Chapter 213: Freeze to Death

**Chapter 213: Frozen to Death**

"The deceased is male, aged between 37 and 42. Based on the degree of rigor mortis, the time of death was roughly 8–10 hours prior, placing the time of death between 11 PM and midnight last night."

"The deceased's skin was pale overall, with gooseflesh visible on exposed areas like the neck and arms. After thawing, postmortem lividity was dark red. Aside from the incision on the left side of the abdomen, there were no other injuries on the body—consistent with fatal hypothermia."

"However, examination revealed that the sutured incision on the deceased’s body was very recent, showing little healing, suggesting it was made roughly a week ago. The autopsy also revealed poor wound healing, along with signs of infection—we suspect the deceased froze to death in that alley partly due to complications from this injury."

After all, while Jian She Road wasn’t particularly bustling, it was surrounded by residences, shops, and hotels. If he had been able, he could’ve ducked into any nearby shelter to escape the heavy snow instead of freezing to death.

Unless, at the time, he had already lost the ability to move, leaving him stranded in the bitter cold until his life slipped away.

Qin Yilang adjusted his glasses as he went over the findings.

Shen Qingye stood beside the dissection table, staring at the corpse, absently tapping her forearm. "Brother Qiming mentioned earlier that the deceased is missing his left kidney?"

Qin Yilang nodded. "Yes. The autopsy confirmed the absence of one kidney. The incision on his side was likely from its removal."

He frowned. "The incision suggests the surgeon was clearly unskilled—the cut was jagged, and the stitches were sloppy. Normally, hospitals authorized for kidney removal wouldn't allow such an inexperienced doctor near the operating table."

"There’s another odd detail," he continued. "The deceased had rough skin, thick knuckles, and signs of frostbite. His nails were long, with dirt lodged under them, indicating poor living conditions before death."

Zhou Qiming added, "But his long underwear felt stiff, with no stains or signs of wear—almost as if it was newly bought and unwashed."

Wei Zhengyi chimed in, "That brand of long johns isn’t cheap either. A set runs at least a hundred bucks."

A hundred bucks wasn’t outrageous, but given the deceased’s circumstances, it was strange.

Luo Kaiyang rubbed his chin, puzzled. "And with that kind of money, he could’ve grabbed a cheap coat instead of just buying long underwear—not the warmest, but enough to survive the winter. Why end up frozen in an alley dressed like that?"

The more they thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

After a moment, Shen Qingye asked, "Has the deceased’s family been located yet?"

Wei Zhengyi shook his head. "No. The sanitation worker found the body around six this morning and reported it immediately. The local station noticed something off and transferred the case to us. We've put out a public notice, but no one has come forward."

A brief silence fell over the group before Luo Kaiyang scratched his head. "So… what now? Do we keep digging?"

Their squad typically handled criminal cases—ones with clear suspects and motives. But this…

The man had died of exposure. What exactly was there to investigate?

Jiang Cheng, however, shook his head and said firmly, "We have to dig deeper."

The others turned to him.

"The snow started yesterday afternoon and didn’t let up. No one in their right mind would go out that underdressed in weather like that. And like Kaiyang said, with a hundred bucks, he could’ve bought a coat instead. Either the long underwear wasn’t his choice… or he had another way to stay warm."

Wei Zhengyi nodded. "My money’s on the second scenario."

Luo Kaiyang sucked in a breath. "Wait—if he had a coat, where’d it go?"

Zhou Qiming mused, "If a set of long johns costs a hundred… that coat couldn’t have been some bargain-bin junk."

Luo Kaiyang’s eyes widened. "You're saying… someone took his clothes?"

Zhou Qiming shrugged. "It’s possible."

Luo Kaiyang looked skeptical. "Seriously? Who’d mug someone just for clothes? Even expensive ones?" Shen Qingye suddenly spoke up. "Unless it wasn’t *just* the clothes…"

Luo Kaiyang was startled. Shen Qingye looked at him and said, "Judging by his appearance, his living conditions weren’t good, yet he bought so many clothes that weren’t cheap... Would you spend all your money on these?"

Luo Kaiyang suddenly clapped his hands in realization. "They were after his money?"

Shen Qingye turned to Zhou Qiming, who immediately understood. "The Huangning District police station said when they brought the body back, there wasn’t any money on him."

Everyone exchanged glances, falling quiet for a moment.

Wei Zhengyi murmured, "So it’s very likely someone saw him wearing new clothes, thought he had money, robbed him, and stripped off his newly bought clothes."

Zhou Qiming added, "Whoever did this might not have meant to kill him, but his existing wound was already infected, and he wasn’t dressed warmly enough. Maybe the wound flared up, the pain overwhelmed him, and he collapsed in the snow, freezing to death?"

Shen Qingye said, "These are just theories. First we need to find someone who knows the deceased."

She raised her eyes. "Brother Jiang Cheng, Brother Zhengyi, check around Jian She Road to see if anyone recognizes the deceased."

"Brother Qiming, Brother Kaiyang, you two hit up the store that sells those thermals and ask when the deceased bought them."

"I’ll go to the crime scene to look for clues."

Nobody argued. After readily agreeing, they dispersed in pairs. Shen Qingye also drove off toward the alley where the body was found.

·

Huangning District was an old part of the city, and Jian She Road was an old street. Though the population there wasn’t small, some areas were abandoned.

The alley where the body was found lay between a hardware store and a breakfast shop—not particularly remote, but at night, nowhere near as busy as downtown.

Shen Qingye walked through the alley but heard nothing, which pretty much ruled out murder. Whatever happened earlier, the direct cause of death was still freezing.

Once she had a clearer idea, Shen Qingye started heading back to the station, but halfway there, Wei Zhengyi called saying they’d found someone who recognized the deceased.

Shen Qingye acknowledged and switched routes without hesitation.