Chapter 113: Chat Log Mysteries

Chapter 113 – Chat Logs

Ren Chang’s family is very wealthy.

According to the investigation…

His father is the owner of a company while his mother stays home to care for him.

In short, Ren Chang is a well-heeled second-generation rich kid.

Gazing at the villa before him, Xiao Yu’s expression turned strange.

It’s well known that the richer a person is, the more they value their life.

How many rich second-generation kids have committed suicide when their home life crumbled?

A servant opened the grand door of the villa.

As Xiao Yu stepped inside, a palpable aura of sorrow greeted him.

He also noticed an elegant middle-aged couple sitting on the sofa, their eyes vacant and their spirits nearly lost.

They reeked of lifelessness, as if their souls had been drained…

Ren Chang was their only child.

Losing a son is a blow no parent can bear.

Ren Chang’s suicide left even his parents indifferent…

Xiao Yu shook his head.

Life is a gift from one’s parents—did he even ask for their blessing before ending his own life? Did he ever consider their feelings?

People who disrespect life…

deserve to have their own lives disregarded.

Is it really the dead who matter most?

Have you ever thought about the living?

Not if it weren’t for Li Shu, the case, or the system task.

Xiao Yu never really cared whether someone like Ren Chang lived or died.

“Hello,”

Xiao Yu had to interrupt the dejected state of the elderly couple.

There was a case to solve!

“What are the police even doing here?”

The old lady suddenly shrieked, “It’s your fault for taking my son away—if it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have died!”

Unreasonable, isn’t it?

A son is dead—of course they’d be upset!

Xiao Yu then looked at the old man.

The old man glared back coldly.

There was still a glimmer of reason in his eyes…

“There’s something off about this case,”

Xiao Yu said gently, “Although your son’s death was ruled a suicide, the circumstances don’t add up. In simple terms, it wasn’t a normal death but an abnormal one.”

Abnormal death?

In plain terms, it implies that external factors were at work and contributed to his death.

Contrast that with natural death, which usually results from illness or old age.

If Xiao Yu’s hunch is correct, this case—deemed a normal suicide at first glance—is anything but ordinary.

“Wha—?”

The old man suddenly stood up, roaring, “Are you saying someone killed my son?”

“That’s not what I meant,”

Xiao Yu shook his head. “What I mean is that it’s highly likely external forces pushed your son to his death. There might even be elements of foul play. We need to investigate further, don’t you want to know the truth?”

Isn’t that obvious?

Of course the couple wants to know.

If it were simply a suicide, it might be easier to accept.

But if someone else caused his death, how could any parent forgive that?

Xiao Yu was then led by a servant to the room where the late Ren Chang had spent his final days…

The room was luxurious yet cluttered—a typical bachelor pad.

There were plenty of collectible figurines, toys, and gaming consoles, all of which were quite valuable.

These were the kinds of things that every homebody would love.

With these possessions, even the most dedicated introverts could keep at it until the end—be it burning out their energy, losing all their hair, or even scaring off a girlfriend…

Oh, they didn’t have a girlfriend? Well, then it’s all fine!

Xiao Yu exchanged a knowing glance with Guo Qiang and the others.

The search began.

After a full two hours, the three veteran detectives hadn’t found anything suspicious.

Xiao Yu then opened the late Ren Chang’s computer, taking note of the webcam attached to it.

A high-end beautifying webcam?

Raising an eyebrow, Xiao Yu’s curiosity grew.

As a man, he knew that most guys aren’t particularly choosy about webcams.

Even if they had one, they wouldn’t normally invest in a high-end beautifying model.

Unless they were live streaming or frequently video chatting with female friends, where image mattered…

Wait a minute—did Ren Chang and Jiang Dan really maintain an eight-year online romance?

Ren Chang, who had autism, was not one to go out often.

It seemed that for most of those eight years, they relied solely on texting, voice calls, and video chats.

Could a relationship thrive under such circumstances?

Yes, it could!

Xiao Yu recalled a notorious figure from his past who maintained an online romance with his girlfriend for twelve years before finally meeting in person.

However, cases like that were rare exceptions.

Online romances do sometimes have a chance of blossoming into reality.

Though the success rate is a bit lower than that of traditional relationships.

The computer booted up to reveal a standard homebody desktop.

There were no images of Tifa or Hatsune Miku, but there was one stunning anime beauty.

After checking the hard drive,

Xiao Yu was stunned.

The computer’s hard drive was divided into four partitions, totaling 5TB.

Was he shocked by the sheer size of the drive?

No.

It was what one particular partition contained that caught his eye.

It had a staggering 4TB of data on his wife…

Could this Ren Chang be a devil in disguise?

Was he trying to flood his brain with dopamine to fill the void in his soul?

If there was any lingering spirit after death, would it be mortified to discover someone had tampered with his computer?

Would that shame be unbearable?

He browsed through the computer.

QQ, WeChat, and other desktop messaging apps were all present.

“Retrieve the chat logs,” Xiao Yu ordered.

Apps like QQ and WeChat all have their own privacy protocols,

but when it comes to a case, the police have the authority to access chat records.

Guo Qiang called to notify the cyber police.

Soon enough, two cyber officers skilled in network technology arrived on the scene.

They first verified the login accounts of two software programs before using their own computers to contact the technical department of a certain company.

Before long, backups of the QQ and WeChat chat logs were transferred to the officers’ computers.

The backups included not only the chats from the desktop but also those from mobile devices, ensuring they had the complete records.

“What? You deleted all your chats?”

Youthful impulse.

All your records, aside from live video and voice calls, are backed up on that company’s server!

How many chat records are there?

Xiao Yu’s scalp went numb as he ordered the cyber police to separate the chat logs between Ren Chang and Jiang Dan.

Even so,

eight years’ worth of chat logs were sheer voluminous!

Most of the later records were video and voice messages.

Only the text chats from the early years were abundant.

Xiao Yu began to review them…

The early years of their relationship were perfectly normal.

There was the honeymoon phase, the deep infatuation, the trials through storms, the calm period, and the mature phase of their love.

The records from the first six years were all very normal.

Jiang Dan knew full well that Ren Chang was a rich kid and never asked for much.

But from the seventh year onward… or rather, from six months ago.

Xiao Yu noticed a change in Jiang Dan’s approach as she began demanding money.

Her demands only escalated…

Starting from a few thousand, then tens of thousands, and eventually even hundreds of thousands!

Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes.

For a vain woman, how could she possibly endure more than seven years?

Was her attitude changing far too quickly?

…Fascinating…

PS: That’s all for today’s update. Thanks so much to our loyal readers!