The scream sounded less like something had happened to him and more like he had seen something terrifying.
Che Quan thought of the address he had seen earlier. He pressed his lips together, considered it for two seconds, then went to the entryway and opened the door.
As soon as he opened it, Che Quan saw Jin Jiang, his face filled with terror, practically tumbling down to the second floor.
Jin Jiang landed on his backside on the concrete floor of the stairwell, his fingers and lips trembling. "Th-the third... third floor has... a b-body..."
"A corpse?" Che Quan asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jin Jiang immediately shook his head frantically. He swallowed hard, still unable to get the rest of his words out.
Seeing this, Che Quan couldn't be bothered to ask any more questions and headed straight upstairs.
He found the door to Room 302, previously cordoned off with police tape, standing wide open. The tape had fallen to the floor, and the lock showed signs of being pried open.
Most likely, after Kang He had jumped to her death, Jin Jiang had decided to sneak into the now-empty apartment to do something, only to be frightened out by what was inside.
Che Quan went inside.
A nauseating, pungent smell hung in the air.
But it wasn't the stench of a rotting corpse.
Che Quan walked a few steps toward the source of the smell.
He stopped. Through the refrigerator's half-open door, he saw what appeared to be more body parts belonging to the missing woman, Yu Yan.
Che Quan couldn't help smiling.
Sure enough, it was just as he had thought.
That person was the murderer.
"God, that stinks. What is that smell?"
Suddenly, Wu Yi's disgusted voice rang out, immediately followed by Yuan Rong's stern one.
"Who's in there? Don't move!"
Che Quan turned unhurriedly at their words, meeting the startled gazes of the two police officers as they cautiously made their way inside.
Wu Yi and Yuan Rong stared at the gloomy, silent boy standing in front of the refrigerator, momentarily at a loss for words.
Wu Yi finally broke the awkward silence. "What's a kid like you doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
Che Quan pointed at the refrigerator and replied casually, "There. The person you've been looking for is inside."
Yuan Rong immediately approached and pulled the refrigerator door all the way open. Wu Yi hurried after him, turning deathly pale when he saw what was inside.
"Motherfucker..." Wu Yi couldn't help swearing under his breath. "What the hell is going on here?"
Che Quan asked, "What's that smell in the air? It doesn't smell like a rotting corpse."
Wu Yi answered without thinking. "Formalin. It's specifically used to preserve bodies and keep them from decomposing."
Che Quan nodded, then asked, "Was there anything unusual about the woman who jumped to her death last time?"
Wu Yi gave him a friendly smile. "Playing detective, are you, kid?"
Che Quan didn't answer.
Wu Yi shrugged. "I can't play along. That's internal information related to the case. We can't disclose it."
Instead of answering, Che Quan asked, "Had she taken sleeping pills? Or did she have injuries from being attacked?"
Wu Yi froze briefly. "Huh? How did you know? Did you see it happen?"
Exasperated, Yuan Rong cut him off. "Shut up. With brains like yours, what are you even doing on the force?"
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Che Quan asked no more questions and headed straight out.
Yuan Rong frowned slightly and called after him. "Stop. You're suspected of tampering with and trespassing at a sealed crime scene. You'll have to come to the station with us for questioning."
"It wasn't me," Che Quan said flatly. "It was Jin Jiang from Room 601. Go arrest him."
"The guy in the stairwell just now who looked scared out of his wits?"
"Yes."
Yuan Rong narrowed his eyes and turned to Wu Yi. "Go bring him in too."
Che Quan fell silent for a moment.
Why did they still have to take me along?
Che Quan hadn't wanted to go, but he had some questions for Jin Jiang. He also wanted to see what this "police station" looked like and whether it was beyond the black fog, so he got into the police car in the end.
He sat in the back seat beside the handcuffed Jin Jiang.
Before the car started, Che Quan glanced at Building 4 of the Gubei Apartment, looming beneath the pitch-black clouds.
By the time he returned, someone else would probably be dead.
And the murderer would soon reveal their true face.
He and Jin Jiang arrived at the "police station."
Che Quan hadn't expected there to actually be a proper-looking police station.
After giving their statements separately, he and Jin Jiang sat together in the waiting room.
He was free to go home, and Wu Yi would drive him.
Jin Jiang, however, would be detained for five days.
In the waiting room, Jin Jiang grumbled miserably, "This is just my rotten luck. I only wanted to grab a little spending money. I didn't even do anything, so why do I have to spend so long locked up...?"
Che Quan had no interest in responding to his muttering, but out of sheer boredom, he still glanced at Jin Jiang.
The man probably had no idea that spending these few days in detention would save his life.
He asked Jin Jiang, "Who do you like best in the building?"
Jin Jiang froze at first, taking quite a while to understand what Che Quan meant. Then it suddenly clicked. "Oh, oh, oh! You mean the hot girls!"
It was as though Che Quan had hit upon Jin Jiang's greatest area of expertise. He immediately perked up.
He swallowed. Perhaps the police station's overwhelming yang energy had banished his earlier fear entirely. With the air of an authority holding court, he said, "Didn't know you had this side to you, kid. Well, let me give you the rundown."
"Ahem. In my book, first place definitely goes to sweet little Zha Jia. Wow, that face, that body-she's so hot she wakes me up even in my dreams. Too bad I've never seen her without makeup."
"Second place has to be... Yu Yan. Ah, what a shame. Such a lovely girl. Which goddamn bastard killed her? He must've been lusting after her face and body! Couldn't force himself on her, so he just killed her instead."
"Was it you?" Che Quan suddenly fixed his eyes on Jin Jiang, his smile not reaching his eyes.
Jin Jiang jumped, stammering badly. "Wh-wh-what kind of joke is that?! I-I-I wouldn't d-dare do anything like that!"
At that, Che Quan dropped his fake smile, his face turning expressionless in an instant. "Oh, I was joking. Go on."
"You scared me to death!" Still shaken, Jin Jiang patted his chest and continued, "Tied for third and fourth are the one in 301 and the one living across from Yu Yan. They've both got decent figures, but I can never remember their faces."
"Oh." Che Quan's response was decidedly indifferent.
Seeing this, Jin Jiang instinctively wanted to say something sensational enough to get a reaction out of him.
He racked his brains, then suddenly remembered something.
Jin Jiang glanced around conspiratorially. Only after making sure no one was paying attention to them did he carefully lean closer to Che Quan and say:
"Listen, buddy. Don't let Yu Yan, that Fu Na girl across the hall from her, and Xuan Shuhui fool you just because they're all skinny, frail girls. All three of them studied medicine. They specialize in dissecting corpses!"
Che Quan pressed his lips together, his tone taking on a hint of interest. "How do you know?"
The question left Jin Jiang momentarily tongue-tied.
"Well... there was this one time... Look, can you promise not to tell anyone, buddy?" Jin Jiang looked eager to spread the gossip, yet reluctant to explain.
"Sure."
Before you continue