Chapter 4: The Corpse Room 4  

The corridor at night appeared unusually empty, until the sound of hurried footsteps temporarily shattered the eerie silence.  

“Jiang Bing,” Yan Yu called out as they stopped in front of one of the interrogation rooms, glancing at the person beside him.  

Understanding his meaning, Jiang Bing exchanged a look with Luo Qi before the two of them pushed open the door and entered the interrogation room one after the other.  

Ye Zhu peeked curiously inside and vaguely recognized the suspect sitting there—the same man who had been scaling the wall at the crime scene. After his arrest, she’d heard them mention his name—something like… Li Gaofei.  

As the door closed, she heard the sharp sound of Jiang Bing slamming a folder onto the interrogation table, making her blink twice in surprise.  

Meanwhile, Yan Yu continued walking forward without a word. When he reached another interrogation room and was about to push open the door, he noticed that the girl who had barely spoken all day didn’t seem inclined to follow him inside.  

He lowered his hand from the doorknob, crossed his arms, and studied her with mild amusement. Only when Ye Zhu’s large eyes above her mask showed clear confusion did he speak in a neutral tone, “Feeling unwell?”  

Ye Zhu: “…”  

Where did that come from?  

“Not in the mood to work?” Yan Yu pressed, glancing pointedly toward the interrogation room.  

“I… Is it appropriate for me to go in?” Though she was intensely curious about the case and had planned to participate fully, she hadn’t expected that—given the sharp conflict between the Special Investigation Unit and the Special Task Force—the man would allow her to assist in the interrogation.  

To put it bluntly, based on her official tenure as a police officer, in her past life, Team Leader Zhang hadn’t even permitted her inside interrogation rooms at this stage, limiting her to paperwork.  

“Luo Qi is just a technician. We’re short on manpower—there’s no other choice.” Yan Yu’s lips curled slightly, but his expression held no warmth, only faint mockery.  

The implication in his words made Ye Zhu feel a twinge of embarrassment. Look at how desperate Fenghe City’s Public Security Bureau had made them—even their unit’s technician had to step into interrogations. What privileges could a rookie detective like her, sent here to slow them down, possibly expect?  

The conversation had effectively reached a dead end. The two fell silent before finally entering the interrogation room and taking their seats.  

Once settled, Ye Zhu lifted her gaze to observe Suspect No. 2—the man who had ambushed her from behind with a shovel.  

He was a middle-aged man of average height, with a gaunt face and disheveled hair. His left cheek was noticeably swollen, likely from when Ye Zhu had forcefully slammed him against the brick wall during the arrest.  

“Name,” Yan Yu asked.  

Compared to Jiang Bing’s aggressive intimidation tactics upon entering, Yan Yu appeared far more composed, his tone neutral and devoid of excess emotion.  

“Tang Qiang,” the man replied, his cuffed hands fidgeting restlessly. His small, shifty eyes darted around the room, betraying his unease.  

“Age.”  

“37…”

After a series of meaningless questions, Tang Qiang finally seemed unable to endure the lukewarm interrogation any longer. Frowning, he asked, “Officers, why have you arrested me?”

“From Wenzhuang Village?” Yan Yu pressed.

He nodded.

“We now have reasonable grounds to suspect your involvement in a homicide and corpse disposal case. Since you’re from Wenzhuang Village, you must have heard about the deceased discovered in that dilapidated old house in Group 1?”

“Officers, you need to be reasonable! What does this have to do with me?!”

“Nothing to do with you? If it’s nothing, why did you attack me with a shovel? The charge of obstructing official duties alone is enough to land you in hot water!” Ye Zhu curled her fingers and rapped her knuckles against the table with a dull thud.

Perhaps feeling that speaking through a mask lacked impact, she then removed it, revealing a face flushed pink—whether from anger or the stifling heat of the mask was unclear.

For a moment, silence fell in the interrogation room. Both men stared at her with an indescribable look in their eyes.

“I’m talking to you!” Ye Zhu didn’t appreciate Tang Qiang’s current gaze. With a forced smile, she clenched her fists. Her wide eyes, stern expression, and intimidating gestures lent her an air of menace, despite her clear, pleasant voice and pretty face.

Tang Qiang abruptly snapped out of his inappropriate thoughts, involuntarily recalling the scene in the alleyway. A shiver ran down his spine. He knew exactly what he was capable of—though he might appear frail, years of manual labor had given him considerable strength.

Yet this woman had taken a full-force shovel strike from him, barely flinched, sprung back up within seconds, and even subdued him in return. She was practically inhuman.

Instantly, most of his unsavory thoughts dissipated. But the next moment, his eyes darted around, and he straightened his neck defensively. “You were riding on my friend’s shoulders, practically strangling him to death! Was I supposed to just stand by? I didn’t know you were a cop!”

Ye Zhu glanced sideways at Yan Yu, noting his calm, unruffled demeanor, then continued, “Seems you and Li Gaofei share quite the bond, attacking blindly without even knowing the situation. Given that, it’s reasonable to suspect you’re accomplices—both with major motives.”

“You’re being unreasonable!” Tang Qiang grew agitated. He tried to stand but was restrained by the interrogation chair, leaving him to protest hurriedly, “He was the one climbing the wall, not me! Damn rotten luck getting dragged into this mess!”

“Climbing the wall?”

Yan Yu finally showed a reaction, sitting up slightly—though his expression remained lazy. “When did we mention Li Gaofei climbing the wall at the crime scene? You keep claiming ignorance about why we pursued him. Is this what you call ‘uninformed’?”

“D-didn’t you mention it?” Tang Qiang’s voice wavered with uncertainty as panic set in. He looked between Yan Yu and Ye Zhu, but neither face betrayed any readable emotion.

In the end, he swallowed hard, his mouth opening and closing without uttering any further excuses, his lack of confidence rendering him speechless. He feared that saying more would only give the police further grounds to incriminate him.

“You should think carefully about what’s more worthwhile—being implicated in a homicide case or honestly confessing the little dealings between the two of you,” Yan Yu resumed his indifferent demeanor, leaning back casually in his chair, clicking a pen repeatedly. The rhythmic *click-clack* echoed through the room.

“……”

Over half an hour later, Ye Zhu and Yan Yu stepped out, then immediately ducked into the observation room next to the interrogation room where Jiang Bing and the others were. Through the one-way glass, they saw Li Gaofei trembling under the sheer volume of Jiang Bing’s booming voice, barely able to string his words together coherently.

Soon enough, Li Gaofei also completed his interrogation in fits and starts. After Jiang Bing and Luo Qi left, he slumped onto the interrogation chair, drenched in sweat.

A few seconds later, the observation room door was pulled open from the outside.

As soon as Jiang Bing and Luo Qi entered, they reported to Yan Yu: “According to Li Gaofei, neither he nor Tang Qiang held steady jobs—they spent their days idling around. Somehow, they ended up collaborating, stealing batteries in the city during the day and transporting them back to the village at night. Since that abandoned house at the crime scene was usually deserted, they used it to stash the stolen goods, waiting until they had enough to sell in bulk.”

“Earlier, Li Gaofei saw several police cars parked outside the abandoned house and assumed their thefts had been exposed. After discussing it with Tang Qiang, they decided to scope out the situation. When they asked around the village and realized it had nothing to do with their petty thefts, they grew bolder. Worried that the police might stumble upon their stash during the investigation, they tried peeking over the wall—only to get caught.”

Yan Yu nodded slightly. “Their accounts don’t differ much, except in arguing over who was the mastermind behind the thefts. Based on the coroner’s estimate, the body was dumped there around 4 or 5 a.m. Given that they frequented that abandoned house, did they notice anything unusual during those early hours?”

Jiang Bing shook his head. “They usually went there late at night, never in the early morning.”

“That abandoned house isn’t easy to find. Unless the killer was familiar with Wenzhuang Village… they must have scouted the area beforehand.” Yan Yu turned back to the glass, murmuring as if to himself.

After a brief silence, he reached over and took the second interrogation transcript from Jiang Bing, placing both in front of Ye Zhu.

“……”

Ye Zhu took the transcripts, eyeing him suspiciously, her large eyes brimming with even larger confusion.

“We were commissioned by Fenghe City’s Public Security Bureau to investigate the serial disappearances, not to solve petty theft cases. Kindly hand these transcripts over to your superiors—the case is now officially transferred to the Special Task Force.” Yan Yu raised an eyebrow, offering an uncharacteristic explanation.

However, no matter how Ye Zhu looked at it, she couldn’t help feeling that his expression was full of disdain, as if he thought her comprehension was lacking. And his words were downright infuriating—as if only their Special Investigation Unit would disdain a petty theft case involving stolen electric bike batteries. Did he think the Special Task Force wouldn’t disdain it too?  

Unable to help herself, she discreetly rolled her eyes, pursed her lips, and turned to leave.  

“By the way.” Yet Yan Yu called her back again. He first glanced at his wristwatch before speaking. “At this hour, there probably aren’t many people left at the bureau. You should head back to the dormitory and rest. Just hand the materials to Team Leader Zhang tomorrow morning.”  

???  

Though Ye Zhu didn’t quite understand the meaning behind his words, she still acknowledged them before exiting the observation room and stepping into the elevator.  

The moment the elevator began descending, she suddenly lifted her head, lips parting slightly. Could it be…  

Was Yan Yu’s remark actually concern?  

The thought had barely surfaced before she immediately suppressed it. What a joke. Even though they’d only known each other for a day, she could already tell what kind of person he was. The word “concern” simply didn’t suit him.  

Still, she really did need some rest. Never mind the discomfort from her back injury and the lingering effects of her cold—just the fact that she had died and come back to life was something she needed a quiet place to properly digest.  

Ding!  

The elevator stopped on the first floor. She trudged slowly toward the direction of the dormitory.  

Early the next morning.  

Ye Zhu, refreshed and energetic, pushed open the door to the Special Task Force’s office. The moment she appeared, the lively chatter in the room briefly fell silent.  

“Xiao Ye, I heard you were in a car accident? Are you alright?”  

“Xiao Ye, I also heard you got beaten up by a suspect yesterday?”  

“Xiao Ye…”  

Several men suddenly bombarded her with concerned questions. After finally managing to respond to everyone, she at last made her way to the large, cluttered desk by the window. She respectfully called out, “Team Leader Zhang,” and placed the interrogation records on the desk.  

Zhang Hao took the two files and listened to her report with a grim expression. After a brief pause, instead of flying into a rage, he sighed softly. “Ye Zhu, I didn’t consider things carefully before. Starting today, you’re back on the team. As for the investigation unit, I’ll arrange for Zhao Hu to go over there instead.”  

Ye Zhu was somewhat surprised. It seemed the consecutive incidents yesterday had truly shaken Zhang Hao—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been willing to part with veteran detective Zhao Hu.  

She was racking her brain for how to respond when Zhang Hao decisively made the call, raising his voice to address Zhao Hu, who had just entered. “Hu Zi, report to the investigation unit later.”  

To her surprise, Zhao Hu didn’t answer. Instead, his face twisted into exaggerated expressions, his eyelids twitching so violently it almost looked like he was having a stroke.  

Zhang Hao frowned, about to reprimand him, when he noticed the figure following closely behind Zhao Hu. His expression darkened.  

“Team Leader Zhang.” Yan Yu smiled, looking utterly harmless. “Since you previously sent someone to our unit, Ye Zhu can temporarily be considered one of us. Don’t you think you should have discussed swapping personnel with me first?”