Chapter 2 Female Corpse in the Bathroom

As the bearded man opened the door, a pungent stench hit Luo Fei in the face. This was not the typical smell of rotting animal carcasses; it was far more intense. Given the bearded man’s cautious movements, Luo Fei was certain that something serious was happening in this unit.

Luo Fei saw the vicious face in front of him and calmed his nerves before speaking: “Sorry to disturb you. Ms. Zhang’s cat from next door has gone missing, so I would like to check if you might know anything about it. Have you seen a black-and-white cat between 11 a.m. yesterday and today?”

“No,” the bearded man replied, shaking his head impatiently.

“Alright. If you happen to see it, please call and let us know,” Luo Fei said before turning to leave.

Luo Fei had initially intended to enter the house to investigate the source of the foul stench. But upon seeing the man’s stout and menacing build and comparing them to his slender limbs, which seemed as feeble as a chicken’s, a surge of panic overcame him, and he quickly changed his mind.

Going in could perhaps lead to a grim discovery, but a physique like his might also mean he would be slaughtered like a chicken on the spot. Luo Fei had no desire to become one of those unfortunate, dull-witted police officers from his novels, blindly walking into danger and meeting their demise at the hands of a murderer. Though the likelihood of such a scenario in reality is slim, caution is always prudent. Luo Fei decided he was going to call out to Zhang Haiyang to accompany him into the house as an additional layer of security.

At this moment, Luo Fei yearned for strength. A person’s backbone and confidence are rooted in physical prowess; if he had possessed such strength, he would not have been plagued by cowardice and feared entering the house earlier.

“It’s said that ants can lift things that are 400 times heavier than themselves, while humans can at most lift 6 times their own. If I were to fuse the ant power gene, I wonder how much of my strength could be boosted,” he mused silently.

Just as he was about to return and call out to Zhang Haiyang, he noticed that Zhang Haiyang was already making his way toward him.

“How’s it going? Any progress?” Zhang Haiyang asked casually as he approached Luo Fei.

“The bathroom window of Zhang Lan’s house is near the balcony of unit 828, so I went to question the owner. He claimed he hadn’t seen any cats, but as I was leaving, I thought I heard cat calls. Moreover, when I was at the doorstep, I caught a whiff of a foul odour, similar to that of animal carcasses.” Luo Fei lied so that he could lure Zhang Haiyang into investigating the stench.

“Let’s go.”

Upon hearing Luo Fei’s claim about hearing the sound of a cat, Zhang Haiyang did not even think twice and went toward unit 828.

“Thud thud thud.” Luo Fei was still the one knocking on the door.

Shortly after, the bearded man opened the door slightly, as he had done before, revealing only his face. It was evident that he was extremely irritated, and his tone was fierce and harsh.

“Do you guys have another problem?”

With over twenty years of experience as a police officer, Zhang Haiyang has encountered countless individuals of various temperaments. To him, this was no different. Calmly, he stated, “Ms. Zhang’s cat next door is missing. My colleague mentioned he had heard what sounded like a cat in your house, so we’d like to come in and investigate.”

Hearing this, the bearded man glared at Luo Fei and retorted furiously: “I’ve said it before. I haven’t seen any cats or heard any cat sounds, so don’t come and harass me again.”

Finishing his sentence, the bearded man prepared to shut the door immediately, but Zhang Haiyang halted his actions by holding the door open firmly with one hand.

As the bearded man opened the door the second time earlier, Zhang Haiyang also finally caught a whiff of the unpleasant stench, unmistakably the odour of rotting corpses. The bearded man’s unusual behaviour, coupled with more than twenty years of experience in handling cases, made him even more certain that something suspicious was going on here.

“Sir, please cooperate with our investigation,” Zhang Haiyang said firmly, his tone losing its previous politeness as his expression turned cold instantly.

Next to him, Luo Fei seized the opportunity while the bearded man was momentarily off guard. With a swift motion, he stepped forward and forcefully pushed open the door with both hands, successfully entering the house.

The noxious stench in the room intensified as Luo Fei scanned his surroundings.

In the cramped living room, empty wine bottles and cigarette butts littered every available surface. The coffee table, as the centrepiece of the room, was strewn with peanut shells and melon seeds. Amid this chaos, the television blared with Legal Report ^[1]TL’s note: Legal Report is a legal program on China Central Television that focuses on telling cases and disseminating legal knowledge and concepts..

This scene felt familiar to Luo Fei. Then it hit him: Isn’t this the exact crime scene he had used in his novel?

Zhang Haiyang followed Luo Fei into the room after he had pushed open the door.

“You! Sit on the sofa over there.” Zhang Haiyang suddenly commanded, pointing his finger at the bearded man with an unusually stern expression.

The stench of decay, the messy living room, and the bearded man’s behaviour all combined to set off alarm bells for Zhang Haiyang. With twenty years in the police force and a wealth of experience, he sensed danger lingering in the air.

Luo Fei also stared at the bearded man with apprehension, in case he made any threatening moves. Given the situation before his eyes, it was impossible to say that the bearded man was uninvolved.

“Luo Fei, go and check which room the stench is coming from. And what it is.” Zhang Haiyang instructed. In such a precarious setting, he could not risk letting Luo Fei, a mere trainee police officer, keep an eye on the bearded man—if there was something really off about the bearded man, he might be driven to desperate actions—and Zhang Haiyang did not trust that Luo Fei could handle it alone.

Hearing Zhang Haiyang’s command, Luo Fei headed straight toward the kitchen.

As soon as he had entered, Luo Fei’s keen sense of smell pinpointed that the majority of the stench was emanating from the bathroom.

TL’s TW: Slight gore.

“Blarghhh-“

One second, Luo Fei had just stepped into the bathroom; the next, he was on the verge of retching.

In the bathroom’s bathtub lay a female corpse, clad only in underwear, submerged in a pool of blood. The body, pallid and bloated, emitted a putrid odour. Gruesome wounds marred the corpse’s neck, hands, and waist; their rotting and disgusting state was apparent.

Such horrid scenes were written countless times in his own novels, yet this was Luo Fei’s first truly up-close encounter.

“Luo Fei, what’s going on?” Zhang Haiyang’s somewhat anxious voice resonated from the living room.

Luo Fei backed out of the bathroom, his face drained of colour, and hastened back to the living room with brisk steps.

Approaching Zhang Haiyang, Luo Fei nervously glanced down at the bearded man sitting peacefully on the sofa before speaking, “There’s a female corpse soaked in the bathtub in the bathroom.” His voice trembled slightly; it was the first time in two lifetimes he had seen a corpse so intimately, especially in such a bloody and horrific scene, next to a living murderer.

Zhang Haiyang’s expression shifted as he heard the news. Although he had speculated about it not long ago, the reality of a corpse in the room still appalled him.

The next second.

“Stay still. You are suspected of murder; we are now officially arresting you.” As he declared, Zhang Haiyang quickly retrieved handcuffs from his waist, stepping forward to cuff one hand of the bearded man while the other end of the restraints was clasped onto the coffee table. It was evident that Zhang Haiyang was also on edge; after all, he was facing a murderer. The suspect could abruptly turn violent—it was impossible not to feel jittery.

As Zhang Haiyang handcuffed the bearded man, an uneasy expression plastered on Luo Fei’s face. His gaze was fixed on the bearded man, seemingly ready to intervene at any moment to restrain him if needed.

Unfortunately, as a trainee police officer, Luo Fei could not carry any equipment. If only he had something like an electric baton in his hand, it would have probably reduced his nerves.

The silver lining was that everything proceeded smoothly; the bearded man offered no resistance and allowed Zhang Haiyang to handcuff him to the side of the coffee table.

After securing the bearded man in handcuffs, both Zhang Haiyang and Luo Fei breathed sighs of relief. With him restrained, the level of danger he posed was significantly diminished.

(End of Chapter)