it. This is the sound I heard that night!” she said.

Xiao Yu’s eyes darkened. A person couldn’t just vanish into thin air.

‘So this was your method. Wasn’t it?’