After passing the square and passing through the gate of the inner city, Duan Qing and the others ran along the central highway of the outer city and soon arrived at the scene of the crime.
The central highway separates the residential area and the military camp into two parts: east and west. The west part is the civilian area of the outer city, where more than 4,000 ordinary evolvers live. Most of them are old and weak and women, and some are family members of soldiers.
Zheng Yueying noticed that there were low shacks built with iron sheets and wooden boards everywhere. There were a lot of white garbage trampled into pieces of paper on the road, and ragged children ran across it from time to time. Probably because there was a sleet yesterday, the ground was wet. The white snow residue was mixed with the oily black sludge, slowly flowing in the simple drainage ditch, emitting a peculiar smell.
After going around the alley with nine turns and eighteen turns, Duan Qing finally saw the victim in a dilapidated house built with tarps and wooden boards. It was a naked woman, lying on a black canvas. The canvas was rolled up at a corner, but it was only enough to cover half of the deceased's chest. The pale body was not only covered with dirt, but also had quite severe bruises. Viewed from a height, the deceased had high cheekbones, thin cheeks, and long dry hair hanging behind his head. His eyes were half-opened and his mouth was slightly open, as if he was telling something.
Duan Qing directed Zheng Yueying to wrap the victim with the remaining canvas, then turned around and asked, "What's going on?"
Although it was a question, it was already filled with anger.
Behind her were Cao Liang, Xing Wutian and a group of soldiers with live ammunition. Although he didn't know who Duan Qing was asking, Xing Wutian still answered honestly: "It was discovered by a neighbor. Probably last night, the girl picked up a 'guest', and then the person disappeared in the morning, and the girl didn't come out either." Crossing the door. It was the neighbor who called her to fetch water and found that the girl had run out of breath."
"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Xing. Please lead someone to guard the outside and don't destroy any possible clues."
"Okay." Xing Wutian clasped his fists slightly, leaned over and got out of the shack. The victim was a female and it would have been inappropriate for him to remain indoors for any length of time.
This is the corner of a civilian area, so it is very remote. The old woman living next door is the only witness.
"Auntie, what's going on?"
The old woman recalled: "I got up in the morning to fetch water. We usually go together, but she didn't seem to get up today. I didn't think much about it. By noon, her doll didn't come to play or ask for anything. When I was eating, I felt something was wrong. Who knew, this person was already out of breath in the room..."
"What did you say? She has a child?" Zheng Yueying said in surprise.
"Yes, there is a boy who is over five years old." The old woman still didn't know why. "The two of them fled with me a month ago. It was really miserable along the way, with dead people everywhere. She and the man-eating monsters, everyone was busy running for their lives, often hungry and full. She shared all her rations with the children, and almost died of starvation on the road. Life is really not easy..."
Since Duan Qing arrived, the old woman has been chattering non-stop, and she seems to be quite frightened.
"You said it would be okay if there was a man in the family. But her man had died on Advent Day for her mother and daughter. The Chen family's wife often said that her child is her only hope now."
Zheng Yueying interrupted her anxiously: "Where is the child? Where is her child?"
"Ah", the old woman finally realized, "Child... this, this..."
The three people had already walked out of the house while chatting. At this time, many people had gathered outside to watch the fun. When Duan Qing came to the open space, he heard those people whispering.
"What, it turns out to be a pheasant."
"I just said that this girl is weird. She doesn't have enough to eat every day, and she has to dress up in fancy clothes. Well, it turns out she is trying to seduce men."
"Hey, I've long thought that she looks like a prostitute, and that foxy face doesn't look serious at first sight."
"Young people today are so shameless."
"That's right, one slap can't make a difference. If you encounter something like this, you don't think she's coquettish. How come others are fine?"
"Hehehe, no matter how clean he is, he is still a dirty bitch."
"If I were her, I would have hit my head against the wall and died."
"That's right, it would be better to die in the mouth of the black corpse from the beginning..."
Zheng Yueying looked at the man at the end who looked quite honest and kind even though he was dressed sloppily. It was hard to imagine that he could say such a thing.
But before he could finish speaking, a serrated blade with canine teeth flew out of the air, grazing the man's ear. The next moment, a very fine wound appeared on his cheek, and drops of blood continued to flow out, rolling down to the chin and connecting in a line.
Before going into seclusion, Chen Xinyan had put a "microscopic" ability mark on Duan Qing, making her a servant, and the tungsten steel blade that she had replaced before was also given to her for use. Now Duan Qing is no longer an ordinary evolver with no power, her strength is roughly equal to the mid-first level of an ordinary ability user.
Duan Qing held the flying blade and walked forward step by step.
"Does it feel good to insult a dead person?"
The man was so frightened that he couldn't even move, and he didn't even dare to speak out, let alone make any answer. At the same time, the people around him immediately dispersed in a large area, for fear of being accidentally injured by the next attack. But Duan Qing did not take action again. She was pulled back by Zheng Yueying and said: "Sister Qing, don't be impulsive."
Duan Qing clenched her fists and whispered: "She's just doing it for her children!"
She looked at these ugly faces and then thought of the thin faces of the dead bodies, and she felt only a sense of sadness and anger.
"Come here, check for me! We must find where the murderer and the child are!"
"The people in the outer city are so discerning that it might be difficult to find him." Xing Wutian thought for a while and said.
"Then increase the reward," Duan Qing said loudly, "Langya City will never tolerate such beastly behavior!"
"Understood."
At this moment, a voice suddenly floated over: "There is no need for the bounty, I know where he is."
The crowd parted to the left and right, and a girl wearing a denim jacket walked in, holding a half-sized white wolf in her arms. Although the girl smiled brightly, the people standing next to her couldn't help but feel a chill.
"Xiaoxiao! Why are you back?" Duan Qing exclaimed.
"I grew up in District 3, and I am no more familiar with the nearby hospitals, pharmaceutical factories, and oil and gas stations than I am, so I quickly completed my mission and came back."
"Then you said you know the murderer..."
"What a coincidence. I just came back to Fengwei Mountain this morning. I was about to exchange crystal cores for Xiaolang for some gadgets in the black market, but I bumped into someone running past in a hurry."
Yang Xiaoxiao touched Xiaolang's head, and his expression was a bit disgusting when he said this: "He is a man with empty steps, and he has a disgusting fishy smell on his body."
"I saw someone else conspiring with him in an alley, and the two of them were not having a good time." Yang Xiaoxiao glanced at Qi Jingmin with a smile in his eyes, and then said lazily: "But, I didn't see it clearly. .”
Duan Qing asked anxiously: "Then do you know where that person is hiding?"
"Come with me." Yang Xiaoxiao jumped onto the roof and ran straight in one direction. "If you walk slowly, someone will get there first."
"Walk!"
…
The civilian area in the outer city is not large, only two kilometers deep. It only took fifteen minutes for several people to get from the crime scene to the location specified by Yang Xiaoxiao. It was lunch time, and most people had gone to the gate of the inner city to queue up to receive their daily meal of relief porridge. Only a few people stayed in the shanty towns.
Half a minute later, several people walked near a single-family wooden house and saw a man going out to pour dirty water with a cigarette in his mouth. When the man saw Duan Qing and others approaching, he hurriedly poured down the water, pinched the cigarette, and turned around to go back to the house.
"Stop!" Duan Qing shouted from a distance.
The man tried to run away, but several soldiers rushed forward and pushed him to the ground. Just when everyone thought they were done, he suddenly overturned several soldiers on top of him, kicked one of them over, and then ran to the other end of the alley.
At the critical moment, Xing Wutian stepped forward, a roll of steel wire came out of his hand, and instantly caught up with the man, trapping him tightly like a soft rope. This time, no matter how hard the opponent tried, he couldn't break free.
"Come back!" Xing Wutian took the end of the rope and dragged the other party over hard.
The man was brought down by a huge force and landed on his face, covered in dirty water and mud. When they came closer, they glared at Duan Qing and others arrogantly. The muscles in his arms bulged, ready to break free again. It's a pity that this is a steel wire rope that has been modified by the "extended plastic" ability. It is not an exaggeration to call it a binding rope. Not only is the material very tough, it can flexibly switch between hardness and softness, and it will also gradually tighten as the prisoner struggles.
After a while, the steel wire was deeply embedded in the man's flesh, causing patches of bruises. The tied man gasped for air, no longer as strong as before.
"Ability person?" Duan Qing asked doubtfully.
"So what? There is no law that stipulates that people with abilities must live in the inner city!"
"Be honest!" Xing Wutian shouted, "Why were you running just now?"
"Why do you care if I run?" The man looked very unconvinced, "Isn't it stipulated by law that I can't run?"
Xing Wutian narrowed his eyes and said, "I think you have a guilty conscience."
"Who said that? It's nonsense. Does Langya City still have royal laws? What do you want to do by tying me up in broad daylight? You are violating human rights!"
"You killed someone." Duan Qing stared into his eyes, as if stating a fact.
The man immediately looked away: "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Search for me."
Duan Qing waved, and the soldiers rushed into the house one after another, looking for suspicious signs everywhere.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Breaking into people's houses!"
The man was about to stop him, but Xing Wutian pushed him to the ground and searched him. Finally, he found two silver earrings in his pocket. The style was obviously worn by women.
"What are you doing? This is...this is my wife's relic, you can't take it away!"
Duan Qing gritted her teeth bitterly: "If you talk back, Mrs. Wang, you can do it."
"Ah, yes, this is it. The Chen family's daughter-in-law wears it on her ears every day. It is said that it was a token of love for the young couple back then. No matter how difficult it was, she never sold it."
Duan Qing walked closer, looked at the ability user lying in the mud, and said word by word: "Now that the matter has come to this, do you still want to be tough?"
"I...I bought this, I bought it on the black market. You can't wrongly accuse a good person."
"Didn't you just say it was your wife's relic?"
"No, no, no, I thought wrong. I drank wine yesterday and my mind was confused!"
"Lies!" Duan Qing said angrily, "Okay! You said you bought it, then we will go to the black market to identify him now. If we can't find him, you won't even think about seeing the sun tomorrow!"
Xing Wutian grabbed the man and said, "Let's go! Why are you dawdling?"
"No, no, no, I did it. I admit it was me. But it was all an accident." The man said incoherently, "That bitch is for sale. It is only natural that I spend money to play with her. As for her death, it is I wasn't careful, but there are also reasons for it."
The more the man talked, the more excited he became: "She is a slut who makes a living by selling meat. I only come to play with her because he cares about her. I paid all the money, what can't I play with? Besides, this is how everyone plays, and she is so If you can’t bear it, don’t come out and do it.”
"Absurd!" Duan Qing was furious. This obvious theory of victim guilt, evading responsibility by throwing dirty water, is not only disgusting, but also vicious. She couldn't wait to kill this scumbag and scum immediately!
"Then let me ask you - where is the child?"
"What...what kid." The man's eyes were a little dodgey.
Duan Qing decisively took out the pistol, turned on the safety, put it on the opponent's forehead and said hysterically: "Answer me, or die now!"
"Don't, don't, don't shoot."
"explain!"
"Kill...kill."
"What did you say?" Duan Qing's eyes widened.
"I was afraid that he would scream, so I chopped him with a knife and threw his body on a rocky slope outside the city."
"You!" Duan Qing was furious, "Take him to the top of the city for me!"
