Chapter 169 Finding a Breakthrough

Long Hao nodded silently.

He also agreed to focus their current efforts on the time Xiao Nuannuan was out yesterday afternoon.

There was no doubt that trying to pull off a trick during this time would be much more difficult than doing so at home at night.

In the hospital, not only were there patients who might need her at any moment, but there were also colleagues and the clock-in system.

Being at home, free and unconstrained, would have been much more convenient.

Therefore, compared to investigating whether Xiao Nuannuan really went out at night,

it was more reasonable to investigate the afternoon period.

"If that's the case, does it mean everyone who could confirm Xiao Nuannuan was at her post yesterday afternoon lied to us?"

"But they didn't do it intentionally; rather, in their subconscious, they truly believe Xiao Nuannuan was working at the hospital that afternoon and didn't go anywhere."

Chen Mo nodded upon hearing this.

What they needed to find now was the method Xiao Nuannuan used to make these people subconsciously believe she had been at the hospital the entire time.

This issue required speaking in person and in detail with those who claimed Xiao Nuannuan was at the hospital.

Then, they could find potential flaws within their accounts.

"Then I'll go make the arrangements."

Wu Tian raised his hand, indicating he could go call the people in.

Seeing that no one had any objections, he hurried out.

Watching his retreating back, a look of contemplation appeared on Chen Mo's face.

The current situation could be summed up in four words.

Nowhere to start.

They clearly knew that Xiao Nuannuan's presence at the hospital yesterday afternoon was faked.

But evidence was extremely hard to find.

Although Wu Tian hadn't brought the people over yet, considering the methods Xiao Nuannuan had used at the hotel crime scene,

finding clues would be difficult!

This was the main reason he immediately fell into deep thought.

If he didn't think of a solution now, and they failed to find any issues in the answers once the people arrived,

the scene would immediately become awkward.

It would significantly impact the progress of the case.

"Chen Mo, I don't think you need to put so much pressure on yourself."

Long Hao noticed the solemn expression on Chen Mo's face and spoke up to comfort him.

In his view, Xiao Nuannuan indeed had extraordinary abilities.

Compared to the cases they had handled in the past, the difficulty had increased exponentially.

But!

That didn't mean they should truly be sighing in despair.

Because no matter how powerful Xiao Nuannuan was, no matter how meticulous her mind, and no matter how few clues she left behind,

she was still just a human!

In this world, as long as something has been done, it will leave a trace.

Chen Mo had already put a lot of effort into this case.

Seeing Chen Mo still working so hard now, he felt somewhat ashamed.

After all, as the team leader, the main burden should be on his shoulders.

It shouldn't be on Chen Mo.

He should be the one scratching his head right now.

Regarding Captain Long's comfort, Chen Mo nodded gently.

"I understand what you mean."

He didn't waste too much time on this topic.

"Assuming I am in Xiao Nuannuan's position, and I need to leave the hospital for a period while creating the illusion that I've been there the whole time,"

"there are actually many ways to operate, but in practical application, only a few can actually be done."

"It's not that the others are impossible, but these few are the most feasible in practice."

"I've thought about it before. For Xiao Nuannuan to leave the hospital while making people think she was there, she would need to deal with three types of people in advance."

"The first are the patients, the second are her colleagues, and the third are her superiors."

Chen Mo's tone was solemn.

He categorized the trouble spots Xiao Nuannuan would encounter into these three groups of people.

The patients went without saying; they would call for a doctor whenever anything happened, and nurses were usually the first to arrive.

So, before leaving, she absolutely could not let patients look for her. That would be the first step achieved.

Colleagues were even harder than patients!

Because during work hours, they would frequently call out to each other.

Therefore, during the period she was away from the hospital, she couldn't let her colleagues look for her.

The same logic applied to her superiors.

And all of the above was only the first step Xiao Nuannuan had to pay attention to.

Because even if Xiao Nuannuan did all that,

her colleagues might say they weren't sure or didn't know where she was, which would carry a huge risk for her.

From the results, it appeared that Xiao Nuannuan hadn't just taken the first step.

There was also a second step.

And that was to reinforce the illusion in her colleagues' subconscious that she had been at the hospital the entire afternoon!

"You mean to find a breakthrough through these three groups of people?"

Long Hao also understood Chen Mo's meaning.

It was the same idea as before: find the problem first, then face the core of the problem directly.

By doing this, the conclusions reached would be accurate and correct!

There wouldn't be a situation where they investigated in circles only to find the direction was wrong.

"Yes, patients, colleagues, and superiors will be the focus of our next stage of work!"

Chen Mo nodded without hesitation.

Just then,

footsteps echoed from the corridor.

Judging by the slightly chaotic sound of the footsteps, there was likely more than one person outside the door.

In fact, there were several.

—Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knocking rang out.

Long Hao signaled for them to enter.

Following that, three girls in nurse uniforms, looking to be around 25 years old, walked in with nervous expressions.

After all, when facing the police, one would feel apprehensive even if they had done nothing wrong, let alone when the police had specifically sought them out.

Their emotions were truly very uneasy.

"Don't be nervous. We just brought you here to understand the situation. You can leave after we ask a few questions."

Wu Tian had been verbally comforting these three young nurses on the way there.

Seeing the three of them standing stiffly at the door, not daring to move, he quickly spoke up to gesture for them to take a seat.

A moment later,

the formal process began.

Chen Mo sat up straight, his hands crossed on the table.

"First question: Did Xiao Nuannuan leave the hospital at all yesterday afternoon?"

"Please answer me with 'yes' or 'no'."

Although it was very likely these nurses were truly unaware and only subconsciously believed their colleague Xiao Nuannuan had never left,

what if they were close colleagues and were helping Xiao Nuannuan lie?

Getting a colleague to help her deceive the police

would actually not be difficult for Xiao Nuannuan.

With her brain and methods, she would only need one piece of leverage.

This wasn't entirely impossible.

After all, looking at the case as a whole, Xiao Nuannuan truly deserved to be called formidable.

She had both courage and strategy!

"N... No."

The hesitant voices of the three rang out one after another.

Micro-expressions told Chen Mo that although these three young nurses had many nervous habits,

they were all caused by tension, and they weren't lying when answering his question.

This allowed Chen Mo to lower his guard slightly.

If another liar popped up at this time,

then it would be truly troublesome.

Fortunately, everything so far matched their expectations.

They were on the right path.

"And the reason? Why do you think she didn't go out all afternoon?"

When asking this question, Chen Mo could actually vaguely guess the answers they would give.

But he still wanted to hear what their basis actually was.

Hearing this, the three young nurses looked at each other, all appearing hesitant.

None of them were willing to speak first.

They were waiting for the others to speak.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just asking you a few questions."

"You can leave immediately after we're finished."

Chen Mo showed a somewhat warm smile.

It seemed they were warmed by Chen Mo's smile, which was like that of a brotherly neighbor.

After his comforting words fell,

one of the young nurses spoke up.

"Because yesterday afternoon, we were all on duty. Leaving one's post without permission would lead to punishment."

"Our director has a very fiery temper. For so many years, no one has dared to leave their post without permission."

The young nurse lowered her head and softly explained what she believed was the main reason Xiao Nuannuan couldn't have left her post.

"Mhm, you said it very well. Anything else?"

Chen Mo nodded, indicating he had heard everything, and then encouraged her.

With the encouragement, this young nurse wasn't as nervous as at the beginning.

She thought for a moment and added: "We are actually very busy, whether it's in the morning or the afternoon."

"There is a fixed amount of work to do every day. If a colleague is missing from their post, it can be noticed."

"Let me give you a simple example, Officer. Suppose a department has twenty patient rooms and only five nurses; then each person's workload averages out to four rooms."

"If one person is missing, the increase in workload is clearly felt. But yesterday afternoon, the workload was the same as before."

The young nurse said a lot in one breath, but she expressed her thoughts clearly.

To put it simply, the reason she believed Xiao Nuannuan was at her post was that the shared workload didn't increase.

Therefore, Xiao Nuannuan must have been at her post.

From this point of view, this young nurse's reasoning was indeed solid.

Because only those on the front lines could most clearly perceive whether there was an increase in workload.

He looked toward Sun Yi,

signaling her to record this point for later analysis.

"Do you two have anything to say?"

"Since in the previous questioning, you both said Xiao Nuannuan was at her post, tell me your reasons."

Chen Mo then turned his gaze to the other two nurses.

With the example set by the first nurse, the two were much more relaxed now.

As soon as he finished speaking, they started explaining their perceptions one after another.

"Because I saw Xiao Nuannuan many times yesterday afternoon, really many times. Although we often ran into each other during work before, we bumped into each other especially often yesterday afternoon."

"How should I explain it to you? Anyway, I could run into her no matter where I went—in the patient rooms, in the corridors, at the nurse's station, even in the restroom."

"So, if you said someone else left their post, I might believe it, but Xiao Nuannuan definitely didn't."

Chen Mo nodded silently. Multiple subconscious encounters could indeed create an illusion.

"Do you remember the times?"

"For example, what time were these encounters? Because the time Xiao Nuannuan left might have been about an hour. It would be normal for you not to notice if she came back after going out."

Regarding this question,

the nurse hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

Who would intentionally record the times they bumped into a colleague?

Unless they were bored out of their mind.

"Go with our man, he'll help you recall."

It actually wasn't difficult to figure out the times she bumped into Xiao Nuannuan.

If this young nurse couldn't remember, the patients would surely remember something.

If the patients couldn't remember, there must be surveillance at the nurse's station.

In short, there were many ways.

It was just a matter of whether they were willing to put in the effort.

"This way, please."

Wu Tian stood up from his chair and signaled for the other person to follow him out first.

Once the meeting room door closed,

Chen Mo finally turned his gaze to the last person.

"Do you have anything to say?"