Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 315 - 299: A Good Story Made Out of Nothing

Chapter 315: Chapter 299: A Good Story Made Out of Nothing

Feng Mu was not actually adept at solving cases; his limited knowledge about detective work came entirely from having watched 3,000 episodes of "Detective Conan" in his previous life.

When it came to actually applying this knowledge to investigations, it was still far from enough and too abstract, making it hard to implement in real life.

But this did not discourage Feng Mu, because in his understanding, investigating a case and solving one were entirely different concepts.

Investigating requires meticulous logical reasoning and an interconnected chain of evidence to restore the whole truth of a case, whereas solving a case needs just... a good story?!!

A story is made up of the trifecta of time, place, and character.

In other words, during the process of solving a case, Feng Mu could directly utilize and incorporate verified elements into the story. These real elements could lend authenticity to the narrative.

As for those missing or unverifiable elements, a little imagination was needed to conjure them from nothing, allowing the story to be complete.

And a story that is both real and complete, doesn’t that equate to... the truth?

This was not some unrealistic idea about solving cases that Feng Mu had come up with on a whim, nor a creation he devised by patting his head. In reality, this philosophy originated from a piece of movie content that Ma Bin had recently shown him.

The detective in the movie was renowned for his status as a sleuth with a 100% case-solving rate, and when it comes to solving cases, there’s nothing wrong with learning from a master detective!

With a complete case-solving train of thought already in his mind, Feng Mu even began to practice quick responses, quietly mapping out a sketch of the suspect in his head.

Oh no, wait, the case hasn’t been solved yet, it shouldn’t be called that—let’s call it a suspect profile sketch.

Emulating the thinking pattern of the master detective, Feng Mu looked at the suspicious face pointed out by Liu Yi in the surveillance footage.

Clearly, this face did not match the suspect profile sketches he had in his mind.

Feng Mu gently furrowed his brow, then relaxed it again, thinking to himself:

"That’s the way it should be; in most case-solving stories, the culprit doesn’t appear on the surface right away, but after some twists and turns, the clues eventually circle back to the real perpetrator."

The video showed a middle-aged man in an ordinary prison guard uniform, around forty years old, carrying a wooden bucket and walking out from the dark dungeons.

Feng Mu asked, "What seems to be the problem?"

Liu Yi lightly clicked the mouse, dragging the progress bar back and forth, and explained:

"It’s too fast. The time he spent going in and out of the dungeon was too short, barely half a minute in total, not enough to finish feeding the prisoners inside."

Even though the prisoners’ diet mostly consisted of thick liquid foods, and guards typically fed death row inmates roughly, half a minute still seemed too rushed.

After all, at least three prisoners were held in each dungeon on death row.

On average, feeding one prisoner in 10 seconds was nearly impossible. However, in the same 10 seconds, helping a prisoner take medicine would be more than enough.

What kind of medicine, you ask?

Those who don’t remember can ask Captain Tian Tao, who’s lying in the morgue; he could answer that for you.

The video continued to play, showing the prison guard busily entering and leaving various dungeons at a pace of every half a minute, appearing very diligent and efficient.

Liu Yi remarked suspiciously, "If he was feeding them, with the number of dungeons he went in and out of, his bucket should have been empty by now."

Feng Mu squinted his eyes slightly and suddenly asked, "Is he dead?"

Liu Yi was taken aback, "Huh?"

Feng Mu: "I mean, during the death row riot, was this prison guard also involved?"

Liu Yi swiftly tapped on the keyboard, quickly pulling up surveillance footage from each entrance and exit of the death row section prior to the riot. Images fast-forwarded on the computer screen until one clear image froze.

At the exit of the death row section, the guard was now in civilian clothing, standing in front of the iris scanner, awaiting identity verification.

Moments later, he passed the verification smoothly and exited the death row’s gates, then three minutes later, walked out of the prison entrance.

The time stamped on the frozen image showed 08:44 this morning, more than 7 hours before the riot of the death-row inmates.

Liu Yi quickly accessed the record from the iris verification system and retrieved the guard’s identity information.

Looking at Feng Mu, his eyes lit up as he loudly announced, "Got it, it’s indeed a guard from the death row section, named Gong Lao, 41 years old, on duty last night, just finished his shift and left this morning."

Feng Mu’s expression remained calm as usual, but inside, he was secretly chuckling coldly:

"The investigation went too smoothly, as if it were deliberately set up for me. Gong Lao could have been more discreet, yet he chose to expose himself so obviously under surveillance. Is it a trap to lure me in, or a scapegoat being thrown out?"

Feng Mu contemplated for a moment and decided to take the bait, saying, "Check Gong Lao’s address."

Typically, false clues lead to false results, but Feng Mu didn’t mind, because he was determined to correct all errors back to the right path.

Liu Yi quickly found Gong Lao’s home address.

Feng Mu said, "Get ready, we’ll head out right now. You go start the car, and I’ll go report to the warden."

After issuing the instructions, Feng Mu left the office and went back to report the progress to Qian Huan.

The warden was under immense pressure now, and as his most loyal subordinate, it was essential for Feng Mu to share in his burden. Regularly reporting on the progress of the investigation was not only fulfilling his duty but also a cost-free display of loyalty.

Feng Mu paid attention to every detail, and in the workplace, these seemingly insignificant details could subtly enhance a leader’s evaluation of you.

Sometimes, these seemingly useless details are even more important than the results you eventually achieve.

Qian Huan was very satisfied with Feng Mu’s report. Such rapid, key progress slightly eased some of the pressure on him.

Feng Mu clearly understood the pressure Qian Huan was under. Honestly, if he couldn’t solve the case quickly and help Qian Huan to wash off the blame, Qian Huan might not be able to hold the position of warden for much longer.

While at it, Feng Mu mentioned some difficulties in the investigation and made a few requests, which Qian Huan readily agreed to.

Armed with the "Imperial Sword" granted to him by Qian Huan, Feng Mu quickly summoned some manpower from several sections to assist him. The manpower was limited, given the current tight staffing in the prison, but each person had their own value.

Feng Mu’s criteria for selecting people were unlike others’. He didn’t pick those with good performance, good relations, or good records. Instead, he picked those who were on the brink of elimination under the [Bottom Elimination System] across various sections.

Simply put, they were all potential "Wang Congs," and now these "Wang Congress" were all gathered by Feng Mu.

Except for the fifth brother, Gong Qi, who volunteered enthusiastically to join in...