SFTD -Chapter 319 Missing Memory (Part 11)

Xu Biao smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with that. We’re just considering the safety of the general public. No need to be polite with us—serving the people is what we do.”

Hu Xiaoyu didn’t respond to Xu Biao’s words. She glanced at Zhou Hai twice.

“I appreciate your understanding, officer. Just tell me directly whatever you need me to do. I’ll tell you everything I know without holding anything back. After all, we’re running an open business. If we keep getting inspected like this, it will affect our operations.”

Only then did Zhou Hai nod. He took out his phone and handed it over. A video from the second blog post was already playing.

The woman took the phone and frowned slightly as she watched.

“This video… it looks like it was shot in my place?”

“Is this security guard one of your people?”

Hu Xiaoyu looked at it carefully again and nodded.

“Yes. That’s Xiao Chi, our bar’s security supervisor. He’s a former armed police officer. He’s been working for me for over two years.”

“Can we call him over?”

Hu Xiaoyu looked even more confused, pointing toward the bar.

“He should be here. They usually come in through the back entrance. Let’s go take a look.”

The three of them followed Hu Xiaoyu into the bar. It was very large, but the lighting inside was extremely dim, with only the central walkway illuminated. Captain Xu and the others from the fire department were already gone, likely inspecting the scene.

Zhou Hai looked around. The first floor of the bar was divided into east and west sections. The west side had a small live performance stage with instruments set up, while the east side was regular booth seating and relatively quiet. Just as Xiao Liu had said, the environment of the east booths matched what was shown in the video very closely.

Hu Xiaoyu scanned the area but couldn’t find Xiao Chi. She called a cleaning staff member and asked him to go upstairs and get him.

After a while, the man returned with a tall, muscular young man. The moment he appeared, Xu Biao and Xiao Liu immediately turned to look at Zhou Hai. It was obvious—they both recognized him as the white-clothed man in the video.

Xiao Chi walked up to Hu Xiaoyu and nodded slightly.

“Boss, you were looking for me?”

Hu Xiaoyu nodded and pointed at Zhou Hai and the others.

“These officers have some questions for you. Just answer truthfully. Don’t worry.”

They sat down in a booth. Someone brought water, but Zhou Hai waved it off. He handed his phone to Xiao Chi and asked directly: “Have you seen this video?”

Xiao Chi took it, looked at it, then glanced at Hu Xiaoyu and nodded.

“I’ve seen it. It went viral in our WeChat circles yesterday. A friend forwarded it to me at noon.”

“Do you recognize the person in the video? What happened at the time? Don’t be nervous, just tell us the truth. We’re not here to hold you responsible. We just want to understand what happened that night.”

Hearing this, Xiao Chi’s tightly clenched fists finally relaxed a little. He narrowed his eyes, recalling what happened on the night of the 22nd.

“On the night of the 22nd, around midnight, our east-side band was performing. A man and a woman came in one after another. The man looked very drunk, staggering. The woman in a red dress couldn’t really hold him back.

He was very excited. He didn’t say anything when he came in and rushed straight toward the stage where the band was performing. My colleague informed me, so I quickly went over to stop him. I told him, ‘Sir, you can sit and watch the performance.’

But he didn’t respond and tried to push past me. I grabbed him, but he seemed to have almost no strength. Seeing that, and worried he’d disrupt the performance, I helped him to the east booth area and had him sit here.

The woman who came with him followed and kept apologizing. I let go of him, but he suddenly stood up and shoved me. I wasn’t prepared and fell.

When I got up, he tried to attack me again. I instinctively punched him.

Then he fell right onto this spot. I really didn’t expect him to be unable to dodge. He had a cut at the corner of his mouth and was bleeding. He seemed even more intoxicated. The woman rushed over to help him up and wanted to leave. I called two people to assist them.

After that, they both left.”

Zhou Hai stood up and went to the spot Xiao Chi had indicated. He checked the video on his phone again. The location seemed to match.

Xu Biao also walked over and knelt down on one knee, pressing his face close to the floor.

“Boss Hu, can you turn on the lights here?”

Hu Xiaoyu clapped her hands twice.

“Turn on the lights!”

With that command, the entire hall lit up brightly.

Xu Biao, surprisingly agile despite his build, knelt close to the ground and began examining the area. Since bars are cleaned daily, there are usually very few traces left. Fortunately, the booth area had cultural stone flooring rather than smooth tiles, which meant traces might still remain.

After a moment, Zhou Hai suddenly paused. Near the edge of the chair, in the gap between two floor tiles, he spotted two dark purple-black stains. He quickly crouched down and examined them carefully with a magnifying glass.

“Xu Biao, look—this is blood!”

Xu Biao quickly leaned over. After taking a look, he grinned and grabbed Xiao Chi.

“After you hit him, did he fall right here?”

Xiao Chi thought for a moment and nodded firmly.

“Yes, right here. The table was even pushed aside at the time.”

Xu Biao got excited and rushed outside like he had just been energized. Moments later, he returned carrying a large forensic kit. He took photos, then applied a reagent to the bloodstains.

After a short wait, he used a pipette to collect the liquefied sample and sealed it in a test tube.

“All done.”

Zhou Hai nodded and looked at Hu Xiaoyu.

“Thank you for your cooperation. Please ensure Xiao Chi does not leave Dongnan for now. If we need him to testify in court, we may need his assistance.”

Xiao Chi looked confused. He had only hit someone—now that he knew the man was a police officer and that a murder case might be involved, he felt increasingly uneasy.

“If I need to apologize or compensate, just have him come to me directly. Saying it like this is really scary.”

Xu Biao shrugged and looked at Zhou Hai.

“Don’t be nervous, Xiao Chi. If you’re asked to testify or give a statement later, just repeat what you said today. Nothing will happen to you. In fact, we should be thanking you.”

Though still uncertain, Xiao Chi felt relieved after hearing this.

“Alright then.”

Xiao Liu also smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay here for now. I’ll have someone come take your statement later, and I’ll personally handle it. Is that okay?”

“That would be great!”

Zhou Hai stood up and nodded at Xiao Liu.

“Alright, you stay here. We’ll go back to the center first. This needs to be sent for analysis. If we can find what I’m looking for, it may prove that Wang Xuchao’s behavior was abnormal.”

Xiao Liu suddenly slapped his forehead and quickly pulled out a thick stack of files from his briefcase, handing them to Zhou Hai.

“Look at my memory—these are the full copies of Wang Shouxin’s case materials.”