Chapter 105 Could there be a body buried under this tree?
After a few words of chitchat, which eased the tense, almost suffocating atmosphere, Wang Yu asked, "Captain Yang, has the identity of the newly deceased been confirmed?"
Captain Yang said, "It's been confirmed. The deceased is Tian Junming, 17 years old. He disappeared after leaving his residential complex on July 11th. His body was discovered and reported to the police on the 12th. Our team, Captain Geng, is currently conducting a social investigation. Relevant surveillance footage is being retrieved and will likely be available this afternoon."
Hearing the words "surveillance video", Guan Xia's eyes, which had been completely numb, suddenly felt a little sore. The frequency of her eye use was almost comparable to when she stayed up late to draw comics.
"Based on the existing clues, have you confirmed the scope of the murderer's investigation?" Jiang Yingyao asked.
Xiao Yan suddenly spoke up, "Based on the traces left at the scene, we can roughly confirm that the murderer is an adult male, between 25 and 50 years old, between 1.75 and 1.85 meters tall, very strong, left-handed, and most likely a native of Jianyang City. He's very familiar with the city's roads and likely works in a highly mobile profession, roaming the streets at any time without attracting attention, such as a courier, food delivery driver, sanitation worker, taxi driver, etc."
Guan Xia frowned as he listened. Although the description of the scope of the investigation for the murderer sounded quite detailed, except for the fact that he was left-handed, investigating the other characteristics in the entire Jianyang city was still a daunting task at first glance.
Guan Xia's first reaction was to rely on the surveillance video, hoping to find any suspicious people through the surveillance video during the period before the deceased disappeared.
The group discussed the crime scene for a while, until everyone was sweating profusely. Xiao Yan, who had been standing silently in the corner, suddenly said, "Captain Yang, it's 41 degrees today. Can we go back to the team to discuss the case?"
After Xiao Yan's reminder, everyone realized that, yes, they had already seen it on site, and if they had any ideas they could go back to the air-conditioned office to discuss them, or if that didn't work they could just take the bus.
Captain Yang laughed awkwardly, slapped his forehead and said, "It's my fault. My mind was so full of the case that I forgot it was a hot day today. Let's go back to the team and talk about it. Let's go back to the team and talk about it."
As he spoke, Captain Yang walked over to Xiao Yan, took a closer look, and asked gently, "Are you too hot? Are you not suffering from heatstroke? If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, please tell me."
Xiao Yan's face flushed red from the heat. He shook his head and walked downstairs in a hurry.
Captain Yang quickly shouted, "Slow down, slow down, watch the stairs, be careful not to fall."
If the gentle tone before was to take care of the young man, it is a bit strange that he is now reminding Xiao Yan to watch the road like reminding a child.
Everyone almost moved in unison and subconsciously looked at Xiao Yan who was walking downstairs, and then looked at Captain Yang who was still on the second floor.
Perhaps because everyone's strange looks were too obvious, Captain Yang reacted belatedly. He coughed and said, "Well, I was so busy talking that I forgot to introduce you. He's a newcomer who just joined our branch last year. His surname is Yan, and his name is Yan Ran. He's a top student from the Capital Public Security University. He only got here because his family lives in Jianyang City. I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's got a really good brain. He can reconstruct scenes from extremely subtle traces. Not only me, but he's a treasured gem in our entire branch. I brought him here this time. If anything goes wrong, even Director Tian will have to blame me."
Everyone recalled Yan Ran's performance just now, and then nodded in sudden realization.
Xu Nian subconsciously glanced at Guan Xia and said in agreement, "Such a smart brain really needs to be well protected."
It was clearly Yan Ran that was being talked about, but when Guan Xia went downstairs, she noticed from the corner of her eye that, except for Captain Yang who was always looking at Yan Ran, everyone else's eyes were on her, as if she had suddenly turned back to being three years old and would fall if she wasn't careful.
After leaving the unfinished villa with only a rough frame, Guan Xia walked slowly out with the crowd, looking around casually.
Guan Xia was really just looking around casually, his gaze completely passing by, but for some reason, when he saw a tree on the hillside in front of and behind the villa area, his gaze suddenly stopped.
This feeling came quickly and suddenly, just like the inexplicable intuition that appeared before. Even though the tree was a little far away and she could only see the lush canopy and nothing else, it still attracted her attention.
Guan Xia was already accustomed to this intuition. He subconsciously frowned and began to observe carefully, but he didn't see anything strange after looking around.
It is just an ordinary tree, no different from the trees around it. At most, it grows more lush and has a very dense crown.
But her intuition was never wrong, so after Guan Xia didn't notice anything wrong, she subconsciously began to think, could there be a body buried under this tree? This is why her intuition kept reminding her.
Guan Xia was so focused on watching that she didn't even notice when she stopped walking until Ji An's voice came to her ears, asking in a serious tone, "What are you looking at?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as Ji An finished speaking, the system interface that had not appeared for a long time suddenly popped up.
You were questioned by the police, and you suddenly remembered that at 4:09 pm on July 15th, when you and your friends were leaving the crime scene, you suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring at you. You reacted very quickly and looked back, successfully seeing a figure passing by under a tree. You keenly realized that something was wrong, and you decided to tell the police.
The words quickly appeared one by one and then disappeared. Then the interface changed and a video popped up.
The video is very short, only a few seconds, and the scene that appears is exactly that tree.
A figure was standing in the shade of a tree, clinging to the trunk. Almost the moment Guan Xia looked over, the figure quickly retreated behind the tree. Under normal circumstances, people would not be able to react in such a short time, and even if they saw it, they would doubt whether they were seeing things.
But who told Guan Xia to have a cheat? Even though the figure only appeared in Guan Xia's sight for a short second, it still left a very clear image. Even with the system automatically pausing and zooming in, the figure's facial features could still be seen from such a long distance.
He was a middle-aged man with a slightly bald head, about forty years old. Because there was no reference, his exact height could not be seen, but it could be seen that he was very strong. His arms, which were exposed in his short-sleeved shirt, had very obvious muscle lines.
He has small eyes in the shape of an inverted triangle, very light eyebrows, a very flat nose with almost no bridge, large nostrils, and a thick mouth. Through his slightly parted lips, you can vaguely see that a tooth is broken, only half of it.
Guan Xia didn't feel anything when she saw the other facial features. She just looked at it very seriously. Until she saw the broken tooth, she suddenly came to her senses and couldn't help but complain in her heart.
The system has been upgraded, but the clarity is a bit too outrageous. It completely ignores the limit of human vision. Even from hundreds of meters away, you can still see the broken teeth in the suspect's mouth. This can't be human eyes, but a telescope.
After complaining a few words in her heart, Guan Xia suddenly heard someone calling her, "Guan Xia? Guan Xia."
It was Ji An's voice, calling her several times in a row.
Guan Xia then raised her head and looked over, and saw that not only Ji An, but also Captain Yang and Yan Ran from the Tongan Branch had surrounded her and were looking at her in confusion.
When Guan Xia came to her senses, she found herself being stared at by so many people, and she subconsciously let out a nervous cry.
Ji An thought she was asking what was wrong, so he patiently explained, "We were walking ahead and when we looked back, we noticed you and Zhong Xiaoyu had fallen behind. You were staring in the same direction, so we came back to ask what you were looking at."
Guan Xia was a little surprised. At that moment, Zhong Xiaoyu was staring at the same place as her. She was staring at the plug-in, so what was Zhong Xiaoyu staring at?
Guan Xia couldn't help but look at Zhong Xiaoyu with a hint of curiosity. Just as she was about to recount the information that had just appeared on the system interface, Zhong Xiaoyu beat her to the punch and said very succinctly, "As soon as I left that shabby villa, I felt someone was watching us. I followed that gaze and vaguely saw a figure, but it flashed by and disappeared the next time I looked. Based on my several years of experience as an armed police officer, I don't think it was an illusion."
Zhong Xiaoyu frowned and said these words, his eyes still fixed in that direction.
Guan Xia was surprised before, but now she was stunned. Zhong Xiaoyu was indeed worthy of being a member of the armed police. Even though he had been retired for several years, he was still so alert.
Glancing at her with admiration, Guan Xia said quickly, "I had the same feeling. I also saw that figure, right under that tree."
Guan Xia raised her right hand and pointed southeast. "He's a middle-aged man, around forty years old, very strong, with very obvious bulges of muscle on his arms."
Two people said they saw a figure at the same time. Even Captain Yang did not have any doubts. He rushed in the direction of Guan Xia's finger almost the moment she finished speaking.
Except for the thin Yan Ran and Guan Xia Pang Le who fell behind, the others almost rushed up the hillside behind the villa area one after another.
Fortunately, the villa area was an unfinished project, with only the frame of the main building being built, and no walls or anything like that. In addition, the slope of Xiaocui Peak was very gentle, allowing people to climb up with their limbs without any help from any tools.
Perhaps frightened by their actions, the moment they rushed up the hillside, the middle-aged man hiding behind the tree jumped out very agilely, and ran up with almost all his strength without stopping for a moment.
Now everyone saw the fleeing figure and had a clear target, so everyone tried their best.
Zhong Xiaoyu was worthy of being a former armed police officer. She was running in the front. Guan Xia saw that she ran very lightly, almost like she could fly, but she herself was panting as if her lungs were about to explode after running only a few meters.
Guan Xia really didn't want to fall behind the main group, but the gap in physical strength was too big. Zhong Xiaoyu's figure was completely invisible, and even the figures of Xu Nian and Wang Yu in front were getting smaller and smaller.
Fortunately, Yan Ran was with her. The two of them were almost as strong as each other. They panted heavily, grabbed any leverage they could get, and climbed up hard.
Finally, even the figure of Jiang Yingyao, who was at the end of the group, could not be seen anymore. Guan Xia's legs were so weak that he had no strength left, so he just sat down and rested for a while before continuing to climb.
It can be seen that Yan Ran is a very persevering person. Even though he was sweating profusely and his legs and feet were shaking, he refused to rest.
Guan Xia was filled with admiration and was feeling encouraged to catch up when she saw Yan Ran suddenly miss a step, her body tilted and she rolled down. Guan Xia was so scared that she dodged left and right for fear that she would not be able to catch her.
Fortunately, the hillside was quite flat, and before he rolled in front of Guan Xia, Yan Ran grabbed the bushes at hand to steady his body. However, he was obviously injured in the roll just now. Guan Xia saw that Yan Ran had many small cuts on his face and hands, and his face was pale. He gasped softly, not knowing where the pain was.
Guan Xia was so frightened that her heart was pounding. She almost crawled to Yan Ran using both her hands and feet and asked anxiously, "Where are you hurt? Is it serious? Let me see it quickly."
Not caring that they were not familiar with each other yet, Guan Xia grabbed a branch with one hand to steady herself, and with the other hand, she turned Yan Ran's shoulder and looked her up and down. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that there were no other obvious bloodstains on her body except for the small scratches on her face and hands.
Yan Ran was obviously a bit introverted. Facing Guan Xia's physical contact, he felt a little embarrassed. His face turned red, and he lowered his head and said in a low voice, "I'm fine. I just twisted my ankle."
"Ah? Twisted your ankle?" Guan Xia became nervous again and bent down to look carefully at Yan Ran's left ankle, which was obviously afraid to exert force.
Yan Ran was wearing low-top sneakers, and his socks had slipped down a bit due to the constant climbing, so you could see without taking off his shoes that his ankles were indeed a little red and swollen. At this time, they were slightly swollen, but there was no obvious deformation, so the injury should not be serious.
After making a simple judgment, Guan Xia breathed a sigh of relief, but then became worried again. The others ran too fast, and now there was no one around except the two of them. It was difficult for her to climb by herself, let alone carry another person.
So after only two seconds of thinking, Guan Xia decisively took out his cell phone and called Pang Le.
Before she dialed the number, Guan Xia heard a rustling sound above her head and saw branches swaying in the distance. Yan Ran was a little nervous, not knowing what he was thinking about, but Guan Xia felt relieved. She could guess without thinking that it must be Pang Le who came back to find them.
Sure enough, a few minutes later Pang Le appeared in Guan Xia's sight. What surprised her was that Ji An was there too.
Going downhill was much faster than going uphill. Pang Le was experienced and courageous. He jumped in front of Guan Xia like a monkey in no time. He looked her up and down nervously for a few times. Seeing that she was fine, he looked at Yan Ran who was sitting on the ground. He easily found the redness and swelling on her ankle and asked in surprise, "What happened? Did you twist your ankle?"
Yan Ran blushed again, and lowered his head deeply in embarrassment, like a student who had done something wrong facing his teacher.
Seeing this, Guan Xia explained, "She lost her footing and fell. Luckily, she reacted quickly and grabbed a nearby bush, so she only twisted her ankle. What's going on up there? Did they catch anyone?"
Ji An also came down and said, "We don't know yet. We climbed for a while and didn't see you, so we came down to look for you. They are still chasing us up. Judging from Zhong Xiaoyu's speed, they might be able to catch up."
Guan Xia couldn't help but sigh inwardly, saying that he was indeed a former armed police officer, and then asked Ji An, "So what should we do now? Should we continue to climb up?"
Guan Xia looked up at the seemingly endless hillside, then down at the clearly visible shabby villa. He hesitated and said, "With my current strength and Yan Ran's twisted ankle, it's not realistic for the two of you to climb up, even if each of you carries one person. How about we go down? I just saw a signal. I left a message for Xu Nian. Tell him we'll be waiting for them in the car."
Guan Xia asked uncertainly, "Sister Ji should have the car keys on her, right?"
Ji An shook his head and said, "The car keys are with Zhong Xiaoyu."
Guan Xia was not disappointed. She just looked at the sky and said, "Then let's find a shady place to stay. The four of us won't get lost anyway, and Xu Nian will definitely come find us when the time comes."
Pang Le was the first to agree, "I think it's okay."
Ji An said: "Then let's go down. Fortunately, the height is not high, so it's easy to go down."
As Ji An was about to carry Yan Ran on her back, Pang Le took the lead, grabbed Yan Ran's arm and lifted and pulled him up, and he easily landed on her back. Fortunately, Yan Ran was very thin, so Pang Le looked very relaxed while carrying him on her back.
Guan Xia and the other three didn't think anything of it, but Yan Ran's face was red as if he had put on blush all over his face. He said very embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, I got you into trouble."
Pang Le was carrying someone on his back, so he didn't dare to be as bold as before. He was much more careful when walking down, taking one steady step at a time, and said with a smile: "What's the problem with this? Everyone has their own areas of expertise. You may not be physically strong, but you are very smart. This is just like our Guan Xia. You see, she never feels embarrassed. I can see that you are too thin-skinned. In life, you need to be thick-skinned to live a happier life. You should learn from Guan Xia in this regard. She does it very well."
Guan Xia listened to Pang Le's words very seriously at first, but she couldn't help rolling her eyes when she heard the latter part. Although these words were meant to comfort Yan Ran, why did she feel so uncomfortable listening to them?
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