Bald Qiang stammered nervously. Huang Xiaotao slammed her hand on the table. "Tell the truth."
Bald Qiang grimaced. "I can't reveal the boss's secret!"
I said, "What's there to hide? Everyone here already knows. Your boss has a morbid hobby—necrophilia, right?"
Bald Qiang glanced around in shock before finally confessing. Despite the boss's usual intimidating demeanor, in that aspect, he was quite inept. Some said the boss was gay or disliked women, but only those closest to him knew the truth: the boss didn't like the living.
As one of the boss's trusted men, Bald Qiang once had to visit the morgue late at night. Someone handed him a bag on the way; inside, a severed hand tumbled out, frightening him badly. He had done this several times and slowly realized the boss's dark obsession. Still, Bald Qiang was loyal to the bone—he'd never spill the secret, and that was exactly why the boss trusted him with such tasks.
On the night of the incident, Bald Qiang was at Tianxiang Pavilion with a lover when the boss came in with a stern face and ordered him to the car to carry something. Bald Qiang looked and saw a female corpse, doll-like in appearance. He wrapped her in a towel and blanket and brought her into a private room.
That night, the boss probably had a wild time; Bald Qiang waited outside. Around two a.m., some juniors caught a whiff of blood coming from the room and sensed something was wrong.
They broke down the door and found the boss lying in a pool of blood, clutching a knife, his body stabbed all over like a sieve!
Only the female corpse was inside. Some suspected she was faking death and had been beaten mercilessly, but she never reacted. The boss wouldn't have killed himself—they all believed an assassin was responsible, likely linked to the Blood Wolf Gang. The two gangs had been fighting over a piece of land worth hundreds of millions.
...
Bald Qiang's statement matched my theory, but one question remained: where did the snake-venom-coated knife come from?
The corpse wouldn't have carried the weapon in. When I asked, Bald Qiang smacked the table. "That? The boss always swallowed a snake gallbladder to boost his stamina before business. The snakes were freshly killed and brought in on a plate. The boss cut them open and ate the gallbladder himself."
So that explained it. The case fit perfectly.
Bald Qiang still had no clue why I had the corpse. Xiao Zhou, standing nearby, had been waiting patiently. Huang Xiaotao chuckled, "Your Song family really knows autopsy techniques. This time, it's a real post-mortem!"
I said, "Xiao Zhou, let's begin."
Xiao Zhou injected the corpse's spine with adrenaline diluted in saline. After a few minutes, the corpse suddenly took a sharp breath. Her eyes refocused. Everyone was stunned. Bald Qiang shrank behind a cop, shouting, "Ghost!"
Huang Xiaotao said, "Stop being a coward and watch carefully. This is the real murderer who killed your boss!"
The girl looked confused, scanning the room. She raised her hands and noticed they were cuffed. "Where is this?"
Her voice was timid, and her revealing clothes showed pale, almost translucent skin. Many male officers blushed, avoiding eye contact.
Huang Xiaotao asked, "Public Security Bureau. What's your name?"
"Chu Yan," the girl replied.
"What a beautiful name!" Wang Dali gushed like a lovestruck fool. I shot him a glare, and he sheepishly lowered his head.
Huang Xiaotao said, "Confess your crime."
Chu Yan shook her head. "I don't know anything. I was born with a strange illness. That day, I went shopping and suddenly got sick. When I woke, a weird uncle was doing disgusting things to me. There was a knife nearby, so I stabbed him. Then I died again. When I woke the second time, another weird uncle was abusing me, so I hit him with an ashtray. Then I blacked out again. Then I saw a third weird uncle smiling at me, so I stabbed him with scissors."
Huang Xiaotao sneered, "So you attract weird uncles, huh?"
Chu Yan pointed at me. "The fourth time I woke, this strange brother stabbed me there, so I hit him with a stone..."
Some officers who hadn't participated in last night's chase, plus Bald Qiang, looked at me strangely. I hurried to explain, "Hey, clear that up. I'm not like those weird uncles."
Chu Yan scratched her head, then realized her hands were cuffed. "My memory is fuzzy. I don't remember details. Can I go home?"
Silence fell. I noticed the men looking at her with pity and sympathy. Her innocent eyes, pure looks, and delicate frame naturally stirred protective feelings in most men—except me and Huang Xiaotao.
I saw through her lies and slammed the table. "You're lying. Tell the truth!"
Chu Yan burst into tears. Big tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, "I really didn't lie. How could someone like me hurt others?"
Sympathetic sighs arose. Nearly all the men were moved by her pitiful act. Suddenly, Chu Yan's eyes rolled back, her head tilted, and she died again.
Huang Xiaotao ordered Xiao Zhou to inject adrenaline again. Xiao Zhou hesitated, "Too much is bad, Huang. Look how pitiful she is."
Other cops chimed in, "Yeah, how could a girl like this be a killer?"
"She's just defending herself. It's those guys' fault!"
Wang Dali said, "Song Yang, she's not some ruthless criminal. Don't be so cruel."
Even Bald Qiang, who had a bitter grudge against Chu Yan, quietly wiped tears.
Huang Xiaotao angrily slammed the table three times. "You cops have lost your minds. Looking good doesn't make murder legal. Wake her up!"
Everyone looked embarrassed but still did nothing. At this moment, I had to back Huang Xiaotao. I said to Xiao Zhou, "Xiao Zhou, don't want to stay in the task force anymore?"
Xiao Zhou looked reluctant but had no choice and injected adrenaline again.
Chu Yan gasped sharply and came back to life, looking around with sad, tearful eyes. Huang Xiaotao mocked, "Pretty good at dying, huh?"
Chu Yan bit her lip. "Whenever I get emotional, I get sick. I have to avoid any stimuli."
Huang Xiaotao said coldly, "Explain the case!"
Chu Yan became agitated. "I've said all I know. I didn't want to hurt anyone. Please, let me go home!" Then her breath grew shallow—she seemed ready to slip away again.
Many glared at us, probably thinking we were too cruel. Huang Xiaotao didn't dare shout anymore. After she slowly recovered, I whispered, "This isn't working. We have to be subtle."
Huang Xiaotao nodded. I asked some unrelated questions first: what date it was, her family situation, if she attended school.
Chu Yan had a businessman father who was often away. She couldn't go to school because of her condition and mostly stayed home reading and painting. I promised to send her home but insisted she answer a few questions first.
She agreed. I pulled up a photo of the boss on my phone and showed it. "Do you remember this weird uncle?"
Chu Yan shook her head.
I asked, "Why did you go out that day?"
"To buy sanitary pads. We ran out at home."
I asked, "What were you wearing?"
"A dress, flat shoes, carrying a small bag... but all that's gone now."
I asked, "Walking around like that, didn't you worry about weird uncles following you? Do you have any way to defend yourself?"
She shook her head. "No."
I said, "Alright, you can go home."
Chu Yan smiled. "Thank you, brother! I misunderstood you—you're a good person." Hearing that, jealous eyes flashed around at me, making me uncomfortable.
Huang Xiaotao asked in surprise, "You're letting her go just like that?"
I nodded. After the cops escorted her away, I said quietly, "None of those answers were true. She's not defending herself—this was a deliberate murder!"