Yin Feng and a few others stood downstairs. After a moment's silence, he said, "Chen Feng, go up and check if there's anyone living in that house. Guan Jun, find a way to check the nearby surveillance cameras. Xiao Yan, take a look around and see if there's any other place nearby where someone could hide."
That house.
The slum house that Yin Chen rented twenty years ago. At that time, Yin Chen was at the lowest point in his life. Because of fraud, he was being chased for debts, so he hid here and lived a life like an ant in the dark.
Although Yin Feng did not know the detailed information about You Ruixue at that time, he was able to find out that she had participated in several cases that year, one of which took place nearby.
It is very likely that the two people met and got to know each other here and began to have intersections.
In Yin Feng's mind, the image emerged of Yin Chen standing in You Mingxu's house, looking at the camera. Or perhaps he was not looking at the camera at all, but at the portrait of You Ruixue.
The most cherished home?
There are countless deserted houses in this place, and Tibetans seem to be a good choice.
A strong intuition echoed in Yin Feng's heart, and he seemed to have foreseen something.
——
Xu Mengshan and You Mingxu returned to the police station.
On the way, You Mingxu repeatedly watched the surveillance video on his mobile phone.
Car washing, shoe soles, bad smells… She felt that she was one step closer to the answer. The characteristics of that place were so obvious that Yin Chen had to cover it up specifically.
She pointed her finger and the picture stopped at a certain moment.
Yin Chen tilted his head and rubbed his ears with his hands.
Such small actions appeared at least three times in all the surveillance footage.
Another unusual detail.
Just as he was thinking about it, his cell phone rang. It was a call from a colleague at the police station: "Teacher Yin was right! Yin Chen really sent a video! Mengshan's parents, Xing Jifu, and Teacher Yin's parents are all in the video!"
——
A group of policemen gathered around a computer.
Half an hour ago, an anonymous email was received in the official mailbox of the police station, with a 1-minute video attached.
Xu Mengshan and You Mingxu rushed back, and Ding Xiongwei also came.
Video playback.
A gray space appeared in the picture. Gray walls, gray floor, gray ceiling. It's all rough cement. The space seemed to be quite large, and the camera did not capture its boundaries.
Five people were lined up in a row and tied to the wall, like five bundles of firewood that were about to fall apart. Their clothes were stained with blood, their heads were hung, and their faces were pale. But the police were still able to identify that the five people were Xu Mengshan's parents, Xing Jifu, and Yin Feng's parents.
Above the five people's heads, there were two exhaust fans whirring. There was bright light outside, casting changing light and shadows on the ground.
Xu Mengshan punched the table hard, his face flushed red, and he yelled, "Dad! Mom!"
You Mingxu grabbed his shoulders tightly.
A policeman yelled, "Water! Water!"
Everyone then noticed that in one corner of the screen, there was a stream of water gurgling in, slowly spreading on the ground, with no sign of flowing away or leaking. The water flows slowly, but with unstoppable force.
The video ends at this point.
Ding Xiongwei spoke almost immediately: "Have you traced the IP address? Did the person go there?"
The police officer in front of the computer immediately stood up and replied, "We found out! The local police arrived 15 minutes ago. It was an Internet cafe, but the person had escaped. They are checking the surveillance."
No one spoke.
Thoughts raced through You Mingxu’s mind. The video was received half an hour ago. If the water has been released all the time, where has it reached by now? Did it not reach the ankles of those five people? Or up to the waist?
So this is the fate that Yin Chen prepared for those parents: drowning to death, slowly drowning every minute and every second? And the police knew about it, but were powerless to do anything? As a son and a policeman, is there any punishment more cruel than this?
What to do now?
Find this place in the picture.
There is no time to search every inch of this city, we must find this place immediately.
But how to find it?
While You Mingxu was thinking in his mind, the experienced Ding Xiongwei decisively issued a series of orders: "Xiao Zhou, call the elite support of the Information Technology Department immediately to separate every frame, every corner, and every sound of this video for me. I don't believe there are no clues at all! You Mingxu, Xu Mengshan!" His eyes seemed to be spitting out two fierce flames: "You two! Also stare at this video, reason, reason well for me! Yin Chen has appeared in so many videos and left so many traces, there must be some connection! How is it possible that there is nothing left? There is no absolutely perfect crime, look for it carefully and do your best!"
This statement coincided with You Mingxu's point of view, and they both answered, "Yes!"
Ding Xiongwei went to coordinate and arrange police forces to intensify the search around the Internet cafe. You Mingxu, Xu Mengshan and several criminal police officers stayed in the room, each with a computer, their eyes wide open, almost staring a hole in the video screen.
"Where would there be a place like this with such an exhaust fan?" Xu Mengshan asked.
You Mingxu turned to look at him, his eyes were still red and his whole body was like a taut bow, but his eyes had regained their sharpness and calmness. This made You Mingxu feel a little relieved.
A nearby police officer replied: "Warehouse?"
Everyone nodded. The cement-gray floor, exhaust fans, and smoky light and shadows really did look like a warehouse. But even if it was really a warehouse, there was no direction.
At this time, You Mingxu added: "We checked. Before committing the crime yesterday, Yin Chen went to wash his car. I think there must be some special marks on the car and the wheels, so he went to wash them. Once such marks are seen, people can infer where he is hiding."
Everyone was silent, frowning in thought.
You Mingxu said: "There were also traces of that kind on the soles of his shoes."
Xu Mengshan: "Smell. The clerk said he had a special smell."
Special traces?
A special smell?
Where is that place?
A policeman said loudly: "Garbage dump? Is it a garbage dump?"
Someone's eyes lit up: Not bad! The city’s garbage dumps are all in the suburbs, so if you are a Tibetan, you will never find them.
You Mingxu thought about it and shook his head: "It's not a garbage dump. Garbage is everywhere. Even if there is some garbage embedded in the wheel, it is normal. It has no specific direction. He won't go out of his way to wash it. Moreover, the large garbage dumps in Xiangcheng are all public, with many people and cars, and the management is also standardized. He has to take five hostages in and control such a warehouse. It is difficult not to alert others. Some small abandoned garbage dumps don't have such spacious, bright and clean warehouses."
The logic is clear and every point is refuted.
Everyone nodded involuntarily.
The possibility of a garbage dump was ruled out.
Xu Mengshan pondered and said, "Could it be in the basement or underground tunnel?" He glanced at You Mingxu, and You Mingxu understood. He thought of the case of Chen Zhaoci. No one could have imagined that someone could be hidden in an abandoned air-raid shelter before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China in Huaicheng.
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