Netherworld Investigator

I calmly turned to Xiaotao, "Do you remember the day Deng Chao escaped from prison? When we visited at the time, I stuffed him with a pack of Hongtashan."

"As soon as I saw the body, I thought of him,” she nodded. “This is definitely the murderer’s signature. There’s no mistake about that!"

A few months after Deng Chao’s disappearance, he finally made a comeback. And it happened right when we were about to graduate. I had a vague sense of foreboding.

I waved those thoughts away and began the autopsy. The victim was a middle-aged man of about forty-five years old, with a dirty, full beard that made him seem grubby and untidy. He reeked of alcohol, and had the overall disposition of a low-income bachelor.

The victim’s clothes were covered in dust and grass, his trousers showing drag marks that suggested the body was moved after death. His collar, cuffs and oral cavity had a strong, almost overpowering smell of alcohol, and his face was a little flushed. I surmised that he might have been drunk right before he was murdered.

There was mud on the victim’s right index finger and thumb. When I carefully examined with Cave Vision, I found no traces of blood or skin, which indicated it was left before death.

Then, I emptied out the dead man's pockets and found an old, used smartphone, a bunch of keys, half a pack of Septwolves cigarettes, a dirty handkerchief and a folded piece of paper which turned out to be a court summons.

I handed it to Xiaotao who said, "I'll call to confirm."

After Xiaotao left, I removed the victim’s clothes and fiddled with his joints with my hands, trying to feel for muscle stiffness. Judging by his pupils, I estimated the time of death to be about ten hours.

When I placed his clothes aside, I noticed stains on the back, though they were so light I might have missed them. At the moment, I couldn't imagine how they were left so I went on to my next task.

Upon listening to the victim's torso with the Echolocation Rod, I discovered multiple blood clots in his bronchi but his viscera remained intact.

His throat was neatly slit with one move! Most of the blood flowed back into his trachea and a large amount of blood congealed around the wound, with a set of palm prints faintly visible on it. The victim’s palms were also stained with some blood.

Death wasn’t immediate when a person’s throat was slit. In fact, suffocation caused by cutting off the throat was the real cause of death. The victim subconsciously covered his throat in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Looking at the professional blade technique, I couldn't help but whisper, "Deng Chao, what have you experienced over the past few months?"

Then I opened the Autopsy Umbrella and slowly adjusted it to face the bright sunlight outside the window. I immediately found several Yang Energy Prints on the body. Right then, Xiaotao interrupted, "We’ve confirmed the victim’s identity. He’s a warehouse manager who is also a key witness in a murder case to be heard tomorrow."

I shook my head and sighed, "It looks like there won’t be a trial tomorrow and yet another murderer will remain at large..."

"What have you found?" asked Xiaotao.

I put away my Autopsy Umbrella. “The victim must have noticed something on the ground, perhaps money, on his way home alone after drinking last night, so he lowered his head and stooped to pick it up. Then the murderer used this opportunity to grab his shoulder from behind and deftly slit his throat in one motion. The entire process seems very impersonal, as if it was a hired gun."

"So, you’re trying to say that Deng Chao is now a professional killer?" asked Xiaotao.

"Do you remember when he escaped from prison? It was just after we took out the illegal live stream website which was closely linked to that mysterious organization. Taking out the website was tantamount to cutting off an important financial path of the organization, so I’m guessing they now regard me as an eyesore!” I surmised. “So they broke Deng Chao out of prison because of the enmity between us. They’re planning to let him deal with me, but before that, he has other tasks to complete."

“Deng Chao is challenging us!” I declared, pointing to the Hongtashan cigarette.

"It does sound like something the organization is capable of,” frowned Xiaotao. “My intuition tells me a storm is coming."

"Let’s go to the scene where the body was found and have a look!" 

The body was dumped near a row of single-story houses by the river. I recalled the water-like stains on the victim’s back. "It isn’t foggy this time of the year, is it?"

Xiaotao looked at the sky. "Not necessarily,” she replied. “If it rains, the area around the river will be foggy."

The technical team had already left after collecting all the evidence in the morning so the area was cordoned off and an officer was left behind to guard the place. I opened the Autopsy Umbrella, slowly adjusting the angle. Apart from the messy footprints on the ground, there was a trail of clearly visible drag marks.

Deng Chao's physical stamina was average which meant he had difficulty dragging the dead body. I followed the trail to a corner and stared at the wall, prompting a questioning look from Xiaotao. Grabbing a bag of seaweed ash, I blew at the wall where a palm print soon appeared.

"Was this left by the murderer?” exclaimed Xiaotao. “Fortunately, you discovered it! The technical team didn't even notice anything."

"As you can see, the fingerprints are very fuzzy, as if they were artificially damaged,” I pointed out.

Even so, it was still a key piece of evidence. Xiaotao was just about to call an officer but I shook my head, "There’s no need to hurry."

I took out a piece of deckled edge paper and covered the palm print, imprinting a complete palm onto the paper before carefully placing it in an evidence bag.

We continued to walk along the trail until it disappeared by the road marked by tire tracks. After staring at them for a long time, I deduced, "It was a light truck with worn-out tires, maybe an old one. Judging from the depth of the tracks, it should’ve been empty."

I was suddenly struck with an idea. "It's a refrigerated truck!" I shouted.

"Song Yang, how did you get from tire tracks to a refrigerated truck?" asked Xiaotao.

"There are speckled, droplet stains on the victim’s back. I have been contemplating how they were left behind but now I understand that it was caused by ice shards,” I explained. “The victim was lying on top of some ice shards that melted into those water stains."

"That makes perfect sense!" Xiaotao snapped her fingers.

"The vehicle was obviously enclosed,” I continued. “And the dead body shows no signs of being folded which tells me there was enough space in the vehicle for a man of 1.8 meters to lie flat. The truck was most likely stolen so check if there are any recent reports of a missing truck."

"Got it. I'll send someone to look it up immediately!"

After the call, Xiaotao said, "There’s nothing else to do for the time being. Why don't I visit your store?"

"It’s just a humble little store. There’s nothing much to look at," I scratched my head.

"It's your first time starting a business. I must lend you my support!" she laughed.

"All right then!" I nodded.

When we arrived at the store, Dali was trying to sell the sanitary napkins to a middle-aged woman. After seeing the customer off, he grinned at Xiaotao, "Xiaotao-jiejie, why are you here? Isn’t our store amazing?"

"Yes, not bad at all!” Xiaotao said, looking around the store. “I have to say I’m impressed that the two of you actually turned your ideas into reality!"

"It's all Dali’s hard work,” I admitted. “I didn’t do anything."

Xiaotao picked up a pack of sanitary napkins and looked at it. "You said that it’s breathable and prevents odors. But it’s not like you’ve actually tried it. What a load of nonsense!"

"I've tried every type!” Wang Dali patted his chest proudly. “I guarantee you’ll find it comfortable and breathable. You can be assured of the quality!"

Xiaotao stood there with her mouth agape. "That’s amazing! You’re so dedicated!"