Chapter 682: He Has Serious Issues!
If it were an ordinary person, they might need a while to digest and understand what Chen Xiao said.
Qin Fei, on hearing this, immediately had a sudden realization.
"The records show that Yuan Keyu’s time of death was between eight o’clock at night and eleven o’clock."
"This timeframe spans three hours, but in reality, the eight to eleven o’clock period is just a rough estimate given by the forensic expert."
"With the current level of forensic analysis, the time frame can actually be extended forward and backward by small increments."
"If I recall correctly, the case files indicate that on the night of the incident, Yuan Keyu appeared in the corridor at 7:26 PM and entered the room. Prior to this, he left at 5:37 PM in the evening."
"This was the last time he left the rental flat and returned to it. Could it be possible that the person we saw last wasn’t Yuan Keyu?"
Qin Fei voiced his reasoning based on Chen Xiao’s hypothesis.
But right after speaking, Qin Fei immediately said:
"But that’s not right. If Yuan Keyu was killed somewhere else and then brought back, how was his body transported back?"
"Even though surveillance footage doesn’t allow us to clearly and completely identify Yuan Keyu, if there were two people, even if one was deceased, there should have been someone bringing him in."
Chen Xiao nodded: "Yes, according to the surveillance, Yuan Keyu went out several times all alone and didn’t carry anything."
"This means we can completely rule out the possibility that he was killed elsewhere and then brought back to the crime scene to create a locked-room murder."
Chen Xiao appeared to be summarizing.
But this summary left Qin Fei even more puzzled.
"No, you’ve just totally confused me. You’ve proposed a possibility, but it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny at all."
Qin Fei smiled wryly, and Chen Xiao shrugged:
"My hypothesis wasn’t to prove that I’m right, but to verify multiple possibilities."
"Earlier, we discussed topics surrounding people; since the reasoning around people doesn’t hold up, that implies there’s no problem with people, right?"
Qin Fei nodded: "Yes."
"Since there’s no issue with people, is there a problem with time?"
"The time we are focusing on revolves around Professor Yuan."
"Therefore, time isn’t an issue either. People aren’t an issue, time isn’t an issue, what about space?" Chen Xiao asked, causing Qin Fei to pause:
"Space is the rental flat; where’s the issue?"
"But there has to be an issue somewhere, otherwise who committed the murder? How can a living person pull off such a seamless locked-room murder?"
Chen Xiao questioned.
Qin Fei felt overwhelmed, not knowing what to say.
Chen Xiao stood up, patted his shoulder, and said:
"The pixel quality on the surveillance footage is really frustrating. Let’s have a look when the video from Dong’an is optimized. Now, let’s search for any potential loopholes in the spatial setup."
Chen Xiao felt that when it came to the issue of locked-room murders, they weren’t entirely passive.
At least, they could confirm that there was some location used by the killer.
Qin Fei didn’t ask further questions. As Chen Xiao walked out, he couldn’t help but ask:
"Not inviting your brother to join us?"
"He has encountered a problem himself. Before he figures it out, it’s best not to disturb him."
Ever since Liu Dayou got hold of Cao Xiuyuan’s birth chart, he’s been frowning incessantly.
Chen Xiao knew that Liu Dayou had encountered a big problem.
Liu Dayou was facing a predicament that Chen Xiao couldn’t help with, so he could only let him contemplate and analyze slowly.
He left Xiaozhuang South Town Police Station with Qin Fei, and soon they arrived at the base of the building where the crime scene was.
The building had an exterior style almost identical to Auntie Cai’s place; even the height was the same—six floors with no elevator.
All the tenants in the building were migrant workers who came to Zhushan City from other provinces.
These people were either doing manual labor at construction sites or working on assembly lines in factories.
Either their salaries were low, or they were quite thrifty despite earning a decent wage.
Qin Fei wanted to start going upstairs from the entrance, but Chen Xiao stopped him, saying:
"No rush to go inside; let’s start by examining the exterior."
Qin Fei understood his intent, which was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the surrounding environment.
After all, looking around from the bottom of the building and from the top might show the same scenery, but the perspectives are different, which might lead to different understandings.
Chen Xiao and Qin Fei strolled around the vicinity.
After completing the circuit, back downstairs, Qin Fei proactively said:
"All surrounding houses are old buildings; there aren’t many high-rises. Most buildings are two to three stories tall, and anything higher was apparently added later. It seems quite a few people here have keen senses; adding extra floors to benefit from larger compensation after demolition projects."
"Besides, the surrounding is a whole area of affordable housing. I asked around, and these rental units have only been here for five or six years."
"Before this, the entire area was just an urban village. Most people in the village were fishermen; now either they run small workshops or rely on rental income. There are a lot fewer fishermen than before."
After Qin Fei finished speaking, Chen Xiao suddenly said:
"There seems to be a record in the notes from Professor Yuan’s wife that his favorite leisure activity was sea fishing, right?"
"Yes," Qin Fei responded without hesitation, indicating that he’d already thought about this when he told Chen Xiao about the local fishermen, and he further added:
"There’s also a part of the population here that makes a living by taking tourists out to sea for fishing trips. However, such business isn’t that common; it’s more for well-off people."
In today’s era, the tourism industry isn’t as booming as it will be in future generations.
In the future, seaside locations like this, utilizing a movie or a unique feature of a scenic spot for promotion, can attract many tourists from across the country.
Currently, the income of most people in Xiaozhuang South Town, a town-like village, comes from small-scale processing factories.
It’s precisely due to the presence of these factories that many migrant workers are drawn here, thus fostering the development of affordable rental zones.
Having gained special insights into the local area, Chen Xiao and Qin Fei didn’t continue wandering outside but headed upstairs instead.
Qin Fei had a clear goal, aiming directly for the sixth floor.
However, Chen Xiao stopped at the second-floor staircase: "Don’t rush; let’s check the layout of each floor. Besides, the area around the crime scene is densely packed with tall buildings, each building tightly next to the other. So, we need to grasp the situation on each floor thoroughly. Only then can we have the best chance of finding spatial issues."
Chen Xiao showed great patience.
Qin Fei, upon being reminded, also felt the difference between himself and Chen Xiao.
But just as they reached the corridor and raised their heads to look at the surveillance camera, Liu Dayou’s call came through.
"Hello, Brother Chen, I’ve figured it out; that Captain Cao... There’s a big problem!"