Chapter 49: The net of heaven is vast...

Yu Dachang also wanted the case to reach a conclusion as quickly as possible, but some things simply could not be rushed.

The state Zhou Zizhe was in right now had stripped him of any ability to communicate with others.

In the interrogation that had just concluded, Yu Dachang had ruthlessly torn open the deepest scar in Zhou Zizhe's heart and then frantically rubbed salt into it.

If he had continued any further, the nature of the interrogation would have changed, so he had no choice but to stop.

Returning to the adjoining room, the team members looked at Yu Dachang with a trace of awe in their eyes.

"Did you figure out the origin of this case a long time ago?" one of the team members asked.

"No," Yu Dachang denied.

"I made that story up on the spot."

Made it up on the spot? The team members looked at him skeptically.

Do you expect us to believe that?

Why couldn't we make up something like that?

Are you trying to be humble or are you just showing off?

Seeing that Yu Dachang had no intention of elaborating, the others wisely refrained from pressing further.

The story was indeed improvised on the spot, but it had pieced together a complete picture based on the known clues.

The main inspiration came from Zhang Yan's words in the surveillance footage: I never thought of it that way.

To translate that into modern parlance: I thought of you as a brother, yet you actually wanted to sleep with me.

To be precise, that was not just a story; it was the truth of the matter deduced by Yu Dachang.

He had deliberately presented it to Zhou Zizhe in the form of a story precisely because he did not want anyone to focus too much attention on that aspect.

There had been two loopholes in the interrogation just now.

First, lip-reading.

Second, phone records.

So far, no one had noticed his ability to read lips.

When he mentioned it to Zhou Zizhe earlier, he had glossed over it, claiming only that he could read it.

Yu Dachang wanted to create a false impression: that he was bluffing Zhou Zizhe, and that being able to read Zhang Yan's words from the video was merely a trick he used to deceive the suspect.

Because he needed this to cover up a much bigger loophole—Zhang Yan's call logs.

Although Zhang Yan's phone had long since vanished by the time her body was discovered, the records could still be retrieved as long as the phone number was known.

If people discovered that he could read lips, someone would inevitably question Yu Dachang: Why didn't you pull Zhang Yan's call records?

Since you had already concluded that the victim and the killer were talking in the surveillance footage, checking the call logs directly would have allowed you to pinpoint the target immediately.

If he had done that, how could he have worn down the suspect's psychological defenses?

This was also the part that Yu Dachang himself felt was not entirely by the book, carrying as it did a hint of personal grievance.

He had simply indulged his whims just this once... Therefore, he could not breathe a word of it to anyone.

Yu Dachang knew very well that what truly made the other party's days feel like years and life worse than death were the two days leading up to his capture.

Don't ask.

If asked, it was completely made up.

Any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental.

A short while later, Lü Zhongxin returned.

"Dachang, that was such a rare opportunity just now. You should have seized the momentum and broken him completely while the suspect's psychological defenses were collapsing."

It's easy for you to say. In your past life, you crashed and burned because of this... Yu Dachang was embarrassed to make his master look bad, so he could only equivocate:

"It still has to be by the book. Handling a case cannot be rushed for a moment; you taught me that yourself."

"Did I say that?" Lü Zhongxin rubbed his nose, pondering for a moment with no recollection of it.

You'll be saying it in a couple of years... Yu Dachang changed the subject:

"He's not the only suspect, anyway. There are still two more."

He was referring to Zhou Hongfu and Kong Lingjie.

Both of these men were thoroughly accomplices, and both had a direct connection to the principal offender, Zhou Zizhe.

"Which one do you want to interrogate?" Lü Zhongxin asked.

"Kong Lingjie," Yu Dachang replied without hesitation.

"His act should come to an end as well."

One hour later.

Holding a document bag, Yu Dachang walked into the interrogation room closely followed by Lü Zhongxin.

Having lived two lives, this was the first time Yu Dachang faced Kong Lingjie directly.

Compared to what he had seen on the surveillance monitors a few days ago, Kong Lingjie's current expression was dull, pale, and exuded an aura of utter lifelessness.

It was as if he had lost the most important thing in his life, leaving him decadent and haggard.

"You must have overworked your brain these past few days," Yu Dachang teased the moment he sat down.

"Stop letting your mind wander. Since you've already been exposed, you might as well make a clean breast of it."

Hearing the somewhat flippant tone in his apprentice's voice, Lü Zhongxin could not help reaching out to slap his thigh.

He's telling me to tone it down... Although Yu Dachang understood his master's intention, his tone remained unchanged:

"Before we begin, let me tell you something: your group... has been completely wiped out."

Upon hearing the words "completely wiped out," Kong Lingjie, sitting across from him, finally reacted.

The look he cast at Yu Dachang was filled with deep distrust, as if he suspected he had misheard just now.

Even Lü Zhongxin at his side furrowed his brow; this looked nothing like an interrogation and completely lacked a solemn atmosphere.

"Don't believe it?" Yu Dachang signaled to his master beside him.

Lü Zhongxin: ?????

What does that mean?

He doesn't believe it, so why are you looking at me?

Where is the tacit understanding between master and apprentice... Yu Dachang felt like burying his face in his hands.

Nodding toward the case files that Lü Zhongxin had brought in, he signaled again.

Let the suspect look at the case files?

Lü Zhongxin was even more bewildered.

Could he understand them? Besides, were case files something a suspect was allowed to look at?

Seeing that his master still didn't understand, Yu Dachang reached out to open the case files, tapped on them twice, and signaled once more.

Lü Zhongxin's CPU was practically on the verge of overheating.

You want me to take them over and explain the contents of the case files to the suspect?

Do we have to be this accommodating?

Is the suspect going to appreciate your kindness?

Finally, master and apprentice lost themselves in a maze of various hints and subtle glances.

Kong Lingjie, sitting opposite them, was also completely confused. It seemed like they wanted to show him something, but they hadn't quite decided what to bring over.

As for Yu Dachang, he almost forgot what he had wanted to do in the first place.

After a flurry of winking and signaling, his eyes were aching, and it appeared his master still hadn't figured it out.

Generational gap~

If he had known, he would have brought Qian Cheng in instead.

With no other choice, he had to personally take out the two photographs tucked inside the case file and gesture them toward Kong Lingjie.

Judging by the force of his wave, it looked as though he intended to slap them across Kong Lingjie's face.

If he still doesn't get it, I'm going to find another master... Yu Dachang silently made up his mind.

Lü Zhongxin awkwardly took the photographs, stood up, walked over to Kong Lingjie, and arranged the two pictures side by side on the baffle of the interrogation chair.

The photographs clearly showed the father and son, Zhou Hongfu and Zhou Zizhe.

Both of them were already wearing small orange vests, with a string of numbers printed across the left chest of the garments.

The moment Kong Lingjie saw those two photographs, his eyes instantly widened in horror.

Especially upon seeing Zhou Zizhe's picture, his emotions became visibly agitated.

He stared fixedly at the photograph, his hands involuntarily clenching into fists.

"You—how did you find them?" Kong Lingjie asked with a trembling voice.

"I clearly never said a word. How did you figure it out?"

"The net of heaven..." Yu Dachang drew out the syllables, then turned his head to look at his master.

He waited for a full two seconds, but Lü Zhongxin made not a sound.

Zero coordination; the master-apprentice bond is dead~

He had no choice but to continue:

"...has large meshes, but lets nothing slip."

His tone was brimming with helplessness.

Just think, with this atmosphere and this phrasing, you still couldn't manage to resonate with me.

As an apprentice, I am an utter failure.

"Alright, I'm too lazy to keep acting with you."

Showing a look of listless boredom, Yu Dachang retrieved a small bottle about the thickness of a thumb from the document bag he had brought along.

This time, he walked up to Kong Lingjie in person and waved the small bottle right in front of him:

"Actually, his real name should be Kong Zizhe."