You're supposed to be a security officer, what case are you solving?

Chapter 21 Grid-based Investigation! (Please add to your favorites and read on!)
The old man narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully examined Zheng Kang's face, and asked in confusion, "Doesn't it seem like we met this morning?"

Zheng Kang carefully observed the other person's expression while nodding: "Yes, my surname is Zheng. If I remember correctly, your surname is Li?"

Just call me Lao Li.

"Do you live alone in this house?" Zheng Kang quietly placed his right foot under the crack in the door.

In his previous life, Yang Jinwen was very familiar with his master's behavior and actions. Whenever his master turned his body to the side, it meant that the person standing in front of him had a big problem in his mind.

"Yes, I live alone and can't afford to rent an expensive place. This partitioned room was originally used to store miscellaneous items."

Zheng Kang continued, "Where is your hometown?"

"Longmen Town, Lijia Village".

Where were you after 7 PM on May 30th?

The old man frowned and said, "Don't you know? I work in the vegetable field near the cotton mill."

Zheng Kang squinted and asked, "What time did you get off work?"

"I do not remember."

Do you usually ride your bike to the cotton mill or take the bus?

The old man shook his head: "I don't have a motorcycle, and I don't have spare money to take the bus. I walk both ways."

"Okay, thank you for your cooperation." Zheng Kang nodded and pulled his foot back from under the door crack.

The old man's brows relaxed immediately, and his stiff expression softened: "Then take care."

As soon as the door closed, Yang Jinwen immediately pulled Zheng Kang aside and said impatiently, "Master, this person's expression is not right."

“Something is amiss, but it doesn’t fit the characteristics of the killer.” Zheng Kang frowned in thought.

"I'll go ask the neighbors next door." Yang Jinwen walked to a house and knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door was pulled open, and a middle-aged man in a vest saw them and said impatiently, "What, it's you again? Can't a person get any sleep?!"

"Excuse me for bothering you again." Yang Jinwen smiled and pointed to a cubicle against the wall: "How many people live in that room?"

"You mean Old Li? That old guy has been living here for several years, all by himself."

Does he have a motorcycle? Are there any relatives with mental illnesses in his family?

The man shook his head: "How would I know about that? He definitely doesn't have a motorcycle."

He had barely finished speaking when a plump middle-aged woman behind the door crossed her arms and chimed in, "Of course! The day before yesterday, I was woken up by the sound of a motorcycle in the early morning. When I went out to buy groceries in the morning, I saw a motorcycle parked in front of Old Li's house. I don't know whose it is."

Yang Jinwen's eyes widened, and Zheng Kang quickly leaned over to ask, "Are you sure it was early morning the day before yesterday? What time exactly did you hear the motorcycle?"

“I was sleeping at the time, so I don’t remember what time it was. When I went to buy groceries in the morning, I saw that motorcycle was dirty and the tires were covered in mud.”

“It’s him!” Yang Jinwen’s eyes narrowed.

Zheng Kang swallowed hard and shouted, "Call for help!"

Yang Jinwen immediately took out his walkie-talkie and notified the joint defense team members who were searching the surrounding area.

Then he said to the couple who were watching the play, "Could you please do me a favor?"

A few minutes later, the middle-aged woman cautiously approached the door of the cubicle.

Yang Jinwen and Zheng Kang hid on either side of the door.

The woman swallowed hard, then called out in a high-pitched voice, "Old Li, are you... are you home? Do you have any vinegar? Could you lend me some? My husband wants to eat some dumplings, but we've run out of vinegar."

"Old Li, Old Li..." The woman's forehead was covered in beads of sweat. The honest and unassuming Old Li, whom she would never have given a second glance before, was now, in her mind, a vicious criminal bound hand and foot and being taken to the wilderness to be shot by the bailiffs.

She looked at Zheng Kang, her eyes asking if he should continue knocking.

Zheng Kang was about to give her a hand gesture.

At this moment, Yang Jinwen pushed the woman aside, took two steps back, and kicked the door open.

"Oh!"

Before Zheng Kang could react, Yang Jinwen had already rushed in.

A cabinet stands at the entrance, separating the door from the bed placed in the middle. To the right are the kitchen and the bathroom.

The room was cramped, a mess, and reeked of a foul stench.

The ceiling light was on, but there was no one in the room.

When Zheng Kang rushed in, he already had a pistol in his hand, followed by several auxiliary police officers who had just arrived, each holding a baton.

He looked at the balcony, where a transparent plastic sheet was laid on the floor. This was used to build a vegetable greenhouse. The plastic sheet had obviously been washed, but there was still bloodstain on one corner that had not been cleaned.

Yang Jinwen ran out of the toilet, sweating profusely, and shouted, "The person escaped through the toilet window!"

"Damn it..." Zheng Kang cursed, leading his men around to the back of the building while informing the various groups.

A moment later, the other investigation teams received the news and quickly surrounded them. He Jinbo and Maozi ran the fastest. Maozi was limping, which meant he had walked a lot during the day.

A dozen or so people gathered together, each holding a flashlight and a baton, while the serious crimes team members were carrying guns.

He Jinbo asked breathlessly, "What's going on?"

Zheng Kang immediately replied, "It's an old man in his fifties. I just asked his neighbor. His name is Li Hongbing, and he's 1.6 meters tall. When we were investigating, we found a motorcycle with muddy tires parked in front of his house on June 1st. When we asked him again, he immediately ran out of the toilet window!"
And when we first went in, we saw blood-stained plastic sheeting on the balcony!

"Damn it, it must be this guy!" He Jinbo put his hands on his hips and shouted to Maozi, "He can't have gone far. Tell everyone to seal off this whole area and search every inch of it!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a burst of fierce barking erupted from behind the left-hand wall.

"Woof, woof, woof woof..."

As the group looked over, Yang Jinwen had already climbed the more than three-meter-high red brick wall using a banyan tree nearby.

Just as Zheng Kang was about to call out to him, he heard Yang Jinwen standing on the wall shouting down and behind him, "Stop! Don't run!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts tightened, and they quickly rushed towards the wall, some climbing trees, others forming human ladders.

Yang Jinwen jumped down from the wall and chased after the figure running ahead in the dark alley.

Outside the alley stands a cement pole with a street lamp on it, and a road leading down to the right is paved with stone steps.

The other person ran out of the darkness to the streetlight, quickly ran to the left, and jumped wildly down the steps.

Yang Jinwen is 1.85 meters tall and moves faster than him, but because the ground is uneven, he doesn't dare to pounce.

Yang Jinwen leaped forward as soon as the other person's footsteps landed on the road below.

The two fell onto the road together. Yang Jinwen rolled over and pressed his knee firmly against the man's back, twisting his right arm behind his back.

"Police, don't move!"

At the same time, He Jinbo and Zheng Kang, along with their joint defense team members, rushed down the long flight of steps, the beams of more than a dozen flashlights shining simultaneously onto the road...

(End of this chapter)