The Numbers Killer - Chapter 15 1.3.5
Many thanks to Ghost90 for the coffee(*´꒳`*)After exiting the graduate hall, the two decided to check out the crime again and headed towards the Psychology Department Building.
"Xiao Zhan1!"
Someone suddenly called out from behind, causing both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang to turn their head around at the same time. Only to be greeted by a bespectacled middle-aged man in a white coat who looked to be in his forties. He hastened his pace to catch up to them.
"Doctor Xu?" Zhan Zhao recognised that the man was Doctor Xu Ting, the resident doctor of C University.
"Doctor Xu?" Zhan Zhao recognised that the man was Doctor Xu Ting, the resident doctor of C University.
After running up to them, Xu Ting eyeballed Bai Yutang who was standing beside Zhan Zhao for a while before asking with a smile, "Is that him?"
Zhan Zhao returned with an awkward smile. He knew this Doctor Xú loved gossiping, but he really wasn't in the mood to care about such trivial matters right now. However, Xu Ting didn't seem to notice the change in Zhan Zhao's expression and continued smiling as he said, "When Dr. Zhang brought that old man Xû2 to the infirmary. Goodness, that old man was so angry his whole body was shaking as he panted heavily."
"Is Professor Xu alright?!" Zhan Zhao asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, he's fine, he just perspired a lot. I've never seen the old man so infuriated in the 20 years that I've worked here!"
Hearing that, Bai Yutang smiled cheekily while sending Zhan Zhao a look that meant, "So that old man didn't die. Lucky for him!"
To which Zhan Zhao returned with a glare at him.
Xu Ting wanted to go on, but the two had no patience to listen to his ramblings. They excused themselves by saying they had other things to attend to and escaped.
They soon arrived at the Psychology Department Building.
When Zhan Zhao tried to look up to the rooftop from the ground, the brightness of the sun hindered him from doing so. And he could barely make out the fences outside.
"Xiao Bai, aren't you a little too outrageous? How did you see that so clearly from here?"
Bai Yutang replied proudly, "This is nothing. This young master's3 dynamic vision ranks first in the entire air force! I can even see it if missiles were to come flying at us, much less these fences!"
When Zhan Zhao glanced over at Bai Yutang, the latter was so proud of himself, Zhan Zhao could almost see his tail shooting up.
Zhan Zhao borrowed a pair of binoculars from another police officer and carefully observed the rooftop. After a while, he put the binoculars down and remarked with a frown, "Something is not right!"
"What's wrong? What did you find?" Bai Yutang took the binoculars from him and observed for himself as well.
(lilies: yo I tot somebody had some crazy vision lol)
Zhan Zhao returned with an awkward smile. He knew this Doctor Xú loved gossiping, but he really wasn't in the mood to care about such trivial matters right now. However, Xu Ting didn't seem to notice the change in Zhan Zhao's expression and continued smiling as he said, "When Dr. Zhang brought that old man Xû2 to the infirmary. Goodness, that old man was so angry his whole body was shaking as he panted heavily."
"Is Professor Xu alright?!" Zhan Zhao asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, he's fine, he just perspired a lot. I've never seen the old man so infuriated in the 20 years that I've worked here!"
Hearing that, Bai Yutang smiled cheekily while sending Zhan Zhao a look that meant, "So that old man didn't die. Lucky for him!"
To which Zhan Zhao returned with a glare at him.
Xu Ting wanted to go on, but the two had no patience to listen to his ramblings. They excused themselves by saying they had other things to attend to and escaped.
They soon arrived at the Psychology Department Building.
When Zhan Zhao tried to look up to the rooftop from the ground, the brightness of the sun hindered him from doing so. And he could barely make out the fences outside.
"Xiao Bai, aren't you a little too outrageous? How did you see that so clearly from here?"
Bai Yutang replied proudly, "This is nothing. This young master's3 dynamic vision ranks first in the entire air force! I can even see it if missiles were to come flying at us, much less these fences!"
When Zhan Zhao glanced over at Bai Yutang, the latter was so proud of himself, Zhan Zhao could almost see his tail shooting up.
Zhan Zhao borrowed a pair of binoculars from another police officer and carefully observed the rooftop. After a while, he put the binoculars down and remarked with a frown, "Something is not right!"
"What's wrong? What did you find?" Bai Yutang took the binoculars from him and observed for himself as well.
(lilies: yo I tot somebody had some crazy vision lol)
"Have you noticed that the direction of the protective fence is in the wrong direction?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang.
Bai Yutang put the binoculars away before looking to Zhan Zhao, "Now that you mention it, yeah! If Li Feifan fell from leaning against an already damaged fence, then the fence should be facing outwards. Even if Li Feifan managed to grab on the fence before he fell, it should flip outwards and then bend downwards. But in this case..."
"That's right!" Zhan Zhao continued, "This fence is almost bent vertically downwards, but there's no sign of it flipping outwards at all!"
"Kitty, I have an idea," Bai Yutang suddenly declared.
As he said that, Zhan Zhao stated as well, "What a coincidence. I have one too!"
The two of them smiled at each other in understanding before walking into the building.
This time, they didn't head for the rooftop, but for the top floor of the building, the 13th floor. As the construction for C University's Psychology Department Building was only recently completed, not all the floors were fully renovated. The top floors, 12 and 13, have just been sitting there idly, to store some raw materials and other stuff. The door hasn't even been installed.
They walked along the corridor, checking through room by room. When they got to the 5th room, they saw the fence hanging down from the window.
Zhan Zhao pulled on Bai Yutang who was just about to entire the room and pointed to the number above the door frame——13-5.
"1 3 5?" Bai Yutang asked, surprised.
Zhan Zhao nodded. Looks like they're in the right place.
They cautiously entered the room while leaning against the wall. The floor was very messy and covered in a thick layer of dust. However, it looked like the floor had been wiped deliberately. Although there weren't any shoeprints, someone was definitely here.
Bai Yutang put the binoculars away before looking to Zhan Zhao, "Now that you mention it, yeah! If Li Feifan fell from leaning against an already damaged fence, then the fence should be facing outwards. Even if Li Feifan managed to grab on the fence before he fell, it should flip outwards and then bend downwards. But in this case..."
"That's right!" Zhan Zhao continued, "This fence is almost bent vertically downwards, but there's no sign of it flipping outwards at all!"
"Kitty, I have an idea," Bai Yutang suddenly declared.
As he said that, Zhan Zhao stated as well, "What a coincidence. I have one too!"
The two of them smiled at each other in understanding before walking into the building.
This time, they didn't head for the rooftop, but for the top floor of the building, the 13th floor. As the construction for C University's Psychology Department Building was only recently completed, not all the floors were fully renovated. The top floors, 12 and 13, have just been sitting there idly, to store some raw materials and other stuff. The door hasn't even been installed.
They walked along the corridor, checking through room by room. When they got to the 5th room, they saw the fence hanging down from the window.
Zhan Zhao pulled on Bai Yutang who was just about to entire the room and pointed to the number above the door frame——13-5.
"1 3 5?" Bai Yutang asked, surprised.
Zhan Zhao nodded. Looks like they're in the right place.
They cautiously entered the room while leaning against the wall. The floor was very messy and covered in a thick layer of dust. However, it looked like the floor had been wiped deliberately. Although there weren't any shoeprints, someone was definitely here.
They walked towards the windows and saw that the fence was less than a metre away from the windowsill. Bai Yutang took off his windbreaker and handed it to Zhan Zhao. He then turned and headed outside. Zhan Zhao hurriedly grabbed him and said, "What are you trying to do? This is no joke, it's the 13th floor!"
Bai Yutang booped his nose with a chuckle, "Silly cat, how could someone like me be afraid of heights!"
Zhan Zhao felt a little troubled, "Why don't we call some people over and take some safety precautions..."
However, Bai Yutang had already undone the buttons on his collar and sleeves. He tapped on Zhan Zhao's chin with his finger and said with a smile, "Don't worry!"
After saying that, he quickly walked out the door and dashed to the rooftop.
Zhan Zhao only had time to shout, "Be careful!" before he disappeared. All Zhan Zhao could do now was wait by the window, holding on to Bai Yutang's jacket anxiously.
In a moment's time, Bai Yutang could be seen climbing from the fence, down to the window. The sight was nerve-wracking to watch and caused Zhan Zhao's heart to race. Just as he was about to pull Bai Yutang in, Bai Yutang shouted, Move aside, Kitty!"
Zhan Zhao reflexively took a couple steps to the side. After a few swings in the air, Bai Yutang took a clean jump through the windowsill and landed steadily on the ground. He then dusted off the dust from his hands.
Oh, how annoying it was. Zhan Zhao huffed, "When will you stop trying to act cool??"
Bai Yutang shrugged, "I'm just that cool normally!"
"You—" Zhan Zhao was so exasperated that he couldn't even retort. He puffed his cheeks in anger glared daggers at Bai Yutang.
Although he understood deep down that the reason why Bai Yutang would perform such a dangerous act, was to preserve any evidence that might be left on the windowsill. He had also always known that Bai Yutang had little concern for his own safety when he's working on a case. But it was still terribly unsettling to see it with his own eyes.
After Bai Yutang was done dusting himself off, he noted, "So now we have an explanation for the door to the roof being locked from the outside. But there's still something I can't figure out."
He continued while putting on his windbreaker and adjusting his collar, "It's too hasty for the killer to push Li Feifan off the roof and climb down using the fence. If that's the case, there should be witnesses!"
Zhan Zhao nodded his head, "Indeed. We rushed out of the building immediately, yet we didn't see anyone. Plus it's in plain sight. That's too risky, unless..."
"Unless what?" Bai Yutang inquired in puzzlement.
Zhan Zhao looked at the fence outside the window and said, "Unless Li Feifan didn't fall from the roof."
Bai Yutang was stunned for a second, then it hit him, "Oh, right!! We're being misled by the fence! He was thrown down from here! The killer may have made the fence that was the night before to create the impression that Li Feifan locked himself out!"
Zhan Zhao nodded, "Most people won't look up and even if they did, they won't be able to clearly see what was happening anyway!"
Bai Yutang surveyed his surroundings and stated, "That means that this is actually the first scene of the murder! But isn't the killer a little too bold? When he went out after throwing Li Feifan off the building, he could have been easily spotted which could be a cause for suspicion... And why go through all these troubles?"
Zhan Zhao pondered for a while and a troubled expression surfaced.
"What is it, Kitty?" Bai Yutang knew he must have thought of something the instant he saw that expression.
"...If we consider it from the perpetrator's psyche, he must have done it with purpose. But he unwittingly exposed himself while trying to cover his tracks."
"How so?" Bai Yutang prompted and listened to Zhan Zhao's professional analysis with great interest.
"The killer went through all the trouble in order to hide the true crime scene! The purpose of creating a fake crime scene is always to create an alibi for himself!"
"Right!" Bai Yutang concurred.
"This so-called alibi is to eliminate the possibility of him appearing at the crime scene when the crime was committed!" Zhan Zhao added, "If we follow the killer's logic and segment the timeline of the crime, then this entire case can be broken into 4 parts! Namely, 'Li Feifan enters the building, gets murdered, fallen and discovered, the killer leaves."
"Uh-huh!" Bai Yutang listened carefully while rubbing his chin.
"The order of the first 2 parts, enters the building and gets murdered can't be changed!" Zhan Zhao continued patiently, "But the sequence of the next to parts which is the fall and the killer leaving can be changed."
Zhan Zhao paused for a minute to let Bai Yutang digest all the information. With his extremely high-level comprehension skills, Bai Yutang immediately understood what Zhan Zhao was getting at, "I get it. This means that the killer left the scene before Li Feifan fell. And while many think that the murder and the fall happened at the same time, in actuality, it can take place at different times. The killer just has to leave this place before Li Feifan falls, be seen in another place by someone, then make Li Feifan fall! And now he has the alibi he needs to dispel any suspicions!!"
Zhan Zhao nodded his head in satisfaction. Bai Yutang was really smart. Not only did Bai Yutang understand where he's coming from, he even followed down that train of thought.
"And thus, the number 135 becomes the key!" Zhan Zhao continued, "This set of numbers is directly linked to the scene of the murder and completely exposes the killer's intentions. That is to say that these numbers were indeed written by Li Feifan himself!"
Bai Yutang fell silent for a while before deducing, "In other words, Li Feifan was still alive when the killer left. But he knew that he could no longer save himself. The only thing he could do was leave this message."
Zhan Zhao looked at the window and the fence outside, and said abruptly, "When you jumped through the window just now, I suddenly thought of something."
Following Zhan Zhao's line of sight, Bai Yutang asked, "You mean to say... that the space between the fence and the windowsill is just nice to hold a person?"
Zhan Zhao said bitterly, "Perhaps... Li Feifan was placed there when he lost consciousness temporarily."
Bai Yutang gently patted Zhan Zhao on the shoulder to comfort him and sighed, "When he woke up and shifted his body, he would definitely fall. And it was while he was falling when he left that message for us."
"That's so cruel. He's just a kid. Who would do this to him?"
Seeing the pain on Zhan Zhao's face, Bai Yutang pulled him over and had the former lean against his shoulder as he said slowly, "Cat, this is not a one-man job!"
Zhan Zhao shuddered, "Two people?"
Bai Yutang gently stroked his hair and said, "You've already guessed it, haven't you? From the time Li Feifan entered the building to his fall, 2 people came out of the building..."
"Professor Xu and Doctor Zhang..." Zhan Zhao answered, slightly confused, "It does work in theory... but..."
"Cat!" Bai Yutang cupped Zhan Zhao's face with his hand and looked straight into his eyes while asking, "Do you remember what Doctor Xu said just now?"
(lilies: just confess already gah)
Zhan Zhao shuddered, "Two people?"
Bai Yutang gently stroked his hair and said, "You've already guessed it, haven't you? From the time Li Feifan entered the building to his fall, 2 people came out of the building..."
"Professor Xu and Doctor Zhang..." Zhan Zhao answered, slightly confused, "It does work in theory... but..."
"Cat!" Bai Yutang cupped Zhan Zhao's face with his hand and looked straight into his eyes while asking, "Do you remember what Doctor Xu said just now?"
(lilies: just confess already gah)
Zhan Zhao's eyes rounded in shock as he painfully replied, "He said that Professor Xu was covered in sweat..."
Bai Yutang nodded, "I don't think a heart attack would cause one to perspire all over now, would it? ...That kind of exercise is too strenuous for the elderly. That's why he kept panting and shaking all over... As for the one who faked the crime scene, it should be Dr. Zhang. The two of them are the ones who killed Li Feifan!"
1. Written as '小展' it's not the name of the actor from Untamed lollol I guess it's kinda similar to the "name-chan" in japanese↩
2. Idk if what I put is the third sound intonation, but basically Prof Xu (许) and Doctor Xu (徐), their surname is different↩
3. Written as '本少爷' can be taken as "ore-sama"↩
Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~
2. Idk if what I put is the third sound intonation, but basically Prof Xu (许) and Doctor Xu (徐), their surname is different↩
3. Written as '本少爷' can be taken as "ore-sama"↩
Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~