Qiaobei Road Police Station.
After Chen Ke and several officers apprehended the suspect Lin Tian, they brought him into another interrogation room.
Xu Mo and Li Yunfei temporarily suspended their interrogation of Zhou Bingquan and went to the interrogation room where Lin Tian was being held, preparing to interrogate him.
From Zhou Bingquan's description and the police's investigation of Lin Tian, it was clear that Lin Tian was also a suspect, and his involvement seemed more significant than Zhou Bingquan's.
Especially his penchant for abusing stray cats and dogs—someone with such a hobby was far more likely to commit violent acts against humans.
Interrogation Room.
A pale, thin man sat slumped in the interrogation chair, his eyelids drooping, his eyes lifeless, looking like a debauched young master drained by indulgence.
"Lin Tian, right?" Li Yunfei glanced at the man sitting in the interrogation chair as he entered.
Lin Tian glanced at the two who had entered, his tone impatient.
"Why did you arrest me for no reason? Let me go right now! I have things to do later."
"Don't shout, this is a police station. We brought you here to ask you about some matters," Li Yunfei said calmly, despite Lin Tian's rude attitude. He had seen too many people like him.
"Spit it out if you have something to say!" Lin Tian's tone remained impatient.
The next moment, Xu Mo took out his phone and found the photo of Xu Jing.
"Do you know this person?"
Lin Tian scrutinized the photo on Xu Mo's phone and then shook his head, saying irritably, "I don't know her."
Xu Mo was slightly taken aback. From Lin Tian's expression and tone, he could tell that Lin Tian was telling the truth; he genuinely did not recognize Xu Jing.
So, Lin Tian wasn't the killer?
No, could it be that I suspected the wrong person? Xu Mo felt a bit puzzled.
Seeing that neither Xu Mo nor Li Yunfei spoke again, Lin Tian became even more impatient.
"Listen, I was sleeping peacefully at home, and you dragged me to this godforsaken place just to ask if I know a woman? Are you out of your minds? Let me out!"
During this time, Xu Mo observed Lin Tian closely and suddenly understood.
Lin Tian didn't not recognize Xu Jing; he simply couldn't recall her face!
Unlike Zhou Bingquan, Lin Tian was a playboy who loved to indulge in debauchery and had countless encounters with women. It was normal for him to not remember Xu Jing, a fleeting acquaintance in his life.
Moreover, the incident between Xu Jing and him happened ten years ago. It was understandable that he couldn't recall her just from a photo.
"Don't you know her? Let me help you remember," Xu Mo pointed at the photo on his phone. "The woman in the photo is named Xu Jing. She was a woman you met during your university days. Your last encounter was in the small woods next to the school playground... Can you remember now?"
A single photo was not enough for Lin Tian to recall anything.
But when Xu Mo mentioned the woman's name, the time and place they met, Lin Tian began to have an impression.
Lin Tian swallowed hard, then straightened up, looking pensive. "Xu Jing... I think I remember now. During university, she seduced me, and I went along with it and had a relationship with her."
"Officer, did this woman come to the police station after so long to slander me, accusing me of raping her? The relationship was consensual; I didn't force her! Consensual relationships aren't illegal, are they? She's slandering me, defaming me!" Lin Tian exclaimed excitedly.
Li Yunfei frowned, scrutinizing Lin Tian's clumsy performance.
The acting was too obvious.
Having been a police officer for so long, he could tell at a glance that Lin Tian was lying!
Li Yunfei had already determined that Lin Tian was the murderer, but he didn't rush to express his opinion. Instead, he glanced at Xu Mo, fearing that he might be wrong again, so he needed to see Xu Mo's reaction.
After glancing at Xu Mo and seeing no particular reaction, Li Yunfei felt relieved. It seemed that both he and Xu Mo agreed that Lin Tian was the murderer.
"Stop acting, no one here wants to watch your performance. We both know what you did to Xu Jing. Confess honestly, why did you kill Xu Jing?" Li Yunfei interrogated.
Lin Tian's eyes blinked rapidly, then he explained, "I killed someone?! Officer, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. You can't frame me. I've been having a party with my friends at home these days, never stepping out. My friends can vouch for me; I'm innocent!"
Seeing Lin Tian still pretending to be clueless, Li Yunfei sneered and showed him a photo taken at the scene where Xu Jing's remains were found.
"The remains in the photo are Xu Jing's. She was killed ten years ago by being struck on the back of the head with a blunt object and then buried in the small woods next to your school playground... This scene should be familiar to you, right? You killed her and buried her in the woods."
As soon as the words were out, Lin Tian threw in the towel, leaning back in the interrogation chair and giving up: "I said I didn't kill anyone. I'm done talking to you. I want to see my lawyer!"
During interrogations, officers were most afraid of encountering such stubborn suspects, those who, after a few questions, would start giving up, either remaining silent or incessantly demanding to see a lawyer. It made the interrogation impossible, and there was nothing you could do about it. After all, you couldn't torture them into speaking; that would be illegal.
Meanwhile, outside the interrogation room.
Seeing Lin Tian's behavior, the officers from Green Vine City who had accompanied Li Yunfei to investigate the case felt a headache coming on.
"This guy is tough to deal with... If he keeps refusing to cooperate, we'll have to let him go after a certain time."
"And he wants to see a lawyer, the most annoying kind. He won't say a word more, afraid that we'll catch him in a mistake."
"And this case is from ten years ago; we have no clues. If he doesn't confess, the case will never be solved."
"What to do, the deadline for solving the case set by our superiors is only three days away. If we keep dragging it out, the case won't be solved."
"This is tough. Although it's clear that Lin Tian is definitely the murderer, if he doesn't say anything, this..."
"..."
While the officers were at a loss, Chen Ke beside them had a relaxed expression. He smiled, "Don't worry, Xu Mo has plenty of ways to deal with such stubborn suspects. Trust me, the case will be solved. Xu Mo will make him confess everything soon."
Hearing this, the local officers from Green Vine City who had come to watch the interrogation couldn't help but look at Chen Ke, then at Xu Mo in the interrogation room. The boast... was quite loud!