Chapter 98: Swift and Decisive

Dozens of burly thugs surged forward with a menacing air. The ten armed police officers, all veterans who had seen thousands of people brawling, were not intimidated by this scene. They were about to step forward to intercept them when they suddenly heard Du Long shout, "You hold the passage, no one is allowed to enter or leave! They are all mine!"

The armed police officers were taken aback. They saw Du Long stride forward alone, first knocking down the one who had accused Du Long of murder with a single punch. Then, like a tiger among sheep, he beat the thugs into a disorganized mess. In the chaos, someone suddenly pulled out a knife and stabbed at Du Long from behind, causing the armed police to become tense again.

Du Long, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, spun around like a whirlwind and roared at the man, "Ah! You dare to attack a police officer with a weapon! You're dead!"

The man was stunned by Du Long's roar. Du Long snatched the knife and threw it at the feet of the armed police, then slapped the guy, spinning him around and knocking him into a fellow thug.

Seeing Du Long's prowess, the thugs screamed and tried to flee. The armed police finally had something to do, blocking them. By the time Du Long was free, all the thugs had been beaten to the ground.

"Arrest them all for assaulting a police officer!" Du Long said coldly.

"We didn't..." a young thug tried to argue, but Du Long kicked him, and the guy screamed in pain, spitting out blood and a few teeth. Du Long sneered, "Anyone who talks back will be beaten. You think I'm a sick cat just because I don't show my strength? Do you think I can't cripple all of you? Each of you has a few cases on your record. Killing scum like you would make the public happy. Li Wuwei is nothing to me! Even if the county party secretary came, I'd slap him, and he'd have to smile and apologize!"

The thugs were intimidated by Du Long's strength and implicit threats. Li Wuwei and the county party secretary were already top figures in their eyes, but Du Long showed no respect for them. This was beyond their comprehension. The pain in their bodies was real; Du Long had single-handedly beaten down over twenty of them, making him an invincible presence to them.

Seeing that he had finally intimidated the ruffians, Du Long decisively ordered, "Cuff them all and make them squat against the wall! I'll deal with them after I examine the body."

The armed police quickly controlled the twenty-odd thugs. Du Long instructed them to guard the passage to the morgue, then entered the morgue and asked the hospital staff, "Where is Bi Dake?"

The staff member, already intimidated by Du Long's actions, pointed to the morgue and said, "There, bed thirteen."

"Thirteen? What an unlucky number. No wonder Bi Dake died so quickly," Du Long thought. He entered the morgue, found bed thirteen, and saw a body covered in a white sheet. Du Long lifted the sheet and saw Bi Dake's pale, bloodless face, already stiff. There were traces of blood on his nostrils and foam at the corners of his mouth.

Du Long examined Bi Dake's eyes, opened his mouth, and rolled up his right sleeve. He saw a noticeable scar from a needle injection on the inside of Bi Dake's right arm, left by Xia Hongjun when he injected the drugs. There were no other needle marks on his right arm or upper arm.

Du Long then rolled up Bi Dake's left sleeve and saw a hidden needle mark on the inside of his left upper arm, near the armpit. The mark was fresh, indicating it was made just before Bi Dake's death.

Du Long finally found what he was looking for. He went out and took forensic tools, including various labels and a DSLR camera, from an armed police officer. He placed the labels next to the evidence and took a series of photos, strictly following the procedures for evidence collection.

After taking the photos, Du Long drew a blood sample from Bi Dake to send to the Yuming Public Security Bureau's forensic lab for analysis. To clear Xia Hongjun's name, Du Long was using every trick in the book.

After completing the evidence collection, Du Long returned to the corridor outside the morgue, which was still controlled by the armed police. The thugs were all controlled, squatting against the walls, facing the wall in penitence.

Du Long randomly pulled one of them back into the morgue, grabbed his long hair, and pressed his face against Bi Dake's cold face. The young thug screamed, "No... Oh my God..."

"Scared of a dead body, yet you dared to do so many bad things with Li Wuwei!" Du Long sneered, "Tell me, who is the leader of those outside? Who was with Bi Dake before he died? If you don't talk, I'll lock you with the body and make you stay here with your brother all day!"

The young thug screamed, "No, I'll talk, I'll talk... The one with the Grim Reaper tattoo on his arm is the leader. Only Biao was with Bi Dake before he died."

Du Long dragged the young thug out without hesitation. Everyone had heard their conversation. A thug with a scarred face turned around and said menacingly, "Xiaodao, you're dead!"

Xiaodao hung his head, silent. Du Long pushed him back against the wall and grabbed the so-called Biao, sneering, "You still dare to threaten others? You should take care of yourself first!"

Du Long dragged the handcuffed Biao to Bi Dake's body and pressed his face against Bi Dake's. Biao, being bolder and more resilient, remained silent. Du Long sneered, "A leader indeed has more backbone and courage. Let's see how long you can hold out!"

Du Long suddenly struck Biao's neck, causing him to faint. Du Long placed him face-to-face with Bi Dake, handcuffed his limbs to Bi Dake's, and covered them with a white sheet. He also placed a portable flashlight inside so that Biao could see clearly when he woke up.

Du Long ordered no one to enter the morgue, then left and found a nurse to ask for directions. Soon, he arrived at the ward where Bi Dake had stayed.

The ward had been cleaned, and Du Long did not find what he was looking for. However, he did not give up. He carefully observed the ward and searched the area. He found a used syringe in a trash can, and his face lit up with satisfaction.

Du Long put the syringe in an evidence bag and returned to the morgue. He ordered all the thugs to turn and face him. Du Long showed the syringe to everyone and said, "Look what I found."

Everyone looked at the syringe in Du Long's hand. Most were puzzled, but one person's eyes flickered and looked away. Du Long walked over to him, waving the syringe in front of him, and said, "Why don't you look? Is it because you know where this syringe came from, or because you used it to poison your brother?"

"What?" The thugs were shocked. Du Long turned and shouted, "Shut up! I'm not done asking!"

Du Long continued to look at the man and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't talk. It's easy to find out. The syringe will have the murderer's fingerprints. A simple comparison will reveal who did it. I guess... Biao gave you the syringe to do it, right? Because you weren't close to Bi Dake, or maybe you had some grudges?"

Du Long's guess was spot-on. The man's expression was agitated, clearly moved by Du Long's words, but he still refused to confess. Du Long sneered, "You're quite loyal, but now isn't the time for loyalty. Do you know the difference between the main culprit and an accomplice in a murder case? In your case, the main culprit will definitely be executed, while the accomplice might get twenty years, or even seven to eight years if they behave well. Do you believe I can find someone to take care of you in prison before you are executed? You'll have endless fun every day, from morning to night. Those prisoners will treat you like a woman. You'll love it! Still not talking? You must be looking forward to it..."

"No! I'll talk!" Du Long's words hit the young thug's heart. With the evidence in Du Long's hands and his accurate guess, the chilling threat finally broke the young thug's resolve. He said, "I'll tell you everything. I gave Bi Dake the injection. I didn't know it would kill him. Bi Dake said he wanted to get high, and Biao brought the stuff and told me to inject it. Biao said it was popular to inject it under the armpit, so I did. I didn't expect Bi Dake to foam at the mouth and bleed from the nose soon after, and then he died..."