Chapter 11

Although he knew a bit about crime scene investigation, he wasn’t part of the police system, so it was better not to rush forward while they were examining the site.

According to the surveillance footage they had obtained, there was a camera at the entrance of the building. If Yan Zhan had left through the main gate, and the camera wasn’t damaged, it would have been impossible for him not to be recorded.

But the situation was this: the building’s entrance camera hadn’t captured Yan Zhan going in or out, while the community’s surveillance cameras had. That meant Yan Zhan couldn’t have left through the main gate.

When Ruan Mingxi entered the apartment, his eyes went straight to the damaged chain lock.

It was the kind of safety latch you often see in hotels. The screws on the door’s side were loose, as if someone had kicked the door violently from outside.

From the look of the chain, it had been repaired before — there were multiple drill holes on the door.

Ruan Mingxi examined the outer side of the door panel, searching for something.

“What are you looking for?” Jiang Xuzhou asked, puzzled. The door looked clean, as if there was nothing there.

“Footprints,” Ruan Mingxi replied, pulling out a multi‑band light source and shining it across the door.

Suddenly, traces appeared in view.

After spotting the footprints, Ruan Mingxi said, “Take off your slippers and let’s compare the tread pattern.”

Jiang Xuzhou understood and removed his shoe covers, comparing the sole of his slipper with the footprint pattern on the door panel.

The patterns matched — the print had been left by the Yan family’s household slippers.

These slippers weren’t divided into male or female styles; they were all the same.

Although it wasn’t possible yet to determine exactly who had left the print, one thing was clear: Yan Zhan had been highly cautious at home, otherwise he wouldn’t have installed an extra chain lock on his room door.

Jiang Xuzhou’s eyes flickered slightly, though his tone remained steady. “Should we ask about it?”

Ruan Mingxi photographed the footprint and the slipper sole for evidence. “We’ll definitely ask, but let’s keep looking for more clues first.”

The chain lock on the door was barely hanging on and came off easily.

Ruan Mingxi placed it carefully into an evidence bag. Just then, Ying Shi suddenly called out, “Captain, come take a look at this.”

Ruan Mingxi immediately walked over.

Ying Shi leaned halfway out of the window, peering at something outside.

Yan Zhan’s room had no security bars, so seeing someone half their body out the window would make anyone afraid of heights feel uneasy.

Ruan Mingxi walked over and followed his line of sight. On the windowsill below, he spotted two different sets of footprints.

“I found two prints on the window frame earlier. Following them led me to this,” Ying Shi explained.

Ruan Mingxi paused. Two distinct sets of footprints meant that at some point, there had been two people inside Yan Zhan’s room.

If it had been a classmate visiting, they could have entered openly through the front door — so why were there footprints on the window?

Were those prints left on the same day Yan Zhan disappeared? If so, one of them could very well belong to the killer.

Ruan Mingxi glanced to the side and noticed that each floor had rain guards. From here, someone could climb out, grip the window frame, move across to the air‑conditioner bracket, and then descend along the water pipe.

Shining a multi‑band light source across the window frame, he indeed discovered palm prints.

“There’s a camera over there, but it faces away from this building. If Yan Zhan climbed out the window and descended from the air‑conditioner bracket, that would explain why the surveillance didn’t capture him leaving through the building’s front door, but did record him at the community gate.”

Ruan Mingxi turned to grab the safety rope from the box at Jiang Xuzhou’s feet.

Realizing what he was about to do, Jiang Xuzhou asked, “Do you need my help?”

“Not for now. Don’t worry, I’m agile enough,” Ruan Mingxi replied with a slight smile, giving him a reassuring look.

He secured the rope around himself, with the other end held firmly by Ying Shi, then climbed out through the window.

Even though they knew Ruan Mingxi was skilled, watching him rely on just a single rope while scaling down from the seventh floor made their hearts tighten with anxiety.

Ruan Mingxi moved along the window frame, but the spacing between the rain guards wasn’t very wide, and with his build, the movement was somewhat difficult.

Once he reached the air‑conditioner platform, the space was noticeably more open.

Gripping the railing with one hand and using the water pipe for support with the other, he quickly dropped down a few levels.

When he reached the fourth floor, a sharp pain shot through his palm, and he instinctively drew in a cold breath.

His glove had been pierced, leaving a bloody hole. Blood seeped steadily, soon staining the entire glove red.

Looking closer, he saw that a rusty wire was sticking upright from the air‑conditioner bracket on that floor.

The wire was nearly the same color as the railing, and since he had jumped down from above, he hadn’t noticed it — that’s how he got caught.

Just as Ruan Mingxi was about to curse his own bad luck, he noticed a dark red stain on the railing beside the wire.

It seemed he wasn’t the only unlucky one. He quickly photographed the mark for evidence.

Fortunately, he still had another pair of gloves in his pocket. At this precarious height, he couldn’t afford to linger, so despite the pain in his hand, he slipped a fresh glove over the torn one.

Ten minutes later, Ruan Mingxi made it safely down to the ground floor and signaled to Ying Shi.

Ying Shi, who had been holding the safety rope taut the whole time, finally relaxed and returned the gesture.

Jiang Xuzhou immediately asked, “Did he make it down safely?”

Ying Shi turned back and replied, “Yes, the captain is downstairs now, safe and sound.”

Jiang Xuzhou let out a breath, his anxious heart finally at ease.

Meanwhile, on the ground floor, Ruan Mingxi was already on the phone with the bureau, requesting two forensic colleagues to come and collect samples.

After a short rest, he tugged on the rope, signaling to Ying Shi that he intended to try climbing back up from below.

Ying Shi quickly adjusted his stance, gripping the safety rope tightly.

Climbing up was clearly faster than Ruan Mingxi’s descent — in less than ten minutes, he was back at the top.

“Captain, your hand!” Ying Shi exclaimed when he saw Ruan Mingxi’s palm.

The wound had been deep to begin with, and the strain of climbing up and down had forced more blood out. Trapped beneath the glove, it couldn’t seep through, instead pooling inside and staining a large patch red. The sight was shocking.

“It’s fine, just a scratch from the wire. I found bloodstains downstairs and called in the forensic team to collect samples. I don’t know yet if the blood belongs to Yan Zhan.”

Ying Shi was startled — he hadn’t expected the climbing test to yield such an unexpected discovery.

Jiang Xuzhou’s gaze fell on Ruan Mingxi’s injured hand, his brows knitting unconsciously.

Listening to their exchange, he forced himself to stay calm and think.

Ruan Mingxi was skilled; if he hadn’t stopped to examine along the way, his climb up and down would have been even faster.

According to him, the ascent and descent weren’t difficult — if Yan Zhan had wanted to climb, it wouldn’t have been impossible.

But why insist on climbing out the window? And whose footprint was the other one?

Even stranger was the chain lock on the door. Why would someone need an extra security lock inside their own home? Or rather, who exactly was Yan Zhan trying to guard against?