E 23

At the police station, all the team members responsible for that case gathered around the table, attentively listening to the analysis from the forensics lab.

"The deceased was approximately twenty to twenty-four years old, 169 cm tall, with a history of smoking and alcoholism. The time of death was about four days ago. Due to severe facial injuries from deliberate lacerations, coupled with the scouring from water flow and consumption by underwater creatures, we are temporarily unable to determine the deceased’s exact identity."

"There are signs of blunt force trauma to the back of the skull. The cause of death was strangulation by a band-like object, leading to asphyxiation. The body was forcibly cut open with a not-very-sharp small knife and then thrown into the water."

"However, due to the tide coming in today, by the time we arrived, the water flow had become quite turbulent. Therefore, the body has not yet been fully retrieved, and the weapon has not been found."

"Additionally, the area is very desolate, with no surveillance cameras within a three-mile radius, and not even a bus service. This is likely why this incident was only discovered today."

"That’s all the information we have. This is a case of considerable impact that has occurred in our city in recent years, and we have been ordered to solve it as quickly as possible. Does anyone have anything to add?"

A young team member raised his hand first.

"Boss, what about surveillance from nearby restaurants? Did they capture anything?"

Upon hearing this, the team leader shook his head.

"Xiao Li and the others have already checked all the nearby surveillance cameras. They are currently screening and cross-referencing the footage for any matches to the victim's characteristics. There are quite a few potential candidates, and we estimate the results won’t be available until tomorrow."

“Once we identify the victim's identity, we should investigate her interpersonal relationships; new clues are likely to emerge.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the room.

Right now, there are practically no clues; everything remains buried in the dark. Solving the case is exceedingly difficult, and they need a considerable amount of time.

Moreover, the longer this case drags on, the greater the pressure becomes.

Currently, to avoid triggering public panic, the higher-ups are making efforts to control the spread of information, trying to buy them as much time as possible to solve the case.

But how long can they keep suppressing it?

They still need to resolve the case as quickly as possible...

Rubbing his tightly furrowed brow, the team leader waved his hand to announce the meeting's conclusion.

“Alright, with so few clues, there’s not much to discuss, so let’s not waste time here. You few go help Xiao Li with filtering the suspects; the rest come with me to the crime scene to continue searching.”

As he finished, the team leader couldn’t help but let out an expletive.

“Damn, it’s a good thing that thief decided to go fishing today; otherwise, with the tide rising and the water flowing, it would have been even harder to discover this case!”

“Everyone, put in some effort. This is a society governed by law; we can’t let such insane people run rampant!”

“Yes!”

Without him saying it, all the team members felt a sense of urgency.

Everyone was full of energy, prepared to stay up all night, determined to catch the criminal as soon as possible.

---

Meanwhile, during the evening self-study session at the first high school—

Lin Wan was unaware that his casual remark had revealed a clue that would have otherwise been easily concealed about his younger brother, triggering a significant uproar.

He was sitting in the last row of the classroom, diligently working on an extremely easy exam paper under the awed gazes of several struggling students.

This paper was specially selected by the teachers based on his current situation. The difficulty was low, but the range of knowledge covered was extremely broad, making it perfect for Lin Wan, who had a weak foundation, to fill in the gaps.

He wrote down everything he knew directly, left blanks for what he didn’t, and quickly went through the entire paper before picking up the answer sheet beside him to check his work.

Watching Lin Wan’s rapid writing, seemingly random and effortless, the student next to him was stunned.

“Bro, did you write all this yourself? How come you're so fast?”

“I just write down what I know and leave the rest blank, so of course, it’s fast?” Lin Wan replied, giving the struggling student a puzzled look.

“...That’s not what I meant! Even if you know the answer, you still need time to think about it!”

Unlike you, who just glances at a question and either writes the answer directly or leaves it blank with a circle drawn around it.

It looks so effortless!

As it turned out, with only half of the evening self-study session gone, Lin Wan had already finished the entire paper, which made the struggling student feel sour.

“Oh, I see,” realizing what the student next to him meant, Lin Wan smiled and explained,

“If I’ve mastered a knowledge point, it’s fully ingrained in my mind. The next time I encounter it, I won’t need to spend time recalling or thinking; I can just use it directly.”

“Wow, no wonder you were once a top student; that’s impressive!” Hearing this, the struggling student couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

“Given your current situation, if you put in some effort, you might even place well in the rankings. Go for it, brother! Get an impressive score to show those teachers and top students and make their eyes pop out; the reputation of us struggling students relies on you!”

Noticing the gazes directed at them from around the room, Lin Wan said seriously, “You don’t have to rely solely on me; as long as you work hard, you can achieve good results too.”

“Hey, we’re not the same. We’re all studying, but if we manage to progress to even one-tenth of your level, that would be great,” the struggling student waved his hand, acknowledging his own limitations.

Lin Wan did some quick calculations in his head and encouraged them, “Actually, one-tenth is still pretty good!”

Struggling Student: ??? Are you saying I’m fat or something?

Dude, it’s Friday, and the monthly exam is on Monday. Even if you progress by a hundred places, my progress of ten places wouldn’t add up to much!

Believing Lin Wan was mocking him, the struggling student’s tone suddenly turned fierce.

“Oh, so if a tenth of progress is considered good, what are your plans for the next monthly exam?”

“I plan to rank in the top hundred of my year!” Remembering the “the teacher has been found” message sent by Wang Youqian on his old Nokia phone before class, Lin Wan said with great determination.

Struggling Student: What???

After recalling that Lin Wan scored lower than him in the last monthly exam, and then looking at Lin Wan’s fresh, spirited face that obviously hadn’t experienced sleepless nights recently, the struggling student felt extremely cold inside.

You think you can rank in the top hundred? I think you're daydreaming.

He turned over and lay down on his desk, speaking coldly.

“Fine, having dreams is commendable. I’ll say this: if you manage to place in the top hundred in the upcoming exam, I will study diligently from now on, getting up early to train and never waste a moment again!”

Seeing Lin Wan’s slightly confused eyes, the struggling student felt a sense of triumph.

He buried his head in his warm, comfortable arms, speaking in an exaggeratedly fake tone.

“Hey, young man, you can do it; I believe in you~”

Is he trying to encourage him?

Holding his old Nokia, which didn’t even have Weibo, let alone WeChat or QQ, Lin Wan had no idea what the current slang among young people meant.

Since someone was wishing him well and encouraging him, it felt a bit rude not to respond, right?

Lin Wan hesitated for a moment, gripping his pen, then turned his head and revealed a sincere smile to the underachieving boy.

“Thank you for your encouragement; I will definitely work hard!”

？？？

The underachieving boy was quite upset, not feeling that Lin Wan was genuinely responding.

He felt mocked by Lin Wan but couldn't find a suitable retort in that moment.

So he could only turn over gloomily, facing away from Lin Wan, thinking to himself, "Enjoy your moment of pride now; just wait until the grades come out. I’ll see how I can mock you then!"

---

At the same time, in the company—

“Lin Li Qun! Look at what you submitted; what is this?!!”

A loud roar startled the exhausted employees, who had been forced to work overtime yet again. They looked up at the source of the sound.

Their notoriously hot-tempered supervisor was standing in front of Lin Li Qun’s desk, angrily slamming a stack of documents down with a "bang."

“Do you know how much the company has lost because of the incorrect data you submitted?!”

“I’m sorry, Supervisor Liu; I will definitely—”

Watching Lin Li Qun, who was flipping through the documents with an increasingly pale face, the supervisor's voice trembled with suppressed anger.

“Next time what?! You made such a huge mistake, and you’re thinking about next time?! Let me tell you, you’re fired!!”

“What?! Supervisor Liu, I—”

“You, you, you! Get your things and get out! This mess has already caught the attention of the head office; you’re lucky you’re not being held accountable! Hurry up and get out!!!”

Watching Supervisor Liu storm out in anger and feeling the mocking gazes of his colleagues, Lin Li Qun slumped into his chair, feeling as if the sky was falling.

How could this happen? He had submitted data he carelessly deleted before, so why was there such a big problem this time?!

Meanwhile, Mother Lin was out buying groceries after work, trying to sneak a few extra items into her bag when she suddenly slipped and fell hard onto the ground.

“Ouch!”

Holding her aching backside, Mother Lin hurriedly left the market.

As she walked, looking up at the gloomy sky and feeling the cold wind blowing around her, she suddenly had an ominous feeling as if a storm was approaching.

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