"What? Speak quickly." I urged.
Yuan Hezhi turned the screen towards us in the Punishment Squad and took a sip of water before saying, "All three women are 30 years old!"
"Uh, that's it?" I was almost amused, but Yuan Hezhi insisted, "This is roughly consistent with the victim's description of the woman. In any case, I believe one of them must be the suspect!"
"Alright, let's find these three people first. Send me the information!"
As I instructed, the technical police began a large-scale search using mobile phone signals, ID records, dashcams, and surveillance cameras. However, with specific identity information and the cooperation of the police station, they should be found easily unless they were hiding very well. Yuan Hezhi had probably hacked into the company's website earlier and obtained information from data like absenteeism records. This guy was becoming increasingly proficient in hacker technology.
Over the years, he had shown remarkable progress under He Xin's tutelage, even surpassing her. If He Xin truly wanted to resign from the police force to focus on taking care of Dao Tianxing, I would agree. Then, I would let Yuan Hezhi become the new head of the technical department. After all, He Xin was already a mother, and working so intensely might not be good for her child's growth.
Of course, that was a matter for the future. I waited for the results. After some time, an investigator helped us find a woman named Liang Manxiang, who had recently resigned from Ronghui Drone Technology Company. She was indeed 30 years old and appeared mature. I asked the investigator to bring her in and arranged for her to be in the interrogation room.
When Liu Yuning and I faced Liang Manxiang, she looked at us with a bewildered expression.
"What's going on? Officer, have I done something wrong?" Liang Manxiang asked us, surprised.
We presented Zhang Yangcheng's photo and pictures of his home, laying them out before her one by one to observe her reaction. Before we could speak, Liang Manxiang exclaimed, "Who is this dead person? So disgusting! Why are you showing me this? I don't know him!"
"Are you sure?" I simply said a few words, but Liang Manxiang became impatient and angry. "What do you mean sure or not sure? I definitely haven't seen this person, and I like women!"
"Oh? You're a lesbian?" I asked.
"That's right, so what? If you don't believe me, you can go to a doctor for a check-up!"
"But that doesn't prove you couldn't have killed a man, does it? Liang Manxiang, do you know why we found you?" Liu Yuning asked.
Liang Manxiang shook her head vigorously. "I haven't done anything bad recently. I think you must have made a mistake. Did you arrest the wrong person?"
"If you haven't done anything, why would you emphasize that you like women? Don't you think that's a way of trying to cover something up?" I probed deliberately.
However, Liang Manxiang was incredibly thick-skinned. "I don't think so! Besides, if you had enough evidence, you would have already put me in the interrogation room. This is just an interview room, so I suspect you're investigating me because of personal connections."
"According to our research, we've found three other individuals with similar drone technology. However, the screening results locked onto you. Don't tell me you don't know anything about drones. These things can't just be coincidences!" Liu Yuning questioned her.
Liang Manxiang put on an expression of "Why me just because I know drone technology?" and said dismissively, "Even if I have drones at home, you can't do anything to me. There are so many drones in the world, how do you know that one is mine? Many drones look identical, and without surveillance or witnesses, who told you that my drone killed someone? Even if my drone killed someone, that's its problem. It might have malfunctioned. Can you prove that I operated it to kill someone?"
As soon as she said this, I immediately realized that Liang Manxiang had already thought of every possible scenario. She had even voiced the last point. She was actually right. Even if we found drones at her home, it would be useless. Her lawyer could always argue that she didn't operate the drone to kill, and it was all due to a malfunction.
After all, machine failures are quite possible.
This is different from a dog owner whose dog bites someone. According to the law, the dog owner is legally responsible if their dog bites someone, unless it's a stray.
"Heh, you're very smart. I presume you've already disposed of the controller?" Liu Yuning sneered.
Liang Manxiang shook her head. "What controller? I don't have one. Our drones are all automatic."
"Automatic? You didn't control it, and it flew by itself?"
"You might not know this, but current drones are very intelligent. You don't need a controller; you can operate them directly with voice commands."
Liu Yuning immediately seized on the flaw in Liang Manxiang's statement. "So you used your voice to make the drone kill someone?"
"Haha, Officer Liu, you're too naive. While voice commands can control drones, if it involves complex actions like killing and escaping, I must say that our country's technology hasn't reached that level yet. In fact, current drones can only perform simple tasks like transporting goods or monitoring areas."
This woman was extremely knowledgeable about her industry. Even if she truly knew how to use drones to kill, it might be difficult for us to find any loopholes, as we were outsiders in drone technology.
It seems we'll need to find an expert to study this.
Many investigators had already searched Liang Manxiang's home. She indeed hadn't hidden her drones, and a large number of them, at least dozens, were found there.
I knew she was doing this intentionally. So many drones were not the ones she used for the killing. The reason I suspected her was based on my experience. Now I had a feeling that I knew it was her but couldn't find any evidence.
I've encountered similar cases before. Often, the suspect is quickly identified, but evidence is elusive. The suspects have solid alibis, or no connection to the victim, and so on.
Regarding alibis, investigators had checked Liang Manxiang's whereabouts multiple times, and the results were consistent with previous findings. She was quite far from the scene. However, if the murder was committed remotely using a drone, it was still possible. It's just that we haven't found direct evidence. What we have found so far is not enough to convict her.
After we had confirmed some clues, I deliberately returned to the interrogation room. "I'm sorry, Ms. Liang. We've investigated thoroughly, and this matter has nothing to do with you. I hope you don't mind. We will find the real killer as soon as possible."