37: Chapter 37 There is no absolutely perfect crime

"Next, thread this elastic cord through the pre-prepared eye holes of all the masks, letting them down like stringing beads."

"Then, use the elastic band with the knife attached to pass through the mouth of each mask."

"After threading the elastic band through all the masks, pass them one by one through the bars above the door, sliding them sideways into the deceased's room."

"Once all the masks are in the deceased's room, you can control the masks using the elastic band."

"Each mask is about one centimeter thick, so all the masks combined are at least three meters long."

"At the time, the deceased was sleeping on the bed, which was just over three meters away from the bars."

"Now, Officer Li, please pull the elastic band hard."

"Alright."

Officer Li responded, then gave it a hard pull.

The masks suddenly looked like a living dragon, instantly pulled straight.

Everyone present was stunned, the scene before them leaving them speechless.

Layers of masks were stacked up, one end at the bars and the other extending to the window, with the dagger at the very front of the masks just a mere two or three centimeters from the deceased's throat.

"This... this..."

Everyone was shocked, as if frightened by the killer's modus operandi, and a bizarre atmosphere suddenly filled the scene.

Qin Mo continued, "If the killer were to give the masks a casual push, would this dagger not pierce the deceased's throat?"

As he spoke, Qin Mo revealed a cold sneer.

Li Ming heard Qin Mo's voice and gave it a hard push!

Sure enough, the dagger at the front of the masks instantly stabbed into the throat of the rubber dummy prepared in front.

Qin Mo continued, "Next, you pull out the elastic band from one end, and the masks will naturally scatter all over the floor."

"Afterward, the killer collects and destroys the elastic band. I have to say, this is a very perfect crime; even I was almost misled."

Li Ming immediately followed Qin Mo's instructions and cut the elastic band at one end.

Suddenly, a clattering sound was heard, and the unsupported masks scattered in all directions, the surrounding scene exactly matching the initial crime scene.

With all the work done.

A chill instantly filled everyone's chests; this scene was truly too shocking. They couldn't imagine how the killer had come up with this method.

"Holy crap! Incredible skill! I can only use 'incredible skill' to describe what I'm seeing!"

"Although the method is indeed impressive, I have a question: with such a big commotion from the masks, didn't the deceased notice anything?"

"Are you an idiot, OP? Can you hear what's happening outside after taking sleeping pills?"

...

"The Streamer is awesome! To be able to think of such a method—isn't it said that extreme intelligence makes you bald? I don't see the Streamer being bald!"

"Damn it, with such intelligence, instead of taking the postgraduate entrance exam, they used it to kill people. I can only say they narrowed their path and lacked vision!"

"I heard the deceased was quite good to Uncle Zhang. Why would he kill the deceased?"

"Who knows? These days, it's not strange to see any kind of riffraff..."

...

"So, do you have any reason to quibble now? Uncle Zhang!"

Qin Mo looked at Uncle Zhang and said coldly.

By now, Uncle Zhang's hair was standing on end. When Qin Mo said he was the killer, he could still feign calmness, but when Qin Mo reconstructed his modus operandi, if he hadn't been mentally strong, he probably would have already confessed.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Uncle Zhang, filled with shock, confusion, and disbelief.

Despite being terrified inside, on the surface, Uncle Zhang still sneered.

"First of all, you have no evidence that I did it, because I have an alibi. If the killer really followed your modus operandi, then I think they are more likely to have committed the crime than I am, right?"

As he spoke, Uncle Zhang expressionlessly pointed at Zheng Tian and Liu Wen.

Once these words were spoken, both were stunned for a moment, then looked at Uncle Zhang with fury.

"You..."

Zheng Tian was so angry he couldn't speak. He never expected that Uncle Zhang, who usually got along exceptionally well with everyone, would accuse them both at this critical moment.

Li Ming also frowned. Although the modus operandi Qin Mo described was very consistent with the crime scene, he couldn't figure out how Uncle Zhang could have done this while having an alibi.

Because this method, no matter how you look at it, requires someone to operate it. Either Qin Mo's deduction of the modus operandi is correct, but the killer might not be Uncle Zhang, but rather these two people.

Li Ming cast his gaze toward Zheng Tian and Liu Wen.

Ignoring everyone's reaction, Qin Mo continued, "That's right, based on this point alone, it's indeed impossible to prove you did it. But is there a possibility that the deceased didn't die at 4:00 AM, but before 12:00 midnight?"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhang's face changed drastically, his whole body soaked in cold sweat, his hair standing on end.

The others didn't notice his reaction but frowned as they looked at Qin Mo.

Li Ming hesitated for a moment before saying, "Qin Mo, your deductive reasoning and insight are top-notch."

"But there is one point: the time of death was determined by forensic examination, which cannot be faked..."

Qin Mo smiled mysteriously, "Everyone knows that after death, a body takes forty hours to slowly soften, but if the temperature around the body is relatively low, it will be delayed."

"For example, if the temperature around the body is higher than 25 degrees, the body will soften faster, perhaps taking only 30 or even 24 hours."

"Conversely, the duration of rigor mortis will be longer."

"You mean..."

Li Ming's pupils suddenly constricted.

Before he could say anything, Qin Mo smiled slightly and interrupted.

"Exactly! The killer utilized this point."

"I just checked the air conditioner; the set temperature is the minimum, 16 degrees. You know, it's October and the weather has already turned cold. Even if the deceased wanted to use the AC, they wouldn't set it so low, so it's very likely the work of the killer."

"I suspect it's very likely that when Uncle Zhang stabbed the dagger into the deceased's throat, the deceased struggled violently due to the pain and fell off the bed. This way, the deceased's body was completely exposed, and the surrounding temperature was extremely low."

"Then, Uncle Zhang took out the air conditioner remote he had prepared in advance, set it to a timer mode, and walked away."

"So the true time of death was actually before 12:00 midnight, not at 4:00 AM. This is also the reason why the killer misled the forensic examiner."

Silence...

The scene was unusually quiet. Everyone was left speechless, shocked by Qin Mo's deduction.

It's nothing that the killer could think of this method; the important thing is that Qin Mo was actually able to deduce every single detail. How incredible is that?

"Holy crap! The killer's methods are awesome! Brother Mo's deduction is even more awesome!"

"I actually feel a bit sorry for the killer now, having gone through so much trouble only to be seen through by Brother Mo in a few minutes. If it weren't for Brother Mo, I believe this would definitely have been a perfect crime!"

"Who told the killer to run into someone as capable as Brother Mo? It's just their bad luck. However, our Dragon Kingdom's Hat uncles are quite capable too. Even without Brother Mo, they could have solved it; it would just have been a matter of time..."