But a moment later, something else occurred to Che Quan.
What role did that damned bastard Jiang Cong have in this instance?
He wasn't a resident of the building, and he didn't seem to be with the police.
Che Quan frowned.
That guy really did come and go like a ghost.
Not that he particularly cared.
He only hoped the bastard would have some sense this time and stop getting in his way with a death wish.
Che Quan gathered his thoughts.
Languidly, he asked one final question. "By the way, do any of you have a fridge? I'd like to borrow it. I have a few things that need freezing."
Everyone froze for a moment at this sudden, drastic change of subject.
Wen Ping looked slightly bemused. "A fridge... well, most of us probably have one, but mine's full. I can't lend it to you."
Zha Jia, who wore bold, sexy makeup, raised an eyebrow and kept it brief. "Sorry, little guy. That doesn't work for me."
Xuan Shuhui and Fu Na both shook their heads, giving the same reason-they were renting, and neither had bought a fridge because they wanted to save money.
The three men agreed readily, especially Jin Jiang, who lived in Room 601, across from the late Zhang Bei.
Though he was so sleazy that he kept trying to sneak a look up Zha Jia's miniskirt.
"Hey, buddy, use my fridge all you want. I've only got some beer in there. There's loads of room."
Che Quan gave a slight nod, a faint suspicion forming in his mind.
Then he decided that, since he already understood the general situation, there was no need to waste any more time here.
Without another glance at the distraught Fu Na on the floor or the people comforting her with varying expressions, he walked straight out of the community office.
He headed toward the little convenience store Zhang Bei had run while alive.
The police officers hadn't searched this place yet.
Before he reached it, Che Quan spotted an iron padlock hanging from the convenience store's glass doors.
It seemed to be locked.
No.
Moving closer, Che Quan discovered that the chain was merely draped loosely around the doors, not actually locked.
This was further proof that the dead "Zhang Bei" had been a player.
The native who had been running the convenience store all along would never have made such an elementary mistake.
Besides, Wen Ping had said Zhang Bei was prone to drunken rages, yet when Che Quan had met that "Zhang Bei" yesterday, he hadn't seemed like a drunk.
At this point, however, whether Zhang Bei had been a player no longer mattered.
Che Quan recalled the scene of Zhang Bei with his throat deeply slashed, eyes wide open, and blood pooling across the floor, and sank into thought.
All he cared about was why the murderer had suddenly killed Zhang Bei, why they had used such a direct method, and why they had chosen to leave one of Yu Yan's legs beside him.
Che Quan had a theory: perhaps the native Zhang Bei had discovered the murderer's true identity and used it to threaten and blackmail them.
After all, how high could the moral standards of a drunk prone to drunken rages possibly be?
That had enraged the murderer, leading them to kill on impulse and then leave one of Yu Yan's legs behind as well, with one purpose-to send a warning.
As for why it would have been the native Zhang Bei, rather than the player "Zhang Bei," who knew...
It was simple.
If a player had known the murderer's true identity from the start, there would have been no mystery to solve in this instance.
Expressionless, Che Quan unwound the chain loop by loop and opened both glass doors of the little convenience store.
He stepped inside. Although the shelves were full of goods, the place felt especially desolate.
Just yesterday, Zhang Bei had still been "bustling about" here. Today, after being closed for only half a day, it already felt as though it had been abandoned for ages.
Che Quan lowered his eyes indifferently.
If the truth really matched his theory, the native Zhang Bei should have left a relevant clue somewhere.
That clue was unlikely to be in Zhang Bei's home.
After killing Zhang Bei, the murderer would surely have searched his home for any incriminating evidence.
As for the little convenience store...
Che Quan distinctly remembered the ice crystals beneath that high heel.
Judging by how much the ice had melted, the murderer couldn't have left it there long ago and hadn't yet had time to search this place.
Che Quan began strolling through the little convenience store.
He disdained bending down and rummaging around, getting himself all dusty and disheveled.
Besides, he didn't believe the clue would be somewhere people might come into contact with it-
Because if it had been, the player Zhang Bei, who had been bustling about the little convenience store yesterday in an attempt to impersonate the native, should have found it already.
Che Quan looked around the small store, finally stopping at the checkout counter.
He saw several folders sitting on it.
He opened them one by one. They contained shipment lists from several shopping platforms offering delivery within two days.
Each list was divided into three columns: left, middle, and right.
The left column contained the shoppers' user IDs, the middle their contact information and home addresses, and the right the goods they had purchased.
Everything was neatly itemized and exceptionally clear.
So this little convenience store also served as a pickup point for several online shopping platforms.
Che Quan raised an eyebrow slightly and began leafing through them.
At first glance, they were simply ordinary lists printed and bound into booklets.
Looking more closely, Che Quan discovered that, starting with the shipment lists from a week ago, every time the native Zhang Bei had checked the goods against a list, he had placed a small tick beside the same user ID.
For every other user, he had ticked the goods instead.
There were no exceptions.
Anyone looking casually would have thought nothing of it, but to an attentive observer-especially someone who had come with a purpose-the distinction was almost bizarrely deliberate.
Che Quan looked carefully.
The user ID was an online symbol he didn't recognize. That didn't matter. What mattered was the home address that followed it.
When he saw the apartment number, exactly as he had suspected, the corners of Che Quan's lips curved slightly.
Tch.
So the murderer really was that person.
Stupid instance.
At that moment, the livestream viewers couldn't see the contents of the list in Che Quan's hands at all. Tormented by curiosity, they began making a racket in the comments.
[That confident expression tells me the little beauty has it all figured out, sob sob sob, but I still haven't got a clue. Damn it, how embarrassing.]
[Me! I want to know who the murderer in this building is so badly, I'm crying! Can I please have a brain like the little beauty's?!]
[Little beauty Che Quan looks so sweet when he smiles. Sure, the smile doesn't reach his eyes, but it's still so sweet I'm crying!]
[Now I've remembered another question. I heard the big shot Jiang Cong entered this instance too, but... where is he, sob sob? I haven't seen so much as his shadow! I was hoping to see a steamy showdown between him and the little beauty (not like that).]
[Person above, stop your brain-no, stop talking. The moment you mention the big shot and the little beauty sharing the screen, I can barely control my filthy imagination, damn it.]
Inside the instance.
Che Quan closed the booklet of lists and put it back the way it had been.
Although he knew who the murderer was, he still didn't have enough evidence.
If his guess was correct, the murderer would either choose to speed up the killings, or... come to this little convenience store to find and destroy the evidence.
As luck would have it.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Che Quan heard the glass door behind him being opened-
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