Chapter 1: Afraid of Corpses?

Chapter 1: Afraid of Corpses?

This winter has been exceptionally cold.

Fang Yun got off her electric scooter, removed her hat and mask, and rubbed her chilled face, letting out a deep sigh.

What a freakish weather! Even though spring has already begun, the temperature remains so low, especially with that eerie wind that seems to penetrate right through the mask into one's bones, making it almost unbearable for those who have to go to work.

She rubbed her arms and hurried into the small building ahead.

The Criminal Investigation Detachment is housed in a separate five-story building, with the administrative offices and the Major Case Division located on the third floor. Fang Yun arrived early today, hoping to quickly get inside and turn on the air conditioning to warm up. However, as soon as she pushed open the door, a wave of warm air greeted her.

She was momentarily taken aback, but upon seeing the tall, slender figure with a ponytail inside, she smiled in surprise: "Xiao Shen, you're here so early?"

The room was so warm; the AC must have been running for a while.

Shen Qingye turned around, her eyes dark and clear, her smile serene and kind: "I didn't have much to do at home, so I came early."

As she spoke, she casually poured a cup of water and placed it on Fang Yun's desk.

Seeing her actions, Fang Yun's eyes softened. She took a sip from the teacup and exhaled slowly: "It's way warmer in the office..."

She couldn't help but complain: "What kind of crazy weather is this? The Lunar New Year has already passed, and it's still below zero! Didn't the experts talk about global warming? What kind of warming is this?"

Shen Qingye smiled reassuringly: "It doesn't change that quickly. Besides, if it suddenly got warm, that would be strange, wouldn't it?"

Fang Yun: "That's true."

The two chatted casually as others in the office trickled in. After exchanging greetings, everyone got busy with their own tasks.

The office work wasn't too demanding, especially since Shen Qingye had just joined and wasn't yet assigned any major tasks. With her high efficiency, she usually had plenty of free time.

Until a knock on the door interrupted the quiet. Shen Qingye looked up to see a tall figure casually leaning against the doorframe. The man had striking features, sharp and intense, yet he had a laid-back air about him, which somewhat balanced out his intimidating presence.

"Ms. Yun, I'm here to pick up some materials," his voice was low and relaxed. "I want to go over the forensic findings from that last case again."

Fang Yun stood up: "Wasn't that case already solved?"

Yue Lingchuan stepped forward: "It was solved, but I want to review it again. I almost got outsmarted by that guy last time, so I need to learn from it."

Fang Yun clicked her tongue: "That suspect was really cunning. Just glancing at the files you handed in gave me a headache. It's amazing how fast you cracked the case."

She handed over the file, and just as Yue Lingchuan was about to take it, someone urgently called out from behind: "Captain Yue!"

Yue Lingchuan paused and turned around. The operator, Xiao Liu, was panting: "I couldn't find you in your office earlier—"

His face was grim: "There's been a murder at Wenhua Apartments. We need you to go there."

Yue Lingchuan's expression hardened, and he responded in a deep voice: "Understood."

He then turned to Fang Yun: "I'll grab the materials later. Gotta go."

Fang Yun shrugged, unfazed.

Yue Lingchuan marched out of the office with determination, but suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Fang Yun glanced at him curiously, only to see him turn around and slowly scan the room—

Ms. Yun scares easily, and the other two colleagues are in their forties to fifties.

His gaze finally landed on Shen Qingye.

"Xiao Shen, right?" he asked. "I remember you graduated from the Police University."

Shen Qingye's eyes shifted slightly, and she slowly straightened up. "Yes."

He asked again, "Are you scared of dead bodies?"

Shen Qingye had a faint idea, her expression firm. "No."

He chuckled softly and motioned for her to follow. "Follow me."

Shen Qingye's eyes lit up subtly, and she quickly stood up, jogging out after him.

·

"Jiang Cheng and the others are out apprehending suspects. Teams one and two are tied up with cases. Right now, it's just me in team three, and we're short on hands."

Yue Lingchuan steered with one hand, glancing at the girl in the passenger seat. "I just called Luo Kaiyang. He'll be here soon. Don't worry, you won't have to do much—just some routine interviews and documentation. If you're uncomfortable, just let me know."

Shen Qingye shook her head. "I'm not scared."

Yue Lingchuan asked, "Did you handle dead bodies during your training?"

Shen Qingye replied, "Yes."

Yue Lingchuan nodded. "Good."

The black jeep raced down the road. Shen Qingye watched the scenery blur past, her expression calm. Suddenly, she asked, "Brother Jiang and the others... are they handling that rainy night serial killer case?"

"What?" Yue Lingchuan took a moment to realize what she was referring to, then answered, "Yes."

Shen Qingye looked at him curiously. "Has the killer been found?"

"Almost," Yue Lingchuan said, his knuckles tapping the steering wheel. "All the evidence points to him. Once we bring him in for interrogation, it should be clear."

Shen Qingye nodded thoughtfully and dropped the subject.

Yue Lingchuan drove like a maniac, and in about half an hour, they arrived at the entrance of Wenhua Apartments.

As they got out of the car, he instructed, "Once we're inside, don't touch anything. Just stay close behind me."

Shen Qingye nodded in agreement.

·

Wenhua Apartments, though called apartments, were actually converted from an old factory's employee housing. The building had seven floors. The first five floors were made up of small single rooms rented to migrant workers, while the top two floors had larger suites.

Shen Qingye stood at the foot of the building, gazing up at the faded, peeling walls and the few scattered air conditioning units hanging outside. She then stepped inside.

The crime scene was on the second floor. The person who reported the crime was the victim's next-door neighbor.

According to the neighbor, she and the victim, Zhou Meihua, usually woke up and left for work at the same time every day. They would also go to the communal washroom together. But this morning, when she got up, Zhou Meihua's door was still tightly locked. She thought Zhou had come back late the previous night and overslept. Worried that Zhou might be late for work, she went to knock on her door after finishing her own routine.

"I knocked for several minutes, but there was no response. I immediately felt something was wrong. When I looked down, I saw a pool of blood seeping out from under the door! I was so terrified that I called the police immediately!" The neighbor, an elderly woman, spoke in horror, her eyes darting toward the room before quickly looking away, her face filled with distress.

Shen Qingye looked at the young female corpse lying in a pool of blood, dressed only in pajamas. She then surveyed the room. The small room, about ten square meters, had no bathroom or sink, only a small balcony with women's clothes hanging on it. Inside the room, there was a bed, a wardrobe, and a dressing table next to it. In the middle of the room was a table, seemingly used for meals, cluttered with miscellaneous items and kitchenware.

The room had few appliances, just an air conditioner that hadn't been used in ages, coated in dust.

The room, though small, was tidy and not messy.

Yue Lingchuan asked the local police officer beside him, "Has anyone tampered with the crime scene?"

The officer shook his head, "No, after we arrived, we got the key from the landlord, sealed off the scene, and waited for you to arrive."

Yue Lingchuan: "What about the weapon?"

The officer gestured to the floor, "It’s likely the fruit knife on the ground, but it’s been wiped clean, so it probably won’t yield any useful evidence."

Yue Lingchuan stepped forward, glanced down, "It’s a common type—hard to tell if it belonged to the victim or was brought by the killer."

He walked around the room again, "The room is neatly arranged, with no signs of a struggle. It doesn’t seem like a stranger did this—"

As he spoke, Qin Yilang, the forensic doctor who had finished examining the body, came over and added, "Based on the body’s condition, the cause of death was a stab wound to the abdomen that ruptured the abdominal aorta, causing fatal blood loss. The time of death is estimated at 8 to 10 hours ago."

Shen Qingye raised an eyebrow, Yue Lingchuan also said, "So that would put it between 11 PM last night and 1 AM this morning... that late?"

He turned to the neighbor, "Did you hear anything last night?"

The neighbor grimaced, "No, it was so late, everyone was asleep. My husband and I are heavy sleepers—what could we have heard?"

Shen Qingye, standing behind Yue Lingchuan, listened and took notes, then couldn't help but ask, "You mentioned she came back very late last night?"

"Ah, yes!" the neighbor nodded, "She’s usually busy at the factory, gets off work at 8:30 PM, and is home by around 9 PM. But last night, I didn’t see her before bed. When I woke up to use the bathroom, I heard some noise outside. I opened the door and saw Zhou Meihua crying outside—looked like she’d just come back."

"She was crying outside?" Yue Lingchuan frowned, "Why was she crying?"

The neighbor, "I don’t know. She was crying so hard, I didn’t feel it was right to pry, so I just greeted her and went back to sleep."

Yue Lingchuan asked again, "Do you remember what time it was?"

The neighbor thought for a moment, "Probably around 10 PM, definitely before 11 PM."

Yue Lingchuan, "Did you notice anything unusual when she came back?"

"Unusual…" the neighbor thought, about to say something when a voice came from behind, "Brother Chuan!"

Shen Qingye turned to see a tall, thin, handsome young man jogging over, "Brother Chuan."

Yue Lingchuan glanced at him, "You made it."

Luo Kaiyang nodded, "I’ve been here for a while. I asked around upstairs and downstairs and got some leads."

Yue Lingchuan, "Go on."

Luo Kaiyang said, "The victim, Zhou Meihua, was 21, from Zhou Village in Huian County, and worked at Longchang Garment Factory. According to neighbors, Zhou Meihua was introverted and shy, not great at socializing, rarely interacted with others, and probably didn’t have any enemies." He paused, then added, "But several neighbors mentioned she probably had a boyfriend."

"Huh? Boyfriend?" Yue Lingchuan looked at the neighbor, "Do you know about this?"

The neighbor slapped her head, "Oh, yes! There was such a thing—several times I saw an unfamiliar man bringing her to the building! At first, I asked, but the girl was shy and didn’t want to talk about it. Later, I got used to it and stopped paying attention."

She paused, then hesitantly added, "But now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I last saw that man…"

Yue Lingchuan and Luo Kaiyang exchanged glances. Shen Qingye’s grip on her pen tightened as she looked up at the neighbor.

"And…" the neighbor glanced outside, seemingly finding it hard to speak.

In that short time, a crowd had gathered outside. Though a murder is frightening, there are always the curious, pointing and whispering.

Yue Lingchuan glanced outside and said, "It's okay, don't worry, others won't know."

The neighbor lady, upon hearing this, calmed down, took a couple of steps forward, and whispered, "When I saw her last night, her clothes and hair were a bit messy. Could she have been... assaulted by someone outside?"

Yue Lingchuan paused, gave Luo Kaiyang a meaningful look, who then quickly walked over to the forensic examiner to ask something, and returned to say, "Captain Qin said there are no signs of sexual assault on the victim's body."

Yue Lingchuan tapped his arm lightly, slowly analyzing the situation: "The victim was introverted, had no enemies, but had a boyfriend, and the status of their relationship is currently questionable..."

"The apartment is tidy, no signs of ransacking, ruling out a break-in... it's most likely someone she knew."

He looked around, his gaze slowly falling on the lock, and asked the nearby forensic examiner, "Are there any signs of forced entry on the lock?"

The forensic examiner shook his head: "No, the lock is intact, no signs of being pried open from the outside."

Luo Kaiyang said, "Then the victim must have opened the door herself." He speculated, "But if it was her boyfriend... it would be normal for him to have a key to her house, right?"

Shen Qingye tapped her pen lightly, her brows furrowed, feeling like she was missing something.

She looked at the neighbor lady, about to ask something, when suddenly a sharp cry interrupted her:

"No, no, it's not, it's not!"

"It's not Lin Xiaofeng, it's Li Dazhi, it's that bastard upstairs who did it!"