A Psych Case Just Joined the Team Chapter 015

Black Hand – 03

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That evening, everyone ordered takeaway and settled dinner simply, then all voluntarily stayed behind to work overtime. The office was very quiet, everyone was absorbed in their own tasks, and even the yawns felt a little perfunctory.

Several photographs were scattered across a desk in the office. One was a close-up of the deceased's back. Apart from the clearly visible livor mortis, there was a small dark spot beneath the right scapula. At first glance, Xing Zui had thought it was a smudge left by a carbon pen, but upon closer inspection, he realised it was a mole on the body.

Just then, Mu Sen sent over a file.

Qing Ming narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at the computer screen, his long fingers typing swiftly on the keyboard. On screen was surveillance footage from the west gate of the Fengjing Garden estate, filmed between nine and ten-thirty in the evening of November 9th. Fengjing Garden estate had four entrances: east, west, south, and north. In fact, outside the stairwell of unit 3 on the ground floor of the building Lin Lin lived in, there was a camera installed, but Fang Lai had already looked into it and found that due to poor estate security, the camera had been broken for over a month... and the estate management had never arranged for repairs. Cui Jingfeng, Fang Lai, and Xie Xun were each responsible for the remaining three entrances to Fengjing Garden estate and surrounding surveillance footage.

At 10:01:45, a man wearing a dark brown jacket appeared on screen at the west entrance. From the style and colour of the clothing, it bore a very high resemblance to what Yuan Zhiqiang had been wearing when he was apprehended. Moreover, the man's height was roughly the same as Yuan Zhiqiang's. The man deliberately kept his head down and was also wearing a baseball cap. Even when Qing Ming zoomed in several times, the image remained too unclear to make out the man's face.

At 10:01:50, a flash of strong light streaked across the footage, and immediately afterwards a black Audi entered the estate, brushing past the man before vanishing from the frame... Qing Ming watched that segment more than twenty times, but still couldn't confirm whether the man was Yuan Zhiqiang or not.

But intuition told him! This person was Yuan Zhiqiang. So, spending some time was still worthwhile.

"Found it!"

Everyone immediately gathered around Qing Ming's desk. He froze the footage at the exact frame where the rear of the car was just passing the man.

Xie Xun stared at the blurry figure on screen. "This is ten times worse than porn quality, how the hell are we supposed to prove that's Yuan Zhiqiang?"

Qing Ming remained calm, arms crossed over his chest, and said, "Because the estate's surveillance system didn't retain the original footage data, it's basically impossible to enhance the clarity of the image by zooming in afterwards."

Xie Xun: "So?"

Qing Ming placed his hands back on the keyboard, zoomed in swiftly on the car's side mirror, and said confidently as he worked, "At first I thought this car was an eyesore, but then I realised it's actually done us a huge favour without even trying, I'm absolutely in love with it now..."

Everyone's eyes turned to the enlarged image of the side mirror Qing Ming had highlighted. Experienced drivers all knew that, due to blind spots while driving, it was often difficult to see vehicles overtaking, and a standard rectangular side mirror alone couldn't fully cover what was happening behind the car. So, attentive drivers would often install an additional small round blind spot mirror. This little convex mirror helped expand the driver's field of vision, significantly reducing blind spots while reversing or driving.

And this particular car just happened to have one installed.

"Not only does this car have a small blind spot mirror, but the angle it's been adjusted to... It's practically a 360-degree panoramic, land-sea-air, full-spectrum surveillance system, proper 5D tech can't even compete... Plus, it wasn't raining that night, and the mirror was spotless, it caught the back of the car in crystal-clear detail. Now tell me this car isn't an absolute beauty... haha."

As he spoke, Qing Ming casually turned his head to glance at the people standing behind him and caught sight of Xing Zui. He had no idea when Xing Zui had appeared behind him. Instantly, Qing Ming switched to his professional mode.

"I am now moderately enlarging it to the optimal frame rate. Then, through the technical processing of 'Qing Ming Exclusive Sponsorship,' it can somewhat compensate for the unclear effect."

As he said this, Qing Ming's fingers flew across the keyboard. Within two minutes, a seventy-five per cent clear outline appeared in the car's small blind spot mirror. It was unmistakably Yuan Zhiqiang.

Cui Jingfeng patted Qing Ming's shoulder. "Didn't expect you to be such a tech nerd..."

Qing Ming raised an eyebrow and accepted the label with delight. Wearing a thoroughly punchable, smug expression, he said, "Go on then, offer up your knees—I'll take them all."

Xing Zui: "Yuan Zhiqiang entered Fengjing Garden estate around ten o'clock. Before we arrested him, did he leave the estate again?"

"Yuan Zhiqiang was arrested at around eight-thirty yesterday morning, and at the time, the police car exited through the west gate." As he spoke, Qing Ming fast-forwarded the footage to eight thirty-four.

Cui Jingfeng: "The surveillance footage from the east gate, which I was responsible for, didn't capture any footage of Yuan Zhiqiang entering or leaving on the day of the crime."

Xie Xun: "Same on my end."

Fang Lai said, "No record of Yuan Zhiqiang entering or exiting the estate on my side either, but I've made a new discovery. I pulled up surveillance footage from Nanling Street, from around one to six in the morning on the day of the murder. Due to serious waterlogging on the road, there were drainage works being carried out during that time, and both vehicles and pedestrians were prohibited from passing through. Now, Nanling Street is a necessary route from the west side of the city to the south. The deceased's estimated time of death is between one-forty and two o'clock in the morning. If Yuan Zhiqiang killed her and then left at six o'clock by car or taxi heading to the west side, it would've taken him at least twenty minutes. By then, it would've been broad daylight. Trying to scale a wall and enter the deceased's home in the raincoat and gloves he used during the murder would've made it very hard for him not to be noticed."

Xie Xun paused to think, then said, "Now that you mention it, I remember that when I saw Yuan Zhiqiang that morning, his clothes and shoes were all pretty clean, no signs of them being wet either. Didn't look like someone who'd just rushed back in from outside. Before I left the deceased's rented apartment, I searched it thoroughly, inside and out, and didn't find any raincoats or gloves. Also, other colleagues searched the area around the estate and found nothing either."

With both hands in his pants pockets, Xing Zui said, "Here's a bit of news for everyone, the semen sample collected from beneath the deceased's armpit has come back, and it's confirmed not to be Yuan Zhiqiang's."

Cui Jingfeng said, "Then for now, we can tentatively rule him out as a suspect."

Xing Zui: "The lead's dried up, but at least it proves Yuan Zhiqiang isn't the killer. Our investigation no longer needs to focus on him."

Xie Xun stretched and glanced at his watch, it was already three in the morning, so he asked tentatively, "Boss, treat us to a midnight snack later. It's been four years, I've followed you for four whole years, surely that kind of loyalty's enough to earn at least one free meal?"

Xing Zui replied coolly, "Is there no expiration date for this kind of talk with you? My ears are about to be sterilised from hearing it so often."

Xie Xun shrugged. "As long as the loyalty's still there, it'll go on forever."

"Everyone worked hard today, get ready, Dad will take you into the city."

With that, he strode towards the office... Behind him came the knowing cheers from Xie Xun and Qing Ming. Just then, Xing Zui suddenly stopped, turned back, and said, "It's still early before work starts, how about after dinner we all go for a massage?"

Qing Ming raised his hand. "Senior, you're the best!"

Xie Xun couldn't help but want to give his dear and caring captain a big hug, and with tears and snot streaming down his face, he said, "Boss, you're getting more handsome by the day, I'll follow you for life!"

Xing Zui fended off his enthusiasm with a well-placed foot. "Mind your dignity!"

The group then drove to a night market food stall and swiftly polished off their late-night meal, full of anticipation for what came next. But instead of stopping outside some massage parlour or a sketchy SAP shop, the car pulled up in front of a large 24-hour convenience store.

After getting out, they trailed after Xing Zui into the store. Once they spotted a row of scan-to-use massage chairs, they instantly understood what kind of "massage" Xing Zui had been talking about.

Xie Xun: "Boss, what kind of massage is this supposed to be? You're playing with our hearts..."

Qing Ming flopped onto one of the massage chairs. "I've never tried one of these automatic massage things, how do they work?"

Xing Zui stepped forward, pulled out his phone, and scanned a QR code on the armrest. A moment later, a sweet female voice played from the chair: "Initiating twenty-minute 'Fatigue Relief' massage."

The chair then began to operate automatically.

"Aiya, not bad, Blindy, you guys come try this!"

Xie Xun weighed his options and thought, Why not? It doesn't cost me anything, and it's better than going back to work with a sore body. So he lay back on the massage chair...

"Great, Fengzi, you guys have to try this!"

Soon after, Cui Jingfeng and Fang Lai, still somewhat sceptical, lay down as well... and within seconds, they too were converted... The expressions on their faces gradually melted into relaxation. Eyes closed, they all sank into the comfort of the "mechanical massage."

Meanwhile, the ever-composed Xing Zui sat down on the bench opposite, pulled a candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth... His eyes, dark and deep as the night, held a thoughtful glint. After a moment's contemplation, he felt a quiet satisfaction, this group of cubs under his command really were easy to please.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: July 5, 2025 by Angel

Edited: October 1, 2026 by Angel