"Isn't this 'The Teenager', the one that Yan Nuo won an award for last year? I still have a pretty deep impression of it. To be honest, the plot is a bit too depressing, but it received wide acclaim." She lowered her head and scrolled through WeChat.
Wang Luo had already sat back at the desk while she was listening to the recording. After hearing the name, he immediately typed "The Teenager" into the already - opened search engine. Fortunately, Baidu hadn't completely turned into an advertising platform yet and he could still find it.
"The Teenager" was originally named "This Real World", and the author was "There's a Temple on the Hill".
Wang Luo then turned to search for the author's column on the literature website and found that this person hadn't signed a contract with the platform. He read out according to the author's column signature: "I've never believed in the so - called good people getting good rewards in this world. All there are are just bad people pretending to be good."
"I've asked. The screenwriter said she had chatted with the author a few times. This book was written based on real events." Su Yao showed them the chat record on her phone, then added, "What's up? Is this book also a plagiarism?"
"No, this person seems to be dead." The moment Wang Luo heard Su Yao's question, he looked up. Before he could gesture for Su Yao to stop talking, Sun Yang, that big - mouth, blurted out everything.
"..."
Sun Yang only realized his mistake after he had spoken. She was a star, not a police officer. He could only ask with his eyes: What should we do?
Wang Luo shrugged and looked up at the sky.
You're on your own.
Pei Yan had returned to his desk and continued to read the statement of Hu Zong sent by the police.
As a kid who aspired to be a detective in junior high school, Su Yao couldn't stay calm after hearing this. Based on her more than a decade of experience in reading detective novels, she was sure that this matter was definitely not simple.
So she started what she thought was a wise reasoning: "How do you guys know that the dead person is the author? Hey, what was the author's name again?"
Although her reasoning fell apart before she had even finished half of it.
Sun Yang was checking the book and didn't even look up: "Sun Shan. He seems to have graduated only half a year ago. Who knows why he was burned to death in the wild?" Then he shook his head and sighed, "It's said that when he was found, the body was still smoking. It's so tragic."
"He was burned to death?"
"Yeah."
"Then how do you guys know who he is? Through autopsy and comparison?"
Wang Luo happened to be sending a text message to the police for the latest progress of the case. Hearing this, he paused while typing and chewed on Su Yao's words carefully: "Yeah... How did they know that the dead person was Sun Shan?"
Sun Yang looked blank and asked back, "Didn't they say they saw half of a burned - out ID card at the scene and finally found out through the system?"
"You guys determined the identity of the deceased just based on that half of an ID card? Where are his family members?" Su Yao spun her phone and continued to throw out her questions.
"I went to ask. He was from a rural county. His parents died in a car accident when he was in junior high school. It seems that since then he had been living on the charity of others. Then he was admitted to a top - tier university in the neighboring C City and always had good grades. I think the smooth writing and full plot of this book seem to be written by him." Sun Yang sat up, thinking she was still thinking about the plagiarism issue, and explained to her.
Su Yao pulled over a chair and sat down, shaking her head: "That's not what I mean. Let's assume that the dead person is Sun Shan. Why did he die? Who killed him? What was the motive for the murder? And why burn the body? If there's no deep hatred, finding a place where no one knows him and pushing him off a mountain or throwing him into a rarely - visited forest would be much easier. Anyway, he didn't have any family to report his disappearance immediately. By the time someone or the police found the body, it would have turned to ashes."
After thinking it over carefully, Sun Yang found that there was nothing wrong with what she said.
Why didn't the murderer just bury the body after killing the person? That place was basically sparsely populated except for a few hunters or people who wanted to find some good stuff on the mountain. If the body was just buried like that, it would take at least five or ten years to be discovered. By the time it was found, no one would know who the murderer was.
Why use fire? It's hard not to be noticed when there's a fire on the mountain.
Sun Yang remembered the test report.
Why did the police start checking the evidence they brought back only three or four days later, and then overturned the previous conclusion of self - immolation and defined it as murder, and even linked it to the drug dealers they had caught before?
What was the process in between?
Wang Luo timely answered their doubts. He pointed to the computer with the newly - received message, "It seems that someone reported the day before yesterday that they saw some kind of deal going on in the suburbs. Coincidentally, a new police officer was transferred to the police station that day. It's said that she was from the criminal investigation team in B City before. She immediately said that it's better to believe it than not, and they went there in full force. They caught someone. This time's inspection was also because she investigated all the reports of suspicious deaths received in the city recently and just checked it out by the way. As a result, she really found something. The report you guys saw that day was from her in - house testing team."
Sun Yang was already dizzy from all these things, "It's all so intertwined."
Ring - ring - ring - ring.
The phone ringing interrupted their train of thought. Wang Luo answered the phone: "Hello, this is Wang Luo."
It was unknown what was said on the other end. The frown that had been on Wang Luo's face all morning relaxed, "Okay, I'll tell Mr. Pei."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Wang Luo was almost in awe of Su Yao: "How did you know that the dead person wasn't Sun Shan!"
"What?" Sun Yang felt that his brain wasn't working again, "What do you mean the dead person wasn't Sun Shan? If it wasn't Sun Shan, then who was it?"
Pei Yan stood up and showed the report in his hand to Su Yao, "I went to Officer Bai right after the interrogation that day and asked her to contact the forensic doctor for an autopsy. I didn't expect the result to come out so soon."
After all, it's not an easy thing to identify a person whose facial features can't even be seen.
"The forensic doctor said that the fire was set after the person died and it went out quickly, so the internal organs weren't damaged. Fortunately, this person had hepatitis B. They investigated all the hepatitis B patients of the right age in the city's hospitals and finally found out who this person was after screening." Wang Luo also thought of this and felt relieved.
"Internal organs?" Pei Yan noticed a word and asked.
Wang Luo also looked a bit confused, "Officer Bai didn't go into details. She just said to ask you to go to the police station after you received the call."
"Okay." Pei Yan responded and looked at the time. It was almost lunchtime, so he simply gave them half a day off.
He said, "Solving the case is the police's job. You two gentle scholars can't really help much. You've been busy for several days. Go back and rest earlier today."
Watching the two of them pushing each other out, Su Yao put down this almost perfect testimony and asked, "Why don't you let them participate anymore?"
Pei Yan smiled and ruffled her hair, "We may go out on calls later. It's too dangerous. Besides, they won't be of much use."
The hand that Su Yao was about to swat his hand away stopped in mid - air, "Pei Yan, think it through! I'm very precious now! If I get scratched or bumped, you'll be drowned in the saliva of my fans in no time."
It was the same when they were kids. Once he ruffled her hair, something bad was bound to happen.
"I will."
"..."
Looking at his fox - like squinting eyes, Su Yao knew that this guy must be thinking about how to use her.
He was still as realistic as ever.
So realistic that it made her...
Damned heart flutter.