First, the place where his father and ex-wife—that is, his biological mother—lived during his childhood;
Second, the nest where the Punishers once lived as a group;
Third, the place where he and Fan Shuhua got to know each other;
Fourth, the place where your mother and he met.
A Xu, the logic of criminal psychology is completely different from that of the large group of police officers rushing to the South City Market to search, and it's also different from your method of peeling back the layers one by one. I won't wait for your results. I'm going to search these four places now. Wait for my news.”
You Mingxu walked out of her office and stood in the hallway, watching as Yin Feng met up with the hastily arrived Chen Feng, Guan Jun, and Xiao Yan.
Another car was parked nearby. Tuya stood beside it, watching them, then looked up in You Mingxu’s direction and waved.
Tuya had been left behind by Yin Feng to be her personal bodyguard.
Just as Yin Feng had said, criminal psychology and traditional criminal investigation each had their own logic, and never had the distinction been so clear as it was at this moment. She understood his line of thinking, but she also had her own ideas and strong intuition, so she wouldn't stop him from going.
With Yin Chen now alone, and Yin Feng accompanied by three people, You Mingxu wasn't too worried.
Guan Jun had driven over in an ordinary black sedan. The car was spotless, looking as if it had just been washed, and it reflected the light of the setting sun.
Yin Feng’s hand gripped the car door handle, and he turned his head back. From this distance, You Mingxu couldn't quite make out his expression; she only knew he was looking at her, just like every other time they had briefly parted.
It was just such an ordinary gaze.
Yet, something seemed to stir within You Mingxu's heart. She raised two fingers, pressed them to her own lips, and then lowered her hand.
She saw Yin Feng also raise a hand and press it to his lips.
You Mingxu smiled and looked down, avoiding his gaze. When she looked up a few seconds later, he was already in the car. The vehicle drove out of the police station gates, the setting sun casting a stream of light across its body that was a bit glaring.
You Mingxu averted her eyes.
Suddenly, she froze.
She whipped her head around, only to see the rear of the car—black, gleaming, and clean—disappear in an instant.
In You Mingxu's mind, it was as if a spark of fire had flashed past, illuminating the dim surveillance footage she had watched over and over, and also illuminating the suspect vehicle Yin Chen had been driving.
She knew... she knew what was wrong with the surveillance footage!
Xu Mengshan was halfway to the South City Market when You Mingxu called him back.
He turned the car around without hesitation. Years of partnership had forged a tacit understanding between them.
You Mingxu showed Xu Mengshan a short video clip.
It was the scene of Yin Chen driving the van into the residential complex. You Mingxu paused the frame and asked, "See anything different?"
Xu Mengshan frowned, examining it. "An old van? Speed is steady, route is familiar, all four tires look normal?"
A glint appeared in You Mingxu's eyes. "Don't you think... the van is too clean?"
Xu Mengshan's eyebrows shot up. It was true! Under the sunlight, the van's body was reflective and immaculately clean. It was a freshly washed vehicle. A thought struck Xu Mengshan, and looking at You Mingxu, he understood what she was implying. This wasn't normal!
You Mingxu tilted her head and smiled. "They didn't specifically wash their cars during their previous operations."
Xu Mengshan recalled the two grimy black sedans used when they intercepted Wei Lan, and the semi-old van Yin Chen also favored back in Guizhou. His gaze was like lightning. "That's right! The cars were all dirty, meant to be inconspicuous. That fits the habits of a professional criminal, hiding in plain sight. But this time, why did Yin Chen specifically wash the car? This suggests he wanted to hide something, doesn't it?"
You Mingxu nodded in approval. "What else does he have to hide? Unless there are traces on the car that would reveal his hiding place."
Xu Mengshan's heart pounded, and his brows furrowed. "But how do we find it?"
You Mingxu said decisively, "Find that car wash! We'll go look wherever he washed it."
Xu Mengshan's brow instantly relaxed, and he clapped his hands. "That's easy." He brought over a map and pointed. "The van's trail starts at the South City Building Materials Market. The surveillance cameras all along the route from there to my parents' house captured him. We just need to check how many car washes are on the way and which one his route covered."
Xu Mengshan was right.
Half an hour later, their colleagues in the surveillance team gave them the answer.
Another twenty minutes later, You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan had arrived at the car wash.
The shop was on the roadside, an inconspicuous little place. It wasn't actually on the direct route to Xu Mengshan's parents' house and was rather remote, with no security cameras. Yin Chen had taken a detour to wash his car here, a testament to his caution.
However, he had made one small oversight. A surveillance camera on another intersecting road had captured Yin Chen's van parked in front of the car wash from a skewed and distant angle. If the police hadn't been so meticulous, they might have overlooked it.
Thus, the blurry surveillance footage itself offered no valuable clues.
You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan went to find the car wash owner.
The owner looked troubled. "We get so many cars to wash here every day. How could I possibly remember?"
Xu Mengshan showed him photos of the van and the man, but the owner and two employees still shook their heads.
A thought suddenly flashed through You Mingxu's mind: if only Yin Feng were here. He was the best at handling situations like this.
She pondered for a moment, then said to them, "Think carefully. You must have had an impression of him at the time. He was wearing a baseball cap and kept his head down. He has a very particular aura; even without speaking, you'd feel he's fierce, a formidable character. He might have seemed preoccupied. Oh, and maybe he even used your water hose to rinse his shoes and hands, maybe even washed his face..."
One of the employees suddenly stared at the beautiful policewoman as if she were a monster. He said, his voice trembling with excitement, "I remember now! There really was a guy like that! Boss, I remember! He was tall, didn't talk much. While we were washing the car, he just stood to the side, didn't even sit down. Later, I saw him using the hose to rinse the soles of his shoes. He rinsed them for quite a while. How... how did you know!"
You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan were also delighted. How did I know? You Mingxu thought to herself. You become who you hang out with. She quickly asked, "Try to remember carefully. That van, and that man, were there any special features? Anything unusual?"
This question, however, stumped the employees again.
It wasn't their fault. They washed over a hundred cars a day, a tedious and mechanical repetition. Who would pay attention to any single car?
One employee suddenly said, "I think I smelled a foul odor on that van."
Xu Mengshan's eyes nearly popped out. "What kind of foul odor?"
The employee thought for a long time, then scratched his head. "I don't know. I just caught a whiff of it for a second."
Years ago, Yin Feng had already investigated Yin Chen's background before his faked death. Therefore, he had a crystal-clear grasp of Yin Chen's life trajectory during those years.
Yin Feng had told You Mingxu that Yin Chen had four possible "homes." But he hadn't mentioned that for one of them, his intuition was the strongest, and he believed it to be the most likely.
It was the house where Yin Chen had temporarily lived for a year before You Ruixue's death.
Before him was likely the oldest, dirtiest, and most chaotic place in the city. A five-story building, at least several decades old. The paint was peeling from the walls, which were spray-painted with large "Demolish" characters and various small advertisements. Many of the households in the building had already moved out, and the entire structure exuded an air of decay.
It was clear that even twenty years ago, this place would not have been a prosperous or refined area.
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