章 24: Chapter 24
Several women stood at the entrance lobby of Lei Weming's building. The scene in front of them couldn't be described in simple words. The whole floor was scorched black and every piece of furniture there has been burned to ashes. They couldn't even tell what furniture was previously there.
The doors, whether it was wooden or metal, were either incinerated or melted. The surveillance cameras were also melted, and they could only hope that the forensic team could retrieve or restore the data inside. Fortunately, surveillance cameras don't store their data independently. Instead, it was automatically connected into the main database or storage according to the network it was connected to.
What was the main attraction was the body hung in the center of the circular lobby. The body's chest was ripped open, and the figure was using one of his hands to hold it open while the other was holding his own heart. His hands from his palm to his shoulder blades were riddled with holes and the blood from his heart dripped down through the hole on his palm.
What's more, his legs were disfigured with his left legs worse than his right. It was twisted in a very unnatural way that the women almost doubted that this was a doing of a human.
The man was hung with threads tangled around each of his fingertips, wrists, elbows, and every joint in his body resembling a gruesome marionette. The end of each string was tied on the railing of the second floor. The center lobby was hollow, and people could see until up to the 4th floor of this 13-story building.
There were 2 other marionettes, but they were in more fortunate conditions. They were in a similar pose as the one in the lobby. One was ripped open at his kidney, and he was offering his own kidney while the other one has his eyes scooped out and was also in the same offering pose.
They were positioned in such a way that from below it seemed as if they were descending gracefully from the sky and the light coming from the undamaged lamp from the concave ceiling made it more like so. That lamp was probably left undamaged intentionally.
But the black, scorched, and ominous scene around them made them looked like they were descending from the world to hell rather than from the sky to the world.
"This is… horrible." One of the women spoke after neither of her comrades did.
"Captain Yanyu, should we put them down first or examine them from where they are first?"
At the front of the team was a woman with short, slanted hair. Her gaze was sharp as she examined her surroundings. The forensic team has already moved to take pictures and collect evidence.
She wore a deep-blue coat with a circular emblem on its arm, the official uniform of a Keeper. An eagle symbol was inside the emblem, the symbol of Keepers, and there were 2 golden stars outlining the outside of the emblem, showing the woman's position in the force.
Yanyu Martell, or familiarly called Captain Yanyu, scrutinized the 'artwork' in front of her before giving an order, "They were undoubtedly hung after the culprit burned the entire building down. That means after everything is finished. There's probably nothing important on how the culprit hung them. Record it with a 3-dimensional camera while sweeping through them. Don't take too much time but don't be careless either. Bai Linghua and Shin Meimei come with me. Cherry Yu, you take the statement of the reporter and any witnesses. The rest of you do the task together with the forensics. After you're done, investigate the building with teams of 2."
"Yes, Captain!" the women saluted and promptly move according to their allocated task.
"As cool as ever, Captain Yanyu." A woman tapped Yanyu's shoulder.
Yanyu turned around and saw Qin Yun, the head of forensic doctor in the Central Forensic Support (CFS). She was famous for her superb medical skill equal to if not better than advanced medical AI and machines. Fortunately or unfortunately, she chose to be a forensic doctor to study the dead rather than a surgeon to deal with the living. Many elder doctors regretted her decision and still haven't given up making her change job until the present day.
"What are you doing here Qin Yun? I didn't call for you." Yanyu asked.
"Well, those old men kept pestering me early in the morning. They even visited my house! How crazy is that? I need an excuse so I'm here now," Qin Yun looked up at the exhibition and whistled in awe, "I smell a big case here. I'll probably self-assign myself to this case."
"Don't be stupid. You still have many corpses in your freezer waiting for your verdict."
"I can just give that to someone else. They're third-rate corpses anyway. But these…" Qin Yun took some pictures, "These are arts!"
"I'm already used to your antics, but don't let others hear what you said, or you'll get yourself in trouble one day. I'm heading up. Let's go, Linghua, Meimei." Yanyu walked away to the emergency staircase, the only path left to reach any of the floors.
Bai Linghua and Shin Meimei saluted Qin Yun before following their captain's heels. Qin Yun activated the anti-gravitation function in her boots and smoothly flew up to where the other people from Yanyu's team and some forensics were. When they saw her coming, they greeted her politely.
Although the boots provided for Keepers and CFS have an anti-gravitation function, they can lift people limited only until 10 meters above the ground. This was also only the limit for people with weight under 80 kg. Above 80 kg, the height limit they can fly will become shorter and shorter the heavier they are.
"So, the question is, how did the killer make these? It is impossible for them to pose the corpses first before tying the thread and threw them after tying every end. Their body would still be limp and wasn't stiff yet. Did the killer have an accomplice? But even if one of them has anti-gravitational shoes, how did they position the other 2 corpses? because the 2 other corpses' height isn't reachable from the ground," Qin Yun examined Lei Weming's corpse with interest, "This one died around 7 PM last night. The first method won't be entirely possible to execute then…"
Inside her mind, she could almost vision the torturous scene the man went through clearly. It was nothing like she has ever seen before in her 5 years of career. It wasn't just a simple torturing; this man was completely being toyed with. And from examining the body, she could tell the steps the killer did from start to finish.
Surprisingly, the first one was the cut on the chest. Deep enough to kill people, but shallow enough to not touch the organs inside. And the most shocking thing, the victim here didn't die after his chest got cut apart.
As if the killer themself were in control of the victim's soul.
The heart was cut out after his death. What was peculiar, the man seemed like he died peacefully with a smile on his face, not like any tortured victim she met before.
"Not even Yanyu can stop me from joining this case now." Qin Yun licked her lips in determination.
Yanyu felt a chill on her neck and was sure that someone was planning to mess with her in the future.
"Captain Yanyu." A Keeper from another team that cleared the building contacted her, "We found one survivor upstairs in Lei Weming's office."
"I'm on my way." Yanyu replied.
When she and the other 2 arrived at Lei Weming's office, they were slightly surprised looking at the half part of the room that was untouched by the fire. But after looking at the coffee table full of blood and the soaked carpet under it, they realized that Lei Weming was killed here. The fishy smell was still thick, and they could smell it all the way from the stairs. The killer started their kill and the fire from here before proceeding down and annihilating the people inside the building.
Yanyu traced the apparent line separating black and white. It was as if there was some kind of an invisible wall erected there to prevent the fire from ever touching the latter half of the room.
On the chair at the desk was a boy, around his teens probably, looking scared and confused by the sight of blood in front of him and the many people around here.
"We found him lying there on the sofa. He seemed to be…asleep," the Keeper who contacted Yanyu briefed her on the situation, "His sleep was pretty deep that I have to shake him awake. If one of the forensics didn't scan his brainwave, I almost thought he was fake sleeping. He said his name is Tie Ningjui and I also have confirmed it. Here's his profile."
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