"You've recalled and recounted everything that happened. Now I've drawn a sketch of the suspect!" I said, handing a sketch to Yu Zimo. Upon seeing the person on it, he immediately exclaimed, "That's right! It's him. Officer He, your sketching skills are truly amazing. You could be an art teacher instead of a police officer!"
Hearing Yu Zimo say this, Liu Yuning couldn't help but chuckle, "If he weren't a police officer, it would be a great waste. Our provincial department's case-solving rate would also significantly decrease."
"So, it seems I've provided you with a very important clue this time. Are there any rewards?" Yu Zimo didn't forget to ask for a reward. I explained, "Cooperating with the police is a citizen's duty!"
"Uh, so there are no rewards. Oh well, it's nothing to me, just saying a few words. Alright, I need to rest. If you're fine, please leave!"
I initially thought Yu Zimo was a chatterbox, but I didn't expect him to be impatient. It was probably because there were no rewards.
We got what we wanted, and there was no need to continue talking with him. We immediately returned to the provincial department. With He Xin's help, we used facial recognition, and the result was astonishing.
When the image of the burly man appeared, it turned out to be the popular celebrity Wu Jing!
I was almost dumbfounded. When I looked at the sketch earlier, I felt a bit puzzled. Why did it seem vaguely familiar? Theoretically, I should have recognized such a famous celebrity at a glance, but I was just emotional at the time. But how could it be him?
Upon seeing the information, Liu Yuning gave a wry smile, "It seems Yu Zimo played us. This guy even wanted a reward. How shameless."
"Not necessarily. Perhaps he was too nervous at the time and unintentionally had a memory distortion, mistaking him for Wu Jing!" He Qing said.
I looked at He Qing, "Is such a situation possible?"
"Of course. This falls under the category of memory contamination. It refers to a situation where, at the moment of encountering a special circumstance, the brain, stimulated, selectively confuses certain scenes. Yu Zimo must have recently watched a movie starring Wu Jing. In a certain aspect, he thought they looked alike, which is why he believed the perpetrator's appearance resembled him. Of course, this doesn't mean that celebrity is the murderer; it's just a result of memory contamination."
"That's not right. Could it be that the murderer had plastic surgery to look like someone else?" He Xin suddenly proposed a new idea.
I had also thought of this, but what would be the point of doing so? If it were to replace their identity, shouldn't they have had surgery to look like someone ordinary? Choosing a celebrity would easily lead to them being recognized, rendering it useless.
If he naturally looked like that, it would also be far-fetched. Therefore, I felt He Qing's explanation was the most likely.
But regardless, we had to go find Yu Zimo again.
Only he could give us a reasonable answer.
During our third visit, Yu Zimo thought it was someone else. When he was surprised to see us, he immediately showed an unwelcoming expression, "What's going on? How long has it been since you left, and you're already back?"
I didn't explain much and directly held up the sketch, "Don't you know who this person is? Are you playing us?"
"This, hmm? Now it looks like someone... who is it..."
He Qing immediately said the person's name, and Yu Zimo exclaimed excitedly, "Yes, that's right, it's him! But how did you find him?"
"You're still saying that! This is the burly man you described earlier. Even if you can't remember clearly, don't just casually use a celebrity's likeness to fool us!" Liu Yuning said angrily.
"I really didn't. I remember the person I saw looked exactly like this. If I'm lying, may lightning strike me!"
Liu Yuning was about to curse him, but I pulled her back, "I can tell you're not lying. Are you very confident in your memory?"
"Of course, what's wrong? Are you trying to test me?"
"That's right, let's have a test!" This was something He Qing and I had discussed earlier. Yu Zimo didn't hesitate, thinking it was feasible, and immediately said, "Alright! I'll let you know later how foolish it is to doubt me!"
This guy was quite confident. If the criminal truly looked like that celebrity, I would be speechless.
He Qing quickly took out several cards imprinted with various patterns. These cards had different colors, and most of the patterns were animals. Some seemed to be plants or people. He Qing rapidly flashed them in front of Yu Zimo. When he held up the first card, he asked, "What is this?"
"A cheetah! It's that simple, who doesn't know?" Yu Zimo said dismissively.
"And this!?" He Qing picked up another card.
"It's a falcon!"
...
After showing Yu Zimo over a dozen cards, He Qing suddenly asked, "Do you remember the animal on the first card?"
Yu Zimo blurted out without hesitation, "Wolfdog!"
Liu Yuning and I immediately laughed. He Qing showed him the first card and said, "Why did you think it was a wolfdog? This is clearly a cheetah!"
"Ah, how could this be..." Yu Zimo looked fearfully at the animal on the card, scratching his head. Then, he said stubbornly, "No, I wasn't in the right state just now. Try again!"
He Qing cooperated and began testing Yu Zimo again. However, after several more attempts, the result was the same. Yu Zimo often misremembered, and not a single answer was correct.
Looking at Yu Zimo's embarrassed expression, I couldn't help but give a wry smile, "Your so-called memory is nothing more than this, Mr. Yu. Do you realize it now? Therefore, I seriously suspect that the scene you saw earlier was all fabricated. If we hadn't actually found the body, I could have charged you with making a false report!"
"Uh, no! I admit the burly man's appearance was strange, but I really saw him. How about I think about it again when I have time?"
"Whatever!"
After this test, we had lost all confidence in Yu Zimo. No matter what he said from now on, we wouldn't believe him.
After bidding him farewell and leaving, Liu Yuning said sadly, "I didn't expect us to waste all our time on this guy. What do we do now? How do we investigate? It seems we've hit a dead end!"