Chapter 5

Chapter 2

The Corpse Has Mysterious Marks

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Lin Fei immediately picked up the severed finger and brought it close to his nose, then confirmed that the pungent smell was indeed coming from the severed finger!

But how could there be such a smell on it?

He quickly held the severed finger under the light and carefully examined it, only to find that the smell seemed to be coming from the wound where the finger was cut.

Then, Lin Fei suddenly had a major association: Could there be the same smell on the female corpse?

At that moment, Lin Fei had already forgotten his previous fear of the female corpse. He, like Old Hu, became engrossed in searching for this smell on the corpse. Indeed, when Lin Fei compared the severed fingers on the female corpse's right hand, he found that each finger had the same pungent smell, and it was all coming from the wounds.

Why would there be such a smell at the wounds?

Could it be that the smell was left on the corpse by the weapon used?

Lin Fei's mind was constantly pondering the reasons, though he wasn't sure if this idea was correct! But the most important thing was to inform Old Hu and Captain Zhang about this discovery!

He hurriedly instructed Liu Yang to call Captain Zhang and Old Hu, telling them that the corpse had a smell similar to fish, which was likely the residual smell from the weapon.

After receiving Lin Fei's call, Captain Zhang immediately had the same guess as Lin Fei! He promptly arranged for people to search all the large and small fish farms near the crime scene, not letting any place related to seafood go unchecked.

By evening, the search team had not returned! Only Old Hu, who was anxious, rushed back to the morgue to confirm Lin Fei's discovery.

Before this, Liu Yang had used the excuse of buying food to escape and never returned.

The morgue was left with only Lin Fei, who sat on the cold floor, with only the mutilated female corpse for company. He felt a strange sensation in his heart...

Sitting on the ground, he felt his buttocks getting cold. He stood up, stretched his limbs, and then began to curiously stare at the extra finger, noticing the ring on it!

Lin Fei was a complete novice when it came to rings! Although he had dated a few times before, he had never reached the point of discussing marriage, which could only mean that their relationship wasn't strong enough! So, breaking up was inevitable!

Especially after graduating from university last year, Lin Fei, who had been unable to find a decent job, was dumped by a girl he had planned to spend his life with.

Disappointed and heartbroken, he fell into his first low point in life, feeling isolated and out of place with the world! It was a cold and heart-wrenching time...

This period lasted about half a year. Only after half a year did his life begin to change. Isn't there a saying: "In adversity, one meets a benefactor"? Lin Fei met his lifelong brother, An Kang, at that time!

When he first met An Kang, his first feeling was envy! He envied how An Kang had landed a good job as a teacher at a private middle school right after graduation! At the time, Lin Fei even mocked him: "Don't corrupt the future flowers of our country!"

But now, thinking about it, those days of having food, drink, and a stable job were what Lin Fei truly wanted! What was there to mock?

After being supported by An Kang for three months, Lin Fei unexpectedly managed to get a well-paid job at the Chengnan City North District Police Station!

Thinking about this, he touched his pocket, intending to take out a cigarette to smoke. But he found that he didn't have even a half-leaf of tobacco! This was only because his master, Old Hu, had given him a clear requirement: either quit smoking or quit the job!

Lin Fei naturally chose the former! But quitting smoking was truly difficult!

He sighed, his gaze returning to the ring, muttering to himself, "A wedding ring, huh?"

But looking at the ring without any diamonds, Lin Fei added, "If it's really a wedding ring, your boyfriend must be quite stingy! Sending a ring without even a half-carat diamond! Is he as poor as me?"

Yawning, he walked out of the morgue and realized it was already dark.

Looking at the empty corridor, he couldn't help but curse, "That damn Liu Yang, did he run away by himself?"

At that moment, a hurried set of footsteps echoed down the corridor. Thinking it was Liu Yang, he opened his mouth to scold, "You little brat, why did you take so long to come back?"

But... when a large hand slapped his head, he immediately realized he had cursed the wrong person.

The person was not Liu Yang, but Old Hu, who had run back. He didn't bother to scold Lin Fei for his disrespectful cursing and rushed into the morgue, staring vigilantly at the female corpse, asking, "How did you discover the smell on the corpse? I didn't detect any odor when I examined it!"

"It's this!" Lin Fei immediately picked up the extra finger and showed it to Old Hu, saying, "After you left, I noticed this smell while examining the corpse. Then I found that every wound on the girl's body had a smell similar to dead fish. I think it must be the residual smell from the weapon that contaminated the wounds!"

"The smell from the weapon is true, but..." Old Hu frowned, put on gloves, and took off the girl's entire left hand to smell it, saying, "Didn't you notice how strong the smell is?"

Without even getting close, the smell of dead fish had already reached Lin Fei's nose. When he got closer, he sneezed twice and said, "Why is it so strong? When I examined it earlier, the smell wasn't this intense! But now..."

"Isn't it getting stronger, right?" Old Hu said.

Lin Fei nodded.

Old Hu frowned deeply, put the girl's left hand back, and said, "The smell is indeed from the weapon, but why is it getting stronger?"

"Could it be that the residual substance from the weapon and the chemical elements in the girl's body have undergone some kind of chemical reaction?" Lin Fei speculated.

"Can't rule out that possibility!" Old Hu nodded.

Lin Fei watched as Old Hu stood there deep in thought for several minutes before speaking again, "Go get the UV lamp from my office cabinet!"

"Okay!"

...

Old Hu's office was on the second floor of the morgue building. Compared to the eerie first-floor morgue, the second floor was much better, but it still had many strange places. For example, Lin Fei had heard the sound of children playing near the stairs several times since he came here, but when he ran over to check, the sound would immediately stop!

This time, like the previous times, those phenomena that Lin Fei couldn't explain scientifically were heard again. Unfortunately, he was anxious to get the UV lamp from Old Hu's office and didn't have the mood to pay attention to these things.

After getting the UV lamp, he hurriedly returned to the morgue where Old Hu was.

He wanted to tell Old Hu about the strange sounds he heard on the stairs, but he knew that even if he asked, Old Hu wouldn't explain much! He might even scold him harshly!

Seeing Lin Fe with the UV lamp, Old Hu immediately instructed him to hold the lamp and shine it on the female corpse.

Then, he took off the left hand that had just been reattached and placed the severed hand under the UV lamp.

When the light shone on it, a strange scene appeared...

"Light! It's light!"

A light that seemed to be a mix of yellow, green, and blue! It was similar to the color of the fluorescent pen marks on paper that Lin Fei had used in school, which glowed in the dark!

Scientifically, this is a phenomenon of photoluminescence, a cold light emission!

Lin Fei saw that the light was coming from the wound and thought: Could the weapon have had fluorescent powder on it? Is this the residual fluorescent powder on the wound?

But looking at the cold and beautiful fluorescence under the UV lamp, he felt it was not just fluorescent powder! If it were fluorescent powder, it wouldn't be so densely and evenly distributed on the wound...

Seeing the entire wound glowing, Lin Fei couldn't explain it with any scientific principle!

He only saw Old Hu, who kept disassembling the severed parts of the female corpse. Every time he disassembled a part, he would shine the UV lamp on the wound, and the same phenomenon appeared!

Lin Fei noticed that Old Hu's expression suddenly changed, becoming extremely stern!

He silently put each part of the female corpse back. Lin Fei, standing beside him, didn't know what to say, hesitating for a long time before asking, "Master, what's going on?"

"This is..." Old Hu looked at Lin Fei, and Lin Fei could see the hesitation in his eyes, a deep-seated reluctance. He could tell that Old Hu wanted to tell him everything but was held back by some reason, only saying, "You'll know when the time comes."

When the time comes? Is it waiting for the right time?

Lin Fei, who was eager to know the answer, could only complain in his heart: You've piqued my interest, but now you're leaving me hanging!

He pouted like a child, deciding not to ask more since Old Hu wouldn't say.

After holding the UV lamp with one hand for a long time, his arm felt sore, so he prepared to switch hands...

Just as Lin Fei switched hands, the UV lamp wobbled, and the purple light fell on the floor beside him...

"What is that?!"

Lin Fei shone the UV lamp back on the floor and discovered a pair of footprints, which glowed exactly like the wounds on the female corpse!

He almost dropped the UV lamp from his hand in shock! He quickly called out to Old Hu, "Master! Look here!"

When Old Hu came over, he was also shocked to see the footprints on the floor, which were similar to the wounds.

He snatched the UV lamp from Lin Fei and followed the footprints, which led to a row of body storage cabinets.

Old Hu threw the UV lamp back to Lin Fei, walked to the cabinets, and started opening them from the bottom up! There were only three rows of cabinets. When Old Hu opened the second row and saw the corpse inside, he was startled: How could it be her?

Old Hu quickly called Lin Fei over. When Lin Fei walked over and saw the corpse, he thought the same thing: How could it be her?

The corpse in front of them was none other than the unidentified female corpse who had drowned in the Dragon King River a few days ago.

The reason he remembered her so vividly was that this was the first corpse Lin Fei had ever examined up close! And a significant event had occurred with this corpse, which Lin Fei would never forget...

This event began a week ago, when Lin Fei mysteriously joined the North District Police Station...