Simulated Crime, This Criminal Doesn't Seem to Be Acting

Chapter 30

Ye Sangsang's action left the live-stream audience wide-eyed and utterly stunned. It was a path they had never imagined, and no one had ever questioned whether the game's designated culprit might be wrong.

As they watched Ye Sangsang click to close the case, they initially thought she had given up on the investigation.

To their surprise, she had deduced that the game's setting identified Qin Jiang as the culprit and chose the "No" option to report an error in the case conclusion.

Zhao Tianqi's testimony, Feng Lian's deleted QQ chat records, phone card call logs, and finally, Ye Sangsang's own written reasoning and judgment.

She wrote: "This is enough to prove that there are doubts about Qin Jiang's case."

She chose to use the evidence to report an error in the game's case.

The super-intelligent system's judgment was that the report was successful—there were indeed doubts about the case, and it triggered a new round of deduction.

In other words, the super-intelligent system also believed that the real culprit was someone else.

[Oh my god, does this mean that in reality, Qin Jiang was wrongly accused?]

[If everything is real, then isn't this a case of a wrongful conviction?]

[Sang-jie, you're my only queen. I thought you gave up, wuwuwu.]

[Qin Jiang is so pitiful. He's such a good police officer. We must find the real culprit. Even if it's delayed justice, it must be served!]

Heartache, sadness, and shock filled the live-stream chat, with comments flooding the screen to the point of almost completely obscuring it. Only the smart adjustment feature allowed viewers to see Ye Sangsang on the screen.

Ye Sangsang looked at the reward of 1 attribute point, which she added to her stamina.

[Player ID: Ye Sangsang]

[Mental Strength: 8 (10)]

[Intelligence: 8 (10)]

[Stamina: 7 (10)]

Her original stamina of 3, plus the 3 points rewarded from the previous case, now increased by another point, bringing her stamina to an impressive 7.

She gazed at the glowing panel, quite satisfied with the data she saw. It was worth all the effort she had put in.

In real life, she couldn't make herself walk or have a strong body, but in the game, she aimed to be as strong as possible.

She wasn't overly joyful. Having confirmed her earlier suspicions, Ye Sangsang still felt sorry for Qin Jiang.

He was a good police officer, but unfortunately, he had been framed. She wondered what the real-world outcome was.

She hoped it wouldn't be too bad.

She didn't feel much emotion, but someone had taught her to carefully distinguish between good and bad.

She told herself that it was okay not to understand—she could just imitate it.

Ye Sangsang took a moment to feel the changes in her in-game body stats, then stopped the case-closing operation. She wanted to continue

[These two teammates are great, willing to take the risk themselves.]

[I get it now. The killer is someone who craves recognition. The case he framed Qin Jiang for was one he thought was perfect. If someone belittles it, he’ll probably go mad.]

Ye Sangsang also realized the misunderstanding, but before she could explain, Zheng He spoke up again. "I’m a man. The other side might be more cautious around someone like me. I’ll do it."

Gu Ling frowned and said, "I’m more suitable. You two are the brawn and the brains, but I have strong intuition and a good sense of danger. I’ll do it."

"Stop arguing. He knows everything about you, probably inside and out. I’ll do it," Ye Sangsang said, leaving the other two speechless. They had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

Seeing that the two had stopped arguing, Ye Sangsang turned to Zhao Yue. "I want the tone to be a bit arrogant, like I’m full of myself and overly confident."

Zhao Yue wasn’t stupid. Seeing the situation, she began to sense that things weren’t as simple as they seemed.

She looked at Ye Sangsang intently, then nodded in agreement.

After seeing Zhao Yue off, Ye Sangsang welcomed the new team member Captain Chen had assigned—a sharpshooter named Yang Wen. In extreme situations, he was authorized to shoot to kill.

They couldn’t just sit around waiting for the killer to make a move. Based on their profile, they began visiting potential suspects in Chennan City.

Everything was done discreetly, with daily phone calls and plainclothes officers patrolling the area.

They also investigated where Feng Lian had gone missing, looking for eyewitnesses and any possible surveillance footage.

They had plenty to do, and much more to uncover.

Amidst all this, Ye Sangsang chose another angle: Qin Jiang’s relatives.

In this day and age, disguising oneself to look exactly like someone else wasn’t easy. While makeup techniques could rival plastic surgery, in real life, it was easy to spot flaws. The makeup would be noticeable upon closer inspection.

Even if they asked Zhao Tianqi now, he would say that the person he saw gave off an odd vibe. But if it were makeup, he should have been able to tell.

So, it was more likely that the two people already shared some resemblance, and the killer had enhanced it with a disguise.

Starting with relatives was a good approach.

After discussing, they decided to split into two teams. Ye Sangsang and Yang Wen would investigate Qin Jiang’s relatives, while Zheng He and Gu Ling would look for eyewitnesses and any remaining surveillance footage.

Once the division of labor was clear, both teams got to work.

To maintain secrecy, Ye Sangsang and Yang Wen disguised themselves as census officers, investigating the residents in Qin Jiang’s relatives’ neighborhood.

To avoid tipping off their target, they actually took over the census work for that area.

Ye Sangsang skipped some of the preliminary steps and went straight to investigating Qin Jiang’s relatives and their neighbors.

Their first stop was Qin Jiang’s uncle’s house.

After knocking and entering, they began filling out forms, mainly asking about family members, who lived there, and where other members resided—essentially conducting a census.

Qin Jiang’s uncle didn’t seem to have a favorable impression of the police, answering curtly. His aunt was more cooperative, answering quietly before hurriedly seeing them out.

Next, they visited the neighbors across the hall. Ye Sangsang smiled at the middle-aged couple and said, "You’re so welcoming. It makes our job much easier."

She didn’t outright badmouth anyone, as that would be too obvious. Instead, she complimented them while subtly venting, which often yielded useful information.

For example, the woman now said, "It’s not easy for young girls like you. The family next door is hard to deal with, right? I heard their nephew ended up in the hospital. Tsk tsk, they didn’t even bother to visit."

"Don’t say too much. If they hear, it’ll just cause trouble," the man frowned, trying to stop her.

But Ye Sangsang, with an innocent and naive expression, asked, "As his uncle, he didn’t go? Are they not close? Or do they have some kind of feud?"

Yang Wen pretended to pull her back, but Ye Sangsang dodged him.

"Honestly, this place has good soundproofing, and they’re the police. What’s there to be afraid of?" The woman glared at her husband, then turned to Ye Sangsang. "They’re blood-related uncles! But they had a falling out years ago. Apparently, his nephew was too strict and didn’t show any leniency, which caused some trouble for the uncle’s side. That’s why they drifted apart."

"Still, in my opinion, family is family. Nothing should come between them."

Ye Sangsang nodded in agreement, her face showing a hint of disdain.

After getting the information they needed, Yang Wen tugged at Ye Sangsang again, and they bid the couple farewell.

Once downstairs, Ye Sangsang thought about the household registration records.

The two headed straight to the census office to pull up the records for Qin Jiang’s uncle’s family.

One detail caught their attention: ten years ago, Qin Jiang’s uncle’s family had lost a son.

Ye Sangsang looked further back, her expression growing serious.

The son who had died ten years ago had committed multiple crimes and was sentenced to death.

Some of the information matched Ye Sangsang’s profile of the killer.

Could he still be alive?

But that was unlikely. Before execution, identities were thoroughly verified.

Moreover, given the uncle’s hatred, it seemed the son was indeed dead.

She looked at the photo. The man bore a striking resemblance to Qin Jiang—seven parts similar. Qin Jiang took after his uncle.

Afterward, the two of them visited other relatives but came up empty-handed.

A few days passed, during which they investigated and interviewed witnesses, only uncovering faint traces of evidence.

It confirmed that such a person existed, but there were no details about their face or physical characteristics.

They could only pin their hopes on the Chennan Evening News. Ye Sangsang felt a hint of anticipation, wondering how the other party would prove themselves.

She had made an estimation: there was an 80% chance this person wouldn’t be able to resist taking the bait, as the other party was a psychologically twisted lunatic.

Moreover, they were an extremely insecure individual, desperate to prove their strength and gain recognition.

An ordinary person wouldn’t resort to such methods, but Ye Sangsang was different.

She, too, was an emotionless lunatic, unbothered by any psychological barriers.

On the third day, Ye Sangsang received a provocative "gift" from the other party.

Staring at the "gift" before her, Ye Sangsang revealed a faint, eerie smile.