Ling Lie said, “Correction—not after I knew Mei Ruixue kidnapped Zhou Zongyi, but after I knew she was hiding in Xiqiao Street.”

Xiqiao Street was a bit special. Located on the outskirts of the city, it used to be a semi-enclosed factory community several decades ago with very little contact with the outside world. Some old workers spent their entire lives without ever leaving Xiqiao Street—which seemed unthinkable today.

So when the factory shut down, Xiqiao Street still didn’t integrate into the main city. Many people still thought it belonged to a rural township out west.

The Major Crimes Unit had never investigated a case in Xiqiao Street before. Ji Chenjiao wasn’t very familiar with the area either.

“Weren’t you curious about what kind of jobs I’ve done?” Ling Lie continued, “When I first came to Xiarong City last year, I worked as a delivery driver—not for heavy freight, just stuff like furniture and bottled water. Somewhere between heavy trucking and express delivery.”

“The dispatch point was near Xiqiao Street. I passed through there every day and found out that things were cheap and unregulated. It was easy to ask a restaurant for a liquefied gas cylinder.”

“And another thing—the old buildings in Xiqiao Street didn’t originally have gas lines. The piping was only added as needed in recent years. If you didn’t have the lines installed at that time, you still wouldn’t be able to use natural gas now.”

Ji Chenjiao’s gaze toward Ling Lie gained a touch of intrigue. He understood where Ling Lie’s deduction came from, but new questions arose. Ling Lie claimed to have delivered goods near Xiqiao Street, but would an ordinary delivery driver really know so much about the area’s gas infrastructure and black-market propane?

He had only come to Xiarong City the previous year and had long since stopped working as a driver. Likely, the delivery job had lasted only about a month.

“Mei Ruixue lived in an old building, with a child no less—water, electricity, and gas were all essential. If she couldn’t hook up to natural gas immediately, she’d have to use propane tanks,” Ling Lie said with a faint smile. “She crossed the line by kidnapping a child—clearly a dangerous person. At first, she didn’t intend to kill, nor did she think of using the propane for anything else. But being a first-time offender, facing a kidnapped child, online abuse, and the pressure of getting caught, her darker side would inevitably be triggered. Seeing a cooking propane tank, she’d think, ‘Oh, I’d better stock up. Worst case, I’ll go out with a bang.’”

That was exactly what Mei Ruixue had done in a moment of desperation when she realized she was surrounded. She clung to the propane tank, eyes wild with rage, while Ji Chenjiao already had her in his scope.

But to deduce that she had stockpiled propane tanks based solely on her hideout location required both deep knowledge of Xiqiao Street and an unusual leap in logic.

Ji Chenjiao didn’t respond immediately—he just stared at Ling Lie. Ling Lie said smugly, “Aren’t you impressed by my brilliance?”

Ji Chenjiao scoffed, “Then use that brilliance to explain why Huang Xuntong was wearing your kung fu robe when he died in your house. If you didn’t kill him, why did someone frame you? And what motive would they have to kill Huang Xuntong?”

Silence fell.

Ling Lie: “…Uh…”

Ji Chenjiao: “Well? Mr. Ling? Show us that brilliance.”

Ling Lie lowered his head and then peeked at Ji Chenjiao, “Isn’t that the police’s job?”

Ji Chenjiao nodded. “So much for brilliance.”

He hadn’t expected a real answer. The case of Huang Xuntong’s murder was murky and riddled with inconsistencies. If Ling Lie had been framed, then he was an outsider and wouldn’t know more than the police. If he was the killer, he was disguising it extremely well—and certainly wouldn’t give anything away now.

“One more question,” Ji Chenjiao said. “Why do you keep changing jobs? Were you really just working as a delivery driver to make ends meet? If I delivered to Xiqiao Street for a month, I doubt I’d know about the natural gas issue in those buildings.”

Ling Lie replied, “Last time I said I went to Moonflower Lane for their meat buns, and you didn’t believe me. If I tell you now that I delivered goods just to experience what it’s like and to observe life in an old industrial street, you won’t believe me either.”

Ji Chenjiao frowned. He had never met anyone quite like Ling Lie. On the surface, he seemed to have nothing, yet he always appeared satisfied and curious. To him, everything in the world was a game. Delivery work, volunteering, joining a waist-drum troupe—it wasn’t for survival; it was play.

Ling Lie squinted. “Captain Ji, do you know the fastest way to integrate into a city?”

Ji Chenjiao: “Hmm?”

“Be a delivery driver. The goods in your truck give you a valid reason to go into every nook and cranny. No one questions your presence.” Ling Lie smiled brightly. “But it’s tough work. That’s why I didn’t stick with it. Nighttime bike rides are more relaxing—too bad I got framed.”

Ji Chenjiao snorted. “You’ve got it easy.”

Seeing Ji Chenjiao get up, Ling Lie asked, “Where are you going?”

Ji Chenjiao didn’t look back. “To do what a detective’s supposed to do.”

“Hey, Captain Ji, doesn’t this count as a contribution from me?”

Ji Chenjiao stopped. “Thanks for supporting the police.”

“Verbal thanks don’t count.”

Ji Chenjiao turned. “What kind of thanks do you want?”

“Already said it in the car.” Ling Lie beamed. “Buy me chicken wings—from that place outside HQ.”

“Fine. Another day.”

The Huang Xuntong case had hit a wall. The Major Crimes Unit had thoroughly investigated all of his social ties. After receiving permission, Shen Qi had also dug into his bank records. No suspicious persons emerged. He had moved to Xiarong City fifteen years ago, lived on Xieyang Road ever since, and never left. With no more leads in Xiarong, Ji Chenjiao and Liang Wenxian decided to visit his hometown in the neighboring Tiehe City, Weitun Town.

“Can I come?” Ling Lie, both hands tugging at the “Elizabethan collar” around his neck, said, “I’m ready.”

Ji Chenjiao gave him a once-over. Ling Lie had changed clothes: gray tracksuit with two fluorescent stripes down the legs and a backpack. Aside from the pink collar with tiny red flowers, he looked decent enough.

Where on earth had he gotten that collar?

“I asked Miss Xi Wan to buy it for me. She’s very generous,” Ling Lie replied like a scripted announcer. “So, can we go now?”

Ji Chenjiao snorted. “Go where? I’m going to investigate.”

Ling Lie pointed at himself. “But I’m a suspect under surveillance.”

“You know you’re a suspect?”

“You’re just going to leave like this? What if your teammates lose track of me and I flee? Don’t forget, I’m currently free.”

Ji Chenjiao sneered. “Aren’t you considerate.”

Ling Lie said proudly, “Well, you did praise my brilliance.”

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

Half an hour later, Ling Lie and Ji Chenjiao were in the same police car. Ji Chenjiao had his reasons—Ling Lie was full of mysteries, hard to pin down. Rather than leave him in Xiarong, it was safer to keep him close. Who knew? He might even turn out to be useful.

If only that ridiculous pink collar weren’t so damn conspicuous.

“Take off your ‘Elizabeth collar’—” Ji Chenjiao hadn’t even finished when Ling Lie opened his eyes wide and protested, “This is a neck pillow! For protecting your cervical spine on long drives!”

Ji Chenjiao thought, I know. Do you really need to explain it to me?

Ling Lie added, “What you’re calling an ‘Elizabeth collar’ is what you put on a cat.”

Ji Chenjiao said impatiently, “It’s the same thing.”

“It’s not the same.”

“What’s the difference?”

Ling Lie said, “Let me put it this way—neck pillows are used by humans to protect their cervical spine…”

Ji Chenjiao cut him off, “You just said that.”

Ling Lie continued, “An Elizabeth collar is to stop a cat from licking its hairballs.”

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

The officer driving snorted with laughter: “Pfft—”

Ji Chenjiao barked, “Drive properly. Eyes on the road!”

Ling Lie still spoke with perfect seriousness: “So if you insist on calling my neck pillow an ‘Elizabeth collar,’ that’s pretty insulting.”

Ji Chenjiao looked at him in disbelief. Ling Lie continued, “After all, a cat can do that. But humans—”

“Stop!” Ji Chenjiao cut him off before he could go further into that absurd train of thought.

Ling Lie then simply curled up on one side and fell asleep. His “Elizabeth collar” had shifted halfway across his face. Ji Chenjiao glanced at him a few times, noticing how his sleeping posture grew increasingly disheveled—curled up one moment, stretched out the next. If the car had more space, the guy might have attempted a handstand.

Ji Chenjiao’s thoughts drifted wildly: Some people really are full of surprises.

When he realized what he was thinking, his expression darkened. He grabbed the “Elizabeth collar” and tugged, saying, “Get up. We’re almost there.”

Tiehe City lay south of Xiarong, with many mountains and rivers. Due to poor transportation in earlier years, the economy had been sluggish, prompting most young people to leave for work elsewhere. In recent years, as Xiarong’s economic influence spread, the city gradually began to flourish.

After driving for over three hours, they reached Tiehe. Originally, they could’ve exited the highway directly near Weitun County, but since this was a cross-jurisdictional investigation, they had to stop at the city’s criminal division headquarters first to coordinate with the local authorities.

The two cities frequently collaborated on investigations and were familiar with each other. They were received by a squad leader from the division. Upon hearing that the person they were looking into was from Weitun County, the man frowned and said, “This won’t be easy to investigate.”

When Ji Chenjiao asked why, the squad leader explained that fifteen years ago had been a peak period when many of Tiehe’s young people left home in search of work. The city itself wasn’t too bad, but down in the rural counties, anyone with working limbs had basically left. The poorer the area, the more people left. Weitun County sat on the edge of Tiehe City, and even now it was the most underdeveloped place in the whole region. Back then, household registration wasn’t as thorough as it is now—once someone left, they were gone. Trying to track them down was like fishing in the ocean.

Ji Chenjiao understood. After obtaining the transit permit and coordination documents, he exchanged a few more words with the squad leader before heading off toward Weitun County.

Ten years ago, Huang Xuntong had bought his house on Xieyang Road from the previous landlord and settled in Xiarong City. His household registration and ID had both been reissued at that time. The county bureau in Weitun found that he used to live in a place called Village 12. The name alone sounded like an afterthought—like a place that came and went freely. And now it was freely… gone.

That was clearly bad news. Ji Chenjiao looked back at Ling Lie. He swore it wasn’t out of desperation or to ask for help—it was just a perfectly normal glance.

But Ling Lie immediately took a dramatic step back, threw up his hands, and looked skyward like an innocent fool. “The suspect Ling has no clue either—what a dilemma!”