Chapter 382: A Case Shrouded in Mist

If the worst things to encounter at a crime scene are water and fire…

…then the worst people to encounter during an interrogation are the elderly and children.

The former might inexplicably refuse to answer your questions. Or they might turn the tables, earnestly lecturing you until you can’t even apply the slightest psychological pressure.

The latter… well, the latter are even more exasperating.

You can’t even really interrogate them.

Why?

After all, “kids don’t lie”… what a load of crap.

To be honest, the lies most people tell as children probably make up the vast majority of lies they’ll tell in their entire lives.

But by the same token, the saying “children speak without a filter” is also true. They might lie without even realizing they’re lying.

If the police show even the slightest bias toward certain information, it becomes impossible to get a completely objective account from them.

As for psychological intimidation?

Try to scare them, and they’ll just start crying. Once they cry, the credibility of any information you get becomes a complete crapshoot.

They might talk.

But would you dare believe them?

“Still no word from the team at the park,” Zhao Shui said in a low voice.

They were short-staffed; only four officers had been sent to the park, and there had been no updates.

Hearing this, Chu Linhai’s brow furrowed.

‘It’s tough to reallocate manpower at a time like this…’

He looked outside.

Outside the window, a heavy, goose-feather snow was blanketing every inch of the city.

“Tsk…”

Chu Linhai thought for a moment and finally decided to focus on the children.

He came up with a few ideas and was about to start the “counseling session.”

The next second…

Xu Huo stepped forward, leaving Chu Linhai stunned.

He saw that Xu Huo’s hands were empty one moment, and in the blink of an eye, some candy appeared.

It was a magic trick. The two children were immediately captivated.

Next, Xu Huo hid a coin in his palm and had them guess where it was.

After they guessed for a while, Xu Huo reached out and pulled a coin from one of the kids’ chest pockets.

The two homeless children had never seen anything so fascinating, and their previous withdrawn state vanished completely.

“Alright, that’s enough magic for now. I’ll show you more after I get off work.”

Xu Huo pulled his hands back, a faint smile on his face. Seeing that the children were still wanting more, he changed the subject.

“Of course, if you can tell me where you found these pig intestines, maybe I can get off work early.”

‘He can get off work early?’

The two children immediately let their guard down. After thinking hard for a moment, they quickly spoke up.

“We found them in front of a braised meat shop!”

“The owner of that shop often gives us food. This time they were raw, so I thought maybe he didn’t have time to cook them and wanted me to do it myself…”

‘A braised meat shop?’

Xu Huo whipped his head around to look at Zhao Shui beside him.

“Take some men and check it out.”

Zhao Shui paused, the corner of his eye twitching with a hint of resignation.

“Right.”

Building rapport with children is a difficult thing.

It wasn’t that the police had no methods; it was that they were utterly helpless.

Thankfully, Xu Huo seemed to have a high affinity for children. The two kids were very cooperative, pulling the case back on track.

There was no time to conduct a detailed examination of the intestines.

Xu Huo stood up and started heading for the door.

Time was tight and the task was urgent. A case on the first day of the Spring Festival was a matter of high priority for the entire city.

Besides…

Xu Huo still wanted to have some semblance of a New Year’s celebration. Even if the main festival day was a wash, he at least wanted to rest for the first few days of the year.

Just as he reached the door with the children, he seemed to remember something and turned to look back at Wang Chao.

“Um… you go counsel President Zhang. I’m going to investigate the case.”

With that, he left without a backward glance.

Chu Linhai and the others completely ignored Wang Chao the entire time.

Standing at the doorway, smoking a cigarette to calm his nerves, Zhang Niu looked over at Wang Chao, and their eyes met.

“Brother Niu…”

Wang Chao walked up and saw that Zhang Niu’s composure hadn’t completely shattered.

He was a man who had actually been on a battlefield, who had torn out someone else’s guts.

Even though he’d been discharged for a long time, the sight of the bloody intestines now would only leave him dumbfounded, not send him collapsing to the floor.

However…

“This Jiangsan City…”

Zhang Niu took a hard drag from his cigarette and said with a sigh:

“It’s really fucking cursed!”

I mean, seriously.

In all his life, Zhang Niu had never seen a city that would “randomly spawn little gifts” like Jiangsan City did.

Wang Chao gave an awkward laugh, feeling a little guilty for some reason.

But then he thought about it for a second.

‘What the hell does this case have to do with me? Why should I feel guilty!?’

With that thought, he puffed out his chest and expertly agreed with him.

“You’re right.”

“That’s exactly it.”

“Jiangsan City… is definitely cursed!”

…

…

「10:20 PM.」

Chu Linhai returned to the municipal bureau and began reassigning officers, temporarily pulling people from three different divisions to help solve the case.

Li Jianye arrived at the scene.

Not the park, but the braised meat shop they had located based on the two homeless children’s testimony.

The shop braised all sorts of meat, but primarily pork, chicken, and beef.

It was currently closed… and had probably been closed for about three days.

On the way over, the police had posed as passersby and contacted the owner, feigning ignorance.

The call went smoothly.

There were no issues like the phone not connecting or the person’s whereabouts being unknown.

The owner of the braised meat shop answered the phone and didn’t try to evade a meeting after the police identified themselves.

Moreover, the shop owner’s home wasn’t far. He just had to open his door and walk a few hundred meters before arriving at the scene, shivering from the cold.

“Officer, what’s going on?”

The owner was a middle-aged man. His eyes widened, his lips formed an “o,” and his head tilted slightly as he craned his neck forward, staring at them blankly.

Xu Huo’s gaze was locked firmly on the man.