“What happened?”
“A murder occurred here.”
“Ah?! Let me see, who died.”
Xiao Fen blended in among the onlookers, listening to the discussions with relish. He squeezed through the crowded group, and more than a dozen people emerged, men and women alike. It was obvious what their identities were.
The person at the forefront towered nearly a head above those around him, impossible to overlook at a glance.
He was an impeccably proper man.
Xiao Fen did not know how to describe him. He racked his brain and rejected a bunch of descriptors before finally coming up with that phrase.
His face was proper—classically handsome from any angle, with no flaws. Deep-set eyes and brows, a high nose bridge, bold and refined features full of heroic spirit. His pale lips lacked any defined Cupid’s bow, their straight, sharp lines conveying an aloof chill.
His gaze was proper, carrying a dignified and solemn force—not sharp, not timid, not amorous, not fake, not vague or flighty. When he looked at something, that thing filled his eyes completely.
His build was proper, shoulders and back straight and upright, strides quick yet orderly, exuding an innate, effortless nobility amid the crisp efficiency.
Even the suit on his body was proper: white shirt buttoned to the very top, cuffs pristine, complete with black tie, vest, and jacket, all tightly constraining that frame. Even the crease down the middle of his trousers was ironed razor-straight.
The whole man seemed stamped out from a template.
What a boring guy.
Xiao Fen shook his head in disdain. He fit perfectly with Xiao Fen’s stereotypes of certain professions he disliked.
Like the cannon fodder inspector from the original book, Fang Si Ting.
Inspector Fang had strong case-solving skills and ruthless methods, but this man did not know that variety shows were nothing like real investigations.
The book described how the entire variety show, aside from the opening, consisted mostly of Lu Jin and Ou Yu scenes of dating, arguing, dating, and breaking up. The pursuit team he led became bland tools, everywhere laced with scripted traces. Under the guise of crime education, it was really just a third-rate melodramatic romance show from start to finish.
After the show aired, the “Asia-Europe Continent CP” exploded in popularity, while the diligent pursuit team members who treated every case seriously were forgotten by all the viewers. Some even felt their presence delayed the CP’s sugar moments.
Looks like you’re making wedding clothes for others, Inspector Fang.
Suddenly, that impeccably proper gaze swept over.
Fang Si Ting scanned the crowd of onlookers. Amid the sea of heads, he seemed to catch a glimpse of unremarkable black fringe flashing by before vanishing.
He quietly instructed Bai Zhu to keep an eye on these spectators and conduct some questioning.
After giving the orders, he entered the room.
Lu Jin had already woken up by then, but he was currently playing the corpse, so he lay face-down on the ground with a furious expression, his glaring eyes brimming with rage.
【Hold it in, even if you know, you’re not allowed to say haha haha.】
【In today’s warm-up activity, this guy has to be the most innocent one. Not caught for a crime, but killed by another criminal.】
【Getting to be the first corpse isn’t a wasted trip haha haha.】
【Infiltrating the pursuit team live stream chat to scout intel for Brother Fen.】
The entire live stream chat brimmed with a joyful atmosphere.
In stark contrast, inside the control room, Old Master Lu’s face was as black as pot soot.
Station Director Chen racked their brain through every unhappy event of their life before suppressing a twitch at the corner of their mouth. They hurriedly pulled aside the awkward director nearby. “Who is this celebrity? Such nerve!”
The director hemmed and hawed. “I don’t really know him either. Seems like an artist from Lu Corporation’s entertainment division. I’ll ask the tracking production team. This is totally outrageous!”
As he spoke, he held the phone to his ear and scurried out on tiptoe, vanishing in a blink.
In the hotel, Lu Jin wore a man-eating scowl. A piece of paper still stuck to his back.
Fang Si Ting picked it up and saw it detailed the deceased’s cause of death. After all, it was just a variety show—no real killings or autopsies.
Name: Lu Jin
Age: 25
Time of Death: 1 hour ago
Direct Cause: Mechanical asphyxiation from strangulation
Other Injuries: A six-centimeter contusion on the back of the neck, a kick wound on the front chest, a bruise about twenty centimeters in area on the back.
The room was a mess, with many items knocked over, clearly the scene of a fierce struggle that matched the multiple injuries on the deceased.
The door and windows of the entire room were sealed shut, curtains drawn tight, airtight.
“There’s a scent.”
Peng Xiaoxiao took a deep breath. A faint yet rich woody aroma indeed lingered in the air, easy to miss if not paying close attention. “It’s the hotel’s air freshener.”
“No.” Fang Si Ting refuted firmly. “Scent from the person.”
A cool, sharp pine-like chill mingled with a faint bitter medicinal note. The longer one smelled it, the more the complex aroma in the nasal cavity sweetened into a mild milky aftertaste.
“Cliff cypress,” Fang Si Ting paused. “Incense.”
“Cliff cypress?” Peng Xiaoxiao said in surprise. “Didn’t expect the boss to know his incense.”
“My grandfather deals in wood.”
【Hahaha Brother Fen’s hobby is straight-up old man stuff.】
【Way too obvious, full of flaws. Bound to get caught in ten minutes.】
【Nah, buddy, you didn’t see the killing process earlier. Culprit Bro definitely has a follow-up plan.】
【Just got here, what’s the situation? This criminal’s playing big—killing in a warm-up activity.】
Xiao Fen’s live stream chat viewer count had skyrocketed to 630,000. Half were cursing him, the other half had seen the online buzz and come to wait for his capture.
He got cursed so badly because there was someone else in the room.
【Ou Yu?! Holy crap, how did the Film Emperor get kidnapped too! What happened?】 Plenty of viewers looked baffled.
At the same time, in the main live stream chat, Lu Jin’s photo as a criminal appeared in the right column, filling one slot.
Only two spots left open in the criminal team.
Ou Yu huddled on the bed, struggling weakly. He wore only black underwear, his eyes and mouth sealed with black tape, feet bound with tape, hands heavily wrapped behind his back with tape. Under his messy hair, his face was flushed red.
Tang Shen, wearing gloves, tore the tape off him and tossed it into an evidence bag.
Ou Yu’s face carried that near-death look of a living person. For a moment, he did not know how to speak. Peng Xiaoxiao sat on the bed’s edge with a kind smile, soothing his emotions.
“Deputy Team Leader Tang, any findings?” Fang Si Ting asked the person who had been busy.
“Hit a tough nut.” Tang Shen shook his head. “Room looks chaotic, but useful clues are scarce.”
As he walked, he continued. “All movable ornaments are smashed to bits, with tons of fingerprints extracted. Need to compare against hotel staff and the deceased.”
Fang Si Ting glanced over. “High chance no prints from the killer.”
【No way, I saw him extract at least thirty sets in Tang Shen’s stream. Gotta hit one, right?】
【That Fang guy’s too cocksure. Gonna eat crow later.】
Tang Shen quickly caught on and nodded in agreement. “Indeed, in a fierce tussle knocking things over, skin or prints might accidentally stick. But if it’s a struggle, not everything would shatter completely—even these thick pottery pieces are pulverized beyond reason.”
Fang Si Ting said, “Fall directions are messy, breakage too uniform.” Clearly deliberately smashed to stage the scene.
“Set the shard fingerprints aside for now and pursue other leads.”
“Got it. Found a room card on the deceased. Checking it for clues first.”
Fang Si Ting nodded and continued observing.
From the drag marks of shower water on the slippers and the shiny transparent prints on the floor, Lu Jin had just showered and then gone to answer the door.
He returned to the doorway, envisioning the killer entering, then striking from behind when off-guard.
He examined the blush marks simulating imprints on the deceased’s neck and body, comparing with his hand edge and knee—similar size.
A hand chop first strike, then a kick to the chest to floor him, knee pinning down with body weight.
He went to the balcony, yanked down the curtain tie hanging nearby, and held it to Lu Jin’s neck—width matched.
Improvised on-site, strangled the victim, then faked the crime scene.
By this reasoning, it was a one-sided beatdown. A big guy like that, utterly powerless to fight back.
“Notice it?” Peng Xiaoxiao came over then, twirling a pen between her fingers. “This killer had the drop for a one-shot kill but still beat the victim multiple times—like a cat toying with a mouse. Total confidence in his abilities.”
“What’s your take?”
“Male, around twenty-two to twenty-four years old, long-term gym rat, great strength and explosive power. Height about 1.77 meters, weight around sixty-five kilograms, shoe size 43. Meticulous thinker, agile and clear-minded, strong planner—a high-IQ criminal. Black hair, average looks, though could be disguise. Watch hotel staff.”
【Might as well recite Fen Treasure’s ID number.】
【Why note it? Just freeze up already. I see Fen Treasure daily and don’t know his shoe size or weight.】
【This woman’s a god. Just came from that 18th-Tier Celeb’s stream—spot on.】
【Did she peek at Brother Fen’s stream?】
【Scripted? This precise from so little info?】
【Don’t underestimate criminal profilers.】
【Missed it, fellow daoist. How was the killing?】
【Insane, can’t even think about it.】
【Accidentally triggered Corpse Brother’s first-person view. Nightmare fuel tonight. Better stick with Culprit Bro next time.】
【No next time. Won’t be ten minutes, he’ll get nabbed.】
【Dude who said ten minutes—fifteen gone already.】
【Still early. Less than an hour and a half since the crime. Pursuit team has five or six hours to crack it and grab him. Small hotel—even if big, six hours is plenty.】
“One more thing,” Peng Xiaoxiao’s expression grew grave. “Not a rookie. At least ten lives on his hands.”
