Lin Chen nodded at the police and then fixed his gaze on the young man.
The youth appeared somewhat uneasy and nervous under Lin Chen's stare.
Lin Chen waved him over, and they sat together on nearby steps. Lin Chen began questioning.
The two female victims, surnamed Li and Zhou, and this young man were Zhou's boyfriend.
After asking several questions, a police car arrived and stopped beside the dorm.
Lin Chen told Zhou's boyfriend, "You're no longer needed here. You can go."
The young man left immediately. At that moment, the car door opened, and two couples—parents of the two victims—got out.
After their daughters' deaths, these couples were consumed by grief, their faces haggard and steps unsteady.
Lin Chen assessed the couples. One pair was modestly dressed; the other was better off, the man wearing a large gold chain.
He spoke with the couples about their daughters' social circles, unusual behavior, and any enemies.
Zhou Dayong, father of victim Zhou, wore a gold chain and had a cross tattoo near his ear. Looking at Lin Chen, he said angrily, "What have you cops been doing? My daughter's been dead for days, and all you do is ask and ask. We haven't seen you catch the killer yet."
Zhou Dayong's attitude was impatient and arrogant. Lin Chen looked at him and said, "Answer my questions honestly. Complaining won't help. Tell me the truth, and today you'll find out who killed your daughter."
Lin Chen's words brightened Zhou Dayong's eyes; the others reacted similarly.
They answered eagerly.
After the questioning, Lin Chen asked them to stay at the school, then returned to Room 311.
Deputy Director Sun and a veteran detective had already left the crime scene. The dorm's wooden door was ajar. Lin Chen stepped inside.
The crooked, bloody writing on the wall remained chilling, and blood was everywhere inside. The horrors of that February 18 night were imaginable.
Lin Chen walked to the dorm balcony and lingered, thinking. Suddenly, a creaking sound came from behind.
He turned to see Zhang Tian'ai entering with disheveled hair.
"Mr. Lin, we've found all the surveillance footage you requested," Zhang Tian'ai said, out of breath and sweaty from running.
"Good," Lin Chen nodded. "Take me to the surveillance room."
...
In the surveillance room, five or six veteran detectives, including Fang Xinzhou and Wang Tao, worked for hours and finally gathered recent footage featuring Liu Xiaojing on campus.
One detective, skilled with computers, copied the videos onto his laptop.
Lin Chen sat at a desk, mouse in hand, and began watching the edited videos.
Since they were clips, the videos were short. Lin Chen finished viewing over a dozen quickly.
In the footage, Liu Xiaojing was sometimes seen chatting and walking with others, sometimes carrying , sometimes alone—nothing unusual.
"After several hours of work, this is all you found?" Lin Chen frowned and asked Zhang Tian'ai bluntly.
Sensing his displeasure, Zhang Tian'ai said, "Yes. Donglin University has many cameras and many students. Finding these dozen clips of Liu Xiaojing in a few hours was already difficult."
"If it's so easy, why don't you do it yourself? Standing and talking is easy. If it weren't for Deputy Director Sun, who'd even pay attention to you?" Fang Xinzhou rudely said to Lin Chen.
Lin Chen looked at Fang Xinzhou and said, "If you can't solve cases, at least don't talk trash."
Fang Xinzhou had disliked Lin Chen before. Hearing this, he pointed angrily at Lin Chen's nose, "What did you say? Say it again if you dare."
Lin Chen said calmly, "You, the Serious Crime Unit captain, are useless."
Fang Xinzhou's fury ignited. He clenched his fists and charged at Lin Chen, but a veteran detective quickly blocked him.
Lin Chen just glanced at Fang Xinzhou and ignored him.
In a fight, even ten Fang Xinzhous wouldn't be his match. The thing in his head since rebirth was no decoration.
Lin Chen looked at the computer-skilled detective and said, "Set all footage to five days before the crime."
The surveillance room had ten large LCD screens mounted on the wall — five on top and five below. Each displayed eight camera views, totaling eighty monitored areas.
Following Lin Chen's request, the technician adjusted the footage to five days before the incident.
"Done," the detective said.
Lin Chen nodded, focusing on the screens. "Play at four times speed."
"Four times?" Zhang Tian'ai exclaimed, "Mr. Lin, that's too fast. We searched at normal speed."
Lin Chen waved her off, ignoring her surprise, and signaled the technician to comply.
The eighty camera views now played at four times speed.
After watching briefly, Lin Chen said, "Increase to eight times speed."
Zhang Tian'ai was speechless, eyes wide.
Eighty camera views at eight times speed—how could anyone see anything?
Several veteran detectives frowned, thinking Lin Chen was reckless to watch footage at such speed.
"Eight times is still slow, make it twenty times speed," Lin Chen said again within a minute.
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