This was something You Mingxu couldn't answer. If it were some special underground space, perhaps the water and soil quality would differ from the surface. Given Yin Chen's cautious nature, it was possible he had washed away any traces.
"Should we send someone to check with the municipal construction department?" someone suggested.
Xu Mengshan looked at You Mingxu.
But You Mingxu froze for a moment and said, "Wait." She moved the mouse and pulled up the surveillance footage from yesterday showing Yin Chen at the crime scene, then paused on a specific frame.
It was the same frame she had been pondering in the car on the way back.
"What do you think Yin Chen is doing here?" she pointed at Yin Chen's finger touching his ear.
Almost everyone strained their eyes, staring intently at the screen.
Because Yin Chen's movement was very subtle and quick—if you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't even notice it. In other words, it was an unconscious action. Just like if a strand of hair falls on your face and it itches, you'll instinctively brush it away. But you might not even realize you did it.
Now that You Mingxu pointed it out, everyone noticed it too.
"His ear is uncomfortable," Xu Mengshan said gravely.
You Mingxu nodded. Yes, his ear was definitely uncomfortable. But why?
One officer suggested, "Ear infection?"
Another explained seriously, "An ear infection causes persistent discomfort, not something that suddenly happens like this. It doesn't seem like it."
"Itching?"
"He didn't scratch it; he rubbed it a few times."
"Water in his ear?"
"Where would he have gotten water in his ear?"
"If there's water in your ear, shouldn't you pat it? Rubbing it would only push the water further in."
...
You Mingxu listened to everyone's brainstorming, but she felt that none of their explanations were quite right. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something odd about Yin Chen's behavior.
As if a flash of insight suddenly struck her, she hesitantly spoke up, "What if... he's experiencing auditory hallucinations?"
Everyone was taken aback.
Xu Mengshan mulled over the term, "Auditory hallucinations... Why?"
Driven by an inexplicable intuition, You Mingxu continued, "What if the place he used to stay in was very noisy? Continuously loud, to the point where his ears became uncomfortable. Even after leaving that environment, he might still experience occasional auditory hallucinations. That would explain such a subtle, unconscious action—rubbing his ear to hear more clearly."
Yes, that was the feeling. Yin Chen's movement at that moment didn't seem like discomfort to her, but rather as if he had heard something that startled him. That was why it stood out. Could there have been some sound accompanying him at several crime scenes? Something that made him uncomfortable?
You Mingxu went on, "In the previous times we've seen Yin Chen, he never made such small movements. Could it be that the new place he's been staying in recently has had an effect on him?"
"A continuously noisy place..." someone followed Xu Mengshan's earlier train of thought, "Could it be a basement near a railway or subway?"
Everyone's spirits lifted, and another person chimed in, "So, the traces on the shoe soles in the car—could they be from machine oil or gravel from the railway, which is why he was afraid of being discovered? And the foul smell—could it be from a sewer?"
Everyone grew eager, and even You Mingxu was moved by the idea. However, she still felt that something wasn't quite right.The basement near the railway? It seemed close, but still somewhat far-fetched. Could the noise from passing trains be intense enough to cause such obvious auditory hallucinations? Could the stench from the sewer clinging to their bodies be so strong that even the car wash attendant could detect it? Were the traces near the station so conspicuous that Yin Chen had no choice but to wash them away?
You Mingxu’s palms were damp with fine beads of sweat. Right now, it was possible that the warehouse was still being flooded, and the water level might have already reached the chests of those five people. In other words, they truly had only one chance—to concentrate all their efforts and investigate in this direction. If they were wrong...
"Are there any other possibilities?" You Mingxu spoke up. "This answer always feels problematic to me. It seems like every condition being met requires an exact coincidence—the unique traces that had to be washed away, the stench, the continuous noise environment..." She vaguely felt that something was on the verge of emerging.
"A farmhouse?"
"A pig farm?"
Two voices spoke simultaneously.
It was You Mingxu and another officer. You Mingxu had acted purely on intuition. Her heart jolted as she looked at her colleague, who wore a slightly embarrassed expression and said, "I’m from the countryside. Everything you mentioned fits perfectly with the pig farms back in my hometown—the stench, the manure and chaff all over the ground that you can’t avoid stepping in. Plus, the pigs are always oinking nonstop. If you stay there for a few hours, your head goes dizzy and your ears ring. And as for water pipes, exhaust fans, and empty pens like that—they’re very common."
His explanation made everything click for everyone. As they pondered further, each person couldn’t help but grow excited—exactly! As You Mingxu had said, for a basement near the railway to meet all the conditions, it would require a lot of coincidences. But if it were a pig farm, it would perfectly satisfy every requirement!
Xu Mengshan even slammed the table in excitement, exclaiming, "That’s the kind of place! It can’t be wrong!"
The eyes of all the detectives gleamed with a wolf-like intensity. With only a few surveillance clips and a one-minute video, and no other concrete clues, they had pooled their collective intelligence to deduce such a logical answer—how could they not be thrilled?
Then, someone else looked at You Mingxu.
The auditory hallucinations, the stench, the car wash—these key details had all been discovered by her. While everyone else leaned toward the railway theory, she had remained clear-headed, patient, and open to other possibilities. It wasn’t surprising that the rural colleague thought of a pig farm, but for her to arrive at the same conclusion simultaneously—her sharpness, attention to detail, and mental agility were truly admirable.
"Sister You is just Sister You," someone sighed in admiration.
"But..." another person said, "even if we know it might be a farmhouse, there are many farmhouses in Xiangcheng, especially in the suburbs. We don’t have much time left—how do we find it?"
Everyone looked at You Mingxu.
She furrowed her brow in thought, but after a moment, her expression relaxed. "No, it’ll be very easy to find."
Everyone was taken aback.
Xu Mengshan also seemed lost in thought. He glanced at the frozen warehouse image on the screen and murmured, "Yes, he has concerns..."You Mingxu smiled knowingly and said, "Exactly. Think about it—Yin Chen needs to stay here for several days without worrying about his whereabouts being exposed. He has to bring back five hostages, lock them in the warehouse, release the water, go out to send the video... In such a short time, he has to accomplish so many tasks. He must ensure absolute control over this place—no one can discover it, and no one can accidentally stumble in and alert the police by finding the hostages. Therefore, this can’t be a large farm. A large farm would be impossible for him to control alone. He’s been wanted for several days now, with dense police presence everywhere searching for him, yet he hasn’t been found. He wouldn’t wander around relying on luck either, or someone would have reported his whereabouts by now. This small farm is likely one he has visited before and is very familiar with—it might even have some connection to him. Moreover, there were originally very few people guarding the farm, so he could easily take control of it."
This reasoning was both clever and convincing. Everyone nodded in agreement.
OpenNovel