Apocalypse: After Being Reborn, I Stocked Up on All Supplies

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: A Waste Not to Pursue Criminal Investigation

Hearing Ye Qing’s words, Jiang Yan subconsciously looked up at him.

Their eyes met as they sat opposite each other.

They silently gazed at each other for a few seconds.

Eventually, it ended with Ye Qing’s blushing face and diverted gaze.

Not only did Ye Qing’s face turn red, but his ears also reddened.

However, the dim lighting in the room somewhat concealed it.

Jiang Yan watched Ye Qing with a calm gaze, but inside, she was quickly weighing the pros and cons: whether, if he accompanied her downstairs, he might hold her back.

She quickly concluded: probably not.

After pondering for a second, Jiang Yan then said, “En, that works.”

“Then why don’t I and Sun Jingtao go together too?” Su Dai chimed in upon hearing this. “After all, the more, the merrier!”

“I don’t recommend all going down. Our door on the 32nd floor is open right now, and not many people are coming up presumably because they’re wary of us being here. If they find out we’ve all gone down, someone might take the chance to break in,” Sun Jingtao disagreed with his wife’s suggestion.

“Break in? What do you mean?” Jiang Yan was taken aback.

Sun Jingtao and Su Dai exchanged glances, and then he said, “Jiang Yan, do you remember the day you came over for grilled fish?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Ɲονǥ0.ƈο

“Yes,” Jiang Yan nodded.

“Did you hear any strange noises at home after we went downstairs that day?”

Jiang Yan shook her head.

She spent that night watching cartoons with her headphones on—how could she hear anything from outside.

Su Dai gently tapped him and said, “Jiang Yan’s house is the furthest from ours, and it was pouring outside then – how could she possibly hear anything?”

Sun Jingtao added, “That day when we came back from downstairs, we noticed two strange things: one, our door lock had been tampered with. Normally, it opens easily, but that day it was tough to get it open; there were also some faint scratches on the lock.

Two, from the fire escape to the entrance of 3203, there were fresh, just-dried bloodstains. It seems someone was injured and entered 3203. Those stains were only on the right side and there were many scattered footprints on the floor, which suggests the injured person did not leave the unit after entering.

However, those footprints came and went, indicating a group of people had moved up and down, and there weren’t just a few of them.

Later, Xiao Ye followed the blood trail and discovered it started from 2703 and dripped all the way upstairs. After asking Tian Jiliang, he said the residents of 2703 are a middle-aged couple from a single-parent family; their elderly mother passed away due to the high temperatures and they have a son.”

Jiang Yan’s eyes slightly narrowed as she listened to Sun Jingtao.

The corridor had not been cleaned for many months.

Though it continued to rain outside, which increased humidity and reduced dust, the floors inevitably accumulated some dust.

With few people on the 32nd floor, it was quite easy to make out footprints on the floor.

The lighting in the corridor was not even good during the day, let alone at night when it was pitch black.

Naturally, no one would think that someone could spot footprints left on the ground.

In reality, identifying tracks from footprints and bloodstains is a common plot in movies and TV shows, which most people understand.

Not to mention, both Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing have unusually meticulous minds, akin to scouts.

However, Jiang Yan still humorously said, “You two, with such professional attention to detail, it’s a pity not to go into criminal investigation.”

“It’s just superficial knowledge, nothing to laugh about,” Sun Jingtao said with a chuckle, his gaze flicking worriedly toward Ye Qing.

The latter, upon hearing Jiang Yan’s praise, curled the corners of his lips upward but did not speak.

Yet, within the depths of his eyes, a brief flicker of pain surfaced.

“Jiang Yan, we really owe thanks to you for giving us that flashlight; otherwise, we definitely wouldn’t have seen anything,” Su Dai said as she stood up to clear the table.

Jiang Yan chuckled and handed her bowl to her: “By the way, what time did you guys come back that night?”

Sun Jingtao thought for a moment: “Around twelve o’clock, why?”

Jiang Yan shook her head, “Just asking, nothing important.”

She silently calculated the timeline of the day they had fish.

The surveillance at home could keep footage locally for seven days.

Today was still within the valid period.

The time frame was also established, making it not difficult to confirm what had happened on the 32nd floor that day.

However, these matters definitely should not be discussed with the three of them.

She could only keep it to herself.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan stood up: “You guys go on; I’ll head back now.”

Sun Jingtao said, “Okay, just make sure to be careful when you go down. If anything seems off, hurry back upstairs. Su Dai and I will also go to the fire escape to keep an eye out; we can see both upstairs and downstairs from there.”

“Yes, if anything happens, just yell, and we’ll immediately rush down with weapons!” Su Dai waved her fist at her side.

Listening to their words, a slight emotion touched Jiang Yan’s heart.

This sort of situation, where little needed to be said for everyone to be on the same page and work together, had been long absent from her small world.

Yet her face revealed little emotion; she simply nodded faintly with an “En,” then turned to Ye Qing:

“How about we go down at around one in the afternoon, then meet directly at the door?”

According to what Sun Jingtao and the others had said earlier, Ma Longbiao’s group were nocturnal.

At one o’clock in the afternoon, right after lunch when everyone is most drowsy and complacent, that would be the time when their vigilance was at its lowest.

The door she referred to was naturally the fire escape on the 32nd floor.

“Okay, I’ll walk you out,” Ye Qing nodded and stood up with her.

It seems the food at Su Dai’s house was quite good, as he seemed more robust than before.

Plus, he was tall and broad-shouldered.

Jiang Yan walked ahead, and he followed behind, resembling a small mountain.

“See you this afternoon, Jiang Yan,” Ye Qing said as they approached the door, striding ahead to open it for her.

“En, this afternoon,” Jiang Yan said without turning her head, then walked out of 3204.

As she passed by 3203, she specifically glanced at the peephole.

But she saw nothing.

Space had enhanced her vision, but it didn’t turn her into someone with fire eyes.

Watching Jiang Yan safely enter her home, Ye Qing then closed the door on his side.

Xiao Ye, what are you looking at?” Sun Jingtao saw him standing at the door and couldn’t help but ask with a smile.

Usually, they observed the corridor through the peephole, naturally not by keeping the door open like this.

Brother Tao, I wasn’t looking at anything,” Ye Qing replied, pulling his thoughts back.

*

3201.

Upon returning home, Jiang Yan immediately went into the master bedroom.

She turned on the computer, found the footage from the day they went to Su Dai’s for grilled fish, and dragged the time slider directly to after her entry into her home.

It wasn’t long before the footage of Zhou Wei and Wang Jin attempting to break into 3204 appeared, followed by a scene of a large, dark-skinned man with a group entering 3203.

Jiang Yan had never seen Ma Longbiao.

But upon seeing Scarred Man, she instantly understood.

Subsequently, footage of a couple being taken into 3203 also appeared.

After that, it was after ten o’clock when Ma Longbiao’s group emerged from 3203.

They had stayed in the apartment for about two to three hours.

That middle-aged couple had entered but never left again.