Skinning Murder Case

"Hm?"

Tang Qi looked up in surprise and immediately saw a large crowd of students—both male and female, mixed with quite a few faculty members—all swarming toward the side area of the main campus. As they ran, he could see expressions of excitement and fear mingled on their faces.

Something happened!

The thought had just crossed Tang Qi's mind when a few boys running nearby soon shouted out what was going on.

"Hurry up, hurry up! I heard there was a murder in the dormitory area."

"It's true! Several girls died, and they say they were all cheerleaders—hot ones."

"Sounds like they died horribly. The killer peeled all their skin off."

Tang Qi, who had been about to walk straight past, stopped after hearing the last sentence.

He moved his feet and followed the crowd toward the dormitory area.

The layout of St. Thorn High School, aside from the main campus, included a large area occupied by dormitories.

After all, it was the best high school in Messer City, with a considerable number of students. Quite a few chose to live on campus, almost all of them concentrated in the dorms, usually several to a room.

Someone like Tang Qi, who rented an entire small building by himself, was rare.

Who could blame him for controlling that large fortune on his own now? Even those from well-off families might not do the same.

When he reached the dormitory area, Tang Qi immediately saw a large crowd blocking the entrance of a red brick building.

The crime scene was on the first floor, in the sixth room. The police had arrived first and set up a cordon outside the room. Several burly officers formed a human wall, blocking some frantic students trying to squeeze in.

A thick smell of blood wafted out.

Even through the surging crowd, Tang Qi could see through gaps the open doorway, where black blood had flowed out and already congealed.

This horrifying sight couldn't stop these adolescent students, driven by a strong curiosity for the macabre.

The faculty members mixed in the crowd all wore grim expressions.

But the students were discussing it enthusiastically. From their excited looks as they talked about the tragedy and the few scattered cries, Tang Qi could judge two things.

First, the victims probably weren't well-liked.

Second, the manner of death—or rather, the method—was terrifying.

Standing at the edge of the area for a second, Tang Qi suddenly squeezed into the crowd of onlookers. He didn't use brute force, just applied some strength in his steps, and after a few moves, he successfully pushed to the front.

The best spot—directly in front of the open doorway.

His gaze swept out, and Tang Qi saw most of the scene inside the room.

The victims: four in total, all female.

They were naked, each lying on a bed. A beyond-imagination amount of blood had soaked through the mattresses, dripped to the floor, pooled into small streams flowing toward the door, and finally congealed at the entrance.

The cause of death?

Unknown for now, because all their skin had been peeled off.

He could tell because, outside the white cloth covering them, a pair of arms was exposed—skinless, revealing bright red muscle.

Still, the cloth was there. If it were as Tang Qi suspected, those excited, macabre students would probably vomit on the spot, emptying three days' worth of meals.

This was proven by a few janitors in a corner inside the cordon, who had already vomited nearly to the point of passing out.

Tang Qi didn't stare at the bodies being carried away like most students. Instead, he quickly took in the layout and details of the entire room.

Soon, Tang Qi seemed to notice something. His pupils contracted slightly, and his expression darkened a bit.

Though he recovered quickly, a hint of doubt lingered in his eyes.

After all, this was a brutal murder, and it happened in a place like St. Thorn High School. Once the case spread, it was easy to imagine the impact it would have in Messer City.

For this reason, both the police and the school were under immense pressure.

They worked with remarkable efficiency. The police sealed off the scene, experts arrived one after another, and the white-haired old principal stepped before the students, announcing that classes would not be canceled—everyone would attend as usual.

Besides temporarily blocking news to buy more time for handling, this was mostly to investigate the killer.

Especially the discoverers and the students living in the same building—they were immediately brought in for "questioning."

The rest of the students were dismissed to class.

Tang Qi was among them. Before leaving, he narrowed his eyes slightly, but instead of looking back at the crime scene, he scanned the crowd of onlookers, as if trying to find something.

Unfortunately, nothing.

A faint trace of disappointment flickered in his eyes. He turned to head to the main campus with the other students.

But just then, a voice came from behind.

"Hold on!"

"You, wait a moment."

Caught off guard, Tang Qi turned around with a puzzled expression, just in time to see a tall female police officer walking over with a few subordinates.

She wore a wine-red leather jacket and tight jeans. Her model-like figure couldn't hide her heroic aura. Beneath a head of red hair was a delicate, beautiful face, and her eyes were both mature and sharp.

"Hello, I'm Chief Inspector Stana. I have a few questions for you. If you don't mind, shall we talk over there?"

The woman came straight up, flashed her badge, gestured toward the temporary seating area in the hall, and made the request above.

As a student receiving this treatment, a trace of helplessness flickered across Tang Qi's face. He didn't need to think twice to know why.

The reason for this treatment was most likely his heavily bandaged hand.

Any police officer who spotted an injured person at a crime scene would immediately pull them aside for questioning.

Tang Qi didn't think his ordinary student appearance would exempt him from this.

But before Tang Qi could speak, the principal walked over. He first gave Tang Qi a careful look, then confirmed something before turning to the police chief and saying, "Chief Inspector Stana, this student no longer has a guardian. If you wish to speak with him, it must be done in the presence of a school-appointed guardian representative."

The principal said this, naturally, because he knew of Tang Qi's existence.

This was likely due to Mr. Ronald's influence.

But that personal connection could only get the principal to say this much. Tang Qi never imagined that such a thin thread of favor would make the principal of a prestigious high school go out of his way to protect him, especially when it involved such a heinous murder case.

Securing a guardian representative to accompany him was already good enough.

As for being excused from the conversation entirely—judging by the police chief's serious expression, that was impossible.

By the time this thought crossed his mind, Tang Qi calmly stopped the principal from calling for a guardian representative and said flatly, "It's fine. I can speak for myself, and I'm willing to cooperate with the police. After all, the victim was my classmate."

With that, Tang Qi walked into the hall on his own.

Behind him, watching Tang Qi's move, Chief Inspector Stana's gaze sharpened even more in that moment.