Chapter 153: Who Is the Real Culprit?

"I told you, don’t struggle. It’ll hurt less this way." Chen Mo applied a little more force, lifting Li Tie’s arm until beads of cold sweat popped out on his forehead.

"I... I’m not struggling!" Li Tie cried, feeling utterly wronged.

After all, he hadn’t moved an inch.

"Struggling with your words is still struggling. Now, you’re going to answer what I ask. If you refuse to answer..."

"AHHH, stop, stop! I’ll answer whatever you ask, okay? My arm is really about to break!" Li Tie howled in pain.

"Then start talking. Tell me about last Friday night." Chen Mo loosened his grip slightly, giving Li Tie a chance to catch his breath.

But the moment he finished speaking, he started applying pressure again. Li Tie, terrified by the treatment, quickly cried out, "What time last Friday night!"

"Start from six o’clock!"

"From six o’clock on, I was eating and drinking with my employees at the warehouse. We kept at it until nine at night, and then we all slept at the warehouse!" Li Tie said quickly.

"You dare lie to me!" Chen Mo suddenly applied pressure again, and Li Tie immediately started shrieking in pain once more.

"I’m not! Stop twisting, it’s really going to break! I’m not lying to you!!! If you don’t believe me, you can go ask my employees! They can all vouch for me! I have security cameras in my warehouse, they can prove it too! Please, stop bending it, AHHHYAAA..." Feeling the agony of his arm being nearly torn off, Li Tie’s pained screams were turning into sobs.

Seeing Li Tie still being so stubborn even in this state, Chen Mo’s movements came to a halt.

’In this timeline, Li Tie hasn’t committed the crime, so it doesn’t really matter whether he tells the truth about what he did last Friday night or not.’

’Even if he had been following Su Yuqing, given who he is, he could just say he was concerned for his niece’s safety and was trailing her.’

’He could easily talk his way out of it. There’s no need to lie.’

’And there’s certainly no need to endure this pain just to stick to a lie.’

’His arm is about to be twisted off, yet he’s still insisting he isn’t lying.’

’He’s most likely telling the truth.’

’After all, with no reason or need to lie, why would he endure such agonizing pain just to stick to a fabrication?’

’But if Li Tie is telling the truth, then things aren’t adding up.’

’This would mean that the new lead and the suspect I worked so hard to lock down have just been completely shattered.’

’Everything is falling apart. All the information I’ve gathered is now useless, sending me right back to square one.’

’Su Yuqing was attacked on Friday night. The culprit either stalked her in advance or spotted her and started following her midway.’

’Otherwise, it’s impossible that they could have avoided all the cameras along the route, only to strike in a blind spot.’

’That part is extremely strange.’

’Second, the fact that the attacker was carrying a fruit knife on a rainy night is just as strange.’

’If it were Li Tie, all of these issues would be easily explained.’

’All it takes is for the culprit to be Li Tie.’

At this moment, Chen Mo’s heart was filled with despair. He was becoming so obsessed that he wanted to force himself to believe the culprit was Li Tie.

’That way, I can be free, and the potential danger to Su Yuqing will be eliminated.’

’From then on, I could live a truly wonderful and carefree life by Yuqing’s side.’

But reality wouldn’t allow it.

As long as Li Tie didn’t have the opportunity to act on Friday night, pinning him as the murderer was just deceiving himself.

’Why? Why! Why isn’t he the real killer!’ At that moment, Chen Mo felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

’I was just starting to feel like I was finally seeing things clearly, like I had finally locked onto the perfect culprit.’

’Why? Why, when I’ve reached the final step, has it all suddenly fallen apart?’

He refused to believe Li Tie’s words. He would rather believe that Li Tie was stubbornly refusing to confess.

He decided he still had to go to Li Tie’s warehouse to question his employees and check the security footage to see if, last Friday night, Li Tie had been eating and drinking with his employees before going straight to sleep, just as he claimed.

Based on Li Tie’s state, Chen Mo was almost certain that Li Tie couldn’t be the attacker. But while his reason told him the answer, his emotions had overwhelmed him, and he completely refused to believe it.

’But at least, eliminating a potentially dangerous person like Li Tie ahead of time isn’t a bad thing.’

’Otherwise, there’s no telling what he might have done in the future.’

’In the previous timeline, Su Yuqing just happened to have her incident early. Otherwise, with a personality as extreme and crazed as Li Tie’s, he definitely would have made a move on Su Yuqing that day after being unable to suppress his emotions.’

So, Chen Mo capturing Li Tie wasn’t a complete waste of effort. Eliminating a potential threat was genuinely valuable.

Before long, the shrill sound of police sirens grew closer, and the flashing red and blue lights of a patrol car flickered outside the door.

Hearing the sound, Chen Mo immediately opened the door.

Outside stood four uniformed police officers who had just gotten out of their car, each with a serious expression.

After all, a knife-wielding home invasion was a major, malicious incident that seriously threatened public safety!

When they saw Li Tie pinned to the ground by Chen Mo, his face nearly pressed to the floor and contorted in pain, one of the younger officers subconsciously put his hand on his police-issue weapon and shouted sternly, "What’s going on?! What are you doing? Let him go!"

He clearly mistook Chen Mo for the attacker.

"Officers, I’m Chen Mo, the resident of this house! The one on the ground is the person who broke in and attacked me!" Chen Mo immediately responded in a loud voice, slightly relaxing his hold on Li Tie but still keeping him pinned to prevent a sudden outburst. "He had a knife! I disarmed him and threw it over there!"

He gestured with his chin in the direction where the fruit knife had fallen.

The two officers in the front quickly exchanged a glance, remaining on high alert.

The older officer stepped forward, his hand still on his weapon, his sharp gaze sweeping over Chen Mo and Li Tie. "You say you’re the resident? Let me see your ID! And you, on the floor, don’t move!"

Chen Mo quickly took out his ID card and handed it over.

When he called the police earlier, he knew they would need to confirm his identity, so he had already given them his information.

The older officer took it and checked it carefully. He then glanced warily at the room’s furnishings and Chen Mo’s pale but calm face, which served as a preliminary confirmation of his identity.

"Alright, Chen Mo, is it? Now, tell us exactly what happened." The older officer’s tone softened slightly but remained serious. He motioned for his colleagues to restrain the wailing Li Tie, and one of them quickly picked up the fruit knife from the floor, placing it in an evidence bag.

At the same time, he shot a surprised glance at the sturdily built Li Tie, then immediately looked back at Chen Mo.

’A high school student, one who looks sick, actually managed to subdue an armed assailant?’ His face was a mask of disbelief.