Night, 11:30 PM.
At a corner alley 1 kilometer diagonally opposite Moli Community, a long police cordon was set up, with red and blue lights flashing alternately.
“Captain, the deceased’s identity has been confirmed. He is Deng Daxian, a local of Jiuzhou City, who lived in Shitang Village in the southwest. He was unemployed and made a living by swindling. He was a member of the Panlong Gang.”
A female officer frowned, looking at the retrieved information in her hand, and continued to report.
“Forensic investigations estimate that the deceased died between 5 PM and 7 PM today. His lower body was shattered, and there was one deep and one shallow fatal wound on his heart and chest respectively.”
“According to preliminary on-site deductions, it should have been excessive self-defense, leading to an accidental killing. The murderer, in a moment of desperation, delivered a finishing blow and then hastily covered up the body. But strangely…”
Captain Zhou Wen squatted on the ground, carefully observing the faint shoe prints left behind, and snorted, “Strangely, no fingerprints were left at the scene, including hair or any DNA-related clues.”
“Based on the shoe prints, there were two girls, one large and one small. There were also traces of wiping with clothes on the wall corner at the scene, but according to the surveillance outside, only two older women passed by this alley throughout the entire afternoon.”
“And the deliberate concealment of the body and bloodstains on the ground…”
Zhou Wen rubbed his brow, “If it was excessive self-defense, there wouldn’t be such meticulous concealment.”
If it weren't for the older woman who passed by, tripped, and fell into that pile of garbage, in such a place, unless the body started to smell, no one would ever think someone had died there.
It was concealed too well.
Also, the finishing blow to the chest was applied with too little force, and the size of the wound was different from the one on the heart.
Revenge killing? Torture killing? Retaliatory killing after resistance?
No, thinking about these is useless. The key is that there isn't a single clue related to the murderer!
It can't be that two people appeared out of thin air, killed someone, and then disappeared immediately, right?
Are you writing a supernatural novel here?
The female officer looked at Zhou Wen, who was frowning in thought, and after much hesitation, said, “Captain, why don’t we close this case as an accident? This Deng Daxian wasn’t a good person anyway; he was destined for the death penalty even if we put him in jail.”
Zhou Wen frowned, “Do you think I don’t want to? Being practical and sticking to facts, sometimes rules can be bent, but not this time.”
The female officer was startled, “Because of the Panlong Gang? They’re just an underground gang, a bunch of hoodlums.”
Zhou Wen rolled his eyes at the female officer, “Would you still say that if you knew they colluded with the Chen family? This Deng Daxian has a cousin who’s a minor leader in the gang. We have to give an explanation.”
He had more profound reasons he didn't mention.
Some people within the bureau also had significant ties to these underground gangs.
It wasn’t just Jiuzhou City; it was the same across the country. Family conglomerates were everywhere, and most of the power and money were in their hands.
Sometimes, the leaders of those first-tier families could truly make countless people homeless with just a flick of their fingers.
The current stability was an undercurrent of intertwined light and dark forces.
He was just a small captain; what could he do?
Zhou Wen lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and exhaled, “Continue the investigation. Then, in a couple of days, put on a show and ask the surrounding residents if they noticed any suspicious individuals.”
Anyway, people died every day, and the murderer was too skilled, there was nothing they could do.
At least, they tried their best.
…
The police cordon continued to extend, and early the next morning, Xia Che received a morning news broadcast on television.
“Someone actually died nearby yesterday? As expected, home is the safest place.”
“No, I was almost dying anyway. Why am I still caring about this?”
Xia Che shook her head, then leaned on her crutches, moving step by step towards the door.
The doorbell kept ringing, but she couldn't move any faster.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis was transitioning from mid-stage to late-stage. Ordinary patients at this stage would already be bedridden, but because of her good physique and high muscle strength, she could barely walk a few steps with crutches.
But Xia Che also knew that if the disease worsened for another month, she would also become a vegetable.
Either spend the rest of her life in bed, or start her next life.
The door opened, and Xia Che saw the auntie who delivered breakfast, revealing a shy smile, “Auntie Wang, you’ve worked hard again coming all this way.”
“Not at all, not at all.” Auntie Wang waved her hand, “Xiao Che, you used to come here for a meal over 200 days out of 300 days a year. If I don't save a portion for you one day, I wouldn't be used to it.”
As she spoke, Xia Che also noticed that Auntie Wang glanced at her crutches several times.
Her heart warmed, “Thank you, Auntie Wang. I’m fine. The doctor said there’s hope if I take my medicine on time.”
“That’s good. Xiao Lan said if you don’t tutor her again, it might be difficult for her to get into No. 2 Middle School. That girl really is…” Auntie Wang chatted a few more sentences, skillfully changing the subject, “Xiao Che, how are things with your ex-girlfriend? Tell Auntie about it?”
Xia Che pulled out a meat bun and chuckled, “Auntie Wang, didn’t we just talk about this yesterday?”
“When did we?” Auntie Wang showed a confused expression, “You didn’t come here to get buns yesterday.”
The bun paused on its way to her mouth, and only then did Xia Che remember that it happened in the game.
“Maybe I was a bit tired. Thank you for your concern, Auntie Wang.”
That was just a game; it could influence reality, but it wasn’t her reality.
Xia Che saw Auntie Wang off, then ate breakfast while taking out her phone.
Yuanshen, start…
Sorry, wrong set, seven-day girlfriend, activate!
Inside the game, the entire house was distributed as a large three-dimensional scene, and each small room became selectable. Xia Che moved her perspective to her own room.
The cute little person with gray-white hair was curled up with a long caterpillar pillow, clamping it between her legs, and the dialogue box above her head had a Q-version drawing of a drooling little person.
【Deep sleep】
Xia Che poked the girl’s head, and Xiao Jiahuo merely rolled over and continued sleeping.
“After eating here, do I still have to go inside to wake up, wash up, make breakfast, and then eat breakfast again?”
It’s a bit troublesome.
“If I’m not inside, will the character just completely idle?”
Xia Che tried poking her gender-bent little person with wine-red hair, but there was no reaction.
She then forcibly dragged her to the kitchen.
At this point, the constantly sleeping little person had a different reaction.
【Waking up】
【Checked the time】
【Lying in bed, 5 minutes of lying in bed】
Xia Che: “?”
No, my friend.
Is it that realistic? My habit of lying in bed has even spread to the game?
But 5 minutes later, the little person really sat up from the sofa and, based on the real-world time flow, slowly walked to the kitchen, little by little.
Washing rice, putting it in the pot, cooking porridge.
The command was completed. After staring blankly in the kitchen for a while, the little person returned to the sofa where Xia Che was, picked up her phone, and continued to stare blankly.
The whole process was a bit stiff, but Xia Che felt that the game’s operability in terms of freedom would be even higher than she thought.
For example…
What would happen if she controlled the little person to break into Xu Yiran’s room now?