chapter 3

The murderer had cleaned the crime scene meticulously, leaving it spotless. Even the dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen were placed back in their original positions, without any sign of damage.

Other than that, not a single clue was left in the room.

According to the clues, apart from the shredded meat on the plate and some faint fingerprints on it, the police found no other evidence.

Even the murder weapon used to sever the heads was missing. Aside from a Kitchen Knife in the kitchen, no other tools were found.

And the fingerprints on the plate all pointed to Chen Shu.

As for footprints, bloodstains, hair, and so on, they could only confirm that ten people had died in this room, plus Chen Shu made eleven. There was no trace of a twelfth person!

At first, Lu Fan was convinced that the murderer was Chen Shu, and that Chen Shu was merely pretending to be insane.

He believed that since the police had no conclusive evidence, Chen Shu could continue to walk free.

But as time passed, he gradually realized something was wrong, because none of the evidence the police found could definitively prove that Chen Shu was the murderer!

And just today, they learned the whereabouts of the murderer. They thought they could finally catch him and make him pay the price he deserved.

However, when they caught the murderer, they were shocked to discover that it was Chen Shu again!

First, before the arrest, there was already a Chen Shu in their custody, and he had left the Public Security Bureau at 8:10.

According to surveillance, the previous “Chen Shu” left the bureau, took a taxi, and the destination was the home of the current “Chen Shu”.

Chen Shu’s home was only ten kilometers from the second crime scene.

Second, the current “Chen Shu” appeared near the outskirts of Nanling Street, the location of the second crime scene.

If they were the same person, the outskirts of Nanling Street were about 80 kilometers from the Public Security Bureau. It would take at least an hour by car, but they drove a Police Car, ran red lights, and still needed half an hour to reach the scene.

The police also investigated all subways, high-speed trains, and other fast transportation, but found no information on anyone named “Chen Shu”.

“What on earth is going on?”

Lu Fan couldn’t help but slap the table again. Looking at Chen Shu in front of him, he simply couldn’t figure out where this Chen Shu had come from.

At this moment, Han Xue spoke up and asked Chen Shu, “Why did you appear near the second crime scene?”

Chen Shu was silent for a moment, then looked up and said, “Because I live nearby.”

“What were you doing outside?” Han Xue pressed.

“I just went out to buy a pack of cigarettes and was about to go home. Then I thought I ran into some thug who wanted to do something to me, and then this Uncle Police came up and kicked me, and then you all dragged me here for no reason.” Chen Shu answered, glancing at Lu Fan, intentionally or not.

After hearing this, Han Xue frowned slightly, as if deep in thought, because the previous “Chen Shu” had given her the same answer!

“Alright, since you say you went out to buy cigarettes, why did we find a Fruit Knife on you when we searched you?”

Han Xue continued to ask.

“I… I’m a Surgeon. I like playing with knives, so I have a habit of carrying one with me.”

Chen Shu explained.

After hearing this, Han Xue fell into thought again.

She felt that they had missed or overlooked a very important key point.

First, during the investigation of the first case, they confirmed that Chen Shu was indeed a Surgeon.

He was twenty years old, and also the youngest Chief of Surgery at the First People’s Hospital in the city. Although he was only a deputy, it was enough to show how outstanding Chen Shu was.
And he was not lying; he did indeed live nearby. His residence was at No. 222, Nanling Street, in an old city residential complex where the surveillance cameras had long since deteriorated, making any investigation impossible.

It was about 10 kilometers from this suburb.

Their biggest point of confusion now was that the first “Chen Shu” left the Public Security Bureau and took a cab home.

But when they sent people to Chen Shu’s home, there was no sign of him, so Chen Shu definitely did not go home.

Second, things became even more contradictory. At the time they detained the first “Chen Shu,” which was around eight o’clock, he had just been at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau, but now this “Chen Shu” appeared on surveillance near the outskirts of Nanling Street, dressed all in black and wrapped up tightly.

If both “Chen Shu” were the same person, how could this be possible?

How could someone appear in two places at the same time, separated by about 80 kilometers?

How could that be possible?

There was only one explanation: could it really be, as the first “Chen Shu” said, that there were two Chen Shu?

Just as they were frowning in frustration, the Police Officer Xiao Gao ran into the Interrogation Room: “Captain, Captain, we’ve found a clue!”

Upon hearing Xiao Gao’s words, all the members of the Criminal Investigation Team present immediately perked up and gathered around.

Xiao Gao was holding a phone in his hand, and on the phone were several surveillance videos. “Captain Lu, Captain Han, take a look!”

After speaking, he handed the phone to Lu Fan, and Han Xue also watched carefully from the side.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Criminal Investigation Team crowded around to watch as well.

The first surveillance video was dated May 4, 2022, fifteen days ago.

At around 9:30 p.m., a man in a black hoodie, light-colored jeans, and white sneakers entered the old city district.

This man was Chen Shu.

Then, Xiao Gao told Lu Fan to rewind the footage by half an hour.

Lu Fan set the time to 9:02 p.m., and a Man in Black, wearing sunglasses and a mask, appeared on screen and entered.

Ten minutes later, the Man in Black left the old city district.

The direction was roughly toward Nanling Street Apartment 25.

At 1:40 a.m., the footage showed another Man in Black walking down an alley in a certain direction, and that apartment was the First Crime Scene, Nanling Street Apartment 25!

Lu Fan stroked his chin and pondered, “So, there were two men in black heading toward Nanling Street Apartment?”

Xiao Gao looked seriously at the footage on his phone. “Yes, there were indeed two people.”

After hearing this, Han Xue asked,

“Is it possible that both of these people were Chen Shu?”

“If both were Chen Shu, then why did the other ‘Chen Shu’ come here?”

Chen Shu heard their conversation, and a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly concealed.

Lu Fan then opened the second video. This time, the surveillance was from May 4, at 9:40 p.m.

The footage showed a middle-aged woman appearing in view, followed by a Man in Black entering the stairwell.

It was clear that this was the mysterious person and the Landlord!

About ten minutes later, another Man in Black entered the stairwell.

This meant that at that time, there were two men in black entering the fifth floor simultaneously.