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墨書 Inktalez
To save costs, the surveillance room was combined with the security office, which also spared Lin Yuan the trouble of running to another location.
Watching Lin Yuan skillfully retrieve the surveillance footage, the security guard couldn't help but mutter to himself. This looked like the same person from yesterday; how did he suddenly become a police officer? However, recalling the questions Lin Yuan had asked yesterday, he felt there might be something to investigate after all. Hadn't the police already handled the matter concerning that household? What was going on now?
The security guard's impression of Lin Yuan was still somewhat confused, and curiosity got the better of him. "Is it possible that there's been another incident in this neighborhood? Were you on duty last night?"
"Well, I did have a shift last night, but I still need to sleep, so I usually catch a few hours of rest," Lin Yuan replied.
"Aside from that time, did you hear anything unusual?"
The guard thought for a moment and realized he hadn’t noticed anything suspicious. "I slept from around one to four in the morning. A young guy usually comes to relieve me during the day, but honestly, I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary at night. It was pretty much like any other night."
At that moment, several figures appeared on the screen. Lin Yuan noted their faces and confirmed they were indeed from this neighborhood before he began checking yesterday's records. Even though this was an older community, facial recognition technology had been implemented here as well. It didn't take long for him to identify a few young people who had entered the community carrying food.
"Do you remember these people?" Lin Yuan asked.
"Yes, I think they’re friends with that girl from the third floor of Building Four. They said they were university students, and her family has a dog. I recognized her by the dog when they came into the community, but she mentioned they left it at a pet shop for their gathering."
After saying this, he suddenly realized something. "Could it be that she’s in trouble? The police are here to investigate; could it be these people?"
The security guard's expression changed instantly. If someone had gone missing last night and he hadn’t noticed, that would be serious! "I shouldn't be held responsible for this, right?"
"As long as you cooperate with our investigation," Lin Yuan reassured him. After comforting the guard, he took the recorded video and prepared to leave. However, before departing, he reminded him once more.
"If these people show up again, make sure to call the police."
"Got it, got it," the guard replied.
Following the directions provided by the guard, Lin Yuan headed toward Building Four. The further he walked in that direction, the more familiar the path seemed to him.
"Did I come here yesterday?"
As he stood at the door, Lin Yuan realized that this was indeed the same place where he had delivered takeout the day before.
Really?
He knocked a few times, but no one answered. He had just asked the security guard for a key, and the faint click of the lock didn’t stir any noise. All Lin Yuan could see was darkness.
When he turned on the light, he found a clean room that perfectly matched a girl's style. A faint scent of alcohol mixed with an almost fading metallic smell of blood immediately caught his attention.
He glanced at the closed curtains, through which a sliver of light seeped in.
He searched other areas but found no one, nor did he discover any bodies.
Could I be mistaken?
Although those people had crawled out on their own, could it be that what they were carrying wasn’t a corpse?
No, if that were the case, sending him that video would have been unnecessary.
Having clarified this point in his mind, Lin Yuan began to scrutinize the room again.
If it were me, would I just take a corpse away like this?
Clearly, this space did not have the conditions to hide a body.
But given the current situation, if they hadn’t taken the body away, where could it be hidden?
Although Lin Yuan felt puzzled, he couldn’t rashly conclude that someone was missing without finding a body first.
The smell of blood was strongest in the living room; other rooms had little to none. The toilet seat was clean, and there would be some traces if dismemberment had occurred there.
What needed to be clarified most urgently was where the person was.
After taking several photos of the scene, Lin Yuan returned to the police station.
The house didn’t belong to the girl; it was rented by another girl who was currently traveling.
The rental agreement had two phone numbers listed, and Lin Yuan called one of them.
"Hello?"
A bright girl’s voice came from the other end.
Lin Yuan straightened up and quickly asked, "Hi, is this Zhang Xiao?"
"Who are you?"
"It's like this; I'm an officer from the district police station. Could you please call your friend Meng Ruochu and ask where she is?"
There was a rustling sound on the other end as if she had just gotten out of bed.
"Ruochu?"
"Alright, please hold on for a moment."
The phone call had not been disconnected, and soon the sound of a video call ringing filled the air.
A minute passed, but Lin Yuan could only hear that the call had not gone through.
"I'm sorry, Officer, but I can't reach her right now. She might still be asleep at this hour. If you have something to discuss, you can tell me first, and I'll let her know once I get through."
The girl's voice carried a hint of distress.
"Is there anyone else you can contact? We have an urgent matter here."
Lin Yuan maintained his composure as he spoke.
"We had a gathering with some friends from university yesterday; they should know something. Please hold on while I get their numbers for you."
It was evident that being a college student had instilled in her a sense of politeness. A screenshot was quickly sent over, displaying several highlighted names and phone numbers.
"I'll check here. If you have any information about Meng Ruochu, please contact us immediately."
"Wait, Officer, do you mean she's missing?" The girl answered herself in disbelief.
"That can't be! Wasn't she planning to confess last night at the gathering? What on earth is going on?"
It was clear that the gravity of the situation dawned on the other end of the line; Zhang Xiao seemed unsure of whom to address.
"Are there any flights back to Haishi today? Book one for me right now."
Lin Yuan listened as there was a flurry of activity on the other end before the girl's voice returned.
"Officer, I'll keep trying to reach her. If you haven't found anyone at her place, please ask those guys from last night's gathering; they should know something."
"They were the last ones to see Meng Ruochu."
"If she's really missing, it must be related to them."
"I wish I hadn't gone out for this trip; what should I do now?"
"Can you hurry up?"
She was clearly getting anxious.
"Alright, I'll gather more information on my end. Once you're done, please come by the district police station."
"Okay, okay."
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