From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword-Chapter 249 - 203: Deductive Truth

According to normal reasoning, the hard drive should have been taken by his killer.

Lu Heng nodded, "That's what I thought at first, but there's one thing, Engineer Liu actually committed suicide by swallowing a gun."

Cui Chengye continued, "What's the problem with that? The other person has Spirit Control Skill. They controlled him to commit suicide, right?"

Lu Heng went on, "Of course it's possible, but if it were a face-to-face handover of the hard drive, why wouldn't the Spirit Controller just shoot or use a knife to silence him, instead of using Spirit Control?

"Maybe you don't know, but the 'Spirit Control' skill allows the controller to experience some of the senses of the controlled person, such as vision, hearing, touch.

"That means using Spirit Control to make someone swallow a gun and commit suicide actually feels almost no different from doing it oneself, except perhaps the pain would be less sharp.

"If there's a much simpler method, why insist on using Spirit Control to silence someone? I believe the Spirit Controller never appeared in that alley but executed the killing remotely.

"If it was done remotely, then where did the hard drive go? There's only one possibility, the hard drive was never taken out of the Academy of Sciences.

"Engineer Liu's movements within the academy were all captured on surveillance, except for a one-second gap at one point.

"Actually, this gap of one second was really short, short enough that it wasn't worth suspecting anything.

"Not until I made a trip to the restroom and walked around, did I realize the key point."

Everyone was listening quietly, eager to hear what Lu Heng was going to say next.

Because, at present, the clues didn't seem to support the conjecture Lu Heng was suggesting.

Li Zhaofeng stared at the surveillance footage without spotting any anomalies.

Seeing that no one was arguing anymore, Lu Heng continued:

"At the entrance of the restroom there is a cylindrical stainless steel trash bin, which I'm sure everyone is aware of."

Cui Chengye sneered, "And all the trash from that bin has been sent to Iron Blood for forensic analysis, hasn't it? No issues there? If there had been, we would've arrested someone already instead of wasting time here, right?"

"Don't rush."

Lu Heng picked up the forensic report, showing a photo of the trash bin on it, and continued, "Initially, I didn't think much of it either, until I saw the markings on the floor tile underneath the bin.

"Since the restroom is quite humid, the paper towels and cotton pads thrown into the bin are often wet.

"Over time, a rust circle has formed under the bin.

"As I stood outside the restroom, I noticed that part of the rust circle was exposed outside the trash bin's perimeter.

"At first, I worried that Iron Blood had moved the bin during evidence collection, which would've exposed the rust circle beneath.

"So, I went back and looked at the photo in the forensic report, which was taken before evidence was collected, showing clearly that a segment of the rust circle was exposed even then.

"This indicates that someone moved that trash bin within the fifteen minutes before Iron Blood secured the scene for evidence collection."

This line of reasoning seemed to make sense, but at the same time, it appeared to have flaws.

Cui Chengye immediately challenged, "What if a janitor moved the bin while cleaning?"

Before Lu Heng could respond, Li Zhaofeng spoke up, "No, I've examined the bottom of the bin, and there's only one rust circle.

"This means that the janitor is very careful and always places the bin back in its exact position, precisely covering the rust circle. This is why there is not multiple overlapping rust circles.

"And it wouldn't be difficult to verify this. Just ask the janitor, and it will be clear, but I think it's unnecessary.

"Lu Heng's conjecture has no problems, and these clues do indicate that the bin was moved."

The security team leader, You ZhanYu, asked with a serious expression, "What does that prove? Are you saying the hard drive is in the trash bin? If so, contact with the garbage inside would have left traces on the hard drive, which the forensic report would have detected."

"No," Lu Heng countered, "the hard drive wasn't in the trash bin; it was outside the bin."

You ZhanYu shook his head, chuckling, "That's even less likely. After the incident, it wasn't just Cui and I who passed by the restroom, other guards had already been through there."

Cui Chengye pointed at the surveillance footage on the screen, arguing:

"Look for yourself, there were six guards, divided into three groups, passing by the restroom one after the other, and we were the second group. No matter how you look at it, you can't suspect us.

"If the hard drive was really placed outside the trash can, wouldn't the guards who passed by earlier have seen it?"

All the while, the surveillance footage of the restroom entrance played continuously on the screen, with no one pausing it, so it kept looping.

Lu Heng nodded and said, "Right, they couldn't see it."

The other four guards who had passed by the restroom entrance were also called over, one of them interjecting, "We're not blind, how could we not see something as big as that placed outside the trash can?"

Lu Heng corrected, "Exactly speaking, the hard drive was placed behind the trash can. That's why the trash can was moved, to hide the hard drive behind it. A hard drive isn't thick, less than two centimeters. If it's behind the trash can and you don't look closely, naturally you won't find it."

As soon as these words were spoken,

the several guards expressing doubt glanced at each other and didn't retort.

If the hard drive was hidden behind the trash can, then indeed, it could be easily overlooked if one just ran by.

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Lu Heng continued, "Instructor Liu only left the camera's view for one second at the restroom entrance, he definitely didn't have time to go inside the restroom, but it was quite possible for him to slip the hard drive behind the trash can."

Captain You ZhanYu then voiced his skepticism, "Alright, even if your theory is true, where is the hard drive now? Who took it? Me? I didn't have a chance to take it."

Cui Chengye chimed in, "Yeah, I was with the captain when we passed by the restroom. If he had gone to take the hard drive, how could I not have known?"

You ZhanYu continued, pointing at the surveillance footage, "The footage must have looped dozens of times by now, right? Do I look like someone who could hide a hard drive on him?"

The guards' uniforms were quite form-fitting and tucked into their trousers, and there was no place on their bodies where a hard drive could be hidden.

If someone had a hard drive on them, it would be clear to see when the surveillance footage was enlarged.

Just now, Li Zhaofeng had been watching the enlarged surveillance footage, and it wasn't just You ZhanYu whose body showed no signs of hiding a hard drive; all six guards who passed by the restroom didn't have somewhere to hide it.

Lu Heng nodded and said, "I was suspicious at first too, because there really wasn't a place on your body where you could hide a hard drive, until I thought of another possibility..."

"Which possibility?" Everyone present was curious.

Lu Heng didn't answer, but a slight smile appeared on his face. He slowly raised his right hand and with a flip of his palm, a handgun appeared, twirled in a flourish, and with another flip of his hand, the gun disappeared.

Seeing this, everyone understood.

Superpower Users have an inventory system to stow weapons and equipment.

However, not just any item could be stowed away.

To keep an item from Blue Star in the inventory system, it had to go through basic Law Integration.

Lu Heng smiled and said, "You see? Captain You indeed has nowhere on his body to hide a hard drive, but you could have stored the hard drive in your inventory system, just costing a bit of Divine Energy.

"For such a risky espionage action, spending a little Divinity to ensure success is not a loss."

You ZhanYu's brow furrowed, "Even if that's the case, it doesn't prove it was me. Any Superpower User could have done it, and most of the guards are Superpower Users."

Lu Heng nodded and said, "Right, at first I was wondering who it could be. But one of your actions put you on my list of suspects.

"When I first said I wanted to check near the restroom entrance, you took the initiative to accompany me and supervise.

"As captain of the guards, it would have been sufficient to send two guards with me, no need for personal oversight.

"When I was examining the trash can, you stood by seemingly casually, but stole glances in my direction every now and then.

"Later, when I came back to review the surveillance footage, sure enough, amongst the guards who passed by the restroom, there you were."

At this point in the reasoning, You ZhanYu's suspicion indeed started to grow.

Cui Chengye frowned with confusion, "Hold on. I was walking with the captain at that time. If he took the hard drive, how could I not know?"

Lu Heng reminded, "You've forgotten something. He has Spirit Control skills; controlling you for a second couldn't be easier."

Cui Chengye immediately retorted, "That's not right; the captain doesn't have Spirit Control skills."

He pointed at the guard's information, continuing to defend his captain, "Didn't you see the guard's information? The captain doesn't have Spirit Control skills. All three Skill Slots are full, didn't you check for yourselves?"

Lu Heng had indeed checked all the guards' information and indeed there didn't seem to be any issues.

Captain You ZhanYu did have three Skill Slots, and none of the three skills were of the Spiritual system.

However, skills could change.

As long as one completed a World Task on the Abyss Battlefield, there was a chance to modify one's skills.

Whether it was to remove a skill, add a Skill Slot, or draw a new Skill to replace an existing one, it could change the original set of skills.

Without further explanation, Lu Heng continued to smile looking towards You ZhanYu, asking, "Do you have one?"

You ZhanYu fell silent.

Continuing, Lu Heng said, "Your denial is useless. Call a higher-level Spirit Interrogator here, and you won't be able to conceal anything."

In the Abyss Era, the emergence of extraordinary abilities provided Superpower Users with more methods to commit crimes, but also gave investigators more means to investigate.

Li Zhaofeng revealed a smiling expression, saying, "No need to call a Spirit Interrogator here, I can do it. Captain You ZhanYu, please answer me, do you have Spirit Control abilities?"

At this juncture,

there was no use in sophistry. You ZhanYu gave a bitter smile, his strength failing as he hung his head and admitted, "It was me."