Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Summer was ending soon. The sky was slowly turning dark. Numerous police cars were parked underneath Building Seven of the Wanhe District. The blue-and-white police tape blocked off the entrance of the building, and two policemen were standing guard to prevent curious eyes from seeing inside.
In Flat 208 on the 2nd floor, the members of the forensic science and technology department were all present. The forensic photographers were recording the scene, while the crime scene investigators were analyzing the fingerprints and other special traces found on site. The team in charge of chemical analysis was collecting blood, fluids, pieces of the cadaver, and other organic materials.
To prevent tampering any potential evidence, the policemen had placed several dozen boards on the floor in areas that had yet to be investigated. This way, a temporary pathway had been built, leading up to the cadaver lying on the living room floor.
Two forensic pathologists wearing Personal Protection Equipment were squatting beside the body. One of them examined the surface of the cadaver, while the other verbally and visually recorded the findings.
“Zhang Cuilian, female, 67 years of age. 162 centimeters tall, normal development, average nutrition. Her skin is dark yellow, and the livor mortis is purple-red and located in the occiput, neck, back, and the lumbosacral area. The flesh does not form any dents when pressure is exerted. Greenish discoloration is present around the abdomen…”
“Meow, meow, meow…”
“Woof, woof!”
The crescendo of barking dogs and meowing cats was also being recorded into the forensic pathologist’s audio recording.
Zhuang Cuilian had been raising three cats and four dogs. These pets had destroyed a lot of the evidence left at the scene in the two days following her death. The young policemen had made a lot of effort before managing to cage these pets, as they were considered “living evidence”.
Constable Wang, who had been in the force for more than 20 years, automatically tuned out the noise. As he stood in front of the bookshelf in the living room, he lifted lightly a photo frame placed on the shelf.
In the photo, Zhang Cuilian was standing beside her husband and son, a gentle smile gracing her lips. Her graying hair was meticulously permed, she was wearing a light blue T-shirt with a bird and flower on it, and a pair of earrings, a necklace, and a ring completed her outfit.
This was a very elegant old lady, yet her life had not been that ideal. Her husband had died of a heart attack a few years ago, and her son had died in an accident. Now, she had also…
Constable Wang placed down the photo frame, turned, and looked in the living room’s direction.
The body that had once been known as “Zhang Cuilian” was lying eagle-spread on the floor, dried bloodstains spreading out from it like a spiderweb. Most of the living room floor had been painted dark red, as though it was a very unrefined, ugly ink painting.
Most of the flesh on the four limbs of the cadaver was missing, and only the bones of the palms and feet were left. The fingers and toes were missing as well.
What was even creepier was the fact that the entire face and eyeballs had disappeared. The frontal bone, cheekbones, and jaw were only connected by a thin layer of muscle. The pitch-black empty eye sockets were staring straight up at the ceiling.
She was faceless and skinless.
Constable Wang breathed out slowly, for this incomplete corpse reminded him of something.
It looked like pickle chicken feet that had not been eaten clean.
This association made him feel like vomiting. He crossed the temporary floor board and got out of Flat 208 before heading down for a smoke.
The citizens of the Wanhe District were all old people assigned to live there after their previous lodgings had been destroyed. They stood behind the police tape, their curiosity not dampened by the drizzle.
“I heard that something happened to Sister Zhang, who was living on the 2nd floor?”
“Yeah. She was quite a poor soul, living all alone. Perhaps no one would have known that she was gone if the neighbor living across the hall had not complained to the administration about the odor wafting from her flat…”
“She passed just like that… The other day, I was buying groceries with her and she looked really well. Why did she pass away so suddenly? What was the cause?”
Constable Wang, who was standing inside the cordoned-off area, listened to the gossip silently. As he looked down, he lit a cigarette disappointedly.
The deceased had not participated in any of the activities organized by the district for the elderly. Her social circle had been small and she’d had few social interactions. The gathered crowd knew very little about the deceased.
“Might have been diabetes.”
Among the crowd stood a young man who was carrying a backpack and holding a box of chives in his hands. He said softly, “To be more precise, her death was caused by complications from Type 2 diabetes.”
Eh?
Constable Wang jerked and looked up. “Who’re you?”
The ordinary high school student, Li Ang, smiled and replied, “I’m the successor of communism, a delicate flower of the nation, and a young pioneer who does good deeds without leaving a name behind.”
Why are you saying all these useless things?
Exasperated, Constable Wang glanced at Li Ang. “Did you know her?”
Li Ang replied, “No, I just saw her walking her dog when I was downstairs playing badminton.”
“How did you know that she had diabetes?”
“I guessed.”
Li Ang then added, “When I saw her, she was plump, her face was flushed, and her skin looked dry. The way she walked was slow and lethargic. Her thighs, feet, and fingers were swollen, and her arms were dotted with scars and ulcers. Her eyelids were drooping and they seemed swollen. Therefore, I guessed that she had diabetes. I even advised her to watch her diet, take her medication in time, exercise more, and get hospitalized early. It’s a pity…”
Li Ang shook his head.
The crowd looked at Li Ang strangely. Even Constable Wang could not help but swallow a mouthful of smoke. “Punk, are you studying medicine?’
“When I was young, I had constipation. The doctor suggested dripping some enema, but I poured the enema on my feces and my constipation was not cured.”
Li Ang added calmly, “Then, I read some medicine books and acquired knowledge myself.”
Punk, you are indeed one-of-a-kind. Are you actually an idiot?
Li Ang looked at the uniform Constable Wang was wearing and said enviously, “Sir, my dream is to become a proud policeman that serves the people. As a result, I would often head to the comics store to read Detective Conan and try to learn from his investigation skills. I would even indicate who was the culprit in the book.”
“Previously, I bravely caught a thief on the playground. I chased the suspect for nearly two hours before being chased away by the playground janitor.”
Constable Wang’s eyelids twitched. He had a lot of opinions on that matter but he did not know where to start. Thus, he simply put out his cigarette, turned, and walked toward Building Seven.
“The windows of Flat 208 on the 2nd floor seemed to be shut.” Li Ang lifted his head and commented casually, “I wonder what the pets of Aunty Zhang have been eating for the past two days.”
Eh?
Constable Wang stopped walking.
Li Ang continued speaking. “Let’s assume that Aunty Zhang fainted because her diabetes suddenly acted up. The pets licked the deceased’s skin in an attempt to wake her up after they realized that something was wrong with their owner.
“Unfortunately, their attempt failed. Instead, their licks caused the skin to break and they went into a frenzy upon tasting the blood. In addition, they had not been given any food, so the pets started to actively search for things to eat.
“For example… their owner.
“The face, which was exposed, is soft and boneless and usually gets eaten first. The same applies to the easy-to-reach fingers, toes, forearms, and calves.”
Li Ang ignored the gazes of the crowd as he smiled and explained.
“When a whale dies in the ocean, its carcass will sink to the ocean bed and become food for the organisms living in the ocean, such as hagfish, clams, shrimp, and so on. This process is termed by biologists as ‘whale fall’. This is also the last sacrifice the whale makes to the ocean.”
“This is life and death…”