Simulated Crime, This Criminal Doesn't Seem to Be Acting

Chapter 95

Ye Sangsang needed a question powerful enough to overturn their perceptions, to get them on her side.

"What?" Jiang Feng's tone was sharp, as he already disliked Ye Sangsang and tolerating her presence was his limit.

Li Li, however, had spent the past two hours carefully assessing the situation.

She realized that, strictly speaking, Ye Sangsang wasn't the primary beneficiary.

Back then, her mother had not only returned the stolen money but also borrowed money to make amends.

She had sincerely written letters of apology, asking the police to deliver them. Yet, the rumors and gossip had already done enough harm to their family.

The key point was that "kindness doesn't extend to family." They hadn't benefited from what had happened, so she couldn't justify taking certain actions.

If she hadn't shielded her father, Zhao Qing, she would have preferred to remain strangers, nodding politely if they ever met.

From her interactions with Ye Sangsang, she recognized genuine efforts to help others, even at personal risk and with a sense of guilt.

She admitted that, seeing Zhao Xinxin, she had felt an overwhelming compassion.

Sometimes, she wanted to curse fate, wondering why life had to be so cruel, causing them so much suffering.

So when Jiang Feng demanded coldly, she reached out and placed a hand on his, turning to look at Ye Sangsang.

"There's a villager in his forties, claiming to be from your village. He says he overheard a conversation between your father and you that night. He was scared Zhao Qing might retaliate, so he kept it to himself all these years. Now that your family has left, and seeing us repeatedly

Watching Li Li drive away, Third Aunt sighed and shook her head.

After getting into the car, Li Li shared the information she had obtained with Jiang Feng.

"I think we can directly ask your relatives. See if there's any such thing, and then ask the police officer handling the case to investigate the other family."

If it matches, then the case is definitely problematic.

Jiang Feng nodded and drove to his relatives' place to ask.

Ye Sangsang soon received feedback from Li Li and pondered over the possible scenarios.

If all three families were involved, maybe this was a scam.

Using the lure of huge profits from investments to attract these financially stable families into the scheme and steal their money.

But she couldn't figure out why, if that was the case, they didn't just disappear.

After all, whether now or in the past, scammers usually operate like that—hit and run.

If her guess was right, there was no need to kill anyone.

Was there something else she didn't know about?

Ye Sangsang decided to wait and see, keeping an eye on other leads.

The afternoon passed, and she worked normally, occasionally calling clients to discuss designs.

As time went by, Ye Sangsang quickly got a second lead.

When Jiang Feng was driving to find relatives, he happened to meet a distant relative with whom his family had a relatively loose connection. Through some casual conversation, he learned that his parents had planned to invest in something related to computers.

She had accidentally overheard them talking in a restaurant once because the relationship was too distant, so she didn't greet them, just walked away after hearing a bit.

Looking at the second lead, Ye Sangsang was certain that, apart from these two families, the other one might also have been involved in such a situation.

In the message Li Li sent, there was clearly a sense of trust.

She told Ye Sangsang that the two were planning to meet the investigating police officer from back then.

The police officer hadn't retired yet, and it wouldn't be a problem to look up the information from the other family. He was also very enthusiastic, and if they gave him a new direction, he would definitely help them ask around.

Ye Sangsang didn't comment, but having the police involved was a good thing for them.

Under Li Li's real-time updates, Ye Sangsang received all the information first.

The investigating police officer saw their investigative approach, just as Li Li had expected, and took them to inquire about the other family's situation.

They only focused on this aspect.

It was a good sign.

But there was also bad news: they couldn't find anything, and none of the relatives or friends knew about it.

The police were also helpless.

Maybe it was just a coincidence.

Back then, the police had also investigated, and if all three families had encountered the same thing, the case wouldn't have been defined as random.

Ye Sangsang returned home and sat in her room to think.

The scammers should have contacted this family as well.

But they were too cunning—they probably had all three families keep it a secret, coaxing them into silence, resulting in no one, including relatives, friends, colleagues, or the police, knowing anything.

「No wonder! How can you investigate something you don't know about!」

「Finally got some lead, but it's broken here, what a bummer!」

「Please, Sis Sangsang, I must know the truth of this case! Sob sob sob, give the victims justice!」

Ye Sangsang grabbed a pen and started scribbling on paper. After a while, she circled a location.

She picked up her phone and dialed Li Li's number.

Li Li was in a state of anxiety, and seeing Ye Sangsang's call, she almost instantly answered.

"Go and ask Jiang Feng's relatives, where the restaurant was where his father used to entertain clients. Check if the restaurant is still there and if the owner is still the same. Maybe you can find some clues."

It was the last hope. Whether the restaurant was still there, whether the owner was the same, or if the former staff members remembered anything.

The chance was slim, but without trying, they would never get an answer.

After hearing Ye Sangsang's call, Li Li, without even hanging up, told Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng immediately agreed and asked the relative for the phone number to inquire.

The good news was that the restaurant had been open for over ten years and was doing quite well, with no signs of closing down.

After getting the information, the two immediately headed to the restaurant.

Li Li was very nervous, fearing they wouldn't get any leads.

Ye Sangsang didn't comfort Li Li but instead told them how to ask.

These were interrogation techniques she had learned from being a police officer, to help them avoid some pitfalls.

Li Li listened carefully, and now she fully trusted Ye Sangsang.

The fact that two individuals from almost incompatible backgrounds were now working together was something she found quite incredible.

The area wasn't big, and within ten minutes, they arrived at the restaurant.

Evening was a busy time, so they directly asked the front desk to see the owner.

The restaurant wasn't large, and the owner was always on-site.

Following Ye Sangsang's instructions, Li Li showed the owner photos of her parents and Jiang Feng's father, asking if he had seen them before.

The owner shook his head, saying he hadn't, but mentioned there was a server who had worked there for over ten years and was now the manager, and his memory was still good.

During the conversation, Li Li shed a few tears to sell her desperation, and the owner, feeling sorry for her, kindly called the manager over to ask.

In the expectant eyes of Li Li and Jiang Feng, the manager nodded.

Seeing this, Li Li then showed the manager a photo of another victim and asked if he had seen them.

In the eager gazes of the two, after a long moment of recognition, the manager nodded assuredly.

"I remember it quite clearly. The person who accompanied them that time insisted on making me his sworn brother, saying he would take me to make money. Because he sounded so convincing, I even gave him a bottle of wine."

The manager hesitated briefly before mentioning what he remembered about the person.

Throughout his career, it was the first time he had ever given someone a bottle of wine.

Back then, he was just a waiter, and that bottle of wine cost him quite a bit, causing him a lot of heartache for quite some time.

Li Li noticed a problem and immediately asked, "All of them, all these people, were with that person?"

The manager thought for a moment and nodded, "I paid attention. Later on, he just stopped coming. At the time, I thought maybe I had been scammed."

Li Li and Jiang Feng exchanged glances, both seeing the excitement in each other's eyes.

After briefly inquiring about the appearance, they sincerely thanked the manager and the owner before leaving.

Back in the car, Li Li immediately called Ye Sangsang to report the situation.

"Do you think he could be the killer?"

"Don't rush to conclusions. We need to gather more information. But for safety, you can inform the police."

Ye Sangsang advised.

Li Li agreed, and after dinner, they decided not to go home but instead return to the hotel to communicate with the police and organize the clues. Tomorrow morning, they planned to visit Zhao Xinxin's mother, Sheng Cui.

Sheng Cui could reach Zhao Xinxin's aunt and obtain information about her ex-boyfriend from back then.

Ye Sangsang agreed.

She checked the time and then skipped ahead in the timeline.

Sitting on the bus, she checked her phone.

It was now less than 33 hours before Zhao Xinxin's time of death.

Glancing around the bus, Ye Sangsang began to recall the people from the past few days and today, checking for any overlaps.

This scenario was quite friendly to her—not too tiring or spooky, just requiring some brainpower.

「A new day, and the time of death draws closer.」

「Li Li and Jiang Feng, keep working hard! Find the truth!」

【By the way, I think the simulation of the case has become more realistic at this moment. Haha, even though Li Li and Jiang Feng are NPCs, they feel like real, flesh-and-blood characters. It's heartwarming to see the truth being uncovered through their efforts.】

Another day of investigation unfolded. Ye Sangsang used her break time after work to call Sheng Cui and asked her to cooperate with Li Li and Jiang Feng.

Sheng Cui already felt guilty about them, so even without Ye Sangsang's request, she would have cooperated.

She went to visit Zhao Xinxin's Aunt.

The two families lived far apart, so it took some time to get there.

Zhao Xinxin's Aunt had broken up with her boyfriend and later married a factory worker, who later became unemployed and started a breakfast shop.

When they arrived, the Aunt was extremely busy.

Seeing Sheng Cui, she didn't want to pay much attention.

Because of her brother's (Zhao Qing) past, her husband and son didn't respect her much, feeling ashamed to have a convict as their brother-in-law and uncle.

Sheng Cui took the initiative to help out, and only after the busy period was over did they sit down together.

The Aunt's Husband worked odd jobs outside, while the breakfast shop was run by the Aunt alone.

“What do you want?”

Realizing that Sheng Cui had taken the initiative to help, the Aunt couldn't bring herself to say anything harsh, so she asked with a stern face.

“I want to know where your former boyfriend is now, what he's doing, and if you have any contact information for him.”

Sheng Cui didn't beat around the bush, directly asking her question.

The Aunt frowned and looked at her, then at the two others nearby. “Why are you asking about this? I don't have any contact with him. You know if my husband found out, there would be a big fight.”

She didn't know that Li Li and Jiang Feng were the families of the victims, as the incident had occurred fifteen years ago.

“You must at least know where he lived back then, right?”

The Aunt wasn't sure what Sheng Cui was after, but after some thought, she provided an address.

After Li Li took notes, Sheng Cui stood up and left without hesitation.

When the Aunt asked, Sheng Cui didn't divulge anything.

The three of them rushed to the address and began asking about the current whereabouts of the Aunt's Ex-boyfriend.

They also inquired with the neighbors about his current situation.

With their local accents, the neighbors didn't suspect anything and gave a rough overview.

Ye Sangsang quickly learned about the Aunt's Ex-boyfriend's situation. Coincidentally, he had made a fortune fifteen years ago and was now a small businessman.

It was said that he worked for a big boss and earned a hefty monthly income.

Soon, they obtained information about that boss.

Based on Sheng Cui's memory, this boss was the one who, through the Aunt's Ex-boyfriend's introduction, had asked Zhao Qing to transport goods for him.

The truth began to unfold before Ye Sangsang.

She was certain that this was a case of framing and false accusations.

Zhao Qing was from start to finish just a scapegoat, used and then discarded. After the murder, there was no other investigative direction, and the case was left unsolved.

Back then, cell phones were rare, and communication mostly relied on word of mouth.

The Aunt's Ex-boyfriend, if investigated by the police, would simply deny everything, and the police would have no other evidence.

As for why the three families were killed.

Ye Sangsang speculated that the true culprit had some connections with one of these families.

They deceived them and, as it became harder to cover their tracks, decided that fewer informed people meant less risk and decided to kill them all to silence them.

Or perhaps the true culprit had profitable local businesses and leaving wasn't an option, so they hired someone to eliminate the witnesses.

They could take the money and not worry about the aftermath.

However, there were still some loose ends Ye Sangsang couldn't quite connect.

She ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌‍wanted to know what had happened to Zhao Qing—why he had returned to apologize to Sheng Cui and then hastily fled.

Also, how did Zhao Qing's blood, and even his semen, end up at the crime scene? The latter would be difficult to obtain.

Finally, did Zhao Xinxin witness the murder and get killed to silence her?

Once the lead about the Aunt's Ex-boyfriend was confirmed, there was no need to dig deeper.

It was too dangerous—he could very well be the mastermind behind it all.

Lastly, there were the villagers, and they could also try to find the remains.

Ye Sangsang moved time forward in her mind. Evening approached, and the three investigators were filled with excitement. They decided not to rest and made their way back to the village from fifteen years ago.

During this time, Li Li handed over all the information they had gathered to the police, including their entire thought process and what they were planning to do next.

They had already realized that someone might be watching them, so their priority was to ensure their own safety.

The police who had originally worked on this cold case learned that new leads had emerged and quickly organized a comprehensive investigation.

That afternoon, they interviewed the restaurant manager and created a profile of the criminal.

After confirming the suspect, they entered the information into the surveillance network to locate him.

Simultaneously, they investigated the Aunt's Ex-boyfriend and his boss.

Having done all this, the police hurried to the village that night to search for Zhao Qing's remains.

The villager who had provided the information became the first person to be questioned.

After reviewing all the feedback, Ye Sangsang got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

If they could uncover the truth before the scheduled time of the murder, everything else would be much simpler.

There would even be time to set up an ambush.

She opened the door and walked toward the bathroom. As she reached the center of the living room,

"Knock knock knock."

There was a sharp knocking on the door of the shared rental house.

Ye Sangsang glanced over, her expression tense.

Her roommates in the shared house wouldn't knock—they had their own keys and could just let themselves in.

Could it be that the mastermind behind the murders had found out about the investigation and was now coming to kill her early?