The netizens online spoke with such conviction that for a time, even they couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't.
"Let me ask over there to see what the situation really is."
Adong quickly pulled out his phone. In this situation, he didn't dare to find Sister Feng first. If it turned out to be fake, disturbing Sister Feng would be a truly serious matter for both of them.
As a result, after asking his informant at the police station, it was confirmed to be a rumor.
The three were instantly speechless.
"Damn it, if the internet were real-name based, I'd definitely make him bedridden for half a month!"
"Probably some online trolls, they love to stir up trouble online for no reason."
The two sighed, but Li Chonglou sensed something was amiss.
While it was true that in reality, there were a portion of people who were born troublemakers, the probability of that was generally small.
More importantly, there had been no news of any progress from the police. These troublemakers could sense things and move first, but how could they dare to spread rumors without any basis?
"Perhaps this was a deliberate move."
Li Chonglou stroked his chin, and the other two immediately turned their gaze towards him.
"What deliberate move?"
Li Chonglou thought for a moment, then shifted his perspective: "Don't you think that this would put immense pressure on the police?"
"As a public authority, what they fear most is public attention. It's not that they're afraid of us knowing something, but public opinion can easily change the nature of a matter."
The two listened, feeling completely lost.
Li Chonglou thought for a moment and used a precise word to get to the core: "Diversion of attention."
"Let me hypothesize: what if this disappearance was deliberately spread by the murderer, and at the same time, the police were investigating in the wrong direction? What do you think the outcome would be?"
With his words reaching this point, how could they not understand? Their faces all changed in unison.
"But this is just speculation, isn't it?"
"Of course, it's just speculation, but we can also prepare for the other possibility."
Li Chonglou, who had no clear direction before, now found his target. He asked Adong to contact Sister Feng and have them intensify their investigation and surveillance of various antique markets, especially some private establishments.
He, along with the other two, returned to the entrance of the sub-bureau.
"Adong, have the informant send you the information on the owners of the other two vehicles that we can trace, and also find an excuse to summon them here."
Adong looked puzzled but could only comply.
After all, Li Chonglou seemed to have found some clues.
Less than half an hour later, the information of the two car owners was sent to Adong's phone.
Li Chonglou took the phone and examined it carefully.
Both car owners were around the same age, both in their mid-thirties. One was thirty-five, and the other was thirty-six.
However, their appearances differed greatly. One looked refined and scholarly, while the other seemed more like a drifter.
But this was not the focus of Li Chonglou's attention. More importantly, he valued the registered address of the two.
The refined-looking one was not a local resident. The other, a more rugged middle-aged man, was registered as living near the murder scene.
At the same time, the informant also relayed information.
As soon as the police had identified these three suspicious vehicles, they had contacted the two car owners.
The man from out of town had already left Shangjing. Through summoning, he was scheduled to come to the sub-bureau for a statement that afternoon.
However, the other local resident had not responded at all, and his phone was switched off.
"With all this happening, why is my phone being switched off so suspicious?"
Adong said, then couldn't help but add, "This is so normal. I often change my SIM card, Sister Feng used to scold me about it."
Li Chonglou said in a deep voice, "Enough talk, let's go."
"Go where?"
Of course, back to the residential compound!
Although the information they had obtained so far was piecemeal, and much of it was his personal speculation, after connecting these pieces of information, Li Chonglou instantly arrived at a logical clue!
The current investigation by the police might have been misled. The man who bought the car from that secluded second-hand car dealership might truly have been just a passerby!
The real murderer, or someone connected to the murderer, was very likely this unreachable car owner!
When Li Chonglou was at the murder scene, he had reasoned with Sister Feng that the scene lacked significant struggle marks, and there was a fifty percent chance it was a case involving someone known to the victim.
However, after learning that the deceased was a prostitute, Li Chonglou had not considered this angle further.
After all, people in that profession knew many patrons from all walks of life, and their guard against strangers was much lower than that of ordinary people. It was quite normal for people in this profession to casually bring strangers home.
But now, the information about this car owner had drawn his attention back.
Living in the same residential compound, appearing in the compound's surveillance footage on the same night, being unreachable now, and coupled with the sudden emergence of online rumors forcing the police to rush the case.
All these points, when connected, pointed towards this unreachable local car owner!
While contemplating various possibilities, Li Chonglou hurried back to the residential compound with the other two, heading directly for the suspect's residence.
As expected, no one was inside.
Adong knocked on the door for a full minute without any response.
"Kick it down."
Li Chonglou gave the order directly. Although he felt annoyed at being commanded, Adong could not afford to care about anything else at this moment and directly kicked the door.
Bang!
The lock was instantly kicked open, revealing a very simple one-bedroom apartment.
The living room had only a sofa and a low table, with several empty beer cans casually piled on it.
There were also some cigarette butts on the floor, and nothing else.
Li Chonglou went straight to the bedroom.
The other two casually looked around but found little.
In less than half a minute, Li Chonglou returned from the bedroom.
Then he went into the kitchen and the bathroom.
When he returned to the living room, the other two asked with some confusion, "Did you find anything?"
Li Chonglou nodded thoughtfully.
"This house was lived in at least three days ago. These cigarette butts and beer cans were likely left recently."
"But there's no charger in the bedroom, and no razor in the bathroom."
For a man, when traveling, he can leave behind anything except his phone, but these two items are essential to carry!
While other items like underwear and personal hygiene products could be bought anew, these two items, once accustomed to, were indeed difficult to adapt to new ones.
However, this was under one premise: for someone who had a settled life.
For people like Adong and Adong, who were transient, they didn't have much feeling for these two items.
So, after Li Chonglou finished speaking, the two were still utterly bewildered.