Inside the bar's surveillance room.
Guan Feng looked at the figure in the corner and asked, "Does Shulmo usually sit in this spot?"
The proprietress nodded and said, "He is a regular customer of our store. He usually likes to sit quietly by himself in that spot, so when the store is not busy, I will ask the waiter to reserve that spot for him in case he comes over."
Guan Feng looked at this spot, trying to figure out Shulmo's mindset; he seemed somewhat aloof, quietly observing the bustling bar.
He said, "Your bar is so thoughtful, you even reserve a spot for your customers."
The proprietress said, "Not really! It's just that his presence is a unique sight in the bar. Some people just like to appreciate him. In the bar circle, most people know that there is such a person who likes to come and drink quietly."
Upon hearing this description, Guan Feng asked, "In your recollection, does Schulmer like to flirt with other women?"
The proprietress chuckled upon hearing this: "Officer Guan, you probably don't come to bars often, do you?"
Guan Feng nodded and said, "Very few."
The proprietress said, "In our bar, we lack everything except women with sharp eyes. As long as you have value, you're guaranteed to have no shortage of people trying to chat you up. In this setting, the most popular type is the rich second-generation playboy who comes in, slams his Porsche car keys on the table, and shouts, 'Young Master Wang is paying the bill.' As soon as such a person enters the bar, he's surrounded by at least three or five beautiful women."
"Anything else?"
Guan Feng waited quietly for the next part to be told.
The proprietress continued, "But there's another type of customer who's also very popular with beautiful women, even more so than these rich kids. That's the foreigners with good taste, like Schulmo, who's clearly a successful man. Women are very willing to come to him, and some even go out of their way to collect him."
Guan Feng understood.
The proprietress was implying that Schulmer didn't need to actively approach women; they would come up to him on their own.
Upon hearing this, Guan Feng sat down in front of the monitor and played the relevant footage at double speed.
really!
In less than half an hour, three or four women sat down next to him, occasionally exchanging a few words with Schulmo.
Schulmer's expression remained serious, but this aloof demeanor seemed to only fuel the women's competitive spirit, prompting them to actively steer the conversation further.
Looking at the surveillance footage, Guan Feng remarked, "I never expected Schulmer to be so popular."
The proprietress said with a hint of teasing, "Shuermo is considered to be quite virtuous. If he were a little more of a scumbag, changing girlfriends two or three times a week wouldn't be a problem, he might even change them every day. The girls you just met are all very playful. In their world, one-night stands are no big deal. Youth is meant to be squandered. There's a song lyric that goes, 'Youth has no price, just use Alipay all the way to Lhasa!'"
Guan Feng had heard the song before and understood the subtext of the landlady's words. He then asked, "Based on your understanding, how often does Schulmer bring women home?"
The proprietress shook her head and said, "It's hard to say. I think I've seen it a few times, but as you know, we run a bar business, and we generally don't care about our customers' privacy. That's our principle, so I really don't know."
Guan Feng looked at the women in the surveillance footage and said calmly, "Isn't your statement inaccurate? Does such a big bar not have any bar girls or the like? Don't think we can't find out. Now that it involves a murder case, we don't want to cause any more trouble if you cooperate with us. If we don't get any clues for a long time, then we will have to investigate further, which may affect your business."
The proprietress's expression changed slightly.
She looked at Guan Feng with some difficulty, as if trying to confirm whether he was serious, but all she saw was a serious and indifferent face, from which she could not discern any particular expression.
She said, "Then, I'll ask a few regular customers to see if they know anything about Schulmer."
Guan Feng calmly replied, "Then thank you for your help."
The proprietress forced a smile and said, "It's all the best I can do."
Guan Feng said, "It's nothing, you go ahead and do your work. We'll continue reviewing the surveillance footage."
The proprietress gave Guan Feng a slight bow before leaving the monitoring room.
Guan Feng and Huang Lili continued to retrieve surveillance footage.
With facial recognition, Guan Feng retrieved footage of Shulmo's appearances and discovered that he had been appearing about three or four times a week for the past month. When he arrived, he mostly sat quietly drinking, and when someone tried to strike up a conversation, they would only exchange a few words before the person tactfully left.
What's surprising is that it happened just a week ago!
A woman with a white coat, long black hair, and an exceptional demeanor approached her.
The two chatted for a while and seemed to get along quite well.
Scroll back further.
Several figures followed the same pattern.
This allowed Guan Feng to gradually understand Schulmer's preferences and style.
He compared and took screenshots of several figures, then zoomed in and said, "Save these photos first, and send them to the household registration department for comparison later. These women could all be involved in the case."
Huang Lili immediately copied it as Guan Feng had requested.
And at this time.
Knock knock knock!
The proprietress knocked on the door and came back in.
She looked at Guan Feng and said, "Officer Guan, I just contacted a few people, but they went to bed late last night and just got up. They're on their way here. Why don't you grab a bite to eat first? The restaurant is just about to serve lunch too, why don't you join us?"
Guan Feng checked the time and realized they had indeed arrived at the restaurant.
He declined the landlady's offer, as he would never make such a fundamental mistake. He said, "It's eleven o'clock now. We'll come back at eleven-thirty. Once your people arrive, you can let them eat first, but I suggest you don't reveal any more information about the case to them."
“We can see through everything you’ve done. Don’t add fuel to the fire and get yourself into trouble when there was nothing wrong.”
Seeing that Guan Feng had seen through her intentions, the proprietress said somewhat awkwardly, "I understand the importance of this matter. Please rest assured, I will not reveal any details of the case. When you return, you can ask them yourself!"
Guan Feng nodded and left with Huang Lili.
On the road.
Guan Feng instructed, "Call Dacheng and tell them to eat first, and then continue the investigation after they finish eating."
"clear!"
Huang Lili nodded.
After leaving the bar, Guan Feng looked around and saw a noodle shop on his right. He wasn't very hungry, so he took Huang Lili there and they each ordered a bowl of noodles.
While eating his noodles, Guan Feng casually asked the owner, "Boss, what time do you stay open tonight?"
The owner said, "There's a bar over there. Besides noodles, I also have spicy hot pot and fried skewers. My customers and the girls love it. I still have customers at 11 or 12 at night."
Guan Feng said, "Oh? So the bar has brought you a lot of business?"
The owner said, "Of course! We have business every night, but it's been a bit less these past few days."
Guan Feng asked, "What happened?"
The boss sighed and explained the whole story.
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