The smell of blood and the mutilated corpse, these were the essential elements of a crime scene.
As the commander of the law enforcers in District Seventeen, Lu Xiang had mentally prepared herself when she led the task force into the scene. The gunshot they had heard earlier was a clear signal from the criminals—they hadn't intended to negotiate from the beginning.
However, even so, she was still startled by the scene that confronted her when the entry team broke down the door.
The dark-red blood slowly spread across the floor. Two trembling hostages huddled in the corner. After she bent down to check on a girl whose hands had been bound behind her back, the paramedics, who had been waiting outside, loaded the girl onto a stretcher once Lu realized she was still breathing.
The last hostage, it seemed, hadn't been so lucky.
The bullet had penetrated her skull, a gruesome sight intermingled with brain matter. Lu Xiang lifted the cloth covering the deceased's skull. Given the clothes of the deceased and her expensive jewelry, Lu had already hazarded a guess as to her identity.
Angel Foster.
The District Seventeen inspector was recently made notorious by his involvement with the Chai Ke case.
Now, Angel's eyes were bulging, as if filled with confusion and disbelief at the moment her life ended.
As for Chai Ke, the criminal who was arrested two weeks ago on eleven charges, he now lay silently on the cold floor.
A hole straight through his chest, providing a clear view from one side to the other.
The criminals who had planned this operation with Chai Ke were met with the same fate.
A swift and deadly hit, attesting to the ruthlessness of the perpetrator.
Lu Xiang immediately pictured a professional assassin in her mind, but she quickly dismissed this first impression.
If a cold-blooded professional assassin was behind the trigger, why were there three survivors?
"Boss, the surveillance here has been tampered with."
The technicians soon brought the expected news.
Considering the Foster Family's standing in the United Government, any sensible criminal would avoid showing their face at the crime scene.
"Secure the scene, bring Angel Foster's body back to the station first."
Lu Xiang's right eyelid twitched fiercely. She could already predict the uproar this incident would cause. Chai Ke was District Seventeen's infamous public enemy; Angel Foster, by virtue of overseeing his trial, had become a heroic figure in the public's eyes.
And now, their hero had been gunned down.
In the coming days, indignant citizens would certainly question them: how had Chai Ke, already under arrest, managed to escape and then kidnap and murder his own prosecutor?
Actually, Lu Xiang also wanted to know the answer to this question.
But the more pressing concern right now was that the surveillance footage from the scene had been destroyed, all the eyewitnesses had been completely wiped out, except for those three hostages who had, for some unknown reason, managed to survive...
Hostages?
A new possibility suddenly occurred to Lu Xiang.
Upon arriving at the scene, they immediately cordoned off the surrounding area, and in consideration of the criminals being armed, the snipers took up their positions without delay.
As of now, she hadn't received any reports about anyone leaving the room.
From the sound of the gunfire to breaching the scene, it all happened in less than ten seconds; the crime scene remained in its original state. In other words, the real perpetrator could still be at the scene.
Her gaze swept over the two shivering figures in the corner. She tasked her colleagues with orders, "Take them to the station too, and you personally lead a team to the hospital and keep a 24-hour guard near the injured."
...
8:30 PM.
"Today, a malignant incident occurred in the south of the city. High Prosecutor, Angel Foster, unfortunately, was killed. Let us remember this hero who had dedicated his life to fighting crime in our city..."
An hour later, the report made its appearance on the nightly news of District Seventeen.
In mourning the High Prosecutor's death, tonight's news was broadcast in black and white.
Song Lan had prepared a hearty dinner. Watching the black and white television, he put his hands together in genuine silence for the departed city hero.
This wicked crime had occurred around 7:30 PM when he had fortuitously brushed past the Grim Reaper and had returned to his apartment a step earlier.
Grandpa Li, the doorman of the apartment, saw him at the time carrying a bag of ribs upstairs.
According to reports, a criminal held four hostages, and he let someone at the scene fill his own vacancy.
It takes at least ten minutes to walk home from the crime scene, all of these are undoubtedly the best alibi.
The turmoil deep within gradually calmed down.
Song Lan remembered what was mentioned in a crime psychology book, the first step to a perfect lie is to convince oneself.
Many criminals fail to accomplish this, and thereby their flaws are eventually exposed.
Just now, Song Lan successfully convinced himself.
Objectively speaking, he does not have the potential to be involved in this violent case.
So, the remnants of memories still lingering in his mind are just a phantom, a nightmare.
His life still maintains a steady pace.
Then, as expected, a phone call interrupted Song Lan's thoughts.
It was only after the phone rang four times that he answered it. On the other end was a slightly tired female voice.
"Hello?"
"Working late today, I'll be home later."
"Ah, Director Lu, is it emergency overtime? I'll rush over right away!"
Song Lan's surprised tone was just right.
"No need..."
"Oh, so Director, what do you require?"
"Hungry."
Still a concise and strong tone, "I'll probably be home at midnight."
"Understood."
"Hmm."
After hanging up, the office was left with an unsettling silence. Lu Xiang looked at the completely dimmed sky and clenched her fist in regret.
Failed again... again and again!
She closed the book titled "A Love Tip Every Day" and pushed it aside. Even though she had quietly rehearsed in her heart before making the call, once she heard his voice, everything went back to the pace of the usual work report.
Work's important, stop thinking about these nonsensical things!
Lu Xiang steadied her mind and looked at the files neatly arranged on the desk.
She had taken Angel Foster's body back to the department as soon as she could, this was to obtain firsthand information before the Foster Family arrived after hearing the news.
As it turned out, her judgment was correct.
Although Angel Foster was dead, her high-end prosthetic eye recorded what happened before they stormed the crime scene.
Even though Angel's head was completely covered with a bag throughout, all the sounds within the room were captured exactly as they were.
That decrypted original recording made Lu Xiang worry that this case might not be as simple as it seemed.
She heard a gunshot.
Besides the gunshot, there was no other sound.
The two trembling hostages seemed to be startled by the gunshot and didn't utter a sound for the following six seconds.
Six seconds later, she and her team kicked the door down.
That means, someone within these six seconds took out everyone at the scene except the hostages, and either mixed in with the hostages or disappeared without a trace under the trap they had set.