Chapter 9: Hesitation! A New Idea?
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Did Song Xiaoqian insult Ye Guofeng? Shen Ting’s expression flickered.
At least now there was a motive for Ye Guofeng’s crime.
But the reason why he smashed Song Xiaoqian’s mouth, causing all her teeth to fall out, remained unclear.
If Song Xiaoqian had indeed insulted him, that might explain it!
Shen Ting clicked on the video Qin Feng had sent—a surveillance clip from the main entrance of Huihuang Woodworks, taken three days ago at noon.
In the video, Song Xiaoqian was walking toward the company gate, holding her phone to her ear, her face full of impatience.
However, the surveillance video had no sound, so her words were inaudible.
Tang Ren said, “Hey, Old Qin, wait a minute—how do you know the victim was talking to Ye Guofeng? And without sound, how do you know she was cursing? Are you hearing things?”
Qin Feng replied, “This is simple! Thanks to the group owner providing abundant information! According to the timestamp on the surveillance, I checked Song Xiaoqian’s call records and found she was indeed on the phone with Ye Guofeng at that time. I could tell she was cursing because I know a bit of lip-reading! Look at 32 seconds into the video—Song Xiaoqian mouths ‘useless.’ At 38 seconds, ‘no ambition.’ At 47 seconds, ‘so spineless!’ At 1 minute 6 seconds, ‘You have hands and feet, go work hard! You just want to lie down, mooch off others, like a parasite, really pathetic!’ At 1 minute 46 seconds, ‘I really misjudged you!’”
Qin Feng added, “Because of the camera angle, not all her lip movements are visible, and my lip-reading skills are limited, so I could only make out these phrases. But that should be enough! The reason Ye Guofeng targeted Song Xiaoqian’s mouth is basically found!”
Group members really were multi-talented—lip-reading too?
Shen Ting was surprised and turned over on the bed.
“It’s time to make the second report!”
He left the chat page to dial the complaint hotline, but just then a new message popped up:
“Ahem, why does everyone seem to suspect Ye Guofeng? Actually, I found another surveillance clip. After watching it, you might see things differently!”
Hmm?
What did that mean?
Shen Ting frowned slightly.
Tang Ren said, “You blue-haired girl, don’t talk nonsense! It’s not that we suspect Ye Guofeng, but he himself is suspicious!”
kikO replied, “ʘᴗʘ Tang, watch the video before you speak!”
Curious, everyone clicked on the video.
This clip had sound. It seemed to be from a section of Song Xiaoqian’s night run route.
The streetlights were dim and flickering. The rustling of branches in the breeze was faintly mixed with the call of cuckoo birds.
Everyone watched the screen closely, expecting Song Xiaoqian to pass by this stretch.
But until the video ended, there was no one on the road.
Qin Ming said, “Maybe... I’m blind?”
Guan Hongfeng said, “Me too!”
Tang Ren said, “You’re kidding us, right? There’s nothing in this video at all!”
“No, the key isn’t the image!”
Shen Ting’s expression changed. He dragged the timeline back and listened carefully again.
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“There’s background noise! At 16 seconds, there’s faint noise, but I can’t make it out clearly. kikO, is this what you meant?”
The ‘Photographic Memory’ skill from the newbie gift pack seemed to enhance not just his memory but his overall sensory perception—including hearing.
“Hmm? 〣(ºΔº)〣 Group owner, are you human or not?”
kikO sounded shocked.
“I clearly uploaded the wrong video! This one is unprocessed. I used a carefully designed program to detect the odd noise. The group owner can hear it with his naked ear? And the noise is really at 16 seconds!”
Everyone dragged the video to 16 seconds and frowned.
There was noise, but it sounded normal. It might not be related to the case.
Could the group owner really hear something else?
kikO said, “Look at this new video, I processed it to clarify the noise!”
Everyone clicked on the new video.
At 16 seconds, the group members’ eyes widened.
Although still blurry, they clearly heard—
“Money! Give me money! I want my money!”
The voice was clearly angry!
Shu Ju said, “Interesting!”
Hannibal asked, “Is that the killer’s voice?”
kikO said, “Probably! Watch this video again and you’ll understand! This is the last time Song Xiaoqian appeared on surveillance during her night run.”
Everyone watched the newly uploaded video. At the start, they all widened their eyes.
Song Xiaoqian was wearing running clothes and entered the surveillance and streetlight range from the side of the road.
Her figure moved to the center of the light, then slowly left the lit area, blending into the darkness and out of the camera’s view.
The crucial point—
This footage was from last night at 10:47:54 PM.
The background noise was on the same surveillance camera.
The noise appeared at 10:52:36 PM.
Moreover, the forensic pathologist estimated Song Xiaoqian died around 11 PM.
So the voice likely belonged to the killer!
Tang Ren said, “But what does this prove? The noise talks about money, or ‘give me my money,’ which just points more to Ye Guofeng as the killer. He spent so much on Song Xiaoqian, and now the debt’s rolling with interest, so he wants to get his money back from her!”
Qin Feng said, “No, the key is not what the noise says, but its texture!”
Other group members fell silent, frowning.
They all noticed the voice probably wasn’t Ye Guofeng’s.
It was too old!
The person speaking sounded at least fifty or sixty.
Ye Guofeng was only twenty-six.
The difference was too big!
“This…”
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Shen Ting was a little stunned.
Could Ye Guofeng not be the killer?
His suspicion was so high!
Guan Hongfeng said, “Actually, even with this video, Ye Guofeng’s suspicion can’t be completely cleared.
First, we can’t 100% confirm the voice belongs to the killer.
Second, we don’t know if this was a solo crime or a group act.
Maybe the killer is one of Ye Guofeng’s accomplices!
Or Ye Guofeng hired someone to kill!
Or perhaps an older family member of Ye Guofeng, upset about his debts to Song Xiaoqian, took matters into their own hands.
In all these scenarios, Ye Guofeng is still connected!”
Qin Feng said, “So Ye Guofeng still needs a deeper investigation.
We need to confirm where he’s been recently.
Has he contacted any dangerous people?
Has he told his family about the debts?
By the way, does Ye Guofeng have any hair abnormalities?
The killer’s hair found in the victim’s hand can be DNA tested, right?
Why not test it directly?”
I want to test too!
Shen Ting had thought of this long ago but couldn’t act.
For the police to test Ye Guofeng’s DNA, they first have to confirm his suspect status.
The fastest way was to report him!
But that could cause problems.
Especially after seeing kikO’s processed video suggesting the killer might be older, Shen Ting dared not report rashly.
It could mislead the police and even cause an innocent person to be framed!
After thinking it over, Shen Ting typed:
“Let’s adjust the investigation plan!
The focus is on Ye Guofeng—investigate all his recent activities to see if his suspicion can be confirmed.
Also, keep investigating anyone who had financial disputes and arguments with Song Xiaoqian to find other suspects.
Lastly, the surveillance kikO found is probably where Song Xiaoqian was attacked.
That might be the primary crime scene—I’ll check it out tomorrow!
Any additions?”
The chat was silent.
“Well, if nothing else, get back to your work!”
Shen Ting put away his phone and turned off the light to sleep.
He wouldn’t bother the group leader with trivial details—let the group handle it!
Early the next morning, Shen Ting got up to take Shen Manman to kindergarten.
“Hello, Teacher Gao!”
“Hello, Manman!”
“You’re Manman’s older brother, right? Seems like you’ve been picking her up a lot recently!”
Teacher Gao was stunning enough to make a man blush and stumble over words.
She was also responsible, strictly forbidding kids from buying from street vendors.
Shen Ting blushed, greeted her, then hopped on his electric scooter and headed to the primary crime scene.
Suddenly, a notification sounded:
[New Case Developments!]
Shen Ting immediately stopped to check, surprised to see that the Chaoyang police had already arrested Ye Guofeng.
The update was an interrogation video of him...