Chapter 79

This busy schedule kept going until well past ten in the evening. When Song Wen arrived home and was about to take off his outerwear, Lu Siyu advised, “Take a shower first. You’re covered in sodium nitrite salt. Be careful not to get poisoned; it’s not good for your health.”

Song Wen wrapped the outerwear he had just taken off around himself. “Do you want to join me?” he awkwardly added, “Anyway, your place has a bathroom too.”

Lu Siyu replied, “I’ll be careful. I’ll wash my hands later. But for you, helping them move the body…” He paused, then added, “And, put your clothes in the washing machine, don’t let Little Wolf touch them.”

Song Wen acknowledged and dodged the approaching dog, then went to the bedroom to get clean clothes to change into. After that, he entered the bathroom and thoroughly washed up.

Since Song Wen moved in, Lu Siyu had rearranged the layout of the study. He liked using a laptop, so he set up a side table for himself, leaving the main seat for Song Wen. With this arrangement, it felt similar to the seating arrangement in the City Bureau’s office.

After coming out of the bathroom, Song Wen went to the study, turned on the computer, and by then, Zhu Xiao had already pulled up the records of missing men in the vicinity of Nancheng over the past year. Song Wen printed out the information, and Lu Siyu, who was sitting on the side preparing to transcribe the on-site survey report, reached out and said, “Let me see?”

Song Wen handed over the stack of papers. “The autopsy isn’t done yet, so there’s very little information. We might be wasting our time.”

However, Lu Siyu didn’t seem to mind and started looking through the papers one by one. “At least we can start by eliminating some possibilities,” he said.

Song Wen suggested, “How about I make you a cup of warm milk? It’s good for sleep.”

Lu Siyu shook his head. “I already brushed my teeth.”

Glancing at the time, Song Wen remarked, “But it’s almost eleven. Even if you’re dedicated, you can’t stay up like this.”

Lu Siyu continued to look down, supporting his chin with his hand. “You had Zhu Xiao pull up these files late at night just so you could stay up to finish them, didn’t you?”

Song Wen’s thoughts were exposed, and he withdrew his hand, sighing. “Even if I go to bed at two, I can still fall asleep. Can you compare to me?” He had intended to discuss with Lu Siyu about Xu Changying’s attempt to poach him. But seeing Lu Siyu so engrossed in the case made him reconsider. It didn’t seem like Lu Siyu was planning to leave anytime soon.

Lu Siyu’s lips curved slightly, still refusing. “Let me look for a while longer. It’s too early to sleep now, I won’t be able to.”

Song Wen couldn’t argue with him. He snatched back half of the files and said, “Let’s search together. It’ll be faster. After we finish, you’ll obediently go to sleep.”

This time, Lu Siyu didn’t object. He lowered his head and habitually brought his thumb to his lips, biting his nails as he continued to scrutinize the documents.

Song Wen held a dozen or so files, diligently conducting his search based on factors like age, height, physique, and the time of disappearance. After examining all the files for about an hour, he finally ruled out all possibilities. He set the files aside and stretched lazily. “I’ve finished my side, none of them match. Looks like finding this ‘cured meat brother’ is going to be quite a challenge.”

After finishing his words, Song Wen lifted his head only to see Lu Siyu resting his head on one hand, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and his pointed chin drooping down as he had already fallen asleep sitting there. Song Wen, afraid of disturbing him, stood up and glanced at the materials on the table, which he had almost finished examining, all meticulously annotated by him.

Song Wen thought to himself, this guy, just a moment ago, he was the one eager to work and unwilling to sleep, and now he’s the one sitting at the desk and dozing off.

Song Wen stood on the opposite side of the table, gazing closely at Lu Siyu’s sleeping face. His complexion was fair, and his features were delicate, resembling those crafted from ice. Seeing that Lu Siyu showed no signs of waking up, Song Wen walked over and spun his chair around. Then, he scooped him up into his arms, using his strength to lift him horizontally and carry him to the bed in the bedroom.

In his half-asleep state, Lu Siyu suddenly felt lighter. He knew that he was being carried by Song Wen and could smell the scent emanating from him. However, his eyelids felt heavy and wouldn’t lift, so he let out a soft “mm” sound, resembling a kitten’s meow, as Song Wen laid him gently on the bed in the bedroom. Song Wen, afraid of waking him up, looked at Lu Siyu’s handsome face with closed eyes. Carefully, he lowered his head, cradled it, and then covered him with a blanket.

Song Wen lowered his head and looked at Lu Siyu’s sleeping face, thinking to himself that if things could stay like this forever, it wouldn’t be bad.

The next morning, as usual, the departments held a joint morning meeting. The small meeting room was occupied by Xu Changying’s team, so they had to make do with a brief meeting in the forensic room. Due to the late hour the night before and the fact that the identity of the body hadn’t been confirmed yet, Lin Xiuran hadn’t transferred the body to the funeral home and instead left it in the forensic room.

As soon as Song Wen entered the forensic room, he wrinkled his nose. The body had been left here overnight, and there was a faint smell of sea salt in the air.

Before long, everyone had arrived.

The forensic team was all out on fieldwork today, leaving behind photos and various data. Several detectives and Lin Xiuran sat beside the body, which had long turned into a mummified corpse, and began the meeting in earnest.

Song Wen got straight to the point. “Last night, Lu Siyu and I already checked the recent records of missing persons. There’s no match in the missing persons’ files for someone matching the age and height of the deceased.”

Lin Xiuran added, “The autopsy has been completed on my end. The deceased is male, approximately 25 to 26 years old, and around 180 centimeters tall. The deceased’s DNA and fingerprints are not recorded in any relevant databases, indicating that he likely had no criminal record before his death. Additionally, the time of death was approximately six months ago. The cause of death was a stab wound to the chest, which pierced the lungs and likely resulted in rapid death. Furthermore, we found a scar on the abdomen of the deceased. Upon autopsy, it was determined to be a surgical scar. The deceased had no gallbladder, suggesting he had undergone cholecystectomy. He also had cancer, indicating that he was a young late-stage cancer patient.”

“Late-stage cancer? This person didn’t have much time left to live, did he?” Fu Linjiang frowned slightly. Such a deceased was not commonly seen in previous cases. “What kind of deep-seated grudge would drive someone to kill a terminally ill person? If they had waited a few more months, he might have died from the illness himself. Why end his life in this way?”

According to common sense, such a terminally ill patient should be lying in a hospital bed or spending their final days with loved ones. Instead, he was killed by someone and dumped in an abandoned chemical factory.

Song Wen was also puzzled. “This person wasn’t reported missing, and there’s no record of him. He’s been dead for so long, yet no one has reported him missing. Something doesn’t add up.”

Alone, without family, friends, or any records, this person seemed abandoned by the entire world. No, he still had a connection to the world, and that was the murderer who discarded him at that abandoned chemical factory…

Zhu Xiao looked sympathetically at the body lying aside and considered a possibility, “Is it possible that this person originally lived out of town, and his family thought he was on a business trip and hadn’t returned?”

Lao Jia shook his head, “With advanced-stage cancer, how could he be on a business trip?… It’s impossible for such critically ill patients to be out and about.”

Zhu Xiao continued to speculate, “Then, if his family considered him a burden, what would he wish to see or where would he want to go?… He came to Nancheng alone seeking medical treatment, or… committed a crime across regions or disposed of the body across regions?”

Fu Linjiang added, “That’s possible. But if that’s the case, it’ll require coordinating investigations across different regions, which will make things much more complicated…”

“The fact that the murderer left the body there indicates they have transportation and are very familiar with the local area. Transporting across regions would increase the risk for the murderer… It’s best to consider this possibility only after completely ruling out all other factors,” Song Wen concluded, then glanced at Lu Siyu, who was absent-mindedly holding a pen and staring blankly at the body in front of him.

“Lu Siyu?” Song Wen called out to him. “What are your thoughts?”

Lu Siyu responded with an acknowledgment sound, appearing to awaken from his trance. He was a bit distracted. He had fallen asleep early last night but woke up before five and had been suffering from stomach pain until dawn. Now, his stomach was hurting badly, making it difficult for him to focus. It seemed that since his last gastric bleeding, his stomach condition had worsened. Even with extreme caution, it was of no use. Moreover, his painkillers had been confiscated, and the effects of other medications were minimal.

Feeling Song Wen’s gaze on him, he didn’t want to worry him. He reached under the table, leaned forward slightly, placed his hand on his abdomen, took a deep breath, and cleared his mind before saying, “Can we start from the illness?… ” He wanted to say more, but a sudden cramp in his stomach made him clench his teeth, suppressing a low groan in his throat. He lowered his head, hoping Song Wen wouldn’t notice his discomfort.

“That’s a good point,” Lin Xiuran understood and agreed. “In this city, cancer patients are still a minority. We can screen all relevant patients in the city, male, 25 years old, who underwent gallbladder removal surgery in recent years. There might be records.”

Song Wen said, “Let’s start the screening first. Hasn’t the technical investigation department’s large database been nearly completed recently?”

At the mention of the large database, Zhu Xiao, who was interfacing with the technical department, immediately showed a disgusted expression.

In today’s rapidly changing internet age, the police’s large database had been established for a long time. Nancheng was ahead in these aspects. The entire database was extremely vast, with a lot of data entry work. In a city with a population of millions, it was difficult to complete the task of linking birth information, household registration information, death information, medical, property, cell phone, bank card, license plate, and various ticket information.

The biggest challenge was the myriad of errors in data entry, with the speed of information generation far exceeding the speed of importation, resulting in a significant lag in the content of the police’s large database.

Despite the disdain, records of surgeries performed a year ago should be able to be retrieved. Zhu Xiao took out his laptop, entered his password to access the Nancheng police database, inputted a few key pieces of information, and a symbol on the side began to spin, indicating that the screening was underway.

Everyone held their breath and waited. After ten seconds, the screen flashed, and Song Wen thought the results were out, but instead, a progress bar appeared on the right, with the number jumping from 0% to 1%…

Zhu Xiao sighed, “Sometimes, I really want to redo their program.”

Fu Linjiang chuckled.

Lao Jia stood up, “I’ll go get my cup.”

Song Wen calculated that even with the initial calculation, it would take several minutes. He suggested, “Let’s take a break for now.”