The weapon by the pillow

Chapter 16 The Smoking Policewoman

The live stream chat was flooded with this new theory:

"The logic makes sense! The wrench corresponds to the third person!"

"Wang Bin's injury is the key!"

"But Wang Bin is already dead. Was he silenced?"

"If the third person is still alive, could he be the next target?"

"Following the order of nightmares, after the wrench comes the box cutter!"

"A paper cutter...that's even rarer!"

The discussion on the forum about "lacerations" and "wrench" has reached a fever pitch.

Someone posted a comparison chart from forensic medical data showing the characteristics of wounds caused by different tools.

Some people have analyzed the possible shape of the wound caused by the open end of a wrench.

Some people have tried to deduce the possible shape of the wound from that year based on the fact that Wang Bin is dead and no evidence can be obtained.

A netizen with a medical background posted:

"If it's an adjustable wrench, the opening can be widened. If it's wide, the resulting laceration will have a unique 'parallel double track' shape because both sides of the opening will cut into the skin simultaneously. This type of wound will leave a noticeable scar after suturing. If Wang Bin's injury is indeed like this, then it's almost certain that it was caused by a wrench."

This analysis was widely shared.

But the seven people in the room were unaware of all this for the time being.

They are trapped in this information island, relying only on each other's memories and speculations.

Li Kai was clearly not satisfied with the status quo. He walked to the window and looked outside through the cracks in the wooden planks. Those prying eyes were still there, like stars in the night sky, cold and distant.

"We can't wait passively any longer," Li Kai turned around. "Whoever is outside, whoever is manipulating all of this, what they want is for us to be trapped here, suspicious of each other, and slowly collapse. We can't let them succeed."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Lynx asked impatiently. "The door won't open, the windows are sealed shut, and there's no cell phone signal. What else can we do?"

Li Kai's gaze fell towards the bathroom: "That evidence bag was found there. We only did a cursory search of the bathroom. Perhaps... there are other clues. Perhaps there are ventilation ducts, perhaps something else..."

Shadow nodded: "I agree. Sitting here and waiting to die isn't going to work. We can divide the work: some of us will continue trying to break down doors or windows, while others will thoroughly search the room, including the bathroom, to see if there are any other exits or hidden clues."

This proposal was tacitly approved by the majority.

In dire straits, taking action is always better than waiting for fear to consume you.

Cheng Tan was helped up by Lin Qian. His legs were still weak, but he was more conscious.

He watched Li Kai and Shadow begin organizing the search, watched Lynx reluctantly check the door lock again, watched the research enthusiast nervously walk towards the bathroom, and watched A Zhe and Xiao Fei help each other to their feet...

"Wait..." Cheng Tan's voice was very soft, but everyone stopped.

"What's wrong?" Li Kai turned to look at him.

Cheng Tan's eyes were somewhat dazed. He slowly raised his hand and pointed to the murder weapon on the ground: "These tools... the places where they're scattered... don't you think... something's strange?"

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing.

Electrical wires, wrenches, paper cutters, paperweights, pliers… they are scattered on the relatively clean floor tiles in the center of the room, seemingly random, but upon closer inspection…

"They weren't just randomly thrown around," Cheng Tan's voice gradually became clearer, "They... seemed to be marking something. Like... an outline."

Li Kai quickly walked back to the murder weapon, squatted down, and carefully shone his flashlight on it. The others also gathered around.

Indeed, if you connect these weapons with wires...

"It's an irregular circle," Shadow was the first to notice, "or more accurately, a ring-shaped distribution around a certain center."

"What is the center?" Lin Qian asked.

All eyes were drawn to the center of that circular distribution.

There was nothing there except a floor tile that was slightly darker than the surrounding tiles.

Li Kai reached out and touched the floor tile. It felt cold, but it seemed... slightly loose?

He pressed hard on the edge of the floor tile.

"Click".

A soft whirring sound.

The floor tile had sunk half a centimeter downwards, then slid to one side, revealing a dark, square hole about twenty centimeters on each side!

A secret room within a secret room!

Everyone was stunned.

The live stream rooms and forums went completely wild at that moment.

Elsewhere, wisps of smoke rose in concentric circles from a dimly lit office.

The ashtray was already piled with seven or eight cigarette butts, each of which had been precisely extinguished in the center.

The person smoking was a woman.

Cheng Jing, the 37-year-old leader of the Major Crimes Unit 3 of the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment, has short, neat hair and fine lines between her brows caused by long hours of staying up late, but her eyes are sharp as an eagle's. She is wearing a simple black jacket, leaning against the window, looking at the city night outside, the cigarette between her fingers already half-burned.

Across from her, young criminal police officer Chen Ming sat restlessly, the light from his phone screen illuminating his anxious face.

He kept refreshing the live stream page, then switched to the emergency call platform, and then back to the internal communication group.

"Captain Cheng, if we don't go now, those guys might really be in danger!" Chen Ming finally couldn't hold back any longer, his voice rising eight octaves. "The number of viewers watching the live stream has already exceeded 300,000! The internet is exploding! The coordinates of Room 403, Building 7, Anping Lane, are crystal clear! Those seven trapped people—Li Kai, Cheng Tan, Lin Qian, and those four netizens—they've clearly been set up! The door is jammed from the outside, the windows are sealed, there are unidentified spies outside, and a weapon suspected to be from a thirteen-year-old cold case has been found in the room..."

"Moreover, regarding the deaths of Zhao Jianguo and Wang Bin," Chen Ming scrolled through his phone, pulling up two newly received preliminary autopsy reports, "the forensic experts have preliminarily determined that there are suspicious points surrounding both men's 'accidents.' The angle of impact to the back of Zhao Jianguo's head doesn't perfectly match the shape of the stair railing; the composition of the drowsiness in Wang Bin's lungs differs slightly from the water quality of that manhole... This is very likely not an accident, but murder! A murder staged to look like an accident!"

Cheng Jing didn't turn around, but took a deep drag of her cigarette and slowly exhaled.

The smoke dissipated in front of her, blurring her reflection in the windowpane.

"Don't you realize this is a setup?" Her voice was hoarse and smoky.

"The actors behind us haven't come on stage yet."

Chen Ming was taken aback: "Bureau? What do you mean?"

Cheng Jing finally turned around, walked to her desk, and precisely tossed the cigarette butt into the ashtray.

She opened the drawer and took out a thick file folder with a yellowed cover. It was written on it in black marker: "200X·Anpingli 7·403 Li Wan Death Case (Unsolved)".

"Thirteen years ago, my mentor was in charge of this case." Cheng Jing's fingers traced the edge of the file folder, her gaze somewhat distant. "Back then, I was just a newly graduated trainee police officer, following him to the crime scene. I saw Li Wan's body. Twenty-eight years old, thin, pale, she must have experienced immense fear and pain before her death. The fatal wound was a comminuted skull fracture, but there were other injuries on her body—ligature marks on her neck, crush marks on her wrists, stab wounds on her chest, and blow wounds on her arms... The scene was a mess, with various tools scattered around, but we just couldn't find any decisive evidence."

She opened the file folder and pulled out several photos from the scene.

Even after thirteen years, the black and white photographs are still shocking.