Chapter 291: A World Without Me

Chen Mo paid no mind to the commendations from his superiors. He had only one goal: to get into the criminal investigation team.

Only there would he have the authority and the resources to take on the cold case that was, in his mind, the only one that truly mattered—the Su Yuqing case.

His competence was undeniable, his efficiency astonishingly high, but the way he threw himself into his work, as if burning away his very life, made the veteran officers shake their heads and sigh in private.

Finally... A year later, Chen Mo got his wish and joined the criminal investigation team.

After successfully joining the team, he continued the relentless work ethic he’d shown at the police precinct, quickly racking up more commendations.

Through his grueling efforts, he finally obtained permission to review all the case files for the Su Yuqing case.

He immediately requested all the case files for the Su Yuqing case.

That thick stack of papers, stained with the dust of ages, became his new prison.

Every day, he would find an undisturbed corner and bury himself in the photocopied files of the Su Yuqing case.

Crime scene photos (the chilling alleyway on that rainy night, her pale face), the medical examiner’s report (a detailed description of the fatal wound to her neck), witness transcripts (vague, fragmented statements), the evidence manifest (the remains of her clothing), the expert analysis reports... He pored over every word, every image, trying to wring out a single, overlooked clue.

His light often burned until dawn, the ashtray piled high with cigarette butts, his coffee long since cold.

He was like a tireless machine: input "case files," output "questions" and "frustration."

He returned countless times to the alley in the old district, the one that had changed everything.

Day or night, rain or shine.

He paced out every inch of the ground, trying to reconstruct the events of that stormy night in his mind.

Holding the crime scene diagram from the case file, he checked every possible line of sight, tirelessly questioning the old-timers who still lived nearby, even when their answers were identical to the statements recorded years ago.

His persistence made him a familiar face to the residents of the area, who looked at him with a mixture of sympathy and confusion.

Regardless of what others thought, he continued to pour his energy into the investigation with the same frantic intensity.

He threw himself into the fieldwork, forgoing food and sleep for the sake of the case.

He did everything he could to run down every possible lead.

However, the most difficult cases to solve are often the ones like this—where the murder weapon was brought by the victim, the killing was a product of pure chance, and bad weather happened to wash away every available clue.

When investigated using standard procedure and logic, cases like this only lead to dead ends and confusion, with inconsistencies popping up at every turn.

Chen Mo had questioned nearly everyone in the old district and collated every single clue.

But in the end, he couldn’t uncover a single logical thread.

The prevailing theory, based on the initial investigation by experts from the provincial department, was that it was a random murder resulting from a chance encounter. The killer was likely a transient who left the city that same night. Combined with the torrential rain that washed away evidence and obscured security cameras, the case was deemed impossible to solve...

This wasn’t a conclusion they’d reached lightly; they had provided ample justification.

According to their investigation:

The time (late at night), location (a remote alley at the edge of a derelict old district), and conditions (a night of torrential rain) all pointed to it being a high-risk area that any normal person—be they a local resident or a potential victim—would rarely venture into.

The victim, Su Yuqing, being there at that specific time and place was, in itself, highly coincidental. (The experts theorized it might have been related to her mental state or a specific purpose at the time, but this could not be confirmed.)

All local individuals with prior convictions, a similar M.O., or a potential motive had been ruled out after an extremely thorough investigation (which included the follow-up interviews Chen Mo later conducted).

The victim had a very simple social life, and investigators found no evidence of any grudges or enemies that could have led to a premeditated murder.

The most compelling evidence came from the criminal psychological profile: a local perpetrator would typically have made some effort to move or hide the body. The killer in this case, however, left the body exposed, suggesting they were unfamiliar with the area and unconcerned about the body being discovered quickly.

After all, a local killer would have done everything possible to cover their tracks, knowing the investigation would otherwise lead straight to them.

Furthermore, in the extended period before and after the incident, no other unsolved cases with a similar M.O., victim profile, or weapon were reported in the city or its surrounding areas. This served as further evidence that the killer was not a long-term resident.

After consolidating all the clues and deductions, they naturally arrived at the conclusion that a transient criminal was the most likely perpetrator.

But intuitively, Chen Mo felt that wasn’t the whole story.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to Su Yuqing’s death.

He persisted, pursuing the truth with a near-maniacal obsession.

This nearly masochistic investigation continued for months, then years.

Chen Mo wasted away at a visible rate. His eye sockets grew deep and hollow, his cheekbones jutted out, and the already severe lines of his face grew even sharper.

Sleep became a luxury. He would often pass out from sheer exhaustion, either in his office chair or slumped over the case files.

Food became mere fuel to keep his body functioning.

He grew more silent, wrapped in a bone-deep weariness and an unshakable gloom.

He had transformed himself into an avatar of obsession, existing solely for the "Su Yuqing case"—a prisoner walking in broad daylight.

Watching Chen Mo sink into the nightmare of the case, unable to pull himself free...

Su Yuqing was by his side, watching him trudge alone down this endless, dark path.

His pain, his struggle, his self-torture—it was all like a thousand cuts to her own heart.

Su Yuqing desperately wished she could just tell him the truth of the case.

But there was nothing she could do.

’Chen Mo... enough... It’s really enough...’ she screamed silently into the void, her tears long since dried, leaving behind only an endless, aching helplessness. ’This isn’t your fault... You haven’t wronged anyone... On that rainy night, you already made the best choice a high school kid could have possibly come up with...’

Whether or not Chen Mo had agreed to take her in after opening that door...

...to her, Chen Mo had already done everything he should have.

Even if he hadn’t taken her in, he had offered to walk her home. That was already the best possible outcome.

And yet, he was still so hard on himself, blaming her death on his refusal to let her stay. It made Su Yuqing feel terribly guilty.

From the moment she had sought him out, she had inexplicably burdened him with a responsibility he should never have had to bear.

Even if the ’her’ in the story who met with disaster wasn’t the same ’her’ observing now.

But the Su Yuqing in reality had also gone to Chen Mo in her most desperate hour, without ever considering the pressure and responsibility her appearance would place upon him.