"Yes, you bastard, torturing me even in death."
Xie Chuchu was furious. In truth, I was also very angry at the time. This was the most severely abused corpse we had encountered. Of course, there might be more discoveries later, but as of now, I hadn't found any.
Staring at the fat man, I didn't know what to feel, but the autopsy had reached the point where only the victim's back remained.
I asked everyone to help me turn the body over. You must understand, this guy was fat.
We expended a tremendous amount of effort to turn the body. Looking at the spots covering his back, Ling Xiaotao immediately said, "These are all caused by skin disease!"
"Yes, a skin disease called psoriasis. This disease is generally a red, scaly dermatosis, mainly characterized by scaly red patches or plaques on the skin. It can cause itching, peeling, and redness on the patient's face."
"Indeed." We were all wearing protective suits and thick gloves, so theoretically, we wouldn't be infected by the corpse.
His occipital bone and spine were normal, but there was a fracture near the hipbone. However, this was not caused by a blow. Analyzing the fracture lines, it seemed like he had undergone surgery in that area recently.
I asked the investigators to go to the hospital to confirm. With that, the autopsy concluded. Of course, it was the end of my work. There were still more rigorous processes to follow, and Xie Chuchu and Ling Xiaotao would need to follow up.
I left the forensic laboratory, took off my rubber gloves and sterile suit, and headed towards the Punishment Squad's office.
Theoretically, after an autopsy, I would always go to the technical department to see how He Xin's information gathering was progressing. To my surprise, upon arriving, I found some investigators had returned. They weren't Gao Mingqiang and the others, but from the criminal investigation team. One investigator reported to me, "After our verification, we found that the two had an argument just before the incident. However, Xiao Li should not have known Chi Tianyun before."
"Do you think Lu Yangjia was killed by his wife, and Xiao Li was a temporary accomplice?" I asked.
"There's no support for that yet, but it seems there were conflicts between the couple. Could this constitute a motive for murder?"
"First, all the inheritance is in Chi Tianyun's hands. Killing Lu Yangjia seems to offer her no benefit. Unless there was a compelling reason to act, she theoretically wouldn't do it, as doing so would ruin everything she has, given her background. Second, Chi Tianyun is still missing. It's possible she's also a victim. And Xiao Li, the reason they haven't appeared yet is probably because the killer hasn't disposed of the bodies. Third, we've investigated Chi Tianyun's house many times. They have surveillance cameras. Do you know what we found?"
I deliberately asked the investigator in front of me. By "we," I meant the internal members of the Punishment Squad. The investigator was momentarily stumped: "Found what?"
"They likely rarely slept together after getting married. I also have someone monitoring at the hospital. You guys cooperate!"
"Understood!"
After the investigator left, I stood beside He Xin. She told me, "The political commissar just came. He inventoried some of our supplies. The provincial department recently received a batch of new weapons, including new handguns and submachine guns, as well as defensive daggers and energy-saving flashlights."
"Then please thank the political commissar for me. In terms of logistics, Political Commissar Liang does an excellent job. For years, I've hardly had to worry about internal affairs at the provincial department."
"Yes, isn't he retiring in a few years? Let the old man enjoy his last few years."
"Of course. Don't worry, those who achieve merit will certainly be praised. Alright, you've contacted the traffic management bureau to investigate the surveillance cameras near the victim's residence, haven't you? Have you found anything?"
"Of course I'm investigating! Yuan Hezhi, do you think I've been slacking off?"
"No, the dozens of technical police officers in the entire technical department are busy 24 hours a day. Don't worry, Director He."
"Haha, don't be nervous. I just asked casually to see your reactions. You must have found some suspicious individuals?"
Yuan Hezhi pointed to a large split screen and analyzed it carefully with me. "It's not that fast yet, but judging by the time of death, disposing of the body now doesn't make much sense, as the person should have been dead for some time before the killer disposed of the body. We've reviewed the surveillance footage from the days around the incident. However, according to the escape route you discovered yesterday, that area is a blind spot. If I were the killer, I wouldn't escape through the main entrance either. There are some bushes and trees in that blind spot. Look, Director He, this is a bird's-eye view of Chi Tianyun's house. We captured this with a drone."
I stared intently at the screen. The effect was indeed remarkable. From this angle, we could almost discern every detail inside the villa. If this technology fell into the hands of a voyeur, I doubt anyone would have privacy anymore.
"If only there was a drone back then."
"Ahaha, that's impossible. With current technology, widespread adoption of such advanced technology nationwide would be difficult. Even if possible, it would take many years. It's like when mitochondrial DNA technology was first introduced to our country; it was so expensive we would have had to sell everything we owned to afford it."
"That was only a few years ago, wasn't it? China is not the same as it was before."
As Yuan Hezhi and I were chatting, He Xin suddenly exclaimed, "I originally thought we wouldn't find anything, but after I repeatedly re-examined the image data, oh my god, look at this..."
My attention hadn't shifted yet, but I already heard a sensitive "pa pa" sound.
This was not footage captured by a drone, but by the surveillance cameras originally installed at Chi Tianyun's house. It showed Chi Tianyun forcing Lu Yangjia to kneel on the ground, like taming a dog, and lick her. They were both in the swimming pool at the time, but behind them, a large man was watching their debauchery with a sly grin. Suddenly, Chi Tianyun kicked Lu Yangjia away: "Scram, that's all you can do, I don't want to see you!"
"No, please, wife, I'll be fine soon!"
"Fine? How many times have you tried since you moved into my house? You're useless. Go back to your room, close the door, and don't disturb us!"
"As you command!" Lu Yangjia certainly knew what his wife was going to do with the large man, but he acted obediently and submissively, turning and scrambling away with all his might. His movements were still on the ground, like a lapdog.
Even more baffling was that as soon as Lu Yangjia left, the large man lifted Chi Tianyun entirely. Gao Mingqiang, who was watching the surveillance footage with us, immediately covered his eyes: "Fine, you guys can do whatever you want, but please, don't be so visually disturbing. It's blindingly offensive, okay?"