Chapter 21 Rookie Detective
Chapter 21: Rookie Detective
Today was the fourth day since Crow distributed the trackers. He had now almost locked onto everyone in the entire town. Zooming in on the map, he could see a large number of constantly moving green dots and even more stationary red dots on the computer screen.
This was a simple screening. By analyzing the movement patterns of the trackers, it was possible to determine which trackers were on people and which were merely being blown by the wind on the ground. Now, apart from the trackers being unable to display personal information, this surveillance was almost complete.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A knock sounded, and Crow closed his satellite computer, turning to open the door.
"Kid, why is it you? Are you ready to give up the investigation?" Crow teased.
Zhou Ming stood at the doorway, holding up several transparent small bags that looked like minced meat, and asked, "Teacher Crow, could you help me find someone to analyze these? See if there are any human components in this meat."
"Where did you get these?" Crow took the plastic bags and examined them closely, "They don't look like human flesh."
Zhou Ming's heart skipped a beat. He thought, 'As expected of a Hidden One. He even has the skill to distinguish human flesh from the color of minced meat. This kind of eerie knowledge is something I never want to know in my life.'
"It's most likely animal meat, but to be safe, it's better to have it analyzed," Zhou Ming replied.
"Did you get them from those restaurants? What a naive idea. You're not truly an idiot; you should be able to see the living conditions in this town. The industrial environment here doesn't have the facilities to completely pulverize a living person into ingredients."
"But since it's a strange incident, maybe the strangeness has some way of doing it," Zhou Ming replied.
Crow narrowed her eyes, observing the other person's eyes through her glasses. She couldn't see Zhou Ming's expression, but from his gaze, she saw no pretense of strength. It seemed Zhou Ming genuinely believed there was a need to analyze this pork, even if it was most likely just ordinary pork.
"Wishful thinking! But to save you from blaming me, I'll reluctantly help you send them for testing," Crow scoffed, taking all the plastic bags. "I'll tell you when the results are out."
"Thank you, Teacher," Zhou Ming breathed a sigh of relief.
"Call me Teacher Crow," Crow said.
"Thank you, Teacher Crow," he repeated.
The two stood at the door confronting each other for a while. Seeing that Zhou Ming had no intention of leaving, Crow let out her unique scornful sneer.
"Is there anything else? If not, you can continue your investigation. Remember, if you can't solve this matter in a month, then you'll have to do it yourself. If you can't bring yourself to do it, then go back and retake the course. I'll give you a D grade in your evaluation! Rookie Detective!"
Zhou Ming was stunned for a moment, nodded slightly, then turned and left.
Crow closed the door with satisfaction, returned to the bed, opened her satellite computer, and continued optimizing the tracking system from before.
On the other side, Zhou Ming stepped out of the hotel and walked briskly down the street.
Over the past few days, the local residents had grown accustomed to this Hidden One wearing a Green Mask. No one on the street glanced at him anymore, but more people started avoiding him, because this Green Mask often caught someone and questioned them endlessly, which was very annoying.
But Zhou Ming didn't care if others found him annoying. No matter how annoyed they were, he would catch them and interrogate them. He had completely mastered this skill.
"Next, I'll start with the employees of the taverns and restaurants," Zhou Ming muttered to himself, looking around.
At this moment, he happened to pass by a restaurant, so he walked straight in, going directly to the owner's lounge.
"Holy crap! You're here again! Didn't you come last time?" The fat owner was startled when he saw Zhou Ming enter.
"I have some questions about your employees. If you cooperate well, this strange incident should be resolved very soon, without any mishaps," Zhou Ming lied, his expression unchanged.
The fat man's eyes widened. He stared blankly at Zhou Ming, then his bewildered gaze gradually turned excited.
"R-really?"
"Really."
"What do you want to ask?"
"All personal information about your employees: family background, personality, daily habits, and anything else you can tell me."
"That's a lot to talk about. I know them very well," the fat owner sighed.
"That's for the best. Please, begin."
"Where should I start?"
The fat man's chin receded, creating a double chin. He pondered for a long while, then his eyes lit up: "Let's start with Chen Shan! That guy, Chen Shan, doesn't have a wife, but he has a son. He's an honest, hardworking, and frugal man, but he has one hobby that doesn't fit his personality: he likes to frequent prostitutes!"
"Please continue," Zhou Ming said calmly.
Half an hour later…
"See that dishwasher? His name is Bai Jinyuan. Even though he has no children, he has two women. One looks only twenty, the other is forty. I heard the older one is a slave he rescued from the wilderness. He brought that slave with him before he came to Senma Town. That female slave is very old and not as pretty as the younger one, but Bai Jinyuan seems to prefer her… I suspect his XP is messed up."
…
…
After questioning one shop, Zhou Ming moved to another restaurant, using the same trick to interrogate the owner of the second shop.
"The waiter in my restaurant is called Wan Peng Hong. He's a very ordinary family of three. He often beats his wife at home, but any man can bully him outside… You know, he's only fierce at home, but a coward outside." The tall, thin owner let out a sneer.
"You continue," Zhou Ming said, nodding to show he was listening while making notes on paper.
"Hmm, let me think again. Hiss—I've pretty much talked about everyone in my shop. I feel like there's nothing more to say."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure."
Zhou Ming nodded, packed his things, and prepared to leave. Just as his butt left the stool, the tall, thin owner suddenly slapped the table, his eyebrows twitching.
"I remember there was a chef who resigned not long ago! That person was quite strange, do you want to hear about him?!"
Zhou Ming sat back down: "Please tell me."
"That chef is Song Zongming. He's lived in this town for many years, and everyone thinks he's strange!"
"How so?" Zhou Ming asked in detail.
"How to put it, he's a very refined, or perhaps elegant, or even graceful person? I can't quite describe it, but it's the feeling of someone who lives inside the Wall, not like people from the wilderness.
He speaks very politely, a bit like you. His cooking skills are excellent, and he has a beautiful foreign wife. I've seen photos, blonde hair and fair skin, also not at all like people from the wilderness!
However… his wife seems to have a very serious illness. She rarely comes out more than a few times a year, always lying in the attic."
"That doesn't sound very special," Zhou Ming said, a little puzzled.
"Not special?" The tall, thin owner shook his head and sneered, "No, no, no! He definitely used to live inside the Wall; no one in the wilderness is like that."