Chapter 239: Locking Up The Murderer (1/2)
Lao Yao enlarged the screenshot. There was mottled lime plaster on the wall, mixed with bits of red that appeared to be a common shade. It looked like part of a slogan but the words were already unrecognizable.
I tried recreating the words on my palm and eventually came to realize one of the words in the middle was ”mouse.”
”Are there any slogans with the word ‘mouse’ in it?” I asked.
”Down with the cow demon and the serpent god!” cried Dali.
”I said ‘mouse’!” I retorted. The idiot buried his head in embarrassment.
”Unlimited wonders await at the click of the mouse!” Lao Yao chimed in. “When I was in kindergarten, I went to an internet cafe with those words written on the walls.”
Since the other words on the wall didn’t match the slogan he mentioned, his input seemed meaningless as well.
At this point, Wang Yuanchao’s stoic voice interrupted my thoughts, ”Our greatest responsibility is to guard against and exterminate all mice–it’s probably a granary!”
I traced each word on my hand and found the phrase was indeed a match. Xiaotao scribbled the clue in her notebook and asked Lao Yao to resume the video.
For several minutes, the man in the video begged for mercy but finally braced himself and stepped into the fire pit. With that one step, he immediately pulled his foot back, his screams filling the room. It took him some time before he attempted another step.
As one could imagine, the temperature in the room was constantly rising at the time. Trapped in the impenetrable armor, he must have been covered in sweat and suffocating from the heat.
The man wanted to run through the fire pit as fast as he could. However, the armor had springs attached to the joints, making it difficult for him to run so he was forced to slowly walk. I hadn’t anticipated this detail but the old man in the prison did. I couldn’t help but suspect that Old Qi was either a sadistic murderer or had something to do with the murderer!
The man trekked through the pit, all the while screaming frenziedly. He was about to reach the end when he suddenly tripped, his entire body falling onto the hot charcoal. The violent convulsions he made sparked the surge of fiery flames.
We watched anxiously as the man struggled in the fire for half a minute before he finally stopped moving. Besides the crackle of burning charcoal came the sizzling sound of roasted flesh. Melted fat dripped into the fire from the crevices of the armor, kindling a few spurts of small flames.
I felt waves of despair that soon turned into unrelieved depression. A round of heavy sighs echoed, reflecting the low atmosphere in the room.
Xiaotao's hand was shaking uncontrollably throughout the video but the expression on her face remained firm. ”Listen up everyone, let's continue analyzing the video and try to catch this madman as soon as possible!”
”Lao Yao,” I instructed. “Rewind to the moment he fell!”
Lao Yao did as I asked and played the video three times. I told him to play it frame by frame and on a certain frame, I noticed something within the charcoal–a long object that was glowing red.
”There was a steel rail in the fire pit so the murderer had intentionally tripped him. It looks like hell’s judgement isn’t fair after all.”
”He only makes it seem fair but in fact, his deeds are secretly despicable!”
Lao Yao enlarged the picture so everyone could study the rail. It looked like a section of a railway track, but obtaining that went beyond the means of ordinary people. An experienced officer stood up and pointed, ”That’s not a steel rail, it’s an I-beam that’s used in constructing ceilings and that’s the model number on it! I know which manufacturer produces model number 64.”
Xiaotao immediately noted this clue while the others expressed their opinions on the armor parts.
After a moment’s contemplation, I asked, ”Isn’t an I-beam very heavy?”
The old officer nodded. ”I'd say at least 30 to 40 kilograms.”
”The murderer is only1.6 meters tall,” I remarked. “He might not be able to lift it.”