Chapter 1 Disappearance?

“Disappeared?”

Li Ang frowned and asked, “How did they disappear?”

“I don’t know.”

Forensic doctor George Carter shook his head and said, “When I arrived at the office that day, the freezer containing Eileen Raphael’s body was open, and it was completely empty.

When I discovered the body was missing, my first reaction was, uh, that someone had stolen her,

But the office door requires an ID card to open, and other than me, only my two assistants, a few other forensic doctors, and my superiors have access.

I immediately reported to my superiors and requested to view all the surveillance footage inside the forensic research center that night...”

He paused, then said somewhat awkwardly, “As a result, they told me that the surveillance cameras had short-circuited the night before, and didn’t record anything from that night.”

“Malfunction?”

Li Ang couldn't help but laugh, “Your Frankfurt surveillance cameras are really smart. They know when something is going to happen and proactively cause problems.

Either a short circuit, or a power outage, or the warranty has expired and it's old and in disrepair, or the hard drive storage is full, it’s quite magical.”

“Ahem.”

George Carter cleared his throat awkwardly and said, “For the Frankfurt forensic office, the disappearance of a body is a very serious disaster—especially those bodies with family members who have claimed them.

According to past practice, we have to pay a large sum of money in compensation, which affects the next year's budget.

But my superiors told me not to worry about this issue, that someone would naturally pay the compensation, and that the institute wouldn't push me out to take the blame—he even gave me a half-month paid vacation to rest at home.

After a period of ideological struggle, I still succumbed and left the institute,

And when I drove away, I saw you trying to storm the institute again…”

“Heh.”

Li Ang grinned, his smile not reaching his eyes. It seemed that the ordinary mother, Katherine Raphael, whom he was playing, had bought a handgun tonight and parked her car in this high-end residential area,

With the purpose of forcing the forensic doctor to reveal the cause of her daughter's death and seek justice for her.

“So, what do you mean by ‘you’re one of them’?”

The forensic doctor hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and stood up from the sofa. “Come with me.”

He turned and walked toward the room, and Li Ang followed him unhurriedly, his fingers lightly tapping the Glock 19 pistol grip that Katherine Raphael had bought.

The two walked into the room, and George Carter rummaged through boxes and cabinets, taking out a large stack of documents with photos on them, and handed them to Li Ang.

These documents were all autopsy reports from the Frankfurt City Forensic Research Center.

Logically speaking, these things shouldn't be brought home, but because the treatment of forensic doctors in America was too poor, the salaries were too low, and there was a serious shortage of manpower, forensic doctors were allowed to work from home.

Li Ang flipped through the thick autopsy reports and found that the corpses of the dozens of dead people inside were in different conditions, some were burned, some were truncated, some were smashed into paste,

The only thing they had in common was that they mostly lived at the bottom of society,

Homeless vagrants, teenagers who used synthetic drugs, young women living in abandoned RVs...

Their deaths went unnoticed, and even if they became corpses, no family members would come to claim them.

“These people were all murdered, and the real cause of death was massive hemorrhage from the carotid artery.”

Li Ang glanced at it and said calmly, “But someone deliberately used various means to destroy the corpses in order to prevent them from being found out.”

“That's right, these corpses were all hunted prey, and there were even cases of living people smashing their skulls with their bare fists.

Some colleagues in the bureau are also muttering about whether it might be the vampires mentioned in the Frankfurt urban legends.”

The forensic doctor pressed a few keys on his laptop, brought up some video files, and turned the computer screen towards Li Ang.

“This is... the video recording of when I did the autopsy on Eileen Raphael,”

George Carter said softly, “If you want to watch it, you’d better be mentally prepared...”

Li Ang shook his head, walked past the forensic doctor, opened the video file, and kept fast-forwarding.

————

Ten minutes later, Li Ang silently closed the interface.

Even he felt a chill run down his spine at the horrific torture that Eileen Raphael had suffered before her death. No "person" with even a shred of conscience or a bottom line would commit such cruel acts against their own kind.

“Hoo...”

Li Ang exhaled a breath of stale air expressionlessly, his palms subconsciously clenched into fists.

Stage one mission objective "Find out the cause of Eileen Raphael's death" has been completed.

Stage two mission objective: Go to the Icelberg Club at 17 Hudson Road, Frankfurt, and find Felix Miller.

Mission time limit: 2 hours

Mission reward: None

Mission failure penalty: Obliteration

Li Ang's silence was seen by the forensic doctor George Carter as the complete expression of a mother's grief and despair.

He wanted to say something to comfort her, but stopped himself and slowly closed his mouth.

Li Ang opened a webpage on the laptop, searching for the name Felix Miller and browsing relevant information.

He asked the forensic doctor, “Felix Miller, do you know him?”

“I know.”

The forensic doctor said softly, “The Miller family runs an arms company and has accumulated countless wealth over the decades. It is one of the most powerful surnames in this city.

Felix Miller's father is the president of the arms company, his mother is a television station owner, his uncle is the Frankfurt prosecutor, and his uncle is a state legislator.

He himself is an out-and-out scumbag. When he was a minor, he confined a classmate, beating them until they were disabled and paralyzed.

After adulthood, he fooled around with several other playboys who also came from wealthy families, and acted recklessly, relying on the power of their families.

They are involved in dozens of crimes, including intentional injury, forced gang rape, creating disturbances, illegal imprisonment, drunk driving causing death, and hit-and-run, which are well known throughout Frankfurt.

But no one can sanction them. Even insulting him on Twitter will result in Miller family thugs crossing state lines to find them.”

“Very good.”

Li Ang browsed enough information on the webpage, nodded, casually took the forensic doctor’s laptop, turned around, and walked out of the room.

The forensic doctor exclaimed, “Where are you going?”

“Going on a spur-of-the-moment trip.”

Li Ang waved his hand and said without looking back, “You'd better take your wife and children and leave this city.

If I find out that you've told anyone about what happened tonight, I'll find you, catch up with you, and kill you again.”

The forensic doctor wanted to ask more questions, but Li Ang's figure had already disappeared into the pitch-black backyard, hidden from view.