"Have you strengthened checks after installing the cameras? Have you dispatched people for round-the-clock surveillance? How many times has anything happened after the cameras were installed? How many cameras were installed and at what locations? Did you find anything unusual when reviewing the camera footage after the disappearances?" Xiao Yu peppered Liu Lei with questions after listening to him.
Liu Lei couldn't stop wiping his forehead. They believed that by enhancing technological defenses, no one would dare to commit such brazen acts, so they had reduced the manpower deployed.
Although many cameras had been installed, there were still blind spots. The last disappearance had precisely occurred in a blind spot, dealing them a resounding slap in the face.
Therefore, no one dared to speak much when Xiao Yu questioned them, and Liu Lei could only keep wiping his sweat.
"This is serious dereliction of duty, a gross irresponsibility towards people's lives. Since something like this has happened, it must be investigated thoroughly, without any room for luck. I will go to the scene again shortly. You lead the way." Xiao Yu's tone intensified. She then stood up.
Seeing Xiao Yu stand, Wang Erkang quickly followed suit. He and Liu Lei accompanied Xiao Yu out, one on each side.
"Director Wang, you don't need to accompany me. Liu team and I can go take a look. You should attend to your own matters," Xiao Yu said.
This matter was not easy to handle. Given that the perpetrator dared to commit a crime under so many cameras, it indicated they were fearless.
There was a crucial point of suspicion: where had the people gone?
Whether alive or dead, the missing people had not been found. Were they killed or taken away?
She was prepared for a protracted battle. Therefore, Wang Erkang's presence would only be inconvenient, as he was the director of the bureau and had to consider certain matters.
Xiao Yu was not emotionally unintelligent. Having experienced so much life and death in the special forces, and having witnessed much of human nature, she saw things with great clarity.
Wang Erkang's accompanying her was a gesture; he could not possibly follow her throughout the investigation. After all, he had numerous other matters to attend to.
Furthermore, there was someone waiting for him who wished to skin him alive. He seized the opportunity and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Captain Xiao. When Captain Xiao returns victorious, I will host a celebration banquet for you."
Xiao Yu accompanied Liu Lei and the others to inspect the scene.
This was the fringe of the urban and rural areas. A newly paved asphalt road extended into the distance, with sparse houses on either side.
Cameras were installed every two hundred meters, indeed very densely. They were likely reinstalled after the incidents occurred.
There was not much cover in the surroundings, only a factory building close to the asphalt road. Half of its courtyard had been demolished, and the exposed side was temporarily reinforced with stacked waste bricks, shielding the courtyard.
There were no machines or equipment inside the factory; it seemed to have been idle for a long time. An elderly man was guarding the empty courtyard.
Xiao Yu approached the old man and spoke to him for a few sentences, but their conversation was nonsensical. The old man was extremely deaf; he would answer questions about the east by talking about the west, making it impossible to communicate effectively.
Seeing that no valuable information could be obtained, Xiao Yu left.
She walked along the asphalt road for about six or seven li, and there was no place where the missing people could have been hidden. Unwilling to give up, she walked back along the main road.
The surveillance cameras overhead had a wide and clear range. Even with a camera every five hundred meters, one could see from one end to the other.
She felt that something was not quite right, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
Blind spot? A blind spot in the surveillance. She suddenly paused. Yes, that was it, a blind spot in the surveillance.
The last disappearance had occurred in a blind spot of the cameras.
The blind spot was on the side where the factory wall had been demolished. She hurried over.
In the sunlight, there was no obstruction behind the factory. Even if the cameras couldn't see, passersby could see the entire area at a glance. Even when walking here at night, one could pass through in just three to five minutes.
This meant that the perpetrator was very familiar with the surveillance system and had subdued and taken away the person and hidden them within three minutes. However, the investigators reviewing the footage reported no vehicles capable of transporting people passing by during that time.
There were only two possibilities. One was that the perpetrator hid the person inside the factory after the crime, waiting for an opportunity to take them away. The second was that the missing person was still within the factory.
After assessing the situation, Xiao Yu directly requested the municipal bureau personnel to conduct a thorough search of the factory.
They searched every inch inside and out, but found no trace of the missing persons.
Liu Lei approached and said, "Captain Xiao, we have already checked this place many times. As for this old man guarding the courtyard, we also investigated his family background and found nothing suspicious."
This made no logical sense at all. Was there still an issue somewhere? It just couldn't be found.
It was like being in a maze, having taken a wrong turn.
While Xiao Yu was struggling to find a clue, Guo Xuyang was being subjected to torture and interrogation elsewhere.
After Xiao Yu left, Wang Erkang went to the outside of the interrogation room. This was his first time seeing Guo Xuyang. He was a very young man, and he appeared unremarkable on the surface. Why would someone beat his son so badly? Wang Erkang was filled with questions.
"Name?"
"Guo Xuyang."
"What crime have you committed?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know? If you don't know why they arrested you, why arrest someone else? Don't play dumb. Speak honestly."
"I really don't know."
The interrogation was ongoing. Seeing Guo Xuyang's unyielding attitude, Wang Erkang's anger flared. He immediately ordered someone to bring out the tools.
This man was his confidant. He saw the interrogator being dismissed, and another person entered with the tools.
To avoid leaving visible marks from the torture, the suspect was usually beaten through thick objects. It seemed that these two individuals had done such things many times.
The two men divided their tasks clearly. One leaned a board against Guo Xuyang, while the other placed a vibrator against him.
"Kid, answer every question I ask, or you'll regret it," the man said sinisterly.
"I'll talk, I'll talk. I will definitely talk," Guo Xuyang replied, feigning fear.
At the same time, he stealthily extended his senses and unhesitatingly began hypnotizing the two men.
He clearly sensed five or six people outside the interrogation room. One of them harbored extreme hostility towards him. He focused his gaze and saw Wang Erkang.
Although he didn't recognize Wang Erkang, Wang Erkang and the other man looked very similar, and only Wang Erkang showed such intense hostility towards him.
The people around him were likely his confidants.
Guo Xuyang hypnotized all of them and brought them into the interrogation room.
He glanced at the surveillance cameras, saw that they were operating normally, and then hypnotized another person to inquire with Wang Erkang.