Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
One summer’s night in Rongyang Branch.
It was drizzling outside the window. To Zhao Yu, that night was meant to be another sleepless night. It was just past midnight. There was a tentative result on the dead body that he found at the emergency exit of the building.
That’s right! The lady who died a tragic death at the corridor was the missing Jin Yuanyuan!
Recalling the incident, Zhao Yu was still unsettled. Although he had been in the Key Case Investigation Unit for a while, and solved a number of significant cases, that was his very first time being so close to a dead body!
Zhao Yu couldn’t stop thinking about Jing Yuanyuan’s death. She lied on the cold stairs with her body twisted, her face was purple, and her eyes rolled up as though she had died discontentedly. And Jin Yuanyuan’s pants were dragged down to her ankles. The worst part was Jin Yuanyuan’s body was already rotting as she had been dead for quite a while. So, her body was surrounded by flies.
Previously, Zhao Yu had seen the vacuum sealed corpse which was scarier, but those corpses were all out of shape as it had been a long time before they were found. But that was different. Jin Yuanyuan’s body had been laid right before his eyes at the stairs. Although Zhao Yu’s psychological endurance was decent, he could not rid the image from his mind.
“Why?!” he asked himself. The harsh reality made Zhao Yu unable to believe his own eyes! It was hard to believe that there would be such a tragic accident in the emergency exit of a busy building!
Jin Yuanyuan, why would she die there?
At first, Zhao Yu made a lot of guesses, but he had never thought it would end up like that!
“Zhao!” Then, Zhang Jingfeng reported, “The autopsy clearly stated that the victim was sexually assaulted before she died. The cause of her death was a heart attack! According to Jin Yuanyuan’s medical report, she had serious heart disease! It was most likely triggered when she was violated.”
“And,” Liang Huan continued, “Jin Yuanyuan’s colleagues recalled that their travel agency had business ties with the renovation company at Block B fifth floor. The police found the related documents in Jin Yuanyuan’s portfolio.
“It seemed like Jin Yuanyuan was possibly heading over to the renovation company for a business meeting, and it happened to be rush hour then. So, she decided to go to the emergency stairs as it was crowded at the elevator.”
“No matter what caused Jin Yuanyuan’s death,” Zhang Jingfeng said, “that bloody rapist is the murderer! That building is under the jurisdiction of Ruyang Branch, so the Key Case Investigation Unit there took over the investigation!”
“Damn it!” Li Beini said pitifully, “I do not know how the building management does their job. The dead body was at the stairs for three days and no one found out! Does everyone take the elevator?”
“That’s not it!” Zhao Yu explained, “The building had specific stairs and elevators for regular use, but that was the emergency stairs. As the steps were steep, hardly anyone used them. When the suspect fled, he might have locked the door on the first floor!”
“Then…isn’t the case easy to solve? Li Beini said, “You have to use the keys when you lock the door, right? How could just anybody lock the door? So the murderer must be an work at the building!”
“Hey, you’re right!” Zhang Jingfeng slapped his head and said, “Why didn’t I think of that… Let me inform Ruyang Branch now!”
Just when Zhang Jingfeng turned around, he heard a bell-like voice from his back, “That’s not necessary! The suspect has been justified!”
Everyone raised their head and saw Team Leader Miao Ying speaking. Zhao Yu took one step back when he saw Miao Ying. He even blocked half his face with the whiteboard.
“I’m from Ruyang Branch!” Miao Ying spoke with great spirit. “I believe in their abilities! I just got their update, the suspect is a maintenance worker at the building. He has a criminal record!
“On that day, he drank excessively. He most likely ran into Jin Yuanyuan when he was working at the emergency staircase, and he came up with an evil thought at the sight of her! The suspect is trying to escape but the police are in the midst of hunting him down!”
“Oh! That’s great!” Li Beini said. “These people are the most horrible ones! We can’t let him escape!”
“Zhao Yu!” Miao Ying signalled to Zhao Yu who was standing next to the whiteboard and said, “Come here, we need to talk in private!” Then, she pointed to the pantry.
Zhao Yu heard Miao Ying call his name and he trembled. Ever since he had been reborn in this life, he treated everything with disdain, not afraid of anything. But after he had gotten emotionally involved with Miao Ying, he was like a child who made a mistake. For the first time, he acted awkwardly. Miao Ying looked at him fiercely, then he hung his head and followed her into the pantry.
“How was it? Did you find yourself a wife? The blind date went well, huh?” Miao Ying mocked him as he entered.
“Hehehe…” Zhao Yu knew it would not do him any good if he tried to explain. So, he decided to make some concessions to gain the upper hand. He said shamelessly, “I did find some! I caught the fancy of seventeen or eighteen beautiful girls at once! I am still thinking about who should be my wife and which should be my concubines. I have a headache!”
“You!” Miao Ying had never come across any hooligan like Zhao Yu, but she took joy in it.
“Alright, my dear! Don’t you worry. I, Zhao Yu, am not a man that’s hot and cold.” Zhao Yu saw that he had achieved his goal and quickly made a vow, “I really went to investigate the case! In my heart, you are my one and only wife!” Then, Zhao Yu moved his face closer to Miao Ying playfully.
Miao Ying raised her elbow and squished Zhao Yu’s shoulders ferociously. “F*ck f*ck f*ck, talking nonsense all the time!” Miao Ying asked, “How was it? Is Jin Yuanyuan related to the Bank Hidden Corpse case?”
“Ouch ouch ouch!” Zhao Yu begged for mercy when he was hurt. “Although it was not related, at least…we found the person’s body!”
“Sigh!” Miao Ying heard that and let go of his shoulders. She said, “True that. At the end of the day, you did a good deed! I wish my colleagues at Ruyang arrest the murderer soon!”
Zhao Yu saw Miao Ying was not angry at him anymore, so he quickly told her about the cake shop. Miao Ying reacted similarly to Zhao Yu. Both of them thought that it was a pity to miss such an opportunity.
Then, the two of them started discussing the case. Actually, even though they were occupied with a lot of other tasks, their first priority was still to solve the Bank Hidden Corpse Case! They could only slow down and relax after they solved the creepy case.
Miao Ying said that the special task force was heading out for fieldwork frequently. Through careful observation, she made out their investigation approach.
They were launching their investigation in three stages: first, to find the vacuum sealing machine! It was already certified that the vacuum sealing of the six victims had been done with the same machine. According to the timeline, the murderer had started using the machines seven years ago! Seven years ago, the sales for that kind of vacuum sealing machine was minimal. Thus, the special task force wanted to find the murderer by looking at a list of people who had bought the machine.
Second, was to investigate the victims thoroughly. It seemed that Wang Shengyao thought the murderer did not kill randomly as well. There must have been an unknown relationship between the murderer and the victims!
Third, was aligned with Zhao Yu’s thoughts. They were looking into recent cases of missing people to find out the possibility of the seventh victim.
Getting those updates, Zhao Yu and Miao Ying were overcome with emotion. Although the case had yet to progress, they both thought that the day when they solved the Bank Hidden Corpse case was not faraway!