Chapter 34: Overturning the Hypothesis, Restarting Anew

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Sigh, I bet he’s just messing around! Sure, he might’ve went to the crime scenes personally, but what’s the point? It’s already been a month! What evidence could possibly be left behind!?”

“Forget it, let him mess around. He’s the one who’s in charge of the case now.”

“Officer Qin Feng, the man that has been praised highly by the media and netizens. I’m sure it’ll be fun to watch him make a fool of himself.”

Although the police officers who were originally in charge of the serial murder of the red-dressed brides had been yelled at by Chief Qin to keep their personal feelings out of the matter, they were still very dissatisfied with Qin Feng.

No one dared to do it in the open, but in the dark, everyone would still gossip about Qin Feng.

Qin Feng did not pay any attention to these people because he knew very well in advance that his sudden appearance would definitely stoke the ire of many of the officers. He had already expected this situation to take place. The only way he could shut all these people up was to solve the case as soon as possible. Once that day came, he was sure that he would get to see many interesting looks on their faces.

Therefore, upon returning to the Magic Capital Police Department, Qin Feng immediately headed to the data room. He needed to sort out all the information that they had gathered before and link them to the scenes that he had seen. He was sure that he would spot some overlooked clues.

The efficiency of the Magic Capital’s Police Department in organizing was shown in full force, as it had only taken Qin Feng an hour to sort out all the information they had gathered. However…

“Phew, it’s all wrong.”

Qin Feng put down the information in his hands. After confirming his speculation, he sighed and commented.

“What? What’s wrong?”

Shen Qing, who had been quietly accompanying Qin Feng to look at the report for an hour, asked. He looked at Yang Wei and saw the same confused expression.

Qin Feng looked at the two of them and said, “You were investigating these cases from the wrong angle. While similar, the four cases are not a serial murder cases. There is more than one murderer.”

“Impossible!”

Yang Wei retorted subconsciously. “The reason why we listed these four cases as serial murders and investigated them together is because they have too many similarities! They completely fit the conditions of a serial murder case. But now you’re telling us that there’s more than one murderer?! That’s impossible!”

“Qin Feng, what evidence do you have?”

Shen Qing glanced at the emotional Yang Wei and asked. In fact, he too, had shared the same doubts as Qin Feng before, but as more similarities between the cases were discovered, he had given up on the idea that there was more than one killer.

Qin Feng put the collected evidence on the table and looked up at the two of them, asking, “Haven’t you heard of the term, copycat crime?”

“You’re saying it’s a copycat crime? Impossible!”

Yang Wei subconsciously shook his head and retorted when he heard Qin Feng’s words.

Shen Qing continued remaining silent. He sunk into deep thought.

“Why do you think it’s impossible?”

Qin Feng looked at Yang Wei and asked.

“We’ve investigated all four of the scenes for a whole month! Whether it’s in terms of technique, details, or characteristics, there’s no possibility of them being a mere mimicry!”

Yang Wei shook his head and said firmly.

“Do you know why I went to the crime scene?”

Shen Qing and Yang Wei did not say anything. Instead, they looked at Qin Feng with puzzlement.

“It’s been a month since the first case, but it should have been about ten days since the fourth case. I’ve inspected each crime scene carefully, and although a long time has passed since then, I still found some clues. In addition to the evidence that all of you have collected, I’m certain that the four murders were not done by one person, but three!”

Qin Feng looked at Shen Qing and Yang Wei and stated calmly.

“You mean there are three murderers involved in these four cases?”

When Yang Wei and Shen Qing heard Qin Feng’s words, their mouths were wide open as they looked at Qin Feng in shock.

If what Qin Feng had said was true, it was not difficult to imagine the implications to the Magic Capital Police Department’s case officers who had been desperately pursuing the case for a month.

A whole month’s worth of effort had been in vain! They had been going at it in the wrong direction since the beginning. They had been investigating the cases as serial murders, but they had found nothing. If what Qin Feng had said was true, then this was no longer the mistake of one or two people, but the mistake of the whole police department. Yang Wei and Shen Qing knew very well how hard it was to accept this news, and so too, did Qin Feng.

Qin Feng looked at the two of them and sighed, “Please gather everyone in the conference room. I’ll go and look for Chief Qin. I’ll analyze the entire case in detail later.”

Qin Feng stood up and left, leaving the two of them behind as they exchanged looks at one another.

However, there was one thing that Qin Feng was happy about. Although the Shanghai Police Department had deviated from the investigation direction of the cases, the investigation of the last two cases was still relatively accurate. Qin Feng had just found the information of the real murderers of the last two cases in the suspect list. Coincidentally, the last two murderers had not yet been ruled out as suspects by the police.

Qin Feng walked to the door of Qin Xiaohua’s office and raised his hand to knock on the door.

“Please enter!”

Bureau Chief Qin’s voice came from the office.

Qin Feng pushed the door open and stopped in front of Chief Qin’s desk.

Qin Xiaohua looked up and realized it was Qin Feng. He asked curiously, “Qin Feng, is there something wrong? What’s the matter?”

“Chief Qin, regarding the serial murders of the red-dressed brides, I found some clues that I wish to report to you.”

Qin Feng looked at Qin Xiaohua and said calmly.

Upon hearing that Qin Feng had found some clues, his eyes lit up and he asked in surprise, “You found clues this quickly? What did you find?”

Qin Feng said, “I just came back from the scenes of the crime and have analyzed the evidence that the other seniors had collected before. I’ve came to the conclusion, that these four cases were not the act of a single person, but by three individuals. Moreover, the murderers of the last two cases are merely imitations of the first two cases.”

“What did you say? Are you saying that this is not a serial murder case, but three separate cases?”

Qin Xiaohua frowned and thought for a while before asking, “Qin Feng, do you have any evidence to support your verdict?”

“Yes!” Qin Feng said affirmatively.

“I’ve asked the investigators who were assigned to the case to attend a meeting in the conference room. Do you wish to join the meeting?”

Qin Feng raised the purpose of his visit to Qin Xiaohua.

“Okay, since it’s related to the case, I should listen to your analysis.”

Qin Xiaohua was also very curious. Why would Qin Feng come to such a conclusion that would overturn all their previous efforts? Did he have any basis for his claim? Chief Qin was well aware of how Qin Feng’s verdict would cause the other officers to react, and thus, he needed to be present to make sure they behaved themselves..