Simulated Crime, This Criminal Doesn't Seem to Be Acting

Chapter 18

After obtaining the surveillance footage, Wei Qingzheng immediately reviewed it, scrutinizing every detail. He even consulted a colleague skilled in lip-reading to decipher what was said. After a thorough examination, Wei Qingzheng confirmed that the two individuals had only encountered each other by chance.

His gaze lingered on the screen, focusing on the moment when the lighter was handed over. His expression carried a hint of defeat.

Having reviewed the footage, it was clear that the lighter had indeed been given to Ye Sangsang by chance during the encounter, and it was only natural that her fingerprints would be on it.

The investigating team returned with reports from pharmacy staff, who confirmed that the couple had either visited or loitered near the pharmacy. Although one staff member was uncertain, it wasn’t enough to serve as evidence, as the more critical lead had been debunked.

Wei Qingzheng was an upright man; he couldn’t detain Ye Sangsang knowing what he now knew.

As he escorted Ye Sangsang and her husband out, his usually straight posture seemed to slump slightly, and his eyes betrayed a sense of confusion.

He couldn’t understand why his usually infallible intuition had failed him this time.

Sun Bin was the murderer, yet he couldn’t arrest him. In fact, he had to personally release him after the arrest.

What he had believed to be a flaw, what he had thought was evidence, turned out to be nothing but an illusion.

He looked at Ye Sangsang and said, “I’ll escort you out. I’m not sure if you’re the culprit, but I still want to say this—you still have a family.”

“Thank you for your concern. I hope there won’t be a next time,” Ye Sangsang replied calmly.

Wei Qingzheng’s lips moved, but he himself wasn’t sure of his intuition anymore.

As he stood on the steps, watching Ye Sangsang and Lin Shu leave, he remained silent.

When Ye Sangsang reached the entrance, she turned back to look at the silent figure on the steps, her dark eyes reflecting his face.

After three seconds, she turned and walked out the door.

[Ahhh, I feel so bad for Wei Qingzheng.]

[Sigh, he had him, but there wasn’t enough evidence.]

[Sister Sang didn’t do anything wrong. Whether it’s the game mission or Sun Bin’s revenge, there’s no logic to it.]

Although it was a virtual reality game, everything in it felt too real.

So real that they fully immersed themselves, seeing things from each character’s perspective.

Was Sun Bin wrong?

Legally, yes.

But for his daughter, he had no regrets.

His daughter wasn’t wrong.

Was Wei Qingzheng wrong for relentlessly pursuing the suspect?

No, he wasn’t.

He was a good police officer.

The true culprits weren’t them, but the four beasts.

They were the root of it all.

This was the source of the netizens’ silence—the realization that this was something that had truly happened, only recreated.

Ye Sangsang saw Wei Qingzheng’s confusion, but she wasn’t worried.

People like him had an unshakable faith; they wouldn’t be completely broken by a temporary failure.

He might be disheartened for a while, but it wouldn’t last long.

And that was the time she needed.

She intended to kill Wang Zhi within that window.

As they walked out, they decided to walk back to their rented place, which wasn’t far.

The atmosphere between them, usually gentle, now carried a hint of silence.

Ye Sangsang glanced at Lin Shu, whose calm and delicate features were marred by streaks of white hair at her temples, making her look four or five years older than her actual age.

Aside from the brief moments of joy over the past couple of days, her demeanor was tinged with an inescapable gloom and sorrow.

A woman in her early thirties, her posture slightly hunched.

She must have loved her daughter deeply.

Ye Sangsang turned her head, walking beside her, feeling as though she had gained a bit more understanding of love.

It was a strange feeling, mixed with a touch of heartache.

After returning, Ye Sangsang didn’t immediately go

The live-stream chat was in stitches.

Wang Zhi, seemingly used to dealing with people like Ye Sangsang, agreed with a smile and took a fifty-yuan deposit.

Ye Sangsang handed over the money reluctantly and then headed home.

It was still broad daylight, and there were over three hours until nightfall.

As she passed the landlady’s store, Ye Sangsang pulled out some loose change and bought a few cans of beer.

The landlady gave her a knowing smile.

Back in her rented room, Ye Sangsang opened the rear window and glanced at the dismemberment tools she had stashed in her tool bag over the past two days.

As a migrant worker, it was normal to have hammers, electric saws, and cutting machines, right?

Modifying the cutting machine to minimize noise and avoid disturbing the neighbors was also normal, wasn’t it?

The only advantage now was that these tools weren’t as user-friendly as they would be in the future. They wouldn’t stop immediately upon contact with flesh.

With Wang Zhi’s location confirmed, all that was left was to act.

She had to move quickly. Earlier in the day, she had learned that Wei Qingzheng had gone to Lin City. As she had expected, the other party didn’t wallow in self-doubt for long and had quickly resumed investigating the case.

While the serious crimes unit was looking for Wang Zhi, Wei Qingzheng had gone to Lin City to look into Sun Bin’s situation.

If too much time passed, Ye Sangsang wasn’t sure if complications would arise.

Thinking this, she frowned and hid the tools under the bed, making sure they wouldn’t be seen by the person who was coming over.

After finishing this, Ye Sangsang reviewed the details of the game mission.

According to the mission’s supplementary materials, Wang Zhi’s death had an element of luck to it.

After Sun Bin found him, Wang Zhi, who had been prepared, confronted Sun Bin.

During the confrontation, Wang Zhi, a seasoned criminal with a gun, nearly killed Sun Bin.

But just as Wang Zhi was about to deliver the final blow, Sun Bin fought back, slamming Wang Zhi’s head into a protruding corner of the table and knocking him out.

Sun Bin gained the upper hand, and when Wang Zhi woke up, it was to the agony of being dismembered alive, eventually dying from the pain.

This mirrored the fate of Sun Bin’s daughter, who had been tortured, dismembered, and dumped while still clinging to her last breath.

Given that Wang Zhi was prepared and armed, Ye Sangsang would need more than just skill to kill him.

By 8 p.m., a woman arrived at Ye Sangsang’s room.

The beer, laced with sedatives, knocked her out within ten minutes.

But just as Ye Sangsang was about to leave to carry out her plan, something unexpected happened.