Chapter Thirty-One: I Was the One Who Killed Him!

In the conference room, Lu Zhongxin finished his boxed lunch in just five minutes. After wiping his mouth, he opened the inspection report and began to read. Two minutes later, he put the report down and looked at Yu Dazhang.

"I understand what you mean. With this, Kong Lingjie won't be able to deny it."

Having served as a criminal investigator for many years, Lu Zhongxin possessed extensive experience. He could see that the direction of the case was becoming increasingly clear. This inspection report served as physical evidence that could directly prove the rental apartment was not the primary crime scene. Treating a body with activated carbon and then cleaning up the charcoal afterward was an obvious attempt to stage the scene. Another possibility was that Zhang Yan’s body had been cleaned before being moved to the apartment, which fit the situation at the scene even better. Had the cleaning occurred in the apartment, it would have inevitably left traces that the technical team would not have missed.

"Can we nail him today?" Yu Dazhang asked.

"It shouldn't be a problem," Lu Zhongxin replied confidently. "I have him cornered. The evidence is ironclad this time; he won't be able to hold out."

If the previous interrogations had been a test of endurance, Lu Zhongxin was now ready to launch an all-out offensive. The evidence was his most powerful weapon.

"If possible, try to make him reveal clues about the primary crime scene," Yu Dazhang said, his expression anxious. "I'm afraid that if too much time passes, the scene will be compromised, and finding it then would be meaningless."

Although he knew the chances were slim—and that Kong Lingjie might not even know where the primary crime scene was—Yu Dazhang still wanted to try. You never know; luck is a fickle thing.

Shortly after five o'clock in the afternoon, the interrogation reached a breakthrough. Kong Lingjie broke. Faced with irrefutable evidence, he could no longer quibble; no matter how good his acting was, it could not withstand the cruelty of reality. Under Lu Zhongxin’s relentless pressure, he suffered an emotional collapse.

"I killed her! I killed her!"

Kong Lingjie sat in the interrogation chair, his handcuffs rattling incessantly as he teetered on the brink of losing control. "I’m a lonely bachelor. I saw a young, pretty student and got lustful thoughts. I tried to force myself on her, she resisted fiercely, and then..."

"Then... then I just..." His voice trailed off, and he lowered his head.

"Keep going, keep making it up," Lu Zhongxin pressed, refusing to let up. "Did you strangle her? And then you hid in a nearby small hotel? Was this confession fed to you by someone else?!"

As if a nerve had been struck, Kong Lingjie began to tremble violently, his face as pale as paper. When he looked up again, his eyes were bloodshot, like a wounded beast, and he roared, "Nonsense! You're talking nonsense! No one taught me anything! I killed her, I did it—why are you trying to drag someone else into this?!"

A flaw!

Lu Zhongxin frowned, staring fixedly at Kong Lingjie, and asked rapidly, "Who is that 'someone else'?"

"He... he is..." Kong Lingjie quickly realized his mistake and clamped his mouth shut. He maintained eye contact with Lu Zhongxin, his intensity undiminished. From that point on, no matter what Lu Zhongxin asked, he refused to speak another word.

At that moment, Yu Dazhang was sitting in front of a computer, staring at the surveillance footage. Seeing Kong Lingjie’s stubborn, impervious demeanor, he sighed helplessly. "He didn't give it up after all."

Although Kong Lingjie had broken down emotionally, Yu Dazhang had seen a flash of determination in his eyes. It seemed nothing more could be extracted from him. That was fine; the goal had been achieved. At the very least, it was now certain that Kong Lingjie was taking the fall for someone else. This was no longer just an inference; it was a fact. Once this was confirmed, the subsequent work would be easier to carry out, and no one would be able to question him. In future interrogations, Kong Lingjie would stop acting, and this farce could be considered finished.

With the case progressing this way, the high-profile lawyer from his previous life wouldn't even have a chance to enter the stage. And even if he did, it would only be to defend the true perpetrator. Yu Dazhang felt a sense of relief, and his stomach rumbled ungratefully. *Sigh, hungry again.*

The next morning, the task force held a briefing in the conference room. Since they were working in separate groups, they used the morning to report on the previous day’s progress. Lu Zhongxin’s situation was already known to Yu Dazhang. Qian Cheng had spent the entire afternoon at the forensic center and was told that the final results would take at least two days.

People often assume an autopsy is just slicing open a body and poking at organs. If that were the case, it would take less than an hour. A real autopsy, however, is only the first step. Histological examinations and toxicological tests all take time. If pathological sections are required, the time frame extends to about a month. Thus, two days for final results was truly an expedited effort. There was no use in Yu Dazhang being impatient; he had to wait.

After Qian Cheng finished, Yu Dazhang turned to the two members investigating Zhang Yan’s social circle. "How is the investigation into the victim?"

One of them immediately replied, "Zhang Yan’s social life was very transparent. Aside from teachers and classmates, she had virtually no other social interactions."

That was as good as finding nothing. Yu Dazhang thought for a moment and asked, "Are there no special relationships? Close female friends, boys she had a crush on—nothing at all?"

He had seen photos of Zhang Yan in the case file; to use a modern internet term, her looks were top-tier. Combined with her flower-like age and her natural, unadorned beauty, she was the embodiment of youthful invincibility. Yu Dazhang did not believe such a girl would have no admirers, especially on a campus where she stood out compared to her peers. Hormones made men naturally drawn to pretty girls; that wasn't something one could control with willpower. And there would always be a few bold ones who would act on it.

Seeing Yu Dazhang’s stern tone, the other team member quickly replied, "There were a few admirers. According to her classmates, several boys had given her love letters, but nothing ever came of them."

"Actually, a boy from the class next door named Zhou Yewei had been getting close to her recently."

Yu Dazhang was annoyed. They didn't volunteer the information after the investigation—he had to ask for it himself. What, were they too big to be managed by a trainee officer?

"Why didn't you say that just now?" Yu Dazhang’s face darkened.

"Because he’s not a suspect," the man hurried to explain. "We went to the neighboring class to investigate. That boy, Zhou Yewei, and Zhang Yan did have mutual affection. It was a bit of a puppy-love situation. But his home and Zhang Yan’s are in opposite directions, and she always walked home with classmates after school. On the day Zhang Yan went missing, he also went home with classmates as usual, and there are witnesses to prove it. So, he simply had no opportunity to commit the crime."

The implication was clear: it wasn't that they didn't want to say it, but that it was useless. Yu Dazhang didn't see it that way. In his eyes, not a single clue could be overlooked. Again, you never know.

"Keep investigating," Yu Dazhang glared at them. "From now on, whatever you find—even if it’s just some boy buying her a popsicle—I want it recorded and reported to me. Understood?"

They nodded immediately, feeling as if they were being scolded by their own father. "Understood, yes."

Finally, Yu Dazhang looked at the two members investigating Kong Lingjie. One of them immediately straightened up, eyes gleaming. "We have a major discovery. It turns out Kong Lingjie has half a relative..."

"Wait a second!" Yu Dazhang dug at his ear. "Say that again."