Ji An finally obtained a phone number from Xu Nian, and together with Guan Xia and Pang Le, they walked out of the Pingjiang District Police Station.
It was almost 1 a.m., and while there were still quite a few cars on the road, pedestrians were scarce. The moment Guan Xia and Pang Le stepped out of the building, they instinctively stretched in perfect sync.
After waving goodbye to Xu Nian, the three of them got into the car. As Pang Le started the engine, she asked, "Are we coming back tomorrow?"
Ji An also looked at Guan Xia for confirmation. Instead of answering immediately, Guan Xia asked, "Do you two want to?"
"Absolutely," Pang Le replied enthusiastically. "Even though reviewing surveillance footage is tedious, the progress we made today was really rewarding. Plus, we spotted Yuan Yue but haven’t confirmed her identity yet. I never leave things half-finished."
Hearing this, Ji An added, "Many hands make light work. The sooner we confirm Yuan Yue’s whereabouts on the day of the incident, the sooner we can reopen the cold case and move on to investigating the one in Guanglin Province."
"Then we’ll come back after we’ve rested," Guan Xia concluded, since all three of them were eager to continue.
As they drove out of the station’s parking lot and waited at a red light, Pang Le couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Ji-jie, once we confirm Yuan Yue’s identity and find out where she was staying, the case will just reopen? Just like that?"
Guan Xia also turned to Ji An with interest. Although she had helped the police solve several cases through the system, she had no real understanding of the investigative process or reasoning behind it.
Ji An thought for a moment before explaining, "Identifying Yuan Yue in the surveillance footage is just the first step. Typically, the detective team would split into multiple groups. One would conduct extensive interviews and searches near her last known location, gathering both witness testimonies and physical evidence to build a solid chain of logic. Another group would trace Yuan Yue’s movements after arriving in Yongquan City, looking for any interactions with Sha Junhao and the source of the murder weapon. The third group would focus on Sha Junhao—verifying your statement about their meeting four days before the incident on June 7th, as well as investigating how he assisted Yuan Yue in the crime. After all, Yuan Yue wasn’t a local. Finding a place to stay in such a chaotic environment wouldn’t have been easy without help, and Sha Junhao’s extensive social connections would be a key lead."
Guan Xia and Pang Le listened attentively, slightly stunned. They had expected follow-up work but not this much. Without even trying to calculate, Guan Xia could already imagine the detectives’ step counts dominating their social media feeds in the coming days.
Despite staying up much later than usual, Guan Xia’s internal clock still woke her at her normal time.
Pang Le hadn’t even gone home. Half-asleep, she glanced at Guan Xia, struggling to get up before promptly failing and dozing off again.
It wasn’t until Guan Xia had prepared breakfast—soy milk, boiled eggs, and reheating the buns Xu Nian had brought over a few days ago—that Pang Le finally sprang into action, washing up in a hurry before joining her at the table.
"Starving, starving," Pang Le muttered, taking a big bite of a bun despite its heat. "Guess using your brain really burns carbs. I ate dinner and snacks last night, but I was still hungry before bed."
After devouring two buns, she finally slowed down, peeling an egg and placing it in Guan Xia’s bowl as if her brain had finally booted up. Suddenly puzzled, she asked, "When did you learn to make buns? Or did you buy these at the neighborhood stall? Are breakfast places still this generous? These are huge, and the filling’s packed. How much did one cost? Two-fifty? Three yuan?"
As Pang Le started peeling another egg for herself, Guan Xia replied casually, "Xu Nian’s mom made them. Once when the elevator was under maintenance, she was struggling with groceries on the stairs, so I helped carry them up. She remembered and keeps sending food over through Xu Nian. There are still dumplings and wontons in the fridge. If we finish early today, I’ll cook them for you."
"Xu Nian’s mom?" Pang Le was shocked. "You’ve only lived here two months. You’re not just close with Xu Nian—you’ve even met his mom?"
Guan Xia could tell exactly what Pang Le was thinking and rolled her eyes. "Stop right there. A man and a woman can be friends, not just lovers. And if your eyes work, you’d see there’s zero romantic tension between Xu Nian and me."
Pang Le snorted. "You might be above it, but who knows about him?"
Guan Xia ignored her. Ever since they became friends, whenever a decent guy appeared around them, Pang Le couldn’t help but fantasize about potential sparks. In her words, youth was for enjoying—both life and love.
Fortunately, while Pang Le loved to speculate, she never meddled, just quietly observed.
After breakfast, Guan Xia went for her usual jog before heading to the Pingjiang District Police Station with Pang Le, arriving just before work hours. Ji An was already there, seated in her usual spot, intently reviewing surveillance footage.
Wang Yu and Jiang Yingyao were also present, but Guan Xia was surprised to see Qi Bai there too—his left leg in a cast, hobbling on crutches. He brightened when he spotted them. "You’re here! Sit, sit! I just made tea for you, timed it perfectly."
Qi Bai glanced back at Jiang Yingyao and whispered, "The roses are my contribution. The goji berries were ‘sponsored’ by Jiang-ge. Good for the eyes and tasty."
Despite his injury, Qi Bai was as lively as ever. Guan Xia thanked him and examined his leg. "Shouldn’t you be resting? Is your leave over?"
Qi Bai grinned. "Nope. Chief Ren was generous—gave me two weeks off. But I got bored. When I heard the team was working on the 611 case last night, I rushed right over."
After some small talk, Wang Yu and Jiang Yingyao left with a few uniformed officers, while Xu Nian brought over another box filled with hard drives, distributing them to the group.
"This is just the first batch," Xu Nian said. "The rest of the footage is still being coordinated with the Traffic Police Division. It’ll come in later."
After last night’s experience, Guan Xia and Pang Le took the hard drives without much surprise, settling into their usual spots.
Qi Bai, still on crutches, placed some snacks near them before returning to his desk to work.
With Yuan Yue’s last known location from the footage, their work today progressed much more smoothly than the night before.
Aside from brief discussions, the quiet office was occasionally filled with voices—sometimes Guan Xia, sometimes Pang Le, sometimes Ji An—but everyone made progress. Through surveillance footage, they tracked the taxi Yuan Yue had taken as it passed Taibaishan Street, Longteng Road, and Shaoshan Street before finally stopping at Guangming South Road, where she disappeared from the cameras.
"Guangming South Road," Qi Bai suddenly spoke up after a moment of thought. "Captain Xu, if I recall correctly, there’s an urban village near Guangming Road with many small alleys branching out. It’s highly likely the suspect hid there on the day of the incident."
Xu Nian was studying a map. "I remember when we investigated Sha Junhao, he had a few friends on the fringes of society who rented places there long-term. He must be familiar with the area."
Qi Bai jumped up from his chair. "I’ll check the supplementary files. During our initial investigation, we didn’t find any record of Sha Junhao renting there, so it’s probably his friends. I’ll make some calls to verify."
Xu Nian folded the map and said, "You handle the calls from the office. I’ll go to the scene. The area’s complicated, and I’m not sure how many working cameras there are. We’ll need to check in person."
"Then you should take more people with you," Qi Bai said, bouncing toward the door. "That place isn’t small."
After Qi Bai left, Xu Nian turned to Guan Xia and the others. "Are you coming along?"
Pang Le immediately glanced down at her feet—she’d swapped her usual shoes for flat sneakers for this case—then looked up at Guan Xia with wide, hopeful eyes.
Guan Xia couldn’t resist her pleading gaze and chuckled helplessly. "We’ll go together."
This time, Pang Le didn’t drive. They piled into Xu Nian’s car while the rest followed in another vehicle.
Xu Nian clearly knew Pingjiang District’s streets well, skillfully avoiding traffic-prone routes and taking shortcuts with fewer traffic lights. In just over half an hour, they arrived at their destination.
Guangming Road was still within Pingjiang District, but the sprawling urban village nearby fell under Tongchang District’s jurisdiction.
After parking, the group walked to the spot where Yuan Yue had exited the taxi in the surveillance footage and surveyed the surroundings.
Tongchang District was a newly developed area. Aside from the urban village, most of the nearby buildings were distant, newly constructed residential complexes—many still under development. Trucks loaded with construction materials rumbled past, and groups of dust-covered construction workers moved about in the distance.
"Sha Junhao really knows how to pick a spot," Pang Le remarked after scanning the area. "This place is a mess. Not only is it a mixed bag, but this road was only built in the last couple of years—looks like it’s not even finished yet. Half the sidewalks are still dirt paths. I doubt the surveillance cameras are fully installed either."
Guan Xia had also checked for possible camera placements and found far fewer than in the city center.
After assessing the environment, she turned her attention to the urban village. It was massive, with at least four visible entry points: one main road for vehicles and three smaller paths. One path was particularly hidden, cutting through a tiny fitness square flanked by trees with no streetlights in sight. If she were trying to avoid cameras, Guan Xia thought, this would be her route.
The others seemed to share her reasoning. A uniformed officer spoke up, "Captain Xu, that path by the fitness square probably doesn’t have cameras. Should we start there?"
Xu Nian checked his watch. "No rush. Before we left, the logistics team contacted the local precinct. Their officers should be here soon."
A few minutes later, a middle-aged officer of average height, slightly plump with glasses and a noticeable dimple, arrived with a lanky young officer. "Captain Xu," he greeted warmly.
After brief introductions, the officer, Hu Jun, explained, "This urban village has always been a headache for us. We install surveillance cameras every year, but they rarely last long—partly due to petty theft, but mostly because of rampant gambling. There are nearly a hundred mahjong parlors here, some legal, some not. They’re always playing cat-and-mouse with us, so our cameras rarely survive past three months."
Xu Nian wasn’t surprised. Calmly, he asked, "I noticed quite a few hotels here. Since they’re required to have cameras for business operations, those should still be functional, right?"
Hu Jun nodded. "Those are still running, but they only cover the interiors, not the outside. That said, our precinct did install a few cameras in tricky spots—high up, about seven or eight meters off the ground. The streetlight coverage here is poor, so the footage might not be clear. Not sure how helpful that’ll be."
"Any footage is helpful," Xu Nian replied.
Hu Jun added, "If you don’t mind, aside from the cameras, I can recommend someone."
"An informant?" Xu Nian asked.
Guan Xia perked up. Though not exactly the same, this sounded like a fellow professional in her line of work.
Hu Jun chuckled. "Not quite. Just a special kid. Grew up here—father ran off, mother raised him and his two siblings on odd jobs. By thirteen or fourteen, he’d started mingling with the underground mahjong crowd, keeping watch for them to earn a few hundred a month. A couple years later, he’d rallied a dozen classmates, posting lookouts at every intersection. Now, almost every kid in this village is his eyes and ears. Sometimes when we’re stuck on a case, we ask him—always get unexpected leads. One thing’s for sure: he hates theft and robbery. His group’s even reported crimes themselves. Thanks to them, we’ve cracked several cases in recent years."
Not just Xu Nian, but Guan Xia and the others were surprised. The kid sounded like a mix of good and bad, but leaning more toward good.
The team looked to Xu Nian for direction. After a brief pause, he said, "Any restaurants near his school? We could talk over a meal after classes."
Hu Jun grinned. "Plenty. Right by the school gates, actually. I’ve treated him a few times—know exactly what he likes. We can order ahead and get straight to the point when he arrives."
Under the guidance of Hu Jun and the tall, lean young police officer, the group carefully examined the strategically placed surveillance cameras one by one. They analyzed the angles to determine the coverage range of each device. Timing their move carefully, they arrived at a restaurant near the school twenty minutes before the midday dismissal. Hu Jun ordered a table full of dishes, and as they discussed the case in the private dining room, they waited for the arrival of the rather extraordinary child.
