Chapter 3 The Corpse Room 3  

“Holy shit!… Who the hell—?!” Jiang Bing’s hand instinctively flew to his seatbelt buckle the moment he noticed movement from the backseat. Unfortunately, before he could free himself from the driver’s seat, the figure in the back had already darted out. All he managed to catch in the rearview mirror was a slender silhouette sprinting past the towering flames at the bottom of the valley before disappearing behind a rocky slope at the roadside bend.  

“Boss!” he called out anxiously. The person was still injured—if anything else went wrong, the Special Investigation Unit would undoubtedly be held responsible.  

“Go check!” Yan Yu’s brow furrowed as he turned to assess the scene of the pileup. Based on the initial observations, it seemed the large truck had suddenly lost control—perhaps due to brake failure or some mishap with the driver—leading to the horrific accident before them.  

Jiang Bing responded immediately, leaping out of the car and vanishing into the night like a panther.  

Yan Yu also pushed open his door but didn’t follow right away. Instead, his gaze lingered thoughtfully on the stack of documents inside the vehicle. The Special Investigation Unit had been practically begged by the Fenghe City Public Security Bureau to take on this case. No matter how displeased the Special Task Force of the Criminal Investigation Division might be, they had handed over the case files with meticulous detail—effectively surrendering two months of hard work.  

After a brief hesitation, he grabbed the documents, tucked them under his arm, and set off in the direction where Ye Zhu and Jiang Bing had disappeared.  

The scene of the pileup was chaotic, but fortunately, before the group had left Wenzhuang Village for the city, the drivers of the three police vans—seasoned veteran officers—had accounted for the treacherous nighttime mountain roads. Their experience had prevented a far greater tragedy.  

Though shaken by the sudden accident, most remained composed. Some had already pulled out their phones to call emergency services.  

Meanwhile, Ye Zhu and Jiang Bing were struggling to pull back a police van that had nearly careened over the guardrail of the winding mountain road. With the help of two other officers, they managed to temporarily stabilize the vehicle.  

“Thanks, Little Ye!” The officers from the endangered van stepped out, expressing their gratitude to Ye Zhu before nodding appreciatively at Jiang Bing.  

Jiang Bing acknowledged them with a nod and then wordlessly returned to Yan Yu’s side.  

The two exchanged hushed words before Yan Yu straightened up, his expression grave as he issued a few more instructions. Jiang Bing immediately sprinted back toward the Jeep, summoning three nearby officers as he went.  

Soon, warning signs were placed at both ends of the accident site.  

Luckily, traffic on this mountain road was sparse even during the day, and at night, it was nearly deserted. With only about seven or eight private vehicles stranded on either side, and uniformed officers maintaining order, the situation remained under control without further chaos.

Since it was unclear when this stretch of road would reopen, some curious onlookers emerged from their cars, huddling in small groups beyond the warning signs and craning their necks for a better look. Among them, one or two deliberately avoided the gaze of uniformed officers, secretly pulling out their phones to snap pictures.

After giving Jiang Bing his instructions, Yan Yu remained standing in place, his dark eyes half-lidded as if lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Ye Zhu and several colleagues with minor injuries crouched by the roadside. They watched their fellow officers maintaining order at both ends of the scene while waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

“Look at them—no wonder they’re from the capital. Haven’t seen much progress on solving cases, but they sure know how to put on airs!” The speaker was an older detective surnamed Ma. Though his tone wasn’t overtly sarcastic, everyone present was sharp enough to catch the implication.

“…” Ye Zhu tilted her head slightly to glance at the veteran officer. Many in the bureau shared this sentiment, though most kept it to themselves. After a few seconds, her gaze drifted toward a figure about a hundred meters away. Against the backdrop of flames and billowing black smoke, his silhouette appeared even more upright.

Perhaps her stare was too obvious, because the man seemed to sense it and turned slightly in her direction.

Their eyes met briefly before Ye Zhu quickly looked down, her gaze finally settling on the thick stack of documents held in his left hand. Her expression flickered with something unreadable.

Soon, the familiar wail of sirens approached in the distance. The first to arrive were fire trucks and ambulances. After a chaotic flurry of activity, the flames from the truck that had rolled off the highway gradually died down and were eventually extinguished.

Some time later, police cars from Fenghe City’s Public Security Bureau arrived belatedly. Among those who stepped out were a deputy director and—to Ye Zhu’s surprise—an acquaintance of hers.

She stood by an ambulance as the round-faced, dark-skinned man approached. Shorter than average for a police officer and stocky in build, he had an almost spherical appearance at first glance.

“Brother Hu.” Ye Zhu waved in greeting.

In her past life, Zhao Hu had been close to her. When she first joined the Special Task Force, he had mentored her through cases—essentially becoming her half-teacher.

“What happened here?” Zhao Hu frowned deeply as he looked her up and down. Seeing that aside from a bandage on her right hand, she appeared unharmed, his expression softened slightly. Lowering his voice, he added, “When news of your accident reached the bureau, Team Leader Zhang nearly lost it. Don’t worry—we’ll get you back soon.”

No one could have predicted this outcome. Had they known, no one would have sent a rookie female officer into this situation.

Ye Zhu looked surprised and instinctively glanced toward Yan Yu, who was currently speaking with the deputy director. For some reason, she avoided directly addressing Zhao Hu’s comment and instead said, “It’s not that serious.”

“Not serious?” Zhao Hu let out an incredulous laugh, then subtly jerked his chin toward where the leadership stood. “See Deputy Director Li’s receding hairline? Notice how it gleams under the streetlights? The man hasn’t stopped sweating since we left the bureau!”

More than a dozen city bureau officers plus two members of the Special Investigation Unit from the capital—if anything really happened, they’d absolutely be in deep trouble.

Ye Zhu blinked, almost able to picture the panicked scene at the bureau earlier.

As the crowd at the accident scene grew larger, Zhao Hu urged, “You should head back with them first. We’ll handle the cleanup here. The exact cause of the accident won’t be determined until the accident investigation team finishes their on-site examination.”

As he spoke, he gently nudged the young woman forward with a hand on her back.

“…Alright.” Ye Zhu didn’t put up any false resistance. She turned to glance at the ambulance where several injured colleagues were being treated—it was packed inside.

Naturally, she wouldn’t compete with the injured for space. Only one police van remained available for the return trip. After some thought, she had no choice but to walk toward the black jeep parked nearby.

The vehicle was stopped on a relatively flat stretch of roadside, the ground littered with sharp, gravelly stones.

When Ye Zhu approached, Jiang Bing was leaning against a rough stone wall, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The glowing ember cast flickering shadows across his rugged face.

Yan Yu wore an inscrutable expression as he paced around the jeep. Finally, he stopped at the passenger side and leaned in, seemingly searching for something.

“Boss, what’s up?” Jiang Bing asked curiously, his words slightly muffled by the cigarette.

“Nothing much.” Yan Yu straightened up, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together—the same fingers that had just been probing the seats. “Just that we had a little rat visitor earlier.”

Jiang Bing visibly startled, hastily stubbing out his cigarette as he stepped forward. “What? Someone went through our car?”

His raised tone betrayed his disbelief. The accident had happened suddenly—both those involved and the scattered onlookers had been in complete chaos. Who would have the presence of mind for petty theft under such circumstances?

Ye Zhu was equally stunned by this revelation. Suddenly, she recalled the image of that man standing amid the flames with a stack of documents tucked under his arm. An eerie sensation crept over her: Could he have… anticipated this?

Perhaps her inexplicably shocked expression stood out, because Yan Yu’s gaze swept over her without reaction before settling on the crowd of spectators several hundred meters away.

The gathering of vehicles and people had grown increasingly noisy.

“I’ll call the forensics team to collect evidence,” Jiang Bing said, already reaching for his phone.

“No need. Even if they come, they might not find anything useful. Worse, we might tip off our visitor.” The corners of Yan Yu’s lips lifted slightly, softening his sharply defined features—though the glint in his eyes remained razor-sharp and intimidating.

After all, nothing had been stolen from the car. What would be the point of making a big production out of evidence collection?

The man pondered briefly before turning to get in the vehicle. “I’ll contact Deputy Director Li to have photos taken of all vehicles and faces in the crowd. The accident investigation team will also forward us their report once it’s completed. For now, let’s head back to the bureau.”

Jiang Bing clearly obeyed his orders without argument, starting the engine without another word. Ye Zhu naturally kept quiet too, obediently climbing into the backseat. The next moment, the black jeep made a U-turn and, with the traffic officer’s assistance, smoothly merged into the night.

Due to the delay caused by Yan Yu inspecting the vehicle, by the time the jeep entered the Fenghe City Public Security Bureau compound, the surviving police van was already parked squarely in front of the building entrance.  

The van was pitch black inside—evidently, the two suspects had already been escorted upstairs.  

The three of them entered the elevator one after another, which eventually stopped on the sixth floor. As they stepped out, they saw a man standing by the windowsill across the corridor. He was tall and lean, his head lowered.  

Hearing the commotion, the man slowly looked up, revealing an unexpectedly youthful face—more like a teenager than a grown man.  

After studying the unfamiliar face for a moment, Ye Zhu was certain he was also a member of the Special Investigation Unit. From Jiang Bing’s greeting, she learned his name was Luo Qi.  

“Boss, the two we just brought back have already been taken to the interrogation room. Brother Peng went with the forensic team for the autopsy. I heard you guys got into an accident on the way back—maybe you should call it a night?” Luo Qi’s gaze flickered between the three of them as he spoke hesitantly.  

“No. We’re heading to the interrogation room now,” Yan Yu replied flatly before turning back toward the elevator.  

Jiang Bing and Luo Qi exchanged a glance, shrugged in perfect sync, and followed with resigned expressions.  

Ye Zhu remained where she was, glancing toward the Special Task Force office. She hesitated, unsure whether to shamelessly follow them into the elevator or heed Team Leader Zhang’s earlier instructions and return.  

Just then, the elevator doors began sliding shut. She scratched her head and sighed silently.  

Then—*ding*—the doors reopened. Standing at the front, Yan Yu tilted his head slightly, watching her, his long, elegant index finger pressing the door-open button.  

“Get in.”  

Just two words—terse, leaving no room for refusal.  

Ye Zhu opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing, quickly slipping inside.  

The cramped space fell into silence, broken only by the muffled hum of the elevator’s movement. The air was thick with the scent of tobacco, fresh soap, and something faint yet crisp—cool and elusive.