Chapter 211: The Enigma of the Surveillance Clues

The camera.

“This makes no sense at all. How can the system assign a twenty-day deadline for a case like this?”

Xiao Yu’s mind raced as he analyzed the situation.

Unfortunately, the system didn’t even give him a chance to think.

A tidal wave of ‘knowledge’ flooded Xiao Yu’s brain, forcefully implanted.

All this information centered on how to convincingly disguise oneself – the techniques and experiences needed to change one’s appearance.

In other words, it was very much like ‘undercover’ work and ‘disguise.’

This skill truly had some technical merit; if it weren’t for agents and spies, it would be a waste.

After all, we’re police – we’re not going undercover. So what’s the use?

Even though it was a nuisance, Xiao Yu didn’t dwell much on the ‘Flea Bullet’ technique.

He analyzed the system’s task deadline once more.

Twenty days!

Ten days is usually the starting point for major cases, right?

But twenty “503” days – no ordinary major case could withstand that!

Yet here before him was merely a suspected murder-and-dismemberment case.

System, are you kidding me? How could you give me a twenty-day deadline?

Xiao Yu’s temper flared.

He was sure that this case was far from as simple as it appeared.

Why did he think so?

In the previous ‘Human Skin Wax Figure’ case, fifteen lives were involved.

And the task deadline was just ten days!

“Boss, what’s wrong?”

Guo Qiang looked at the dazed Xiao Yu. “You don’t look too well. Is it…”

Ridiculous. If my face looked any better, it’d be a ghost. Xiao Yu shook his head and turned towards the suspect, Yu Shaoyang, sitting in the interrogation chair, cursing inwardly, “Are you out of your mind? Tell me, what heinous act did you commit?”

But… he knew very well.

Yu Shaoyang was nothing but a moron.

Why curse at someone?

Because… did he actually murder someone?

……

Bincheng.

A seaside villa district.

At that moment, Xiao Yu was standing inside a villa, surveying a disheveled bedroom.

A villa that hadn’t housed anyone for three years – what would it look like?

The once pristine white bedding had turned a dull brownish-gray, spotted with patches of mold.

“The scene has been examined. Apart from traces suggesting a possible intimate liaison between a man and a woman, there was no sign of the violent struggle, tearing, or grappling typically seen at the scene of a crime.”

Guo Qiang continued with a peculiar expression. “The kitchen was also inspected. There wasn’t any evidence of a body being dismembered. Given the nature of blood and tissue, even after extensive washing, there would be remnants in the nooks, especially in the sewers – but nothing was found!”

Without a word, Xiao Yu left the bedroom, descended from the second floor, and entered the villa’s kitchen on the first floor.

The entire kitchen featured only a single knife rack. Every kitchen knife was neatly arranged on it—every single one in place.

“For both the utensils and the knives, tests showed only minimal signs of human use. One set belonged to Yu Shaoyang, and the other… to Wang Mei, confirmed by matching Wang Mei’s fingerprints found in the bedroom.”

Guo Qiang, rubbing his temples, added, “Apart from traces of Yu Shaoyang and Wang Mei, no third party ever entered this villa. So…”

So what?

Even Guo Qiang now doubted whether Yu Shaoyang truly killed Wang Mei?

But if Wang Mei was still alive, where had she been for three years?

Xiao Yu was equally desperate to know.

Why did Yu Shaoyang insist he murdered Wang Mei?

Under the scrutiny of ‘Falcon’s Eye,’ he scanned the kitchen.

In the end… he found nothing – no clues from the primary crime scene!

Was Yu Shaoyang lying?

No, his demeanor suggested he wasn’t lying at all!

Xiao Yu pondered for a moment and resumed his inspection of the villa.

He scoured it from the inside out, and then from the outside in.

Until suddenly, he lifted his head and focused on one corner of the villa.

“Huh?”

He noticed a small hole in a wall corner, with some stray wires peeking out.

Power cable?!

The wires were extremely thin, hidden in the small gap—nearly impossible to spot unless you looked closely.

Especially under the observation of Falcon’s Eye, traces of a sticky residue were also visible in the corner.

A lamp?

Or something else?

Guo Qiang retrieved a ladder, and after Xiao Yu climbed up to inspect, a cold smile crept across his face.

A surveillance camera!

Exactly—it was the wiring from a camera.

This explained why the wires were so slender; they didn’t require the high power typical of civilian setups, merging data transmission with power supply.

But the camera itself?

Based on these traces, though Xiao Yu couldn’t determine exactly when it had been removed…

He could infer, through expert analysis of the adhesive residue and the weathering of the wires, the timeline of its removal…

Xiao Yu re-examined the entire villa.

Astonishingly, he discovered that there were as many as fifty-three spots where surveillance cameras had apparently been installed.

What were they for?

Even for theft prevention, you wouldn’t need so many cameras, would you?

And that wasn’t all.

If the intent was burglary prevention, why install cameras in every single location – bathrooms, showers, kitchens, bedrooms?

Are you sure this is for preventing theft, and not catering to some bizarre fetish?

Even the most perverse wouldn’t be this excessive!

From the camera layout, Xiao Yu uncovered another issue.

If all fifty-three cameras had been active in the past…

Then anyone entering the villa, regardless of where they went, would have been recorded every step of the way, with not a single moment unmonitored!

Immediately, Xiao Yu rushed to the Detention Center to interrogate Yu Shaoyang, asking only one question: “When you lived in the villa with Wang Mei, how many surveillance cameras did you install?”

“What do you mean, cameras?”

Yu Shaoyang looked confused, his expression puzzling. “There were cameras in the villa?”

Xiao Yu turned and walked away.

For seven years, since he moved in during his junior year, and even two years after graduating from college, he couldn’t possibly have missed the cameras?

That being said… 2.8…

Did Wang Mei ever know about the cameras in the villa?

One more thing.

Were the cameras removed seven years ago, or gradually taken out over these seven years?

It wasn’t long before the experts provided an answer.

By analyzing the adhesive residue and the weathering of the camera wires, they confirmed that the cameras were removed between three and four years ago!

Ha… Xiao Yu let out a cold laugh.

Half an hour later, a file containing the villa owner’s information was placed before him.

Deng Hua, Male, 34, originally from Bincheng, holds a kinship passport while residing abroad; his nationality remains unchanged…

Xiao Yu pulled out his phone and dialed Wang Dong’s number.

“Wang, help me run a background check on this guy!”

……