Upon hearing Mao Ji and Zhang Lihui's conversation, Li Xiang couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Judging by Zhang Lihui's expression, he didn't seem to be lying. Could there be more to this story?

With this thought, Li Xiang took out his phone to check the system task,

and indeed, the task wasn't marked as completed.

This means there is another culprit!

Li Xiang's mind was in a jumble. Three clues had been investigated, and none pointed to a suspect. Is this reasonable?

This is unreasonable,

yet it was happening right in front of them.

"Still trying to argue? I'm telling you, just based on the physical evidence, it's enough to convict you. We're questioning you now to give you a chance."

"It wasn't me. What do you want me to confess?"

"Mao, let's step outside for a moment." Li Xiang stopped the line of questioning, thinking that if he wasn't the culprit, continuing like this wouldn't lead to a breakthrough, and it might be better to pause for now.

"Think it over carefully." Mao Ji said to Zhang Lihui before leaving the interrogation room with Li Xiang.

Once outside, Mao Ji's expression immediately changed: "Li Xiang, what's going on? Weren't you supposed to play good cop while I played bad cop? Why am I the only one putting in the effort? And now you're pulling me out, what's happening?"

"Mao, I think Zhang Lihui doesn't seem like he's lying. The culprit might be someone else."

Hearing this, Mao Ji was taken aback and instinctively said, "How is that possible?"

With so much evidence laid out on the scene, how could you tell him that Zhang Lihui might be innocent and expect him to believe it?

But Li Xiang didn't seem to be speaking recklessly, as he had always been thoughtful since joining the investigative team. So Mao Ji asked:

"Do you have any basis for your judgment?"

Li Xiang shook his head. He didn't have any concrete basis, only intuition, and the fact that the system task wasn't marked as complete!

But he couldn't find a way to explain this!

"I think we should first check the chat history on his phone. We need to understand his relationship with Miao Xiuhui. If the real killer is Zhang Lihui, what was his motive? Was it robbery?"

Li Xiang was curious, too. With so much evidence clearly pointing to Zhang Lihui, yet based on his demeanor and the system's judgment, he wasn't the culprit. So, were these evidences mere coincidences, or deliberately arranged?

Then, Li Xiang took Zhang Lihui's phone and returned to the interrogation room, with Mao Ji sitting calmly by his side.

"Officer, I'm really being framed."

"Trust that the police won't let a bad person go and won't wrong a good person. Now unlock the phone. Answer what I ask. If there's any lie, you'll suffer the consequences."

Zhang Lihui's phone had been confiscated when he was arrested. Although technical staff could also unlock it, it was much more convenient with him doing it himself.

"Yes, yes."

Zhang Lihui nodded repeatedly, unlocked his phone, and handed it to Li Xiang. He still didn't know what had happened and just hoped the police would clear his name.

"When did you know Miao Xiuhui? How did you meet?"

"Two months ago, shortly after the New Year. I was driving, saw her flagging a ride by the roadside, and we hit it off when we talked. We added each other as friends. Later, when she needed a ride, I'd go pick her up whenever I was free."

As Li Xiang looked through their chat history, he verified Zhang Lihui's account. So far, there was nothing wrong in his words.

Moreover, through their chat history, Li Xiang discovered that their conversations were somewhat flirtatious.

"What's the deal with the nylon rope?"

The nylon rope puzzled Li Xiang. As the murder weapon for Miao Xiuhui, why was there an identical one in Zhang Lihui's car?

He previously claimed it was Miao Xiuhui who left it in his car. Was this true?

"The nylon rope was something Miao Xiuhui put in my car before. She said to leave it with me. I asked why she needed it, and she didn't say."

On this issue, Li Xiang marked it with a big question mark.

Assuming Zhang Lihui wasn't lying and Miao Xiuhui did leave the rope in his car, what was her intention?

Could it be a setup to frame him by suicide?

But then he dismissed that guess. Having seen the scene, with his Grandmaster Level forensic medicine skills, he could tell at a glance that this wasn't the case.

It's almost impossible for someone to strangle themselves with a rope unless they use some leverage device, but no such device was present.

What could be the reason, then?

If he could figure this out, it might bring them closer to solving the case.

"What exactly happened on April 25th?"

"That evening, around eight, I got a message from Miao Xiuhui asking me to pick her up at Five Miles Bridge to take her home. After I dropped her off, she offered sex as payment. I was tempted, so we went upstairs together. Afterward, I went home. I don't know about anything else. When I tried to contact her again, she didn't respond. I've been busy driving, so I didn't think much of it."

"Did you have any conflicts with Miao Xiuhui?"

"No, you've seen our chat history. We've never even argued. Anyone would believe we were in a relationship. How could there be any conflicts?"

Li Xiang repeatedly asked all the questions related to Miao Xiuhui in various forms several times. Zhang Lihui answered almost seamlessly without any significant logical flaws, indicating he probably wasn't lying.

After having Zhang Lihui sign the inquiry record, Li Xiang and Mao Ji stepped outside. By then, even Mao Ji thought that Zhang Lihui might genuinely not be lying.

But this case was too perplexing.

"Li Xiang, Mao Ji, I heard you captured the suspect. How did the interrogation go?"

After returning from a meeting, Cao Gang asked curiously when he saw Li Xiang and the others.

During the meeting, Director Song had asked about the case's progress, and the higher-ups were very concerned about it. Cao Gang had reported that they had already identified a suspect and were implementing the capture.

As soon as the meeting ended, he rushed over, eager to know if the suspect had confessed.

"Uh, Captain Cao, we might have made a mistake." Mao Ji scratched his head, appearing slightly embarrassed.

"What? Made a mistake? How is that possible? The murder weapon was found in his car. Could there really be a mistake?"

Cao Gang thought he misheard. With so much evidence, how could Zhang Lihui overturn the case?

"Captain Cao, the case is quite puzzling. I think we need to discuss it further in a meeting."

The first to suggest that Zhang Lihui wasn't the killer was Li Xiang, and even he felt overwhelmed. Only by pooling everyone's insights might they unravel the mystery.

"Let's go back and have a meeting."

As someone impatient, Cao Gang had guaranteed his superiors that the suspect had been captured, only for another issue to arise. He urgently needed to find out what went wrong.

In the case analysis room, the first squad quickly gathered. Captain Cao pointed to Mao Ji and said, "You explain, what's going on?"

"Let Li Xiang explain. He was the first to suggest that Zhang Lihui isn't the murderer."

"Alright, Li Xiang, explain."

"Okay, once Zhang Lihui was brought in, we immediately conducted an interrogation. But he appeared puzzled, as if completely unaware of what was happening."

"Could it be possible that it's all an act? After all, the DNA in the condom is his, and how do you explain the nylon rope in his car?"

Zhou Man objected, aligning her thoughts with Mao Ji's earlier stance that suspects often pretend otherwise if everyone pretended, then everyone would be innocent.

"Hold on and let him finish speaking."

Su Jiayi pulled Zhou Man back, advising patience. Li Xiang's abilities had been proven through several cases, and since he raised this issue, he must have a reason for it.

"Let me continue. We reviewed all of Zhang Lihui and Miao Xiuhui's chat logs. They met through a ride-hailing app two months ago. Besides some flirtatious topics, everything was normal; his financial situation was also normal. There was no reason for him to kill Miao Xiuhui and rob her wealth."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.