Chapter 6
The offices of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation and Narcotics Control Divisions were brightly lit. A girl's fall from a building ruined many workers' Friday night dates or plans to stay home.
Following Lu Chengtian's instructions, Ma Qiang took the statement of the witness who fell from the building, and then sent the person away yawning.
In the technical investigation office next door, the beautiful girl Luo Xiaohei, with dark circles under her eyes, was biting a lollipop and typing away on the keyboard. After unlocking the deceased Liu Yaoyao's phone, she began to recover the massive amount of data inside and search for clues related to the fall from the building from various social software.
She was also close to being born in the 2000s and didn't consider herself old, but she was still shocked by the darkness of the girl's inner world, and her pupils were shaking like an eight-magnitude earthquake.
Luo Xiaohei also learned a lot of new words used by young people with a frown on his face, such as "toilet girl" and "open box", and lamented what's wrong with kids nowadays.
Until the early morning, the girl's family had not called or sent her any WeChat messages.
Compared with the bustling field staff and technicians, the lights in the forensic autopsy room are dim and the temperature is lower.
With the help of his assistant Tang Tang, Chen Yi began to conduct preliminary identification of the deceased's body before the autopsy.
She wore a white lab coat, a mask, and goggles, her expression serious and solemn. Scissors, scalpels, tweezers, bone saws, and other tools were lined up on a metal cart nearby. The cool white light seemed to cool the room down even further.
The assistant handed her a pair of scissors and she carefully cut open the dead man's clothes.
Even though she had seen thousands of corpses, her expression still moved slightly when she saw the crisscrossing scars, both old and new, on the girl's porcelain-white skin.
In the areas that were tightly covered by her school uniform, there were scars from cigarette burns, curling iron burns, and cuts from sharp objects on the inside of her wrists, leaving almost no spot of flawless skin on her body.
The young assistant Tang Tang's eyes turned red as she watched: "Sister Yi, this child is probably just having a momentary breakdown. It's obvious that he can't stand the abuse."
"Her pupils are abnormally dilated. It is not ruled out that she was stimulated by some drugs before her death. Take this tube of blood for testing and contact her family before deciding whether to perform an autopsy." After completing the preliminary in vitro test, Chen Yi handed the frozen tube containing blood to Tang Tang, took off his gloves and mask, and sighed silently.
Because she was menstruating, the low temperature in the autopsy room made her lips turn pale.
Her eyes fell on the pink thermos bag in the corner. She took out the brown sugar ginger tea brewed by Yun Mengze, the president of "Mirror View" magazine and Lin Xian's immediate superior, and took a sip - but it was too cold.
In the drug control detachment next door, Zhao Yiqing was standing in the physical evidence identification center in a stylish manner, waiting for the test results of the incense ash on the roof.
Just when everyone was trying to cheer themselves up, Lu Chengtian came back with a big bag.
"Wow, my favorite taro paste and grass jelly! And spicy duck neck! Captain Lu, you are my god!" Ma Qiang was the first to be fed. He wanted to rush up and hug Lu Chengtian's thighs, but Lu Chengtian ruthlessly dodged him.
The dogs working overtime next door came to ask for food. The high-calorie bomb entered their stomachs, stimulating the secretion of dopamine, and everyone's depressed mood instantly lifted.
"Captain Lu, is there a share for me?" Zhao Yiqing followed the scent and strolled over to the Criminal Investigation Detachment, holding a thermos cup in his hand, a very veteran-looking person.
Lu Chengtian threw the bag that everyone had snatched away to him: "Wangzai milk and wolfberry cake are suitable for immature elderly people like Captain Zhao."
Zhao Yiqing: ...
After opening the Wangzai Cowboy, Young Master Zhao took a sip thoughtfully. The sweet taste of the additives made him look disgusted, but he still pinched his nose and drank it.
Then he winked at Lu Chengtian, signaling him to go out and talk.
End of the corridor.
Outside the window glass was the endless nightscape of Shenzhen-Hong Kong City. Zhao Yiqing lit a cigarette and tilted his head to glance at Lu Chengtian: "You don't mind, do you?"
"As you wish." Lu Chengtian signaled him to speak quickly.
The cigarette flame flickered on the glass, and the curling smoke quickly filled the narrow space.
As if just to satisfy his craving, or to calm his mind, Zhao Yiqing took a few restrained puffs and then put out the cigarette.
His peach blossom eyes seemed to be smiling but not smiling, always with a hint of charm that could be easily misunderstood. He met Lu Chengtian's calm and even somewhat sharp eyes.
"Captain Lu, you and Editor-in-Chief Lin seem quite familiar with each other. What are your thoughts on that pixel-blurred surveillance footage?"
Lu Chengtian seemed to have anticipated his question, and said calmly, "Not yet. He and I aren't very familiar with each other. What do you think of Zhou Mubai?"
"Although I don't usually hang out in these second-generation circles, I have heard of Zhou Mubai. He received a double degree in psychology and computer science from Columbia University. He is considered a very ambitious second-generation. After graduation, he is said to have stayed abroad for several years and only came back a few years ago. What he did while abroad still needs to be investigated in detail, but one thing is certain - his sexual orientation is abnormal." Zhao Yiqing's eyes lingered on Lu Chengtian's face for a long time, as if observing his reaction.
"How did you know that?" Lu Chengtian raised his eyebrows.
Zhao Yiqing sighed and took a step forward, getting closer to Lu Chengtian. "Captain Lu, can't you see his attitude towards Lin Xian and the mark of possessiveness on Lin Xian's neck?"
"Then do you think Lin Xian's sexual orientation is normal?" This time, Lu Chengtian couldn't tell whether he was joking or really wanted to know the answer to this question.
He was not a curious person and almost kept to himself outside of work, but he couldn't help but have a desire to explore Lin Xian's affairs.
With the night as the background, the window glass reflects the close distance between the two people.
Zhao Yiqing took a step forward, almost touching the tip of Lu Chengtian's nose. The latter subconsciously retreated, increasing the distance - he didn't like others getting too close to him.
"I don't know Lin Xian's orientation, but Captain Lu, you—" Zhao Yiqing seemed to be thinking of a suitable description, and then said, "Probably a widower."
Although Lu Chengtian is not a love veteran like Mr. Zhao, he is not a fool and can at least see what Zhao Yiqing means.
He lowered his head to look at the tip of his shoes, then looked at Zhao Yiqing, his tone becoming more serious: "Yiqing, you have the family background you want, and the looks you want. What kind of person can't you pursue? Sincerity is precious, don't give it to the wrong person."
Then he turned and left.
"Hey," Zhao Yiqing called out to him from behind, "I, a good socialist young man, have given my whole heart to you, a widower. Have you ever thought about why?"
Lu Chengtian didn't look back, but he paused, indicating that he was willing to listen.
"When I first came here, everyone treated me like a vase because I was a second-generation rich kid. Only you were so desperate that you let me rush forward on the front line, not caring about my life or death. But you always stood in front of me at the critical moment." Zhao Yiqing smiled, as if he thought of something.
"Then why don't you give your true heart to Director Guo? Doesn't he wish to see you leading people to investigate drugs and meet your KPI every day?" Lu Chengtian turned around and looked at him with raised eyebrows.
Young Master Zhao wiped his neck on the spot and said, "Alright, I admit that I was defeated by Captain Lu's beauty."
The corners of Lu Chengtian's drooping mouth curled up slightly: "Masochist."
Everyone, even someone like Zhao Yiqing who seems to have everything, just wants equal and fair treatment.
·
Workers will not be treated equally with capitalists, but overtime will equally destroy every worker, turning beautiful women and handsome men into greasy-haired and powdered losers.
After working hard for most of the night, everyone quickly slept in their respective offices. The next day, they sat in the conference room with acne, stubble, and messy hair.
Only Lu Chengtian and Zhao Yiqing, who were sitting at the end of the long table, still looked radiant, with the fragrance of bathing on their bodies. There was not a single wrinkle on their clothes, and even every strand of hair appeared neatly and obediently in the place where it should appear.
"Leaders are really perverted." The beautiful girl Luo Xiaohei, with two big dark circles under her eyes, complained to the cold and aloof sister Chen Yi next to her, and received the latter's nod of affirmation.
Mr. Zhao has always valued appearance as his life. Needless to say, his greatest hobby in life is to execute drug dealers on the spot and to fix his hair and clothes.
Lu Chengtian was different. Every day as soon as the rooster crowed, he would get up and run ten kilometers, regardless of the weather. Then he would come back to take a shower, have breakfast, and start his day's work.
It was simply because under the sunlight of Chengtian Temple, that person said to him, "Xiao Lu, you must run away from the darkness. I believe you can do it."
He ran alone for nine years, trampling all the unbearable past and nightmares under his feet, and finally met him again in the sunshine.
But what about him?
Before the meeting, Lu Chengtian's computer interface stopped at Lin Xian's personal information.
Before he could figure out anything, Zhao Yiqing came over with his hands in his pockets, like a peacock spreading its feathers, and pulled up a chair next to him and sat down. "Good morning, Captain Lu. Whose household registration are you checking?"
With a snap, Lu Chengtian closed his notebook and said majestically, "Meeting!"
The meeting room, which was originally filled with wailing, immediately became quiet.
"Let the miracle doctor speak first, then Xiao Hei will continue, and we'll go in order of seating." Lu Chengtian said.
What no one expected was that a high school girl's suicide by jumping off a building would lay the foundation for their miserable life of working overtime without rest for the next month.
As dedicated as Chen Yi was, he was tortured to death by his period. He stayed in the autopsy room for half the night and stayed up late to make a 30-page PPT, most of which were close-ups of corpses.
The first page contains the basic information of the deceased, along with an ID photo and photos of the fall scene.
The girl in the ID photo has a delicate face with small features. Even the thick bangs can't cover her round and bright eyes. Even if she is not the school beauty, she is at least the class beauty. She seems not to be the same person as the corpse with wide-open pupils after falling from the building.
Many people sighed.
Chen Yi held up the laser pointer and said, "Ma Qiang sent me the basic information of the deceased, so I told him everything."
"The deceased, Liu Yaoyao, was 17 years old and a student in Class 28 of the 21st Grade at Shenzhen-Hong Kong No. 15 Middle School. This class is reserved for top students. However, a weekly Chinese language test with a score of 65 was found in her schoolbag, indicating that her academic performance, at least recently, has been extremely unstable."
"Her family lives in an urban village behind the development zone. Her parents both work away from home. She has lived with her grandparents since she was in elementary school. She is a typical left-behind child."
The PPT turns a page and jumps to a close-up of the corpse.
"The body has over 80 scars of varying sizes. The most concentrated and severe ones were inflicted about a year and a half ago, roughly coinciding with the time she was admitted to No. 15 Middle School." Chen Yi's eyes dimmed slightly as he continued, "Scars like these were inflicted about six months ago by a 32mm diameter curling iron. There are also several cigarette burns and soft tissue contusions from recent violent assaults."
"There is also a burn on the back of her neck. The shape is very strange, like some kind of mark." The big screen showed that there was a triangular scar on the lower part of the girl's fair neck, and there seemed to be a flame shape in the middle.
Chen Yi suddenly felt a dry mouth and a fire burning in his chest.
Luo Xiaohei, who was standing by, thoughtfully pushed his thermos cup over and said, "Sister Yi, drink some hot water."
After taking a sip of hot tea, Chen Yi felt better and continued to flip through the PPT: "The deceased had old wounds on his □□, and the possibility of sexual assault cannot be ruled out. In addition -
High concentrations of methylenedioxymethyl/phenylpropamine and trace amounts of fentanyl compounds were found in the deceased's blood, indicating that he had taken illegal hallucinogenic drugs before his death.
After Chen Yi finished speaking, Zhao Yiqing stood up and went to the water dispenser next to him, filled a cup of warm water with a disposable paper cup, walked around behind the female forensic doctor in a gentlemanly manner, and placed it on her right hand side.
Chen Yi whispered "thank you", but completely ignored Mr. Zhao's charming peach blossom eyes.
Young Master Zhao sat back in his seat politely and asked Captain Lu for instructions: "Captain Lu, can I interrupt?"
Receiving the latter's tacit approval, Zhao Yiqing's expression turned serious. "Last night, the brothers from the Criminal Investigation Detachment found incense ash on the roof of the Jinyuan Building where the deceased fell to his death. The results from the Physical Evidence Identification Center are highly consistent with the components detected in the deceased's blood by Forensic Doctor Shen."
Lu Chengtian's expression froze, and he paused his pen heavily on the paper. He thought of what Lin Xian had said before entering the bedroom last night: "We should investigate what kind of incense that high school girl named Liu Yaoyao burned before she died."
Why was he so sure there was something wrong with the incense? Did he know something?
Zhao Yiqing continued, "Preliminary assessment indicates that this incense is a new type of hallucinogenic drug. After burning, it enters the body through breathing. While not as strong as inhaling or injecting, it has a certain degree of addictive and hallucinogenic effects. Furthermore, it's highly similar to the new drug Blue Flame, which our anti-drug detachment has been tracking. It can be said to be a low-end version of Blue Flame."
He turned to look at Lu Chengtian: "Team Lu, the Criminal Investigation Detachment and the Narcotics Control Detachment are about to join forces again. Are you looking forward to it?"
Lu Chengtian unconsciously twirled a black gel pen between his fingers and said, "From the current situation, it seems that the fall case and the new drug Blue Flame can be investigated together. But first, we need to find out how the deceased obtained this new drug."
Then, he turned his gaze to the beautiful blonde girl who was discussing something with Shen Yi with her head down: "Xiao Hei, did you find out anything from her phone?"
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