Memory Lost

With such a big case at hand, everybody is prepared to be in a long battle. It's nighttime. Han Chen gathers everyone to briefly summarize their findings and is going to call it a day.

Su Mian talks about the profiles while Xu Nan Bai adds his comments wherever it's needed. Everybody listens attentively in a rather excited atmosphere.

Cold Face explains the geographical findings briefly and has confirmed a few areas.

And then it's Xu Si Bai.

As he summarizes his findings concisely, everybody nods and shows admiration just like Su Mian did before. Xu Nan Bai nods slightly as well, "Forensic Investigator Xu sure lives up to his reputation."

Xu Si Bai doesn't show much of a reaction to everybody's praises. He continues to sit quietly. Han Chen, on the other hand, doesn't say too much, he simply nods and comments, "This is very valuable. You've worked hard."

In the end, Chatterbox says cheerfully, "Preliminary restoration of the fingerprint has mostly been completed. I just need to work on it more tomorrow and we should be able to do comparative analysis with our fingerprint database. I've already uploaded the results from today onto the system. Everybody can go take a look." 𝘧r𝑒𝘦𝒘𝘦𝙗ｎovel.𝐜o𝒎

In comparison, this is naturally the most valuable piece. Han Chen pats Chatterbox on the shoulder, "Very good."

Su Mian lifts her eyes to scan across the room. Everybody has a smile on their face and no one looks suspicious.

Han Chen troubles Cold Face to go review the results from the few investigators on non-local suspicious individuals. Cold Face nods and everybody is dismissed.

Su Mian returns to her desk. She logs into the website and takes a look at the half restored fingerprint from Chatterbox. A very faint smile flashes across her eyes. She then rests her chin in her palm while taking a sip of water and pretending to look around casually.

The first thing she sees is obviously Xu Nan Bai. Su Mian's monitoring program shows that he has already opened up the image of the fingerprint and is looking at it. Su Mian stares at his face with the light from the screen reflecting on him; he doesn't seem to show any expression but seems to be very concentrated.

Su Mian raises her head again and looks over to Cold Face. However, the monitoring program indicates that he isn't looking at the fingerprint. Instead, he continues to be immersed in front of the computer putting the map together.

Han Chen grabs his jacket, glances at her and walks out of the door. He's telling her that he'll wait in the parking lot. She nods and looks over to Xiao Zhuan. But this fellow isn't looking at the results of the fingerprint anxiously. He's actually boring his eyes into her criminal psychology profile. Su Mian knows that he has always adored criminal psychology deeply; he always reads the profiles repeatedly. She smiles seeing him so absorbed in it.

As for Chatterbox……

His arms are behind his head while leaning against his chair and swaying left and right. It seems as if he's admiring his own work from today.

After a while, he sits up suddenly. He leans closer to the computer screen as if he wants to take a look carefully. He stands up, looks around at everyone and his eyes land on Han Chen's empty seat. Su Mian shifts her gaze away quickly.

She then sees him stand up frowning his eyebrows and running outside.

Su Mian keeps quiet.

And then it's Xu Si Bai.

She raises her head and looks toward his office. At the same time, the office door opens. He has his phone in his hand as he walks out of the office without any expression on his face. Their eyes meet and he furrows his eyebrows slightly.

After a few seconds, Su Mian's phone rings. It's his number. 𝙛𝘳𝒆𝒆𝒘e𝗯n𝗼𝘷𝚎𝚕.𝒄૦𝓶

She picks it up, "hello, what's the matter?"

Xu Si Bai remains quiet for a second and then says in a low voice, "I've taken a look at the results of the fingerprint. What exactly are you guys trying to do?"

Su Mian stares at him from afar but reveals a smile slowly. She gives him a comforting look and hangs up the phone. She sends a text message to Han Chen with her heart beating fast. She ducks her head and avoids looking at anybody.

"I know who the killer is."

Han Chen replies back right away, "Same here."

_____

The sky is already very dark.

It's 11 pm and the whole station is quiet. The Black Shield Team's small building is located in an isolated area, making it seem even quieter.

About a hundred meters away, the single-room dormitory can be seen. It's just that most of the lights have been turned off. Other than those who are forced to do overtime, no one has a habit of working late; all the officers get to bed as soon as they can.

Since the case is important and secretive, Han Chen has arranged living accommodations for all of the special team members. Everybody will be staying at the place including Professor Xu. Looking at it from a distance, the special team's dormitory is mostly lit. Probably because it's the start of the case, so everybody is worked up.

Su Mian watches the dormitory for a minute and then looks toward the unlit office of the Black Shield Team on the other side. She then turns her head to Han Chen, "Will the person you speak of really try to destroy the fingerprint today?"

They're currently hiding in a dense part of the garden. They can't be seen from the outside, but they can peek through the bushes to watch what's going on. Han Chen is standing beside her and answers crisply, "Yes."

Su Mian calms herself and continues to wait with him. Han Chen holds her hand while staring outside; he looks very patient. The idea of installing a camera in the office was overruled by Han Chen right away, "If he's a highly skilled criminal, he would definitely be very observant of his surroundings. If he finds out about the camera, our plan would go down the drain." Therefore, they're destined to guard the place for the whole night.

The clock ticks away every second and every minute.

It's 12:30 am.

A few members of the Black Shield Team turn off their lights at the dorm. The street lamps have also shut off. Everywhere is quiet, pitch black, and still.

Su Mian covers her mouth to yawn. All of a sudden, they see someone walking out of a dark corner from across. He has his back toward them. He walks to the office entrance, pulls out a key and goes in.

Every member of the special investigation team has a key.

Su Mian and Han Chen exchange glances with each other. They hop out of the garden without a sound and walks toward the office to follow the person. Through the window, they can see the person holding a dimly lit flashlight and walking to Chatterbox's desk. He searches the table for a moment and then holds up a thin piece of film——it's the original document of the fingerprint.

In impeccable timing, Han Chen pulls open the door, letting out a loud squeak. And Su Mian dashes inside and flips on all of the light switches.

"Zzzzzzz——" the sound of electricity traveling through the wires and turning on all of the lights on the ceiling, illuminating the entire room.

Chatterbox is standing in the light holding the fingerprint. He turns his head to look at them.

Han Chen keeps quiet. Su Mian's face is cold as she says every word with emphasis, "Chatterbox! What are you doing here?"

They've made too much noise. Others soon arrive; Xiao Zhuan, Xu Si Bai, Xiao Yao, Xu Nan Bai……they're all here. They're all surprised to see the three of them standing opposite of each other and not knowing what's going on.