I nodded, "This guy's knowledge of physics is impressive. He's the type who can assemble or build machines on the fly. Bombs are probably child's play for him."
"Is he difficult to deal with?"
"Yes, I even suspect his house might be filled with strange contraptions."
"Murderers are already terrifying. A serial killer who is highly intelligent and possesses professional knowledge is even more so."
"Let's stop talking. We should take back the evidence we collected. Although Chu Chu only has half a fingerprint, I think you can handle it!"
Xie Chuchu nodded. We retreated for the time being and returned to the bureau. Everyone split up to handle their cases. I returned to my office for a while, sorted through some of the documents I had, and after staring at the computer for a bit, Xie Chuchu sent me a video call.
When I answered, she told me with disappointment, "The fingerprint can't be restored. Too much is missing. If we use simulation software, the result will likely differ greatly from the original!"
"Is that so? You all think of a way, try your best to restore it!"
"We're working on it, just wait. It'll probably take some time!"
I said there was no rush, as we hadn't found a suspect yet. After I hung up, the office door was suddenly knocked. I thought it was someone else, but it turned out to be He Xin. Seeing she looked quite energetic, I asked, "What's up? Did you find any clues?"
"No, Sister Du is back. She said she's at the Siheyuan!"
"Oh, you mean Du Wantian?"
"That's right. Where has she been all this time? Why is she back now?"
"Some things... I know you miss her. Since there's nothing urgent right now, let's go see her."
Du Wantian was no stranger. When we were at the Siheyuan before, she lived with us. She had some matters to attend to back home, so she had temporarily left.
But Du Wantian was our tenant. Theoretically, she was a maid of our He family. Back in the Three Kingdoms period, when my ancestors were just rising, the Du family had been following our He family.
They had passed down through generations, all serving us. I heard it was because our He family had provided them with a lot of help back then and even saved the lives of their ancestors.
To Du Wantian's generation, this tradition had not been abandoned. Returning to the Siheyuan, a familiar figure was already waiting outside the door.
It was a young woman dressed in a Tang suit, with wavy, coffee-colored short hair naturally falling to her shoulders. Her eyes sparkled with a charming light like pearls, and her hands were as white as jade. She exuded an elegant and serene grace with every subtle movement.
Seeing us get out of the car, Du Wantian immediately took a coat from me and said deferentially, "Young Master, welcome home!"
"No need to be so formal. We're all so familiar with each other, don't always act like there's a hierarchy."
"How can I not? If Big Sister found out, she'd surely scold me to death!"
"How has she been lately? Is she well?"
"She's doing great. Life in the village is much simpler than here."
"Heh, you went back for her wedding this time. Is she happy?"
"She should be quite happy. You could tell from her radiant smile at the time. Oh, right, I heard you've taken on a new case recently, something about a death by explosion? What's going on?"
"This case is very tricky, and the culprit is despicable. He actually live-streamed the victim's death."
"No way? I watch live streams all the time, but I've never seen such a twisted one!"
"What kind of live streams do you usually watch..."
As we chatted, I arranged a room for Du Wantian, telling her it was more spacious and comfortable than her previous one. Du Wantian seemed a little embarrassed, "I could have stayed in my old room. Why give me such a luxurious one!"
"You've been staying here for so long, and He Xin and I rarely come home. You should stay here!"
"Alright. Young Master, are you hungry? You really didn't need to take time off to come back for me. I was worried I'd be delaying your work."
"It's fine, we're about to head back. You rest up."
"Okay. I'll watch some live streams and then go to sleep."
He Xin and I bid her farewell. On the way back, He Xin curiously said to me, "Why do I feel like Sister Du Wantian is a bit different?"
"How is she different? Did you notice something?"
"I can't quite pinpoint it. It's just that her expression seems a bit strange."
"Don't overthink it. She must be tired."
On the road, the sky suddenly turned overcast, and in an instant, a torrential downpour began.
At the same time, we drove onto a winding mountain road. Unbeknownst to us, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from somewhere ahead. It forced me and He Xin to stop the car. I discovered that a section of the road here was under repair, and it looked like a landslide had occurred not far away. It was raining heavily outside, and we couldn't proceed. Fortunately, I had an umbrella in the back. I opened the car door and braved a bit of the rain to retrieve it and open it.
He Xin quickly followed. We walked towards the sound of the explosion. As we got closer, we realized it wasn't an explosion on the ground, but the road ahead was blocked by countless stones.
I looked up at a mountainside, where there seemed to be a crater.
So the bomb was up there. As I was observing, He Xin suddenly pointed beneath the pile of stones, "There's a man trapped there!"
The man was covered in blood. Stones had pierced his body, and his head was crushed. His hands were deformed under the weight of several large rocks. The rain poured down on his body and the ground, mixing with his blood and slowly flowing into the surrounding road...
He Xin immediately took out her phone to make a call. I secured the scene. I never expected to encounter a murder on the way back. Judging by the scene, it was likely the work of that bomber. But this time, they were so close to us. Could it be a coincidence?
Lost in thought, I moved my feet and arrived in front of the man. His arm twitched reflexively, but I knew he was certainly dead. After he lost consciousness, the rain intensified. Much of the scene was being washed away. I glanced at a road traffic bureau warning sign nearby and gritted my teeth, cursing, "Bastard, he didn't plan this, did he?"
About 20 minutes later, the support team arrived at the scene. Because this place was a bit far from the police station, they were delayed. As Xie Chuchu and Xiao Dong got out of the car, they brought my investigation kit with them.
Xie Chuchu handed me a set of rain gear. After putting it on, I moved towards the scene with them to examine the body. However, the current situation indicated that a crane would be necessary. Liu Yuning, who arrived at the scene in the pouring rain, saw some shattered fragments of a bomb on the ground and said, "This wouldn't be the third one, would it?"