Chapter 312: Chapter 311: A Stranger at the Shelter

Ji Xuehui boasted, "Why eat an instant hot pot? Tomorrow I’ll treat you to a sour soup beef hot pot!"

Ji Xuehui and her colleagues excitedly took photos of the crime tools and tightened the evidence bags.

Xu Ying wasn’t needed here anymore. She picked up the Snow Cleaning Weasel, [Snow White, let’s go back to our wooden house~]

*

Early the next morning, Xu Ying, carrying a frozen water tank, followed the police to the West Mountain Pharmaceutical Research Company.

Zhao Yicheng looked surprised when he was called into the supervisor’s office and saw the police inside, "Officers, what is this about?"

Zhao Yicheng was very tall, estimated to be around 1.83 meters, with handsome features that fit the ideal image of a charming senior in girls’ minds.

Ji Xuehui took out a fingerprint collection tool, "Please cooperate with us for a fingerprint extraction."

"You suspect I’m the murderer? Are you serious?"

Zhao Yicheng smiled wryly, offended by being suspected of murder, "I’ve been on a business trip this entire time."

Ji Xuehui looked at him sternly, "Enough with the excuses, put your hand here."

Zhao Yicheng extended his hand to place his fingerprint on the extraction machine.

Meanwhile, Xu Ying thrust the cold water tank in front of Zhao Yicheng.

"Who are you? What’s with the fish tank?" Zhao Yicheng was baffled and instinctively tried to step back.

A police officer immediately restrained him from behind.

Xu Ying gave him a faint smile, "This is a psychological test to determine if someone is connected to the crime."

"There’s a psychological test like this? Are you sure you’re not tricking me?"

Zhao Yicheng shrugged, "If this really worked, detectives wouldn’t be needed for solving crimes."

Xu Ying watched his calm demeanor, then looked through the transparent glass at the fish witness in the tank, which bubbled excitedly and wagged its tail.

The High Mountain White Stripes Fish was frantically signaling to Xu Ying, [Little Xu Station Chief, that’s the man who dumped the body through the ice hole that day!]

Xu Ying’s lips curled into a smile, "The psychological test results are in."

"What results?" Zhao Yicheng asked indifferently, "Did the fish tell you I’m the murderer, and you’re planning to arrest me based on this psychological test?"

"This isn’t according to the rules, right? Did I offend someone?"

Xu Ying saw the murderer still appearing innocent and fearless, making her clench her fists, "You know if you’ve done something wrong."

Ji Xuehui handed the collected fingerprint samples to the forensic technicians.

She then turned to Zhao Yicheng, "The fingerprint comparison results will be out in about an hour. Please, Mr. Zhao, stay at the company and do not leave your post without permission."

Zhao Yicheng adjusted his white coat, "With the current project deadline, I obviously won’t leave."

After speaking, he walked out of the office with a long stride.

An hour later, the fingerprint comparison results came out.

Ji Xuehui, keeping her excitement in check, went to Zhao Yicheng’s lab with two officers, and without a word, handcuffed him and escorted him out.

This scene drew a crowd in the company, as Zhao Yicheng was a popular figure there.

"Oh my, is Senior Brother Zhao the killer?"

"Wasn’t Senior Brother Zhao on a business trip? How could he kill Lin Qing at that time?"

"Senior Brother Zhao and Lin Qing had no grudge and barely knew each other, why would he kill Lin Qing?"

...

As Zhao Yicheng was being led away by the police, he still wore a mask of incredulity and anger.

His voice trembled slightly with rage, "Do you officers handle cases so rashly? Arresting people without solid evidence?"

Ji Xuehui remained stern and took a silver key from the evidence bag, "We found this lab key by the deceased Lin Qing’s body, with both your fingerprints and the deceased’s on it."

"That’s impossible..." Zhao Yicheng’s pupils contracted, then he tried to remain calm, "I did lose a key; Lin Qing from the same company could have found it. Does this prove I committed murder?"

Xu Ying stepped closer, gently tapping the report on her tablet, "Officer Ji hasn’t finished. Your fingerprints weren’t only on the key; they also matched perfectly with the murder weapon we found at the base of the snow cliff."

"Ridiculous!" Zhao Yicheng, upon hearing the words "murder weapon," began sweating on his forehead, "I was on a business trip on the day of the crime, I wasn’t even in the city!"

Ji Xuehui laughed coldly, "According to airline records, you purchased the ticket, but did not board the flight. Instead, you rescheduled your ticket to a flight the following morning."

"That’s because... something unexpected came up!" Zhao Yicheng’s voice wavered, "The airport staff can testify I was in the waiting lounge all night!"

"Witnesses can be bought," Ji Xuehui pressed on, "but the rope used to strangle Lin Qing and the nylon bag used to transport the body only bear your fingerprints. How do you explain that?"

Zhao Yicheng opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word. His colleagues’ eyes felt like needles piercing his back, and the whisperings were like venomous snakes crawling into his ears:

"I never thought such a gentle-mannered Senior Brother Zhao would..."

"Did Senior Brother Zhao really strangle Lin Qing? How brutal! Why did he do it?"

"Truly, you never know someone’s true face..."

Under the horrified gazes of everyone, Zhao Yicheng’s legs gave out, and as the police dragged him away, his suit pants trembled incessantly. He cast one last look at the lab, lost in his gaze.

Xu Ying tapped on the transparent glass of the frozen water tank, "Thank you, little fish~"

She sprinkled some fish food into the transparent tank, and the High Mountain White Stripes Fish swam joyfully, gulping down the morsels.

[You’re welcome, Little Xu Station Chief. I’ve been eating well these past few days~]

[The fish food you made is simply delicious!]

The High Mountain White Stripes Fish backstroked contentedly in the tank, [Little Xu Station Chief, when are we going back to Ice Lake?]

Xu Ying returned to the police car with the frozen tank, smiling as she asked, "You already want to go home? Is it uncomfortable here?"

The High Mountain White Stripes Fish answered earnestly, [Though it’s relaxing lounging in this little villa, eating and drinking to my heart’s content, I’ve started missing my little fish buddies back in Ice Lake~]

"Alright, I’ll take you back today." Xu Ying looked in her rearview mirror as the scenery gradually faded away; it was time for her to return too.

At noon, she was treated to a sour soup beef hot pot by Ji Xuehui, and in the afternoon, the police officers from the West Mountain Police Station drove Xu Ying to the base of West Mountain, where her snowmobile was parked.

Xu Ying sped along on her way, and an hour later, the snowmobile neared the rescue station.

From afar, she saw two youthful girls sitting on the steps at the rescue station’s entrance.