Upon hearing this, Lin Qiupu immediately raged and pointed to Chen Shi, interrogating him, “Do you want to...” He originally wanted to ask “Are you chasing after my sister?!” However, it would be out of character for him to say such things in the face of subordinates. Instead, he changed his words to, “What is your motive?!”

“My motive? It's very simple. I want to fight crime!”

“Do you think I would believe you?”

“Captain Lin, I know that you are a policeman. Suspecting everything is part of your job, so I won’t judge you. Can we stop talking about this sort of stuff? You won’t be able to understand no matter how long we talk about this! Why don’t we go back to the point? If you can create conditions, why can’t I do the same? A bet is only challenging when there is equal footing. Or are you scared that my analysis is more reliable than yours?”

He knew that Chen Shi was just trying to throw him off, but Lin Qiupu took the bait anyway. He argued, “Scared!? What big words. I have been a policeman for so many years, there are countless cases that I’ve handled. Why would I be scared of losing to you?”

“Then why don't you agree? Since you think I am incompetent, why not accept my terms?”

Lin Qiupu thought about it. Chen Shi only went around the scene of the crime for a little bit. He didn't go to the property management office to inquire about things, nor did he watch the surveillance footage. Therefore, he should have difficulty in drawing the conclusion that it was done by an acquaintance. If you only look at this scene, anyone would think that it is an outsider who committed the murders.”

A smile formed on his face again. “Okay, I promise then!”

“I hope Captain Lin will keep his current promise!” Chen Shi smiled slightly.

“Less nonsense, hurry up!”

“First of all, this is a family massacre tragedy. The murderer's killing order should be the first male owner, then the old lady, then the hostess. I don't know why the murderer let the child go...”

“Mr. Chen’s high opinion is really astonishing. I totally didn’t know that!” Lin Qiupu sneered sarcastically, thinking that these things were all he had to say.

Chen Shi ignored him and smiled, “Furthermore, this was done by an acquaintance.”

“What!?” Lin Qiupu widened his eyes. “You’re just guessing! That doesn’t count!”

“Guess? Then I will walk you through my reasoning process!” Chen Shi went to the door and pointed to the wall. “The average person that enters a room will turn on the light switch that would be next to the door, but this home has installed a remote control switch, you can look for it. There must be a remote control. When I came in, the light was off. The time of death of the deceased should be around 12 o'clock last night. The lights should have been on at the time. The murderer turned off the lights when they left, indicating that the murderer had been here before. Most likely they were a friend of this family, and he knew of this detail.”

“Wait, how did you know the time of death?”

“Rigor mortis, the skin of the corpses and the cloudiness of the pupils. I have read some forensic books, so I have some understanding.”

Lin Qiupu shed cold sweat. This guy really does have some knowledge hiding in him. He challenged, “On this point alone, you can't conclude that an acquaintance committed the crime!”

“The male body in front of the bathroom, he was smashed from the back with a lid of the toilet water reservoir. From the way the body fell, it can be a misconclusion that the murderer was hiding in the bathroom...”

“You’re saying it isn’t so?”

“Correct. Have you seen the toilet inside? There's urine that has not been washed away. Whether it is the murderer or the deceased, it proves that this hypothesis is not true. The murderer and the male owner were likely having a conversation in front of the bathroom. The murderer most likely killed the male owner when he wasn’t looking.”

Lin Qiupu gestured to a subordinate, “Go and see!”

The subordinates looked at it and confirmed, “There is really urine in the toilet.”

Lin Qiupu bit his lip. How could he have ignored this detail and allow this guy to take advantage of it? He asked, “Is there anything more to add?”

“The most important point is that the tools used by the murderer to kill everyone are all from this house. He did not bring his own weapon. It can be inferred that when the murderer entered the door, there was a high probability that he had no intention of committing the murders. There is another detail. There is a large pot of white fungus lotus seed sweet soup in the kitchen. There is a bowl in the old lady's bedroom. There are four bowls in the sink. This shows that there was one more person at the time. Why would the owner give a stranger a bowl of sweet soup? Therefore it must have been an acquaintance! And very familiar in relationship at that. The visit was late at night so the relationship must not have been very shallow!”

Lin Qiupu partly admired Chen Shi and his reasoning, and partly regretted. This guy was very reasonable in his deductions, and was even more comprehensive in his analysis than we were.

Lin Qiupu went silent. Chen Shi reminded, “Captain Lin, you haven’t forgotten your promise, right?”

Lin Qiupu suddenly realized that all the other police officers on the side-lines were staring and listening in on them. He yelled, “Get back to work.”

When the crowd dispersed, he gave a sigh and agreed, “Yes, you can act with the task force, but you must accept my commands. Also, this privilege is only limited to this case.”

Looking at Lin Dongxue, Lin Qiupu thought, I will never let you have a chance at her.

“I don't accept it!” Chen Shi objected.

“You dare! Everyone in my task force has to listen to my commands. I don't need personal heroism. If you don't accept it, please leave!”

Chen Shi smiled and shook his head, “This is an additional condition that we had not agreed upon. Now you’re just suddenly raising it. What? Are you a child who’s a sore loser? I am ten years older than you in age, but you can't actually make yourself out to be a child.”

“I...” Lin Qiupu almost flew into a fit of rage after the face-to-face criticism, “I won't allow you to investigate with Lin Dongxue!”

“Brother, on what basis can you say that?” Lin Dongxue rebutted.

“Yes, what’s the reason? Because she is your sister?” Chen Shi also asked.

When they hit the nail on the head, Lin Qiupu's face turned red, and deliberately avoided the question, saying, “If I say it’s not allowed, then it’s not allowed. You are not part of the team, but she is. She has to obey the order! Lin Dongxue, I will not allow you two to partner up!”

“Brother, you are too unreasonable!” Lin Dongxue turned her head and left.

Chen Shi was also preparing to leave when suddenly, Lin Qiupu grabbed his shoulders. Lin Qiupu pleaded, “Let’s say I’m begging you, please don't go after my sister!”

“With which eye did you see me going after her?” Chen Shi asked thinking the situation was a little funny.

“There are so many people on the team who you could work with. Why must you ask for her? Her ability is not good, and does not have enough experience...”

“Captain Lin, do you know the biggest difference between her and you? She won't judge people by their cover, whereas you, starting from the first time, always associated me as only a driver. You measure people’s value only from their occupation and background. It is the biggest injustice, little one. I hope you can strengthen your own thoughts and suggestions and treat people equally and fairly!” After his spiel, Chen Shi patted Lin Qiupu's shoulder with the back of his hand and left.

Looking at the back of Chen Shi’s departure, Lin Qiupu’s face was flickering between red and green[1], when a subordinate came over to speak. He responded with a heavy tone, “What!?”

The other party was shocked and said carefully, “Captain Lin, we found a receipt for a debt.”

“What debt?”

“This family has debt with a huge loan shark!”

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiupu’s thoughts returned to his work. He queried, “How much does it total up to?”

“Including interest, it’s close to 800,000!”[2] The subordinate responded. This was an astronomical figure for the average family. Lin Qiupu suddenly raised a glimmer of hope in his heart. It seemed that the case has a lead.

1. An expression used to indicate what happens when you’re very angry

2. A little over $110,000 USD.