Dude, something's really wrong with your abilities.

Chapter 70 Trapped Beast

"I estimated the time. When Zhao Lei made the call, they were performing that terrible skit called 'First Encounter with the Superpower Bureau' on stage. Quite a few people went out of the audience at that time."

Only after Chen Shi said this did everyone realize what was going on.

Just now, everyone's thinking was in a blind spot. The venue was packed, no one left early, and all the audience members were there, so everyone subconsciously assumed that the audience members could be ruled out as suspects.

The fact that the seats were full only proves that no one was absent throughout the entire event, but it does not prove that no one left temporarily.

Moreover, the propaganda department's performance was truly awful, a "disgrace to sketch comedy." While Section Chief Sun's singing was terrible, at least it could be considered a joke, but this sketch was dull and lengthy, making the audience feel restless. Precisely because of this, during the ten-odd minutes of the sketch, many audience members couldn't sit still and got up one after another to go to the restroom or to get some fresh air in the corridor.

During this time period, many people come and go, and no one pays special attention to the whereabouts or movements of others. This natural chaos is precisely the perfect cover for the murderer.

All he needed to do was leave during the skit performance, commit the crime, hide the body, and then quietly return to his seat with the returning crowd, without being noticed by anyone.

After listening to Chen Shi's explanation, Director Liu glanced at him with a complicated look in his eyes, which probably meant "I'll trust you one more time."

Without further hesitation, Director Liu immediately ordered: "Check the surveillance footage again, specifically the time period when this skit was broadcast, and make a list of everyone who left the audience."

In the monitoring room, everyone quickly reviewed the situation, and the investigation results were soon available. During the ten-odd minutes of the skit performance, a total of thirty-seven staff members from various departments got up and left their seats.

Only then did the investigators realize the oversight in the first video screening.

At first, when the security team reviewed the surveillance footage, their primary target was Zhao Lei. Everyone's attention was focused on tracing Zhao Lei's disappearance, determined to find out where he went.

Everyone subconsciously ignored or skipped over the movement routes of the other departing personnel.

The surveillance footage showed that most of the people leaving the auditorium went straight to the restroom, while some went to the water dispenser or stood in the corridor smoking. There was nothing unusual about it.

But one person's behavior was highly suspicious.

The surveillance footage clearly showed that as a large number of audience members got up to leave, he also got up with the crowd and mingled in the throng, heading towards the restrooms, appearing no different from the others. However, after only a few steps, he gradually fell to the back, then turned and walked towards the back of the auditorium.

There were no restrooms in that area, nor was it an exit route. He walked with his head down the whole time, but his gait was nothing special.

After he entered the blind spot of the surveillance camera, he disappeared for nearly ten minutes before reappearing on screen. He then blended into the returning crowd and sat back down in his original seat.

But these unusual actions alone only indicate that his behavior is a bit strange, at most suspicious.

The investigators zoomed in on the screen and pulled up a close-up of the person's face. Several veteran field team members gathered around and stared at the screen for a long time. Everyone was certain that this person was a colleague from the bureau because he looked very familiar, but no matter how hard they tried to recall, they couldn't remember his name. They only had a vague impression in their minds that this person seemed to be an office worker.

Fatty and Su Xiaohe also squeezed over to stare at the screen.

"Hey, isn't this so-and-so?" Su Xiaohe grabbed her hair, the name was right on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't say it.

"He does look familiar. I feel like I just saw him a few days ago," the fat man chimed in, equally confused.

Su Xiaohe stared at the close-up image for a long time, then suddenly her eyes lit up: "I remember now! It's from the administration department! That day, when Brother Daqiang and I went to ask Sister Zhou for news, he was in the office!"

The fat man was still in a daze: "It seems like that happened, but was he really there at the time? I have absolutely no recollection of it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi immediately took out his phone, opened the bureau's internal address book, and quickly scrolled to the administrative section page. Section Chief Liu Bohang, Sister Zhou Meifang, and the last person was Xiao Yuan.

If Xiao Yuan is indeed the murderer who killed Zhao Lei, then he is also very likely a mole hidden within the bureau.

Now that someone in the bureau has died, and the deceased was a registered employee, Director Liu doesn't want to wait any longer. He will not let go of even the slightest clue.

The atmosphere inside the auditorium was already tense and oppressive.

Everyone was forced to remain seated for nearly two hours. Many were already restless and irritable, yet no one dared to move. Sun Tiemei, like a guardian deity, sat firmly in the last row of the auditorium, intimidating the entire audience.

Everyone knew that not leaving was Director Liu's order, so arguing with Sun Tiemei would only be pointless and make a fool of themselves.

In the third row, Xiao Yuan sat upright, his demeanor somewhat resembling that of Sun Du, very refined.

When he first saw the screening personnel entering and leaving the auditorium, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

As time passed, the investigators outside stopped coming in. He began to feel uncertain, his mind and body tense, because he had no idea about the progress of the investigation outside, nor did he know if he had been exposed.

The auditorium was already under complete lockdown. Not only was Sun Tiemei personally guarding the entrance, but there was also a security team deployed outside. Trying to slip away under Sun Tiemei's nose was a pipe dream.

Trapped in the auditorium, Xiao Yuan could only suppress his panic and pretend to be calm, secretly praying that everyone would continue to focus on Zhao Lei's whereabouts.

Just then, the auditorium doors were pushed open from the outside.

Director Liu led his team into the auditorium, his gaze locking onto a figure in the third row. He immediately ordered, "Arrest him."

The two field team members moved swiftly, rushing to Xiao Yuan's side and raising their hands to subdue him.

Just when everyone thought everything was about to settle down, a ruthless glint appeared in the eyes of the seemingly refined young man.

With a flick of his wrist, a black pistol slid out of his sleeve, and he aimed it at Director Liu, quickly pulling the trigger.

"Bang!"

A piercing gunshot rang out in the auditorium, and everyone fell silent. It all happened so fast that many had no idea what was going on.

The shot came too suddenly, and Director Liu's teleportation ability had already been disabled.

Just at the critical moment, a burly figure suddenly pounced out from the side.

It's a fat guy!

He reacted extremely quickly, without having time to think, and instinctively stepped in front of Director Liu.

The bullet struck the fat man's shoulder and arm with a dull metallic clang. A layer of golden skin appeared on his body; the bullet couldn't penetrate his defenses and bounced off.

The moment the gunshot rang out, Sun Tiemei also moved.

Before Xiao Yuan could fire a second shot, a chilling aura swept over him, and visible frost rapidly climbed up Xiao Yuan's arm holding the gun, instantly covering his entire arm.

The extremely strong cryogenic power instantly froze his flesh and blood, making him unable to pull the trigger.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of field team members rushed forward and pinned Xiao Yuan to the ground.

He lowered his head, half of his body covered in frost, and the refined air about him was gone, revealing a ferocity and savagery that had been hidden for many years.