Ye Huohuo had no idea what they were thinking. Suppressing the urge to vomit, she circled behind them and looked at the corpse’s waist.
Just as she expected, the corpse was severely decomposed, with barely a patch of good skin. However, a patch of skin on its waist was completely different from the surrounding skin. It looked almost identical to the skin of a normal living person, with even the pores clearly visible.
But there was a pattern tattooed on it, exactly the same as the pattern Ye Huohuo had drawn on the ground, not a single detail out of place.
Driven by curiosity, despite the unbearable stench of the corpse, the few police officers who had run away earlier, Little Tang, and even Li Mochen, who was weak-kneed from vomiting, all walked over at the same time.
Upon seeing the mark on the corpse’s lower back, they all exclaimed in astonishment, "This… it’s really here?! What’s going on?"
They all began to mutter in hushed tones.
"What are you all making so much noise about?"
Liu Keqiang's thunderous voice rang out, and the surroundings immediately fell silent.
"How did you know there was such a pattern here?" Liu Keqiang looked at Ye Huohuo, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes.
"What do you mean by that? Are you suspecting her of being the murderer?" Li Mochen, standing by, immediately stepped in front of Ye Huohuo, disregarding the overwhelming stench that invaded his mouth, his voice filled with anger.
Liu Keqiang tilted his head slightly, looking at this young man who was half a head taller than him. He wasn't angry. His police team was quite familiar with Li Mochen, as Li Mochen studied law and often interacted with them on cases.
Moreover, Li Mochen was a special consultant for the Haicheng Police Force in legal matters, which made them even more familiar with each other.
It was precisely because of this that Ye Huohuo had asked Li Mochen for help in retrieving the archives of the Qingshan Orphanage from the police station.
"Mochen, I didn't mean that. I just want to understand. Aren't you curious? This corpse was just discovered and brought back by our police. The forensic doctor hadn't even noticed this pattern on the lower back before, but Miss Ye could mention it. Why is that?"
Li Mochen glanced sideways at Ye Huohuo, his eyes showing no suspicion but more curiosity.
"Huo… Huohuo, how did you know? I am indeed very curious."
Ye Huohuo frowned, looked at the astonished eyes around her, and smacked her lips. Lying was truly not her strong suit, especially fabricating a convincing lie, which was even more difficult.
"I… actually, it was mostly a guess. Because the smell of this corpse was similar to that of an animal corpse that also carried that virus that I smelled before, that's why I said it carried the virus.
That animal corpse had such a mark on it, so I guessed this corpse also had a mark."
Ye Huohuo knew that if she said she knew because she saw the Yin energy emanating from the corpse, others would definitely not believe her and would think she was crazy, so she had to brace herself and make something up.
This reason was far from brilliant, and everyone looked at her with half-belief, but this time, no one raised any objections.
The surrounding air seemed to have frozen.
Cai Bei glanced at Liu Keqiang, "Captain Liu, what's your opinion?"
Liu Keqiang looked at the corpse, especially the pattern on it, and after a long period of thought, he nodded, "Let's do as she said. It won't hurt."
Ye Huohuo visibly relaxed, and she couldn't help but feel a bit of good will towards Captain Liu. When she had discovered the dismemberment video before, she had felt that this captain wasn't like ordinary criminal investigation captains who dismissed anything related to metaphysics. He was able to listen to her opinions.
Now, he had agreed to her opinion despite the pressure from so many people. This ability to readily accept good advice was something not everyone possessed.
Cai Bei no longer insisted, instructing Little Tang to take two people to place the corpse in a well-lit area of the courtyard for two hours. He then prepared to collect other evidence for laboratory analysis.
Before he could turn around, Liu Keqiang called him to a halt, taking both him and Ye Huohuo into the captain's office. He hadn't intended to bring Li Mochen, but Li Mochen insisted on following, and Ye Huohuo was brought by him, so they reluctantly brought him along.
Ye Huohuo was a bit confused by Liu Keqiang's action, and she couldn't help but wonder, "I'm not part of their police force, why am I being brought here to talk privately? Could it still be about the pattern on the corpse?"
Cai Bei and Li Mochen were frequent visitors to Liu Keqiang's room and sat down on the main sofa without being told.
After sitting down, Li Mochen realized that he was used to being alone and didn't have the habit of taking care of others. Seeing Ye Huohuo still standing, he quickly got up and offered her the main seat, while he sat on the side sofa.
Liu Keqiang first poured a cup of hot water for Ye Huohuo in a paper cup and apologized slightly, "I'm sorry, I don't have any beverages here. Please have some water first!"
Ye Huohuo didn't mind. She politely took the cup, said thank you, and took a sip of water, "Captain Liu, you didn't call me over just for me to drink water, right!" she asked with a polite smile.
At this moment, Ye Huohuo truly had the demeanor of a lady.
Liu Keqiang sat on another side sofa and looked at Cai Bei, as if seeking his opinion.
Cai Bei was a bit bewildered at first, but seeing Liu Keqiang's meaningful glance, he immediately understood something and cleared his throat, "Uh, perhaps I should say it?"
Liu Keqiang nodded, "You say it. After all, you are more professional and can explain some things more clearly than I can."
"Oh, hurry up and say it! You're making it so mysterious, it's making me curious. If you don't say it soon, I'll take my old… my friend and leave." Li Mochen almost let slip "my old man" several times.
Cai Bei sighed, "Alas, if it weren't for the fact that we've been unable to figure out the reason for these strange occurrences recently, we wouldn't be revealing case details to ordinary citizens like you."
Then, Cai Bei recounted the series of strange events that had happened recently.
The incident began more than ten days ago when they discovered a strange corpse…
The body was found in an abandoned factory. Normally, almost no one would go there. It was dilapidated, with very few intact window panes. There was trash everywhere, as well as excrement, making it utterly filthy.
Only a nearby elderly scavenger, who found the place a good shelter from the wind and rain, used a relatively clean corner as a temporary storage for the discarded bottles and broken cardboard he collected.
But more than ten days ago, one evening, the old man, as he did every day, dragged a sack of discarded items and walked in laboriously. As he was about to put the day's collection with the previous ones, something caught his cloudy eyes.
The light inside the house was poor, and it was evening, making it even harder to see. At first, the old man thought it was a discarded quilt that someone had dumped in the ruined factory.
He thought he would see if the quilt could still be sold. When he got closer, he saw that it was a nearly new quilt. The quilt cover had a gray, striped pattern, and it felt like pure cotton.
It was much better than his own quilt. He was overjoyed and intended to take the quilt home for himself.
But to his surprise, when he pulled the quilt open, it was wrapped around a person…
No, to be precise, it was a corpse, an extremely strange corpse!
The old man was so scared that he almost wet his pants. Fortunately, the old man reacted quickly and immediately called the police.
Because the place was too remote, by the time the police arrived, it was already dark. The area had been abandoned for many years, and there were no streetlights. The police lights flashing red and blue in the area created a very eerie feeling.
And what was even more eerie was the corpse. Even Cai Bei, an experienced forensic doctor, couldn't help but gasp when he saw the body…