Chapter 398: Drunken Missteps

Chapter 398: Drunkenness Can Make You Lose Your Balance.

It’s not him… Xiao Yu frowned as he fixed his gaze on the young man before him.

Suspect: Xiong Shaoyan!

The young man’s eyes were steady, though his expression betrayed tension and confusion.

Yet he didn’t display the panic of someone wracked with guilt in front of the police.

They say the face reflects the heart — and there’s some truth to that.

Moreover, Xiao Yu was skilled at reading micro-expressions.

Still, nothing is absolute; he could only sense things vaguely.

It was extremely unlikely that Xiong Shaoyan was the killer in the Disc Spirit murder case!

“Do you know these people?”

Xiao Yu produced six photographs and handed them to Xiong Shaoyan.

Xiong Shaoyan glanced at them, his face shifting ever so slightly before nodding.

The murders of six students had now spread like wildfire across the school.

Such incidents couldn’t be hidden; the news was bound to leak out.

“Over the past two months, you’ve been seen with them quite frequently.”

Locking eyes with him, Xiao Yu asked, “Can you explain why?”

“Well…”

Xiong Shaoyan paused before responding, “It’s because they wanted to learn photography from me.”

I see… Xiao Yu nodded slowly.

Although still a student, Xiong Shaoyan was the president of the University Photography Club.

University isn’t like high school; students don’t devote all their time to studying.

There are plenty of clubs on campus.

However, some clubs can be quite expensive.

Take the photography club, for example.

Even a basic camera or camcorder can cost several thousand.

Top-tier equipment can easily reach tens or even hundreds of thousands.

Pursuing such hobbies isn’t for everyone; financial background matters.

Filming isn’t as simple as whipping out a phone and shooting anything.

Sometimes it requires planning, a crew, a script, props, and proper equipment…

When a bunch of inexperienced students set out to make a film, they have to prepare.

Xiao Yu recalled that Team Two had already launched an investigation.

The victims had barely interacted with Xiong Shaoyan before.

It was only in the past two months that they’d drawn near.

All in the name of learning filmmaking?

According to Xiong Shaoyan, he had indeed spent most of the last two months with the victims.

Most of their discussions revolved around filmmaking… and the Disc Spirit!

Oddly enough, the victims didn’t have much money; they just filmed casually.

They didn’t even require professional equipment.

Initially, they planned to use their phones, but later switched to surveillance cameras.

This filming method was reminiscent of ‘The Ghost Chronicles’ — not needing expert skill.

All that was needed was a script, some actors with a bit of performance sense, and that was enough.

The idea to use surveillance cameras came from Xiong Shaoyan himself.

He even contributed to the script and the planning.

And as for the participants, they were the six victims shown in the photos.

Xiong Shaoyan stated this with absolute certainty!

He added that over the past two months, he had almost exclusively interacted with the six victims.

He hadn’t seen anyone else join their little circle.

This was impossible… Xiao Yu’s eyes grew thoughtful as he pondered.

Could his deduction be wrong?

Or was this a case of misdirection?

No, there had to be a seventh person — even an eighth!

“One last question.”

Xiao Yu fixed his stare on Xiong Shaoyan and asked, “Do you know where they were filming the video?”

“I’ve heard of it,” replied Xiong Shaoyan.

He nodded, adding, “I heard it was in a… haunted house!”

“Oh?”

A spark lit in Xiao Yu’s eyes. “You’re all students — how could you possibly know about a local haunted house?”

“I’m not really sure about that,” he admitted.

Xiong Shaoyan shook his head. “Apparently, Li Ming found the place. By the way, Li Ming heard about it from a classmate — that same classmate even took him there.”

Who is Li Ming?

Li Ming is one of the six victims.

And that classmate… who exactly is he? Xiao Yu fell into deep thought.

Could this person be a suspect?

Yes, and he’s likely a local!

After following the clues meticulously…

Another student had been targeted by Team Two.

A student from the dormitory adjacent to the victims.

“Che Yu, 21 years old… a local from City J?”

Xiao Yu examined a dossier provided by Wang Dong. “And he’s a club president… of the Muay Thai Club?”

Muay Thai is a martial art renowned for its power and agility.

Its strikes pack a serious punch!

Anyone capable of leading a Muay Thai club must have exceptional ability.

But the dossier from Team Two noted one crucial detail.

Che Yu had once been involved with one of the female victims.

They were said to have met in their freshman year.

On one occasion, after a night out and too much to drink, they ended up together.

As the saying goes, too much alcohol makes you act impulsively — doing things you’d never dare otherwise.

Such episodes are all too common these days.

Then, in their sophomore year, Che Yu broke up with his girlfriend for certain reasons.

Soon after, the girl quickly became involved with a guy from the neighboring dorm — another victim in this case.

These kinds of entanglements… are fairly common even in college.

In a past life, Xiao Yu had come across an even more notorious female college criminal.

In just four years, she went through as many as fourteen boyfriends.

Shockingly, two of those were roommates.

At the time, single Xiao Yu was utterly dumbfounded.

He realized he had only ever known the word ‘scum’ to describe men.

Originally, it was used solely for guys.

Later, he discovered that ‘scum’ applied to women too.

When a woman turns scum, men simply stand no chance…

“They all meet up without any awkwardness, really?”

Xiao Yu chuckled as he continued reading the investigation report.

After graduation, Che Yu rented an apartment off-campus.

Having a hideout outside school is quite normal.

Many hedonistic college students have such experiences.

Constantly booking hotels is costly, so having a personal spot is both economical and convenient…

But Che Yu was different.

Investigations showed that ever since his breakup, Che Yu had remained single.

As a local, why would he rent a tiny apartment?

Could it be that he actually has money but nothing to spend it on?

Xiao Yu scrutinized the dossier in his hand.

It clearly indicated that Che Yu hailed from a modest background.

Both his parents were ordinary, and even his college allowance was meager.

For someone single, renting a place seemed odd, didn’t it?

Xiao Yu recalled that the murderer in this case, who had managed to kill six people, was far from ordinary.

Could it be Che Yu?

In the Apartment District of City J.

Xiao Yu and Wang Dong headed toward an apartment building.

“It must be him, right?”

Wang Dong asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m not sure,”

Xiao Yu admitted uncertainly. “Unless we confront him directly and uncover the truth, Che Yu remains just a suspect.”

In recent years, Che Yu hadn’t been seen with any of the six victims.

How could the victims have taken him along to the haunted house?

It just didn’t add up!