Chapter 194 - 143: Correct, but Guilty

The murderer had been to the orphanage before.

He had secretly donated a lot of things—milk, bread, rice, and books. The wholesale cost alone came to 350,000.

It was a massive amount of supplies, enough that, combined with the normal government subsidies the orphanage received, it could have provided the children in need with a good life for several years.

But unfortunately...

The supplies were gone.

They were delivered one moment and resold the next!

"And so, the director of the private orphanage ended up dead."

December 6th, 8:00 in the morning.

Xu Huo surveyed the scene around them and began to speak slowly.

"The killer is seeking revenge. Revenge for everything the director did, but..."

"Who do you think this thirst for revenge is aimed at?"

Li Jianye, standing beside him, paused for a moment before answering, "The director."

The director was the only victim, so the vengeance was clearly aimed at him.

"Correct. The killer’s revenge was targeted only at the director. So what about everyone else?"

"What about these children, trapped in the orphanage without fathers or mothers?"

Xu Huo asked again.

"The supplies were sold off. Would the killer hate these children for it?"

Would he?

No.

No one who fails their college entrance exam blames a polar bear for eating a penguin at the zoo.

"You mean..."

"He... he’s going to do something similar again?"

Qian Hua thought for a moment. Looking at the curious eyes all around them, he suddenly spoke.

This was an orphanage.

One of the few orphanages in Linlan City, it housed one hundred and twenty orphans of various ages. At that moment, some seven- and eight-year-olds who weren’t in school were hiding nearby, watching Xu Huo and the others with curious eyes.

Behind trees, under ping-pong tables, or peeking over walls—little dark-haired heads were everywhere.

"Exactly. The killer’s goal was to provide some form of aid. That’s why we saw the string of robberies in the wealthy district in early November."

"But his efforts were in vain and the goal wasn’t accomplished. He wouldn’t take it out on the children, though, so he would just find another way to push his goal forward!"

"Which is also why, for the case that appeared in early December..."

Xu Huo spoke again.

"...it explains why the victim’s home was ransacked."

"But would that little bit of money be enough?" Li Jianye asked, confused.

The 350,000 was unrecoverable; the director had died before he even received the money.

So the supplies would have to be reacquired. But as for the property from the victim’s home—the man who died in the office—all of it combined might not even be twenty thousand.

Compared to 350,000, it was a drop in the bucket.

But...

"Something is better than nothing."

Xu Huo replied, then added another sentence.

"And because of what happened with the director, on his second attempt... he most likely won’t be making any more anonymous donations."

"But because of his identity, he can’t reveal himself either!"

’So that means...’

’A face-to-face gift?’

’To make sure they actually receive it!?’

Qian Hua froze, then immediately understood.

’That’s right. The killer doesn’t have much money left, just a few tens of thousands. It’s not like the 400,000, which required outside help to manage.’

’He can handle this amount all by himself!’

"The suspect has had direct contact with these orphans!?"

Li Jianye was stunned. He looked at the children around them, who were huddled together like little cocoons.

They were at the orphanage.

Since finding the director’s body last night, they had brought their team to the private orphanage and had been here ever since.

"Yes. It’s hard to imagine, but there’s a high probability these kids have spent time with a cold-blooded killer."

Xu Huo nodded, paused for a moment, and added:

"Although, for them, the killer might have been safer than the orphanage director."

"As for how to investigate this..."

"How’s the information gathering coming along?"

Xu Huo changed the subject, turning his gaze toward the police officers in the distance.

Countless officers were there, constantly moving back and forth among the groups of children, asking questions.

A few caregivers were also nearby, explaining something.

They were conducting interviews.

They had started questioning the children after dawn, but progress was slow due to their young age.

Until...

"Amitabha Buddha... Officer, I have arrived."

A voice suddenly rang out nearby.

Xu Huo turned his head to look.

He saw a monk in simple robes with a stooped figure, looking like an ascetic, getting out of a police car and slowly walking toward him.

Beside him were two wary little boys, Xiao Long and Xiao Hu, their eyes constantly scanning everything around them, especially what was behind them.

The monk was carrying a little girl who was dragging a piece of tire tread. Perched on his neck was another girl with an eye problem, her hands clasped around his head.

"My apologies. Xiao Long and Xiao Hu insisted on coming along, which caused a bit of a delay."

A look of embarrassment crossed Monk Du’e’s old face.

He set the two little girls down, and they clung to his legs in fear.

"Chief." The Police Officer who had driven the car looked at Qian Hua and nodded.

Xu Huo said nothing.

He scanned Xiao Long and Xiao Hu up and down for a long moment, then suddenly spoke.

"Give him back the key."

’The key?’

’What key?’

Everyone froze, instinctively looking at the two boys, who were about ten years old.

Xiao Long abruptly pulled a metal key from his pocket and tossed it to the officer who had driven them. He then retreated behind the monk, his hostile eyes scanning the area.

’This is...’

The officer looked down, his expression turning to shock as he saw what was in his hand.

The car key!?

"When did you..." he said, stunned.

"I’m sorry, I failed to watch them properly..."

A sorrowful expression appeared on Du’e’s face. The look in his eyes was incredibly complex, a whirlwind of emotions, as he sighed and apologized.

"Less talk. I’ll ask, you’ll answer."

Xu Huo couldn’t be bothered with such trivial matters.

’So what if they stole it? Trying to win the trust of kids like these with just a few meals and a few nights’ lodging...’