Chapter 646: Setting a Trap

“You guessed right, Xu Fa is really planning indiscriminate killings!” Lin Dongxue said in surprise.

“This conversation happened two days ago…” Chen Shi glanced around. “Could Xu Fa still be staying here?”

“Should I call for backup?”

Chen Shi stared at the chat logs, deep in thought. “Sun Zhen, see if there are any other deleted files.”

“On it.”

Sun Zhen created a folder and started recovering deleted files. “This guy might be a chemistry expert, but he’s not a computer expert. His deletions are sloppy. If he really wanted to make sure files couldn’t be recovered, he should have filled the hard drive with garbage data after deleting the originals, then deleted them again.”

“Good thing you didn’t teach him that,” Chen Shi whispered, so Lin Dongxue, who was calling for backup, wouldn’t overhear.

“It’s not rocket science. Nothing worth teaching… By the way, to deal with Xu Fa, should I get Ms. Gu and KK to help? We did say we’d handle ‘old friends’ together.”

KK, off-screen, teased, “You just want to see Ms. Gu, don’t you? She’s got a boyfriend, you know. Isn’t that wishful thinking?”

Sun Zhen retorted, “Shut up!”

Chen Shi said, “Gu You doesn’t need to come. She won’t be much help. Have KK stand by; we might need him.”

In the recovered files, Chen Shi found several web pages, including an alumni site. Searching the second victim’s name, he found it. Perhaps this was how Xu Fa picked his “prey.”

Even in indiscriminate killings, he carefully selected targets to ensure there were no unstable factors that could interfere. Truly cautious.

Chen Shi tried to guess Xu Fa’s next target from the visited profiles, but there were too many to make a definitive choice.

Chen Shi noted down all the addresses he could find, mapping them out. The second incident site was five kilometers from here. Assuming the crime geography hypothesis held, the next crime wouldn’t be more than ten kilometers away, but that was still a broad area.

A school was a good place—almost deserted at night, allowing the killer to leave the body and escape easily.

What would I do if I were Xu Fa? Chen Shi pondered.

“Who did the second victim contact before dying?” Chen Shi asked.

Lin Dongxue checked the task force group chat, “A stranger’s number that can’t be traced. The call lasted one minute.”

“Xu Fa would lure the person to an easy target location…” Chen Shi pointed to the screen, “We should start monitoring these people’s phones!”

“Is that even possible?”

“With their consent. I think they’ll cooperate.” He then told Sun Zhen, “Come over. We need your help.”

The police soon arrived to keep watch on the place, in case Xu Fa returned. Sun Zhen and KK met Chen Shi at the station. KK was nervous around so many cops. Facing Lin Qiupu’s questioning, Chen Shi said, “They’re friends.”

“Informants?”

“I said friends! Good buddies!”

Lin Qiupu gave them a suspicious look. They seemed dubious, unsure where Chen Shi had met such a shady pair.

The potential targets were all contacted, told their phones needed monitoring. Most agreed, a few refused, and officers went to their homes to persuade them.

While this was happening, Sun Zhen quickly developed a monitoring app for the phone owners to install, allowing real-time feedback of calls and messages to the police. They promised absolute privacy.

Lin Qiupu was impressed, even though he saw it as a risky move. He admitted it was the most likely way to find Xu Fa.

The monitoring process was tedious. Everyone sat in the conference room with headphones on, eating instant noodles when hungry. Most were male officers, smoking as they sat. Lin Dongxue turned on the air conditioning, and the chilly breeze made some officers put out their cigarettes.

Sitting down, Lin Dongxue whispered to Chen Shi, “When I become captain, I’ll ban smoking in the station. These bad habits are annoying.”

“A modern-day Lin Zexu, impressive!” Chen Shi joked.

Lin Dongxue’s gaze fell on KK, who was shamelessly puffing on a cigar. Smiling, he said, “Can I make an exception, sis? This smoke isn’t choking.”

“Go outside to smoke! And call me Officer Lin!”

“Hey!” Old Zhang called out, “There was just a suspicious delivery guy asking someone to come down and get a package!”

“Who?” Lin Qiupu asked.

“A single unemployed young man…” Before he finished, the man called back. Old Zhang put him on speaker, “Officer, you guessed right. Someone’s after me. I didn’t order anything, but a delivery guy said I had fruit that would spoil if I didn’t take it. What do I do now?”

“Stall him. Stall as long as you can. We’re coming now!” Everyone geared up and moved out.

They rushed to the scene. Outside the community, they abandoned their cars and proceeded on foot. No sign of Xu Fa, only a delivery man in a yellow uniform. Old Zhang called the young man, “Call back.”

Sure enough, the delivery man answered. Lin Qiupu suspected he was Xu Fa’s accomplice and signaled for an arrest.

They swarmed in, capturing the delivery man. His van indeed contained a box of durians. The delivery man, looking innocent, asked, “Why are you arresting me? What did I do?”

Old Zhang glanced at the delivery slip, then called the young man, “Who is XX?”

“Oh, that’s from my dad. Sorry, sorry!” The young man came down to retrieve the fruit, feeling guilty, offering to share it. Despite the false alarm, the police felt a sense of frustration.

Then Sun Zhen called, “Chen, there was a suspicious call just now. I think it’s Xu Fa. I’m sending you the number and address… KK is already on his way.”

Everyone quickly got back in their cars. On the way, Chen Shi called the target number. A girl answered, “Officer, please help me. Someone claiming to be my old friend Zhang X just asked me to come down. It’s her number, but something feels off. I called Zhang X, and she isn’t at our school!”

“Can you see the person?”

“A man downstairs, I think…” The girl lowered her voice, “What should I do?”

“Is anyone in your dorm?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t do anything. Stay in your dorm. If he calls again, say you’re getting dressed and will be down soon.”

The school was five minutes away. Chen Shi hoped they’d make it in time.

Three minutes later, the girl called back, “He’s gone!”

Chen Shi’s heart sank. Xu Fa was extremely vigilant. Realizing the girl was suspicious while she watched him from above, he likely sensed danger and could inject the poison into someone else, leaving no evidence.

That undetectable poison only held forensic value if they got their hands on it!