Still, no one answered.
Su Miaoyi hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open.
It was a fifty-something-square-meter apartment, and the living room was immediately visible upon opening the door.
When Su Miaoyi saw the scene inside, she froze in the doorway.
A young woman was lying on the living room floor in a large pool of blood.
Seeing this, Su Miaoyi’s first instinct was to call for an ambulance.
After making the call, she entered the room, wanting to find the source of the bleeding and try to stanch it.
But as she got closer, she could see clearly that most of the blood had already dried.
And the woman lying in the pool of blood, judging by the color of her skin, was already dead.
Su Miaoyi’s entire body tensed up at first, but she quickly accepted the reality of the situation. She stood where she was, taking it all in.
The woman’s hands were tied behind her back, her feet were also bound, and she had been stabbed in the abdomen.
The location of the stab wound, the fabric and color of the clothes, and... from the corpse’s point of view, the layout of the surroundings, the furniture, the ceiling.
It all matched the vision she had seen.
’Did I not see my own murder, but share the victim’s perspective?’
Su Miaoyi crouched down. Worried about leaving fingerprints, she pulled up the hem of her T-shirt and used the fabric to touch the woman’s neck.
The rigor mortis was significant. Time of death was likely between twelve and twenty-four hours ago.
That was the conclusion her mind came to.
She stood up again and looked around, not daring to move, just standing in place.
The living room showed obvious signs of having been searched.
There were no obvious footprints on the floor.
This was the twentieth floor; the chance of entry through a window was slim.
So... Su Miaoyi walked to the door and glanced at the lock.
There were no signs of forced entry.
’An acquaintance? Or did the person outside have a good enough reason for her to open the door?’
Su Miaoyi analyzed the situation in her head, then turned to look at the body again.
She stared blankly for a second, and then... she screamed internally.
’HOLY SHIT! I’m gonna be sick!’
Immediately, she felt dizzy and nauseous, and her limbs went weak.
A delayed wave of fear washed over her.
She scrambled to the elevator, leaned against the wall, and squatted down, starting to dry-heave.
She hadn’t eaten anything all morning, having fasted for a hospital check-up.
There was nothing in her stomach.
Su Miaoyi was trembling, and her consciousness began to fade.
With her last ounce of awareness, she dialed 110.
...
The police arrived quickly, and the twentieth floor was cordoned off.
Inside Apartment 2001, forensic technicians were busy collecting physical evidence like footprints and fingerprints.
Camera flashes and the sound of shutters were incessant.
Zhuang Yanzheng put on shoe covers and gloves at the door of 2001, then walked over to the body and crouched down.
The forensic examiner from the local precinct looked up at him. "Captain Zhuang."
The officers from the local precinct had arrived first. The city bureau was farther away, so they arrived later.
Zhuang Yanzheng nodded. "Cause of death?"
"A single stab wound to the abdomen. Looks like it hit the liver," the forensic examiner said, probing the wound with the butt of his scalpel. "Preliminary finding is death by hypovolemic shock. Based on the rigor mortis, time of death is between twelve and twenty-four hours ago. We’ll need to do a more thorough examination for a precise time."
Zhuang Yanzheng looked at the large pool of blood on the floor, then at the fruit knife lying nearby, which had already been marked as evidence.
The forensic examiner measured the wound on the body. "The width, depth, and surface characteristics of the wound are all consistent with this fruit knife."
The murder weapon was more or less confirmed.
"No fingerprints were lifted," the trace examiner reported.
Zhuang Yanzheng got up and surveyed the room.
The apartment was a small one-bedroom.
There was livestreaming equipment inside the bedroom.
The wardrobe and the nightstand drawers showed signs of being searched.
Zhuang Yanzheng finished his survey, went outside, and asked, "Who reported it?"
"A young woman. Hypoglycemia and she fainted at the sight of blood. She’s sitting on the stairs in the fire escape," the precinct captain said.
Zhuang Yanzheng headed for the fire escape.
Su Miaoyi was sitting on the steps, her face deathly pale.
She hadn’t actually fainted after calling the police, but she felt completely drained of strength.
It wasn’t until the police arrived, and a forensic examiner checked on her and gave her a piece of chocolate, that she began to recover a little.
She was sucking on a piece of candy now.
A police officer had been waiting for her to recover a bit before starting to take her statement.
He had just asked for her name when Zhuang Yanzheng arrived.
Su Miaoyi looked up, and their eyes met.
Su Miaoyi’s first thought was... ’He’s so handsome.’
Her second thought was an assessment: ’Tall and brawny, with a menacing air. He looks tough to deal with.’
Zhuang Yanzheng, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.
He felt a sense of familiarity from her.
He walked closer and introduced himself. "Zhuang Yanzheng, City Criminal Investigation Detachment."
Su Miaoyi looked at him.