Chapter 22: Someone Else?

That same afternoon, the police located Kong Lingjie at a small inn near his rented apartment.

Why was it so easy?

It was simply because the inn was too close to his apartment—only one street away, a two-minute walk. Since the police had centered their search on the apartment, they had effectively finished their task as soon as they began. The process was so smooth that the officers involved even suspected the suspect had been waiting for them at the inn on purpose.

With Kong Lingjie in custody, the interrogation began. Yu Dazhang knew that the case was only truly starting now. From this moment on, he had to race against time. The suspect had clearly made a plan and would likely confess to everything before long. Yu Dazhang had to find new evidence before that happened, lest he end up like Lu Zhongxin in his past life, led by the nose by the suspect.

As a trainee officer, he was not qualified to participate in the interrogation, but in this life, he had the chance to observe Kong Lingjie directly. It was true; in his past life, he had only seen photos of Kong Lingjie in case files, never the man himself. But some things cannot be seen in photographs—namely, temperament and character. Photographs do not speak.

Inside the interrogation room, Lu Zhongxin and another detective sat before Kong Lingjie.

"Name?"

"Kong... Kong Lingjie."

"Age?"

"Forty-three."

"What is your occupation?"

"A porter at a cold drink factory."

Although he couldn't participate, as a member of the task force, Yu Dazhang had the right to observe. He was currently in the next room with other team members, staring at the surveillance feed on a computer. Watching the Q&A in the interrogation room, Yu Dazhang finally understood why Lu Zhongxin had so easily fallen into the trap Kong Lingjie had set.

In his past life, he could never fathom it. Why had his master, an experienced veteran detective who had seen all kinds of people, been so unguarded against Kong Lingjie? It was no exaggeration to say that, based on intuition alone, his master could read a person quite accurately and make sound judgments. Yet, this time, he had miscalculated.

Only today did Yu Dazhang find the reason: the man sitting across from Lu Zhongxin was... just too ordinary.

He was the definition of average. He gave off an air of simple-minded honesty, quiet dullness, and insecure introversion. Beyond that, there were no defining features. It was difficult to imagine such a person as a cunning, calculating criminal.

While it is said that one should not judge a book by its cover, the contrast was simply too stark. Looking at Kong Lingjie on the screen, a thought flashed through Yu Dazhang's mind: Could he really not be the killer? Yet, all the clues pointed to him, and he had indeed set a trap for Lu Zhongxin in the past life. It was so contradictory.

What baffled Yu Dazhang most was that Kong Lingjie did not seem like the type of person who could devise such a plan. A common laborer playing an old detective for a fool, eventually driving him to suicide? If he had that kind of intelligence, would he be working a menial job? The logic didn't hold up.

There was another loophole: the high-profile lawyer Kong Lingjie had hired in the past life. Given his financial situation, he couldn't even afford an average lawyer, let alone a famous one. So the question arose: why would that elite lawyer defend Kong Lingjie? Was he just in a good mood and picked a case at random? Yu Dazhang almost laughed at the thought. Even if someone wanted to practice, they wouldn't choose such a simple case.

The only logical explanation was that someone had paid for Kong Lingjie’s legal defense. In other words, there was someone behind him.

Yes, this possibility was closest to the truth. Yu Dazhang’s eyes lit up. If that were the case, everything else fell into place. The plan wasn't Kong Lingjie's; it was orchestrated by the person behind him. Kong Lingjie was merely a puppet on a string.

This thought circled in Yu Dazhang's mind, refusing to leave. If this were true, the next step was simple: find the evidence. Without proof, this was just a logical inference, not even a story—and stories needed a beginning and an end.

"I'm heading out," Yu Dazhang patted a team member beside him. "When my master comes out, please tell him for me."

The team member, a man in his early thirties, asked hastily, "Are you hungry?"

What kind of question was that? Yu Dazhang looked at him, speechless. "I’m going to the crime scene."

As soon as they heard he was going to the scene, the other team members turned to look at him. Their expressions seemed to say, *You're going to the crime scene to find a snack?*

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yu Dazhang said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "I'm going to see if I can find any other clues."

Hearing this, the team members' expressions grew even stranger. The main suspect had already been caught, and the case would be closed soon. Why go investigate the scene now? Even if he wanted to slack off, he should at least come up with a decent excuse.

"Do you need someone to go with you?" one of them asked, implicitly suggesting: *We'll call your bluff if you're just slacking off.*

"Sure," Yu Dazhang replied, not catching the subtext and genuinely thinking the man wanted to accompany him. He had been worried about how to get there; if no one went with him, he'd have to pay for a taxi out of his own pocket.

The group was surprised that he had actually agreed. Since the words were out, there was no backing down now. The team member had to steel himself and ask, "Well, who’s going with him?"

Silence.

Yu Dazhang blinked. "Let's go together."

The man opened his mouth, wanting to refuse, but after seeing the bright, earnest look in Yu Dazhang's eyes, he swallowed his words. He scratched his head in frustration. *Why is my mouth so fast? And this chubby guy is too thick-headed; can he not tell that was just sarcasm?*

"Alright then, let's go."

Although he had agreed, he was convinced Yu Dazhang wouldn't actually go to the crime scene. The guy was probably just hungry and looking for a free meal. *Fine, let him eat; I need to eat anyway.*

Once outside, the team member took the driver's seat of a police car, and Yu Dazhang sat in the passenger seat.

"Let's just find a snack shop nearby," the driver said.

"What kind of snack?" Yu Dazhang asked, confused.

"To eat," the man said with a knowing look. "Come on, it's just the two of us, stop pretending."

"Pretending what? I'm really going to the crime scene!" Yu Dazhang raised his voice, clearly unhappy.

"You're serious?"

"Of course."

Seeing Yu Dazhang’s sincere face, he didn't say anything more and started the car, pulling out of the compound.

On the road, the man said, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Qian Cheng, from the Technical Division."

"Yu Dazhang, First Criminal Investigation Brigade."

"Is there a restaurant you like near the crime scene?"

Yu Dazhang: ...