Chapter 142: K’s Battle of Wits with Thin Air—Digging into Rose’s Real Identity

With those words spoken, everyone present once again slightly raised the probability in their minds that Lan Yujun was, in fact, Rose.

Because—Lan Yujun wasn’t bad-looking. Just as the deceased’s boyfriend had said, in another department, she might even have been noticed and chosen as the campus beauty.

But due to the deceased’s presence, no matter whether it was classmates from the same department or passersby on the street, they would never notice Lan Yujun.

They only saw the more outstanding, more beautiful, more lively Xiaorui.

On the surface, Lan Yujun might’ve seemed indifferent, but deep inside, she had probably already built up immense resentment toward the deceased.

Otherwise—why, after committing the murder,

would she have gone so far as to cruelly skin the deceased’s face?

That was clearly an act of revenge, driven by jealousy.

…

After listening to the deceased’s boyfriend, Gao Chao nodded thoughtfully, then continued asking:

“Mr. Wen, do you have any more information or intel about Lan Yujun?”

“Oh, right—you also mentioned earlier that Lan Yujun had already immigrated to the U.S. What exactly is the situation with that?”

At this point, the deceased’s boyfriend also clearly realized that, in the police’s current line of investigation, Lan Yujun was very likely the one who had killed his beloved.

Thinking of the horrific state of his partner’s body,

he did his best to recall the details of that time and answered seriously:

“Yes, Chief Gao. I still remember very clearly—after Xiaorui and I had our wedding, Lan Yujun specifically told us she had gotten a student visa for the U.S. and would be going to study abroad in a month.”

“She even said that if everything went smoothly, she might never come back, and suggested we honeymoon in the U.S. so we could hang out with her.”

“A month later, we saw her post on social media, showing her boarding the flight and landing safely.”

“After Xiaorui’s incident, she even sent me a message of condolence, saying she couldn’t return from the U.S. to attend the memorial.”

“To this day, she still posts new photos every few months or so.”

“Sometimes the location is New York,

sometimes it’s Florida, and even once she posted about watching wildlife migration on the African savannah.”

“But as far as I can remember, she really never came back to the country.”

Once those words were finished, Gao Chao gave a small nod, then replied expressionlessly:

“Lan Yujun’s identity may not have returned to the country—but that doesn’t mean she herself isn’t here.”

“Mr. Wen, please send me screenshots of Lan Yujun’s social media posts and information.”

“But be careful—not a single like or comment.

Not even an accidental slip of the finger.”

“And more importantly…”

“Pretend this call never happened. Absolutely do not contact or try to question Lan Yujun, so we don’t alert her and jeopardize our investigation.”

“Remember this, Mr. Wen—we’ve made a major breakthrough in the case. I suspect it won’t be long before we catch the real killer.”

“So you must stay calm. Trust the police, and trust my determination to find the mastermind behind all of this. I promise, I won’t fall short of your own.”

By the end of his words, Gao Chao’s tone had become firmer than ever, his fist clenched tightly.

Indeed—as a detective even more pure-hearted than Lin Tian, Gao Chao didn’t speak much, but he had a deep hatred for evil and had long since devoted his entire life to criminal investigation.

The case involving the Rose Flower Shop—

was the first unresolved case he faced after becoming the head of the Yuhua Criminal Division.

They hadn’t even found a breakthrough. All these years, there had been no progress. Every time the victim’s family called to ask, he could only say: “Sorry.”

And now, this case appeared to be connected to a massive drug trafficking organization as well.

This only made Gao Chao, who hated evil to the core, even more determined to crack the case and uncover the hidden killer.

And now…after uncovering Rose’s real identity, the truth seemed closer than ever.

On the other end of the phone, the deceased’s boyfriend fell silent for a few seconds, then responded in a hoarse voice, trying to suppress his emotions:

“Don’t worry, Chief Gao.”

“It’s been five years—five whole years I’ve waited.”

“A few more days won’t make a difference.

I’ll wait quietly for your result, for the day the person who killed Xiaorui is executed.”

“That’s all for now, Chief Gao.”

“I’ll go through Lan Yujun’s social feed and send you all the pictures and information I can find.

I hope it’ll be of some help to you.”

With that, the deceased’s boyfriend hung up the call.

But in the final second before the call ended,

everyone present could hear a heavy sob—a sorrowful cry finally escaping from the man’s long-held grief.

…

Gao Chao put away his phone, then opened the latest intelligence on Lan Yujun sent from the Yuhua Criminal Division’s tech team.

After a quick glance, he projected it onto the whiteboard screen and spoke calmly:

“This is the latest intel from the tech team.”

“And it matches what Mr. Wen said—officially, since Lan Yujun went to the U.S. five years ago, there’s been no record of her reentering the country.”

“But like I said before—”

“Her official identity being in the U.S. doesn’t mean she’s truly there. Especially when there’s a high chance she’s Rose—the one skilled at making human-skin masks.”

“Therefore, I believe…”

“The focus of the case should now shift to identifying Lan Yujun’s new identity—because right now, there’s still a very high chance she’s hiding somewhere within Liangxi City.”

Standing beside him, Lin Tian sniffed the stained index finger of his left hand and said with full certainty:

“Chief Gao.”

“It’s not just a high chance. She’s definitely still in Liangxi City.”

“When we went to Gusu City earlier, we drew all the attention of the drug cartel members there.”

“That means—”

“To them, things still appear ‘safe.’ At least, the most dangerous component—the drug Rose seems under surveillance.”

“If they think it’s temporarily safe, they’d have no reason to leave the city.”

“Especially at a time like this—if they tried to run and made a wrong move, they’d only draw more attention and become police targets.”

“Also, based on current analysis, Rose isn’t exactly criminally brilliant. She needed that cartel leader’s help just to pass their entrance test.”

“So under these circumstances, she definitely wouldn’t risk acting rashly. Staying hidden underwater is her best and safest choice.”

“And our biggest advantage right now is…”

At this point, Lin Tian narrowed his eyes slightly and pointed to the camera in the meeting room, hinting:

“With Xiao Ming’s setup, that peeping cartel leader is now entirely focused on the poison in Gusu City.”

“As for Rose—Lan Yujun—she has no idea she’s already become our target.”

“That drug lord never expected that he is now engaged in a battle of wits with the air. Every time he focuses more on the poison, the possibility of the rose increases by one…”

“Being completely uncovered by us!”