Chapter 43 43 She was caught in the crossfire

After receiving the news from Xu Nian, Pang Le stayed at Guan Xia's house that night and didn't even have time to go back to get his luggage.

Guan Xia originally thought that, just like the case at the end of April, the two would have to be inseparable until the case was successfully solved. However, the next morning, while Guan Xia was applying skin care products and discussing with Pang Le what time to go to her house to pick up something, Xu Nian called.

"It's all right," Xu Nian said as he opened the door. "Xia Wenguang followed you to the parking lot last night and watched you leave. He didn't make any further moves. We observed you all night just in case and confirmed that he didn't target you."

Guan Xia was startled, but then breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good. I was scared to death."

Guan Xia pressed on, "Isn't he from Jianyang City? And according to the information you gave me last time, doesn't he commit crimes every year in September, October, and November? How did he come to Yongquan City in May?"

Xu Nian said, "We recently investigated a case in Quchun City. In October 2021, a woman reported to the police that she suspected she was being stalked. The local police station reviewed the surveillance video near the woman's residence and indeed spotted a man acting suspiciously, seemingly stalking her. However, the man was wearing a baseball cap and a mask, and he intentionally avoided the surveillance cameras the entire time, so his face was not captured. Subsequent police station visits and investigations also yielded nothing, and the case was ultimately closed. The experts on the task force have confirmed that, judging by his gait and posture, the man is most likely Xia Wenguang."

Guan Xia thought for a moment before understanding. "So, after 19 years, he was indeed planning to commit crimes again in 21 years according to his usual pattern, but that woman was very perceptive and called the police, scaring him away. But this year is 24 years, and he hasn't been released for 23 years?"

Xu Niandao said: "He was in a car accident at the end of August 2024 and broke his right leg. The plaster was not removed until early November."

Guan Xia completely understood. "No wonder he couldn't help but come out in May. If that's the case, he should really be grateful to the driver who hit him in 23 years. This is actually saving a life in disguise."

Guan Xia couldn't help but sigh as she spoke, "Alright, such a coincidence has happened to me. I won't be going out until he's caught."

Xu Nian paused and said, "Actually, it's not you. We've analyzed and discussed it, and Xia Wenguang should be targeting Pang Le. Judging from the few cases we've discovered so far, Xia Wenguang's targets are usually young women who like to wear light-colored dresses, don't dye their hair, and look relatively well-behaved and gentle."

Guan Xia was very surprised. She glanced at Pang Le subconsciously and began to recall what she and Pang Le were wearing last night.

Pang Le, uncharacteristically dressed in a ethereal white dress and with her hair straightened—she never dyed her hair—plus, she'd spent two hours applying nude makeup. Without seeing each other face to face, she certainly fit Xu Nian's description of the target the murderer would choose. And she, on the other hand, was going out on a whim, completely bare-faced, simply changing into a T-shirt and trousers before heading out.

Guan Xia has been wondering from last night until now why the murderer targeted her halo as if it had lost its effect after it had only been charged for ten days. It turned out that it was not her, but she was just an innocent victim.

After realizing this, Guan Xia felt relieved. Fortunately, although the rules of the halo had not been figured out yet, at least the validity period was not that short.

After thanking Xu Nian and hanging up the phone, Pang Le, who had been holding it in for a while, immediately asked, "What's wrong? Is this Xu Nian's call?"

Guan Xia nodded and looked at Pang Le with amusement, "Xu Nian told me that the murderer followed us to the parking lot and then stopped. And he wasn't targeting me, he was targeting you."

Pang Le seemed to be hallucinating. His expression was blank for a moment before he began to doubt his life: "What did you say? He's targeting me? Then his eyesight is pretty good."

Pang Le added with some regret, "Why didn't he continue to watch? The opportunity to legally beat someone up is gone just like that."

Guan Xia slapped her angrily and said, "What a pity! He's a murderer, a serial killer at that. Even the most skilled in martial arts is afraid of a kitchen knife. Aren't you afraid of a disaster? Someone who commits so many crimes and hasn't been caught must be very cunning and cruel, and he can even resist detection."

Pang Le said: "I know, I know. I'm not stupid. I cherish my life very much. Isn't it because the police are watching? That's why I'm so confident."

Guan Xia didn't bother to pay attention to her. As she changed her clothes, she said, "Now that the alarm has been lifted, there's no need to go to your house to get your things. Do you want to go back now? Or do you want to go back after breakfast?"

Pang Le didn't hesitate for a second, "Have breakfast before going back."

Upon hearing this, Guan Xia took out a bag of dumplings from the refrigerator and cooked them all, which was just enough for the two of them to eat.

Before leaving, Guan Xia remembered something and asked Pang Le, "By the way, do you know any police officers who have retired or haven't retired but have left the job?"

Pang Le put on his white shoes and was bending over to pick up his heels. He glanced at her, thought for a moment, and replied, "No, what's wrong?"

Guan Xia said vaguely: "Nothing, I just want to ask a few questions."

Pang Le looked at Guan Xia warily, "Because of Lu Tingfeng?"

Guan Xia didn't answer for a moment. She had some guesses and wanted to confirm them. Although they were related, they were actually not that relevant.

After pondering for a moment, Guan Xia said, "No, isn't it that the cooperation method proposed earlier is not very reliable? I thought about looking for reports of related cases online, but I didn't have any clues, so I wanted to consult a professional."

Pang Le was about to say something when Guan Xia predicted it and said, "I know Xu Nian is a professional, but isn't their squadron busy with a case recently? I feel embarrassed to bother them and ask them nonsense."

Pang Le smiled and said, "You don't need to explain so much to me. I just don't want you to have any contact with Lu Tingfeng. That's all I care about."

After putting on both shoes, Pang Le frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "I remember now. I remember my dad suddenly became fascinated with Tai Chi sword a few years ago. I think he knew an old man who had retired from the police station. He even shared with us some strange cases he had heard about. So, I'll go back and call my dad today to confirm and then I'll tell you."

Guan Xia was both happy and a little embarrassed, "I'm so sorry to bother you, Pang Le, I..."

Before Guan Xia could finish her sentence, Pang Le held her head down and said, "Have you been watching too many TV dramas recently? What's all this talk about? Why is it so corny? Stop it. It's a bit insulting to say thank you to someone like us with our relationship."

Guan Xia immediately shut up, and Pang Le was satisfied.

The two went downstairs together, Pang Le drove away, and Guan Xia took a walk in the community. Seeing that it was almost time, she started her morning exercise for the new day.

But today, I don’t know if I was a little paranoid, but when Guan Xia was jogging, she always felt that someone was following her, but when she turned around, she didn’t see any suspicious people.

Today is Sunday, and there are more people in the community than usual, but they are all elderly people with children, some buying groceries, some walking and chatting in the community, and some playing with their children. They all seem to be behaving normally.

In order to confirm whether it was his illusion, Guan Xia ran almost mechanically for the next lap, focusing all his attention on his surroundings. He carefully observed every person who appeared in his field of vision with his peripheral vision. Only after he did not find anything suspicious did he feel relieved.

Just to be on the safe side, Guan Xia hesitated for a few seconds after returning home, but still called Xu Nian.

Xu Nian answered with the familiar words, "Guan Xia, what's going on?"

Guan Xia waited for a few seconds, but when she didn't see the familiar system interface, she said with relief, "It's okay, it's okay. I accidentally dialed the number with my phone in my pocket. Sorry, Xu Nian."

Xu Nian said very good-naturedly: "It's okay, as long as you're okay. I'll hang up now. Call me if you have anything else."

Putting down the phone, Guan Xia nestled comfortably into the sofa.

Although she had often cursed in her heart that this crappy system was activated too late since the binding, she had to admit that since she knew that the world she traveled to was a fusion world of criminal investigation, the passive function of this system still gave her a certain sense of security, allowing her to judge whether there was any danger around her.

Pang Le has always been very efficient. He said he would call her father in the morning and gave her a string of phone numbers in the evening.

Before Guan Xia could click on the message, Pang Le called.

Pang Le said: "I asked my dad to communicate with his friend of different ages. If you have any questions, just ask. My dad said that the old man was transferred to the police station after retiring from the army. He has been a policeman for his whole life and has encountered countless strange cases. I just called my dad and he shared one with me. He said that when the old man was young, he caught a drug addict in the jurisdiction. When he was high, he liked to use a rag to wipe people's cars in the community. Over time, people in that community didn't like to park their cars in the basement. They often quarreled over parking spaces on the ground. The security guards and property management of the community were annoyed by trying to mediate, so they simply found this person and wanted to persuade him. As a result, they found out that he was a drug addict. After the man was arrested, the owners of the community scolded the security guards and property management for several years."

Guan Xia couldn't help laughing when she heard this. "Is there such a thing? Why would this person, who is so hardworking, still take drugs?"

Pang Le said, "That's not clear. Anyway, my dad said that when the old man was interrogated later, the drug addict refuted the question, saying that he was just washing the car, but he was clearly bathing a beautiful woman."

They both laughed for a while, and Pang Le urged, "I won't chat with you anymore. If you have anything to ask, call and ask immediately. If it's any later, the old man will be going to bed."

Guan Xia glanced at the time and saw that it was almost 9 o'clock. She quickly found the photos of cases near the places where she had lived or appeared in the past few days in the study, which she had found on the Internet at home. She looked at them carefully twice and then dialed the number.

She had already thought of an excuse, and now she was just waiting to verify her guess.

After more than ten seconds, the call was finally connected, and an old man shouted in a very loud voice, "Hello, who is this?"

Guan Xia moved the receiver a little further away before answering, "Hello, my name is Guan Xia, I..."

Guan Xia had just begun to speak when the old man interrupted her. "Oh, it's you. You're Xiaole's friend, right?"

Guan Xia quickly said, "Yes, it's me."

The old man said, "Her father called me earlier. I know why you came. So tell me now. What do you want from me?"

Before the guidance was even finished, the goal had already been achieved. Guan Xia was delighted and waited patiently for a few seconds. Seeing that the system interface still did not appear, she finally spoke out the excuse she had prepared long ago, "It's like this, old man, I'm a painter. I heard Pang Le mention that you have worked in the public security field for a lifetime and have a wealth of experience in fighting criminals, so I wanted to learn from you..."

The old man was indeed a very enthusiastic person. He talked to Guan Xia eloquently for more than an hour until his wife's voice on the other end frequently urged him to go to bed, and then he hung up the phone reluctantly.

Before Guan Xia hung up, she heard the old man mutter in dissatisfaction, "I finally found a young man who was willing to listen to me, and you insisted on interfering with me. How dare you."

The old man was talking happily, and Guan Xia was also happy to listen. Different from the various murder cases that Xu Nian and the others often encountered, the cases the old man talked about were not so dark and were relatively more interesting.

Not to mention the old man, Guan Xia also felt a little reluctant when he hung up the phone, and almost forgot the purpose of calling.

It wasn't until his peripheral vision caught sight of a pile of photos on the coffee table that Guan Xia paused and remembered the important matter.

Although several days have passed, Guan Xia is still upset about the fact that Lu Tingfeng was able to trigger the system even though he had already resigned from the police force.

At first, she suspected that there was a bug in the system, or that the definition of police was too broad. However, when she thought about the various details and clues about the suspects that popped up on the system interface several times, she felt that the system should not be so outrageous. It was not until two days ago when she was reading a criminal investigation novel that she suddenly got an inspiration.

The protagonist in that novel left the police force because of a case, but for various reasons, he ended up working on the case with another protagonist in the police force. Although he was not a police officer by identity, his desire to solve the case was the same as that of other police officers.

That's why Guan Xia made this call today. She believed that even though the old man had retired and was no longer an active police officer, he still had the same unchanging faith as when he was young.

If we assume that those photos could trigger the system, but the old man failed to do so, then what is the difference between him and Lu Tingfeng? Guan Xia only thought for a few seconds before coming up with an answer: behavior.

Of course, assumptions are just assumptions. If she wants it to come true, she has to take those photos and try to trigger it again after Xu Nian is done with his work. If successful, it will prove that her guess is correct.