Chapter 169 - 167: Describing the Process

Chapter 169: Chapter 167: Describing the Process

Zhu Xuan was from Ji City. Her parents passed away when she was very young.

She attended university in Ji City and came to Jinghai five years ago.

"Why did you kill Luo Min?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"I didn’t kill her."

"Luo Min’s blood was found on the floor of your apartment, and your hair was found at Wu Liang’s place. There’s no point in denying it now." Zhuang Yanzheng had been up all night, and his head was throbbing. He looked even more menacing than usual.

"I didn’t kill her," Zhu Xuan said again.

"You ran the moment you saw us and even took a hostage, yet you claim you didn’t kill her," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "If you didn’t kill her, why did you run?"

Zhu Xuan didn’t speak.

"Luo Min’s blood was found on the floor of your apartment. And these two photos." Zhuang Yanzheng held up two pictures. "This one is from the elevator in Jinrong District, and this one was captured by a surveillance camera on the commercial street behind Xiangyao Street. It’s you in both."

"You can’t see my face. How can you be sure it’s me?" Zhu Xuan said.

"Playing dumb, are we?" Zhuang Yanzheng said. "You think we can’t convict you if you just keep your mouth shut? All of this is evidence."

Zhu Xuan fell silent.

Zhuang Yanzheng watched her.

He felt she was deliberately trying to annoy him.

Zhu Xuan looked simple and honest, but she wasn’t scared, she wasn’t nervous, and she wasn’t telling the truth.

Zhuang Yanzheng was quiet for a moment, then produced a photo of her and Shi Xiaoru. "College classmates? Roommates?"

Zhu Xuan’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Luo Min, Wu Liang, Xiao Xia. These three people were all connected to Shi Xiaoru in one way or another," Zhuang Yanzheng said. "Wu Liang was the source of the rumors. Luo Min, Xiao Xia, and others were the slanderers and instigators who cyberbullied Shi Xiaoru."

"Because of this incident, Shi Xiaoru gave her team a break and went on vacation herself."

Zhu Xuan looked at him.

"After we received the report, we quickly zeroed in on Shi Xiaoru and the people around her..."

Before Zhuang Yanzheng could finish, Zhu Xuan cut in, "I did it. I killed them all. It has nothing to do with her. She doesn’t know anything."

Outside the interrogation room, Su Miaoyi watched Zhu Xuan’s profile through the one-way mirror.

For some reason, she was struck by a sudden sense of familiarity.

She frowned, unable to place where that feeling came from.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at Zhu Xuan, paused, and then continued, "We investigated Shi Xiaoru and many people around her—her work partners, her team, and the friends she contacted regularly. You weren’t among them."

From the contents of Zhu Xuan’s phone, it seemed she only exchanged a sentence or two with Shi Xiaoru on some holidays.

And their chats were polite, with a distant familiarity to their words.

The rest of the time, they didn’t chat at all.

Zhu Xuan said again, "So what? Is there some rule that says friends have to be in constant contact?"

"Have you ever contacted her using another phone?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"No." Zhu Xuan frowned. "I know what you’re suspecting. You think Shi Xiaoru put me up to this. She didn’t. I did everything myself. She has no idea."

"The last time I contacted her was on the Lantern Festival."

"Why did you kill them?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"Didn’t you already figure it out?" Zhu Xuan said. "Why do you keep asking and asking?"

"Just answer the question," Zhuang Yanzheng said with a frown.

Zhu Xuan sighed softly. "Wu Liang spread rumors about Shi Xiaoru. I know what kind of person Xiaoru is better than anyone. We lived together for four years in college. She’s a very kind and upright person. If Wu Liang hadn’t said those things online, she definitely would have never spoken about how he was harassing her offline."

"Besides, she would never resort to such dirty tactics. She wouldn’t hire a bot army, nor would she exploit her own fans."

"Since you’ve investigated her, you should know very well that she loves and cherishes her fans. She’s a dance streamer, and after she got popular, she started recommending some products. Every single thing she recommends is something she has personally used first."

"Such a good person, and just because of Wu Liang’s big mouth, look at what her comment section has become."

"Look at what it’s like outside her apartment! The internet is full of insults, personal attacks, attacks on her parents and family. They Photoshopped her into a funeral portrait and spread salacious rumors."

"Doesn’t Wu Liang deserve to die? Did he really think spreading rumors was free of consequence? A few words is all it takes to ruin a woman’s life."

"Do you have any idea what people are like these days? They only remember the rumor, not the clarification. Even if this is cleared up, it will follow her for the rest of her life. People will bring it up from time to time. Someone will always be asking, ’Isn’t that the streamer who did such-and-such?’ But the truth is, she didn’t do anything except reject a disgusting man."

"Wu Liang deserved to die a thousand deaths."

"And people like Luo Min and Xiao Xia deserved it even more."

"They’d do anything for dirty money. With just a few taps on a keyboard, they can destroy a person’s life."

"Shi Xiaoru has gone away to clear her head now, but what about later? If these people didn’t die, Shi Xiaoru might have been the one to die."

"Why should the bad guys get to hide in the shadows while the good people are driven to their deaths? Didn’t they think no one could find them through that app? Didn’t they think getting sued was no big deal?"

"Fine, then. They can just go and die."

Zhu Xuan said all of this with perfect composure.

You could feel her anger, but you could also feel her calmness.

She was furious about what had happened to Shi Xiaoru.

And she was calm because she didn’t think killing was a big deal.

"If you hadn’t stopped me, not a single one of them would have escaped," Zhu Xuan said. "Killing them is the only way to make others behave."

Zhu Xuan then recounted the process of her crimes.

Her method for killing Xiao Xia and Luo Min was just as Su Miaoyi had witnessed.

The way she murdered Wu Liang was also largely consistent with their speculations.

Zhu Xuan had used tape to lift a fingerprint from the keypad lock on Wu Liang’s door.

She used his fingerprint to unlock the door and enter his apartment.

Wu Liang was live-streaming at the time, so he didn’t hear the door open.

Zhu Xuan moved the sofa and hid behind it.

When Wu Liang finished his stream, she killed him.

"Where did you throw Wu Liang’s tongue?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"After I left his place, I just casually tossed it into the green belt on the side of the road," Zhu Xuan said. "Maybe a rat or a stray dog ate it."

Zhuang Yanzheng frowned. "Where did you throw it?"

Zhu Xuan gave a general area.

"What about Xiao Xia’s hands?" Zhuang Yanzheng asked.

"I threw them in a trash can near my house." Zhu Xuan smiled. "If you haven’t found them by now, it means they were disposed of with the rest of the garbage."

Listening to her, Zhuang Yanzheng took a slow breath. "And Luo Min? Why throw her head and hands in the drainage ditch, but the rest of her body in the river?"

"You fished them out?" Zhu Xuan showed a hint of surprise. "I thought they would sink to the bottom of the river and you wouldn’t find them for a while."

Zhuang Yanzheng stared at her, his face tight, as she wore an indifferent, even casually smiling expression.

Zhu Xuan said, "I dismembered her. I originally planned to put the parts in several bags and dump them in several different places."

"But after I threw one bag in the drainage ditch, I realized it was too much trouble. I had to avoid people, avoid surveillance cameras, and go to several different locations. So I just tied rocks to the rest of the parts and threw them all in the river together."

"It was just for convenience."

...