Following Wang Shen's instructions, Liang Zichen examined the old man's arm again. It wasn't immediately noticeable, but there were faint traces of blood on the edge of the old man's arm. These bloodstains had been wiped away, but not completely.

"Did you see it clearly?" Wang Shen asked Liang Zichen, who hadn't spoken for a long time.

Liang Zichen seemed to be thinking about something, but now he came to his senses and replied, "They are indeed Dean Fu Ju and Han Lin's children."

Wang Shen nodded, then pressed play again. The video resumed playing. In the video, Dean Fu Ju was still carrying the child, running frantically, glancing back every now and then as she ran.

A few minutes later, Dean Fu Ju disappeared from the screen again.

"Judging from the footage, they ran from one side of the provincial highway to the other," Wang Shen said after watching the surveillance video.

"Why did she run in that direction?" Liang Zichen shook his head, not understanding Dean Fu Ju's purpose.

Wang Shen's confusion differed from Liang Zichen's. What puzzled Wang Shen wasn't the escape route chosen by Dean Fu Ju, but rather the current lack of any news about her.

Wang Shenwei frowned slightly before saying, "Dean Fu Ju's choice of direction was probably aimless; she just wanted to escape the clutches of the murderer. She chose the provincial highway because there are surveillance cameras there. Strangely, we haven't received any reports yet. After so much time, she should realize that reporting to us would have been the right choice."

Liang Zichen was unsure how to answer Wang Shen's question. Looking at the continuing playback, he asked, "Do we still need to watch the surveillance footage here?"

"Turn the video playback speed up to the fastest. I still want to see if this murderer is smart." Wang Shen nodded and instructed Liang Zichen.

Logically, the murderer shouldn't be under this surveillance device. However, Wang Shen still wanted to try his luck; who knew if he might stumble upon a foolish murderer who walked right into his trap?

After adjusting the playback speed, the scene progressed rapidly. After watching for a while, Liang Zichen actually yawned out of boredom. But before Liang Zichen could finish his yawn, Wang Shen suddenly stood up from his chair and shouted, "Stop!"

Liang Zichen immediately shut his yawning mouth and quickly pressed the pause button.

"Playback! Quick, play it back a bit! Adjust it to normal speed!" Wang Shen's tone was a little urgent.

From Wang Shen's tone, Liang Zichen realized he must have discovered some important clue. Liang Zichen wondered, could this crucial clue have appeared in the instant he yawned?

Liang Zichen restored the playback speed to normal and then continuously zoomed the screen forward. The moment the person appeared in the frame, even Liang Zichen was surprised.

Liang Zichen pointed at the person on the screen, then looked at Wang Shen and asked in confusion, "Why is she back again?"

Yes, the person appearing on the screen was still Dean Fu Ju. However, this time Dean Fu Ju was alone. The child should have been properly taken care of. Wang Shen checked the time displayed on the surveillance footage; two hours had passed since their escape.

“Dean Fu Ju’s decision to return is easy to understand. We already know the deceased was Tang Feng. Dean Fu Ju should be grateful to Tang Feng. We also guessed that it was because Tang Feng held off the murderer that Dean Fu Ju and the child had a chance to escape. Under such circumstances, it is reasonable for Dean Fu Ju to return out of concern for Tang Feng’s safety.” Wang Shen explained Dean Fu Ju’s behavior.

Hearing this, Liang Zichen understood why Dean Fu Ju had returned. However, the look of doubt on Liang Zichen's face deepened. Liang Zichen frowned again and asked, "Based on the time shown in the surveillance footage, we can basically determine the time of the crime. Captain Wang, what do you think Dean Fu Ju will find when she returns?"

Wang Shen had already been pondering the question raised by Liang Zichen when he saw Dean Fu Ju return. "In the two hours between the murder and the crime, the killer must have already completed the murder of Tang Feng. But whether the killer properly disposed of the scene during that time is still unknown."

"You mean Dean Fu Ju might have seen the murderer's movements when she turned back?"

“That’s possible,” Wang Shen nodded.

Wang Shen thought for a while before coming to his senses, then looked at Liang Zichen and asked, "By the way, what other surveillance videos are there?"

Liang Zichen handed all the surveillance memory cards to Wang Shen. Wang Shen looked at the address information marked on the cards, then opened his phone's map app and entered the addresses one by one.

"Look at this place." After a while, Wang Shen took out his phone and placed the map on the screen in front of Liang Zichen.

Liang Zichen looked at the location on the map, then glanced at the route Wang Shen had marked on the map, and said, "This surveillance camera is off the provincial highway, in a nearby town. This town is a little over two kilometers away from Dean Fu Ju's house."

After listening to Liang Zichen's words, Wang Shen explained why he chose this location. "That's right, I checked the addresses of all these surveillance cameras on the map. Only this place is not close to the house and is located in a relatively densely populated area. In order not to leave evidence, the murderer is very likely to drive to this place and then walk to the house. The relatively dense crowds provide him with excellent cover."

“But with so many people, we have to slow down our review of the surveillance footage to avoid missing any suspicious individuals, which wastes a lot of time. And the whereabouts of Dean Fu Ju and the child are still unknown, so the murderer is very likely to strike again.” Liang Zichen is now very worried about Dean Fu Ju’s safety.

Wang Shen smiled and said, "Don't forget, based on the information provided by the surveillance footage, we can determine that the murderer committed the crime before 9:35 a.m. yesterday. If we include the time it took for the murderer to walk from this surveillance location to the house, our investigation scope can be reduced significantly."

Liang Zichen scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed about his oversight. "Then can we start watching at 8:00 AM?"

Wang Shen nodded and said, "Okay, speed it up."

After speaking, Liang Zichen started operating the surveillance footage. The number of people in the footage was far greater than Wang Shen had imagined. In the surveillance footage, many people had set up stalls on the roadside, selling all sorts of things, just like a market.

"Captain Wang, how come there are so many people?" Liang Zichen was also surprised by the dense crowd.

Wang Shenwei frowned slightly and replied, "I don't know, maybe it was market day. Perhaps the murderer did their homework beforehand, which is why they chose this day to strike."