When the family learns of the child's death, their emotions collapse, and this breakdown leads to extreme reactions.
In such a situation, whenever the police mention they've "found information," the family will cooperate completely!
But... what if they don't cooperate?
Then there's something suspicious!
"Chen Jian and Zhu Hong are indeed problematic!"
Chen Changchun's face was grim.
The other party may believe they've hidden their emotions well, but with over a decade of detective experience, even without formal training in psychology, Chen Changchun has mastered the ability to read micro-expressions!
Their vacant stares during questioning clearly indicated they were deep in thought!
Their pupils contracted, which represents having thought of something.
Yet they claim to know nothing...
Even Zhu Hong's crying seemed to subtly decrease; these small actions unnoticed by most reveal their inner thoughts clearly!
"What's next?"
Chen Changchun looked at Xu Liang.
"What are we doing next?"
Xu Liang didn't rush to explain, choosing instead to change the subject.
"Captain Chen, have you ever heard of the 'prisoner's dilemma'?"
The so-called prisoner's dilemma is a psychological game theory.
Suppose you are a criminal and arrested with another criminal by the police, but the police lack enough evidence to convict you, so they isolate and interrogate you, preventing you from sharing information.
Then, they tell you and the other person separately, "Provide clues and reduce your sentence to one year; if the other speaks, you'll be sentenced to ten years."
Isolated from information, you cannot determine whether the other will betray you.
Faced with this situation, you must decide whether to speak first and reduce your sentence or trust the other person.
If you trust wrongly, it's a ten-year sentence!
In such a situation, what choice will you make?
That's the so-called prisoner's dilemma.
A complex game of human nature, psychology, and spirit!
As for the case...
"The police conveyed to him that they had found a conflict from years ago, without clarifying what information!"
"In this situation, he'll start to panic, wondering if the police have touched the core of the conflict."
"Moreover, they supplement with specific information, like vendetta, seven years ago, etc., to guide the other party into thinking the police are close to evidence without revealing it!"
After Xu Liang explained, he spoke slowly.
Here's an example.
In school, if you didn't do your homework and the teacher starts checking, the teacher often says:
'I know who didn't do their homework, so stand up yourself before I call names!'
At this point, you can't be sure the teacher knows, so you start feeling anxious.
The teacher shifts their gaze to you, and you get goosebumps.
Then, if the teacher calls your surname?
You can almost confirm you've been caught, so you stand up.
It may turn out the teacher just scanned the room and mentioned the most common surname in the class.
"Chen Jian doesn't know exactly what clue the police have found, so he needs verification."
"The method of verification for those who didn't do their homework: did the teacher mention my surname."
"Chen Jian can't verify with the police, so he can only verify with others."
In the case, there are only three parties: the perpetrator, the victim, the police.
If he doesn't verify with the police, then it's...
The victim!
"Next."
Xu Liang's eyes grew sharper.
"He will actively lead us to the evidence!"
...
...
In the car.
Inside the car driving from the police station was very quiet, only the faint sound of sobbing could be heard.
After a long time, the car stopped in the garage of a villa.
Chen Jian's obese figure stepped out, followed closely by Zhu Hong, and both persons entered the villa.
As soon as they got inside, they sat on the sofa with their eyes closed, lost in thought.
They remained silent, the atmosphere was very quiet.
Until no one knew how much time had passed.
Chen Jian's fat body showed increasing signs of agitation, his chest heaving more noticeably. He opened his eyes, slightly irritated, and paced back and forth.
Hearing the movement.
The silent Zhu Hong restlessly opened her eyes to look at Chen Jian.
"Could the one who killed Xiaowei be..."
"Shut up!"
Chen Jian was irritated and shouted loudly.
Hearing this, anger welled up inside Zhu Hong instantly.
"Xiaowei is still lying on the autopsy bed!"
"Take a good look, he's lying there, and his killer is still alive... still alive!"
Faced with this outburst, Chen Jian couldn't suppress his own anger either.
"I know!"
"But our son is already dead, and we are still alive!"
"If the one who killed our son was really Chen Hua, and he gets arrested by the police, we won't escape either!!!"
Hearing this, Zhu Hong's voice became sharper.
No sooner than she opened her hand, she left an imprint on his face.
"You worthless coward, I must have been blind to have liked you!"
"My son died so horribly, so horribly!"
Chen Jian felt a sting on his cheek, wiped it, and saw the bright red blood.
Instantly, his heart hardened, looking at Zhu Hong, who was fighting with him, raising his hand directly.
"Slap!"
A crisp slap echoed.
The massive force struck Zhu Hong's face, making her dizzy and lie on the sofa for a long time without recovering.
"Was it only me!?"
"Was it only me back then? Didn't you spend even a penny of that money!? When Xiaowei bullied others, wasn't it you who protected him!?"
As he spoke.
A wave of fear surged in Chen Jian's heart, which quickly transformed into anger, and he repeatedly slapped Zhu Hong's face.
After a long while, he finally stopped.
Zhu Hong kept sobbing, and after a moment, regained her composure and managed to suppress her voice.
The two fell silent again, the atmosphere becoming even more oppressive.
"Did they find out or not?"
Suddenly, Zhu Hong asked.
Chen Jian didn't respond, a lump of anger swelling within him, making it difficult to stay calm.
He didn't know if they'd discovered anything either.
If they did find out...
What would they uncover?
The one who died back then was personally taken to a deserted place and buried by them.
One big and two small remained, one hanged himself, and the other two had nowhere to go.
How could the police ever find them?
Seven years have passed, even if he wanted to find them, he couldn't!
But...
"The timing matches perfectly."
Chen Jian's eyes were gloomy, his mind seemed tangled with countless threads.
He looked out the window.
Pitch black!
Unknowingly, it was already 22:23.
After a long silence.
Chen Jian couldn't hold back any longer, he stood up, grabbed the car keys.
"What are you doing?" Zhu Hong asked instinctively.
"Going out to take a look."
"I'll go too."
The two got into the car in the dark, not bothering to close the door, driving straight out.
Passing by the gate, the guard wanted to greet them, but the two ignored him completely, accelerating away, leaving him awkwardly standing there.
The car headed south.
The scenery outside the window turned into streams of light and disappeared.
In a daze, the lights gradually became sparse as they had already driven out of the city.
The speed didn't slow down much until the car plunged into a road without even streetlights.
It's unclear how long they drove.
The car suddenly stopped.
This was a forest, a deserted place, even bird calls were rare.
"Clack!"
The car door opened, Chen Jian and Zhu Hong got out.
They kept looking for something around, eventually stopping at a certain spot.
Finally discovering there were no signs of others having searched here, the tension in their throats finally eased.
"Buzz~!"
The two got back in the car, retracing their route, disappearing into the forest.
...
...
00:02
Several cars suddenly rushed into this dead-silent forest again.
"The positioning shows they stopped here!"
"Check the surroundings, bring out the shovels!"
"I found footprints, here!"
"..."
Numerous voices combined, yet didn't seem chaotic.
In the darkness, several shadows gathered, constantly searching for something.
Until...
"Where's the flashlight!? There's something down here!!!"
Several flashlights lit up suddenly, illuminating the people as well.
They were Chen Changchun, Xu Liang, Liu Jin, and others.
At this moment, they were surrounding a freshly dug pit, discussing continuously.
With the flashlights shining, a corner of a burlap sack emerged in the pit, stained with dirt.
The group quickly widened the pit, and then Liu Jin pulled with all his might, his face turning red but the sack didn't budge.
"Let me!"
Wang Chao was infuriated, lifted Liu Jin out, and leapt into the pit.
He hugged the sack, an overwhelming stench hit him but he ignored it, aligning his body strength in an instant.
"Hiss!!!"
The burlap sack was forcibly pulled out by him.
"Give it to me!"
Liu Jin received it above, finally revealing the sack buried underground.
Xu Liang didn't hesitate, immediately untying the sack with his hands.
The rope loosened, promptly he pulled open the sack with his hands.
"Hiss!"
A face long decomposed appeared in the darkness before them.
The burlap sack on either side of the head was stained with an unknown brown substance, initially estimated to be the rotting flesh from the corpse.
Everyone fell into silence.
"Found it."
Chen Changchun stood on the ground, looking down at the corpse, exhaled smoke from the cigarette, his face expressionless, yet his heart was turbulent.
Xu Liang took a deep breath and said slowly:
"Check it..."
"Who on earth is this person!"