National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1143 - 1074: Being a Tool

"I... I wasn’t causing trouble." Liu Xueyi looked around, hoping the companions who came with him would continue to back him up.

But after hearing the voice of the producer just now, many people realized they had been deceived and instead distanced themselves, shouting, "Liu Xueyi, are you out of your mind? How dare you make false claims of authority!"

"What authority did I fake? I just said we should come here and fight for our crew’s interests. What’s wrong with that? No matter what the police say, shouldn’t we speak up for ourselves? Otherwise, the production will just remain suspended, burning tens of thousands of dollars by the day, and when it eventually collapses, we’ll just take our wages and leave? If the show never airs, wouldn’t we be the ones losing out?" Liu Xueyi argued confidently.

However, under the gaze of a group of policemen, his companions lost their will to resist and quietly said, "You’d better stop talking. How many productions fail to make it to the screen? Of all the ones we’ve worked on, how many have actually aired?"

Hearing this, Dai Mingsheng chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, stop wasting your breath. Let’s head to the police station and talk things through."

When he mentioned the police station, it was merely to lower their alertness. Among this group, it was entirely possible there was a murderer or accomplice involved, so they couldn’t be let off easily.

To ordinary people, however, the police station was already a place that instilled great fear. As soon as Dai Mingsheng spoke, the crowd at the edge of the police cordon became restless.

At that moment, several police officers decisively stepped forward, restraining Liu Xueyi at the center and cuffing him.

"You’re all witnesses or persons with knowledge of the situation. No big issues. Just explain clearly, and that’ll be enough. But if you don’t cooperate, we’ll treat you as suspects," said a criminal investigator at the scene half-jokingly. Even those who made a living off "acting" unconsciously paused and obediently followed orders as they were shepherded into police cars.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t suspect they might be "tricked," but the cost of refusal was too immediate and too severe—far too much for their delicate physiques to handle.

At this moment, the number of police officers surrounding them was more than double their own, and anyone who had seen gang fights in movies would know that when riot-gear-clad policemen armed with batons and stun rods outnumbered them like this, there was practically no chance for resistance.

Before departing, Jiang Yuan deliberately checked the soles of their shoes, took Liu Xueyi’s fingerprints specifically, and reminded the officers escorting them to also collect fingerprints once they arrived.

Liu Jinghui had been quietly observing from the side the entire time. After Jiang Yuan finished, he finally asked, "Any matches yet?"

"No. At the moment, it seems Liu Xueyi didn’t leave any footprints at the scene," Jiang Yuan responded, shaking his head. He added, "But we haven’t started collecting many of the footprints or fingerprints yet."

Liu Jinghui stood beside Jiang Yuan and lowered his voice, saying, "With the footprints and fingerprints collected here, their evidentiary value may be somewhat weak. Extras or other crew members might simply claim they entered to film, to watch a shoot, or to visit the set. It would be hard to disprove their claims."

Mu Zhiyang added from the side, "If they say they’ve been here, they’ll need to specify the year, month, day, and who they came with."

"And if they say they don’t remember? What can you do then?" Liu Jinghui softened his tone and continued, "I’m not saying it’s useless. But as far as I know, these people working in film and television are masters of verbal manipulation. Think about it—people who can scam money out of investors don’t have any trouble lying through their teeth."

For lies from a long time ago, claiming to not remember may hold some weight with the police.

That, of course, depends on the matter at hand. If an ordinary person once entered a publicly accessible building and says they don’t remember, that could be viewed as a reasonable explanation. But if the same person had a relationship with another man, woman, or even an animal, and then claimed not to remember, they’d first have to prove why they considered the matter so trivial.

Turning around, Liu Jinghui shifted the topic, adding, "Of course, if Jiang Yuan’s footprint analysis can clarify the sequence of events leading to the crime, then a large part of this case would be solved."

Mu Zhiyang gave Liu Jinghui a sidelong glance and said, "Director Liu, you’re the true master of verbal manipulation."

"That’s why peers often compete." Liu Jinghui replied nonchalantly before turning to leave, saying, "Let’s head back. The real action is inside."

To him, this case was utterly addictive.

A celebrity, a locked room, multiple testimonies, and a mountain of dubious alibis. If Lanyue Film and Television City could make such cases a recurring thing, Liu Jinghui was willing to move there permanently.

Jiang Yuan could vaguely guess Liu Jinghui’s thoughts but couldn’t help but laugh, saying, "Someone just stood out earlier. It’s possible the real action will happen in the interrogation room."

Liu Jinghui also chuckled, saying, "If the murderer is dumb enough to make it obvious, I wouldn’t mind. But judging by the scale of this setup, so many people involved, killing the most prominent individual among them... I don’t think they’d leave any evidence in the hands of a bumbling fool like Liu Xueyi."

"True. Otherwise, even if their objective here succeeds, once news spreads and Liu Xueyi learns the shutdown was because Li Aiyuan died, he might try to blackmail them later," Jiang Yuan said, agreeing that Liu Jinghui’s reasoning made sense.

Liu Jinghui chuckled again, adding, "What’s even more interesting is that we’ve kept the entire crew locked away in interrogation rooms—no phones, no communication—and yet people outside can still mobilize so quickly..."

Mu Zhiyang’s hand instinctively moved toward his back.

"No need for that," Liu Jinghui noticed and quickly remarked, "Dai Mingsheng’s reputation seems solid, at least from what I’ve heard. Interrogating dozens of people and encountering issues is normal. In my opinion, it’s more likely they planned this all in advance. This case has been heavily premeditated from start to finish. It’s perfectly reasonable for the perpetrator to have accomplices and plan multiple contingency strategies ahead of time."

As he spoke, Liu Jinghui couldn’t help but lick his lips.

Mu Zhiyang couldn’t resist saying, "Director Liu, no need to rush..."

"I’m not rushing..." Liu Jinghui said, grinning broadly.

Jiang Yuan found it amusing to watch and began once more to put on his hood, mask, gloves, and boot covers, saying, "So you’re saying this case deserves serious effort."

"Weren’t you just working seriously?" Liu Jinghui asked, puzzled.

"I was trying to find some points of difference earlier—seeing if there were any unusual footprints or fingerprints. Since you think this case leans toward complexity, I can isolate footprints from certain individuals and track their movements," Jiang Yuan said as he turned to Liu Jinghui and asked, "Care to provide a list?"

"Yes, I do. Absolutely." Liu Jinghui grew even more excited. It had been a long time since he wanted so purely to treat Jiang Yuan as a tool.