met free Chapter 59 The Overcrowded Double Locked Room
Chapter 59 The Overcrowded Double Locked Room
A police patrol car stopped in front of a high-end apartment building in the western district of Feiyun City. The detective jumped out of the car as eagerly as a Pokémon that had used the escape button to return to its Poké Ball.
“Miss Officer Jenny, your driving skills are really not commendable. We are not chasing criminals. There is no need to use such a large drift when turning.”
As he felt the calm earth beneath his feet, Hugo bluntly remarked, "After witnessing your driving skills, I even miss the Thunder Zebra a little."
“I’ll prepare a special car seat for you that can electrify your butt, hopefully that will ease your lovesickness.” Officer Jenny retorted without backing down. “My driving skills are flawless, every turn and lane change is perfect, following the principle of maximizing efficiency, and I’m very confident in that.”
As she spoke, the policewoman cast a look for opinions at Bilan and Sera, who were getting out of the car.
Sera closed her eyes and remained silent. Azure, who was beside her, wanted to say something, but before she could speak, she was interrupted by a dry heave from deep in her throat.
“…At least we arrived at our destination on time.” Officer Jenny was a little embarrassed, but Hugo did not press his advantage; his attention was now completely focused on the apartment building in front of him.
It was a typical high-end residential building with a modern exterior and a harmonious neutral color scheme. Contrasting details were used to accentuate the overall design, making the building feel like a contemporary work of art.
Compared to the narrow alleys that Azure had visited before, the buildings in this area are less utilitarian with their straight lines, white walls, and red tiles, and instead feature a minimalist yet luxurious stylized design.
"Wow, this building looks really expensive." After recovering from the dizziness, Bilan succinctly summarized, vividly describing the main features of the building in front of her.
"For a senior trainer's income, such living conditions are not outrageous," Hugo commented.
"This area is the affluent district of Feiyun City, a product of spontaneous counter-urbanization that occurred after Feiyun City developed to a certain stage. The wealthy class grew tired of the traffic congestion, rising crime, and severe pollution in the city center and actively moved to this suburb that is some distance from the city yet adjacent to it. In the near future, more middle-class and ordinary people will leave the city and move here. The suburbs will become increasingly independent, and this area will transform from a single residential function into an employment center with various urban functions."
The policewoman didn't linger downstairs. After greeting the police officers on duty at the entrance, she went straight into the building, giving the detective and his assistant, who were discussing apartment prices and urban development, a disdainful look: "The villas you two live in downtown are much more expensive than this."
“Rental fee and selling price are two different things,” the detective argued defiantly, but he then followed the officer into the building.
.
The four of them passed through the lobby, elevator lobby, elevator, and corridor on the first floor, and arrived at the door of the crime scene.
To accommodate the residents living on the same floor, the police did not leave the door to the bloody crime scene open. At this moment, two forensic officers, wearing protective hats and gloves, were still busy inside.
"It's said that the last person to see the deceased was the apartment manager on the first floor?" Before facing the scene, Hugo confirmed the information with Officer Jenny in the hallway.
"Yes, it was 6 p.m. The security guard saw Mr. Greta enter the elevator through the duty room, following a route roughly the same as we just walked. He has now finished his police interrogation and, as we can see, has returned to his post."
"Did the building manager see any other strange people entering the building after that?" the detective continued.
Seemingly already familiar with the case, Officer Jenny immediately replied, "No, everyone who comes is a resident of this upscale apartment building. The building manager will definitely make any unfamiliar strangers register before they leave."
"So, this entire building can also be considered a secret room?" Bilan said matter-of-factly, gesturing the shape of the building with her hand. "It's also a second secret room, crowded with residents."
“Although I don’t read detective novels much, Azure, your understanding of locked rooms seems to be a bit off,” Officer Jenny kindly reminded her. “Countless residents have come and gone from the apartment building since last night; it’s just an ordinary luxury apartment building.”
"Furthermore, we can't completely trust the apartment manager. That old man might have lied about whether or not to let outsiders in in order to keep his job," Hugo added cautiously.
The detective continued pacing at the entrance to the crime scene. He wasn't in a hurry to enter the locked room in front of him, but hoped to sort out the existing information before investigating the scene.
Officer Jenny thought for a moment and had to nod in agreement with Hugo's doubts: "That apartment manager is quite old; we can't rule out the possibility that he's suffering from memory loss or neglecting his duties..."
"Sir, you may have forgotten the new intelligence the search team discovered this morning."
Miss Sera interrupted the speaker, hurriedly opening her phone and switching to a work discussion group: "The search team made a new discovery three hours ago. They found a newly installed surveillance camera in the convenience store across the street, which seems to be able to capture footage of the area below this building."
"They didn't even tell me about this?!" Officer Jenny rarely showed the irritability typical of police officers.
“Sir, before you left for the detective agency, you told everyone that you were going to do something important and not to make phone calls unless there were special circumstances,” the deputy said hesitantly. “After you said that at the police station, some colleagues even guessed that you were going to confront the real culprit directly.”
Officer Jenny supported her forehead with her hand, glared at the detective, and spoke to Hugo word by word in silent lip-reading.
Hugo understood the lip reading, and the general meaning was "Look what you've done!" Miss Officer Jenny probably thought that her current predicament was entirely due to Hugo's willful act of taking all the credit for himself.
However, he pretended not to see it and instead asked Sera, "Any new findings in the surveillance footage downstairs? Has the police matched the residents entering the building with those leaving?"
“They’re doing it, but comparing the surveillance footage takes time, they haven’t…” Before Sera could finish speaking, a new message popped up in the discussion group.
Officer Jenny glanced at her phone as well. This policewoman, who had been unexpectedly regarded as a brilliant detective by the police department, took a deep breath and slowly said—
"The surveillance footage shows that the apartment manager's statement was entirely correct. No outsiders entered the building, and no strangers left the building after the incident. All the residents who left the apartment building the next day were under police control, and no one attempted to flee Feiyun City."
Then she turned to Azure: "Assistant, your previous guess was correct. This overcrowded apartment building is a second secret room wrapped around the perfect secret room."