Chapter 27: You Had Better Just Be Chewing on a Bicycle Seat

While eating, Cen Lian received a call from Director Chen.

"The fraudster has finally confessed. It was the same old routine: a man posing as a woman online, using filters to lure people into naked video chats, then using screenshots to blackmail them for money," Director Chen said, his tone as casual as if he were chatting about everyday life.

"Should I say that it takes a man to understand a man..." Cen Lian found this case difficult to comment on.

However, the station had dealt with such scams before. The "beauties" they caught were often a mix of both genders. It was clear that with the right filters, anyone with a humanoid shape could transform into a stunner—complete with bright red lips, wavy hair, high heels, and black silk stockings.

Cen Lian knew well that Director Chen was using this case as an opening; the real issue was yet to come.

"Let’s put that aside. We have a rather troublesome case at the station recently. Do you have any free time?" Director Chen finally got to the point.

"I don't have any plans this weekend. I’ll come over tomorrow to help," Cen Lian agreed immediately.

Wu Qiushan had previously mentioned that Director Chen had been working hard on his career advancement at the Municipal Bureau and had achieved impressive results this year. He was likely to succeed in his bid to become a deputy bureau chief at the district level, so Cen Lian remained respectful toward his future superior.

After ending the call, Cen Lian sent a WeChat message to Tang Hua, asking if he wanted to join.

Tang Hua replied instantly. "Although I have zero desire to go, the fact that a problem has reached the point where Director Chen is calling for outside help makes me a little curious."

"I doubt it's a major case," Cen Lian replied. "Nothing big ever happens in our district. We’ll go check it out tomorrow; we might be done by noon."

Tang Hua immediately sent a sticker of a person covering their mouth. "You’re done for. You just set the most terrifying flag in the world—'it’ll definitely be fine.'"

Cen Lian: ...

In truth, he had regretted sending that message the moment it left his phone. He decided to stop thinking about the nature of the case and focused on his meal, fending off his parents' inquiries about when he planned to start dating.

"When I stop working overtime," Cen Lian finally condensed his thoughts into a single sentence, delivering a fatal blow to his parents' hopes.

Ha, a criminal investigator who doesn't work overtime? That doesn't exist.

***

The next morning, Cen Lian arrived at the Xinhe Police Station on time. Before he even stepped inside, he saw Tang Hua standing at the entrance, peering in, seemingly scouting for something.

"What are you looking at?" Cen Lian followed his gaze but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"I just saw Old Yang walk in, cursing under his breath. It must be related to the case Director Chen mentioned." Tang Hua, unable to suppress his gossipy nature, nudged Cen Lian toward the inside of the station.

"Where is Director Chen?" Cen Lian asked someone at random.

Liu Hang, who was busy reviewing surveillance footage, saw them, and a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. "Director Chen is in his office upstairs. Hurry up, Cen!" Liu Hang seemed desperate for Cen Lian to release him from the endless sea of surveillance videos.

Cen Lian glanced at the monitor on his desk and guessed that Director Chen had summoned him because the case was linked to the footage.

Tang Hua followed him up to see the director.

"Director, we're here," Cen Lian said as they entered the office. "What’s going on?"

Chen Xinrong glanced at Tang Hua behind him, feeling that this kid had finally become a bit more sensible since leaving the Xinhe station—at least he knew enough to come back and help.

Cen Lian read the look in his eyes and decided he would have to warn Tang Hua later not to let it slip that he was only here to watch the show.

"It’s a bit complicated. Let’s talk as we go," Chen Xinrong said. He had already intended to head downstairs, and it was a perfect time to brief them on the situation.

"Three days ago, several residents in our jurisdiction reported that their bicycle seats had been chewed up. They suspected a wild animal and called the police. But after our officers investigated, they found that the bite marks on the seats were human," Chen Xinrong said, finding the case bizarre himself. "We extracted DNA from one of the seats, but it didn't match anyone in the database, and the suspect didn't leave any complete fingerprints. The station is organizing people to review surveillance footage. If we don't find anything, we might have to collect DNA from everyone in the area where the crimes occurred, but as you know, since this isn't a murder case, it's very hard to get funding approved."

Cen Lian understood perfectly, while Tang Hua behind him was struggling to suppress his laughter.

After Chen Xinrong led them to Liu Hang and left, perhaps to attend to other matters, Tang Hua finally burst out laughing.

"So, you guys have been working overtime for all these days because of this seat-chewing guy?" he asked Liu Hang once he had finished laughing.

"Don't laugh, Brother Tang. We are truly at our wits' end. That guy didn't just chew up bike seats three days ago; he's been at it for the last two days as well. Several neighborhood committee directors and minor district officials have had their property damaged. The phone at the station has been ringing off the hook. If the budget weren't so tight, we would have already started mass DNA collection," Liu Hang said, sounding miserable.

Beside him, several auxiliary officers were also busy reviewing footage.

"It's alright, we'll help you look through the footage," Cen Lian said, seeing that Liu Hang was truly on the verge of a breakdown. He returned to his old desk and turned on the computer.

The station hadn't hired new people yet, so his and Tang Hua's desks were still empty.

Liu Hang, being very sensible, used a flash drive to copy the footage to Cen Lian's computer and even opened the first file from the day the incidents started.

"This is the Hongfu Residential Complex, right?" Cen Lian was very familiar with the local geography.

"Yes, the first reports came from residents there. Later, people in the nearby Yangguang and Xingye complexes reported the same thing. Even the Tianlai complex in your old patrol area had victims," Liu Hang said. Clearly, he had watched so much footage that he had a good grasp of the activity range of this suspect with the unique taste.

Cen Lian set the playback to triple speed; there was no need for him to watch it bit by bit.

From morning until just before lunch, Cen Lian finally spotted a suspicious figure in the footage from the Xingye complex, along with the text bubble floating above his head.

After reading the concise text bubble, he felt his vision go dark.

"I shouldn't have set that flag!" Cen Lian desperately wanted to travel back to last night and slap himself for saying "it’ll definitely be fine."

[Name: Yu Yong]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 39]
[Criminal Record: 1 day ago in Kang'an City, property damage. 2,106 days ago in Kang'an City, homicide and dismemberment of You Wei. 981 days ago in Kang'an City, intentional injury of Sun Hao.]
[Prison Record: None]

So much for just being a pervert! How does this guy have a murder charge on his record?!