Or does Captain Yu need someone to teach him how to count?

"Fan Jinci! Fan Jinci!"

Yu Yan's voice echoed in the empty corridor of the provincial forensic center. Three days had passed since the dismemberment case was closed, and Zhou Lin was imprisoned in a high-risk prison awaiting trial, but the glass containers in the freezer and the butterfly scar on Fan Jinci's wrist were like a thorn stuck in Yu Yan's heart.

There was no response.

Yu Yan glanced at his watch—11:23 PM. A normal person should be home by now, but that insomniac forensic doctor was probably still fiddling with corpses somewhere. He took out his phone and dialed Fan Jinci's number, hearing a faint ringing sound coming from behind a door at the end of the corridor marked "Private Autopsy Room - No Entry Without Permission."

Yu Yan pushed the door open without hesitation.

The scene before him made his breath catch in his throat. Fan Jinci stood under the operating lights, wearing a blood-stained protective suit, his scalpel slicing through the corpse with a fluid grace, like playing a violin. Beside him stood a tall, young man, rapidly taking notes. The room was as cold as a morgue, the air thick with the mingled smells of formaldehyde and coffee.

The most shocking thing was the body on the autopsy table—to be precise, twenty-seven neatly arranged pieces of flesh. Yu Yan recognized this as the latest victim, also a dismemberment case, but this time the method was more refined.

"Get out." Fan Jinci didn't even look up, his voice as cold as ice. "This isn't a tourist area."

Instead of leaving, Yu Yan took a few steps closer: "A new case? Why didn't you notify the criminal investigation team?"

"Were you notified to come to the contaminated site?" Fan Jinci finally raised his head, his gray-blue eyes bloodshot beneath his protective mask, the dark circles under his eyes even more pronounced than the last time they met. He turned to the young man beside him, "Situ, throw him out."

The assistant, named Situ Jin, appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with delicate features and wearing black-rimmed glasses. Behind the lenses, his eyes were sharper than those of an ordinary forensic assistant. He adjusted his glasses and spoke in an unusually gentle voice, "Dr. Fan, this is..."

"The troublemaker in the criminal investigation team." Fan Jinci had already lowered his head to work again, his scalpel precisely cutting open a piece of liver. "I can't remember his last name, but he's the current captain of the criminal investigation team. His hobbies are harassing forensic doctors and destroying evidence in the middle of the night."

"Yu Yan".

A hint of surprise flashed in Situ Jin's eyes, then he extended his hand to Yu Yan: "I've long admired your name. I am Situ Jin, Dr. Fan's assistant."

Yu Yan squeezed the hand, the touch unexpectedly warm: "I thought Dr. Fan, a lone wolf, didn't need an assistant."

"Normally, that's not necessary," Situ Jin smiled, "unless we encounter twenty-seven pieces of a body that require simultaneous examination."

Yu Yan raised an eyebrow: "Are you dissecting all the body parts simultaneously?"

"Obviously," Fan Jinci interjected coldly, "Or does Captain Yu need to be taught how to count?"

Yu Yan ignored his sarcasm and instead walked to the other end of the autopsy table to examine the already examined body parts. Each piece had a label attached to its incision, indicating measurements accurate to the millimeter and the estimated time of death. Most incredibly, it seemed that all the work was done by Fan Jinci alone, with Situ Jin merely responsible for recording.

"You handled all the body parts by yourself?" Yu Yan couldn't help but ask.

Fan Jinci scoffed, "Otherwise what? Do you expect those 'professionals' in your police station who can't even distinguish between rigor mortis and lividity?"

Situ Jin handed Fan Jinci a cup of black coffee at the opportune moment. Fan Jinci took it and drank it all in one gulp, without even taking off his gloves. Yu Yan noticed a line of small print on the coffee cup: "The coffee cup of the world's top forensic pathologist. Don't touch it unless you want to be dissected."

"Time of death?" Yu Yan asked.

"36 to 40 hours ago." Fan Jinci put down his coffee cup and turned to another body part. "The killer was more professional than Zhou Lin, but deliberately imitated his methods. Look here—" He used tweezers to pick up a section of intestinal tissue. "Zhou Lin liked to tie surgical knots in his intestines, but this killer directly removed the entire ileum."

Yu Yan leaned closer to examine the area and accidentally touched Fan Jinci's arm. The other man recoiled as if burned, nearly dropping the scalpel.

"Touch me again and I'll stab you to death with this knife," Fan Jinci said through gritted teeth, but Yu Yan noticed that the tips of his ears were slightly red.

Situ Jin coughed lightly: "Dr. Fan, an unusual mark has been found on this right scapula."

Fan Jinci immediately shifted his attention, bending down to examine the bone. Under the operating lights, his focused profile resembled an ice sculpture, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath his eyes. Yu Yan found himself staring blankly at the other's slightly pursed thin lips.

"Traces of electric shock," Fan Jinci and Yu Yan said in unison.

Both of them paused for a moment. A hint of amusement flashed in Situ Jin's eyes behind his glasses.

"But it's not 'Morning Star'." Fan Jinci quickly regained his composure. "Look at this triangular burn mark; it's a civilian model, but the voltage has been modified." He suddenly looked up at Yu Yan. "That underground fighting club you recently raided used this kind of stun gun."

Yu Yan's heart skipped a beat: "'Blood Wolf' Club? The one that was just taken down last week?"

"Clearly, there are more survivors than you think." Fan Jinci had already moved on to the next piece of body parts. "The killer is likely a club member or staff member, familiar with the use of stun guns, and..." His voice suddenly became unusually calm, "...knowing every detail of Zhou Lin's case."

Situ Jin quickly took notes while handing Fan Jinci a new scalpel. The handover was so smooth, as if they had rehearsed it a thousand times, that Yu Yan felt inexplicably annoyed.

"Do you often work overtime like this?" Yu Yan couldn't help but ask.

Situ Jin smiled: "Only when Dr. Fan needs to work 47 hours straight."

"47 hours?" Yu Yan's eyes widened. "Are you crazy? You'll die from overwork!"

Fan Jinci didn't even look up: "Death is the only certain destination for mankind, why rush it?"

For the next fifty-eight minutes, Yu Yan witnessed a breathtaking forensic medical performance.

Fan Jinci completed the examination of the remaining body parts with astonishing speed, each cut precise and each judgment decisive and clear. Situ Jin, like a tacit dance partner, accurately anticipated Fan Jinci's every need, handing over tools, recording data, changing samples, and even adjusting the angle of the operating light when appropriate.

As the clock struck ten, Fan Jinci finally removed his gloves, revealing his long, pale hands. Yu Yan noticed that the butterfly scar on his right wrist was rubbed red by the edge of his protective suit.

"Is it over?" Yu Yan asked.

"Basic inspection complete." Fan Jinci removed his protective mask; his black hair, soaked with sweat, clung to his pale skin. "A detailed report will be given to you tomorrow."

Situ Jin had already begun skillfully tidying up the equipment: "Dr. Fan, you should rest. I'll take care of the rest."

Fan Jinci nodded, took off his protective suit and threw it into the biohazard recycling bin, revealing the familiar black pajamas underneath. He looked extremely tired, too lazy to even utter his usual sharp words, and simply waved his hand and walked towards the door.

Yu Yan quickly followed, saying, "I'll take you home."

"No need."

"That's an order," Yu Yan said in a low voice, "unless you want me to carry you out in front of my assistant?"

Fan Jinci turned around abruptly, his gray-blue eyes blazing with anger, but his body swayed slightly from the sudden movement. Yu Yan reacted quickly, grabbing his waist, and the two were instantly so close they could feel each other's breath.

"Let go." Fan Jinci's voice was dangerously low.

Yu Yan didn't let go, but instead leaned close to his ear: "You know what? The way you look when you're working...it's mesmerizing."

Fan Jinci's pupils dilated slightly, then she abruptly pushed him away: "Vulgar."

But Yu Yan had already noticed the faint blush rising on the other person's neck. He grinned, deciding to press his advantage: "Consider joining the criminal investigation team? We're short a chief forensic pathologist."

"Dream on." Fan Jinci walked towards the door without turning back. "I'd rather dissect a truckload of rotting corpses than work with a bunch of barbarians like you."

Situ Jin chuckled softly from the side, but after being glared at by Fan Jinci, she immediately pretended to organize the documents.

Looking at Fan Jinci's stubborn back, Yu Yan's resolve hardened even further—no matter what, he was determined to recruit this arrogant yet brilliant forensic doctor into the criminal investigation team. Not only for the sake of those unsolved cold cases, but also so that he could see those grey-blue eyes ripple with emotion every day because of him.

"We'll see," Yu Yan muttered to himself as he walked out of the dissection room.

Behind him, Situ Jin pushed up his glasses and gave a thoughtful smile.