Chapter 25: Clues in the Clockwork of Justice

According to the Sky Net surveillance, the victim community’s camera, and the footage from the residential building’s corridor…

On February 18 at 10:39 PM, the suspect left his home and reached the victim’s residence at 11:05 PM… The suspect was apprehended by the police around 8:35 AM on February 20, making the total time 33 hours and 56 minutes…

Less than 34 hours… To be precise, from the moment the suspect arrived at the victim’s home until we captured him, it was roughly 33 hours—even if all three victims were methodically executed until death…

Removing the victims’ clothes takes time, bleeding them takes time, peeling off an entire piece of skin takes time—imagine doing that for three pieces, along with dismembering the flesh, nailing the skin to the wall, affixing the organs, pulverizing the bones into powder… and finally, creating a macabre artwork. Not even a professional butcher could manage that with the tools at hand.

Inside the conference room, Xiao Yu glared at everyone present, “33 hours is absolutely not enough!”

And I’m not even talking about skinning or muscle cramping.

Even a single act of bloodletting demands a vast amount of time.

Human bones are incredibly hard.

Imagine pulverizing an entire human skeleton into bone dust.

Without professional crushing equipment, can you fathom how long that would take?

Not to mention, there were three victims.

Just processing the bodies of these three people—how long would that take?

With no specialized tools and only the limited equipment on site, finishing all of that in 33 hours?

Don’t give me that bastard talk!

And yet, this is the timeframe—a crucial clue.

It was overlooked by the case handler.

No, it was overlooked by everyone!

Including Zhao Changshan; the looks on everyone’s faces were far from pleasant.

Based on Xiao Yu’s analysis and the results from the polygraph machine…

They concluded that the suspect was most likely innocent.

They arrested the wrong person!

Immediately, Xiao Yu followed Zhao Changshan as he departed.

They headed for the City Bureau.

The case is now being led by the City Bureau, with the Criminal Investigation Team merely assisting in the investigation.

A special task force has been established to crack this case.

With such a significant clue unearthed, it had to be reported.

Zhao Changshan placed a call to the City Bureau leadership.

The boss instructed him to bring Xiao Yu to the City Bureau…

Outside the City Bureau building, Zhao Changshan warned Xiao Yu, “When you meet your superiors, I assume you won’t need me to remind you how to behave?”

“Uh-huh,” Xiao Yu nodded.

In his previous life, he wasn’t unfamiliar with rubbing shoulders with big shots.

He remembered starting out as an intern at a police station.

Later, he was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Team, then the Sub-Team, and finally to the Provincial Department.

Until he hit a dead end at the Provincial Department… and ultimately sacrificed everything!

They stepped into the City Bureau.

Zhao Changshan, once the team captain, suddenly seemed like a junior colleague.

When the two were granted access to the City Bureau’s large conference room…

At first glance, Xiao Yu’s mouth twitched.

There were over twenty officers in the room.

Among them, five wore white shirts as part of their uniform.

What does wearing a white shirt signify?

Police Supervisors!

This rank isn’t one you merely climb to with time.

Rising through the ranks requires a spotless record.

For example: Police Officer, Sergeant, Inspector, Police Supervisor, and Supreme Police Supervisor.

Regular officers and sergeants are promoted every three years.

For inspectors and above, it takes four years per promotion.

A promotion for a Police Supervisor means an upgrade in both position and rank.

Some officers spend their entire careers capped as inspectors.

To rise to Police Supervisor, you must at least hold a bureau-level position.

“Xiao Zhao is here?”

As Xiao Yu and Zhao Changshan entered the conference room, one of the Police Supervisors at the head of the table, clad in a white shirt, smiled and said, “Please, have a seat.”

“Salute!”

Xiao Yu and Zhao Changshan first saluted the higher-ranking officers.

Only then did they sit down, upright and respectful.

Xiao Yu clearly noticed several eyes fixed on him.

They looked at him with curiosity, scrutiny, and an indescribable strangeness.

“You are Xiao Yu, aren’t you?”

Another Police Supervisor spoke, staring intently at him.

“Yes!” Xiao Yu stood and straightened his back.

“No need to be nervous.”

The Police Supervisor smiled and asked, “So, how did you notice the timeline discrepancy?”

By the time Xiao Yu and Zhao Changshan arrived,

they had already analyzed the clues reported by the Criminal Investigation Team.

Indeed, the timeline didn’t add up.

This was a monumental oversight!

Such a significant clue was discovered solely through case files prepared by an intern!

You veteran detectives should be ashamed!

That rebuke stung a bit!

Everyone was curious, eager to see what this young guy was capable of.

What makes you so outstanding?

“The case files were meticulously prepared, but the preparer’s personal bias overly emphasized the evidence and process,”

Xiao Yu said in a serious tone. “This led to misleading conclusions that caused the investigators to overlook the critical importance of time. Moreover, there’s a huge question mark…”

“What question mark?” another Police Supervisor inquired.

“Has anyone considered what kind of mindset would allow someone to nonchalantly sleep at the scene after committing such a twisted murder?”

Xiao Yu’s expression grew peculiar. “Why didn’t the suspect flee? Instead, he waited for us to catch him?”

It’s such simple logic—did no one think about it, or did you deliberately ignore it?