Wang Shen rolled up the car window, blocking out the scorching heat outside. The air conditioner blasted air as Wang Shen drove from one side of the city to the other.
Looking at the deserted suburbs, Liang Zichen sighed to himself, "Do these people have urban phobia? Why do they all like living in this godforsaken place?"
Upon hearing Liang Zichen's words, Wang Shen smiled and replied, "Actually, I also like living in a place like this; it's quiet."
"Ah..." Liang Zichen exclaimed and then tilted his chair back a little, dozing off.
After an unknown amount of time, the air conditioning stopped, and a wave of heat rushed into the car. Liang Zichen rubbed his eyes and saw a large expanse of slightly yellow wheat swaying in the wind outside the car.
"Where is this?" Liang Zichen asked as he got out of the car and followed behind Wang Shen.
"The outskirts of the neighboring city."
"Han Lin really hid his child very well." Liang Zichen couldn't help but sigh after hearing Wang Shen's words.
"Unfortunately, the murderer is even more formidable than Han Lin thought." Wang Shen sighed, then stood by the roadside and looked around at his surroundings.
After looking around for a while, Wang Shen pointed to a house next to the wheat field and said, "Based on the address, that should be the house."
The area was surrounded by vast wheat fields, but the houses were not densely packed. A few scattered houses dotted the wheat fields. The address given to Wang Shen by the bureau was very detailed, so Wang Shen immediately found the house Han Lin rented after identifying it.
Wang Shen turned and glanced at Liang Zichen before saying, "Let's go take a look."
The house was within sight, but Liang Zichen still walked for quite a while following Wang Shen. It was an old-style residential house, retaining the unique architectural features of the Jiangnan region. The exterior walls were painted white, but due to the years, dark blue moss had grown profusely, which in turn enhanced the architectural characteristics of white walls and black tiles.
However, the door had been replaced with a security iron door. A surveillance camera was also installed on the upper left side of the door.
Before Wang Shen and Liang Zichen even reached the door, they sensed something was wrong. They both stopped simultaneously, glanced at each other, and then looked at the room in front of them.
"Captain Wang, are you sure this is the house Han Lin rented?" Liang Zichen asked Wang Shen with a doubtful tone.
Wang Shen nodded and replied, "The information provided by the bureau is accurate."
"Then why did you stop?" After hearing Wang Shen's words, Liang Zichen looked at him and smiled.
"The same reason you stopped." The two were speaking in cryptic language. But after a while, Wang Shen looked at Liang Zichen and continued, "This is indeed a house rented by Han Lin, which means that Dean Fu Ju and Han Lin's child are very likely living here. Why do you think Han Lin would let them live in such a remote place?"
"The answer is quite obvious: the murderer used Han Lin's child to threaten Han Lin. Han Lin had no choice but to find this remote place for his child, hoping to escape the murderer's threat." Liang Zichen's analysis of Wang Shen's question was very insightful.
Wang Shen nodded. "Han Lin did indeed have that in mind, but he didn't succeed. Han Lin underestimated the killer's abilities; the killer still managed to discover the child's hiding place. So the killer has been using Han Lin's child to threaten him. If that's the case, then Han Lin would definitely have instructed Dean Fu Ju to be especially careful."
Wang Shen's thoughts were completely aligned with Liang Zichen's. Now, Wang Shen and Liang Zichen were simply laying their thoughts out in the open to see if there were any oversights.
"The camera on the upper left of the door is proof of that. And, Captain Wang, look at the door, there's an electronic peephole. And that lock, it seems to be fingerprint-controlled as well." Liang Zichen took two steps forward, observing and describing all the anti-theft devices on the door.
"You have a really good eye." Wang Shen also took two steps forward with Liang Zichen and examined the anti-theft devices again as Liang Zichen described them.
“But the biggest problem isn’t these things, it’s that door. Right now, that door is half open.” Wang Shen frowned, looking at the small crack in the door.
“Yes, Han Lin and Dean Fu Ju knew there was great danger around them, so they should have been even more careful. No normal person would leave the door open like that.” Liang Zichen and Wang Shen stopped simultaneously for the same reason: that half-open door was far too suspicious.
"What exactly is wrong? Why is this door open?" Liang Zichen frowned slightly and asked Wang Shen.
"Close your eyes and listen." After saying this, Wang Shen closed his eyes.
After a while, Wang Shen continued, "It's eerily quiet around here. All you can hear is the wind."
"What's going on?" Liang Zichen didn't quite understand what Wang Shen was saying.
"It doesn't look like a place where children would stay." Wang Shen opened his eyes, answering Liang Zichen's question while staring at the crack in the door in front of him.
"Captain Wang, there's no point in us standing here speculating about a hundred possibilities. Why don't we go take a look?" Liang Zichen asked Wang Shen for his opinion, but he couldn't wait to walk out.
"Go in through this door. I'll go see if there's a back door. Be careful." After saying this, Wang Shen turned around and ran to the side of the house.
Liang Zichen nodded, becoming fully alert. He touched the pistol at his waist, hesitated for a moment, then removed his hand from it. Finally, Liang Zichen reached the door.
Liang Zichen glanced up at the monitor in the upper left corner. The monitor was still working, with a small red light flashing incessantly. Just as Liang Zichen's hand was about to touch the door, he hesitated for a moment and then withdrew it.
Liang Zichen glanced at the electronic doorbell on the door, then pressed it. The doorbell was very loud; the sound echoed throughout the entire house the moment it was pressed.
Liang Zichen stood patiently at the door, waiting for the bell to stop ringing, and listened attentively to the sounds inside the house. One minute, two minutes passed, and just like before, all he heard was the sound of wind.
Suddenly, Liang Zichen pushed open the door and rushed into the house, leaning against the corner of the wall with his body low to the ground. At the same time, a gun was already in his hand. Liang Zichen moved swiftly, his gaze sweeping across the entire house as the muzzle of the gun moved with his eyes.
After a series of tense actions, Liang Zichen realized that this room seemed to be his own personal stage. He felt no signs of life in the room, except for the sound of his own heartbeat.
After calming his nerves, Liang Zichen realized that there was indeed something wrong with the house. He slowly moved his back away from the wall, straightened up, and stared at the living room in front of him.
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