Chapter 333: Chasing Shadows in the Rain

Chapter 333: Tracing Footprints on a Rainy Day

Raindrops fell from the sky, their patter on the umbrella echoing like rain on banana leaves.

The world seemed veiled by a cascade of shimmering beads, gradually blurring distant scenes.

Xiao Yu stood silently on a narrow path outside a Residential Community.

This was the spot where the victim, Yu An’an, had been abducted.

Yet another surveillance blind spot!

In the past five years, there have been four consecutive cases.

Every culprit exploited a blind spot that the Tianyan Surveillance failed to capture in order to commit their crimes.

Once or twice might be mere coincidences, but three or four is a fact that can’t be ignored.

Each criminal meticulously scouted the area to locate the surveillance dead zone before finally abducting their victim.

A premeditated crime!

Moreover, the similar fate of the four victims was far from coincidental.

When comparing the three cases from five years ago with the recent fourth incident,

one finds the similarities are striking – the victims’ ordeals are almost identical.

Unable to see or hear, they were tormented relentlessly until a cross was mercilessly branded on their backs!

In the pouring rain.

With his Falcon’s Eye activated, Xiao Yu observed a world transformed before him.

He lifted his chin with a cold gaze, scanning every inch of his surroundings without letting anything slip by.

Until his eyes landed on a window on the sixth floor of an apartment building…

Thud, thud, thud.

With an umbrella in hand, Xiao Yu stood at the front door.

The door slowly creaked open to reveal a bespectacled young man who asked, “Who are you?”

“Police,” Xiao Yu replied.

Flashing his credentials with a smile, he added, “I’d like to take a look at your home’s surveillance.”

The young man’s expression shifted abruptly.

Could he possibly refuse?

After changing into slippers, Xiao Yu walked over to the hall’s floor-to-ceiling window. Gazing at a surveillance monitor, he smiled and asked, “What does it usually record?”

“The parking lot,” the young man answered.

He explained, “The community parking lot is on the adjacent street where there are no cameras. Once, when my car got scratched, even the security wouldn’t help. So, I installed a camera to deter further damage…”

“I see,” Xiao Yu replied.

Nodding, he asked, “May I see the recorded footage?”

“No problem,” the young man responded.

The candid young man agreed without hesitation.

Curious, Xiao Yu inquired, “How far can it record?”

“Since the parking lot is a bit distant, I opted for a camera capable of covering sixty meters. The seller even mentioned it featured a 16mm lens,” he explained.

After a brief pause, the young man continued, “I usually switch it on when I get home at night and turn it off the next day. It works pretty well.”

Xiao Yu’s eyes sparkled as he asked, “How often do you record?”

“About once a month,” came the reply.

Laughing, the young man added, “When I bought it, I also got a 4T mechanical hard drive for just four or five hundred bucks. Not too shabby.”

That wealthy tone drew a small smirk from Xiao Yu.

He accessed the young man’s computer.

Then he connected the surveillance hard drive enclosure.

An enormous folder appeared, filled with countless video files.

Fortunately, the file names matched the surveillance dates perfectly.

It was a stroke of luck that on the day Yu An’an vanished, the footage was intact and untouched.

Alas, the camera angle was off.

It only captured the rear parking lot of the community.

The narrow path near the back door was barely discernible, visible only in a faint blur.

But… it was enough!

At exactly 10:51 PM.

Yu An’an’s silhouette appeared at the edge of the frame.

Though it was faint and blurry… it didn’t matter.

Xiao Yu was determined to uncover what really happened that night.

Then at 10:52 PM,

suddenly, a figure emerged beside Yu An’an.

From the limited angle, only half of the intruder’s body was visible.

Yu An’an struggled briefly before collapsing.

Immediately after…

the assailant appeared, carrying Yu An’an into the parking lot.

Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up with resolve.

Judging by the silhouette, the attacker was short, lean, and dressed entirely in black—wearing sportswear, no less!

He approached a sedan, opened its rear door, placed Yu An’an in the back seat, and then climbed into the car himself.

It was a white BMW 5 Series; though the license plate was blurry, one character stood out… “Liao”!

A local car!

…

In the downpour, Xiao Yu returned to the Criminal Investigation Team with the hard drive.

The contents of the surveillance footage left everyone stunned.

They had already scoured the crime scene.

It was clear that the area was a blind spot for the Tianyan Surveillance, with no cameras behind the community.

So how did Xiao Yu manage to obtain the footage?

“I had an ace up my sleeve!”

Using his Falcon’s Eye, he discovered that the apartment building actually had a camera… though Xiao Yu wasn’t allowed to mention that.

But that wasn’t the point.

The key was… to locate the car!

The white BMW 5 Series, with its license plate still indistinct.

Tracking it down would be challenging, but not impossible.

They planned to review the Tianyan Surveillance footage from outside the community.

On the day of the incident, or the days surrounding it.

To see if a white BMW had been spotted coming and going.

After four hours, the suspect vehicle was identified, the owner’s details retrieved, and the arrest began…

Arriving at a hardware store,

Xiao Yu spotted a man sitting behind the counter. “Excuse me, are you Qi Xubin?”

The man, in his thirties, slender as a stick with notably large eyes, looked at Xiao Yu curiously. “Yes, that’s me. And you are?”

“Police,” Xiao Yu replied calmly.

He continued, “There’s a case that needs your help…”

Before he could finish speaking, the man sprang up.

He leaped from behind the counter and bolted for the back door.

Watching Qi Xubin make his escape, Xiao Yu remained motionless.

He fixed his gaze on the man as he opened the back door, just moments before he was about to charge out.

Thud!

A MANO rifle slammed into Qi Xubin’s face, knocking him down.

Within seconds, several SWAT Team members rushed in, swiftly subduing Qi Xubin and cuffing him.

“You must know why the police are after you, don’t you?”

As Qi Xubin lay with a bloodied face, pinned down by SWAT, Xiao Yu coldly asked, “Do you know what fate awaits you?”

Qi Xubin remained silent, trembling uncontrollably.

“I have all the time in the world!” he retorted.

Xiao Yu turned and walked toward the door.

At the Criminal Investigation Team’s interrogation room.

Two hours later,

Xiao Yu emerged with a solemn, peculiar expression.

According to Qi Xubin’s confession,

a month ago, someone had given him a photo, an address, and a bottle of ether, instructing him to abduct Yu An’an that very night and deliver her to a designated location.

The reward was 100,000 yuan.

But… he had no idea who that person was!