Special Forces Medic

Chapter 969 938: Corpse in the Moat

The first glance opened to a sky filled with smog. Every morning the weather forecast reported the day's and the next three days' weather conditions. The clock ticked steadily as Xiao Lin climbed out of bed, the alarm set to ring five minutes later. This early waking was a biological quirk, and the regular news would naturally turn on the TV under the timed system.

His eyes swept across the window, occasionally spotting visible dust particles in the gray sky. The suddenly terrible air quality index felt like a doomsday warning arriving without notice.

The conversation that was supposed to continue yesterday was abruptly ended when Master Qin entered urgently. In fact, if they continued, even he wasn't sure what he would do. He spent the whole night pondering whether he truly understood.

Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. There were many details the old man didn't elaborate on. The overall process seemed to stand upon Mu Rongyun, with Xiao Zhenfeng playing the role of a malicious, cunning planner. Was it merely that?

A gray shadow leapt at him from the right, tumbling onto his bed and entangled with the shadow, dissipating the foggy mood like the weather. Taking in this giant thing from Guang Xi seemed to be the right decision, though nowhere in the city could he take it along.

"Sorry, you have to stay squeezed in this small place with me." Xiao Lin rubbed Ya's head. The wolf cub grew with daily diary-like speed, increasingly drawn to the taste of blood. A beast, after all, cannot be domesticated like livestock. "Bear with it a little longer; once things here are settled, I'll find you a larger place to live."

He took a large, bloody piece of beef from the air vent, tossed it into the iron bowl, then casually picked up a fruit knife to cut his finger, dripping the blood onto the meat. This had become a habit; Xiao Lin couldn't quite recall why he started doing this, just instinctively feeding his blood to the wolf cub.

The morning news was broadcasting when Xiao Lin suddenly stopped, a story drew his attention. Holding coffee and sliced bread, he nostalgically missed Xia Xue's presence, raised his eyebrows, and forced this emotion down.

'Around five o'clock today, sanitation workers discovered a male corpse in the moat. The police have already started investigating. Preliminary analysis suggests suicide, as the deceased has no wounds on his body.' A zoom-in shot showed the corpse briefly before being blocked by detectives, with Wu Shuang's petite figure appearing at the scene.

Xiao Lin did not overlook that fleeting moment; although the deceased's face was covered, he vaguely recognized who it was. Five in the morning was precisely when Master Qin interrupted them, postponing the ten o'clock meeting, likely because of this.

"Little one, I've got work to do…" Seeing Ya's mournful eyes, Xiao Lin couldn't help but laugh. "Wang Zhanting is dead. In one hour, I need to know all about his whereabouts and contacts—yes, all details. Meet at the City Police Department entrance in an hour."

Hanging up the phone, Xiao Lin's eyes dimmed. Wang Zhantian was missing, Wang Zhanting suddenly died violently; this unforeseen situation seemed to predict the start of another conspiracy.

Half an hour later, a silver-white QQ car pulled into the City Police Department's lot. Having received Xiao Lin's call, Wu Shuang was already waiting at the entrance. She was genuinely startled when she first saw the large dog jump out of the car, it did not look like an ordinary canine, rather more like its master.

"I'm here about the male corpse in the moat this morning." Xiao Lin went straight to the point as Ya circled them twice, appearing extremely restless.

"When I got the notification, I wondered when you'd show up. Follow me!" Wu Shuang nodded, leading Xiao Lin into the basement. "Mu Rongyun left the City Police Department, so this pathologist was transferred from another district."

"I heard about that. Are you okay?" Xiao Lin thought for a moment, feeling that asking in such a way seemed somewhat inappropriate.

Wu Shuang merely smiled without saying more. A young man, roughly in his thirties, was handling the body on an operating table, his skillful actions exuded professionalism.

"Forensic Doctor Zhang! Any discoveries?" Wu Shuang kept a certain distance from Xiao Lin, unsure if it was an illusion, but ever since her injury in the North District, she maintained a distance from him, her fiery personality greatly altered.

As Xiao Lin led Ya, the scent of blood in the basement made Ya excitedly fixate on the blood flowing into a bucket, its mouth opened displaying sharp fangs.

"Director Wu! I currently suspect murder, because we found large amounts of black viscous substance in the deceased's stomach, and there are obvious perforation signs. However, we cannot yet determine the toxin as, from the deceased's external traits, the toxicity hasn't leaked out. The deceased was thrown into the moat postmortem, the estimated time of death is between nine to ten at night." Forensic Doctor Zhang removed his protective goggles, revealing bright eyes; his face mostly covered by a mask, his skin well-maintained—soft and smooth. "But judging by the disposal method, this seems a deliberate attempt to hide the corpse, yet the case appears staged for discovery, which is why I believe the suspect intentionally dumped the corpse there without any heavy work, letting it float for easy discovery."

"Typically, sanitation workers start cleaning the city at four. The deceased died between nine to ten at night, discovered at five, leaving a six-hour window."

"Shouldn't it be seven hours?" Forensic Doctor Zhang questioned Xiao Lin's timing calculations.

"I examined the body briefly, there's no obvious swelling. Skin traits, nails and hair are intact without detachment or peeling, indicating very short immersion in water. The perpetrator dumped the body between four and five, Director Wu can check surveillance near the discovery site for suspects appearing within that range to narrow the scope.

"Who are you..." Forensic Doctor Zhang only then realized the unfamiliarity, and with a pet brought into the police station, he couldn't help but be intrigued by Xiao Lin's identity.

"Thank you, Forensic Doctor Zhang. Due to the deceased's special identity, confidentiality agreements must be considered, until we receive clear instructions from the municipal committee, maintain absolute secrecy with me."

"Understood, Director." Seeing Wu Shuang not answering his question, Forensic Doctor Zhang didn't pursue further, but his gaze towards Xiao Lin grew more interesting.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Xiao Lin watched the body closely, while Wu Shuang checked her watch, noting only ten minutes until the case meeting. She didn't have much time to spend here. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)