Accidental Hero: The Rookie Who Outshines the Force - Chapter 57

Inside the Criminal Investigation Unit, a strange scene unfolded.

A rookie from the local precinct sat in a chair, poring over the case files alone.

The others?

They all stood behind Lu Cheng, watching his every move.

It was as if Lu Cheng were the professional, and everyone else was simply waiting for his analysis.

Completely backwards.

The whole criminal unit—how embarrassing.

But at this moment, no one seemed to notice. Everyone’s focus was on uncovering the truth.

Even the district chief, Yang Zheng, stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for Lu Cheng to unravel the case.

Su Qingwu’s eyes gradually brightened. So this food delivery guy, who had appeared in Fangjia Alley before the crime, was very likely the owner of that fingerprint!

He had wielded the claw hammer, striking Lin Xiaoman multiple times—finishing the job Wu Hao hadn’t.

He had disposed of the body too.

But why?

What was the motive?

Lu Cheng’s next move made the motive clear.

He pulled out Lin Xiaoman’s call records from 24 hours before and after the incident, analyzing her social background, wondering if she might have enemies.

Through investigation, he found that Lin Xiaoman worked at the Royal KVT front desk, extremely professional, always smiling at guests—even when dealing with tipsy harassers, she bore it silently and earned generous tips.

She had been working in Jianghai for three years, coming from out of town, and no one in her circle seemed to hold a grudge against her.

Lu Cheng highlighted one call record from the day before the incident.

An unknown number had called, and Lin Xiaoman had refused three times.

“A food delivery guy, juggling multiple orders, rushed to Fangjia Alley without knowing the exact house number, so he called Lin Xiaoman.”

“She was probably busy—putting on makeup, showering, using the restroom, or doing yoga—and hung up three times.”

“When the order was overdue, she finally called to ask where it was.”

“The delivery guy, frustrated, scolded her for not answering, and for giving an unclear address.”

“Lin Xiaoman, proud and irritated, argued with the delivery guy, and after receiving the food, even gave him a bad review.”

“The delivery guy’s anger boiled, brewing a desire for revenge. He had assumed she lived alone, but then Wu Hao appeared. The delivery guy watched from outside, waiting…”

Lu Cheng spoke as if telling a story—and everyone knew the ending.

After Wu Hao fled in a panic, the delivery guy climbed through the window into the apartment, retrieved the claw hammer, and struck Lin Xiaoman repeatedly until she stopped breathing.

Then he moved the body.

No cameras were in the alley, and it had rained that night. Using his delivery scooter, he placed Lin Xiaoman in a plastic delivery box and carried her to the river.

The story made sense—but evidence was required.

Lu Cheng opened Lin Xiaoman’s phone, checking the food delivery app. At 6:57 PM, she had confirmed delivery and given the rider a bad review, also complaining that he had insulted and threatened the customer.

The platform sided with her and deducted 150 yuan from the rider without investigation.

Such things happened often.

But this time, the delivery guy’s emotions erupted. Impulse became devilish, and he plunged into darkness.

Everything now fit together.

With the case clear, everyone stared at Lu Cheng—shock, curiosity, admiration, disbelief in their eyes.

He had overturned the original case based on a single fingerprint that didn’t belong to the primary suspect, Wu Hao, and reconstructed a story that initially seemed absurd but now made perfect sense.

Hearing it, everyone thought, “Ah, so that’s the sequence of events.”

At the start, no one could have guessed the killer was an unknown delivery guy.

Everyone had assumed Wu Hao was the culprit, and all investigations had followed that path.

Only an outsider had proposed a completely different theory.

The thought sent shivers down their spines—without Lu Cheng, everyone would have dismissed that fingerprint on the window hook as a coincidence.

Even if Wu Hao hadn’t confessed, the case could have been closed with the physical evidence.

Of course, if Wu Hao could provide an alibi for the disposal of the body, the case might have taken another turn.

Now it depended on Captain Qin’s follow-up interrogation.

Lu Cheng noticed everyone’s burning eyes on him. Expressionless, he reminded himself—this wasn’t the time to bask in admiration.

He looked at Qin Mian and said, “Captain, time is of the essence. Should we bring the delivery guy, Ruan Sicong, in for questioning?”

“Ruan Sicong?”

The rider’s name and number were in the delivery app. Since the system was real-name registered, finding him was a piece of cake.

Half an hour later, he was in custody.

Ruan Sicong hadn’t expected to escape the law, but he hadn’t imagined he would be caught this quickly!

He had thought days would pass before anyone discovered the body.

Yet he was apprehended the very next afternoon! He regretted the effort of disposing of the body.

What he didn’t know was that fate had intervened that night—wind, rain, and the river itself.

After the body floated up, it quickly drifted ashore.

Inexperienced and careless, he hadn’t even tied a stone to the body.

Moreover, Lu Cheng—this ridiculously overpowered rookie—managed to crack the case within 12 hours in the Criminal Investigation Unit.

His master, Zhao Han, had repeatedly told him to watch and learn from the unit. A rare opportunity—but Lu Cheng solved the case outright.

After the interrogation, all evidence and testimony were in place.

One suspect faced attempted murder, the other intentional homicide. Both would be locked up in no time.

Afterward, the case still required long-term work: completing the evidence chain, preserving original evidence, preparing investigation files, liaising with the victim’s family…

The Criminal Investigation Unit buzzed with organized activity.

Even Yang Zheng had to manage public opinion.

Meanwhile, Lu Cheng, the young genius who cracked the case, stood like a solitary candle in the office.

Everyone else passed him by, too busy to even glance at him.

Lu Cheng was puzzled. I didn’t even take all the credit, but why’s no one paying attention?

Finally, Su Qingwu pulled him aside.

“I won’t send you home. Take a taxi. Don’t make a fuss about this case—think of the unit’s reputation. We’ll call you for dinner later. That’s it.”

With that, she left, her graceful figure disappearing into the office.

Lu Cheng: …