After leaving the old man’s apartment, Zou Shuyang went upstairs. Yesterday had been so hectic that he hadn’t had the chance to properly inspect the stairwell while chasing after the shadowy figure.
Now that he looked around…
The stairwell was cluttered with all kinds of junk. Every landing was piled with discarded pots, pans, broken cupboards, and old containers. Due to the rain from two days ago, dried mud footprints stained the steps.
Zou Shuyang carefully stepped on the clean spots as he climbed, sighing to himself, “No wonder I saw Xiao Zhao from forensics looking like he was about to cry yesterday. With this kind of environment, anyone would break down.”
When he reached the landing between the sixth and seventh floors, Zou Shuyang mimicked what the old man had described earlier, craning his neck to see upwards. He tried for a while, nearly stretching his neck to the breaking point, but no matter what he did, there was no way to both remain hidden and see what was happening upstairs.
“He was definitely lying.”
With that conclusion, Zou Shuyang swiftly climbed the rest of the stairs. He donned gloves, opened Cheng Hao’s apartment door, and after putting on shoe covers, ducked under the police tape, finally entering the apartment.
Zou Shuyang walked leisurely through Cheng Hao’s home, taking everything in before arriving at a final conclusion.
The place was indeed clean and tidy.
Too tidy, in fact, with almost no signs of daily life.
The coffee table in the living room had an empty fruit bowl neatly placed on it. The sofa was covered with a pristine white fabric. The TV and air conditioning were unplugged, the refrigerator was so empty you could run laps inside, the kitchen utensils were neatly arranged, and there wasn’t a single piece of clothing in the bedroom wardrobe. The bed was made as neatly as if it were part of a movie set. Standing there, Zou Shuyang almost believed that this wasn’t Cheng Hao’s home at all—just a showroom.
After a thorough search, Zou Shuyang called Xiao Tang. “You said yesterday that Cheng Hao bought a house outright?”
Xiao Tang was still at the bank, and the sound of people being called to the counter could be heard in the background. “Yeah, it’s in Yundong Residential. Why, Captain Zou? Is there something wrong with the house?”
The property prices in Yundong Residential were around 15,000 yuan per square meter, more than three times the average price in Jiangzhou, a small city.
“Who’s at the station right now? I need two people to check out Cheng Hao’s house in Yundong Residential.”
Xiao Tang thought for a moment before speaking in a low voice. “You’ll have to ask Captain He for that. The suspect in his case has been caught, so he probably doesn’t need as many people.”
“Got it.”
Zou Shuyang ended the call and immediately contacted Captain He. As soon as he mentioned needing people to investigate Cheng Hao’s house in Yundong Residential, before he even had a chance to explain why, Captain He readily agreed. Not only that, but he also offered to send his most trusted team members, and even volunteered to go himself.
“Wait… Captain He, isn’t this just a small matter? Why do you need to get involved?” Zou Shuyang felt a bit overwhelmed by the offer.
Although they had calmly discussed the case together yesterday, the truth was that they weren’t exactly on friendly terms.
There was a brief silence on Captain He’s end before he finally spoke. “The Shen Tinglan case… Zou Shuyang, I trust you. Don’t let me down.”
Then the line went dead.
Zou Shuyang stood there, staring blankly for a while before lowering his head and letting out a quiet, amused laugh.
That Captain He…
But, truth be told, with Captain He’s trust, Zou Shuyang felt even more motivated. He spent the entire morning thoroughly investigating Cheng Hao’s apartment, practically turning it upside down.
He repeatedly examined the balcony where Cheng Hao had jumped, visiting it multiple times.
Unfortunately, the scene was too clean. Zou Shuyang couldn’t find a single useful clue and eventually left in frustration. However, just as he was about to exit the apartment, something caught his attention—a barely visible water stain on the shoe cabinet.
“What’s this…?”
——
When Zou Shuyang arrived at the forensic lab, Coroner Cui had just finished compiling the autopsy reports.
Noticing someone approaching, Coroner Cui, with dark circles under her eyes, glanced at Zou Shuyang. “Captain Zou, your timing is impeccable. I just finished the reports.”
Zou Shuyang laughed it off as a coincidence and asked, “Are the autopsy results for both victims from yesterday ready?”
Supporting herself on the table, Coroner Cui wobbled slightly. “Sorry, I pulled an all-nighter last night. Feeling a bit light-headed.”
She waved off Zou Shuyang’s attempt to help her and adjusted her glasses. “You’ve probably already confirmed the identities of the deceased, so I won’t go into that. Both victims from yesterday had multiple abrasions and bruises, severe internal bleeding, and organ lacerations. The cause of death in both cases was intracranial hemorrhaging due to skull fractures.”
She handed Zou Shuyang the autopsy reports, pulling them from the printer. “These findings are consistent with high falls. Additionally, neither victim had any signs of restraint or struggle, suggesting accidental falls or suicides.”
Noticing the hesitation in Coroner Cui’s expression, Zou Shuyang raised an eyebrow. “Is there something unusual?”
Coroner Cui murmured a low “hmm” and pulled out a stack of photographs from her cluttered desk. “These are the photos of the two victims.”
Zou Shuyang looked at the pale, rigid bodies in the photos, then at Coroner Cui, blinking in confusion. “What…?”
Coroner Cui shot him a disdainful look. “Look closely. You can’t expect everything to be handed to you.”
Pouting, Zou Shuyang took her advice seriously and carefully examined the photos of the two victims. Suddenly, his eyes focused, and his pupils dilated slightly.
He pointed to a small red dot on the necks of both victims in the photos. “Is this… a needle mark?”
Coroner Cui clapped her hands in mock applause. “You got it.”
But her expression quickly turned serious, as if she had just changed faces in a drama. “These needle marks are fresh, indicating they were made while the victims were still alive. What’s strange is that we didn’t find any traces of drugs in the bodies. No anesthesia, no muscle relaxants, nothing.”
“So, the needle marks…?”
Coroner Cui demonstrated. “Based on the angle and depth of the punctures, we can determine that the morning victim was attacked head-on, with the assailant inserting the needle directly into their neck.”
After mimicking the motion, she turned around. “As for the afternoon victim, the assailant attacked from behind, holding the victim in a chokehold with one arm while using the left hand to insert the needle.”
“This was done by someone with experience.” Coroner Cui concluded, retrieving the photos from Zou Shuyang. “The perpetrator is likely at least 1.85 meters tall, has significant upper body strength, and probably works in a medical-related field.”
“Is that so?” Zou Shuyang rubbed his chin, his mind wandering. This was a solid lead.
Coroner Cui seemed like she had more to say, but just then, the internal phone rang. After answering it, her expression darkened.
“What’s wrong?”
“The lab results from the sample you brought back from Cheng Hao’s death scene are in.” she said, frowning. “It’s a new anesthetic derived from spores, known as PHR769. It’s fast-acting and highly potent. Once it enters the body, it’s fully absorbed within ten minutes. The side effects are minimal, and it’s currently in clinical trials.”
Coroner Cui sighed. “The problem lies in that fact.”
Seeing Zou Shuyang’s puzzled expression, she rummaged through her cluttered desk and pulled out a two-year-old journal. “Here, take a look. This is PHR769.”
Caught off guard, Zou Shuyang was greeted by a page full of chemical formulas. He respectfully pushed the journal back towards her. “So this P-whatever is that powerful?”
“It’s PHR769.” Coroner Cui corrected. She hadn’t really expected him to understand the scientific content, but as a forensic scientist, she was meticulous about providing evidence. “This article details the discovery and accidental creation of PHR769. So, anyone in the field—whether forensic scientists or doctors—could theoretically produce it, as long as they had the raw materials.”
Zou Shuyang scratched the back of his head. “That broadens the suspect pool considerably.”
Coroner Cui nodded sympathetically. “And it doesn’t necessarily mean that the person who made the drug is the killer.”
“A buyer-seller relationship?”
Coroner Cui gave him a thumbs-up. “Exactly.”
——
Back in the Major Crimes Unit’s office, Zou Shuyang slumped in his chair, feeling dazed. What he had initially thought was just a simple case of people falling to their deaths had turned out to be much more complicated.
“Captain Zou, you’re back?” Xiao Tang rushed over excitedly. “I’ve checked Cheng Hao and Shen Jun’s bank records. Other than a one-million-yuan deposit Shen Jun made the day before yesterday, neither of them had any significant financial transactions in the past ten years. Even their parents haven’t had any major financial changes.”
Zou Shuyang rubbed his temples. “What about the other three?”
Xiao Tang knew exactly who Zou Shuyang meant—the three others involved in Shen Tinglan’s murder. “Before they closed their accounts, they didn’t have any large deposits either.”
Pausing, Xiao Tang added in confusion, “If it weren’t for that million-yuan deposit, I’d seriously question whether Jiang Hongye’s testimony was even true.”
Zou Shuyang twirled a pen, tapping it lightly on the table. “It’s probably true. Shen Tinglan’s death wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment attack. It was a premeditated murder for hire.”
Removing the pen cap, Zou Shuyang pulled out a blank piece of paper and wrote “Shen Tinglan” in the middle, drawing a cross over the name. “Based on this premise, we can speculate that Shen Tinglan’s death drastically changed the lives of Shen Jun and the others. Their unsatisfactory lives led them to blackmail the person who originally hired them to kill Shen Tinglan. The employer, unhappy with the blackmail, decided to eliminate them all. That’s one possibility.”
He drew another line on the paper. “The second possibility is that one of Shen Tinglan’s friends or family members, unwilling to let the killers live freely, decided to take revenge on them one by one.”
Staring at the paper, Xiao Tang immediately chimed in, “Jiang Hongye!”
Zou Shuyang paused for a moment, then adjusted his theory. “The third possibility is that Jiang Hongye, jealous of Shen Jun and the others’ better lives, killed them out of resentment.”
Xiao Tang’s head was spinning. “Wait, wasn’t this just a case of people falling to their deaths? How did it lead to all of this?”
Zou Shuyang stared at the paper intently. “I have a feeling that the truth is far more complex. Like an iceberg, we’re only seeing the tip of it.”
Just then, someone at the door called out, “Captain Zou, we’ve found that woman from yesterday.”
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