Chapter 109 - 108: If You Have Little Experience, Speak Less

Chapter 109: Chapter 108: If You Have Little Experience, Speak Less

Not long after leaving Huashan Hospital by car, Yu Zhiming asked Wei Hao a question that had been weighing on his mind.

"How did you know I have the ability to perceive things through sound?"

Wei Hao chuckled lightly. "Dr. Yu, you may not know this, but we in the Public Security system keep special markers and tracking records on certain people with special abilities."

"For example, martial artists, expert climbers, safecrackers, ventriloquists, those who can distinguish faint smells, as well as top experts or masters in various fields, and so on."

"The main purpose is to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances!"

"Dr. Yu, you understand. The cases we encounter are all sorts of strange and bizarre, and we always run into some that are beyond our capabilities and require outside help."

"Just like the investigation for this case."

Wei Hao offered the explanation, then switched topics. "Dr. Yu, back in your hometown, you helped us police confirm a suspect through your astonishing voice identification."

"You came onto our radar at that time."

"While supplementing our files, and considering your medical skills, we made an unexpected discovery. Your use of sound goes beyond simple identification."

"For instance, that time you called the police at the Youyou Grand Hotel."

Hearing this, Yu Zhiming suddenly felt like a newborn baby, completely exposed and under their control.

"So you’re saying, as far as you’re concerned, I have no secrets left?"

Wei Hao detected the displeasure in Yu Zhiming’s tone and quickly explained, "Dr. Yu, please don’t misunderstand!"

"We are absolutely not monitoring you. What we’ve collected is all public data and information."

"Combined with analysis and summaries from our professionals."

Yu Zhiming grunted twice, continuing his protest...

He had originally thought Wei Hao would take him to the suburbs to find a quiet, secluded spot. He never expected to end up at a district public security bureau branch in Pujiang North.

"Dr. Yu, shall we have dinner first?"

Yu Zhiming waved his hand. "Eating will affect my performance. Let’s get to work first."

"It doesn’t matter if we eat a little earlier or a little later."

"Alright then, Dr. Yu. This way, please!"

Yu Zhiming followed Wei Hao into a building and took an elevator down to the fifth basement level.

Stepping out of the elevator, Yu Zhiming was surprised to see a deep tunnel that stretched out of sight.

"Dr. Yu, this is a civil defense shelter built in the past. Now it serves as one of our underground warehouses and training grounds."

"Please, follow me..."

As Yu Zhiming walked, he was struck by the realization that the tunnel was at least a hundred meters long.

At least, because a large iron gate blocked the way forward, which Yu Zhiming couldn’t pass.

He followed Wei Hao into a room on the left and saw a G-Wagen parked in the center, with two men in their thirties standing beside it.

The skinny man with hair past his ears stepped forward and reported, "Captain, I used technical means to isolate the three individuals’ voices and achieve the best possible stereo reconstruction."

"Take a look..."

As he spoke, the skinny man pulled open the G-Wagen’s door.

Yu Zhiming was somewhat surprised to see a mannequin in the back seat, and one each in the driver’s and front passenger’s seats.

Miniature microphones were even strapped to the mannequins’ mouths.

Yu Zhiming glanced at the skinny man, whose face was full of pride and a desire for credit, and couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

"Besides the sound of their voices, I also need to hear many subtle, miscellaneous sounds."

"For example, the sound of clothing rustling with body movements, the sound of joints popping, the sound of a neck turning, the sound of shoe soles scraping against the floor mats, the sound of a backside shifting on the seat, and so on."

"Did you isolate all of those sounds too?"

The skinny man was stunned for a moment, then said with some difficulty, "Well, no, I didn’t."

"The recorder has limited precision. It might not have even been able to record such subtle sounds, right?"

"That is indeed a problem." Wei Hao’s brow furrowed.

Yu Zhiming hadn’t considered this issue before either. He said with a hint of resignation, "All we can do now is hope the dashcam installed in that G-Wagen was a high-end model."

"Just play the original audio. I’ll listen first and see..."

「Fifteen minutes later.」

The room was pitch-black—so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Not a single ray of light.

For Yu Zhiming, who was accustomed to darkness, the absolute blackness wasn’t frightening. On the contrary, it felt familiar.

He sat alone in the right rear passenger seat of the G-Wagen, slowly adjusting his mental and physical state...

’It has to be said, this place is truly quiet.’

There was no sound of wind, not even the buzz of a small insect’s wings. It was absolutely, completely silent.

Yu Zhiming could even hear the sound of his own eyelids blinking with perfect clarity.

’He knew his state was properly adjusted.’

’If he adjusted his mental and physical state any further, the sound of his own heartbeat and blood flow would become a distracting noise, severely impacting his ability to discern external sounds.’

He lightly pressed the remote control button in his hand.

With the press of the button, the HUMMM of the car’s engine roared in Yu Zhiming’s ears.

’Yu Zhiming had to admit, the audio quality from that dashcam recording, and the quality of this sound system, were truly excellent.’

Listening to the HUM of the engine, he felt as if he were really sitting in a G-Wagen that was speeding down the road.

Just then, a SCRAPING sound rang out.

Yu Zhiming frowned.

’Scraping was one of the sounds he hated most; hearing it set his teeth on edge.’

He looked down to his left, where a blurry pair of feet materialized out of thin air, shifting on the floor mat.

Then came the sound of the gas pedal being pressed...

At the driver’s seat, by the gas pedal, another blurry foot appeared.

At the same time, a pair of hands appeared on the steering wheel, turning it left and right...

As more and more subtle sounds emerged, a blurry figure for each person—Male 1 in the driver’s seat, Female 1 in the passenger seat, and Male 2 in the left rear seat—was constructed.

"Meng Jia, give me the phone. I want to play a game." This was Male 2’s voice.

Immediately after, Female 1 in the passenger seat opened her purse, took out a phone, and handed it to Male 2.

Yu Zhiming watched Female 1 and Male 2 exchange the phone as if he were witnessing it with his own eyes.

A moment later, the sound of game music began to play...

"Meng Jia, why are so many people messaging you?" This was Male 2’s impatient voice.

Female 1 replied, "Just ignore the messages. It’s not stopping you from playing your game!"

A short while later, following the sounds, Yu Zhiming "saw" Female 1 in the passenger seat rummage through her bag again and take something out.

Next, Yu Zhiming heard the flick of a lighter, followed by the satisfied sound of a deep inhale.

’Female 1 was smoking...’

Yu Zhiming listened intently to all the tiny sounds, trying his best to match them to the three people’s actions...

Suddenly, Yu Zhiming heard Male 1 let out a loud cry—AHHH!

Immediately following that was a chaotic flurry of abnormal sounds from the car, interspersed with Female 1’s panicked shouts...

In front of the elevator at the tunnel entrance, Wei Hao and his two team members were each sitting on an unlucky mannequin.

They had been waiting quietly for nearly an hour and a half.

The skinny man couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, "Captain, reconstructing a scene from sound... that sounds a little too fantastical."

"Can that young Dr. Yu really pull it off?"

Wei Hao shot him a cold glance. "Just because you haven’t seen much doesn’t mean others can’t do it."

"Have you ever seen someone who could memorize a combination of a thousand random numbers, letters, and special symbols with just a single glance?"

"I’ve seen a memory savant like that."

"Have you ever seen someone who could correctly sort one hundred petals from different flowers just by their scent?"

"I’ve seen a scent savant like that, too."

Wei Hao said slowly, "There are some truly extraordinary individuals in our world."

"You think it’s impossible simply because you have limited experience. Make fewer assumptions, or you’ll only prove your own ignorance..."

As he said this, Wei Hao suddenly stood up and looked into the pitch-black tunnel where the lights were off.

"Dr. Yu is coming out."

Sure enough, a moment later, Yu Zhiming emerged from the darkness, a weary look on his face.

"Dr. Yu..."

Yu Zhiming interrupted wearily, "After repeated simulations, I’ve reconstructed the scene."

"Here’s what happened..."

"Male 1, the driver, reached over to touch Female 1’s chest, but unexpectedly got his hand burned by cigarette ash."

"This caused him to temporarily lose control of the car."

Wei Hao’s eyes lit up. He asked, "What about Male 2?"

Yu Zhiming replied sullenly, "He was playing games in the back seat the whole time. No particular reaction."

Wei Hao said with an excited expression, "Dr. Yu, I need the details of their movements at that moment—all three of them."

"Dr. Yu, the more detailed and specific, the better..."