Just like the detention center, the prison was also in Lishan District.

It was in an even more remote location, with high walls, watchtowers, and strung with barbed wire.

In the prison’s interrogation room, Shen Xin adjusted the camera. When he sat back down, he noticed Chen Chao was muttering to himself.

"Captain Chen, you’re an old hand at this. You still get nervous?" Shen Xin joked.

Chen Chao scoffed. "Not nervous, just thorough preparation. This first interrogation is crucial. It’s our chance to catch the kid off guard."

"If we don’t break him now, he’ll go back, get his thoughts straight, and it’ll be much harder the next time we interrogate him."

Then he shot back, "This is your case, after all. Aren’t you worried it’ll turn into a complete mess?"

It had been two and a half years, after all. The leads they had were limited, and there was no telling if they’d ever find a smoking gun.

Shen Xin shook his head and smiled. "The arm of the law is long. We’ve already taken the hardest step. What’s a little more?"

They’d already found the burial site in the middle of nowhere, which was the hardest part. Shen Xin refused to believe the case would end up half-baked.

"True enough."

Chen Chao nodded slightly. "Looks like from now on, any case that’s even remotely related to animals, we can just hand it over to you. You’re really one of a kind, kid."

Cats, dogs, parrots... and now you’ve even got a monkey eating out of your hand.

Just as Shen Xin was about to speak, the door across from them opened.

Both men immediately wiped the smiles from their faces.

Shen Xin looked toward Li Xiaofei.

He had a buzz cut and wore a prison uniform. His face was gaunt.

The crime had been committed on April 16th of last year.

Thanks to surveillance footage, he was arrested on the 17th with no chance to even argue his case. It went through the system, and by mid-July, he was sentenced. He’d already served a year and a half.

And clearly, he’d already had a taste of the iron fist of justice.

For some reason, Shen Xin thought of Li Jin. ’He should be locked up in this prison, too. I wonder how he’s doing.’

Li Xiaofei was docilely cuffed to the interrogation chair. Only then did he timidly, cautiously, raise his head to look at the two men.

Shen Xin took notes while Chen Chao led the interrogation.

Chen Chao smiled. "What, you recognize me?"

Li Xiaofei nodded slightly. "You’re the one who arrested me. Of course I remember you."

"Good that you remember. How are things on the inside? I heard from Instructor Tan in your block that you haven’t been on your best behavior."

Chen Chao didn’t rush into the main topic, choosing instead to circle it with small talk.

It wasn’t just idle chatter; he had actually consulted the instructor in Li Xiaofei’s prison block and even questioned the head inmate of his cell.

He’d asked if Li Xiaofei had ever bragged about killing someone while serving his sentence.

Such things weren’t unheard of.

Many inmates, trying to act tough and avoid being looked down on, would sometimes run their mouths and let slip past crimes that had never been investigated.

Some were so haunted by their pasts they’d even talk in their sleep and confess.

But after asking around, he’d found nothing.

In prison, Li Xiaofei wasn’t the most sociable, but he wasn’t a recluse either. In the words of his block instructor, he was just a run-of-the-mill prisoner.

Li Xiaofei said hurriedly, "Officer Chen, Instructor Tan must have been joking with you. I’ve been on my best behavior. I’m even hoping to get my sentence reduced and get out early."

Shen Xin shot him an indifferent glance.

’Get out?’

’You’ve got no hope of that.’

"That’s good." Chen Chao nodded, then made some more small talk about Li Xiaofei’s family.

Li Xiaofei’s parents divorced when he was young.

Custody was given to his mother, who was rather attractive and knew how to get by in the world.

There were plenty of women like that back in the nineties.

Later, his mother shacked up with a small-time boss in the earth-moving business.

You couldn’t get into that line of work without some muscle.

So, as a child, thanks to this stepfather, Li Xiaofei had a pretty comfortable life.

But later, while fighting over a contract, his stepfather was stabbed several times and died.

That was in 2013, when he was twenty.

After that, his family’s finances took a major hit, but they still had some foundation. Besides, having grown up around his stepfather, Li Xiaofei had picked up a bit of a street thug’s swagger.

Getting into fights was nothing to him.

Li Xiaofei seemed to be playing the part of a dutiful son, asking how his mother was doing, since she hadn’t visited him in prison for a long time.

Chen Chao didn’t hide the truth, telling him bluntly that she’d found another man, but they weren’t married.

"That’s good."

Li Xiaofei nodded and took the initiative. "Officer Chen, a busy man in your position wouldn’t suddenly remember me and come all this way just to catch up, would you?"

He watched Chen Chao warily.

The gentle preliminaries were over. It was time to cut to the chase—a sudden, direct strike to the heart of the matter.

Chen Chao’s smile vanished. "Li Xiaofei, do you know Guan Hong? What was your relationship with her?"

"Who?"

Li Xiaofei, who had been sitting lazily with a relaxed smile on his face, shot bolt upright the moment he heard the name Guan Hong, like a cat whose fur had just stood on end.

His eyes instantly widened and his muscles tensed involuntarily. Shock and tension were written all over him.

"I’m asking you a question!"

Chen Chao barked.

In that instant, Li Xiaofei’s mind must have gone completely blank. He shook his head in a panic. "I... I don’t know her."

"You don’t know her? Then who’s this in the photo? Don’t tell me you don’t even recognize yourself."

Chen Chao took out the photograph and had Shen Xin show it to Li Xiaofei.

Upon seeing the photo, Li Xiaofei’s eyes went wide and he swallowed hard.

Shen Xin could see it clearly: Li Xiaofei’s fists were clenched, and his eyeballs were twitching frantically, almost as if he were having a seizure.

Chen Chao slammed his hand on the table, making Li Xiaofei jump. "Li Xiaofei," he roared, "where were you on the night of May 13th, 2015?"

"What?"

Li Xiaofei was already babbling, completely flustered. "I... I don’t know," he stammered. "I can’t remember."

"How about I help you remember?"

Chen Chao snorted. "On the afternoon of the 13th, you went to your friend’s shop to pick up your motorcycle. What was it you said? You even asked your friend if he had any condoms, saying you had ’big plans’ for the night."

"So where did you go after that? Took your girlfriend out for a good time? Do I need to remind you of the specifics?"

Beads of sweat were already forming on Li Xiaofei’s forehead. He trembled, at a loss for how to explain.

But just then, Chen Chao abruptly switched the topic back.

He only had limited evidence.

He couldn’t give Li Xiaofei time to think. He had to use what little factual evidence he had to keep him panicked and confused. That’s when he would slip up.

"I’ll ask you again. Do you know Guan Hong? Was she your girlfriend?"

He waved the photo as he spoke.

Li Xiaofei opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"What, still won’t admit it?"

Chen Chao deliberately picked up a testimony transcript. "If you can’t remember, your buddies certainly can. Da Zhuang—he’s your pal, right?"

"Look what he said, word for word. He said you got a new girlfriend, even sent them a picture. Said she had huge boobs. He even joked with you, asking if they were fake."

"And what did you say to that? ’No way, she’s only nineteen. They’re all-natural, guaranteed.’"

"Oh, right, and what about your ex? You hadn’t even properly broken up with her before you were chasing someone new. You even saved the number as ’Wifey’ in your phone. What, were you planning to marry Guan Hong?"

"You’re such a devoted son. Did you tell your mother?"

Chen Chao asked mockingly.

Two and a half years had passed. A lot of information was already lost.

Phone companies only keep call records for six months.

The same went for chat logs on WeChat and other messaging apps; the service providers only kept the last six months of data.

But he had plenty of shady friends, and Li Xiaofei had often bragged to them back then, so they all remembered.

Li Xiaofei’s teeth began to chatter. He gave a stiff nod. "Fine, I knew Guan Hong. So what? We were just dating, like normal people."

"Like normal people?"

Chen Chao slammed the table again. "The kind of dating where you end up burying her in the ground?" he roared.

The words struck Li Xiaofei like a bolt of lightning, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.