“Huh? How did he die?”
“I heard he fell to his death. He slipped while going downstairs, tumbled all the way down, and was covered in blood. It was a horrible, horrible death!”
“How do you know that?”
“I have a relative on the 10th floor. He saw it and called to tell me.”
10th-floor hallway.
At that moment, a group of criminal police officers in uniform, wearing gloves and shoe covers, were patrolling and inspecting each floor’s hallway.
“Identity of the deceased?”
The speaker was a tall, upright young police officer with a stern face. His uniform was neatly pressed, and on his shoulders were two horizontal bars plus a four-pointed star insignia.
Upon hearing this, the officer immediately replied, “The deceased is named Yu Hua, male, 35 years old, living in unit 1204 on the 12th floor. He had no children, and his wife lives with him. His parents are in their hometown. He was unemployed and relied on his parents’ pension and his wife’s income from working at a noodle shop to get by.”
The man nodded faintly and then asked, “What about his wife?”
“She became emotional after learning about her husband’s accident and is still crying in the hallway. Officers Zhao and Li are comforting her.”
Just then, a young female forensic examiner walked over.
“Captain Lin, preliminary assessment indicates that the deceased fell down the stairs, resulting in fractures to both arms. His head hit the wall, causing severe impact and loss of consciousness. The cause of death was excessive blood loss.”
Lin Chengfeng observed the hallway with a grave expression.
Yu Hua had died at the corner between the 11th and 10th floors. His body was lying face-up against the wall, and the floor was covered in bloodstains, with no signs of anyone having walked through the area.
Clearly, the witness had called the police immediately after discovering the body, and no one had entered or exited the area since.
“Forensic Examiner Su, were there any signs of a struggle with another person?” Lin Chengfeng asked Su Yan.
Su Yan shook her head. “The deceased’s clothing is intact, and no signs of a physical altercation have been found so far.”
Lin Chengfeng turned to the officer and asked, “Who reported the incident?”
The officer immediately responded, “It was a resident on the 11th floor named Yang Wei.”
Lin Chengfeng nodded and said, “Let’s go, we’ll ask him.”
Lin Chengfeng and the officer walked to the 11th-floor hallway, where Yang Wei was sitting on the floor, trembling with fear. The sight of blood all over the floor had left him deeply unsettled.
Lin Chengfeng fixed his gaze on Yang Wei and said, “You’re Yang Wei? Tell us how you discovered him.”
“Yes, yes! The elevator was out of order today. I originally wasn’t planning to go out, but then I realized I was out of cigarettes. I had no choice but to go downstairs to buy some.”
“My apartment isn’t far from the emergency exit. As soon as I stepped out, I smelled something strange. At first, I thought it was a dead rat, and I even complained about it. Then, when I entered the fire escape and was about to go downstairs, I looked down and saw someone lying against the wall, with blood all over the floor. The blood… was even starting to flow downstairs. I was so scared my legs went weak. After I recovered, I immediately called the police, and I’ve been waiting here for you ever since.”
Lin Chengfeng listened quietly to Yang Wei’s account, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Did anyone enter or exit the hallway after that?”
Yang Wei thought for a moment and then shook his head. “I don’t know. I stayed in the hallway the whole time and didn’t hear anything.”
After asking a few more questions, Lin Chengfeng left the hallway and headed toward Yu Hua’s wife, Wu Zhen.
At this moment, the two detectives Zhao Zongfei and Li Xiaoran were still comforting Wu Zhen. Seeing Lin Chengfeng approach, they immediately stood up.
“Captain Lin!”
“Captain Lin!”
Lin Chengfeng nodded and asked, “How is it?”
Li Xiaoran responded softly, “The family member’s emotions have been mostly soothed.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Chengfeng turned his gaze to Wu Zhen.
“Ms. Wu, your husband has passed away. Please accept our condolences.”
Upon hearing this, Wu Zhen’s previously somewhat calmed emotions erupted again, and she burst into loud sobs.
Seeing this, Li Xiaoran quickly crouched down, patting Wu Zhen’s back while comforting her.
After a while, when Wu Zhen gradually calmed down, Lin Chengfeng spoke again, “Ms. Wu, do you know what your husband was going downstairs for?”
Wu Zhen shook her head, her eyes red, and said, “I don’t know. I wasn’t at home.”
Lin Chengfeng raised an eyebrow. “Not at home? Where did you go?”
“I work at a noodle shop at the entrance of the residential complex. As soon as I heard about my husband’s accident, I rushed back.”
“Noodle shop?” Lin Chengfeng thought for a moment and pressed further, “Then how did your husband solve his lunch?”
Wu Zhen replied indifferently, “The elevator was broken, and my husband didn’t want to climb the stairs. I originally said I’d bring him back a bowl of noodles, but he refused, saying he had already ordered takeout.”
Lin Chengfeng nodded in understanding and inquired further, “We need to take the deceased back for further investigation. Please come with us.”
Wu Zhen nodded with red eyes and then left the corridor with Li Xiaoran’s support.
Lin Chengfeng turned to Zhao Zongfei and said, “Investigate which delivery person delivered the takeout to the deceased.”
Zhao Zongfei immediately responded, “Yes!”
The moon was dark, and it was 5:30 in the evening.
After finishing his delivery work, Ye Xuan returned home.
The first thing he did upon arriving home was to grab his clothes and head into the bathroom for a shower.
The residential complex Ye Xuan currently lived in wasn’t considered high-end, but it wasn’t bad either.
The apartment was rented by Ye Xuan—a north-south facing studio with a balcony, one bedroom, one living room, and a kitchen. The decor leaned toward a cool color palette.
After showering, Ye Xuan walked into the kitchen, tied on an apron, and opened the refrigerator.
“Oh no! I forgot to go to the market to buy groceries!”
“Forget it, I still have dried noodles. Add an egg and a tomato—perfect!”
With that, Ye Xuan took out an egg and a tomato and placed them on the table.
Just as Ye Xuan finished washing the cutting board and picked up the kitchen knife to cut the tomato in half, there was suddenly a knock at the door.
Ye Xuan was puzzled and walked toward the door.
But he forgot to put down the kitchen knife.
“Who is it?”
A man’s voice came from outside the door.
“I’m from the Public Security Bureau. I’m here to conduct an investigation.”
Ye Xuan frowned in confusion and looked through the peephole. Only after confirming it was indeed a police officer did he open the door.
“Officer, is there something wrong?”
Ye Xuan took a closer look and was horrified to discover that there were three more police officers hiding outside the door, all fully equipped!
Although he didn’t see any firearms, they were wearing riot gear, and two of them were holding riot shields and batons. This setup looked anything but ordinary!
Seeing Ye Xuan holding a kitchen knife, Zhao Zongfei immediately took a step back, raised his baton, and warned softly, “Comrade, please put down the kitchen knife!”
Ye Xuan was momentarily stunned before he realized what was happening. He immediately placed the kitchen knife on the ground and raised both hands high in the air.
Zhao Zongfei slowly approached Ye Xuan, then kicked the kitchen knife out the door before lowering his baton, though his eyes remained filled with vigilance.
Zhao Zongfei took out his identification and held it up in front of Ye Xuan, saying, “I’m from the Chuan City Public Security Bureau. My name is Zhao Zongfei. This is my ID.”
He then asked, “Are you Ye Xuan?”
“Yes, that’s me. What’s the matter?”
Zhao Zongfei spoke slowly, “There’s a case we need to ask you about. Here are the search warrant and the summons. We are recording audio and video throughout the process. Please cooperate with the investigation.”
Ye Xuan was instantly dumbfounded.
Search warrant!?
Summons!?
What did I do?
Seeing that Ye Xuan showed no reaction, Zhao Zongfei gave a meaningful glance to the three criminal police officers behind him.