We split into four directions, searching everywhere. Following me and Liu Yuning were a dozen SWAT officers and several criminal investigators. As we reached a clearing on the east side, we discovered a treehouse, indeed a treehouse, built on a giant willow tree and entirely wrapped in tin.
Having found our target, everyone held their breath and cautiously climbed towards the treehouse. Fortunately, there was a staircase, making the ascent not too strenuous. Hearing the sound of keyboard typing from above, the SWAT officers grew even more cautious. To our surprise, when we entered the treehouse, there was no one inside. The keyboard sounds were just sound effects!
This Jile Fengmanlou seemed adept at using realistic sound effects to trick people. We had been deceived once again. By the time Liu Yuning and I entered the treehouse, everyone began searching. As they burst into the few rooms within, they found no one. It seemed Jile Fengmanlou had escaped again.
I punched the wall of the treehouse hard: "Bastard, so close!"
"His computer is still on, and there's residual warmth on the seat. He probably hasn't been gone for more than 10 minutes," Liu Yuning said.
"Then we can only take these computers back," He Xin said, beginning to disconnect the computer towers with a few technical officers. As they took down the computers, Captain Zhao Xiong of the armed police suddenly called up, "Quick, go take a look! My men have apprehended a suspicious man nearby!"
"Caught him?" I asked curiously, walking down with Zhao Xiong. As we descended, we saw a raggedly dressed man with disheveled hair, a beggar, being led over by several armed police officers. I asked, "Are you Jile Fengmanlou?"
"No! Why did you grab me? I just live under a nearby bridge and came here to pick up trash today!"
"Did you see anyone acting suspiciously leaving here?" I asked.
"I saw a young guy. He jumped down from that treehouse and headed west."
"How long ago did he leave?"
"About 10 minutes ago. You still haven't told me why you're arresting me!"
I ignored him and told Zhao Xiong to search immediately. Li Fan also followed. I had originally thought that with armed police and SWAT deployed, Jile Fengmanlou would surely not escape. But after half an hour, I realized I had underestimated the bastard.
Li Fan and Zhao Xiong returned dejected. Seeing them, even without asking, their expressions told me they hadn't found anyone.
"Unfortunately, the arrest failed. No! To be precise, we didn't even find him. How did this guy escape? And where's the beggar?" Li Fan said.
It was then I asked someone to look for him. To my surprise, Gao Mingqiang turned to me and said, "I thought we didn't need him anymore, so I let him go!"
"You really are something! Who told you to let him go! That beggar must be suspicious!"
"He was probably trying to trick us!" Li Fan said.
Liu Yuning said, "No wonder we couldn't find anyone. But now we have a description of the old beggar, let's find him first. If he was indeed lying to us, then he might know which direction Jile Fengmanlou escaped in."
"That makes sense, but what if the beggar was just threatened? Then he probably wouldn't know Jile Fengmanlou's escape route. Besides, even if he knew, we probably wouldn't find Jile Fengmanlou now," Li Fan said.
I nodded. "For now, let's focus on finding the beggar, and investigate the nearest surveillance cameras around this building to see if we can find any suspicious individuals who appeared in the vicinity!"
"Yes, Section Chief He!" With the order received, everyone went about their tasks. He Xin and I returned to the police station in a patrol car.
With the help of He Xin and Yuan Hezha, we quickly contacted the traffic management bureau and reviewed the closest surveillance footage around the building. We discovered a man who had parked a Buick nearby, taken a suitcase from the trunk, and proceeded towards the building.
This person arrived near the building around 3 AM yesterday. The autopsy report Xie Chuchu gave me also matched Mu Letong's time of death. I suspected this person was Jile Fengmanlou. His figure seemed rather peculiar.
He Xin and Yuan Hezha both remarked while looking at the screen, "How tall is this guy? He looks like a dwarf, at most 1.3 meters!"
"Could it be a child?" I wondered.
He Xin was perplexed, "How is that possible? Could such a small person commit such a terrible act? That's not normal."
"Not necessarily. The age of criminal responsibility is decreasing year by year. I heard the youngest offenders are as young as 12. However, that short person has considerable strength. Watching him pull the suitcase, he didn't seem to struggle at all," I analyzed.
The surveillance footage disappeared before he reached the building, as the area was abandoned and the equipment had long been damaged.
Having identified the short person, He Xin and the others tried to capture his frontal view. Some frames showed him, but he was wearing a white mask, making it impossible to see his face.
One frame did capture his eyes: tiny, dark, sesame-seed-like eyes that inexplicably reminded one of watermelon seeds. Even without seeing his face, I would recognize him if I saw him again.
"Can you capture where he disappeared last?" I asked, placing my hand on He Xin's shoulder and handing her and Yuan Hezha two cups of coffee.
He Xin took a sip of the coffee and then said, "Let's try using the Sky Eye system. This person should be easy to find, given his unique physique."
"Yes, let's be quick, or more victims will appear!"
I said and temporarily left the technical department. I needed to find Xie Chuchu and see if she had any new findings. Arriving at the laboratory, Xie Chuchu was still meticulously examining the corpse. Little Dong next to her greeted me, "Section Chief He!"
I nodded, and Xie Chuchu put down the shadowless lamp and turned to me, "Senior! Mu Letong's bones were all shattered, leaving only the frontal bone. It appears she was subjected to extreme violence. One can only imagine the agony the victim endured."
Shattering all the bones through the skin of a person… I had once heard of Guan Yu scraping his bone to treat an injury, but compared to Mu Letong's condition, that pain was insignificant.