Chapter 78: Chapter 78: An Embarrassed and Enraged Gao Feng, I Threw the Beer Bottle!
At the Property Management Center, He Bimin looked at the information provided by various owners in the owners’ group, and his expression finally softened somewhat.
These owners... Unless the fire singed their own eyebrows, they simply wouldn’t realize the severity of the problem. Only after receiving the summons did they start to cooperate.
Subsequently, he posted a self-assessment form in the group for the owners to fill out. The form asked for details about their homes at 8:27 PM: whether anyone was home, what they were doing, and if they had any proof, among other things.
Two hours later, twenty-four self-assessment forms were sent to him. To establish their alibis, these owners had racked their brains to find various kinds of evidence. Some weren’t at home at all. Some had home surveillance that could prove their whereabouts. But there were also those who lived alone and had no one to vouch for them.
"Manager He, according to these 24 documents, 22 owners can be cleared of suspicion," a staff member reported. "The remaining two owners were home alone. They both claim they hadn’t been drinking and didn’t throw any bottles, but they’re willing to cooperate with fingerprinting. Also... the owner from the 18th floor hasn’t submitted their self-assessment form yet."
After tallying the forms, the Property Management Center staff quickly reached a conclusion.
He Bimin furrowed his brows. "Urge this owner."
The staff member gave a wry smile. "We have, but this owner seems rather ill-tempered and is simply not cooperating."
He Bimin’s gaze flickered. After careful consideration, he sighed lightly. "In that case, submit these documents to the police. Let them handle the investigation."
This was, after all, a criminal case. Property management didn’t have the authority to investigate owners or compare fingerprints; they had to hand it over to the police.
And this time... faced with Qin Mu’s outrageous act of suing the entire building, all the owners were unusually cooperative. This was a stark contrast to Captain Shen’s previous fruitless investigative visits. To avoid going to court, these owners were all frantically trying to prove their innocence.
「Mountain and Water Garden District, Building 10.」
In Apt 1803, Gao Feng, an office worker, stared intently at the messages in the owners’ group on his phone. He kept swallowing nervously. Beside him lay a court summons. The summons clearly stated that Qin Mu was suing him, requesting his presence in court in seven days.
And such a summons... every owner in the building had received one!
"He... he... he really went ahead and sued?" Gao Feng stuttered. His scalp was tingling.
The property management’s earlier call... It hadn’t just been a scare tactic. This person named Qin Mu hadn’t been injured at all and had sued the entire building without the thrower being found! It’s over... It’s all over... By now, all the owners in the building must be scrambling to prove they didn’t throw the bottle. With this going on... the truth would soon come out, and he, the one who threw the bottle, would have nowhere to hide! There was no way he could avoid a fine this time.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK—
While he was feeling uneasy, knocking suddenly erupted from outside the door.
"Hello, is Gao Feng here? We’re from the local police station," a voice said.
Hearing this, Gao Feng shuddered, his complexion turning slightly pale. But he didn’t dare refuse to open the door. Ten seconds later, extremely nervous, he opened the door.
"Hello," Shen Dao began, his voice deep, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny. "The other owners have already provided their statements. To clear your name quickly and allow us to amend the list of defendants, could you tell us what you were doing that evening?"
This time, Shen Dao had learned from property management that the court had accepted the case—Qin Mu had actually sued the entire building. And because of this, the owners were incredibly cooperative. Therefore, upon receiving the notification, he had hurriedly led his team here. He had cross-referenced the statements provided by the owners, clearing 22 of them of suspicion. Fingerprints had already been collected from the two remaining owners who couldn’t provide an alibi.
Now, only Gao Feng, this one owner, remained.
Gao Feng involuntarily lowered his head, avoiding Shen Dao’s gaze. "I... I was... I was sleeping at the time," he stammered.
"Sleeping? Do you have any evidence to prove that?" Shen Dao frowned and pressed further.
Gao Feng swallowed hard. He could only say truthfully, "No... no one can prove it."
That night, he had been dead drunk and alone in his apartment.
Shen Dao looked at him intently. "It’s alright if you don’t have evidence. We can take your fingerprints for comparison; that will also prove your innocence."
Hearing this, Gao Feng’s expression turned ugly. Although he had been very drunk at the time, he remembered clearly that he hadn’t been wearing gloves while drinking! His fingerprints were all over every beer bottle!
He swallowed hard. "Th-th-that’s not necessary, is it?" he asked cautiously.
"Don’t you want to prove your innocence?" Shen Dao countered directly.
Gao Feng was at a loss for words, not knowing how to explain.
"Don’t worry," Shen Dao continued. "Modern technology is very advanced; fingerprint comparison results can be ready in an hour at most. Once we collect the fingerprints, they’ll be sent to the comparison center. We’ll work to clear each owner’s name as quickly as possible."
Hearing this, Gao Feng’s face turned even paler.
He had assumed the fingerprint comparison would take at least a day or two. During that time, he’d still have a chance to ask friends for help. But who would have thought... the fingerprint comparison results could come out so quickly!
Just over ten seconds later, looking at the police officers before him, he gritted his teeth and abandoned any attempt to argue or resist. He confessed outright, "No need for a comparison. I threw the beer bottle."
After saying this, he suddenly felt a great sense of relief and immediately vented all the frustration he had bottled up. "I just threw a beer bottle! No one got hurt! Do you really need to make such a big deal out of it?" he burst out. "The police come asking, property management comes asking, and now even the court is involved! That victim, Qin Mu, right? How much compensation does he want? I’ll pay him right now!"
For days, he had been living in fear and under immense pressure. Having confessed, he suddenly felt much better.
In his mind, it was just a matter of paying some money—compensation for emotional distress or something of that sort.
Outside, Shen Dao observed Gao Feng, who had flown into a rage out of shame, and said coolly, "Compensation? This matter isn’t as simple as just paying money!"
Actually, after the other two owners had very cooperatively provided their fingerprints, Shen Dao had already begun to suspect Gao Feng. According to property management, Gao Feng had been uncooperative throughout the entire process. And after a few probing questions... seeing he could no longer hide it, Gao Feng had indeed confessed.
What he hadn’t expected was that Gao Feng, even after being exposed, would have the audacity to fly into a rage out of shame!
"Don’t try to scare me!" Gao Feng sneered, looking like he knew exactly what he was talking about. "I’ve specifically looked into the offense of throwing objects from high-rises these past couple of days. I didn’t cause any harm! If you fine me more than 2,000, I’ll sue you for abuse of power!"