Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Returning to the crime scene was arranged by Lei Yue for a Sunday. For safety reasons, Lei Yue did not have Tang Qiu drive to meet them but instead arranged for someone to pick her up.

The person picking her up was Si Zhao, driving a rather flashy blue SUV. She slammed on the brakes and stopped beside Tang Qiu, rolled down the window, and tilted her head, saying, "Get in quickly, Lawyer Tang."

This time, only Si Zhao was there. Tang Qiu considered for a moment, then opened the passenger door and greeted politely as she got in, "Good morning, Officer Si."

Seizing the opportunity, Si Zhao quickly stuffed a bun into her mouth and mumbled, "Morning, morning, morning."

By the time Tang Qiu fastened her seatbelt, Si Zhao had already wolfed down two buns quickly, choking a bit from eating too fast. She hurriedly washed them down with some water, then squinted her eyes and asked Tang Qiu, "Lawyer Tang, have you had breakfast? If not, want some?"

Tang Qiu glanced at the breakfast Si Zhao had placed in the center console, which included not only several buns but also two cups of soy milk and two eggs, clearly intended for Tang Qiu as well.

Although she had already eaten breakfast that morning, accepting someone's goodwill could help bridge the distance between them. After hesitating for only a second, Tang Qiu picked up a cup of soy milk and politely thanked her, "I haven't eaten yet, thank you, Officer Si."

"No need to thank me," Si Zhao said with a smile. "Lawyer Tang, don't keep calling me Officer Si; it feels so distant. I'm not Captain Lei; I'm not that serious. You can just call me Xiao Zhao, or if that's not comfortable, Si Zhao is fine. Can I call you Tang Qiu directly?"

Tang Qiu inserted the straw and tasted the soy milk—not too sweet, acceptable—and nodded, saying, "Of course, Si Zhao."

Si Zhao immediately responded, "Tang Qiu."

Addressing each other by name did feel more intimate than using titles. Tang Qiu noticed Si Zhao's body relax, and after yawning, she restarted the car, merging into traffic while chatting idly, "I remember you said last time that you've already resigned?"

Tang Qiu sipped her soy milk casually and hummed in agreement.

Si Zhao took a breath, not sure if envious or sympathetic, and glanced at Tang Qiu. "Once your memory returns, can you go back? I remember the law firm you worked at before was quite famous. You must have put in a lot of effort to work there."

Si Zhao genuinely felt sorry for Tang Qiu. A Ph.D. in law—how much hardship must she have endured to be so outstanding? But just as her career was taking off, it was cut short. Putting herself in Tang Qiu's shoes, Si Zhao felt stifled.

Tang Qiu also felt regret for the original Tang Qiu, but since she was gone, Tang Qiu couldn't continue walking the path the original had taken. She could only sigh and say, "When I resigned, my boss said I could come back once my memory recovered, but you know how bosses are..."

Tang Qiu didn't finish her sentence, just shrugged suggestively.

Si Zhao understood immediately and agreed wholeheartedly, "I get it, I get it. Bosses often say things for show; only fools take them seriously. But you're so outstanding, even if that law firm won't take you back, it's no big deal. You'll find a place that suits you better."

Si Zhao was indeed very different from Lei Yue. Not only did she chat idly with Tang Qiu, but she also spent a lot of time comforting her, praising her excellence from various angles, afraid that Tang Qiu might lose hope in life.

They chatted the whole way, and by the time Si Zhao had finished a whole bottle of water she kept beside her, they finally reached their destination.

Getting out of the car, the first thing that caught Tang Qiu's eye was the towering mountain peak. Unlike the one they had camped at with Chen Chen and the others, this peak was not only taller but also much steeper, like a giant sword thrust diagonally into the earth, inspiring awe from a distance.

Since spring had arrived, even the morning sunlight was somewhat glaring. Si Zhao raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, looked around, and then emitted a resigned, long sigh. "Here again. Well, time to climb."

Tang Qiu glanced at it briefly and then looked around.

This was a temporary parking lot formed by an open space. The ground was flat but not paved with cement, apparently a relatively undeveloped scenic spot not yet under government management. Besides Si Zhao's car, there were many other cars neatly parked nearby, including private cars and police cars. It seemed that Lei Yue and his team had arrived earlier and had already gone up the mountain.

While Tang Qiu was observing, Si Zhao had already put on her backpack and pulled out a smaller one to hand to Tang Qiu. "The crime scene is a bit far. It's not too hard to climb, but it takes a lot of time, so we won't be coming down today. There's food and water in here; it should last us for the day."

Tang Qiu said nothing and took it, putting it on her back.

During the short journey, she had already gotten a rough idea of Si Zhao: a restless chatterbox. As long as it didn't involve confidential matters and she was talking to someone she trusted, she would tell you things in her own way without needing to be asked.

Sure enough, as they climbed up the mountain, Tang Qiu gathered some useful information from Si Zhao.

Today's trip to bring Tang Qiu back to the crime scene for a reconstruction to help jog her memory was only one of the purposes. The main goal was to expand the search for clues around the crime scene to find the killer's escape route. For this, the police had dispatched many people, including those from the Yuntang District branch and the local police station under whose jurisdiction the crime scene fell.

Tang Qiu was initially surprised that Lei Yue had gone to such lengths, but then she realized that the attacker she had described—a man familiar with the crime scene, physically strong, and suspected of being involved in other murders—was likely considered highly dangerous by the more professional criminal police team. So it made sense that they were taking it so seriously.

Though she thought this, as a former lawyer who didn't understand such matters, Tang Qiu hid all her emotions and tried to show a look of surprise, gratitude, and trust.

Si Zhao was indeed pleased. She tried to suppress a big grin, resulting in a slightly twisted smile. She lightly patted Tang Qiu's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, our police force always takes every case seriously and will spare no effort to solve it to protect the people's lives and property."

Compared to the last climbing experience, this one was much tougher. The uneven path was one thing, but the steepness was even more challenging. Some parts couldn't even be called a road; they were just a few rocks and tree roots forming footholds for climbing.

Fortunately, thanks to her recent training, Tang Qiu's physical fitness had improved significantly, allowing her to keep up without holding back too much. However, even so, Si Zhao was very impressed.

"Amazing, Tang Qiu," Si Zhao said, gasping for breath while adjusting her breathing. "I've been training since childhood, and you can keep up with me. Your stamina and endurance are incredible."

Tang Qiu had expended much more energy than Si Zhao had. While Si Zhao could still speak while gasping for breath, Tang Qiu was out of breath, her face flushed, and her physical limits were reached. After resting a while, she said, "I've only been exercising recently and got a bit better, but I'm still not as fit as you. Without your help, I definitely couldn't have kept up."

Tang Qiu wasn't being humble. In fact, Si Zhao had been very considerate of her along the way. Whenever they encountered a tough slope, Si Zhao would always go first, then reach out to pull Tang Qiu up, greatly saving her energy. However, this meant Si Zhao's own energy consumption increased significantly, which was why Tang Qiu could barely keep up.

But Si Zhao didn't think she had played a big role and continued to sincerely praise Tang Qiu a few more times before they continued climbing.

After another hour or so, past lunchtime, Tang Qiu and Si Zhao finally reached the destination.

It was a large open space, with a hillside behind it and a forest not far ahead. A dirt path worn by foot traffic wound from the hillside toward a denser forest diagonally opposite, and the faint sound of rushing water could be heard.

Lei Yue was standing in the open space, with a young male police officer beside him. There was no one else.

When Tang Qiu and Si Zhao walked in from the dirt path on the hillside, Lei Yue and the male officer were looking down at the ground, studying something. Hearing their footsteps, they looked up.

Si Zhao cheerfully called out a greeting, "Captain Lei, Officer Ji, we're here!"

The two groups were still a bit far apart, so Lei Yue didn't speak, just waved from a distance.

As Tang Qiu and Si Zhao approached, Lei Yue asked, "How was the climb, Lawyer Tang? Did you get up without issues?"

Tang Qiu had regained much of her energy; her face was back to normal, and her heartbeat had steadied. She nodded, "Everything went smoothly, thanks to Si Zhao. She got me here as fast as possible."

Si Zhao beamed proudly at Lei Yue, as if to say, "See? I'm reliable."

Lei Yue gave Si Zhao an approving look, then pointed to a white powder outline on the ground that roughly sketched a human figure, head pointing toward the forest and feet toward the hillside. "This is the position you were found in after the attack that night. According to the witness's testimony, you were lying face up, head turned to the right, your right arm pinned under your body, and both legs bent at odd angles."

Lei Yue then glanced at Si Zhao, who immediately got the hint. She lay down beside the outline and adjusted her posture to recreate the scene.

Lei Yue helped adjust the angles of her legs, then stood up. "That's roughly it, Lawyer Tang. Does this jog your memory?"

Tang Qiu walked around Si Zhao, memorizing her lying posture, and then shook her head. "Nothing comes to mind, but this posture..."

Tang Qiu frowned. This was completely different from her previous mental reconstruction based on what Chen Chen and Lv Xinghe had told her. She had thought the original person was struck on the back of the head, so she should have fallen face down. But now, with Si Zhao's reenactment, she was face up, with such twisted arms and legs—it seemed strange.

"You think so too?" Si Zhao got up from the ground, brushing off the dust, and said, "We reenacted the whole process based on the testimony. Logically, the attacker came from this direction."

Si Zhao pointed toward the forest behind her, then at the location of the white outline, and continued, "You were standing here. Based on the severity of your injury, the attacker used a lot of force, likely intending to kill you. With that kind of force, you would have fallen forward like this."

Si Zhao demonstrated by leaning forward, then added, "But you were found falling backward. Based on the attacker's escape traces, we speculate that attacking you was one of his goals—the other was to take you away."

"Take me away?" Tang Qiu was startled.

"Yes," Si Zhao said, brushing off the remaining dust on her hands. "Though we haven't yet figured out why the attacker wanted to take you away, the behavior itself is confirmed."

Tang Qiu calmed down and tried to analyze. "Could it be kidnapping? No, if it were kidnapping, he wouldn't have tried to kill me. Then maybe he just wanted my body? But why? What use could my body be?"

Tang Qiu quickly thought of several possibilities, such as using it for experiments, or as a warning to others of the same kind, or as a trap. If this were an apocalyptic world, these guesses might make sense. But in the relatively peaceful, rule-of-law society she had transmigrated into, it was beyond her knowledge. She couldn't think of a reasonable explanation.

Tang Qiu couldn't figure it out, but before this, Lei Yue's criminal investigation team had proposed an investigation direction involving arranged marriages for the dead. However, after fruitless investigations in that direction, they had to shift focus and return to the crime scene to expand the search for more clues.

Si Zhao and Lei Yue exchanged glances, then gave Tang Qiu a firm pat on the shoulder and said, "Solving the case is our job as police. Don't push yourself too hard. Otherwise, what are we cops for? Your only goal today is to wander around this area and see if any familiar spots might jog your memory."

As a soul from another world, Tang Qiu naturally couldn't recover the original owner's memories, but faced with these police officers, she could only pretend to look around. Over the next while, Lei Yue and Ji Gan took care of their own tasks, while Si Zhao stayed with Tang Qiu the whole time, protecting and guiding her, hoping she would regain her memory.

After nearly two hours of circling, Tang Qiu had even eaten a meal. They went from the camping spot in front of the slope to the forest on the opposite side where the sound of water came from. The memory recovery Si Zhao had hoped for made no progress, but through some signs of human activity, combined with what Chen Chen and Lü Xingchen had previously said, Tang Qiu gradually gained a better understanding of what had happened to the original body on the night of the attack. Unfortunately, it still didn't help solve the case.

Busy as they were, time flew by, and soon it was evening. Just as Lei Yue was about to call in the search teams and wrap up for the day, good news finally came.

A police officer reported a discovery to Lei Yue via walkie-talkie.

Everyone, including the victim, Tang Qiu, perked up. Si Zhao clapped her hands and said, "Finally, today wasn't a waste! We've got a lead. While it's still light, let's hurry over and take a look."

Lei Yue carefully recorded the detailed route provided by the reporting officer, put away his phone, glanced at Si Zhao, and said, "You don't need to come. Stay here with Lawyer Tang. If after half an hour she still hasn't made any progress recovering her memory, then you two head down the mountain first. We'll meet at the precinct."

Si Zhao wrinkled her nose in displeasure, but she understood that among the three officers present, she was the only one suitable to accompany Tang Qiu. So she didn't show her dissatisfaction and simply agreed readily.

Tang Qiu, however, hesitated and looked at Lei Yue, asking tentatively, "Officer Lei, could I come along too?"

Lei Yue frowned, his expression immediately turning from gentle to stern. Though he didn't say no outright, his demeanor said it all.

Tang Qiu thought for a moment and deliberately put on a scared and nervous look, hunching her shoulders and saying, "Officer Lei, I don't want to cause you trouble. But it's getting dark, and we're at the crime scene. I'd rather go down the mountain with all of you."

Tang Qiu hinted subtly, and although it was indirect, everyone present understood: she was implying that being alone with just Si Zhao didn't make her feel safe, and she wanted to stick with the group.

Lei Yue naturally wanted to refuse, but after looking at the sky and the surrounding environment, he considered for a few minutes and finally agreed, "Alright. But you can only stay on the outermost edge with Si Zhao. You cannot approach our investigation area. Everything you see today must be kept confidential."

Tang Qiu just wanted to learn as much as possible about clues about the killer, so she agreed readily.

Lei Yue led the way, Tang Qiu and Si Zhao were in the middle, and Ji Gan brought up the rear. The four walked in single file, leaving the empty ground with only a few weeds and heading deep into the forest.

It was clearly a naturally grown forest with no signs of human development. Bushes and protruding tree roots were everywhere. Despite being careful, they were occasionally tripped by roots or vines. Before they had gone far, everyone's clothes were stained with unsightly dirt.

Tang Qiu picked off a wild grass that had somehow gotten caught on her sleeve and looked up to observe her surroundings. Internally, she revised her assessment of the killer's threat level.

Given her physique and agility from the apocalypse world, she could move through such rough terrain without much trouble, but that was after over a decade of training and daily survival struggles. It was clear that even with familiarity with the terrain, the killer was far stronger than an ordinary person.

Except for Si Zhao, who couldn't stand the silence and occasionally chatted, everyone else walked in silence. After who knows how long, they finally heard human voices echoing from deeper in the dense vegetation.

The sun hadn't set yet, but only its afterglow remained. Blocked by the lush canopy, it was almost as dark as night.

They all turned on their phone flashlights and continued deeper in the direction of the voices.

After walking another few dozen meters, Tang Qiu, in the middle, saw light before she saw anyone. The flashlights in front were clearly more professional than theirs, their beams almost blindingly bright.

Si Zhao eagerly waved and shouted, "Xiao, we're here!"

Several people from across the way rushed over to meet them. A man whose face was hard to make out ran while saying, "Captain Lei, you're finally here. It's getting dark; we were worried you might get lost."

Lei Yue took a few steps over a tree root that looked like a python and said, "The route you provided was very clear, and there were markers along the way. We had no trouble getting here."

He turned off his phone flashlight and took the spare flashlight handed to him by Xiao Wenbo, then switched it on and asked, "How are things on your end? Any findings?"

Xiao Wenbo glanced at Tang Qiu, who was following Lei Yue, then leaned in closer and lowered his voice, saying, "We found what appears to be an abandoned hideout of the suspect, and a possible burial site."

Although Xiao Wenbo's voice was very low, due to the confined space, Tang Qiu strained her ears and caught most of it. But she wasn't surprised. She had already suspected that the attacker of the original body had killed before; now her suspicion was confirmed.

Lei Yue's expression darkened. He immediately went from serious to grave. He turned and gave a few instructions to Si Zhao, then followed Xiao Wenbo, with Ji Gan in tow.

Si Zhao stayed with Tang Qiu, lagging behind a little, until they saw an obviously abandoned wooden cabin covered in vines, surrounded by a large group of police officers. They stopped.

"Let's stand here," Si Zhao said. "The view is relatively open. We can see Captain Lei and the others, and they can see us. Even if something unexpected happens, there's plenty of time for rescue."

Si Zhao made a quick assessment and then smiled at Tang Qiu, saying, "Of course, with so many cops around, even if the killer comes back, he'd just be walking into a trap. You won't be in danger."

Tang Qiu thanked her sincerely, then fixed her gaze on the cabin, watching the flurry of police activity.

She briefly observed the wooden cabin, then shifted her attention to a few police officers further away, gathered around a patch of grass and studying something.

From what she had overheard, Tang Qiu guessed that patch of grass was the burial site Xiao Wenbo had mentioned.

Just as Tang Qiu was using the light to try to make out the officers' movements and read their lips, a police officer hurried out of the wooden cabin and caught her attention.

He was too far away for Tang Qiu to see his face clearly. She could only tell he was a slightly overweight middle-aged male officer in uniform, not very tall, and his gait was a bit bouncy.

Tang Qiu noticed him because the system interface, which had been unresponsive for five days, suddenly popped up.

You have seen Cai Xuemin. The item "Fate's Prophetic Eye" has been used.

You have successfully predicted Cai Xuemin's fate. You foresee his death: on April 6th at 3:37 PM.

Tang Qiu kept a calm face, but her eyes widened in surprise. She never expected that her target this time would be a police officer.

This killer was audacious, murdering a cop in broad daylight. Accordingly, Tang Qiu would need to be more cautious this time. She didn't want any trail left behind that might lead the police to her.

Because of this interlude, Tang Qiu suddenly became very busy. She kept an eye on the police's progress as they uncovered clues while carefully noting the target's physical characteristics, and gradually formed a rough plan.

As she formulated her plan, Tang Qiu felt a bit grateful that it was the talkative Si Zhao accompanying her up the mountain. Although Si Zhao only knew some superficial details, at least she knew where to stake out and how to follow this target. She was also glad she had already retrieved an item that could transform into a cat, allowing her to safely gain her basic attribute points.