Guan Xia sat back down in her seat with a head full of questions and resumed reviewing the surveillance footage.
Over the next hour, everyone made discoveries one after another.
First, Jiang Yingyao spotted the figure of Wu Zhiming’s sister, Wu Yue, carrying a child as she entered the neighborhood in the surveillance footage from the south gate of Meilin Community. Shortly after, Xu Nian tracked the suspect along the main road of the community, observing him appear in a camera positioned 30 meters away from Building 11. However, when he showed up in the next segment of footage, a full 16 minutes had passed.
The distance between these two surveillance cameras wasn’t far—only about 70 meters apart. Given the normal walking speed of an adult, 16 minutes was far too long. Moreover, in the earlier footage, the suspect was carrying what appeared to be a heavy duffel bag, but in the next clip, though the bag was still in his hand, it looked noticeably empty. He wasn’t even holding it properly, just gripping it loosely. This strongly suggested that during those 16 minutes, the suspect had disposed of the body.
Their first instinct was to verify this through the surveillance footage from the three units of Building 11, but unfortunately, they found nothing. To make matters worse, the camera at the side gate had been broken for years, and the nearest functioning camera outside the gate was over a hundred meters away, positioned at a T-junction with another small road—equally useless for confirmation.
Guan Xia thought back and said, “I remember when I was at the crime scene, there was a noticeable gap between Building 11 and the next building, almost like a small plaza. There were so many onlookers that I didn’t get a clear look, but I vaguely recall seeing one. If none of the cameras in Building 11’s units caught him, he probably left through that plaza. I wonder if there are any cameras there.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Yu began sifting through the labeled USB drives containing the surveillance footage. After a few minutes, she shook her head. “There’s nothing here. If it wasn’t overlooked, then there probably isn’t one installed.”
Though Guan Xia hoped it had simply been missed, given the community’s spotty surveillance coverage and the fact that broken cameras often went unfixed for long periods, she had a sinking feeling there was no camera at all.
Sure enough, after making a call, Xu Nian confirmed, “Captain Tan checked with the team responsible for that area. There really isn’t one.”
The group sighed in frustration, though not all hope was lost.
Pang Le suddenly spoke up. “Earlier in the footage, the suspect disposed of the body but kept the duffel bag. Do you think he might’ve taken it straight home?”
Wang Yu considered this. “Logically, after committing murder, a suspect would dispose of both the weapon and any tools used to move the body. But given how panicked he was—he didn’t even properly close the manhole cover where he temporarily hid the body—it’s possible he just took the bag home.”
“That’s a real possibility,” Xu Nian added. “Our earlier theory was that he only temporarily stored the body in the sewer. If he had plans to move it farther away later, he’d still need the duffel bag and wouldn’t discard it.”
Guan Xia’s spirits lifted at this deduction, but then a troubling thought struck her. “But now the body’s been discovered.”
She looked up and saw the same realization dawning on everyone else’s faces.
Pang Le and Guan Xia exchanged uneasy glances before he muttered dryly, “He wouldn’t… try to get rid of it or destroy it now, would he?”
No one answered. Instead, Xu Nian decisively stood up. “Jiang, let’s go check it out.”
Jiang Yingyao followed him out. As they left, Guan Xia noticed Xu Nian making a call—probably updating Captain Tan.
Once the two were out of sight, the remaining three sat back down. Guan Xia checked the time: it was already past 3 a.m. If their suspicions were correct, the suspect had likely already disposed of the bag by now. She could only hope Xu Nian and Jiang Yingyao wouldn’t have to spend the night digging through trash.
Wang Yu also glanced at the time, surprised. “It’s this late already. Who knows when Xu Nian and Jiang will be back. Do you two want to keep watching? Guan Xia, your injury hasn’t fully healed—maybe you should head back to the hotel. I can drive you.”
She started to stand, but Guan Xia shook her head. “I’m not that tired. We’ve already watched this much—might as well finish. I want to check the footage from Building 17 to see if the suspect really took the bag home. If not, we can call Xu Nian and save them a wasted trip.”
Wang Yu sat back down, and the three resumed their focused review.
About ten minutes later, Guan Xia made a discovery. She called Wang Yu and Pang Le over, and they watched together.
The timestamp in the corner read 1:14 a.m. on June 27. Guan Xia remembered the earlier footage: the suspect had appeared in the camera nearest to Building 11 at 12:56 a.m., then reappeared in the next segment at 1:12 a.m. after disposing of the body. Now, here he was at Building 17’s Unit 1 at 1:14 a.m.—just two minutes later, showing how quickly he’d rushed home.
Guan Xia zeroed in on his hands. Just as they’d guessed, whether out of panic or because he still needed it, the suspect hadn’t thrown the duffel bag away. He’d taken it straight home.
She let the footage keep playing. Six minutes later, Wu Yue, the suspect’s sister, appeared in the video holding her child. This explained why Wu Zhiming had been in such a hurry to deal with the body.
With these key segments, they now had enough evidence to confirm Wu Zhiming as a prime suspect and bring him in for questioning. The three stopped watching.
Wang Yu asked again, “Now that we’re done, do you two want to head back to the hotel?”
Pang Le instinctively looked at Guan Xia. Though she was still curious about whether the suspect would dispose of the bag, the thought of rummaging through garbage—and her still-healing injury—made her nod. “Yeah, let’s get some sleep.”
Wang Yu drove them to the hotel. After saying goodbye, she turned the car around and drove off. Though she didn’t say it, Guan Xia knew she was heading back to the crime scene.
Pang Le and Guan Xia stood there, watching the car disappear into the distance, before slowly walking into the hotel.
While waiting for the elevator, Pang Le glanced down at Guan Xia’s knee and said, "Looks a bit inflamed. Don’t forget to apply some medicine before bed. Both cases are nearly solved, and we’ll have a long ride back soon."
Guan Xia instinctively checked her bag and confirmed she’d brought the hydrogen peroxide and cotton swabs Xu Nian had given her before replying, "Got it."
She initially thought Pang Le was just reminding her, but a few seconds later, Pang Le suddenly leaned closer with a mischievous grin. "Didn’t expect Xu Nian to be so attentive despite his cold demeanor, huh? Honestly, I wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t pointed it out."
Guan Xia immediately realized what Pang Le was hinting at and gave her a resigned look.
Noticing her expression, Pang Le backed off slightly and pouted. "Alright, alright, I’ll shut up."
They hurried through their nighttime routines and collapsed into bed past 4 a.m. Guan Xia thought she wasn’t tired enough to fall asleep instantly, but she was out as soon as her head hit the pillow. Meanwhile, Pang Le, fueled by coffee, tossed and turned all night. When Guan Xia’s alarm woke her the next morning, she found Pang Le sporting two dark circles under her eyes.
To cover them up, Pang Le applied extra concealer. Guan Xia watched in admiration while washing her face. "You’re something else. We slept at 4 and woke up at 8, yet you still managed to put on a full face of makeup at dawn."
"Lack of sleep already puts me in a bad mood," Pang Le retorted without pausing her routine. "If I can’t even see my own beauty in the mirror, I’d feel even worse."
They finished getting ready in record time and left the hotel by 8:30 a.m. Knowing Xu Nian and the others might have pulled an all-nighter, they grabbed breakfast nearby before heading to the police station by taxi.
As expected, when they entered the office, the three men were slumped over their desks, fast asleep. The air conditioning was cranked up high, but they’d draped jackets over themselves, so at least they wouldn’t catch a cold.
Guan Xia and Pang Le quietly set the breakfast on the table and were about to eat their own portions when Xu Nian suddenly jerked awake, his jacket slipping to the floor. He blinked, disoriented.
Guan Xia, passing by, picked up his jacket and handed it to him. "Bad dream?"
Xu Nian, still groggy, took a few seconds to react before accepting it. Rubbing his face, he muttered, "Dreamed I missed a step while climbing stairs."
Guan Xia nodded in understanding—she’d had those dreams too.
She grabbed a breakfast wrap from the conference table and sat beside Xu Nian, eating while whispering, "How’d it go last night? Did Wu Zhiming dispose of the luggage bag used to transport the body? Did you guys actually go through the trash?"
She kept her voice low to avoid waking Jiang Yingyao and Wang Yu, discreetly studying Xu Nian’s clothes. They were the same as yesterday’s but clean, so he probably hadn’t been dumpster diving.
Xu Nian answered just as quietly, "No trash digging. Captain Tan didn’t have enough manpower, and since Wu Zhiming’s suspicion was solid, he got approval to search his place. Maybe because he lives with others, Wu Zhiming hadn’t gotten rid of the tools yet. We turned his house upside down and found the luggage bag from the video hidden under his bed’s backboard. We also collected biological samples matching the victim from the bag and his bedroom. Still waiting on forensics for confirmation."
That was great news. Less than 12 hours after discovering the body, they’d already found damning evidence. Once verified, the case would be as good as solved.
"So Wu Zhiming’s already in custody?" Guan Xia pressed.
Xu Nian took a bite of his wrap, chewing carefully before replying, "Yeah, Captain Tan’s interrogating him now."
"What about the victim?" Guan Xia asked. "Any ID yet?"
"Not yet," Xu Nian said. "Last night, Daqu County’s PD checked all missing children reports in the area—no matches. They’ll run a broader database search today. The victim’s face wasn’t damaged, so we should have answers by afternoon."
They continued sharing updates over breakfast. Halfway through, Jiang Yingyao and Wang Yu stirred awake.
Wang Yu stretched dramatically, slapping his cheeks to wake up fully. "Bless you for the breakfast—saved my life. I was literally dreaming about eating an egg pancake while asleep."
"Only wraps today, no egg pancakes," Pang Le said between bites. "We wanted to get those, but the line was too long. Anyway, the surveillance footage’s done. What’s the plan for today?"
Jiang Yingyao, instead of eating first, filled his thermos with hot water and tossed in goji berries and codonopsis root. "We’re waiting for Captain Yu to bring back Zhou Yiyang, the suspect in the 11-year-old Case 814. The victim’s identity was never confirmed, but we might finally learn the whole story tonight."
Guan Xia hesitated. "After 11 years, the suspect’s defenses must be high. Breaking him in one night seems unlikely."
"Not necessarily," Wang Yu said cheerfully. "Many long-time fugitives actually feel relieved when caught, especially in crimes of passion. Most spend years paranoid—I’ve seen cases where confessions came surprisingly fast."
Hearing this, both Pang Le and Guan Xia perked up. The mystery of Case 814’s victim had gnawed at Guan Xia. What was their relationship with Zhou Yiyang? How did they meet, and what was the motive for killing someone at their own doorstep? Could it really be, as Guan Xia suspected, because the victim insisted on walking Zhou Yiyang home?
