Final Civilization

Chapter 26: Deductive Reasoning

Sun Lulu crossed her long legs, folded her arms across her chest, and looked at Han Ming with a very professional demeanor as she said:

"Let me explain something to you. First, with this kind of premeditated murder, especially one disguised as a traffic accident, the most difficult point is the timing."

"At that time, Yan Duoduo got off the nanny van. From the time the van parked to her getting out, it was only 34 seconds in total. If you add the time for her to walk into the square and reach a non-open area, the whole sequence wouldn't exceed two minutes. To complete the hit within those two minutes, the timing of driving to that exact spot had to be calculated precisely. If the car was just parked by the roadside and suddenly started moving, firstly, it wouldn't have built up enough speed, and secondly, it would definitely arouse police suspicion, making it impossible to create the scenario of a drunk driving accident."

"So, for the perpetrator to arrive at that spot so accurately, it means he not only performed precise calculations beforehand but also must have had an accomplice on-site conducting real-time surveillance. To completely evade police scrutiny, he might have even started calculating from the very beginning when he began drinking. Even if the nearest restaurant is considered, he'd still have to account for the traffic conditions at several traffic lights along Yujin Road. In that case, the number of coordinating accomplices would be more than just one."

"Do you think my analysis is correct?"

After finishing, Sun Lulu looked at Han Ming with a confident smile.

Han Ming raised his eyebrows slightly, showing a surprised expression, and said slowly,

"Professional."

Sun Lulu was clearly very satisfied with Han Ming's reaction. "Thank you for the recognition."

However, besides surprise, Sun Lulu's words also made Han Ming think of another matter—the major traffic accident on Wenhai Road on May 25th, 2022.Eight heavily loaded trucks ambushing a wedding motorcade procession meant someone must have been monitoring the entire convoy throughout to ensure nothing went wrong.

Apart from those eight drivers, there must have been quite a few people involved in the operation, and they might even have been at the accident scene itself!

"Hey... hey!"

Seeing Han Ming somewhat lost in thought, Sun Lulu couldn't help but laugh, "What, remembered something?"

"Remembered this person."

Han Ming's gaze fell on the screen as he answered,

"Based on this speculation, I remembered that this person indeed didn't show much of a reaction."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Then do you remember..."

"Male, around 40 years old, height 174~176 cm, slightly overweight, about 75 KG, square-shaped face, small eyes, short hair, a mole above the left eyebrow, Xuan Cheng accent, likely an alcoholic, possibly a gambler, no fixed job, has served time in prison before, tends to be solitary."

Before Sun Lulu could finish, Han Ming recited the answers she wanted in one breath.

Gulp...

Ah Chen, who was drinking cola beside them, suddenly stopped sucking on his straw, looking at Han Ming with horrified eyes. Sun Lulu also stopped chewing her gum, staring at him with a profoundly different gaze.

"What's wrong?" Han Ming asked, "Isn't this the information you wanted?"

"You..."

Sun Lulu furrowed her brows, scrutinizing Han Ming, "How do you know all this so clearly?"

Han Ming interlaced his fingers, his face calm as he said,

"I'm a lawyer. Observational skills are part of the professional traits, and my memory is quite good. Also, in university, I systematically studied criminal profiling and criminal psychology. Besides..."

He pointed at the surveillance footage, "At that time, my apple fell. He was the only person next to me who didn't help me pick it up, so I remember him."

"Criminal psychology?" The man named Ah Chen looked at Han Ming with shock,

"Buddy, what are you bragging about? With criminal psychology, you can tell he's an alcoholic, a gambler, and has no fixed job?"

Sun Lulu also slightly frowned, looking at him with a half-smile.

"You're not just guessing wildly, are you? Or actually, do you know this person?"

Han Ming gave a helpless smile, calmly looked at Sun Lulu and the other man, and said very professionally,

"Let me explain something to you both: deduction."

"The time then was 9:15 AM. The weather wasn't hot, but this person had a persistent facial flush. Usually, apart from liver disease, this is mostly due to alcohol dilating facial blood vessels, causing long-term facial redness. His phone was old, but the most damaged parts were the earpiece at the bottom and the charging port. The most likely cause is damage from violently plugging and unplugging the charger due to unsteady hands from alcoholism. He shaved with a razor, and traces of shaving foam remained on his chin. No one reminded him after he came out like that, which strongly suggests he likely lives alone."

"Additionally, this person has yellowish stains from cigarette smoke on his left cheek. Smoke stains usually appear on fingers; appearing on the face mostly happens in only one situation: long-term smoking while playing cards or working. This guy was wearing a 120,000-yuan green Submariner watch, but the Armani suit he wore didn't fit well, and his tie wasn't properly tied. This indicates he doesn't usually wear suits, or the suit was borrowed, and he doesn't seem like someone with a legitimate job."

"Tianzhou Square is a high-end CBD. This person wore a suit he hadn't worn for a long time and appeared here after 9 AM. He was likely job hunting. In the surveillance footage, he stood there for over 20 minutes. If based on your speculation, then the purpose of wearing the suit was so that standing here during working hours wouldn't attract too much attention."

"Secondly, his posture while on the phone and the look in his eyes when speaking clearly showed the restraint of someone who had been strictly disciplined after long-term imprisonment. Believe me, I've seen many people like this."

"Alcoholic, gambler, no fixed job, served time, lives alone. Combined with your earlier analysis, this person is very likely the lookout."

"Do you think my analysis is correct?"

Silence.

The room was eerily quiet.

Ah Chen's jaw nearly hit the floor. Hearing Han Ming finish, he looked at Sun Lulu in horror,

"Sister Sun, is this guy really a lawyer? He seems more like Sherlock Holmes!"

"Lawyers aren't just about handling lawsuits. Keen observation is also an essential skill. Plus, since it involved life-threatening danger, me remembering clearly is quite reasonable, right?" Han Ming said calmly.

With 13 precognitive replays, he had focused on this person multiple times and observed many details. This wasn't particularly difficult for Han Ming.

Ah Chen slowly raised a thumb, muttering,

"Incredible!"

After hearing what Han Ming said, Sun Lulu also looked utterly astonished. She stared straight at Han Ming, a strange glint in her eyes.

Then she suddenly laughed, her gaze towards Han Ming becoming meaningful as she said,

"Not bad. I thought lawyers were just litigious sticks sitting in offices. I didn't expect you to be a criminal investigation genius?!"

"Is this information enough, or do you have other things you want to know?" Han Ming ignored the compliment and asked directly.

Sun Lulu stood up, saying,

"It already exceeds our expectations. Nothing else is needed. Thank you very much."

Han Ming also stood up,

"Out of professional ethics, I still need to remind you that conducting privacy investigations on citizens is illegal. My communication this time is based on a speculative standpoint, with no personal targeting involved."

Upon hearing this, Sun Lulu gave a sly smile, looking at Han Ming,

"We're not recording here. Also, we've blocked other recording devices, including yours."

Han Ming raised an eyebrow slightly. He took out his phone and checked, finding it not only had no signal but was actually frozen.

Then he smiled slightly, straightened his suit, shook hands with Sun Lulu, and said casually,

"Oh, then I probably don't remember that after the accident, this person got into a 2016 white Audi A4L with license plate Hai A66TY7 from the northwest side of the square and left towards Huaiyang Road."

Pfft!!!

Ah Chen, who was drinking cola, instantly sprayed the cola in his mouth upon hearing this and hurriedly covered it with his hand.

Sun Lulu looked even more astonished at Han Ming's departing back, her eyes sparkling with considerable interest.

"This person... really is interesting."

...

Han Ming provided this information as a gesture of goodwill in return to Yan Jing.

Besides that, he subconsciously also hoped this matter would end sooner, so Duoduo would no longer be under the shadow of some danger.

An assassination attempt targeting a 6-year-old girl is utterly despicable and insane. So, Han Ming didn't mind being a bit more aggressive to ensure the mastermind behind it was brought to justice sooner.

Of course, Han Ming understood that the private detective investigation was just one of Yan Jing's overt arrangements, not her real means. However, those were certainly things Han Ming wouldn't be allowed to access anyway.