Chapter 153, Case C+

"My name is Ji Feng. I was supposed to meet everyone tomorrow."

He reached out and shook hands with them.

"It's fine."

"Since Captain Ji has arrived, we'll take our leave."

Yang Jianguo spoke up, signaling their departure.

Currently, they were in Xining, not Muhe.

They had come here purely because Chen Mo had discovered a case.

Normally, when a case occurred, it would be handled by the local police.

It had nothing to do with them.

They had more important things to do tomorrow.

"Take care, everyone."

Ji Feng nodded and responded politely.

They got into the car.

After Chen Mo changed into the clean clothes Long Hao had brought him,

the vehicle drove back toward the hotel where they were staying.

"You two really have a fated connection."

Long Hao, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and teased Chen Mo.

Before, when everyone was in Muhe, it was nothing for them to go watch the commotion together.

But now they were in Xining, so far from Muhe.

And yet, the two of them could still run into each other at a night market stall.

This strange twist of fate.

"It's not just you; sometimes I also wonder what exactly is going wrong."

"But, it's a bit metaphysical."

Chen Mo shook his head.

Watching a commotion with Uncle Wang would inevitably trigger a case-encountering buff.

After so many times, he could already predict it in advance.

And now, the problem was getting more and more serious.

Last time, the two of them clearly hadn't gone to watch any commotion.

Yet Uncle Wang still encountered a case and was arrested as a drug dealer.

Essentially...

doesn't it mean that as long as the two of them meet, a case will occur?

This was too ridiculous.

It wasn't scientific at all!

"I wonder which case will actually be selected."

"I can't fall asleep at all lying in bed."

Long Hao put his hands behind his head and spoke casually.

After confirming earlier that those five cases wouldn't be selected by the higher-ups,

they had given up on trying to guess the exam questions.

Although they couldn't get a head start,

at least everyone was at the same starting line.

Everyone could accept that.

But!

The benefit of guessing the case in advance was having peace of mind and being able to sleep soundly.

And the reason he couldn't sleep was precisely because he felt uneasy.

It wasn't just him; the entire team couldn't sleep.

Similar situations were likely occurring in all four squads.

"The case that just happened."

"It will probably be selected as the case for tomorrow's competition."

Chen Mo's voice suddenly rang out from the back seat.

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

Yang Jianguo, who was also sitting in the back seat, immediately pressed for more information.

As the leader of this group, he naturally hoped the team could achieve better results.

"Yeah, tell us!"

Long Hao's voice also rose in urgency.

Because the case downstairs at the hotel earlier...

In reality, the state of the corpse was just a bit gruesome.

There were many similar cases among Xining's cold cases.

Those didn't meet the criteria, so this one naturally wouldn't either.

"Publicity!"

"Many people were taking photos at the scene, and Captain Ji seemed to have arrived with a specific mission."

Chen Mo recalled the situation downstairs at the hotel.

When he spoke of publicity, he meant it literally.

After the scream from the hotel front desk, a large crowd had gathered to watch.

Among those taking photos, he had noticed a reporter!

Only then did he immediately pull out his credentials and order everyone to stay back.

And after Captain Ji arrived, Chen Mo noticed that no officers went to find that reporter.

When reporting the situation to the Instructor, he had made all this clear.

Of course, there was another possibility: that the Instructor had forgotten to pass it on.

But the probability of that was very low.

He took the opportunity to ask.

"I passed on what you told me to Captain Ji before we left. I'm certain he knows about it."

"And he hasn't forgotten."

Yang Jianguo thought for a moment and gave a definitive answer.

A homicide was a very serious matter.

Informing the investigators of all details was the most basic requirement.

As the Instructor, how could he possibly forget?

And Captain Ji's expression at the time also confirmed that he was anxious about the reporter being at the scene and taking photos.

After all, if it got out, the pressure on their investigation would increase significantly.

"Then what I said is correct."

"The perimeter tape and the tent covering the body have all been set up."

"Captain Ji only got out of the car after that; he must have been reporting the situation. Combined with the fact that he didn't deal with the reporter, he must have received a new mission."

Chen Mo didn't say what the mission was.

But except for the driver, the three of them could more or less guess.

Since the case hadn't been decided yet and Xining's existing cases didn't fit the criteria,

the police leadership must also be feeling anxious.

At this moment, a case suddenly occurred.

And it just happened to be captured by a reporter.

Why not just go with the flow?

First, the reporter would definitely be eager to report it, immediately posting it online through private channels to attract a lot of attention.

Second, once public opinion fermented, the four squads would quickly solve the case and announce the results.

Ultimately, the public's confidence in the police's capabilities would be greatly boosted.

And Xining would have perfectly navigated through this hurdle.

This was basically the most realistic conjecture at the moment.

"That makes sense!"

Long Hao thought about it and felt that Chen Mo's logic was sound.

This case indeed aligned with the higher-ups' initial goals.

As long as it met the objectives, this case could be selected.

Considering that no other cases currently met the requirements,

then the occurrence of this case was like a godsend!

The leaders probably wouldn't let this opportunity slip by!

But!

There's a "but" that must be mentioned here.

The higher-ups actually had three requirements.

First, a case well-known to the public but unsolved (publicity).

Second, the case must be more difficult than an ordinary one!

The first condition was met.

But what about the second?

Based on what they knew so far,

the person fell from the seventh floor.

What if the case was just an accidental fall?

Or being pushed, or some other factor,

and then it gets solved immediately tomorrow?

So, the leaders would definitely consider the difficulty as well.

"I've actually thought about that point too."

"The room key card was in Uncle Wang's hands."

"That means the person entered through improper means."

"And what was the deceased's purpose? Just to jump from the seventh floor? With so many empty rooms, why pick Uncle Wang's specifically?"

"Based on this, I suspect the deceased didn't commit suicide, but was murdered."

"Falling from Uncle Wang's room was likely a frame-up."

Chen Mo analyzed the difficulty of the case in a cold voice.

There was one more thing he didn't mention.

And that was, the mission issued to him by the system showed that the difficulty of this case was C+!

C+!!!

Among all the cases he had handled in the past,

none were as difficult as this one.

Could it be an ordinary homicide?

"You're right."

Yang Jianguo nodded.

Then he brought the conversation back on track.

"Captain Ji not driving them away or demanding the photos was likely because he received a mission."

"That explains it."

"In the end, it's all because your observations are sharp enough!"

As Yang Jianguo spoke, he began to praise Chen Mo.

And he indeed deserved the praise.

If it hadn't been for Chen Mo judging Ji Feng's reaction as suspicious based on the timing of him getting out of the car,

they would probably still be wondering which case it would be.

In fact, the case had just been right in front of them.

"It wouldn't be appropriate for us to go back now, would it?"

Long Hao showed a look of hesitation.

The most ideal way right now would be to return to the scene and get an early understanding of the case.

That way, they would be one step ahead of everyone else.

And they could handle the investigation more easily tomorrow.