Chapter 998 - 513: The Game Officially Begins!

When Zhang Biao and Wan entered the interrogation room, Lu Shaohua gestured invitingly, "Director Hou, Mr. Jiang, let’s observe together from behind the one-way glass, and follow up on the interrogation at any time."

Director Hou nodded, "Alright, today we will witness this crucial moment together."

"I’ve run through this case so many times before, and today should finally be the time for a harvest."

Soon, the three moved together to the adjacent observation room and stood behind the one-way glass.

Through the glass, the entire view of the interrogation room was clearly visible—Zhang Biao and Wan were already seated, and the atmosphere was solemn.

Zhang Biao turned his head and gave Wan a glance, signaling to start recording.

He then asked, "Name, age, gender, home address, place of employment."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Tao, sitting opposite, suddenly let out a low laugh filled with undisguised sarcasm, "Officer, could you possibly be mistaken?"

"I’m a grown man sitting here, and you still ask my gender? Isn’t that nonsense?"

Facing Li Tao’s obviously uncooperative mocking attitude, Zhang Biao’s face darkened, and he suddenly lifted his hand to heavily slam it on the table—

"Bang!"

A dull sound abruptly exploded in the silent interrogation room.

Li Tao was apparently taken aback by the sudden noise, the playful smile on his face disappearing instantly, replaced by a fleeting flash of anger.

Zhang Biao leaned forward slightly and said sharply, "Listen carefully, this is an interrogation room, not a place for idle chit-chat."

"Answer whatever I ask—adjust your attitude."

Perhaps overawed by Zhang Biao’s suddenly heightened momentum, the fierceness in Li Tao’s eyes slightly diminished, but he still held his face in silence.

Zhang Biao continued to stare him down, his tone more steady and forceful, "You better recognize your current situation. This is not a place where you can run wild, much less your own home. If you’re indeed guilty, we will not be lenient—today might just be the end of your free days."

After a brief silence, Li Tao lowered his eyelids, clicked his tongue lightly, and when he looked up again, his face had switched to a mixture of helplessness and provocation:

"Alright, alright, I can’t afford to mess with you, so I’ll avoid it, okay?"

"Li Tao, turning 34 next year, you already have my address, right? As for work... currently unemployed, living off my parents. Is that answer satisfactory?"

"Oh yeah, male, haven’t undergone any gender reassignment surgery, nor do I plan to in the future—clear enough?"

Then, Zhang Biao raised his voice to ask, "Do you know why we brought you here from Wuhe in the middle of the night?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tao nonchalantly spread his hands, "Honestly, this is my first time in an interrogation room."

"But I never thought the first time witnessing police work, the process could be this perfunctory."

"Why must we always go through these motions, asking such... idiotic questions?"

"Idiotic?" Zhang Biao suddenly raised his hand, slapping it against the table hard, a "bang" resonated in the room buzzing, "Let me remind you one more time, now is the time to answer questions truthfully, not to critique our interrogation procedures!"

"Alright, alright."

Li Tao displayed a gesture of compromise, but his tone remained lazy, "Of course I don’t know."

"Tonight, I was just at home playing games and listening to rock music, and then you suddenly barged in and took me away—even I am still in a daze."

"In a daze?" Zhang Biao leaned forward, his gaze piercing, "Forgot all about what happened ten years ago?"

"Ten years ago?" Li Tao blinked, "Ten years ago, I was just in my early twenties, what could I have done?"

"What could you have done? A matter of life and death!"

"Life and death? Officer, that’s quite a big joke."

Li Tao chuckled, shaking his head, "I’m not well-educated and came from the countryside, but you can’t just pin such a crime on me."

"I admit, sometimes my temper gets the best of me, and I might have pushed or shoved someone once or twice, but I have my limits, and murder isn’t one of them!"

"Impossible?" Zhang Biao sneered and pulled an old photo from a folder, gently sliding it in front of Li Tao, "Do you remember, before you left your hometown, a household in your village suffered a tragedy?"

Li Tao glanced at the photo and nodded lightly, "I seem to remember something... What’s the deal?"

"The evidence we currently have shows you’re a major suspect," Zhang Biao said deliberately, "Now I ask you to recall carefully, ten years ago, specifically the day of the incident—where were you, and what were you doing?"

Li Tao let out a long sigh, his face full of helplessness, "Officer, who could remember things from ten years ago so clearly? Forget the day of the incident, even the whole month, I can’t remember what I was doing."

"Stop playing dumb!" Zhang Biao suddenly raised his volume, "The footprints extracted from the scene matched your walking style perfectly."

"My walking style?" Li Tao acted like he heard a joke, "Many people are similar in height to me, what does that prove?"

"It’s not just the height," Zhang Biao interrupted him, "You have a distinctly in-toed walking style, which is exceptionally unique."

"In-toed is a characteristic?" Li Tao dismissively pouted, "That’s not too uncommon, is it?"

"In this case, it is a crucial characteristic!" Zhang Biao rapped the table heavily, "It’s one of the key pieces of evidence we used to identify you."

"Isn’t this approach of yours too hasty?"

Li Tao lifted his eyes, his tone tinged with sarcasm, "I don’t believe I’m the only in-toed person in the entire country."

Zhang Biao watched him, then revealed a second, more shocking fact, "And do you know, the man who has confessed to the murder— is none other than your father, Li Mountain."