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墨書 Inktalez
Liu Yinyan turned back and gestured for us to proceed with our investigation. Before we reached the door, a strong scent of perfume wafted through the air. It was the same fragrance worn by the woman who had been standing at the entrance taking photos. She noticed us and hung her camera on her wrist.
Liu Yinyan said, "These are the officers sent by the Dongxing City Public Security Bureau to investigate my daughter's disappearance."
The woman didn't seem like a typical Chinese person; she appeared to be of mixed heritage, standing about 1.75 meters tall, nearly matching my height. Adopting a "less is more" approach, I introduced the four of us.
However, it seemed that this woman was not inclined to be accommodating: "My name is Vivian. I need to make one thing clear: if there are any overlaps during the investigation, I hope you all won't interfere with our work. Ideally, it would be best if you just observed from the sidelines because with us around, Sister Faye will be safe."
Vivian's voice caught the attention of those inside the room, and moments later, a man and a woman emerged. They both looked Chinese; the man was dressed in an extravagant suit and wore a gentleman's hat, appearing as if he fancied himself a Sherlock Holmes.
He observed us for a moment and said, "Hmm, so you must be from the City Bureau? You look slender and your hands are uncalloused; you must be the brains of this team. That muscular guy over there should be from the armed police, right? And this lovely princess here must be from Forensics; I assume that box contains evidence collection tools?"
"But this gentleman here," he continued with a smile while adjusting his hat in a gentlemanly manner, "I can't quite figure out. Are you just tagging along?" He bowed slightly and handed me a business card. "I am Jesse, running a detective agency in Japan. These two are my assistants, Vivian and Moriko—one is of Chinese-Russian descent and the other is Chinese-Japanese."
I was unsure where Jesse learned such etiquette; it made me, someone used to rougher manners, feel somewhat awkward. I wasn't sure if I should greet him with a kiss as a sign of goodwill. However, Moriko and Vivian were quite attractive; it seemed that mixed heritage had its advantages.
"Hello," Moriko also greeted us with a bow.
Jesse continued, "We've already checked everything; don't worry, everything inside is still in its original place. This is for your benefit as well; otherwise, it would be embarrassing if you got confused. Vivian, Moriko, let's go."
With that, Jesse tipped his hat again and moved forward. When he reached Guan Zengbin, he added charmingly, "This beautiful and enchanting lady—if you have time tonight, would you care to join me for dinner?"
I couldn't tolerate this old man flirting with our only female team member while he had two attractive assistants by his side. Clearing my throat, I said, "I'm sorry, but she's dining with us tonight. You might want to consider your assistants' feelings instead; if there's nothing else, please don't block the doorway."
Jesse flashed a charming smile revealing eight perfect teeth.
Moriko and Vivian followed him out as Vivian remarked coldly while walking away, "Don't waste your time."
I couldn't help but wonder if that Russian woman had taken something to make her so aggressive. Just as I was about to retort, Guan Zengbin spoke up first. "I don't know where you get your confidence from, but if you want to intimidate us, at least do it professionally. Wearing perfume can affect the investigation, and you’ve put on so much—does everyone over there have body odor?"
With that, Guan Zengbin turned and walked into the room, leaving Vivian looking utterly astonished.
It suddenly struck me that since the moment I met Guan Zengbin, I had never seen her wear perfume or nail polish. I had thought she was just a carefree woman who didn’t care about such things, but it turned out there was a reason behind it. It seemed Captain Shao's choice of her was indeed justified.
This attitude towards solving cases was what truly mattered.
Watching Vivian's bewildered expression, we couldn’t help but chuckle as we hurried into the room.
Fier's room appeared quite spacious, even larger than many people's apartments. A round bed big enough for seven or eight people leaned against the wall, adorned with several life-sized plush toys neatly arranged on it. They looked authentic, likely worth over a thousand each. Next to the bed stood a row of wardrobes filling an entire wall.
I tried to pull open one of the wardrobe doors, and a plethora of clothes greeted my eyes. They all seemed to be from high-end brands; many were ones I had never seen before. The wardrobe was crammed full, and several designer bags lay quietly inside.
Guan Zengbin looked at the various clothes and bags and remarked, "I fear the contents of this wardrobe are already worth millions."
I shook my head in silence and continued to observe my surroundings.
On the other side of the bed was a large dressing table covered with an array of cosmetics, most of which I didn’t recognize. A lipstick lay flat on the table; I picked it up and weighed it in my hand. Opening the cap revealed that only a little had been used.
One side of the room featured a balcony, with glass doors leading directly outside.
To the right of the balcony door was a computer desk topped with a large monitor—so large that being too close made it hard to see the entire screen. The computer tower was hidden beneath the desk, out of sight. I moved the mouse around, and suddenly the computer screen lit up; it seemed to have just gone into sleep mode.
The desktop was quite tidy, containing only a few essential folders. I clicked on a folder labeled "Games," and upon entering, I found it filled with games—both single-player and online. A quick glance revealed dozens of game shortcuts. Most were recent releases from various platforms, likely all legitimate copies.
I opened the Office Folder again, which contained some papers and assignments, sparse and in stark contrast to the games around. It seemed that this girl was quite the homebody. Just from these games, it was clear that the Host's setup must be top-notch.
Next to the door was a large desk and an even larger bookshelf filled with a variety of books—classics, popular online reads, and college textbooks among others. Regardless of the type of book, they were all arranged by color and size. It was also evident that this girl was majoring in Economics, suggesting that Liu Yinyan might have plans for her to inherit his business empire.
Guan Zengbin had already begun using various tools to examine the room for Life Traces, primarily looking for bloodstains, footprints, fingerprints, and other things that were not easily discernible to the naked eye.
It was around three o'clock in the afternoon, which meant Fei'er had disappeared about an hour ago.
The entire Liu Family was monitored by servants and butlers. If someone were to enter through the front door, it would likely be quite difficult. The only possibility seemed to be through the open balcony door.
Thinking this, I walked over to the edge of the balcony railing and leaned out to look down. The second floor was about seven meters above ground, but it wasn't impossible to climb up from below. However, since Liu Fei'er was facing the balcony while playing on her computer, would she really remain indifferent if someone came in?
The computer was on but facing the desk, which suddenly reminded me of an old joke:
Every time a father entered his son's room, the son would be staring at the computer screen, doing nothing.
Clearly, the son had turned off inappropriate websites the moment his father walked in.
So what had Fei'er been doing before? Had she left her computer on without shutting it down, or had someone turned off the game she was playing afterward?
Guan Zengbin frowned and said to us, "I only found one person's fingerprint, but I suspect it's Liu Fei'er's; I couldn't find any others."
"Check the balcony for any traces," I instructed Guan Zengbin. "If there really was an intruder, they wouldn't have come through the front door; this balcony might be the most convenient entry point."
As Guan Zengbin went to check for traces, I stood on the balcony waiting.
I opened my phone and glanced at the time.
The security patrol downstairs would make rounds every five minutes. If the intruder didn't want to be seen, they only had a brief five-minute window to come up. Then, without alarming Liu Fei'er, they would have to subdue her and leave within another five minutes. This time frame was indeed quite short; one careless move could lead to exposure.
Guan Zengbin said, "No, there are no traces on the balcony."
Gu Chen replied, "This villa is monitored twenty-four hours a day, and the outside security patrols quite diligently. Isn't the possibility of kidnapping a bit low? Perhaps Liu Fei'er just went out on her own? Maybe the servants simply didn't notice?"
I shook my head and said, "There are surveillance cameras at the entrance of this villa. I believe Liu Yinyan must have checked the footage before calling the police. According to the surveillance, Liu Fei'er didn't go out, nor did anyone suspicious appear, which is why Liu Yinyan reported it immediately."
"When Liu Yinyan called the police, it was because his daughter had gone missing, right?" I asked.
Liu confirmed, "That's correct."
I nodded and said, "Then it can't be wrong; Liu Fei'er has been kidnapped. The kidnappers likely carried out their plan after Liu Fei'er returned to her room following dinner. It was probably when the nanny or housekeeper came upstairs to knock that they discovered Liu Fei'er was missing and notified Liu Yinyan."
"About an hour or so—a meticulously planned operation that leaves us wondering how the kidnappers managed to take her away," Liu Dao remarked. "So what should we do next?"
I pointed to a lipstick lying horizontally on the table and said, "Liu Fei'er is a perfectionist. Look at the stuffed toys on the bed, the clothes in the wardrobe, and the books on the shelf—even the icons on her computer display a characteristic: everything is exceptionally neat and tidy. This is definitely something someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder would go to great lengths to maintain."
"Therefore, this lipstick lying around must have been touched by someone else, not by Liu Fei'er herself. We can conclude that this perfectionist was playing a game when she was kidnapped. Otherwise, she would have turned off her computer before leaving. With so many clues pointing in this direction, it's clear that Liu Fei'er did not leave voluntarily."
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