Animal Detective

Chapter 137: Cloud Piercing Arrow

Inside the interrogation room, Zhao Tianxing had not yet unleashed his trump card.

He continued to ask about the deleted videos.

“You know Wang Lei’s Kuaishou account, right? What I don’t understand is that we clearly found edited videos on his computer, ready to be uploaded, but he didn’t upload them in the end.”

Zhao Tianxing took out his phone and opened Wang Paofu's account.

“Look, he posted a video on October 18th, and another one on the 14th. There were no updates in between. But we found a video created on the 16th among the deleted videos.”

"So, did he finish editing but not upload it, or did he upload it and then delete it?"

Zhao Tianxing asked in return with a smile.

But Zhang Qingpeng on the other side was like a tightly wound spring, his fists clenched tightly, and he didn't say a word.

When Zhao Tianxing pressed her for an answer, she stammered, "I don't know. I guess he didn't upload it. He created the account himself, and I don't know anything about it."

"is it?"

Zhao Tianxing laughed again, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said, "Zhang Qingpeng, do you think we're just messing around with you? If we didn't have enough evidence, would we have come all this way to find you?"

This slap made Zhang Qingpeng tremble with fear.

"I'm asking you now to give you a chance. You've been to university and you're a smart person. Think it over carefully and decide whether to tell me or not. If you don't, then when I tell you, the situation will be completely different." Zhao Tianxing continued to press the issue.

Shen Xin watched silently.

This seems like a meaningless question.

But the situation is different when it comes to the suspect.

He has something to hide. He doesn't know how far the police have gone, so sometimes, his psychological defenses might break down and he might confess on his own.

However, Shen Xin felt the chances were slim.

Because this involves a murder case, the kind that leads to certain death.

Such suspects have a very strong psychological bottom line: they know that once they confess to murder, they will be sentenced to death with no way out.

Sure enough, even though Zhang Qingpeng was terrified, he still said he didn't know, that maybe he hadn't uploaded them, and that he didn't know why Wang Lei deleted the videos.

"I don't know, I don't think so." Zhao Tianxing snorted coldly. He quickly searched the account and showed it to Zhang Qingpeng.

"Is this your Kuaishou account?"

Before coming, Shen Xin and his two companions had made some preparations, not just regarding the key suspicion of the two dogs.

"The number one Lee Sin of Zaun, that's your account name back when you were a League of Legends streamer, right?" Zhao Tianxing opened the account's following list and said, "You said you didn't pay much attention to Wang Lei's short video career, but you clearly followed his account."

Zhang Qingpeng bit his lip and argued, "That was something I paid attention to before."

"Really?" Zhao Tianxing smiled and then said, "But I saw from your likes list that you liked quite a few of Wang Lei's videos."

"Furthermore, we contacted Kuaishou and retrieved data from both of your accounts. Didn't you say you didn't know if Wang Lei had uploaded any videos? Well, that's not what we found."

"The platform's records show that Wang Lei not only uploaded these videos, but also deleted them one by one around 4 p.m. on the 23rd."

"At that time, if I remember correctly, Wang Lei should have been receiving treatment in the hospital! He was already hallucinating at that time, yet he was still able to operate his phone and selectively delete those videos. Isn't that a bit unreasonable?"

After it was confirmed that there might be two dogs, some doubts resurfaced.

For example, why delete a bunch of husky videos from your computer?

A reasonable deduction is that Zhang Qingpeng was afraid that Wang Lei might have filmed the hidden husky in the footage, so he simply deleted all the videos.

That's why I contacted the platform again and found out about these things.

Although the deleted videos no longer show their content, the account's log records clearly show that Wang Lei did indeed upload these videos, and the video descriptions corresponded to those on his computer.

The same is true for Zhang Qingpeng's account activity log, which clearly shows that he liked these deleted videos.

So he knew about these videos.

"You...retrieved the data?"

Zhang Qingpeng asked nervously, his whole body covered in cold sweat and his face pale.

The trembling in his body had begun to spread and was completely out of control.

In the monitoring room, Shen Xin was suddenly stunned.

Zhang Qingpeng's reaction was wrong.

All his previous answers were passive and sophistical.

Even if his words are incoherent, he is still making excuses.

But this time, it was the first time since the interrogation began that he took the initiative to ask a question in return.

Moreover, his attention wasn't on deleting the video, but rather on Zhao Tianxing accessing platform data.

He was instinctively more concerned about this.

Considering his intense panic, Shen Xin couldn't help but wonder if there was something about the platform data that Zhang Qingpeng cared about.

Inside the interrogation room, Zhang Qingpeng immediately shook his head and said, "I don't know, he probably deleted it himself."

Zhao Tianxing probably didn't notice this and started bringing up the hospital's surveillance footage.

Zhang Qingpeng went to the hospital with Wang Lei, and Zhang Qingpeng paid all the hospital fees.

At that time, Wang Lei handed over his cell phone and all his personal belongings to Zhang Qingpeng.

Therefore, at that point in time, Zhang Qingpeng had the opportunity to use Wang Lei's phone to directly delete the video.

Having lived together for so long, Zhang Qingpeng should know Wang Lei's phone lock screen password.

Because Zhang Qingpeng used Wang Lei's phone to contact his parents that day.

Unfortunately, the hospital's surveillance cameras did not capture Zhang Qingpeng deleting the video.

So Zhao Tianxing was still bluffing him.

Shen Xin took out his phone and opened Wang Lei's account.

The videos that needed to be deleted have already been deleted, so what else is Zhang Qingpeng so concerned about?

While scrolling through the videos, Shen Xin suddenly had a thought when he saw a live stream preview video.

Could it be a live stream?

After becoming famous, Wang Lei frequently does live streams.

Is it possible that something was captured on camera during the live stream?
But live stream videos are all real-time, right? They should be deleted after the live stream ends. Even if something is actually filmed, there will be no evidence left.

Frowning, Shen Xin dialed a number.

"Manager Li."

The other party is an account manager from the Kuaishou platform; I contacted him before to retrieve data.

"Hello, Officer Shen." The other party greeted him and asked what was the matter.

Shen Xin said, "Manager Li, I have a question for you. Do the videos of your platform's live streamers be deleted immediately after the live stream, or are they saved?"

Manager Li immediately replied, "Oh, that's our platform's policy. After a live stream ends, the host can save the video so they can easily edit the highlights and create video footage."

"Besides the streamers actively saving the videos, because viewers might send gifts during the live stream, there might be disputes about recovering those gifts later. So our backend saves all the live stream videos for 30 days. After 30 days, if there are no problems, they will be automatically deleted."

Shen Xin blurted out, "I just blurted it out."

I actually guessed it right.

At this moment, Shen Xin suddenly understood why Zhang Qingpeng was dragging his feet and refusing to cooperate with the police investigation.

Is this guy trying to drag it out until the platform deletes the video in 30 days? Today is already the 6th.

It was previously speculated that Wang Lei was bitten before October 10th.

That means that in about four days, the relevant live stream videos may be automatically deleted by the platform.

If there is any evidence, then it's all gone.

"Manager Li, I need your help with something. Could you please send me all the live stream videos that are still saved under the account we asked about before?" Shen Xin said immediately.

Manager Li agreed and said he would send it immediately.

Inside the interrogation room, Zhang Qingpeng continued to deny the allegations, sometimes saying he didn't know, sometimes saying he had no recollection.

Zhao Tianxing is about to use these deleted videos to bring up the matter of the two dogs.

Shen Xin quickly sent him a message.

This was prepared before we came; it was our last trump card.

But given the new circumstances, Shen Xin felt it was too early to release the information.

Zhao Tianxing glanced at the text message, immediately changed his mind, and told Zhang Qingpeng to think it over again before taking Ding Yuwei out.

"Shen Xin, what's wrong? I feel like this kid is about to give up," Zhao Tianxing said.

He felt that bringing up the issue of the two dogs at the end would definitely break through Zhang Qingpeng's psychological defenses.

Shen Xin was not so optimistic.

This is, after all, a murder case, and Zhang Qingpeng's last line of defense is very strong.

There's a situation.

Shen Xin explained his speculation, then went to the next office, borrowed a computer, and waited for Manager Li to send the video over.

He has already sent it.

Wang Lei's last live stream was on the 21st.

Previously, I would basically do a live stream once a day, which would generally last for one to two hours.

Because of the 30-day deadline, the earliest available live stream video is from October 6th.

Then there's match number 8.

Shen Xin downloaded it immediately.

He streamed for over an hour on the 6th.

There were over three hundred people watching the live stream.

Sure enough, the husky made an appearance.

And his cat.

The live stream likely took place in his bedroom, and he chose to do it at night.

The content mainly consists of casual conversations and sharing stories about the cat and dog.

Of course, people would occasionally send gifts, and then Wang Lei would grab a cat or dog to interact with the audience.

For example, greeting or responding.

Shen Xin quickly read through it but found nothing unusual.

Ding Yuwei said, "This dog should be Tuantuan, right?"

It refers to the dog that Shen Xin brought back from the shelter.

The name was Tuantuan.

Then, the other husky in the video, suspected of being infected with rabies, was named Yuanyuan for easy identification.

Shen Xin found a few frames, paused them, and carefully examined them.

That's right, it's Tuantuan.

However, there is no problem with the video.

Shen Xin downloaded the live stream from the 8th and opened it.

The crowd was almost full; soon, more than two hundred people showed up.

At the beginning, only Wang Lei and the cat appeared on camera.

The live stream replay includes live chat and comments.

Someone then asked about the dog.

Wang Lei replied, "That bastard wrecked the house again today, and he was mean to me. He almost bit me, so he's locked in a cage to reflect on his actions."

Shen Xin's heart skipped a beat.

Almost bitten?
Among the deleted videos was one from video number 8, with the caption, "This damn dog never learns its lesson and has started destroying the house again."

Analysis revealed that the dog in video number 8 was not Tuantuan, but Yuanyuan.

Shen Xin continued playing.

The content of the live streams was similar, mainly consisting of casual conversation.

At this point, someone in the comments section asked about the dog again, saying they wanted to see it.

"Hey, this account, didn't we ask about it from the beginning?" Shen Xin asked, pointing to an account whose ID was a random combination of letters and numbers.

Zhao Tianxing nodded.

Ding Yuwei replied decisively, "That's right, I remember."

In the video, Wang Lei seems to have listened to advice and brought Yuanyuan over.

Shen Xin and the other two gasped in shock.

In the footage, Yuan Yuan is clearly a bit restless, especially when Wang Lei speaks loudly or holds its paws while greeting the audience.

"He wouldn't have been bitten at this moment, would he?" Zhao Tianxing gasped, a chill running down his spine.

Shen Xin didn't speak; it was obvious that Yuan Yuan was not in a good state.

Wang Lei was unaware of this.

At this moment, the account that appeared earlier spoke up again, saying that it wanted to see Wang Lei kiss this dog, and if Wang Lei was willing, it would send him a "Piercing Arrow" gift.

As he spoke, he immediately fired a Cloud Piercing Arrow.

288 yuan.

This is quite a generous tip.

Wang Lei instantly perked up, shouting to the camera how generous he was, and yelling that he could do anything, not just kiss a dog, but even dance with a husky.

Then, he pulled the husky in front of him, cupped its round head, and kissed it.

In that instant, Yuanyuan suddenly opened her mouth and bit him.

Wang Lei instinctively dodged.

Shen Xin felt a chill rush to the top of his head in an instant.

288, a single arrow piercing the clouds, and that was it—it took Wang Lei's life!

(End of this chapter)