The Novelist Forced to Become Famous

Jian Jing immediately said: "Don't worry, ask the airline if there's a record of her boarding."

A moment later, the call came back, saying there wasn't.

Jian Jing calmly said: "Don't panic yet. If it's a kidnapping, she's not in danger right now. When was the last time you saw her?"

Yu Can mumbled: "At 3 PM, I took her to the subway station..."

"Where are you? I'll come find you."

She said she was at the home furnishing mall.

But halfway there, Yu Can called Jian Jing to say "everything's fine."

"It seems she went to a classmate's house," Yu Can's voice was a bit panicky, trying to sound calm. "She had mentioned it before, but I forgot. I'm sorry for making you worry too."

Then she hung up.

This excuse was too clumsy; Jian Jing didn't believe it at all. But she could guess why Yu Can did this – she must have received some kind of message and was lying to protect her daughter from harm.

Fearing phone tapping, she didn't call back and instead headed straight for the home furnishing mall.

Yu Can's store was still open. The staff said the boss had just left in a hurry, not knowing where she went.

Jian Jing tried calling from the store's landline, but Yu Can had already turned off her phone.

She had no choice but to find Ji Feng.

"You're not actually a police officer, so you don't have much persuasive power," Ji Feng said at 8:30 PM, just getting off the highway and reaching the elevated road in Peace City. "I'll talk to her. Do you have her address?"

Jian Jing got Yu Can's residential area from the store staff and passed it on to him.

At 10:20 PM, Ji Feng arrived at the location and got Yu Can's exact address from the property management. At 10:30 PM, he knocked on Yu Can's door.

She cautiously asked: "Who is it?"

"Police." Ji Feng showed his badge. "I'd like to talk to you about Zhao Bin and your daughter."

Only then did Yu Can open the door.

Ji Feng explained the situation and asked if someone had contacted her.

She said "yes."

"What did they tell you?"

"If I don't want anything to happen to Xin'er, I should mind my own business." Yu Can looked regretful. "I really didn't know that what I told Miss Jian was so serious..."

She gave a bitter smile and pleaded: "Just pretend I never said anything, officer. Please don't ask me anymore. Xin'er is my only family..."

Ji Feng comforted her a bit, then asked: "How did they contact you?"

Yu Can took out an A4 printed paper: "I went to pick up my takeout dinner, and this was in the bag."

"What's the takeout phone number?" Ji Feng asked.

Yu Can found the order and gave him the delivery person's number.

Ji Feng called and asked if he remembered delivering a meal to the home furnishing mall. The delivery person said he did. Ji Feng then asked if anyone had tampered with the food. He replied: "We're not allowed to enter the mall, so we always leave deliveries at the back door. Was your food taken by mistake?"

"It's nothing." He hung up the phone, silently sighed, and instructed Yu Can, "When the child comes back, call this number to inform me. If they contact you again or make any demands, it's best to contact us as soon as possible."

Yu Can hesitated for a long time before agreeing.

At 11:30 PM, the local police station received an emergency call.

In the early hours of the morning, Ji Feng arrived at the scene.

The location where the body was burned was an unfinished building. However, the main structure was complete, lacking only landscaping, green areas, and fire safety facilities. Some residents had already moved in.

They had taken on huge debts to buy homes here, paying monthly mortgages. But the developer went bankrupt, leaving their dream homes without basic utilities like water and electricity.

It was a devastating blow. Their money was gone, but they still had to pay rent elsewhere and keep up with bank loans. With no other choice, many simply moved in, at least saving on rent.

Without water, they tapped into the neighboring community's supply. Without electricity, they used solar panels.

Currently, nearly ten households were living in the complex.

The body was discovered by a mother and son. The son was a delivery driver, out early and back late every day. His mother was ill, resting at home.

Last night, just before 11 PM, the delivery driver returned from work and noticed a fire flickering in one of the building's openings. The flames danced in the pitch-black hole, creating an eerie scene.

Startled, he rode his electric scooter over to confirm it was indeed a fire, then quickly called 119 for emergency services.

The fire truck arrived fully equipped, and the firefighters were initially relieved to see an empty, unfinished building with few flammable materials. However, upon entering, they found a body on the ground, already burned beyond recognition.

They immediately called 110 for the police.

Because it was discovered early, the body wasn't completely destroyed. While the skin was unrecognizable and horrifying to look at, the internal organs were still intact.

The scene was covered in dust, with several faint footprints visible. There was no tread pattern, suggesting the perpetrator wore shoe covers. Rough calculations put the shoe size between 40-41.

The forensics team couldn't find any fingerprints. The remaining hair in the room was identified as either cat hair or from other rodents.

The killer had been very careful, trying not to leave any clues behind.

But he still made one mistake.

When moving the deceased, she might not have been dead yet and intentionally dropped some personal items. Or perhaps the stray cats in the area were too mischievous – the victim's phone was found in a cat's nest.

Two kittens were pawing at the rhinestones on the phone case, their sharp claws leaving scratches. The screen was already beyond repair.

But the phone still worked.

A few hours later, Ji Feng received the autopsy report from the forensics department. It stated: The deceased was a young woman between 18-22 years old, had never given birth, and her stomach contents included bread, vegetables, ham, and cassava.

Traces of arsenic and sleeping pills were detected in her blood. The former likely came from pearl milk tea, while the latter was probably administered by the killer.

Based on the digestion progress, she died 2-3 hours after eating.

Next came the victim's identity.

The phone was confirmed to belong to Yu Can's daughter, Cai Xin. The remains of her clothes also matched what she was wearing when she disappeared: a camel-colored woolen coat, jeans, and brand-name sneakers.

Regarding physical characteristics, since Cai Xin was born to Yu Can's husband and his ex-wife, they had no blood relation, so DNA verification wasn't possible. However, she had medical insurance records showing that she had a wisdom tooth extracted a year ago, with an X-ray indicating another large wisdom tooth on the left side.

This matched the characteristics of the body.

Yu Can, as the victim's family member, was questioned by the police.

She seemed dazed and took a while to speak: "I don't understand... Did I cause Xin'er's death? Her father was most worried about her before he died... This child had a hard life. Her birth mother had high blood pressure, and the doctor advised against pregnancy, but she couldn't bear to give up the baby and passed away six months after giving birth.

"Her father was a good man, playing both father and mother roles. When he married me, he said he wouldn't have more children, fearing a stepmother might mistreat the child. I had health issues, and doctors said I could never have children, so I didn't mind. All these years, I've treated Xin'er as my own child... Then her father died, and we only had each other..."

As she spoke, tears fell one by one.

"I told her grandmother that Xin'er would be home tomorrow. She was planning to cook her favorite dishes... How am I supposed to explain this to the old lady? Her grandmother is elderly, if she finds out something happened to Xin'er... Officer, please don't let anything slip. Otherwise, I really can't face... can't face my husband..."

Yu Can broke down in tears.

Lao Gao waited for her to finish crying before asking about the key matters: "When was the last time you saw the child today?"

"Just after 3 PM, I took her to the subway station." Yu Can regretted again, "If only I had known, I would have taken her to the airport. The child was considerate, worried that I couldn't leave the store, so she said it was enough to take her to the subway station."

Lao Gao: "Do you know the child's schedule for today?"

Yu Can said: "She was at home in the morning, came to my store after lunch to pick up some things to take back to her grandmother. Around 2:45 PM, I saw her off."

Lao Gao: "So she visited your store today?"

Yu Can: "Yes."

Lao Gao: "Oh, did she eat anything there?"

Yu Can: "Yes, I was worried she might miss dinner, so I ordered some food for her to eat before leaving."

Lao Gao: "What did she eat?"

Yu Can: "A sandwich and milk tea."

Lao Gao silently noted this information.

After questioning Yu Can, he sent Xiao Li to run an errand, going to Yu Can's store to verify this information with the staff.

The staff confirmed that around 2 PM, the boss's daughter came by and they had afternoon tea together. At 2:40 PM, Yu Can saw her off, and returned at 3:25 PM.

The travel time from the home furnishing mall to the subway station with direct access to the airport is about 20 minutes.

From this, it can be deduced that the time of death was between 4 PM and 6 PM.

After 7 PM, Yu Can received a note from an unknown person, telling her to mind her own business.

The person was already dead, yet they were putting up a show of force... Could it be that the killer thought the body wouldn't be discovered for a while, thus buying some time?

What use would that be?

*

Twelve hours after the body was discovered, Jian Jing arrived at the crime scene.

Her first words upon seeing Ji Feng were a firm rebuttal: "This doesn't make sense. What does Yu Can's daughter know? Why come to kill me, but kill a girl unrelated to the case instead?"

Ji Feng had been running around for half a month, not eating or sleeping well. He had been busy all night yesterday, and his eyeballs were full of red blood vessels, looking terrifying.

But he still patiently comforted Jian Jing: "It's not your fault."

Jian Jing said stiffly: "I didn't say it was."

"I'm not just comforting you, you're right, there's no reason to go after Cai Xin," Ji Feng said. "Killing Yu Can would make sense, but what's the point of killing her daughter? Intimidation? When the letter was sent, the person was already dead."

Jian Jing said: "Either Cai Xin knew something she shouldn't have, or it's a provocation."

Let's not talk about the former for now, but the provocation... it's actually not quite right.

Her successful provocation of Wang Shineng stemmed from his special feelings for her, and the two had an intricate emotional game.

But the message posted online was quite ordinary. Upon seeing it, a timid person might disappear without a trace, while a bold one might just kill her outright.

Why Cai Xin?

What significance does her death hold?

Jian Jing stared at the cordoned-off scene, where there were still scorch marks on the ground. The position of the female corpse was outlined in white, giving off an inexplicably eerie feeling.

"Can we confirm now that the killer is the same person?" she asked.

Ji Feng nodded: "Some details are not convenient to leave in the files, but the method of burning the corpse is exactly the same."

While both involved post-mortem burning, different people would do it in different ways, including the placement and treatment of the body. In these cases, the bodies were all fully clothed, laid flat on the ground, with oil poured in a circle around them, carefully avoiding the body itself, and no other accelerants nearby.

The ignition device was unknown, but it wasn't matches or cigarettes, as no traces were left.

These details were never made public, making it impossible for a copycat to replicate so precisely.

Jian Jing tilted her head and said: "Then, this case must serve a purpose, just like many years ago when he suddenly killed Li Xiaonuan. It's just that we haven't found the motive yet... no, perhaps the motive is..."

She looked up, meeting his eyes: "An alibi?"