Chapter 162: Two Bodies, Two Lives Lost

At 10 PM, Xiao Yu shifted his gaze away from the computer screen, ready to lead the team on their next mission.

It was time to arrest Jia Zhen.

But just as he was about to move, Guo Qiang burst into the Criminal Investigation Unit, rushing up to Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu just stared at him, his expression a mix of curiosity and concern.

“It’s not you who’s in trouble, Boss!” Guo Qiang quickly clarified, laughing awkwardly before his face turned serious. “We’ve found Jia Yanli’s body.”

Wait, what? Xiao Yu froze.

And then, Guo Qiang dropped another bombshell that shifted Xiao Yu’s expression even further.

“When we found her body, there was another corpse nearby. The deceased is Jia Zhen,” Guo Qiang said, his expression a blend of confusion and concern.

Xiao Yu went silent, pondering the situation. 

“How did he die?”

“His neck was severed,” Guo Qiang explained. “Definitely murder.”

“Murder?” Xiao Yu was genuinely stunned. 

How could it be murder?

Xiao Yu had pieced together most of the case based on Jia Zhen’s personal records. He had figured that Jia Zhen had stolen Jia Yanli’s body, but not for revenge. 

Would a grave robber really go to such lengths to avenge a sister he barely spoke to?

If revenge wasn’t the motive, then what was?

It seemed likely that Jia Zhen had somehow learned or suspected that his brother-in-law, Che Feiting, was involved in his sister’s death. But without proof, he couldn’t confirm it.

So, he might have concocted a rather unusual plan. To use his sister’s corpse to scare someone.

Would that work?

Absolutely!

People feared the unknown, and the supernatural played right into that. It might sound absurd, but data showed that many people actually died from fright every year.

Did you know that over 20,000 people worldwide die each year from watching horror movies?

That was why horror films had ratings, to prevent certain groups from watching them—because they can literally be scared to death!

Xiao Yu could easily imagine that Jia Zhen’s goal in using his sister’s body was twofold.

First, to scare Che Feiting to death.

Could that actually work?

The chances are pretty high!

But what if it didn’t work?

Secondly, if Che Feiting wasn’t scared to death, he’d be pressured into confessing to the murder, revealing the truth, and eventually getting caught by the police, tried, and sentenced to death.

Both scenarios serve one purpose. As long as Che Feiting dies, Jia Zhen could inherit his sister Jia Yanli’s estate.

But could someone really go to such lengths for money?

Heh!

Yet, Xiao Yu was puzzled.

How could Jia Zhen have died? And murdered, no less?

Considering the things he had done, it seemed unlikely that he had an accomplice. Wouldn’t it be more tempting to keep all the profits for himself?

So, there shouldn’t have been anyone with a reason to kill him.

Okay, let’s say he did have an accomplice, also motivated by greed.

But then, the absurdity kicks in. If Jia Zhen is dead, how could his accomplice inherit Jia Yanli’s fortune? Without Jia Zhen, the plan falls apart, and no one gets the money, right?

So, what other possibilities are there?

Could it be that Jia Zhen was just unlucky and became the victim of a random murder, coincidentally during this time?

Xiao Yu stood up and said, “Let’s check out the scene first.”

As always, how could there be so many coincidences in the world?

***

In a district’s cold storage facility.

This facility was massive, with a total of forty-five cold storage units available for rent.

Jia Zhen’s body was discovered outside the door of the cold storage unit he had rented, around 9 PM, by the staff on duty.

The police arrived, inspected the scene, and opened the cold storage unit Jia Zhen had rented. Inside, they found Jia Yanli’s body.

They had found Jia Yanli’s body, but now a new problem had arisen—a man was dead.

Earlier that afternoon, Xiao Yu had already reported that Jia Yanli’s death was likely not natural, but a murder.

With two lives lost, you can imagine how much pressure this put on Captain Zhao Changshan and Instructor Zhou Tinghu.

To be honest, the entire Criminal Investigation Unit was on edge. The case was immediately escalated to the city bureau. And then, something strange happened.

An order from above… No, it was a direct order from Yun Xiangguo, the head of the city bureau.

The Criminal Investigation Unit was put in charge of the entire investigation, with the city’s police system providing support. When Zhao Changshan and Zhou Tinghu received this order, they were completely dumbfounded.

Did the higher-ups have a bit too much to drink?

A double homicide, and they wanted our Criminal Investigation Unit to handle the investigation? Are we even capable of handling this?

Then, they remembered there was a certain highly capable young guy in their unit.

Heh… they must want Xiao Yu to lead the investigation, right?

Why didn’t they just come out and say that?

***

Xiao Yu was crouched over a corpse, the ground beneath already soaked in blood.

The thick stench of blood hung in the air, indicating that the death hadn’t occurred too long ago.

The body was lying on its back, with the neck severed, the head barely attached by a strip of skin, hanging off to the side.

It was indeed Jia Zhen. 

Xiao Yu’s eyes moved to the severed neck, listening to the forensic examiner’s report.

“From the analysis of the wound on the deceased’s neck, it seems like the weapon could be a machete, but the cut doesn’t quite match. It’s more like it was chopped with a shovel. You can tell from the slight curvature of the wound–”

“It’s not a shovel, it’s an entrenching tool.”

Xiao Yu cut off the forensic examiner’s rambling and continued examining the body.

How did he know?

Thanks to his “Weapons Expert” ability.

This ability included knowledge on combat techniques, usage, and the types of injuries that could be inflicted by various tools, including an entrenching tool.

As soon as Xiao Yu saw the wound on the neck, his brain immediately provided the relevant information.

“Uh…”

The forensic examiner was stunned, staring at Xiao Yu.

Wait, who’s the forensic expert here, you or me?

But after hearing what Xiao Yu said, the examiner took another closer look at the wound and had an epiphany.

Turning to Xiao Yu, his face showed a look of admiration.

Xiao Yu completely ignored him. He had only spoken to prevent the examiner from interrupting his train of thought.

Why was the murder weapon an entrenching tool?

Ordinary people wouldn’t use something like that.

Unless… it was a grave robber?

Was the entrenching tool Jia Zhen’s?

Was he trying to kill someone, only to have the tool turned against him?

No, that doesn’t make sense…

Activating his “Eagle Eye,” Xiao Yu scanned the area around the body.

There were no signs of a struggle or a fight.

From the fatal wound, it was clear that Jia Zhen was struck from the side, with a single, fatal blow from an entrenching tool.

Judging by the marks on the ground from where the body fell, it was a clean kill.

Xiao Yu took a deep breath, feeling like there was an electric current zipping through his brain. Then, with a sudden jolt, a possible scenario formed in his mind.

“Jia Zhen probably knew the killer. The entrenching tool was likely brought by the killer. If Jia Zhen was skilled at grave robbing and knew someone who also carried an entrenching tool… another grave robber, perhaps?”

Xiao Yu smirked coldly. “So, why did you kill Jia Zhen? And why here, of all places? Jia Zhen was hiding the body here, he wouldn’t have invited an outsider to this location, right? What was your motive for killing him, and why specifically at the entrance of the cold storage?”

Suddenly, Xiao Yu looked up at the cold storage unit two meters away and froze.

Could it be…

You wanted someone to find the woman’s body inside the cold storage?

Does that theory hold up?