Chapter 593 - 494: The Top Donor

Chapter 593: Chapter 494: The Top Donor

Everyone nodded.

Cui Xuesong continued, "Most importantly, we can determine the movements of the suspect who stole the video recorder."

"We can infer that this person left Orange Apartment around two o’clock."

"We expanded the time frame. From 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., a total of 47 cars left the complex over those four hours."

"We’ve contacted and confirmed with every driver. None of them had any connection to Wang Liang, nor to Li Siyu."

This was the most crucial point.

The suspect must have stolen the video recorder after the fire was reported.

So it had to be around two o’clock.

And during that period, only a limited number of cars left the entire complex.

But after checking, not a single one had any connection to Wang Liang or Li Siyu.

At this point, Cui Xuesong turned to Shen Xin. "The work of confirming the movements of those 47 cars with perimeter surveillance isn’t finished yet."

"But Shen Xin, could the tracking by Celestial Skill and the others be wrong? Could the suspect who stole the video recorder not have left by car?"

"We all saw the scene. There were roadblocks everywhere. It would have been impossible to force a car out."

"Even if he swapped license plates after entering, he still couldn’t get out."

"So, is it possible the suspect crossed the flowerbed and then left on an electric scooter or in a taxi?"

All eyes turned to Shen Xin.

Their gazes held a hint of doubt.

According to their line of thinking, the suspect passed through, left a scent, and the police dogs tracked it.

But a scent dissipates over time.

It had been several hours. How could Celestial Skill and the others have pinpointed the exact spot where the scent trail ended?

After all, it was only a few steps away; a slight deviation would be perfectly normal.

The suspect could have walked across the flowerbed and left using another mode of transport.

Shen Xin remained silent.

He understood their doubts.

’They don’t know that I can actually *see* the scent trail, and that it didn’t extend onto the road.’

But he couldn’t explain that.

This created a paradox.

All the cars entering and leaving had been cleared.

A car can’t just sprout wings and fly away.

So when he learned that the investigation of the entry and exit logs had turned up nothing, even Shen Xin began to doubt himself.

After a long silence, Shen Xin said, "Captain Cui, Chief Zhang, I stand by my judgment. I believe the tracking by Celestial Skill and the others was not flawed."

He had to stand firm on this point.

If he wavered, it would change the direction of the investigation.

This was no small matter.

He had been thinking about this question for a long time.

Shen Xin looked up and continued, "Everyone, I have an idea that might explain this situation."

"Is it possible that after stealing the video recorder, the suspect didn’t leave immediately?"

"What if he got into his car, but instead of driving out, he drove to the underground garage, found a secluded spot, and just waited there until morning before leaving?"

"That way, he would avoid leaving an entry/exit record around two o’clock."

The moment he finished, someone interjected, "Shen Xin, that’s impossible, right? A crime was committed, and he *didn’t* run? He just stayed at the scene?"

Beside him, even Yang Zeran nudged Shen Xin, giving him a look of surprise.

The criminal investigation brigade arrived at 2:51 a.m.

After that, the place was crawling with police. To not run, to stay at the scene... how much nerve would that take?

Shen Xin said quickly, "I know this idea seems far-fetched, but if not, it’s hard to explain why no suspicious vehicles were found entering or leaving around two o’clock."

"What if the suspect is just that audacious, hiding in plain sight?"

"Think about it. He set the fire and didn’t leave. With so many people around, he used the chaos to steal the video recorder."

"That alone proves how audacious he is."

"He could have even driven his car to a remote spot and then left on foot."

"This complex’s garage has two levels. It’s not small. He could wait a few days before driving the car out."

"So, I think we should expand the time frame again and check every single vehicle that left after the incident."

"Or, we could check all the vehicles currently in the garage."

Either of these methods could explain the absence of a suspicious vehicle leaving during that time.

A colleague across the table said, "Shen Xin, do you have any idea how many cars are in that garage? We’re talking hundreds, close to a thousand."

Everyone nodded.

This wasn’t a case of having a suspect and just running through the owner’s information.

Instead, they had no clear suspect, and they’d have to investigate every single person’s connection to Li Siyu.

The workload would be enormous.

Another person said, "Shen Xin, we believe in the abilities of Celestial Skill and the others."

Everyone knew Odin and Celestial Skill weren’t ordinary police dogs; they were battle-tested.

If nothing else, the fact that Celestial Skill and his team could reconstruct the suspect’s movements in such a complex environment—even tracking him out the small gate and to the right—was proof enough of their capabilities.

"But the problem is, with a distance of just a few meters, could there really be no margin for error?"

It wasn’t that they doubted them; it was just that the distance was too short, separated only by a flowerbed.

A murmur went through the room.

Zhang Hancheng raised a hand for silence. After a moment of thought, he said, "First, I also trust in Celestial Skill’s abilities."

"However, the possibility that the suspect crossed the flowerbed and switched to a different mode of transport also exists."

He glanced at Shen Xin, signaling him not to speak, then continued, "But Shen Xin’s theory is also possible. I agree that this suspect is extremely audacious."

"So we’ll investigate both angles. If he left by taxi or electric scooter, the perimeter surveillance would have caught some trace."

"We need to confirm that. Then, for the parking garage, check every single car. Start from the time of the incident and check every vehicle that has left."

The moment he finished speaking, the conference room erupted in whispers.

The workload was, to put it mildly, immense.

Zhang Hancheng waved his hand dismissively. "I’ll pull people from other branches," he said decisively.

It was just a matter of manpower. Since the case had become more difficult, there was no choice but to throw more people at it.

Since Zhang Hancheng had spoken, no one said anything more.

Zhang Hancheng’s expression was grave. "This is a major point of contention. It concerns how the suspect left the scene, and we absolutely must get to the bottom of it."

Everyone nodded.

Zhang Hancheng added, "Old Cui also has a point. Based on the current evidence, Wang Liang is not a suspect, but we can’t rule out that he had an accomplice. We need to keep digging."

"Also, regarding his relationship with the victim—he keeps denying it. There must be a reason. We need to find out what it is."

After saying this, he asked if anyone had any other ideas.

After confirming there were none, Zhang Hancheng moved on, asking about the investigation into the "top donor."

This task was handled by Zhang Yaxin, another deputy captain of the New District Branch’s criminal investigation detachment.

He was almost fifty and had never been promoted further, mainly because his skills were rather mediocre. He had become a deputy captain purely through seniority.

But after working diligently for so many years, he was reliable and didn’t make any major mistakes.

"The victim wasn’t an independent streamer, so her agency has records of all the donations she received on the streaming platform."

"It’s part of their performance metrics, and they get a cut according to their contracts."

"According to the victim’s agent, Zhu Wenjuan, and her colleagues, Li Siyu had a habit of meeting her big spenders offline."

"For example, back in 2015 when she was streaming on Douyu, there was a man from Yanling who frequently donated to her."

"The two of them met offline and even dated for a while. At the time, Zhu Wenjuan warned her that the guy was just paying to have fun and told her not to take it too seriously or get too emotionally invested."

"There were probably many similar situations after that. But during that period, Li Siyu was relatively popular. She felt she had a higher status, so she wouldn’t meet someone offline unless they were a long-term donor giving huge amounts."

"At most, she would chat privately online or have a one-on-one video call."

"The agency even had a name for these big spenders—’patrons’—and trained the streamers on how to maintain relationships with them."

"However, starting this year, her performance began to decline because many people moved to short-video platforms, and there was just too much competition from similar risqué female streamers."

"We looked at the last six months. Based on the company’s financial records, we compiled a list. A total of 26 users donated more than five thousand yuan."

"Among them, the one who donated the most is this person."

He put the information up on the big screen.

It was a user on the Kuaishou platform with the ID "Incorrigibly Rogue."

There were no videos posted on his account.

Zhang Yaxin continued his presentation, "This account was registered on April 16th of this year. He has donated to many female streamers."

"His first donation to Li Siyu was on May 7th. From then until now, over three months, he has donated a total of more than sixty-two thousand to her."

This figure caused a stir in the room.

Sitting behind Shen Xin, even Zhao Tianxing couldn’t help but mutter, "He’s sick in the head."

Over sixty thousand... To put it bluntly, for ninety days, that’s nearly seven hundred a day. You could have a lot of real-world fun with that.

Zhang Hancheng asked, "Do we have his registration information?"

Zhang Yaxin nodded. "We do. The registration phone number is this one. We ran it, and the real-name registration is for a man named Hu Bin."

With that, he displayed Hu Bin’s household registration information.

Shen Xin looked at the photo.

A square-faced man with ordinary, unremarkable features.

Currently 42 years old, divorced, no children, with his registered residence in Songpu.

Zhang Yaxin explained, "We haven’t contacted him yet, just done some preliminary background checks."

"He studied abroad, likely at one of those diploma mills you can pay to get into. He studied economics."

"Business records show he started doing business in his early years, dabbling in all sorts of things."

"He currently has only one company registered under his name. The registered address is right here in Xinbei District, and its main business is e-commerce and foreign trade in apparel."

"The company is of average size. He lives in the city, at Harmony Ridge."

"He owns a BMW 5 Series. Other than that, we haven’t found anything else unusual for now."

Zhang Hancheng looked up at the photo on the screen, thought for a moment, and said, "Alright, make direct contact. Check this man’s alibi."

"Specifically, find out what kind of offline interactions he had with Li Siyu. Did they meet? We need to know everything."

He then had Zhang Yaxin introduce the other individuals on the list.

Shen Xin took one last look at the photo on the screen.

’So this is the top donor.’