Chapter 623: The Dog

It took two days for Chen Shi, Lin Dongxue, and Xu Xiaodong to sift through the mass of surveillance footage and identify the figure of the speechless person. Chen Shi used up three bottles of eye drops, leaving him dizzy. Xu Xiaodong remarked, “If only we had an automatic facial recognition system. My eyesight was fine from gaming, but watching surveillance all day might give me nearsightedness.”

“Be content. At least now we can speed up the footage four or eight times. Just think, back in the day, when surveillance was on physical tapes, it was even tougher for the police,” said Chen Shi.

“But there weren’t as many weird criminals back then,” Lin Dongxue added.

Chen Shi chuckled, shaking his head. “Young people these days shouldn’t think the past was better. Do you know how many audacious criminals there were over twenty years ago?”

“Psh, speaking like an old man. How old were you back then?” Lin Dongxue retorted.

Chen Shi marked all the locations where they spotted the speechless person on a map and tried to connect them in a line. Lin Dongxue didn’t understand at first, so Chen Shi explained, “I think the speechless person, despite having a map, might have a poor sense of direction. He might have walked the wrong way, which delayed him for several days.”

“No wonder he appeared twice at the first crime scene after the incident. He was trying to return to the starting point to begin again!” Lin Dongxue suddenly realized.

Xu Xiaodong couldn’t help but regret, “We should have stationed someone near the first crime scene right after the incident. That would have prevented everything that followed.”

Lin Dongxue gave him a scornful look. “Hindsight is 20/20. We didn’t anticipate the killer would return to the scene for that reason after the second murder.”

A mournful cry echoed down the corridor as the family of the deceased Mr. Li came to claim his body. The three stopped arguing. Chen Shi sighed and said, “Let’s focus on our work and try to prevent a third murder!”

Chen Shi connected the points on the map and combined them with the route they found at the scene. It was a mentally taxing task, sorting out the chronological order of the speechless person’s appearances at each point. Xu Xiaodong felt like his brain turned into mush just watching, but Chen Shi managed it. Pointing at the map, he said, “From these routes, it’s clear the speechless person has poor directional sense. He’s been wandering around the Food Bureau compound like a headless fly these past two days. He only has the routes on his map, which doesn’t show directions, just left, right, up, and down.”

Lin Dongxue remarked, “Looking at these routes, most of the speechless person’s starting points are near Binhe Road. Does he live there?”

“Quite possibly. Let’s pay a visit!” Chen Shi suggested.

Xu Xiaodong eagerly said, “I’ll come too.” After two days of watching videos, he was itching to get out in the field, but Chen Shi told him, “You stay behind and keep watching the surveillance footage. See if there’s anything we’ve missed.”

“What?” Xu Xiaodong disappointedly opened his mouth wide. “He’s dangerous. What if you guys get into a conflict? I should go!”

“We’re not stupid. If we see him, we won’t make a scene. We’ll notify you if we find anything,” Lin Dongxue assured him.

Chen Shi ordered a crayfish and rice takeaway for Xu Xiaodong at noon, which made him willingly stay behind to watch the videos. The two then set off, arriving near Binhe Road. Beside this road flowed the Huolang River, a river running east to west through Long’an City.

This river had a legend well-known in Long’an. In ancient times, a hawker saw a white dragon emerge from the water. The dragon shed its scales and transformed into a human, going ashore. The protagonist of local folklore, his favorite pastime was stealing clothes, and the hawker was no exception. He stole the dragon robe, put it on, and miraculously transformed into a dragon, diving back into the water. Over time, the place prospered, and people said it was protected by the Dragon Hawker. Eventually, it became a city.

The two walked along Binhe Road, asking local shops about the speechless person. Lin Dongxue said, “I have a question. If he has low intelligence and only recognizes accents, how did he confirm that he killed Qin Wanmu?”

“Haha, you’re right!” Lin Dongxue’s words made Chen Shi realize a puzzle. “Victims Song and Li had their clothes lifted. I didn’t understand at the time, but now I do. Qin Wanmu probably had some distinguishing mark, like a birthmark or scar. The killer lifted their clothes to confirm.”

“In that case, why didn’t he confirm first and then kill?” Lin Dongxue asked.

Chen Shi pointed at a passerby, “How would you confirm someone has a birthmark?”

“Well… it’s difficult.”

“It’s the same for the speechless person. He can’t communicate normally. Imagine he’s walking down the street, hears a familiar accent, and immediately gets excited without thinking… These people are very lonely. For him, communication is harder than killing!”

“So what exactly did the Dean do to him? It can’t be just medication, right?”

“I’m also curious about the truth. But I really hope he stops killing innocent people, or finds the Dean soon.”

“Lin’s team found information on Qin Wanmu from a real estate agency. Maybe we’ll meet him today.”

Chen Shi nodded. “Let’s focus on our job.”

The two arrived at a city village and asked an old man smoking at the door. The old man said, “You’re talking about Dog. He lives here!”

Lin Dongxue was excited. “We found him! Where does he live?”

“At Auntie Yu’s place.” The old man pointed to a door.

The two knocked on Auntie Yu’s door. Inside, it was dimly lit, with dishes on the table. An old lady sat on the bed under a tattered mosquito net, coughing and asking, “Who are you looking for?”

“Do you know Dog?”