Chapter 185: Su Ming’s Bold Inference – Could K Have Never Appeared?

5:00 AM.

Seven hours had passed since the suicide bombing execution of Rose.

After intensive treatment at Liangxi City First Hospital, both Gao Chao and Rose had escaped life-threatening danger.

However, compared to Gao Chao, who would need several months of recovery due to his fractures, Rose’s condition remained highly unstable. She had fallen from the car and hit her face and head.

First, the expensive, star-like appearance she had meticulously crafted was now completely ruined. The police would only assist in saving her life out of humanitarian and safety concerns.

But they wouldn’t spend large sums of money fixing her already damaged appearance.

Second, despite Gao Chao’s best efforts to protect her, the heavy blow to her head caused some brain hemorrhaging and a rather serious concussion.

Rose was currently in a coma, and the next five days were the most critical.

If she didn’t wake up within these five days, she could possibly remain in a permanent vegetative state.

The final result was uncertain and depended on the will of the heavens and Rose’s physical condition.

But this also proved how correct Su Ming’s earlier decision had been.

Rather than staying by Rose, who might never wake up, it was better to focus on fully pursuing the butcher who was on the run.

…

At this moment.

In the meeting room of the Xiangcheng Criminal Investigation Unit.

An Quan and Wang Hu were fully searching for possible locations where the butcher might be hiding.

Meanwhile, Su Ming, who was sitting nearby, was on the phone with Lin Tian, frowning slightly as he inquired.

“Director Lin.”

“Are you saying that the information extracted from Li Bin and Fang Yuwei confirms that…”

“Guangming Hospital is K’s property, specifically used to launder the illegal profits from drug trafficking, with Li Bin just being a mere figurehead?”

“But from Fang Yuwei, we obtained critical information, which is currently the only clue related to K.”

“Based on the timeline, K is probably close to sixty years old, likes wearing black clothes, and is rarely without a cigar.”

“Due to his extensive involvement in murder and crime, his eyes are extremely cold and terrifying, and his fingers are short and thick, not slender and long.”

“Actually, based on the clues provided by the Bomber’s Sister, I have a hunch of a different kind.”

“Director Lin, do you think it’s possible… that the person the Bomber and Fang Yuwei met wasn’t K, but another member of the organization?”

After Su Ming made this bold inference, Lin Tian, on the other end of the phone, was clearly stunned for a few seconds before immediately asking in confusion.

“Xiao Ming.”

“How did you come to the conclusion that the person the Bomber met wasn’t K?”

“If we follow your reasoning, doesn’t that mean that even the Bomber never saw K’s real face? Or perhaps most members of the organization have never seen him?”

Su Ming organized his thoughts and then squinted his eyes, analyzing seriously.

“This is my bold inference, and I can’t guarantee its accuracy, but there are some clues that allow us to make a rough judgment.”

“First, based on the timeline of the case, the exact time of joining the organization should be a month or two before the Bomber, earlier than Rose.”

“This suggests that K didn’t have Rose’s human-skin mask at the time and couldn’t hide his real face.”

“Now, considering K’s usual caution, even disregarding the Bomber, would he really be so bold as to show his true face to Li Bin and Fang Yuwei?”

“Such high-profile behavior seems inconsistent with the cautious attitude he has shown.”

“Moreover, at the beginning of the drug trafficking organization, they should have been more careful, worried that the organization, still in its infancy, would be wiped out by the police.”

“Aside from this feeling that something is strange, there are also some details described by Fang Yuwei that confuse me.”

“Specifically, K’s age. Is he really nearly sixty years old?”

“Earlier, through Rose’s phone, I also had a conversation with K. Although it ended poorly, and K intentionally used a voice changer…”

“Based on the hoarseness and vibration in the voice, K’s age is likely not close to sixty. I roughly estimate he is between twenty-five and thirty.”

“Also, from Fang Yuwei’s perspective, K is a person who likes to smoke cigars, even lighting one up in the hospital room.”

“But in that earlier call, K’s voice didn’t have any hint of a smoker’s voice, which further deepens my suspicion regarding the tone of his voice.”

At this point, Su Ming adjusted his thoughts again, frowning even more as he continued in confusion.

“Lastly, there’s the detail Fang Yuwei mentioned—K’s fingers are thick and round, which is somewhat unusual compared to ordinary people.”

“Fang Yuwei never mentioned anything about his physique, which suggests that the boss she saw at the time must have had a normal build, at least not fat.”

“This eliminates the possibility that his fingers became thick and short due to obesity.”

“Fang Yuwei’s focus on this detail suggests that either K naturally has such fingers, or they were shaped this way through long-term activity.”

“And we mustn’t forget one crucial point.”

“The reason why this drug trafficking organization is so difficult to uncover is that, aside from the high IQ of most of its members, the key is that K is constantly using various methods to spy on the progress of investigations.”

“Although we might have turned his surveillance against him in some ways, we must admit that if it weren’t for K’s excellent hacking skills, capturing this drug trafficking organization would be much easier.”

“So, given his outstanding hacker abilities, K must have gone through a long period of learning and training. I don’t think simply typing on a keyboard could turn someone’s fingers into short and thick ones.”

“Even excessive keyboard use should make fingers slender, not thick.”

“Therefore, let’s boldly reverse-engineer and consider what kind of profession would be more suited for short and thick fingers, or fingers that are less prone to injury and better suited for exertion.”

“Rock climbing? Basketball? Construction? Or… soldiers or mercenaries?”

“Additionally, Fang Yuwei specifically mentioned that she was afraid of the boss’s gaze, even mistakenly addressing him wrong.”

“Now, the city where K was hiding, Luzhou, hasn’t had any unsolved cases.”

“While this doesn’t necessarily indicate how many lives K has taken or how ruthless he is, I’m more inclined to think…”

“That the K the Bomber saw, the so-called head of the organization, wasn’t the real K, but was actually another organization member who joined earlier, impersonating him.”

“And this member of the organization is likely someone who has been to the battlefield, which explains the cold and terrifying gaze, and the thick fingers that were shaped by long-term training, making them more resistant to injury and better for exerting force.”

“Considering the timeline of the unsolved case, the only people who could have joined the organization earlier than the Bomber are the priest, the butcher, and the sculptor.”

“Combining with the high likelihood of having been to the battlefield, it seems there’s one possible candidate…”

At this moment.

Su Ming had already completely sorted out the clues and, narrowing his eyes, spoke slowly.

“Among all the members of this drug trafficking organization, there are probably very few who have actually seen K and know his true face.”

“So, the person the Bomber saw wasn’t K, but someone who joined earlier… the Priest!”