Chapter 105 - 103: Arrest

"Apprehend her!"

When the order was given, everyone knew what they had to do.

The case file was crystal clear: Zhang Ru had gone to find the third person.

It’s perfectly normal for doctors to make private follow-up visits. The same goes for cosmetic procedures; some clinics will call you after surgery to check on your post-op condition.

If things couldn’t be clarified over the phone, they might ask the patient to come in themselves. If the patient had mobility issues, they might even make a house call.

This was all part of a normal process. The only abnormal thing was...

The first two people recorded in the file were dead!

"The third person is named Wu Jiahui. A music student, just graduated from university, twenty-three years old..."

"She currently runs a studio, where she trains students in singing."

Wang Hu quickly processed the information from the desk officers, picking out the key details.

"And the training location is in..."

"The city center!"

The others listened, their insides tightening involuntarily as a cold sweat broke out.

Li Jianye slammed the gas pedal to the floor and kept it there.

The police car weaved through traffic, becoming a streak of light flashing with interweaving red and blue as it sped toward the bustling downtown area.

The distance from the city center to the suburbs wasn’t great. After all, Zhaozhou City was only a county-level city, so the entire urban area wasn’t very large.

A short while later, with the pedal still welded to the floor...

The team arrived at the target area.

SCREECH!

Li Jianye jerked his foot off the gas, slammed on the clutch and brake simultaneously, and yanked the steering wheel, bringing the car to a rough stop on the roadside in a sideways drift.

SLAM!

Without a moment’s hesitation, they all pushed their doors open with extreme speed.

A dozen or so officers poured out of several police cars that had arrived earlier and rushed into a building.

According to the file, Wu Jiahui’s training studio was on the fourth floor. It was full of students, some from wealthy families cultivating a hobby, others preparing for the college entrance exams to become professional musicians.

But no matter who they were, at this hour, there weren’t many people to be found.

Of course, none of that was relevant to the case.

BANG!

Xu Huo slammed the classroom door open, and everyone inside froze on the spot.

"Where is Wu Jiahui!?"

Xu Huo scanned the room, then without hesitation, his gaze returned to the center as he spoke in a low voice.

The entire fourth floor was Wu Jiahui’s studio, which offered lessons not only in singing but also in piano, violin, and guitar.

The room Xu Huo had burst into was for vocal practice. The students, who had been doing their vocal warm-ups even at this early hour, were now stunned into silence by the sudden intrusion.

"Where is Wu Jiahui!"

Xu Huo boomed the question again, his voice echoing in everyone’s ears.

"T-Teacher Wu?"

One student shrank back and asked tentatively in a small voice.

"I think she already left."

"I saw her just now. She was laughing and talking with another woman as they drove off."

’Gone?’

Wang Hu’s heart sank. ’This is bad!’

"Which way did they go!?"

"I think it was that way."

The student thought for a moment, then pointed in a direction.

"Can you be more specific?"

Li Jianye’s face was etched with anxiety.

"I don’t know. I was practicing singing the whole time. I just glanced over while I was doing my warm-ups and didn’t think much of it..." the student said timidly.

She was taken away. Twenty minutes ago.

With that twenty-minute window, if they could find her, they might still be able to save her...

But... where was she!?

’Run the plates!?’

’Not enough time...’

"Where does Wu Jiahui live?"

Xu Huo asked, breaking the stunned silence.

The medical examiner’s autopsy of the first two bodies found no traces of sedatives. This meant the victims were conscious when the killer struck.

They would have fought back!

They would have screamed!

If someone is stabbed in the lower back and has their mouth covered, they can’t make much noise, but the bodies showed no such trauma.

Furthermore, the evidence at the scenes indicated that the cause of death wasn’t initially mechanical asphyxiation, meaning the victims had plenty of time to cry for help.

The first crime scene was a public toilet. The only security guard within a five-hundred-meter radius was on his lunch break.

The second crime scene was in a deserted patch of woods!

Therefore, in both cases, the murders went undiscovered as they were happening. But...

Where were the police now?

The city center.

A bustling urban area!

Even in an underdeveloped place like Zhaozhou City, it wasn’t easy to find a spot where a loud cry for help would go unnoticed.

Moreover, people are naturally wary when they’re alone with someone new. If the suspect tried to abruptly lead the victim to an isolated area... Zhang Ru alone might not have been strong enough to restrain her.

Unless...

She took her to a place the victim was familiar with!

What kind of place would Wu Jiahui be familiar with, where making loud noises wouldn’t be interrupted?

"Wu Jiahui’s home is in the city center, but she owns two properties. The other one is..."

"On Huadong Road, in the suburbs of Zhaozhou City..."

Li Jianye recited the address automatically, but it only took a second for the realization to dawn on him.

Her specialty was singing.

To maintain a high level of teaching quality, she would have to practice frequently.

But...

Practicing means making noise.

And let’s be honest, to most people, anything other than pop songs just sounds like a public nuisance—noise.

For example.

If your neighbor started doing vocal warm-ups on their balcony at six or seven on a weekend morning while you were trying to sleep, would you think it was the sound of an angel?

So, if someone like that insisted on practicing at home...

The house would either have to be far away from anyone else, or it would need to be well soundproofed.

And either of those options...

Would perfectly fit the killer’s criteria for a murder location!

"Have the desk team run the plates."

"Everyone else, with me!"

With the logic laid bare, the team sprang into frantic action.