At thirty, I started my comeback from the intelligence system.

The real contest begins the moment you step through the branch office gates.

The interrogation room was blindingly bright, and the air felt heavy.

Chen Geng sat alone on the hard chair, facing two serious-looking criminal police officers from the Municipal Public Security Bureau whose eyes seemed to pierce through people's hearts.

This case is too big to be handled by the branch office alone, so the special task force dispatched by the municipal bureau has been put in place.

They repeatedly asked about every detail of this afternoon.

"Chen Geng, recall again, from when you met Yang Yongchao at Wanda Plaza at 1:50 pm, to when you met again outside Qingxinju Teahouse at around 2:40 pm."

"What exactly did you do and say during this period? Don't omit any details, including the surrounding environment, the people you passed by, and even the weather changes."

The presiding judge was a police officer in his forties, with a refined appearance but extremely sharp eyes, surnamed Xu.

Chen Geng had already recounted it three or four times, each time trying to remain consistent and adding some reasonable, insignificant details to make it more authentic.

He knew that the police would definitely check the surveillance footage along the way to verify the timeline he provided.

"Around 1:55, Captain Yang arrived, and we stood by the fountain in the square chatting. He started by asking me about the case at Luohu Park last night, and I told him some rumors I'd heard..."

"We talked for about ten minutes. Then I saw an older woman in a blue plaid shirt playing with her grandson on the west side of the square. The car almost hit Captain Yang's foot..." Chen Geng said slowly and clearly, his mind rapidly weaving a vivid picture.

The remote-controlled car and the old lady were real scenes he had glimpsed before, and now that he was using them as evidence, they felt even more authentic.

"Around 2:20, I noticed the middle-aged woman across the street wearing a gray coat who kept looking at her phone..."

He described in detail the woman's appearance and demeanor, and how he "found it suspicious" and pointed her out to Yang Yongchao.

"Then Captain Yang recognized her identity..."

In the ensuing chase, he truthfully described how Yang Yongchao borrowed a car, wore a helmet, and gave chase, and how he ran to get a car and took detours to search for him.

他特别强调了几个关键时间点：看到杨永超追进小巷，约2点25分；自己开车绕到老街口，约2点35分；看到茶楼外的警车和人群，约2点38分。

"Why do you remember the time so clearly?" Officer Xu suddenly asked.

Chen Geng was prepared and pointed to the watch on his left wrist: "I habitually check the time, and the situation was urgent at the time, so I was also calculating in my mind and wanted to catch up and help as soon as possible."

Officer Xu and his colleague exchanged a glance; this explanation was barely plausible.

Meanwhile, in another interrogation room, Yang Yongchao's situation was even more difficult.

In addition to explaining his trip with Chen Geng, he also had to face the "ironclad evidence" pointing to him.

"The handwriting on this note, based on preliminary analysis, is suspected to be Zhang Guowei's. How do you explain that?" Another group of criminal police officers from the municipal bureau presented photos of the evidence.

"Someone framed me! I had some work-related disagreements with Captain Zhang, but it was all for the case! I would never kill anyone!"

Yang Yongchao's eyes were bloodshot and his voice was hoarse.

He explained in detail the root cause of his conflict with Zhang Guowei:

After graduating from police academy, he performed exceptionally well and was favored by Director Jiang of the Provincial Public Security Department, his former instructor, who recommended him for grassroots training. The old captain of the Luohu Branch's Public Security Detachment died in the line of duty, and according to seniority, it should have been Lao Wang from the detachment who succeeded him. However, the young Zhang Guowei was parachuted in to temporarily serve as deputy captain and preside over the work. Zhang Guowei had a good relationship with Lao Wang and felt indignant on his behalf, believing that Yang Yongchao had taken the position through connections. Furthermore, the two had very different investigative styles, which led to some minor friction between them.

"This is just a work-related conflict; it doesn't escalate to the point of murder for revenge. I have absolutely no reason to kill Captain Zhang! Besides, I'm a police officer too. Even if I killed someone, would I be stupid enough to ignore a note with my name on it found in the victim's hand?"

The task force remained silent for a moment, then turned to ask other questions.

"Why did you suddenly chase after that woman this afternoon? According to Chen Geng, you knew her before?"

"We know her. She's the wife of Wang Hai, a fugitive in a theft case we're investigating. We checked her before, but she insisted she knew nothing about it."

"She was acting suspiciously in the square today. I suspected she was waiting for Wang Hai to meet her, so I chased after her. The helmet and electric bike were temporarily requisitioned, and I've already asked my colleagues to contact the owners and shops to verify."

Yang Yongchao answered these questions frankly and openly.

The municipal bureau's investigation efficiency is extremely high.

Soon, the surveillance footage along the route was retrieved.

The cameras around the square clearly captured images of Chen Geng and Yang Yongchao next to the fountain, and the timestamps basically matched Chen Geng's description.

The entire process of the middle-aged woman chasing Yang Yongchao and borrowing his car was also captured on film.

Surveillance footage near the old street shows that Yang Yongchao was indeed in the square with Chen Geng within the estimated time of Zhang Guowei's death. During the pursuit, Yang Yongchao did not appear near the teahouse until nearly 2:40 a.m.

The "deliveryman" entered and left the teahouse between 2:15 PM and 2:25 PM.

Based on the timeline, Yang Yongchao seems to have an alibi.

However, the problem still exists.

The name on the note was "Yang Yongchao," which is the most direct indication.

How did the murderer know that Yang Yongchao would be in that area that afternoon?

Was the appearance of the woman being chased too coincidental?

The timing of Chen Geng's appearance as a witness can be described as "perfect".

Hou Guoan kept a close eye on the progress of the special task force and carefully reviewed all the compiled evidence.

Zhang Guowei was his apprentice whom he had personally trained, and they had a deep bond, but he did not show any intense emotions towards Yang Yongchao.

"Team Leader Xu," Hou Guoan whispered to Officer Xu from the Municipal Bureau, "the evidence regarding the timeline is in Yang Yongchao's favor, but the note and motive are against him."

"That Chen Geng... his testimony was too 'clean' and too 'timely.' Either he was incredibly lucky, or... he knew something, perhaps even participated in part of the plan, but his purpose wasn't to frame Yang Yongchao, but rather... to protect him?"

Officer Xu frowned: "Captain Hou means that Chen Geng might have known in advance that the murderer was going to frame Yang Yongchao, so he deliberately created this alibi? How did he know the murderer's plan? And why did he save Yang Yongchao?"

"This is what we need to investigate," Hou Guoan said slowly. "Yang Yongchao has been temporarily cleared of suspicion as the direct perpetrator, but we need to clarify the indirect suspicion and whether there was any tacit understanding or deal between him and Chen Geng."

Finally, Officer Xu announced that Yang Yongchao would not be detained as a suspect for the time being, but would be suspended from duty indefinitely. He must cooperate with all subsequent investigations, is not allowed to leave the city without permission, and must keep his communication channels open at all times.