Han Fei carefully pondered Xu Mo's words before slowly nodding and murmuring, "What you said makes sense..."
Xu Mo's earlier deduction had provided Han Fei with a new direction for the investigation—to thoroughly investigate all the onlookers from that year!
Just as Han Fei was about to lead his team to gather information from those onlookers, Xu Mo stopped him.
"Captain Han, don't rush. There are so many people in this photo; how long would it take to track down each one? We can start by narrowing it down, identifying the most suspicious individuals in the photo."
"Narrow it down?" Han Fei was puzzled. "How do we do that with just a photo?"
Han Fei had planned to personally visit those onlookers because he believed that only through face-to-face interactions could they determine who was suspicious and who wasn't.
Relying solely on a photo for screening seemed unreliable to him.
Xu Mo, however, had a reason for thinking that the screening could be done with just the photo—he already knew the identity of the killer through a secret clue.
His so-called screening was merely a performance for Han Fei's benefit.
He already knew who the killer was—how could he possibly make a mistake?
"The photo is enough," Xu Mo said. "Captain Han, do you remember what I said earlier? The killer is a very confident person."
"Yes, someone who dares to leave the body in the middle of the road and walk away without a care... That level of confidence and boldness is not something an ordinary person would have."
Xu Mo didn't respond but instead pushed the photo toward Han Fei and casually picked up a pen from the desk, handing it to him.
Han Fei immediately understood Xu Mo's intention—he was to eliminate those in the photo who didn't appear confident.
Without hesitation, Han Fei took the pen and, after a moment's pause, began crossing out people in the photo.
"Probably not him."
Then the second, the third, the fourth...
"Not him either."
"This one can be ruled out too."
"And this one."
"..."
In no time, Han Fei had crossed out more than half of the onlookers in the photo.
Just from their expressions, it was clear that these people weren't the confident type. At the very least, they wouldn't be capable of killing someone, leaving the body behind, and walking away without a care.
After this screening, only six people remained in the photo.
Compared to before, the scope had narrowed significantly, making it much easier for the officers to investigate these individuals.
At that moment, Xu Mo, half-jokingly and half-seriously, pointed to a man in the photo wearing a knit cap and said,
"I just noticed that this guy seems to be bald. Look at his temples—there's no hair at all. The case file mentions that the killer didn't leave any hair in the car. Do you think the killer could be this guy?"
Though Xu Mo's words were casual, they struck a chord with Han Fei.
Back then, the police had found hair and fingerprints in the car, but subsequent investigations and tests revealed that all the hair and fingerprints belonged to the victim and their family members. No foreign hair was found.
The victim's family had already been cleared of suspicion.
The victim had been killed inside the car, a closed environment unlike an open-air crime scene. In such a confined space, even the smallest trace of hair wouldn't disappear.
After all, in an open-air crime scene, wind could blow away any hair the killer might have accidentally left behind, but that wouldn't happen inside a car.
In such a closed environment, avoiding leaving fingerprints is easy—just wear gloves. But avoiding leaving hair is a bit more challenging. Even if the killer wore a hat to cover their hair, it wouldn't be foolproof.
If the killer had accidentally left hair in the car, the police would have found it. But they didn't find any hair other than that of the victim and their family.
What kind of person doesn't shed hair?
A bald person—they have no hair to shed!
As for normal people, regardless of their hair type, they inevitably shed some hair.
Of course, it's also possible that the killer took extra precautions, covering all their hair, or that they were simply lucky and didn't accidentally leave any hair in the car during the crime.
Thinking this, Han Fei picked up the pen again and circled the man wearing the cap.
This person would be the key suspect in the next phase of the investigation!
Xu Mo, almost coaxing and guiding, continuously steered Han Fei closer to the truth of the case.
Using the photo taken at the time, Han Fei identified one prime suspect and five secondary suspects.
Shortly after, the two men left the office again.
By then, the officers were still in a state of shock. After all, Xu Mo had solved a case in just half a morning that they had been unable to crack for three months.
And he had done it by reviewing the case file, understanding the situation, and completing the interrogation—all in half a morning.
The efficiency was nothing short of terrifying!
Just then, Han Fei walked out holding another case file.
It was the same location, the same words, but not the same time.
"Everyone, pause what you're doing. I have something to say."
The officers: "???"
It was the same sentence they had heard that morning, and at the time, Han Fei had also been holding a case file that looked like it had been around for years.
During lunch and the break, the veteran officers had told the newcomers about the past, mentioning in passing that there were two unsolved cases stored in the police station.
One of them had been solved by Xu Mo that morning, leaving only one more.
At the time, the officers had thought—if only Xu Mo could solve the other long-pending case too!
Now, hearing Han Fei's familiar words and seeing the aged case file in his hand, an idea quickly formed in the officers' minds.
Could it be... that Xu Mo already had a lead on the other case?
But it had only been a day!
Solving two cold cases that had been stalled for years in a single day?!
"Five years ago, our station had a case that remains unsolved to this day. Just now, Xu Mo came to my office to review the case file, and after some discussion, he proposed another idea..."