Chapter 60: Arresting Qiu Fu

Ye Sangsang clicked on the case files once again to review the cause of death for Shen Lingling.

Blunt force trauma to the head, resulting in death from severe injuries.

During her initial resistance, her injuries were confined to her arms. Those perpetrators had been cruel, but they genuinely had not intended to take her life at that stage.

In contrast, they had been exceptionally brutal with Chen宇, inflicting severe abdominal trauma and multiple fractured ribs—fatal injuries clearly intended to kill him.

Moreover, putting herself in the perpetrator's shoes, if her prey were to escape, her very first instinct would be to eliminate the threat immediately.

Yet after the first escape, the culprits had been remarkably easygoing, letting them go and even permitting the two victims to bandage their wounds and take medicine.

She had pondered this contradiction countless times without finding any logical answer.

Viewing it from a criminal's perspective, unless there was an absolute, insurmountable constraint, her choice would always be to kill the victim as quickly as possible.

Unless, apart from money, they were also after something else—the physical body.

They had committed sexual assault multiple times, but that alone did not justify the anomaly. She had once read about a case involving four criminals who had terrorized a married couple, sexually assaulting the wife and ultimately dumping her body, taking a total of eight hours.

That kind of timeline was considered normal for such offenders.

Could it be that they found the female homeowner attractive and acted out of jealousy and a sadistic desire to toy with her?

The four criminals in the case she had read about had shared that exact mindset.

Identical circumstances, yet drastically different timeframes.

Qiu Fu had not yet resorted to murder and corpse disposal.

After all, these were individuals meticulous enough to wipe away all fingerprints and traces before fleeing; why would they leave the body behind?

Unless everything was a facade, a deliberate disguise meant to conceal an even more sinister objective.

Controlling the victims beforehand was simply a measure to prevent any mishaps from occurring.

Furthermore, if the ultimate target was human organs, then all these fragmented pieces suddenly connected.

Everything finally... made sense.

Of course, this remained merely a hypothesis in Ye Sangsang's mind.

Yet once an idea took shape, it could be pursued as a valid investigative lead.

Guesses were just guesses, but Ye Sangsang remembered there was yet another lingering question.

The small object she had retrieved from the perpetrator's bag—when she was questioned after waking up, Jiang Li had explicitly stated that it was a homemade bullet.

Since he had somehow acquired brass bullets, the item Ye Sangsang saw possessed a brass-colored metallic texture.

This object served as a crucial piece of evidence that categorized the incident as a robbery-homicide.

The items concealed within the bag clearly indicated that the perpetrators intended to commit further violent crimes.

For instance, targeting jewelry stores or armored cash transport vehicles.

Their shortage of money might stem from possessing inadequate weaponry, prompting them to acquire funds specifically to purchase firearms.

With four members in their group, they needed at least two weapons. Once they secured the cash, they could potentially obtain firearms through underground channels.

Ye Sangsang had previously theorized that they might be planning one major score before scattering separately, changing their names, and disappearing into hiding to live out their lives.

Having completed this train of thought, Ye Sangsang wondered if she was perhaps overcomplicating things.

Perhaps this case of home invasion, robbery, and murder was simply a straightforward attempt by the criminals to pull off a massive heist.

Yet that assumption failed to explain the anomalies of those three intervening days and all the bizarre details in between.

Every word spoken by individuals usually carried a distinct purpose, especially given the perilous environment they had been trapped in. She believed that none of the remarks made by the culprits were meaningless chatter.

Ye Sangsang reached out and tapped her fingers rhythmically several times against the bedside rail.

Then a sudden realization dawned on her: was she truly overthinking it?

Since doubts existed, the most direct approach was simply to investigate.

Whether there was a single motive or multiple objectives, did it actually make any difference to her?

Besides, verifying the organ donation aspect was quite straightforward—it only required asking the right people.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Ye Sangsang lost in thought, Jiang Li assumed she was dwelling on distressing memories and feeling low. After a moment of hesitation, she gently advised, "...Don't let your mind wander..."

Before Jiang Li could finish her comforting words, Ye Sangsang snapped back to attention and looked at her. "I'm fine. I was just pondering details related to the case."

"Could you help me sit up? There are a few things I'd like to find out."

Her current physical condition rendered her largely immobile, so she required Jiang Li's assistance.

This police officer possessed strong execution skills, remained free of arrogance and complacency, and proved to be a reliable ally.

"Alright." Seeing that Ye Sangsang was feeling better, Jiang Li agreed, stepped forward, and supported her until she was sitting upright against the hospital bed.

After nodding in gratitude, Ye Sangsang asked, "May I inquire about a few matters concerning the case?"

Jiang Li nodded.

She held deep admiration for Ye Sangsang, who combined courage with intellect. As long as regulations allowed, she was willing to answer any questions the young woman had.

Once Jiang Li nodded, Ye Sangsang activated the copy instance time-freeze card awarded by the system for the very first time.

She required specific documentation—records pertaining to organ donation. The system database lacked this information, likely due to privacy protocols and personal confidentiality constraints.

As for Chen Yu, since he was merely data generated by a holographic game setting, whatever remained unknown to the system was equally unknown to him.

Such records were accessible only to the living individuals who appeared within the instance.

As for the identity of those individuals—those capable of knowing such private details about Shen Lingling—they were naturally her closest surviving relatives.

Initially, she had been uncertain, but upon re-entering the instance and observing the behavior of the couple, her suspicions solidified.

Requesting an investigation was ultimately a way to confirm whether her deduction was correct.

She had originally assumed the couple had simply come to see their daughter, intending to ignore them as long as they did not interfere, or even willing to cooperate.

In retrospect, their presence was not entirely a bad thing.

It allowed her to directly ask the questions that weighed on her mind.

Before long, the individuals she wished to question stepped inside.

The middle-aged couple gazed at Ye Sangsang sitting up in bed, completely oblivious to Jiang Li frozen in place nearby or the effects of the time-freeze card. Their attention was entirely focused on her.

Jiang Qiuwei hurried forward with a concerned expression. "Are you feeling unwell? You should lie back down; be careful not to tear your stitches."

"Indeed, you ought to lie down. When your body hurts, rest is essential," the man echoed quickly, his eyes filled with genuine anxiety.

The concern shining in their eyes was unmistakable; they truly loved their daughter with all their hearts.

Looking toward them, Ye Sangsang weighed her words carefully before asking, "Did she sign an organ donor consent form?"

[Huh? That phrasing feels rather strange.]

[Is she asking about Shen Lingling? But the people opposite her are NPCs, game data—how could they possibly know something like that?]

[I have a feeling Sister Sang wouldn't ask such a question without a reason. She must know what she's doing.]

Upon hearing Ye Sangsang's inquiry, the couple exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions shifting instantly from confusion to astonishment.

"You... figured out that we aren't NPCs?" Shen Jianghe probed cautiously.

Ye Sangsang deliberated for a moment. "Your emotional reactions were... somewhat too intense. It wasn't the kind of grief expected, but rather the overwhelming emotion of a long-awaited reunion. It wasn't too difficult to discern..."

"I'm sorry, you must have been terribly annoyed," Jiang Qiuwei stammered, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes as her demeanor turned awkward and hesitant.

After all, by entering the instance, they had intruded upon someone else's simulation while pretending to be the victim's parents and making the participant play the role of their daughter. She feared the young woman might feel toyed with.

The company officials had explicitly warned them not to be recognized and to avoid overacting.

Though they had fancied their performances passable, they never imagined their cover would be blown so swiftly. Would they be expelled from the simulation now? They had merely wanted a glimpse of their daughter!

At this thought, unbidden tears welled up in Jiang Qiuwei's eyes, and she cast a gaze of profound attachment toward the young woman's face.

They had not laid eyes on their real daughter standing physically before them for over two decades.

[!!! Are they genuinely Shen Lingling's biological parents?]

[Ah, sob, sob, sob! The parents of a victim? Star Ring Company, are you trying to break my heart?]

[I recall previous leaks indicating that during the process of acquiring portrait and privacy authorizations from others, certain victim families requested just one glimpse of the deceased... It's likely the parents' condition for authorization was simply to visit, waiving financial compensation.]

Ye Sangsang met her gaze. "I mind none of that. I intended to carry out those actions anyway, so your presence did not disrupt me. I exposed the charade simply to ask about what I mentioned regarding Shen Lingling."

Hearing this, the couple hastily brushed away their tears.

Knowing how brilliant Ye Sangsang was—perhaps even capable of helping bring their child's killer to justice—they quickly reined in their emotions, refusing to weep unseemly tears in front of her.

Though the events had occurred over twenty years ago, they remembered every detail concerning their daughter with absolute clarity.

Jiang Qiuwei answered promptly, "She signed it. The hospital notified us at the time that our daughter had signed a donation agreement. After reviewing the document and listening to the persuasion of representatives sent by the Red Cross Organ Donation Management Center, we chose to respect Lingling's final wish and donated every usable organ in her body."

The couple exchanged glances, their eyes filled with lingering heartache and reluctance.

At the time, neither of them had wanted to consent, but since it was their daughter's personal wish, they chose to honor it.

"I understand. Thank you both for the clarification." Ye Sangsang deactivated the time freeze, treating the action as nothing more than the expenditure of a single skill card.

[Ahhhhh! A terrible thought just crossed my mind!]

[That boy! His mother fell silent later on! Even back then, I suspected it might involve a terminal illness requiring an organ transplant! Could keeping Shen Lingling alive have been tied to a murder-for-hire plot, or did the four culprits have a loved one desperately needing an organ match? And coincidentally, Lingling was a match.]

[I'm somewhat older; back around 2012, smaller cities were not nearly as developed, and privacy safeguards were far laxer than they are today. If someone wanted to find out who had signed an organ donor consent form, with enough effort, it certainly seemed possible.]

The livestream audience possessed an astonishing imagination, filling the chat feed with dense waves of speculation and intense engagement.

Within the game simulation, the couple composed themselves and continued to express concern for Ye Sangsang. Reassured by her calm demeanor, they settled back into their roles as NPCs.

As for the suspicions brewing in their minds, they resolved to await the outcome, placing their full trust in Ye Sangsang.

Turning her attention to Jiang Li, Ye Sangsang asked, "Officer Jiang, do you genuinely believe their motive was nothing more than a routine home invasion and robbery resulting in murder?"

"Judging by the sequence of events, it certainly fits the profile of a home invasion robbery-homicide perpetrated by individuals with severe psychological aberrations," Jiang Li replied, looking closely at Ye Sangsang. "Do you suspect there was an ulterior motive?" The question of whether fifty thousand yuan was a sufficient motive was relative; some home invasion murders were committed for mere thousands.

Consequently, after deliberation, they had officially classified the case as a robbery-homicide.

Jiang Li replied only after carefully considering Ye Sangsang's line of questioning.

Her counter-question aimed to discover whether Ye Sangsang had conceived a fresh line of reasoning.

If a new investigative direction emerged, it would undoubtedly benefit the police department as well.

Since Ye Sangsang's previous deductions had proven accurate, validating the feasibility of her analytical approach, Jiang Li was more than willing to listen to her theories.

Facing Jiang Li, Ye Sangsang laid out her hypotheses step by step: from the initial suspicion that the perpetrators targeted organs, to the subsequent possibility that they sought to acquire weaponry to execute even larger crimes, she articulated every detail clearly.