"Hair?" Captain Wang was taken aback.
The forensics team had just meticulously examined the room, but they only found the victim's long, curly, dyed hair.
As for male hair, they hadn't found a single strand.
This led them to believe that the killer was a meticulous habitual offender who had carefully cleaned up the scene before leaving.
But now it seemed that the forensics team had been careless.
How could these professionals have worse eyesight than an amateur?
Captain Wang turned his head to look at Xu Mo.
He noticed that Xu Mo's right index finger and thumb were in a pinching position.
Upon closer inspection, there was indeed a short black hair that would have gone completely unnoticed if not looked at carefully.
This hair was only a few millimeters long.
"Your observation skills are impressive! Are you part eagle? To be able to see that," Captain Wang smiled at Xu Mo, then called out to the forensics team: "Bring a bag to collect this hair for analysis."
However, Captain Wang didn't place all his hopes on this single hair.
After all, the DNA database was not comprehensive, containing only those with prior records.
A single hair couldn't guarantee they'd catch the killer.
Collecting these things was just a shot in the dark.
So they continued searching for other useful clues.
...
Before leaving, the police photographed the crime scene for reference, removed the body, and sealed off the area.
To gather more clues for solving the case, they made a special trip to the community property management office to request surveillance footage to take back to the station.
As they were leaving the community, Han Fei looked at the pitch-black sky, then at Xu Mo.
"It's getting late. You don't really need to be involved in this. Why don't you go home and rest? We'll work overtime to investigate."
"Alright then, see you later!" Xu Mo readily agreed with Han Fei's suggestion.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the police officers, he turned and left in a taxi without looking back.
Han Fei: "..."
All police officers: "..."
At the police station.
The medical examiner determined that the second victim's time of death was very close to Cheng Xue's, both around three weeks ago.
This meant that the surveillance footage they had requested would be of no value.
The community's surveillance system automatically cleared every two weeks, so the footage from the time of the incident had already been erased.
The results of the biological trace analysis from the victim's home came back quickly.
The analysis confirmed that, apart from the hair Xu Mo found, all biological traces in the apartment belonged to the victim.
It's worth noting that the short hair Xu Mo discovered was indeed useful.
The owner of the hair happened to have a criminal record.
Wang Defa, male, 35 years old, sentenced to ten years for rape.
He had been released just a year ago.
This person was highly suspicious!
The police immediately arrested him and interrogated him through the night.
...
Meanwhile.
At the university town.
'Maple Grove' Hotel.
"A murder case? Are you serious?"
Xu Mo nodded.
"Of course, why would I lie to you? I even went to the scene with the police. You should have seen it, it was terrifying..."
However, before he could finish, he was interrupted by the four girls.
"Don't say it, don't say it! I don't want to hear!"
"I don't want to hear either, I'll have nightmares if I listen!"
"Not listening, not listening, la la la!"
"..."
As they spoke, they covered their ears.
If they heard Xu Mo describe the murder scene in detail at this late hour, how could they possibly sleep?
"Alright, alright... look at you all, such scaredy-cats," Xu Mo said helplessly. "Let's change the subject. Do you want to get ready and go for a farewell dinner? After all, we've been through so much together."
"Pfft, who wants to have a farewell dinner with you? Not going!" Zhou Qiaoqiao's expression changed slightly.
She then stood up and left Xu Mo's room: "I'm going to bed."
Seeing this, Xu Mo didn't try to persuade her, but turned to look at the remaining three.
"Shall the four of us go eat then?"
An Youyi and Li Jiaxin also declined Xu Mo's invitation one after another.
"Not going, I'm heading back to my room to sleep too."
"I'm not going either. I don't eat at night to maintain my figure."
Seeing that the two weren't interested in dinner either, Xu Mo looked at Yang Jingxuan.
However, Yang Jingxuan stayed behind purely out of curiosity about one thing.
"By the way, where did you actually hide those gold bars you stole from the bank? Are they really hidden in that welfare institution?"
Xu Mo smiled mysteriously: "I'm not telling you, it's a secret."
"Fine, don't tell me then." With that, Yang Jingxuan also turned and left Xu Mo's room, showing no intention of staying for a farewell dinner with him.
Xu Mo had no choice but to order takeout for himself.
After eating, he took a shower and went to bed.
...
Early the next morning.
After getting up, washing up, and having breakfast, Xu Mo took another taxi and leisurely arrived at the police station.
As soon as he entered, he saw Han Fei sitting in a chair smoking.
From his mental state and the dark circles under his eyes, it was clear that he hadn't slept all night.
"You didn't sleep all night? You guys are really dedicated!" Xu Mo exclaimed in surprise.
Han Fei smiled wryly.
"In our line of work, time is life. What else can we do but give it our all?"
"So, after staying up all night, did you find any important clues?" Xu Mo continued to ask.
Hearing this, Han Fei first nodded, then shook his head.
Xu Mo looked confused: "What does that mean?"
"Based on the hair you found in the bathroom, we arrested a suspect. He definitely killed Cheng Xue's friend... but this guy is tough. We've been interrogating him in shifts all night, and he still insists that he only went there to fix the drain after receiving a call. He won't admit to killing anyone."
After a pause, Han Fei added.
"We checked, and this Wang Defa is indeed a plumber. Three weeks ago, he did receive a call from the victim and went to fix the drain. He's not lying about that... but now he's sticking to this story, saying he just went to fix the drain and left, didn't do anything else."
"Is it possible that he really did just go to fix the drain?" Xu Mo asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Fei immediately stood up from his chair and said very seriously.
"That question shows your lack of experience. I've been in this line of work for many years and have seen all sorts of criminals. I can tell at a glance whether he's lying or not. But this is just based on experience... and experience can't be used as evidence."
The police need evidence to solve cases.
Although the police knew that the suspect Wang Defa was lying.
But this was useless.
The hair they found in the victim's home could only prove that the suspect had been there.
It couldn't serve as direct evidence.
Wang Defa had phone records to prove that he was called to the victim's home to fix the drain.
But the police had no direct evidence to prove that the victim's death was related to Wang Defa.
Moreover, it was summer, and the three-week-old corpse was severely decomposed, with some parts even showing bare bones.
The medical examiner couldn't find many useful clues from the body.
They lacked the crucial evidence to convict, and with the suspect not confessing, they were at a dead end.
At this moment, Xu Mo suddenly remembered that he had a truth serum from his system reward.
This might be useful.
So he volunteered.
"Captain Han, why don't you let me try? I think I can get Wang Defa to tell the truth."