Chapter 503: Chapter 22 The Earring Case (Part 3)
The gang members of the Wing of Death appeared confused, and Budman was completely baffled. Kardesia spoke on behalf of everyone.
“Ah, what?” the top-hatted girl shook her head, “So how come you found out? And who’s the murderer?”
Gongsun Ce didn’t rush to reply. He pulled out his cell phone and glanced at it. Big brother had indeed sent the file over.
Now Gongsun Ce had guessed part of the murderer’s motive. He quietly put away his phone, turned, and looked sympathetically at his friend. “Don’t be like that, Kardesia, otherwise I’d have to bestow the title meant for Budman on you.”
Kardesia responded with a Blast Fireball, which the gray-haired boy ducked with a lowered head. He raised his hand and said, “Alright! To help Miss Kardesia, whose understanding is a little weak, let’s review the entire incident’s sequence of events once again.”
“7:30, Kova’s group left the restaurant and encountered Budman Avis. Half an hour later, the group was wandering around the commercial street. After 8:10, they met the young lady. The battle lasted about ten minutes. The startled Kova ran away, and the young lady began to chase; it was almost half-past eight by then.”
“Around 8:50, I met the young lady at the crime scene. I witnessed the scattered remains of the three missing persons and picked up Kova’s earring. The emotions involved in the earring were worry, astonishment, and disbelief. From this not-so-generous timetable, we can understand two facts,” Gongsun Ce narrated. “First, Kova’s shock before his death came from witnessing the crime scene; second, the young lady is innocent.”
“Has your head been filled with maggots?” Budman cursed, “Isn’t this just the same as what I said?”
“I think not, because you did not explain a very important emotion: worry.”
Gongsun Ce walked a few steps to the side and began to jog in place.
“I think everyone has had the experience of being chased and killed? It can’t just be me who has been chased, right?” Gongsun Ce said as he ran, “Escaping is an art. Huang Qi, would you mind sharing with everyone how you escape?”
Huang Qi muttered to himself and reluctantly said, “…Pick a direction and run like hell, never looking back.”
Gongsun Ce snapped his fingers, “Never looking back! This is very important. Many times you can’t escape simply because you look back too much and just slow yourself down. But the newcomers don’t think that way; they have a different idea when they run for their lives.”
Gongsun Ce took two steps and then exaggeratedly looked back over his shoulder.
Kardesia felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing this scene, commonly seen in battle. She immediately understood her friend’s point, “They often look back!”
“You’re right, they’re too afraid of getting hurt. So they always run a bit and then look back to check the situation. In Kova’s case, this was like a groundhog using the Earth Tunneling Skill, popping up from the ground now and then to look around. Unfortunately, this made it convenient for the tracker. And that’s how the young lady followed the clues, right?”
Qin Qianbai nodded vigorously.
Gongsun Ce smiled, “Now, do you understand why I said the young lady is innocent?”
Kardesia suddenly realized, “That unlucky guy could always see Qin Qianbai every time he looked back, so he was constantly worried, knowing he hadn’t escaped!”
“Exactly right! Kova’s worry persisted until the moment of his death. I think everyone can understand, the young lady couldn’t be climbing over roofs and walls chasing someone with the Earth Tunneling Skill and at the same time manage to kill your three comrades. Her superpower isn’t Doppelgänger!”
Come to think of it, does this city really have a Superpower User with a Doppelgänger ability? That power used in a murder case would be really troublesome.
Huang Qi listened and kept shaking his head, saying, “Makes sense… So who’s the real killer?”
“That’s a *&%￥ worth of sense!” Budman slapped the back of Huang Qi’s blond head, “It’s all his own words, no evidence at all! The clown says this is just trying to get this woman off the hook!”
“It’s too early to speak so certainly. The evidence to lock down the real killer, haven’t I already brought it out?” Gongsun Ce shook his finger, “Come on, let’s summarize the real killer’s abilities! This culprit is a tough cookie; he’s valiant and strong, able to kill three good hands in a short timeframe, and quickly finish off Kova who burst onto the scene; he also has some schemes, capable of leading all three into the alley before taking action; lastly, he has extremely agile action capabilities, able to leave the scene without anyone noticing!
It goes without saying, Huang Qi’s suspicion is cleared. He doesn’t meet these requirements, and not one of the eight-person squad that day had this ability! And hearing these descriptions, who do you think of?”
Everyone looked at Gongsun Ce with an exceedingly strange gaze.
“Of course, I’m also a suspect but there are more than one who fit. And most importantly, he had to have witnessed the scene himself — including the appearance of every person after their death! No problem there, right?”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Budman could no longer endure.
“I’ve already finished speaking! Have none of you realized this obvious fact?” Gongsun Ce exclaimed, “Excuse me, please pass me that earring… thank you… I noticed when I handed this thing out just now, Huang Qi didn’t recognize it. Wasn’t this the thing you guys just bought last night?”
Huang Qi spoke hesitantly, “Because…”
“Don’t rush, let me help you answer.” Gongsun Ce casually waved the earring, “Because… this poor little thing… has slightly changed its shape.”
Gongsun Ce held the crescent-shaped earring, which was quite severely distorted, as if it had been smashed by something.