Chapter 37: Identifying the Killer—Is Su Chen in Danger?!

The experts were unaware.

As these words were spoken, the live stream chat for the "Chasing the Killer" broadcast nearly exploded.

[Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! What kind of development is this?!]
[Su Chen: I was supposed to be the undercover killer, so how did I end up becoming the boss of the experts?!]
[Not quite the boss, just a consultant. He's better than the average police officer, but not yet at the core of the expert group.]
[Hahahaha, I am looking forward to the moment Su Chen’s identity is revealed more and more!]
[The experts will probably be... I can't even imagine the look on their faces!]
[However, looking at Su Chen's deduction just now, I suddenly realized that these puzzles were all solved by him!]
[Terrifying, simply terrifying. To think Su Chen's deduction skills are this incredible... This isn't scientific! How can one person have so many abilities!]
[Another day of just making up the numbers in this world~]

Upon hearing this, Su Chen nodded, feeling secretly delighted. He had gambled correctly. The expert group’s desperation to solve this twenty-year-old cold case was even higher than he had anticipated, and their attention was heavily diverted. Consequently, Su Chen had risked exposure to show off a little in front of the team, all for the purpose of seizing a bit of command authority to facilitate his own investigation and eventual escape.

Fortune favors the bold.

Seeing Su Chen agree, the experts were pleased and immediately began reorganizing the work on the various cases.

"Bai... Boss, just keep the few sheets I pulled out. Would you mind putting the rest of the file back?" Su Chen casually extracted a few papers containing key information and handed the remainder to Bai Su. In truth, he had grabbed those papers at random; his real intention was to get rid of Bai Su. After all, having a psychological expert around was far too stressful; every move had to be calculated and cautious. Only once she was gone could he safely perform for the other experts without fear of being exposed.

Bai Su, unaware of Su Chen's true motives, nodded and left with the file. Once she was gone, Su Chen turned his attention to the forensic expert, Qin Ming.

"Officer Qin, how is your analysis of the remains coming along?"

This was his primary concern, as it held the key to whether he could use the "Iron-Faced Divine Deduction" technique to identify the real killer.

Qin Ming took out his notebook and a dozen pages of monitoring data from various instruments, handing them to Su Chen. "I have conducted every possible test. The remains have been stored for too long; honestly, it’s a miracle they exist at all." Qin Ming sighed. "Usually, remains after twenty years have degraded by more than ninety percent."

Su Chen looked over the records and found the information to be remarkably detailed. Even in the fingernails of the arm, a tiny bit of debris suspected to be the killer's biological tissue had been found. Unfortunately, due to the passage of time, the ability to perform a genetic comparison had been lost. Otherwise, a DNA fingerprint match against the national database would likely have identified the killer. This was Qin Ming’s greatest regret. It was a pity that genetic testing technology didn't exist twenty years ago, or the Jinling University dismemberment case would not have become a cold case; now that the technology existed, the sample was ruined.

However, Su Chen was already satisfied. With this information, he felt he could deduce the killer. Of course, he couldn't enter a meditative state to use his technique in front of the experts—otherwise, he might expose himself before even identifying the killer, or worse, get sent to a psychiatric hospital.

"Good, I'll hold onto this information." Su Chen stuffed Officer Qin’s night of hard work into his pocket without blinking. It was more useful in his hands anyway. He would find a private place, like a restroom, to perform the deduction later.

Left with only the puzzle simulating the killer, Qin Ming remarked, "It’s truly divine. This simulated killer is vastly different from what we expected. I still don't fully grasp his line of reasoning... he really is a master. I think I can finally understand how Officer Duan feels." As he spoke, he glanced at Duan Yu in front of the computer.

Su Chen nodded and offered a lukewarm word of encouragement: "Keep it up. We will definitely catch both the real killer and the simulated one..."

The chat was amazed at Su Chen acting like a leader.
[Don't say it, he actually looks the part. He’s delegating tasks quite smoothly!]
[I don't know why, but I just want to laugh... Hahaha, the perpetrator is actually sitting among the experts, discussing how to catch himself!]
[But I'm curious about what Su Chen is thinking. In previous episodes, the simulated killers tried their best to get as far away from the experts as possible, but he is digging deeper into their inner circle.]
[What happens next? I really don't know how he'll get out of this situation.]
[I just had a thought—could Su Chen be planning to actually solve this twenty-year-old cold case?!]
[That would be too absurd. So many top-tier detectives and experts have worked on it for years without success...]
[Still, I don't trust anyone else, but if it's Su Chen, you never know!]
[Speaking of which, I'm also curious where that killer actually is...]

In the experts' office, after settling the previous matters, Su Chen turned his gaze to the veteran investigator, Cui Liwan.

"Old Mr. Cui, I suddenly remembered something. I recall there were five people in our expert group. I remember a trace evidence expert named Wang Yanxing."

Prompted by Su Chen, the chat finally realized it too. Holy crap, that’s right! Where did such a prominent person go?

However, Cui Liwan, an old friend of Wang Yanxing, didn't seem surprised. He replied, "I saw Wang Yanxing a while ago. He told me he was preparing his own plan. He’s a very focused person. He’s likely pouring all his energy into his project right now. The lad is a bit of a loner; he doesn't check his phone or go online—he’s more of an old fogey than I am. He might not even know we've reopened the dismemberment cold case yet..." Cui Liwan chuckled.

Understood. Su Chen nodded. So Officer Wang Yanxing was brewing something big. He just didn't know when that "big move" would be unleashed, and he needed to be on his guard. He felt this person was no simple character. That was important information to tuck away.

Su Chen then asked, "And you, what have you been up to lately?"

As a member of the public security system, Su Chen held a veteran like Mr. Cui in high regard. Upon hearing the question, Cui Liwan’s expression turned mysterious, suggesting something had happened. He leaned in and whispered, "There was a bit of a situation, which is why I was so late. You know about the University City power distribution center explosion, right?"

Su Chen nodded. He knew; he had done it.

Cui Liwan continued, "Someone witnessed the killer. I’ve made all the preparations and was just about to begin the suspect identification process. It got delayed because of the cold case reopening, but it will be soon. I heard the simulated killer didn't wear any makeup at the time. As long as there is an identification, we should be able to pin it down with high certainty."

The speaker sounded relaxed, but upon hearing this, Su Chen’s nerves immediately tightened. Someone had indeed seen his face. And there were quite a few of them!