Chapter 10: The Corpse Room 10  

Qian Bin didn’t even have the presence of mind to check whether the male officer across from him was just as shocked. His heart was still pounding from that sudden, unexpected outburst, and it took him a long while to regain his composure. Even then, he could still hear a faint ringing in his ears. When he looked at the female officer again, there was unmistakable fear in his eyes.  

When she had first yanked him back from jumping into the lake, he hadn’t thought much of it—just assumed the police didn’t dare let anything happen to him, hence the desperate effort to stop him from falling in. But now, looking back, he realized how unbelievable it was. Someone who appeared so frail had not only halted his fall but now had the strength to slam the table with such force.  

Was she even a woman?  

While the interrogation room remained silent, Ye Zhu had been closely observing the shifting expressions on Qian Bin’s face. She swore she could clearly read skepticism in his expression—though what exactly he was skeptical about, she was too annoyed to dwell on.  

“Name.” Clearing her throat, she maintained her role as the ‘hardliner,’ her voice icy.  

Whether it was the lingering effect of her earlier outburst or intentional, her tone cut through the interrogation room like a blade, carrying a bone-chilling sharpness.  

“Qian… Qian Bin,” the man stammered, only then realizing how weak and hoarse his voice sounded, trembling slightly.  

“Age.”  

“43.”  

“Do you know why you’re here?”  

“…”  

“We only wanted to ask you about Huang Jingguo. Why didn’t you come forward when you heard? Not only did you avoid us, but you ran the moment I called your name. What are you so guilty about?” Ye Zhu pressed when he remained silent.  

“Ridiculous. Why would I be guilty?” Qian Bin struggled to maintain his initial nonchalant demeanor, but his lack of conviction was obvious—his eyes darted around, refusing to settle on either officer.  

At this, Yan Yu, who had been silently observing, finally showed a flicker of interest.  

This was unexpected.  

When they had first entered the interrogation room, Qian Bin had clearly been prepared with a strategy to handle police questioning. Records showed he had prior arrests—he was no stranger to police stations and had experience with interrogations. He was bound to be difficult to crack.  

After all, if he stubbornly denied everything and played dumb, the police wouldn’t have much leverage without solid evidence.  

Yan Yu had been prepared for a long psychological battle. His original plan was to let Ye Zhu and Qian Bin go back and forth for a while, wearing him down mentally before finding an opening when his guard was lowered.  

But who could’ve predicted that Ye Zhu’s sudden outburst would throw the man completely off balance? It shattered his confidence and scrambled his thoughts—right now, his mind was probably mush, all his prepared excuses forgotten.  

Hmm. Crude and simple, but undeniably effective.

“What are you feeling guilty about?” Yan Yu suddenly spoke, his tone laced with a hint of amusement, though his handsome face remained expressionless. As he spoke, he slowly straightened up from his previously lazy posture. For some reason, the change in his demeanor seemed to intensify the oppressive atmosphere in the room.  

He casually tossed the page of the report onto the interrogation table, motioning for Qian Bin to take a look himself. “The autopsy report shows that Huang Jingguo’s body contained an extremely high concentration of laxative. I believe you know exactly why that was the case, don’t you? What the police want to know now is, since you and Huang Jingguo were supposedly so close, why would you want to harm him?”  

“I never harmed him! You cops need evidence to back up your accusations!” Qian Bin retorted hastily, even blowing a puff of air to send the report flying far away, refusing to so much as glance at it.  

“So you’re denying it now? Qian Bin, let me warn you—the evidence you think we don’t have, we’ll find sooner or later. Once we have it, whether you admit it or not won’t matter anymore. Don’t think you’ll still have room to bargain with us then.” Yan Yu smirked faintly. “Right now, the forensic examiner has already pinpointed the exact time Huang Jingguo ingested the laxative. All the police have to do is follow that timeline to investigate where he was, who he was with, and what he was doing. It’ll be child’s play.”  

At these words, Qian Bin momentarily panicked, but he quickly forced himself to steady his nerves, lifting his chin in a defiant display. “Go ahead and investigate! I don’t believe you can fabricate evidence out of thin air for something I didn’t do!”  

“Fine.” Yan Yu retrieved the report, tidied up the items on the table, and stood up.  

Ye Zhu naturally rose as well, and the two of them appeared ready to leave.  

“Qian Bin, don’t think you can get away with just your underhanded tricks and shameless stubbornness. This isn’t accidental manslaughter—it’s premeditated murder. Huang Jingguo’s body contained large amounts of laxative and anesthetic. He was already dead long before that truck went over the edge.” Yan Yu delivered this statement coolly before turning to leave.  

At first, Qian Bin didn’t react, even wearing a smug expression, likely congratulating himself inwardly that the police couldn’t touch him. But when the full meaning of those words finally sank in, his heart lurched, his face paling as he hurriedly called out to the two who were already walking away.  

“Wait! What anesthetic? Where did that come from?!”  

Yan Yu ignored him, his footsteps never faltering as he strode out of the interrogation room.  

Ye Zhu hesitated for a brief moment—just a fraction of a second—before she, too, stepped toward the door.  

“Explain this properly! How did Huang Jingguo really die?! It’s impossible… impossible…” Qian Bin’s eyes darted around frantically now, his forehead beaded with sweat, his entire demeanor unraveling.

“Propofol.” Ye Zhu suddenly stopped in her tracks and uttered the word. Seeing the man’s blank expression, she frowned, as if barely tolerating the need to explain. “Huang Jingguo’s body contained a lethal dose of propofol. There’s no need for you to feign ignorance here. Once the police confirm your connection to his ingestion of both the laxative and anesthetic, any further excuses will be pointless.”

In reality, the timing of the anesthetic ingestion didn’t align with the laxative. Moreover, anesthetics take effect rapidly in the human body, causing death within moments.

But… Qian Bin might not know that.

After delivering this statement, she turned as if to leave. One step, two steps, three steps… Her retreating figure was steady, showing no signs of hesitation.

Finally, after five steps, the interrogation room behind her erupted with the man’s heart-wrenching screams: “I didn’t kill Huang Jingguo! This is a frame-up!!! A frame-up!!! Is anyone listening? The police are murdering innocent people!!!”

“…”

Ye Zhu’s eyelid twitched slightly as she glanced up at Yan Yu leaning against the wall ahead.

Yan Yu merely let out a soft chuckle through his nose before tilting his head toward the source of the commotion.

The two of them returned to the interrogation room one after another. Upon seeing their figures reappear at the doorway, Qian Bin’s screams grew even louder.

Ye Zhu maintained a stern expression as she returned to the interrogation table. Observing that the man showed no signs of stopping, she narrowed her eyes and swiftly raised her right hand holding a file folder.

This movement was caught in the man’s peripheral vision, triggering an instinctive reaction—he immediately shut his eyes, ducked his head, and fell silent. Clearly, the unexpected loud noise earlier had left him with some psychological trauma.

“Tch!” Ye Zhu scoffed dismissively before casually tossing the folder onto the table. The impact was forceful—the hard plastic meeting the surface produced a sharp ‘smack,’ and the resulting gust of air blew directly into Qian Bin’s face, even causing that annoying strand of bangs to flutter dramatically.

“One last chance. Think carefully about what you’re going to say,” she said as she sat down and opened the folder to take notes.

Just as the man opposite opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off with a warning: “If it’s more of that nonsense, we’ll walk out right now. Qian Bin, your pathetic little schemes look utterly ridiculous to us.”

Qian Bin froze momentarily before shifting his gaze to the male officer who had followed them back but remained standing by the door, seemingly ready to leave at any moment. A wave of panic began to rise within him.

Initially, he had thought to keep lying, but as time passed, the pressure from the two officers seemed to intensify. Beads of cold sweat began forming uncontrollably on his skin. Finally, with clenched teeth and closed eyes, he blurted out: “I was the one who gave Huang Jingguo the laxative.”

Hearing this, Ye Zhu turned to exchange a glance with Yan Yu. The latter slowly walked over from the doorway, pulled out a chair to sit down, and gestured for Qian Bin to continue.

“But I only gave him a laxative, I swear! What anesthetic? I’ve never even heard of it!” Now that he’d confessed, Qian Bin dropped his previous slimy demeanor and actually started to show some urgency. His small eyes darted between the male and female officers, trying to glean any reaction from their expressions.

Unfortunately for him, he was doomed to disappointment. Not only did Yan Yu maintain his poker face, but Ye Zhu also showed no extra reaction.

Ye Zhu: “What, you think a laxative is no big deal? Don’t you know it could also cause a car accident? This still counts as premeditated murder!”

“Murder? I didn’t want to kill him! Besides, this wasn’t the first time I drugged him—nothing ever happened before! At worst, he’d just have diarrhea for a while and be delayed on his delivery route!” In his agitated state, Qian Bin blurted out more than he intended. Realizing his mistake, he looked utterly dismayed. If his hands hadn’t been restrained, he might have slapped himself twice.

“Repeatedly drugging Huang Jingguo?” Yan Yu’s dark eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. “Qian Bin, I suggest you tell the truth. Don’t think you can keep feeding the police these pathetic excuses. Your repeated fake cooperation won’t do you any favors when it comes to sentencing.”

Qian Bin’s face twisted with conflict, his expression shifting several times before settling on something almost sheepish.

“Fine… I’ll come clean…”

…

Back in the Special Investigation Unit’s temporary conference room.

Yan Yu and Ye Zhu had just returned from interrogating Qian Bin. All five team members were gathered, chatting casually while waiting for the Special Task Force to send representatives for the meeting.

“So, this Qian Bin was having an affair with Huang Jingguo’s wife, and they conspired to meet up occasionally while Huang was on night shifts. Not long ago, Huang came home unexpectedly early and nearly caught them in the act, so this genius came up with the brilliant idea of drugging the victim to prevent him from returning home ahead of time?” Peng Yishan, as usual, cradled his thermos cup. After laying out this analysis, his expression turned deeply unimpressed.

“What kind of idiotic thinking is that? Based on his confession, he and Huang’s wife are even more suspicious now. Kill for insurance money, then live it up with Huang’s death benefits—sounds like a sweet deal for them.”

Yan Yu shook his head, disagreeing. “Qian Bin has his own family. For now, it doesn’t seem like he’d take that risk. But of course, we’ll need to investigate that possibility further. Next, we should focus on whether anyone in Huang Jingguo or Qian Bin’s circles might have known about Qian Bin’s little habit.”

“Framing someone?” Jiang Bing raised an eyebrow.

Yan Yu neither confirmed nor denied.

Just then, Luo Qi—who had been quietly working without joining the conversation—suddenly stood up. At the same time, his computer emitted a series of rapid beeps.

“Got it! Got it!” The young man was visibly excited, his earlobes pink and eyes sparkling as he looked at Yan Yu. “Boss, the background checks you asked for on the four missing persons—finally got a hit!”